"Focus the majority of your attention on the movement of mana around you while maintaining the flow of a minimum amount of mana at the tip of your magic wands. The moment that you sense hostile magic fluctuations, immediately erect a barrier! Only in this way could you have the chance to survive on the battlefield!" Philome's strict voice rang inside the training room as usual

Her hand was slightly raised casually as she sent out one lightning streak after another to the tribal people recruited by the City of Hope

By now, basically, every tribesman already reached the 1st cycle of Junior Rank and they could fully immerse themselves into the training better suited for their path

Since the tribesmen have a more brutal and aggressive personality, most of them chose to become Body Mages and Philome has few numbers of people to teach and train compared to Wermon

Even then, there were still more than a hundred tribesmen that she has to teach and it was not as easy as it sounds. She wants everyone's ability to improve as only then would they have a higher chance of surviving. Training such a huge number of people wholeheartedly is definitely not that easy

One of her students was none other than Rezen that hissed from the pain. He failed to erect a barrier in time causing one of the lightning streaks that Philome fired to electrocute him

"Fuck!" Rezen cursed after being hit. No matter how many times he experienced this, the lightning attack was still very painful and

"Heh... what a pussy. Aren't you a genius? Why are you crying from that little bit of pain? It's not even that painful" a man not far from Rezen said while addressing him

When Rezen turned to look at the source, he saw a man sneering at him causing him to roll his eyes

That bastard is Ponert and he could be classified as Rezen's hater. Out of all the tribesmen that were recruited from the Drakery Forest, Rezen is the most 'special'

First of all, he is an alchemist. While he was far from being a genius alchemist, an alchemist is still an alchemist. Secondly, he is a forager, both of his occupations earned him a sum of money larger than any other tribesman could earn, causing them to turn green in envy

It has already been a month since the tribesmen entered the City of Hope. That time is not very long but is enough for the tribesmen to understand the value of money

They had seen many things that they want to have but they do not have enough money to buy them. It was inevitable that they would be envious of Rezen that earned way more than them even if they luckily got a job

The last thing that made people hate Rezen is that he chose to become a Deviant. Currently, he is already a 1st cycle Spirit and Body Mage

Even without the teachings from Philome and Wermon, all tribesmen knew just how excruciatingly hard it is to walk the path of a Deviant. As such, none of them chose to be one

Only Rezen was 'arrogant' enough to choose to be one and add that to other things he has that they don't make many tribesmen hate him

Originally, he wants his character to be kind and cheerful but he realizes that it wouldn't work against these people. As such, he changed his persona

"Why? Could it be that only untalented people can cry? Is that the privilege you have that I don't?" Rezen fought back with words and he saw Ponert's expression darken

"Pfft!!"

On Rezen's side, Treen burst out laughing after hearing his words. His initial impression of Rezen is that he is kind and mild-tempered but that changes over the course of a month that they spent in the City of Hope

"Hey, Treen, stop laughing! Do you want Instructor Philome to punish you?!" Jenna immediately said to stop Treen from laughing

If Treen was punished, it is not only he nor the Spirit Mages that would suffer and be punished, basically, everyone inside the training room would also suffer!

This is the way the military is using to force discipline on everyone! The wrong of one is the wrong of everyone. If they don't want to be punished, the tribesmen also have to discipline their people

"I agree! He should stop laughing but it really was funny! Pfft!" Umper that is also nearby agreed but at the same time, she started laughing at Rezen's words

While Rezen's words were not too humorous, they sold well with his tribesmen as they also hate the people that hate him

"Bastards!" Ponert glared at the people of Rezen's tribe that was laughing at him. They are basically saying that he is not as talented as Rezen which might really be the case

Upon entering the City of Hope, Ponert is just an apprentice mage but he was one of the first ones to reach the Junior Rank, causing the others to view him as a genius

However, while Rezen is already a Junior Mage when he joined the city and he is still in the 1st cycle, he is also a Deviant and a Forager. Rezen and Ponert are not the same and it was easy to distinguish who was the more talented between them

"You, people at the back, why are you laughing? Are my teachings funny? How about I also do something funny?"

The thing that Jenna feared really happened. Philome raised her magic wand and lightning struck from above the tribesmen. All of them were struck and none tried to resist

Even if some of them have enough strength to resist, doing so would just result in an even greater punishment until they break

"AAAAHHH!!"

The tribesmen groaned in pain. This is something that they experience every day but pain is still pain!

Fortunately, training is still the priority and the punishment didn't last long and they resumed what they were doing earlier like normal

However, the tribesmen made sure to glare at Rezen and the others as if warning them not to do anything stupid as everyone would be punished if they did so

——

Hours went by and the training for the day was finally finished but before they could return to their dorms, Philome gathered them to announce something

"Everyone, the moment of truth has come. It has been a month since all of you entered the City of Hope and starting tomorrow, a number of you have to enter the battlefield and help humanity create a second city!"

"We did everything we could to train all of you but we know that is not enough. Some of you might not return to us again but I hope that all of you would be safe! Never ever lower your guard on the battlefield if you want to survive for a long time. We hope that you'll return safely!"

It has been a month since the tribesmen entered the city of hope and just like what was agreed upon, after a month, depending on the number of members in a tribe, they have to send people to the battlefield

As for the rest, they would be trained for two more months and after that, they have to choose their own paths. They are recommended to join the military but if they do not want that, their chosen career should be something that would directly benefit the city

They couldn't choose a job such as being a normal staff in the market or a cook in a restaurant. Those civilian jobs are only available to the descendants that they would have

The most direct career path is to join the military but they could also be like Rezen that is an alchemist and forager though both paths are not easy to walk on. If not those jobs, they could be sent into magic stones mines or they could be sent on an expedition to gather resources outside the city

Their chosen job must benefit the city directly and they cannot choose a job that normal civilians have

Rezen does not need to be stressed as his path is already set. He doesn't need to join the military since he is both an alchemist and a forager but the other tribesmen have to carefully consider the job that they would take

"Hehehe, Rezen, does the job of a boy toy is something that would directly benefit the city?" Treen that was on Rezen's side asked him while hitting him with his elbows

As a result, Rezen rolled his eyes. Over the course of a month, Treen continue sleeping with the representative he slept back on the flying ship. Honestly, Rezen didn't expect that those two would screw with each other this long

If Rezen has to work for the things he has, Treen simply has to use a certain part of his body and his 'sponsor' would shower him with gifts. Not only was it easy, the process was also pleasurable