NOVEL NEXT Chapter 49: 49. being mid.
Zach sighed as he stood amongst the cadets, he hadn't even seen Aurora today, she probably left before he could wake up.
"This trial will test your grit"
A bald man stood in front of the cadets.
In front of him were three glass tubes.
"These are gravity chambers" he pointed to the machines that looked like giant glass domes.
The longer you can stay on your feet the higher your score.
1/4th of the candidates had already been disqualified, so everyone here wasn't much of a weakling.
The first cadet's name was called.
Immediately the cadet stepped into the glass dome that absorbed his body like a bubble.
A number was displayed showing how much gravitational force was amplified.
The male candidate stood still as the numbers went up.
..3...
....4...
...5..
The cadet's body began visibly trembling, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
...6..
...7..
The cadet collapsed to his knees.
"Done!" the baldy shouted.
Instructors led the cadet out of the glass.
"7, not bad kid" the bald folded his arms as the cadet was carried out.
"Next"
Aurora stepped into the huge bubble, then the numbers went up.
..1..
...2..
...3...
...4...
She stood calmly.
...5...
...6...
...7...
The numbers went up gradually and Aurora's demeanor slowly cracked, revealing a bit of struggle.
...8..
...9..
....10..
Her knees bent a bit, sweat was visible on her face.
Thump
She collapsed when the number was at 11.
Zach waited as all the cadets went in bit by bit until it was his turn.
He stepped into the giant bubble.
Then the numbers went up.
Zach had calculated it, if the timer reached past the 6 mark he would be marked a pretty decent spot.
And decent was just what he needed.
He wanted a score mid, but not so mediocre that he didn't pass the test.
Why?.
Zach fell on the floor when the timer reached 4, stunning a few instructors.
Instructors rushed him out of there and the test was concluded.
At the top of the list was none other than the princess herself.
Aurora with a 79% on the first trial, 87% on the artificial fissure trial and a 72% on the gravity test.
The second was a guy named Ceaser with an 87% on the first trial, 63% on the artificial fissure trial and a 68% on the gravity test.
Zach read the list of the admitted candidates with a scowl on his face.
"Didn't actually expect this guy to come third"
Nathan actually came third with a 69% on the first trial, 66% on the artificial fissure which was kind of confusing to Zach and 59% on the gravity fissure.
Only 50 candidates were admitted in this batch.
Zach smiled as he came across his name in the 24th spot.
51% in combat, 94 in the artificial fissure and as expected 27% in the gravity room.
That brought his overall score to 172 which was above the 150 requirement to join.
Fifty cadets stood that all passed the test and were handed their uniforms.
It had a sleek red design with black outlines.
"You all have been selected as the first batch of cadets for this year". An instructor walked in.
"Your fighting ability, stamina and battle information has been recorded and the system has assigned instructors to personally teach you, their offices will be displayed in the watch given to you"
Zach noticed a watch in the pile of clothes given to him.
"You will have access to training dojos, sparring dummies, and different environments that will further hone your exceptional skills" he paused and turned back.
"The ranks from 26 to 50 are black rings, from rank 10 to 25 are bronze rings. The ranks 4 to 9 are silver rings.
The inspector turned, "And the top three are gold rings"
The inspector handed them talismans.
Zach got a bronze talisman, meaning he got into the academy, but was mediocre at best.
Zach's life of being mid had begun.
The watch gave specific locations of their dorms.
The knight academy consisted of three large islands each fulfilling a certain purpose.
The smallest island was where cadets took the entrance tests, it consisted of the resident dorms, gravity chamber, artificial fissure trial and so on.
And the other two islands were giants compared to the first one, the island consisted of student training grounds, lecture halls, mystic arts practice and so on.
And the second island contained only one thing.
A huge tower.
Zach stepped into his dorm with dragged steps.
Fortunately he didn't have to share a room with anyone this time and he just dumped the items on the bed and quickly changed into his uniform.
In this place both seniors and juniors all wore the same clothes so it wasn't easy to tell them apart.
Zach finally checked his watch.
[Watch Notification]
> Assigned Instructor: ???
Name: Ravel Veyl
Rank: Unlisted
Academy Rating: 1.2 stars
Disciplinary Reports: 17 (Access Restricted)
Last Cadet Group: None Graduated
Specialization: Unknown
Status: Active Instructor — Clearance Verified
Zach stared at the glowing text, a pit forming in his stomach.
A 1-star instructor? With no graduates? And yet, somehow… still employed by the Academy.
Of course Zach had the opportunity to reject the instructor but he just decided to see what Ravel is like.
Zach tracked his instructor using the watch around the academy, asking a few students.
Most of the students gave him a weird look but ultimately gave directions.
"Wait you were given Ravel?" One student asked, sitting on a bench.
"Yeah I was... Is there anything wrong with his teachings.." Zach asked.
"Not particularly.." the student crossed his legs on the part gesturing towards a rundown detached residency at the far end.
"But his teachings are a bit... off"
That off at the end sounded ominous.
"In the past he was one of the diamond ranked instructors, teaching one of the top students for many years. But now."
"His glory days are far behind him".
Zach halted in front of a bungalow building, nothing out of the ordinary just a nice-looking house with a garden at its front porch.
Zach knocked.
"Who's there."
An old man peeked through the door looking at Zach up and down.
Zach looked down at the old man.
"I was sent here, sir".
He spoke.
"Ok told the officials not to assign any cadets to me this year.." he groaned.
"I'll be back" he slammed the door leaving Zach shocked.
"I thought I said I don't want to have any cadets this year" the old man complained through the phone.
"Ha, I knew you'd say that" a young man's voice came through on the other side.
"But you see.."
The voice paused.
"This one is a little bit different from the rest"
"So was the last one. And the one before that." The old man rolled his eyes.
"Well... you see you have to adapt your teaching methods. You're too old fashioned"
These words made the oldy stagger back.
"What did you just say" he gritted.
"If you don't want to lose your job as an instructor you must at least have a prodigy under you.." the man spoke calmly.
"And unfortunately your prodigy died 20 years ago, the academy's giving you a last chance. It's a miracle that kid didn't reject you right away, try not to ruin it"
Hangs up
The old man fumed but he knew he couldn't do anything.
He opened the door once more to see Zach patiently waiting.
"I hope you're a fast learner kid, you'll need it".
The man walked out of the door, a short old man that looked nothing like the legends.
His sunken but sharp eyes made Zach feel like he was standing in front of a blade ready to cut at any moment.
---
"Pick it up" Ravel threw a wooden sword at Zach.
Zach caught it, a little unsure.
"Starting today.."
He pointed at Zach.
"You'll do one thousand slashes and stabs every day"
Zach blinked.
"That's impossible"
"You know what else is impossible?" The old man snapped at Zach.
'I don't think I wanna know the answer to that'
"Umm no.."
"Then do it, if your arms don't hurt so bad you can't lift a spoon by nightfall then you're wasting my time", he clicked his tongue.
Zach held the wooden stick as the old man sat on his porch.
Zach was still dazed at the old man's actions, he wasn't even shown a glimpse of the technique he wanted to teach Zach, just straight-up business.
Was he a doctor by any chance.
Zach started swinging the wooden sword, but the intervals were too slow.
"Don't chase perfection, chase repetition. A thousand cuts will carve it into your bones, techniques mean nothing if your body can't keep up with your intent."
The old man spoke.
By the hundredth swing Zach was already sweating, panting hard like he just sprinted a marathon.
'This is going to be hell'.