Chain of Command (2)
The class just finished checking their test papers.
Vivian scored 25/25 once again.
She got up to receive the logbook from Gars and immediately started recording the scores.
"Sally?"
"23."
"Diane?"
"22."
"Uliah?"
"23."
"Zean?"
"25."
"Crew?"
"24."
"Radford?"
"10."
When the class heard Radford's score, they all groaned and were looking at him with murderous intent.
Vivian turned to Gars.
"Continue recording everyone's score," he said and smiled.
"Yes, Brother High Lieutenant…"
In the end, out of the 18 recruits, 10 people got below 20 points.
And Radford wasn't even the lowest. There was one who only scored 8 points.
Gars went back to the blackboard, picked up a chalk and began writing.
It was the same topic -- the Chain of Command in the Holy Crusade.
After writing, he turned to face the class.
"I'll give you 30 minutes to study and then we'll have a test. The same rules apply."
Many people groaned and looked at the people who scored below 20 points in the last test.
***
They were done checking their test papers.
Vivian got up and began recording the test scores.
"Sally?"
"25."
"Diane?"
"25."
"Uliah?"
"25."
"Zean?"
"25."
"Crew?"
"25."
"Radford?"
"13."
Everyone groaned in pain.
One recruit, who had enough, got up from his seat and pointed at Radford.
"HOW MUCH OF AN IMBECILE ARE YOU?! IT'S BASICALLY THE SAME TOPIC AND TEST FOR THE THIRD TIME!"
Many of the recruits, especially the women, were surprised by the sudden outburst.
But due to their frustration, they also began hurling insults at Radford, especially the ones who already gave their score.
Vivian turned to Gars.
But instead of helping Vivian, he smiled at her.
"What are you going to do, SISTER PLATOON LEADER?"
Seeing that she wasn't getting any help from GaRS, she returned her gaze to the class.
"Everyone!" she shouted.
Unfortunately, many of the recruits were already too frustrated that they ignored her.
"EVERYONE!" she shouted once again.
However, it was still the same.
BAM!
A loud noise erupted inside the classroom, causing everyone to stop and turn to the direction of where the noise came from.
Vivian slapped her hand on the desk of Gars.
"We're in front of an officer. We can't act like this.
"Look. I know we're all frustrated but a mission is a mission. And our mission right now is for everyone to get a score of at least 20 points."
"And how are we going to do that when there are some stupid people among us?" asked a Priest.
"Yeah, how? Some people are just so stupid," a Priestess added.
Meanwhile, a number of the recruits nodded in agreement.
"I have an idea."
Vivian turned to Gars.
"Brother High Lieutenant."
"What is it?"
"During the study time, are we allowed to tutor each other?"
"I will allow that."
"Thank you, Brother High Lieutenant!"
"Continue recording everyone's scores."
"Yes, Brother High Lieutenant!"
After Vivian was done recording everyone's scores, the class found out that out of the 18 recruits, 8 people scored below 20 points.
Gars went back to the blackboard and wrote the same topic once again.
Once he was done writing, she turned around and faced the class.
"I'll give you 30 minutes to study. After that, I'll give you a test. The same rules apply."
A number of the recruits got up from their seats and began tutoring the ones who scored below 20 points.
***
An hour later…
Everyone was done checking the test papers.
No one said a word.
Vivian got up from her seat and began recording.
"Sally?"
"25."
"Diane?"
"25."
"Uliah?"
"25."
"Zean?"
"25."
"Crew?"
"25."
"Radford?"
"20."
Hearing Radford's score, a sigh of relief echoed throughout the classroom.
Even Vivian wasn't able to help herself to let one out as well before continuing to record the scores.
Halfway through, Vivian called out a name.
"Samantha?"
"19…" Samantha replied in a shaky voice.
Everyone turned to her.
She covered her face with her hands and began sobbing.
"I-I'm sorry…! I'm sorry…! I made a mistake with the spelling and --…!"
She started to sob uncontrollably.
The rest of the class began murmuring to each other, most of them angry that Samantha scored below 20 points.
Two Priestesses sitting beside her stood up and consoled her.
"Everyone!" Vivian said and everyone turned to her. "It's only 1 point. This is a big improvement compared to the last 3 tests. We're almost there. One more test and we'll be done! Please go back to your seats."
The 2 Priestesses consoling Samantha went back to their seats.
Vivian resumed calling out names to record their scores.
"Roderick?"
"21."
"Turd?"
"25."
In the end, out of the 18 new recruits, 3 scored below 20 points.
Gars went back to the blackboard and began writing the same topic.
