Lopaz, momentarily taken aback by Nova waking up, stared at him in silence before composing himself.

"Yes, we want to beat you," he said coolly. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"I don't think he does," Rey chimed in with a chuckle. "Probably just surprised. Still, it's his first time, we should give it our best."

Beside him, Kale cracked his knuckles and began walking toward Nova, savoring each slow, deliberate step.

'Even with a war looming, they still find time to bully each other. Either their brains are fried or they're just that dumb,' Nova thought, unbothered.

He rose from the bed without hesitation, locking eyes with Kale, now just a few meters away.

"I hope this fight's worth interrupting my sleep," he said flatly. "Because if it's not, I'll hold all three of you accountable."

From behind, Lopaz called out, "Since you're that cocky, Kale, don't hold back."

"Talk big for someone who's about to get flattened," Kale sneered, lunging at Nova with a kick.

Nova met Kale's kick with one of his own, a sharp thud echoed through the room as flesh collided with flesh. Nova's leg was pushed backward, numbed from the clash. Half expecting this result, Nova didn't hesitate. His momentum continued uninterrupted as he stepped forward and drove a solid punch straight into Kale's chest.

Caught off guard, Kale failed to block in time. The blow landed cleanly, knocking the air from his lungs. His breath hitched, chest seizing for a split second, before his instincts kicked in. Gasping, he stumbled back and quickly leapt away, eyes wide as he stared at Nova.

'His strength's is a hair above mine,' Nova thought, eyes narrowing. 'But that reaction time… too slow. Probably hasn't fought much outside ambushing people in their sleep. I wanted to see how they handle real combat, how they claim to fight mages head-on. But this person? Not convincing. Maybe the next one can show me.'

His gaze flicked toward Lopaz and Rey, both of whom had a frown on their faces as they looked at Kale.

Snapping back to his senses, Lopaz snarled at Kale, "I told you not to hold back so why are you the one getting beat up?"

"Kale, let me help you!" Rey shouted, lunging at Nova with a punch.

"I don't need your help!" Kale snapped, dashing forward alongside him anyway. "I can handle this on my own!"

'Hmph. Wasting my time,' Nova thought, as fine dust-like particles of earth Mana shimmered around his fists, reinforcing them.

With fluid precision, Nova stepped forward, slipped past Rey's wild punch, and drove his reinforced fist straight into Rey's face.

A sharp crack rang out.

Rey was launched backward like a ragdoll, slamming into the wall with brutal force. The impact left the wall untouched but Rey wasn't as lucky. Blood burst from his mouth as he collapsed, unconscious before he even hit the ground.

For a moment, the air froze around Kale and Lopaz. Both stared, wide-eyed, at Rey's crumpled body, then at Nova. Shock along with a sliver of fear rooted them in place.

But before either could speak, Kale felt as if a mountain had slammed into his chest.

He was hurled backward, crashing into the wall with a sickening thud. Unlike Rey, he remained conscious and that was the crueler fate. Agonized screams tore from his throat as he writhed on the floor, blood trickling from his mouth.

'Didn't think using just a bit of earth Mana would drop them both with one punch,' Nova mused coldly, glancing at his own fists. 'I should've done this earlier. If they can't even block a basic mana-infused strike, there's no way they can teach me anything.'

His eyes shifted to Lopaz.

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Lopaz flinched. A chill crept down his spine as Nova's gaze locked onto him, calm, steady, and utterly predatory. It wasn't anger. He looked like someone evaluating whether or not the next prey was worth the effort.

Forcing a smile, Lopaz raised both hands awkwardly. "There's no bad blood between us, right? No grudges. So, uh… no need to go any further, yeah?"

"There weren't any grudges before," Nova began coldly, "but you seemed determined to start one, so—"

Before he could finish, the door burst open with a thunderous slam. A towering, broad-shouldered man stormed in, his voice booming through the room.

"Who the hell is making all this noise in the middle of the night?! If you've got this much energy, I'll make sure you won't even lift a finger by morning!"

Nova's eyes flicked to the man's ridiculous pajamas.

'With that getup, I can't even tell if he's an instructor or just some deranged lunatic,' he thought, casually shifting his posture. Anyone walking in now would've assumed he was just a bystander, completely uninvolved.

