The real training began after breakfast.
First came weapon practice. Each elite cadet trained with their chosen weapon, refining technique under the watchful eyes of the instructors.
Sandy wielded daggers—light and swift—moving with unmatched agility. He had trained with them since childhood, his strikes precise and almost imperceptible in speed, weaving offense and defense together like a dance.
Nikks gripped a sword, heavy and punishing. Each swing struck like a gale-force wind, designed to overwhelm opponents through raw strength and perfect timing.
Jane specialized in archery. For close combat, she carried a knife. She came from a family of warriors—her father a rare and powerful elemental warrior, and one of the most respected figures in the entire E5 Zone.
Kael was a sword expert. Alongside Nikks, he was one of the two most proficient cadets in the training camp. He hailed from a lineage of sword masters, his own father among them, and practiced his family's sword art in silence.
Dorion was a giant in a man's skin. He wielded two heavy, double-handed axes with ease, his bloodline's strength speaking for itself.
Hours passed. Sweat soaked their clothes, muscles burned, and focus sharpened with every strike and parry.
As evening approached, it was time for sparring.
The elite cadets squared off in pairs while instructors observed closely.
Sandy and Nikks faced each other. The familiar rhythm returned—the wind against the gale.
Sandy's daggers were like the wind: swift, slicing, unpredictable. He darted in and out, parried cleanly, and exploited every opening without ever overextending. Nikks' sword was the gale: heavy, overwhelming, relentless. Every clash sent sparks flying. Years of sparring had balanced them—sometimes Sandy edged out a win, sometimes Nikks—but both wielded their weapons with absolute mastery.
They moved faster, hit harder, and pushed further than anyone else. The yard echoed with the clash of steel, dust and sweat flying with each exchange.
Then something extraordinary happened.
As Nikks swung his sword in a precise overhead strike, a surge of lightning coursed along the blade, crackling through the air. The ground hummed beneath his feet.
Nikks' eyes widened with exhilaration.
He had awakened.
The other cadets froze. Awakening required a body strong enough to withstand the surge of power, and Nikks' success spoke volumes of his talent, discipline, and years of unrelenting effort.
After a long pause that felt like eternity, Nikks snapped out of his stupor. A wide grin spread across his face.
He had done it.
But one person's joy outshone even his own.
Facing him, Sandy Wills felt a surge of pride and happiness. His friend—his partner through countless drills—had unlocked a power that many cadets could only dream of.