[Training Begins]

SAMANTA

"Nggh..."

When I woke up, the sun was already at its peak. The chirping of birds, the rustling of leaves, everything seemed to be normal. If I have to be honest, this might probably be the most normal day that I ever did wake up since the apocalypse. 

I looked around but I didn't found Ray. His mattress and bedsheets were neatly folded over the side. When could he have woke up? I wondered. Normally, I'm not that heavy of a sleeper, especially now that the circumstances requires caution. You will never know when a monster will attack the academy, so we need to be on guard at all times.

After tidying up my-- Angel's--bed, I quickly fixed myself. I know that maintaining beauty is not necessary right now, but as a woman, there is a universal instinct to look best at all times. Fortunately, Angel left almost all of her beauty products here in the academy, so I have a variety of options. Then after that, I finally made my way out of the room to start a brand new day after the catastrophe.

-

Walking for a while, I finally got the time to witness how the changes affect everyone. Although, most of the people in the Academy are currently away to save their love ones, some students chose to stay and try to make a living in the academy.

These people are not necessarily fighters though a lot of them can wield mana to the survival extent. Hell, some people can even use mana to enhance their bodies, so they can work better and more efficiently.

The work of everyone varied; most men were assigned to work on labor and reparation of the academy, while the females were assigned in cooking and hygiene maintenance. The two sex cooperate with each other to ensure survival and improvement.

After walking for a few more breathes, I finally found a familiar face.

"Sammy~ How are you? Did you get a good rest?"

Ramielle enthusiastically asked, and we exchanged a few words of pleasantries. Despite not being as close to her as Angel, she and I still has an amenable relationship. Although our characteristics heavily differ, as fellow women, we still share the same opinion on other things.

*Growls*

"Uh... Sam?"

Since I was too exhausted after our fight with the Infernal Hound, I did not bother to eat supper last night. Now, I am paying the price of my action. However, I was too ashamed to speak and say that I was starving.

"Do you want to have breakfast?"

Fortunately for me, Ramielle already know about my abashed nature, so she didn't have a problem identifying my thoughts. I didn't speak to answer but just nodded my head instead. 

-

"So, what kind of can food are we eating today?"

I asked jokingly but also a bit seriously. I am not really that picky of an eater, but it just leaves a bad feeling on the stomach to eat canned goods on every meal, especially for me who ate homecooked foods everyday. A perk of being in a loving and caring family.

"Today's meal is a little special."

However, contrary to my expectations, Ramielle didn't answer blatantly and spoke mysteriously instead.

"Special? How so?"

"You will see."

After walking for a few more minutes, we finally arrived in the cooking area.

"I told you it's not like that. You should hold it and position your hand like a claw. That way, you have a firm grip of the vegetable."

I could hear another familiar voice resonating in the front. Our cooking area is somewhat in the open space. The space was used before as a practice grounds for dances and other extracurricular activities, but now we use it for cooking and making meals for everyone.

"Like this?"

I could also hear another voice, though I don't whom it belonged to.

"Yeah, like that. Then use your thumb as a guide to move around the vegetable. That way, you won't cut yourself."

Ramielle and I walked together before finally seeing the people talking. Normally, the cooking area would be full of people waiting to have their ration, but weirdly enough, it was empty today. There were also a circular wooden table near the area with two chairs arranged beside it.

Miel sat on one of the chairs without notice, and beckoned for me to sit on the other chair. At first, I was reluctant but after several call out from her, I finally submitted and sat down as well. This bizarre situation brought a feeling of both surprise and uneasiness. After all, humans typically fear the unknown.

"Ray is like a big ol' rock when he's on the zone isn't he? Never noticing his surroundings and whatnot."

Miel started to converse with me in hopes of lightening my mood.

"You think so? I believe that he's doing it on purpose."

'Someone like him who has a lot of experience fighting and sensing out monsters would have no problem sensing humans as well, and it's not like we are trying to hide ourselves either way.'

"Why would he do it on purpose though? Wouldn't it be better to talk to us instead?"

"You know what they say, sometimes ignorance is bliss. He believe that not interacting with us is the best thing to right now."

"God, he should just be honest with his feelings."