"Instructor Kon!" Lopaz said quickly, forcing a smile. "It's nothing! Kale and Rey were just… horsing around a little. That's all!"

Instructor Kon scanned the room, his gaze landing on Rey still unconscious and Kale, curled up and groaning on the floor.

"This is what you call a little fun?" he barked. "If they were itching for a fight, they could've just told me. I'd have sent them straight to the border!" His tone dropped slightly. "Maybe I still should…"

By the end of the sentence, it was clear he wasn't joking.

"Instructor Kon!" Lopaz interjected quickly. "You can't send untrained recruits to the front lines! They'd just slow down the veterans. You see, what actually happened was…"

'I should get some sleep,' Nova thought, already lying back down. As Lopaz launched into a frantic string of excuses, Nova closed his eyes, completely tuning them out.

It took several long minutes and an exhausting amount of pleading before Instructor Kon finally let out a thoughtful grunt.

"You're right," he said at last. "They're not ready. I should train them properly before sending them off. Starting tomorrow, they'll train twice as hard. With the right discipline, they'll be good assets at the border."

With that, he turned on his heel and left, eyes gleaming with renewed purpose, burning with the holy fire of overzealous training plans for Kale and Rey, all in service to the kingdom.

Once Instructor Kon finally left, the tension in the room evaporated. Lopaz exhaled in relief, slumping slightly. He glanced over at Nova only to find him already fast asleep, breathing steadily as if nothing had happened.

Lopaz's eye twitched.

"I just saved you from that lunatic but you are already sleeping…I wonder…should I just let it go?" he muttered under his breath, unsure whether to be annoyed or impressed.

///////////

As the first rays of dawn crept across the horizon, a sharp, metallic bell echoed throughout the camp, jarring everyone from their sleep.

Nova opened his eyes slowly, thoughts already turning. 'Hopefully I'll learn something useful today.'

He took his time getting up, stretching lazily while familiar groans sounded from the beds around him. He didn't need to look, he already knew who they belonged to.

Then, a voice beside him broke the quiet.

"What's your class?"

Nova turned his head, mildly surprised. Lopaz was sitting upright, staring at him with a mixture of curiosity and caution.

"Are you talking to me?" Nova asked, arching a brow.

"Who else?" Lopaz scoffed, as if stating the obvious. "There's only four of us in this room, and I'm staring right at you."

"Why do you care?" Nova raised an eyebrow, a little thrown off by Lopaz's sudden shift in tone.

Lopaz shrugged casually. "Just curious. If you don't want to say, then don't."

Without waiting for a response, he turned to Kale and Rey. "Come on, let's go eat."

The two nodded silently and limping, they followed him out, leaving Nova alone in the now-quiet room.

'If it's just the four of us… does that mean I was the first one to go through their little 'initiation?'' Nova mused. A grin tugged at his lips as he recalled their faces from the night before.

"I'll probably be the last, too," he muttered with a faint laugh.

With that, he stood up and headed for the canteen.

///////////

After finishing breakfast, Nova made his way toward the training grounds.

He'd learned from a quick chat in the canteen where he was expected to train, and the answer brought an unexpected sense of relief.

'For a moment, I thought I'd be stuck in a classroom,' he sighed inwardly. 'At least they teach combat where it belongs, on the field.'

As he approached the area, the sound of movement and shouted commands grew louder. When he finally had a clear view, he saw at least fifteen trainees already hard at work, sweat glistening on their skin as they moved through warm-ups and weapon drills. An instructor, a middle-aged man with cropped hair and a commanding presence, paced among them, observing every motion with sharp eyes.

'Maybe I judged them too quickly,' a hint of respect flashed in his eyes, 'These people are actually training hard.'

Quickening his pace, Nova reached the training grounds just as the instructor's sharp eyes caught sight of him. Without hesitation, the man approached, sizing him up with a quick, appraising glance.

"Name? Weapon?" the instructor asked, nodding slightly in approval as he took in Nova's body.

'No time for small talk? Good.' Nova thought coolly. "Nova. Spear."

"Instructor Morai," the man introduced himself with a firm nod. "I'll be overseeing your training from now on, preparing you for the battlefield so don't slack off if you don't want to die."

With the introductions done, Morai's tone hardened, shifting into strict command, his finger pointing to a spear rack to the side.

"That being said, show me what you can do with that spear."

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