...< Loud coughing sound >...
"The suit is damaged, maybe I'll just put the helmet back on," Zeus thought as he covered his nose and mouth with his shirt before pulling out the damaged helmet. When he noticed the metal was slightly bent, he placed it back in its place.
"I should get a new one anyway. Man, I'm lucky I survived. Maybe I should reactivate some movement glyphs in my legs — could've lessened the impact more."
Zeus's body currently had only energy storage glyphs to support the suit's shield to the max, as his weapons already gave him sufficient power. His daggers and chains, when wrapped around his body, allowed him to use their movement glyphs to enhance his mobility enough to compensate for the lack of physical movement glyphs.
(One of the nearby vegetable vendors): "There's a shadow coming out!"
The man ran off, and so did the rest of the people — except for the soldiers who were quickly gathering in the area.
The dust cloud slowly cleared, and when the soldiers saw Zeus, they lowered their weapons. Zeus noticed the expressions of shock and confusion on each of their faces.
(Entrance guard captain): "Sir, what happened!?"
(Zeus, exhausted): "Nothing important. I was just testing some weapons. Return to your posts."
"What kind of insane weapons are those!!" the soldiers thought, eyes wide open in disbelief.
(Zeus): "By the way, have any newcomers arrived with children from nearby villages?"
(Entrance guard captain): "Yes, delegations from several villages arrived about an hour ago, with many children and young teens."
Zeus smiled happily and ran off quickly.
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.
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(Village reception hall deep in the mountain)
(Marwan): "Where is Zeus? ...< sound of call ringing >... Tell me, what was that noise?"
(Soldier on the other end of the call): "That was Zeus running tests on new weapons."
"What nonsense is this!?" Marwan thought in confusion, then said,
"Tell him to come to the guest palace as quickly as possible."
(Soldier): "Sir, he already left for you two minutes ago."
...< Sound of the massive door swinging open forcefully >...
Zeus entered with calm steps that contrasted sharply with his chaotic appearance and heavy breathing. Marwan stared at him in shock.
(Marwan, speaking to the soldier): "Are you sure he left just two minutes ago?"
"Yes sir, two minutes and forty seconds."
(Khaled): "Did someone beat you up?"
(Zeus, nonchalantly): "No, I just fell off the mountain top."
"This bastard! He treats us like fools!" thought both Khaled, Zahraa, and another man.
As for Marwan, he had already received reports from soldiers about something falling from the sky.
Marwan rubbed his forehead between his brows, then pointed to a group of children sitting calmly and orderly.
Nineteen children to be exact, with varying ages — the youngest around 7 years old and the oldest about 15.
(Zeus): "How are you, future champions?"
Some of the older ones replied:
"We're fine, sir. How are you?"
"As you can see, I'm in top shape."
"Yeah, that's obvious," thought some of the kids.
(Zeus): "You might be tired from the trip, so today I'll show you around the village, and tomorrow we can head to the camp."
(Marwan): "These kids are under your care starting today. Also, Khaled, Zahraa, and Amjad will be training them with you. Show them the camp and then decide how to organize the training. Now, excuse me — I'm taking a leave. I have some business and won't be able to join you today."
"Damn it! I didn't ask for trainers!! This wasn't part of the plan!" Zeus thought.
(Zeus, to the guard at the door): "Brother, come here for a moment."
"Your orders, sir?"
"Take our guests to the dining hall."
The soldier hesitated slightly and whispered into Zeus's ear:
"We don't have a dining hall, sir. We haven't built anything except this reception hall yet."
Zeus whispered back:
"Wait, then where will these people sleep?"
The soldier stayed silent, and Zeus froze with a goofy smile.
(Zeus): "You know what, forget that. Why don't we visit the local diners? This way you'll get familiar with them in case you ever want to go there. Also, we can start our journey early and sleep at the camp tonight."
(Zahraa, whispering to Khaled): "I feel like something fishy is going on."
(Khaled, whispering): "Everything is fishy with this guy."
(Amjad): "Children, stand and line up!"
Amjad was a man from Scorpion Village — a place known for breeding venomous scorpions and producing poisons, home to many chemists.
Amjad was one of the village's promising experts, sent to teach the children some academic and theoretical subjects to make their training more comprehensive and efficient.
He also had some medical knowledge thanks to his chemistry background, experience making antidotes, and his personal studies in medical — especially emergency — fields.
...
The group headed into the streets as Zeus gave them a full tour of the city, showing them its main shops and landmarks.
At the end of the tour, as the sun set, they headed to the camp.
Its location was atop a nearby mountain to the village, one of the mountains whose tunnels and homes connected deep within the village.
The summit wasn't steep, but rather smooth and linked with other peaks in the rugged and vast geography.
There was enough flat and spacious land to establish future camp facilities and build main roads — a big upgrade from the current climbing route.
Khaled's hand appeared at the edge, and he climbed up as the last member of the group.
"Two tents? Is this the camp!?" Khaled thought in shock.
A strong wind blew, forcing Khaled to shield his eyes and scan the area carefully.
He saw nothing but two large tents pitched near a natural trench surrounded by three tall cliffs that blocked the wind somewhat.
(Amjad): "What's going on here?"
(Zeus): "Simple — one tent for males, one for females."
(Khaled): "If you're not ready yet, why did you bring us!?"
(Zeus): "We're at our best readiness. This is all part of the training. Even building the camp and turning it into an academy is part of the journey."
"Why do I feel like he brought us here just to work and not for training!?" everyone thought the same, and for a moment — bathed in the orange-red rays of sunset — they all felt like they were standing before a demon in this isolated, cold place.
.
.
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(The next day)
Everyone had gone to bed at 8 PM the night before, and now, at 4 AM, Zeus — who hadn't been able to sleep — woke up.
"Time to wake up these lazybones."
Zeus stepped out of the tent and headed to a nearby spot behind the cliff, only about 40 meters from the tents.
"Let's see... are my calculations right? Yeah, I think this rock wall will shield the tents from shrapnel. But the sound... well," Zeus smiled, his eyes gleaming under the moonlight.
Then it happened — an explosion rocked the place.
The sound shocked all the kids, birds, insects, and even distant animals. Even Marwan, sleeping back in the village, woke up because of it.
The children rushed out of the tents like birds fleeing their treetop nests.
Khaled and Amjad rushed to organize and guard them, staying alert and ready for a possible enemy.