Chapter 66 - Thanks

While Zaos had never done that before, in the end, things proceeded quite well. His squadmates got used to the swords, even though they were sheathed, and their attacks became faster and heavier. That being said, their 'instructor' didn't say or do anything. Considering Elius usual behavior, that was probably good.

However, after a while, everyone's energy and motivation began to drop… they could only move so much with an empty stomach. Even Zaos was feeling quite hungry, and he only used his voice.

"Your first session is over," Elius suddenly said. "Go to your room, and change your clothes before heading to have your breakfast."

"Sir, I want permission to take some shields out of the armory," Zaos said.

"You can take them," Elius said while he was entering the base. "However, if you damage them, you will have to repair them yourselves. You will have to clean them as well."

That goes without saying. Zaos was also planning to teach his squad mates how to do that since that also could prevent accidents. In any case, that was something that could be done later, once they finish the task for the day.

As expected, the kids from Zaos's squad filled their bellies as if they were beasts. The food was good and plenty, so there was no reason not to do so. Zaos wasn't eating as eagerly as them because he was wondering about what he should do after breakfast. They will have three more hours to train, and that seemed a bit too much for rookies considering that Zaos was planning to teach them how to run while maintaining a defensive stance.

In the end, Zaos made a run just for half an hour after breakfast since they weren't completely healed from the journey, and from the rest of the day, Zaos made them get used to fighting while using shields. That seemed like a decent training program for newbies. Still, Zaos decided to ask about Elius's opinion, even if he was a massive pain in the ass.

"Sir, do you think we need to train something else aside from what we just did during the week?" Zaos asked.

"… The basics are more than enough for the time being, as long as you teach them what is necessary to fight as a group, you will be doing your work properly," Elius replied with a serious face instead of an annoyed one for a change.

Considering that those kids' lives will rely on the training they were having now, Elius decided to reply to Zaos's question seriously. In the end, despite everything, he was doing his job correctly as an instructor.

Regardless, now knowing that he was doing the right thing, Zaos kept monitoring his squad. While that probably wouldn't help his fighting style directly, raising a newbie from scratch to a decent warrior probably will help him indirectly.

After the three training sessions, Zaos taught his squad members how to clear and repair his equipment. While they could only learn the basics, it was more than enough for the time being.

During that week, Zaos saw many soldiers coming and going from the base to other areas. Most of them were veterans and the second-and third-year recruits. Fortunately, nothing happened when the number of soldiers increased in the base since all the squads were too busy with their own tasks. That week passed rather fast thanks to that, and Zaos had some unexpected surprises on the sixth day. A few of his squad members came to talk to him, thanking him for the instructions. They did that one at a time since half of the group still was wary of him, and they didn't want to be ostracized by the others.

"There is no need to thank me," Zaos said. "I was just doing my work as a squad leader."

Zaos wasn't bashful. He indeed said what he had thought. If that weren't his job as the squad leader, he would have focused on his own training. Regardless, he didn't have time to think about that. Since his free time was limited, Zaos decided to do some strength training in his room. However, Drannor, who didn't show up all that much during the week, suddenly appeared.

"Hey, Zaos," Drannor said. "It looks like you are finally getting along with your squad, I just saw some of them talking with you."

"What do you want? I have things to do," Zaos said after a long sigh.

"I just wanted to talk about what you guys did this week. I talked with other squad leaders and it looked like we were divided in five groups," Drannor explained. "Some of us studied tactics, others like you had some training outside. My squad only did some strength training along the week inside the base. We didn't even use our weapons."

"What about the others?" Zaos asked.

"I haven't talked with all squad leaders yet," Drannor replied. 

As expected, even the new recruits had several things to do. Zaos had noticed that when he received the document telling him what his squad would do during the week because it said he had to head toward the Southern entrance of the base. So, it means that the other three entrances could be used by other squads.

It looked like Zaos could leave the strength training for later since the instructors could help him with that. Still, Zaos decided to follow his plan. After all, while he could practice his magic, it was dangerous to use inside the base, and he couldn't practice new spells without a magic book. Zaos had used almost all the money he obtained to buy a focus amulet, and while he will receive payment. At the same time, he serves the army. First-years only receive three gold coins per month. At that rate, Zaos will have to wait for three months until he can buy even an intermediate-level magic book and five years to buy a single focus amulet. Considering all that, training his body was the best option he had.