Getting Used to New Arms.

A few days had passed since the first exam. The families were done celebrating and consoling their children and it was time to start the early preparations program. It was a newly established program from the army in order to groom more capable soldiers, and to bring more of the hidden potential in the countryside out. Only children with a potential of C and higher were admitted into the program.

The nobles opposed this move at first, in fear of losing relevance to the commoners. The nobles and the Army had often been at odds in the past, with the emperor taking a neutral position in most conflicts. This time was different with the Emperor taking the Army's side, stating that the recent losses in the northeastern marshlands were too high, especially since the beast-tide event that had happened recently.

The nobles could only reluctantly nod their heads, giving face to the army. The emperor was irrefutable as he was not only politically the strongest figure but was also the strongest fighter in the Empire.

Edwin was currently walking towards the church in a slow gait, gossiping with Allan while appreciating the morning sun. It was currently 8:17 and the lessons were supposed to start at 8:30 and last until 15:30, on Fridays and Sundays. The lessons were not compulsory, but would provide a significant advantage when the talented children would grow up and move to the city in order to attend school or even one of the great academies.

When the two boys, one with black hair and green eyes, the other with blonde hair and blue eyes, arrived, were greeted with a looks and whispers. Allan was appreciating the sight with a confident smile and an expression similar to someone sun-bathing. Edwin on the other hand, was wearing a rather nervous expression.

Although the two boys lived next to each other they had very different everyday lives, Allan's family was part of a merchant's association and were responsible for providing adequate housing for passing merchants. Allan often followed his parents into the inner areas of the village and sometimes even going to the city of Edenburg. He was much more used to crowds of people, and with a healthy dose of narcissism he was made for the stage.

Edwin grew up much more sheltered. His family had some crops and his father was a hunter, he visited Edenburg once, it was a trip with his father after he had caught a rare beast. It had been two years ago and he hadn't been to the city ever since. It was only natural for Edwin to be less adept with people.

While two were under the two were under the other kids' gazes, Christopher, who was quietly chuckling at the scene decided started his announcement. ''Alright it is 8:29 and all of you seem to have arrived. Time to start the first lesson.'' He said before walking in the direction of the villages' armory.

The children were excited and hurriedly followed along.

---

A few minutes had passed and they were currently standing in the armory, marveling at the assortment of different weapons. ''Alright, please calm down and stay away from the weapons. Do not touch them, I will know.'' Christopher said. ''During the first two weeks I will have talks with each of you and hand out some wooden weapons for you to get accustomed with.''

Christopher then started calling over the children, having a quick conversation then transferring some wooden weapons via his Index. Christopher's index seemed to be of a higher quality as it didn't run out of space and contained a blue crystal, the telltale sign of a high-quality item.

---

Edwin was soon called up to have his talk with Christopher.

''Kid, you have talent. Use it well.'' Christopher said before continuing, ''You have a healthy frame, what would you think of practicing with a sword?''

''I would like to try.'' Edwin said while nodding.

Christopher then told him to present his index. He held his own while going through the various wooden weapons. There were a total of 50 qualified children in the village and Christopher had brought over 150 wooden replicas with him. The weapons were cheaply replicated and then distributed to all instructors. There was a variety of weapons, ranging from spear to bow.

After receiving his weapons Edwin moved to a designated training area, where he already saw Allan waiting for him. The training area was usually used by the village guards and had some basic first aid materials in the common case of injury.

Edwin and Allan met up and decided to move to an unoccupied area. ''So which weapons did you get?'' Allan asked, before pulling out his Index. Edwin also pulled out his index and looked at the newest additions to his spatial storage.

''I got a Long-sword, a saber and a short sword. What about you?'' Edwin asked.

''I got a rapier, a dagger and a bow.'' Allan answered.

---

The two weeks passed quickly and most of the children had already limited themselves to one or two weapons. Some had met their match during the first round of practice while some others had try many. Edwin and Allan had both met their matches during the first round but decided to still try a few more, just to be sure.

Allan had decided to use two rapiers after jokingly using them during a sparring match. As it turned out his ambidextrous talent was through the roof and he was able to fight in an optimal fashion using both arms. Since the rapier was a one-handed weapon that didn't rely on a shield, he could take full advantage of both of them.

After a week of trying, Edwin decided to settle on a two-handed long-sword and a short sword. He always kept the long-sword as main weapon while sometimes relying on sneak-attacks.

Both of them were excellent talents and were well on their way to catching up with the older kids. They often trained together with Spencer, whom they saw during the last part of the exam. They understood each other well and started looking forward to the lessons, since Spencer lived in the outskirts on the opposite part of the village they seldomly saw each other outside of the lessons.

Spencer picked the bow, showed some good talent and decided to stick with it.