The sun was becoming less visible, and the dark blue ambience of the evening gradually started to appear. Solone was walking back to the dorm the others were in.
This boarding world is changing, a new era is forming. We have a long way to go. We need to learn combat, otherwise... we'd simply be swept away. He soliloquized.
"Am I the only one that misses going to classes?" Kalius asked, placing his legs on the table in front of him. "Tushor's PC was the best. He had Hell's Breach and Rise of the Necromancer, I always looked forward to playing those games every day."
"As for me, I miss playing Rugby with Johel and the others," Thereon said. He was lying on the bed next to the table and chair where Kalius was sitting. "I bet they're now bigger, stronger, and faster than I am now. One body slam from Marcus would send me flying," he added.
"Shit! What about our grades? This is the ninth week; we missed the mid-term assessment test, and now exams are very close," Kalius sat up, his voice carrying the weight of his anxiety.
"I'm surprised you can still worry about academics despite this madness we're in," Thereon responded.
They turned toward the door as Solone opened it and entered.
"You might not be able to worry about academics again, Kalius," Solone said, shutting the door.
"Where'd you go?" Kalius asked.
Solone took off his nose scarf. "I intended to go to the back gate that leads to Athena's, but I stumbled upon an incomplete skating ground."
Errr, how'd you know it was a skating ground if it was incomplete?" Thereon asked.
Solone let out a deep sigh before telling them about his encounter with Huragus Setpiece.
"So there's a student who wields a sword like Luna's and this Setpiece says he's a threat," Hector looked down, pinching his chin.
"And he's heading to if not already in Athena's." Corsair added.
"Yes," Aeron paused before adding. "I was thinking about something while I was going and coming back. We need to learn combat,"
Hearing this, they sat up slowly, their expressions turning serious.
"I've always known I'd have to learn how to fight one of these days, but I just couldn't find the right time," Thereon said, looking down.
"Maybe there's no right time. It's only a matter of time before we find ourselves in a battle again. We need to start training now," Solone responded.
"But the problem is weapons. We don't have any, and we can't use the swords Astrid made since they're not meant for spilling blood. I'm fond of projectiles—if only I had a bow and arrow or something like that," Kalius said.
"You could start practicing with stones or anything throwable that's on this land. We could also start working on our physical attributes like speed, strength, stamina, agility, durability, and the likes," Solone suggested.
"We could do push-ups, sit-ups, jogging, sprinting, skipping, jumping, lifting, dragging—you name it." He took a deep breath and sat down on the bed next to Thereon.
"If only we were strong enough, Emrys would have been here with us right now," he added.
Their eyes shook, their fists clenched in anger and pain.
"Bhung is gone, but more dangerous guys have emerged. In order for us to protect ourselves, we need to get stronger," Solone concluded, looking down with his emerald green eyes.
"Ten reps is my limit, but I promise that today I'll break it and go even further," Thereon looked up and covered his fist with his palm.
"Now I'm fired up! I'm heading outside to commence my training," Kalius stood up from the chair in a hurry and went outside, with Solone and Thereon following.
…
Outside, the cold night air greeted them.
"Sheesh, is winter already here?" Kalius rubbed his body as he shivered.
"Not yet, this place is exceptionally cold at night," Thereon said.
"Just as it is hot in the afternoon," Solone added, frost running from his mouth.
"Let's split up and find what we can use." Kalius headed eastward, Thereon went north, and Solone went west.
Kalius found a cluster of smooth stones of different sizes. He gathered glass bottles and lined ten of them up on a cuboidal plane, its height reaching his chest. Creating some distance, he picked up a stone and aimed at the bottle in the center.
With good precision, the stone struck the bottle, shattering it. He picked up another stone, aimed at the left-side bottle, and broke it as well.
Next, he aimed for the first bottle on his far left, picked up another stone, and rubbed the sand off it.
"Woosh!"
The stone hit the side of the bottle, leaving a crack before bouncing off.
He continued through the evening until no bottle was left standing.