89 Chapter 89: Training Camp II

…what? Were you expecting us to drive past the gates of the city and see mutants or something? Did you want some info dump about the Federation and how they abandoned those poor mutants, who weren't considered citizens? Were you expecting Adam to insult them or do something terrible, and for me to shout at him to stop?

Wrong story, dude. Mutants didn't exist in this world…well, not that kind of mutants, anyway. And there was no reason for a student to randomly act like an asshole just so the readers could hate him, and the protagonist could show off his "values" to get praised by the instructor. Feng Hai wasn't monitoring us, anyway. He couldn't care less what we did inside the bus.

"We're finally here," I marveled as I stared out of the windows and at the inner perimeter of the camp. There were armored vehicles, combat jeeps, main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. This was an infantry and armor regiment camp. In the distance, I could see soldiers running a lap around a massive, grassy field.

Judging from the nets on opposite sides, it appeared the soldiers here sometimes played soccer to maintain fitness or for fun during their breaks. What, you didn't think soldiers get breaks? They are humans too.

"Why is the training held in an army camp?" Terence asked apprehensively, his eyes widening as he took in the sight.

"I thought we were supposed to train in the forest?" Adam added, puzzled.

"We could go straight into the forest if you want. I'm sure you kids would love sleeping out in the jungle."

Feng Hai could hear their questions, even from the front of the bus, and turned back to reply mischievously.

"Uh, no, sir. I like the army camp."

"Yeah, this looks like a great place to train!"

I personally agreed. My goal was to grow stronger…to one day become as strong as my dad. To that end, I had to enroll in a prestigious university and learn even more combat magic and summoning magic. And to earn a position in a prestigious university, I had to achieve a high rank – be among the top hundred. Right now I was two hundred ranks away from my goal. Technically I still had over a year to achieve that, but a lot of things could happen over the twenty months or so. I couldn't afford to let my guard down, and the people in front of me in the rankings weren't going to stay still and let me overtake them. They would also grow stronger.

I glanced at Craig Carlson, who I had drawn with earlier this year. He had also been steadily rising through the ranks, and now he was part of the selected candidates for the training camp. Similarly, Theodore Hammond from Thunder Hammer Society was seated at the front, near Alicia and Miranda. Whoops, did I almost call Alicia Scarlet by mistake? Sorry.

The bus rolled to a stop in front of a building. From what I could see, it resembled a deserted military barracks. No doubt we were expected to share bunks on the levels above. The lights were all off, unlike many of the other buildings, so I figured that Feng Hai reserved the entire building for Jing Tian Academy to use.

"Okay, everybody! We're here! Get off the bus! Make sure you don't leave any of your belongings behind!"

Rising to his feet, Feng Hai stretched himself and ordered us. He was the first out of the doors, flying between them before they could fully open.

"Sir! Yes, sir!"

Standing up, we all dragged our carry-on bags from the overhead compartment, and disembarked in an orderly fashion. Near the base of the bus, the driver had opened an underbelly compartment and was flinging out our luggage one by one. The students quickly moved forward to grab their respective luggage.

Of course, I followed suit.

"That was a long trip. I'm sure you're all exhausted." Feng Hai paused as he swept his gaze across us. "I'll assign you to your rooms. Go up, unpack, and get some rest. We'll fall in at 1500 hours."

I glanced at my smartphone. That was in forty-five minutes. It seemed plenty of time to unpack, but too little time to rest. Not that I was complaining. I wasn't here to enjoy a vacation. I was here to train. And I couldn't wait to get into Sen Lin Forest and begin.

Obviously I didn't voice those thoughts out loud. I wasn't the only one here. My fellow schoolmates were here with me, and I didn't want to drag them along with my selfish desires. They probably needed more rest than I did. Dad threw me into the forest a lot during training, especially when he was teaching me how to avoid professional assassins or kidnappers from criminal organizations. Sometimes humans behaved just like monsters.

"Yes, sir!" everyone shouted enthusiastically. Feng Hai nodded, and then consulted a list. After glancing through it, he began reading out names and telling us who was assigned to which room and which level.

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As expected, the guys were separated from the girls. The girls were housed on the third level while the guys were assigned to the fourth level. There was no elevator except a cargo lift for carrying heavy military goods. But we were not allowed access to it. Feng Hai made it very clear that we were to use the stairs when leaving or returning to our rooms. We could only use the elevator if we were ferrying heavy military equipment, and even then we had to get permission from Feng Hai first. Otherwise, we would get punished.

Luggage, unfortunately, did not count as "military equipment." Not unless, as Feng Hai said, we were willing to "donate" our personal belongings to the military. So we had to carry our luggage up four flight of stairs (the guys, anyway).

Good thing I didn't bring much stuff for this training camp. Dad had always taught me how to survive on a minimalist luggage in the wild.

"Huff…huff…"

Panting, the guys staggered into the corridor of the fourth level, and then glanced around for their rooms. Mine was the furthest from the stairs, and I dragged my luggage across. Entering the bunk, I looked inside and cocked my head.

Just as I thought, a military bunk. It was a pretty Spartan room, with a single table at the back. Ten beds were lined up against the walls, five on each side, and each had a single locker standing beside them.