After writing, he turned around to face the class.
"I'll give you 30 minutes to study and then we'll have a test. The same rules apply."
A number of people got up and began tutoring each other, especially the ones got scored below 20 points.
***
An hour later…
Everyone was done checking the test papers.
Silenced enveloped the room as Vivian got up to record the scores.
"Sally?"
"25."
"Diane?"
"25."
"Uliah?"
"25."
"Zean?"
"25."
"Crew?"
"25."
Before Vivian could call out the next name, everyone's eyes were on Radford.
"Radford?"
"22."
A sigh of relief echoed through the room and everyone turned to the next recruit who scored below 20 in the last time.
Vivian continued calling until she reached Samantha.
"Samantha?"
"23."
Another sigh of relief echoed throughout the room.
In the end, everyone scored at least 20 points and a couple of cheers erupted from the new recruits.
"Yeah!"
"Praise the God of Light!"
"Finally!"
"Thank you, God of Light!"
"Crusaders!" Gars' voice echoed throughout the room, catching everyone's attention.
"Congratulations," he said and smiled before turning to Vivian. "Squad Leader Vivian, if you may."
"Yes, Brother High Lieutenant," Vivian went over to Gars and placed the logbook on top of his desk before heading back back to her seat.
"Now we move to the next topic. Battle Formations," he said and grinned.
He grabbed a piece of chalk and began writing on the board.
Everyone had a dark expression on their faces. However, their eyes were filled with determination, making sure that they paid close attention and score high on the next exam.
The topic about the battle formations was, of course, mainly about battle formations. There were also command calls and signals such as stop, charge, march, and other commands. Even the proper way to salute and stand was discussed.
Once Gars was done explaining, he turned to the class.
"Does anyone have any questions?"
The class was silent and a few looked at the new recruits who struggled to get a score of at least 20 points.
Seeing no one was raising their hands, Gars moved to the next agenda.
"Okay, for this topic, there will be 2 tests."
A number of the recruits gasped.
"The first test is a written exam and the second test is a practical exam. And of course, it will be all about this topic."
Vivian raised her hand.
"What is it, Sister Platoon Leader Vivian?" asked Gars.
She got up and saluted.
"Brother High Lieutenant, may I ask 2 questions?"
"You may."
"What is the passing mark for the 2 tests?"
"Everyone must have an above-average score."
"Thank you, Brother High Lieutenant. For my second question: Is it possible to ask for 30 minutes of group study before we take the tests?"
"Okay, I will allow that."
"Thank you, Brother High Lieutenant!"
As much as possible, Vivian wanted to avoid wasting time. After all, there were 2 tests this time.
She turned towards her fellow recruits and picked 4 who always maintained a high score.
"Zean, Kara, Brava, Turd."
"I want the 4 of you to be the main tutors. I will also assist in case any of you need help."
"Yes, Sister Platoon Leader!" they replied.
***
An hour later…
The class just finished checking the test papers for the written exam.
Everyone was looking at each other as Vivian got up to record the scores.
"Sally?"
"25."
"Diane?"
"25."
"Uliah?"
"25."
"Zean?"
"25."
"Crew?"
"24."
"Radford?"
"18."
Hearing Radford score 18 points, a worried look appeared on the faces of the recruits.
Vivian continued calling the names to record the test scores until she was done.
"How many scored at below 15 points?" Gars asked.
"No one, Brother High Lieutenant," replied Vivian.
"How many scored below 20 points?"
"4, Brother High Lieutenant."
"And your score?"
"25 points, Brother High Lieutenant."
Gars picked up a chalk and began writing.
When the recruits saw what Gars was writing, some groaned because it was the same topic. On the other hand, a few remained optimistic, thinking that it was part of the second test, which was a practical exam.
After Gars was done writing, he turned around and faced the class.
"We're going to have the same exam. You have 30 minutes to study. If any of you scored below 20 points, we're going to repeat it."
Everyone groaned.
***
An hour later…
The class was done checking the test papers.
Vivian got up from her seat and began recording the scores.
"Sally?"
"25."
"Diane?"
"25."
"Uliah?"
"25."
"Zean?"
"25."
"Crew?"
"25."
"Radford?"
"20."
A sigh of relief echoed throughout the classroom.
Vivian was no different. She also let out a sigh of relief. But at the same time, she felt bad for Radford. Although he wasn't the one who scored the lowest because he was usually the second or third lowest, he was among the first 10 people to be called.
Vivian was finally done recording the scores and turned to Gars.
"Brother High Lieutenant! Everyone scored at least 20 points."
"We're heading to the field for the practical exam."
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Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
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