Training Camp

Day of Fratur, 3:00 am.

Tang!

Tang!

Tang!

A clanging noise echoed throughout the room where all of the Priestesses from the Luxen and Heisen Chapter Temples were staying at.

"Get up! On your feet!" the voice of Julia echoed throughout the room.

Aside from her plain white shirt and a pair of brown pants and boots along with a small metal plate pinned on her shirt which indicated her rank, she was carrying a sword and shield.

Julia continued shouting and banging her sword against her shield as she stormed inside the room.

"Get up!"

Tang!

"Hurry up and wear your uniform!"

Tang!

Last night, they were issued with 2 white shirts, and a pair of brown pants and boots.

"If I see you without your uniform you're going to regret it!"

"Why are you taking so long?!"

Vivian, who just finished changing, stood in attention.

Last night, the ones who already experienced participating in the Holy Crusades told the newcomers what was going to happen in the morning so some of them half-wore their uniforms before going to bed.

Once everyone was done, Julia went near the door.

"I want everyone to stand in attention here!"

"Those who are slow are going to get a personal surprise from me!"

Everyone rushed in front of her and formed a line.

"We're going out to have a little exercise," she said and turned away.

***

Julia led the women out in an open wide field under the night sky.

From a distance, the men who arrived yesterday were also there and they were already jogging around the field.

Julia turned around and faced the women.

"All of you are going to jog for 10 laps!

"Those who get left behind will get extra laps!

"And no one can leave until you've completed all of the laps!

Vivian, who was listening, couldn't help but smile inside her head.

Only 10 laps…?

The fuck…

After all, combined with her stats, the kind of grinding she has been doing ever since she arrived in this world and her experience as a fit person back in her previous world, 10 laps was nothing.

"And no magic!

"If I see anyone use magic, I'll personally beat you myself first before kicking you out of this Training Camp!

"Now go!"

The women began jogging.

Well, most of them, except for 3 women.

Although they were technically "jogging", they didn't slow down their agility so they looked more like running.

There were also a number of women who didn't know how to jog that some looked like stop-motion actors while others were just flailing their arms around like a T-rex.

Kara was one of the T-rex runners.

As for Marie and Elena, they had nice forms but still looked a little stiff in Vivian's eyes.

Vivian's jaw dropped.

Well…

This is a medieval world…

And there's magic…

So I guess sports science has yet to catch up…

Not to mention they're also women…

Vooom!

Julia burst out in a run to the 3 women who were "running".

Pah!

Bam!

Pah!

Pah!

"WHAT ARE YOU IDIOTS DOING?!"

The 3 women looked at Julia with a surprised and confused expression.

In their minds, they were "strong" and wanted to show off their speed by jogging faster.

"THIS ISN'T AN INDIVIDUAL PRACTICE!

"STAY WITH THE GROUP!"

"YES, MA'AM!" replied the women.

"THAT'S SISTER HIGH LIEUTENANT FOR YOU, YOU IDIOTS!"

"YES, SISTER HIGH LIEUTENANT!"

The 3 women then joined back to the group.

Vivian knitted her brows.

That Julia…

I didn't expect her to be as fast as me…

Based on Vivian's eyes, Julia appeared to be in her late 20s. And when it comes to Physical and Magic Force, Vivian was somewhere between Orichalcum and Adamantite.

Or maybe she wasn't using her full speed…?

Vivian shook her head mentally.

I'm still so fucking weak…!

She then glanced at the 3 women who got scolded by Julia.

These 3 are definitely weaker…

And from Vivian's eyes, they seemed to be between their late teens and early 20s.

***

4 laps later…

Most of the newcomers started to lag behind.

"I DIDN'T ORDER YOU TO REST! KEEP JOGGING!" Julia shouted from afar.

Even from the men's group, they were no different.

"YOU BUNCH OF WORTHLESS TRASH DARE TO CALL YOURSELF CRUSADERS?! JOG, YOU IDIOTS!!!" the male instructor shouted at the men.

Unlike the women, the men were woken up at 2:00 a.m. and had to complete 20 laps.

***

Some time later…

4:00 a.m.

Most of the men completed their 20 laps and most of the women completed their 10 laps and were resting also. And between the people who still haven't completed their laps, most of them were women.

And Kara was one of them.

Vivian and the rest suddenly heard some noise and noticed that a new set of groups entered the field.

Last night, when the Luxen and Heisen Chapter Temple had dinner at the cafeteria, they bumped into another group of recruits.

Vivian found out that they were from other Chapter Temples and arrived much earlier, while others were from the Holy City Chapter Temple. They were all staying in different rooms.

They began jogging.

So they also do these, huh…

And just like the Luxen and Heisen Chapter Temple, the men had to complete 20 laps while the women had 10 laps.

Would it be like this every morning…?

Vivian turned to Marie.

"Sister, do all Priests that join the Holy Crusade have to participate in this?"