While we were assigned to rooms, we could freely choose which bed we wanted. I called dibs on one of the beds closest to the window, pulling my luggage and placing it beside the bunk. Opening the locker, I glanced inside and grimaced as dust spilled out.

Not ideal, but I could live with it.

"Man…this sucks…"

Dong Fang Yue Chu grumbled as he settled down on the bed beside mine. Opposite me, Craig grabbed the bunk beside the window, while Theodore dropped on the bed beside the president of the Crimson Spear Society.

"What? Don't you want to become stronger?" Theodore asked him snidely. Dong Fang Yue Chu nodded.

"Of course I do…"

"Then suck it up," Craig told him impatiently. "Quit your whining. You think it's easy to become strong? If it is, then anyone can become strong without working hard." He gestured at the Spartan bunk around us. "Only when we test our limits and overcome them will we truly become strong."

I swallowed and nodded in agreement while becoming wary inside. As I suspected, while I was climbing the ranks, Craig wasn't standing still either. He was definitely more formidable than when I fought him a few months ago.

The same went for Theodore. I could detect a potent energy rippling from him that wasn't there previously. The berserker probably doubled in strength, at the very least. I wondered if he had become powerful enough to wrestle with one of my Celestial Guardians.

That was a terrifying thought. I already had enough formidable rivals, and now these guys were snapping at my heels! Speaking of which, I had a draw with Craig, so it wasn't even as if I was ahead of them in the first place.

"For now, grab some rest. The real training will begin in thirty minutes."

Craig lay on the bed, his feet propped up on the metallic railing at the foot of the furniture. Unlike him, I busied myself by unlocking my luggage and unpacking. Since we had a locker, we might as well use it. There were a couple of drawers, several compartments for folded clothing, and a single tall space for hanging uniforms. That was where I hung my school uniform, while I folded home clothing (which would be used for sleeping and hanging out in the bunk) and stuffed them in the compartments. The valuables such as cards, money wallet and smartphone were placed inside the drawer.

No, dude. I wasn't talking about Magic Cards or Pokémon cards. I was referring to ATM debit cards and identity cards. Even in this digital age, we still relied on debit cards and identification cards for a lot of things.

With that done, I then flopped down on my bed. Even though I felt sleepy, I didn't manage to doze off. Five minutes prior to 1500, I finally suppressed my reluctance and swung my legs out of bed. Putting on my shoes, I got up.

"Let's go."

"Hmm? Yeah." Dong Fang Yue Chu glanced at me and nodded. Craig and Theodore and the other six guys followed my lead, and we all practically flew down the stairs. We only needed a minute to descend four flights of stairs.

Feng Hai was already waiting for us there. He nodded at us approvingly, and then raised his head. The girls weren't here yet, and some of the guys from the other rooms were still milling about in the corridor.

"Fall in right now!" Feng Hai hollered, his voice so loud that it almost shattered our eardrums. The guys already there in the square clutched at their ears and winced. "I told you 1500, didn't I? You only have a minute left before time is up!"

The guys upstairs were visibly hurrying, almost diving down the stairs in single bound. Some of them were actually using magic to enhance their speed. The girls were a little slower, but they were rushing out with a sense of urgency.

…it was too late.

"Take your bloody sweet time, eh? What's the matter with all of you?!"

By the time the entire group had assembled, it was 1502. Two minutes over. Feng Hai was furious at our tardiness.

"With an attitude like that, no wonder Jing Tian Academy's ranking has fallen so much! You're pathetic! No discipline, no sense of urgency at all! If this was real combat, people would have lost their lives while you're dilly-dallying! You want to responsible for their deaths?"

Everyone hang their heads in shame.

"Hey! I'm asking you a question! Are you deaf?!"

"No, sir!"

Feng Hai shook his head in disgust, and then placed his hands on his hips.

"Looks like I'll have to whip you maggots into shape." He jerked his head toward the red track that circled the soccer field. "All of you, get to the track. In thirty seconds!"

This time, everyone ran. Nobody wanted to face the consequences of being late.

Feng Hai clapped his hands as we all stumbled into the track, panting and red-faced. The distance between the square outside our barracks and the track was several hundred meters. It wasn't something that could easily be covered in thirty seconds, not unless we used magic. And so we did.

"Good job. All of you made it. But…did I say you can use magic?"

"Eh? But, sir, you didn't say we can't use magic either…" Terence protested as he wiped the perspiration from his face.

"That's true. That's my fault." Feng Hai smiled coldly as he admitted his "mistake." "Then I'll be clear now. You're not allowed to use magic during training."

Everyone stared at each other in dismay.

"So let's begin. I'm going to whip all of you into physical shape." His grin grew, and I was reminded of a shark somehow. "All of you seem to fall under the mistaken impression that as long as you have powerful magic, you're invincible. But let me tell you this…your physical fitness and strength…the condition of your body is also just as important! Your teachers probably already taught you this…but their standards are too low. I'm going to whip you all into a satisfactory shape!"

He swung his hand down. "250 pushups! 250 sit-ups! Then 50 laps around the track!"

"…eh?!"

Feng Hai glared at all of us when he heard several cries of disbelief. A murderous aura seemed to ooze out of his every pore.

"Do you need me to repeat myself? If I have to repeat myself, I'll double the number."

"Sir, yes, sir!"

Every single student immediately dropped down without hesitation and began their pushups.