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

-

RAY

"How is the taste? Is it sweet enough?"

"Yeah, brother Ray. It tastes good."

"Lancemeir, I keep telling you to just call me Ray. There's no need for formalities."

I scooped a serving of the food onto a bowl, and garnished it with some chopped green onions. It's been a while since I last cooked a hearty meal, so it really did bring back memories to cook today. Ever since I got used to living alone, I stopped cooking for myself, and just ate store bought food instead.

"Brother Ray, if I may ask, for what reason did you wanted to cook today? Is it because you wanted to cook for sister... or what?"

"Haha. You don't have to hide it. Just say what you want. But, yes, a reason why I wanted to cook is to cook for her, but another reason is that because I want to enjoy my time in the academy. The last few days were quite hectic, and I rarely did have a chance to unwind."

'More specifically, I didn't allow myself to unwind. My sense of responsibility calls for me to move and save lives.'

After finishing preparing the dish, I quickly head over towards the two ladies, and served their food.

-

"Whoa, Peanut Beef Stew? So extra."

Ramielle was the first one to react after seeing the food. Peanut Beef Stew is a traditional dish, but it takes too long to cook as you would need to tenderize the meat first. However, with the help of a pressure cooker and a little bit of elemental power (fire) it was considerably easy to cook.

As expected, Samanta didn't express anything special, and just thanked me instead. This wasn't new to me, so I didn't bother to react. However, this doesn't mean that I was disheartened. To say that I tried my best to impress her isn't wrong in the slightest.

Though fate had other plans.

"Ray."

"Hmm?"

"Meet me at the courtyard later."

-

After tasking Lancemeir to wash the dishes. I swiftly changed my clothes and went over to the courtyard. I have no idea what Samanta wants, but a summon is a summon. As I walk toward the courtyard, I could see her already waiting for me.

"Yo."

I tried to greet her, but was greeted with silence instead. At this point, the atmosphere was already too tense. I don't have a clue on what she wants, or whatever that she wants to hear from me, so I reciprocated her silence as well.

"What plans do you have for our future?"

Suddenly, she broke the silence with a question.

"H-huh? What do you mean?"

'Our future? Is this one of those talk?'

"Not that future! The future of us here in the academy. What do you plan to do when all this shit gets over?

She, after realizing the double meaning of her question, quickly clarified herself.

"Oh, that? To be honest with you, I also have no clue where to go from now. Samanta, we are just teenagers. Sure, we might have some experience about the hardships of life, but in the end that's all it amounts to. No matter what path we take, we will surely go through tough times, because that is who we are. That is what we're supposed to experience. In order to rise we must first fall."

"You said a lot. You always do. Sure, you may be right. We may be immature to tackle this world by ourselves, but who do we rely on to? Who will come save us if a monster stronger than the Infernal Hound came to demolish the academy? If what you said about going through hardships is right, then isn't what we're going through right now already hard? Isn't trying to survive by ourselves considered as a tough time? Will the adults act as our god?"

"Then what do you suggest we do? It's not like we can always be like this. Sooner or later, more and more enemies will appear. If we don't act now, then it will already be too late."

"Is it impossible to live off ourselves? Why should we seek others if we can protect each other here? Why should we try to save everyone when we know that we can't go back to how things used to be? Is it because of morality? Of humanity?"

"Because it's right. Listen, I'm not saying that we should live just to save others and rebuild what we lost. I know for a fact that you want to explore this whole mana thing already to find a way to bring your family back to life, but first we must create a foundation. We need to put everyone on a solid ground. How about this, after we make sure that everyone can survive with us, I will help you find a way to revive your family even if we have to journey the world?"

"Alright, but why are you going to such lengths to help me?"

"I have nothing to do in this world anyway. No one is expecting anything from me, so why not just do anything?"

"Don't you have a dream yourself?"

"Oh, believe me I do. That's why I'm going to help you."

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Anyway, did you just call me here to ask me that?"

"No, there is another reason why I summoned you."

Samanta took out two wooden sword from an old sack of rice. I didn't know where she got it, probably from some shop in Karisa. I must say, this development really is peculiar.

"It's time to begin improving ourselves."

I guess our training now begins.

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