As far as Vivian knows, Marie and Elena weren't newcomers and had participated in Holy Crusades before. However, she didn't spot Isaac and Cornelio among the men.

"Once you reach the rank of at least High Lieutenant, you won't have to participate in this," said Marie.

"Or before your Holy Crusade contract ends, you renewed it," said Elena. 

"I see… By the way, I don't think I've ever asked what your ranks were. What are they?"

"It's still low so it's not even worth mentioning," said Marie.

A confused expression flashed across Vivian's face.

"Don't mind her, she dislikes nobility or anything that has to do with ranks and hierarchy," Elena said and smiled.

"Oh, I see…" said Vivian.

"Sister Vivian won't address you in your rank and treat you any different, right Sister Vivian?" Elena said with a smile on her face as she stared at Marie.

"Um… Yeah," said Vivian.

Marie let out a sigh.

"My rank is Sergeant."

"Mine's High Sergeant," said Elena.

Vivian made a salute that she saw Isaac and Cornelio give yesterday afternoon.

"Reporting for duty, High Sergeant Elena and Sergeant Marie!" she said and grinned.

Marie looked at Vivian with a deadpan expression.

Elena, on the other hand, let out a laugh.

"YOU!" Julia said and pointed at them. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Elena stood in attention and replied, "Nothing, High Lieutenant!"

Julia was about to say something but noticed that one of the women collapsed.

While Vivian and the others were resting and chatting after completing the 10 laps, Julia decided to reward 5 extra laps to those who had yet to finish their laps.

And Kara was still one of them.

However, the woman who collapsed wasn't Kara. It was a woman in her late teens that Vivian didn't know and wasn't even sure if she was from the Luxen Chapter Temple.

Julia rushed to the woman and cast 2 skills.

[Greater Heal].

[Blessing].

A bright yellow light and a red light enveloped the woman.

Julia then pulled the woman up.

"CONTINUE JOGGING, CRUSADER!!!"

Seeing the scene, Vivian's jaw just dropped.

What the fuck…?

Is that even legal…?

Based on what she saw, the woman's face was pale because it looked like she wasn't used to jogging, let alone running.

Although she understood the power of magic, based on what she has observed and experienced, it doesn't cure mental exhaustion or the mind in general.

She turned to Marie.

"Sister, what happens if one fails the Basic Training?"

"There have been cases that people failed Basic Training and it wasn't because the instructors kicked them out. Because as you can see, they won't let you quit."

"Really?"

"Unfortunately, there are some people who just aren't cut out to live a militaristic life."

"But what happens if someone just wants to quit?"

"They will be stripped of their Class as a Priest."

"It's that harsh?"

"It is what it is. After all, no one is forcing anyone to join the Holy Crusades. So when someone signs the contract in order to participate in the Holy Crusade, it means they're here for business."

"But there are also cases where one can get executed during Basic Training," said Elena.

"Executed? Why? How?"

"Like attacking the instructors, sexual assault, corruption, spying, impersonating an officer and many others."

"That happens?"

"Rarely, but it happened in the past."

"Don't worry, sister, those punishments also apply to everyone -- instructors, officers, everyone," said Marie.

"Oh… I see…" said Vivian. "One last question, what happens if someone gets pregnant?"

"During a Holy Crusade?" asked Marie. "It depends on the case. If the Priestess was sexually assaulted by another Priest or a man, only the Priest or man would be executed. Meanwhile, if both parties did it willingly, depending on the situation, most of the time, they will only be stripped of their class as a Priest."

What…?

That doesn't make any sense…

Vivian could understand the part of executing a man for committing sexual assault.

As a woman herself, if someone sexually assaulted her, she would do everything in her power to hunt that person, and torture that person and everything they care about before deciding to either kill them or let them live a life of suffering for the rest of their lives.

But to be stripped of their Class for failing the Holy Crusade, to her it was too much.

This…

If these guys are really serious…

If they're really not joking…

I really have to be careful…

But dammit I'm hungry…!

According to the rules, meals were only served at 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. And to make matters worse, the amount of food was fixed. There was no such thing as extra.

"GIVE ME 20 PUSH-UPS! NOW!" the instructor from the male team shouted.

Meanwhile, for the women, since they still had some members jogging in the field, they weren't allowed to do push-ups yet.

But once they're allowed to do push-ups, it will only be 10 counts.

And then after that, it will be followed with other exercises such as pull-ups, sit-ups and squats.

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Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

By the way, I posted some Chapter Drafts at P-a-t-r-e-o-n. And to view them, you can read them at…

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There, you will have access to the Chapter Drafts for $5 a month.

Please note that the chapters posted there are only drafts. So when those said Chapter Drafts will be published here, there will be some edits. They also involve a few secret outline notes/details that I won't publish here because they contain spoilers or dispel some of the mysteries. And at the moment, Chapter Drafts 230-235 are posted there.

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Thank you once again and I will see you in the next chapter.