21: Recruitment Training - 10 Formations of Endurance

The group of new recruits for the Royal Guard assmbled together outside the foyer of the training centre. There were 20 people in total, all over the countries. Some of them were from the north, some even from the nearby country.

Ayleth skimmed around the crowd. Everyone was well built and tall. She felt tiny around them. She was the unofficial attraction right when she came into the area. She's quite small compared to these men, of course, because she's a lady. Plus, her feature still looked like a lady even after wearing the man's clothes

"Are you okay?" asked Reval. Ayleth nodded, concealed her anxious feeling behind a faint smile.

"Boy... Are they giants or what?" Tan gushed. Both Reval and Ayleth look at the direction where a bunch of men hangout with each other. All of them were not only tall, but those muscular body could crash a wall in no time.

"I'm dead. If they come and crush me, I'm turning into pulp!" Tan sighed.

"At least you're still in solid form. Imagine me.." Ayleth formed a straight line with her lips.

"Yep. Worst case scenario..."

Both Tan and Ayleth laugh in tiny.

"You both won't be serious forever, right?"

A voice from behind made them shrink. They turn around to see a group of men, dress in dark green suit.

The crowd fell into a deep silent.

"I want to see if you can still laughing after this," one of the man cynically glared at them.

"Recruits, assemble!"

With a deep voice with stern directive tone, the whole room stood up at ease, focusing on the group of five men who line up in front of them.

"I want you to form a 10 men line, horizontally and vertically. I gave you 10 second-"

Everyone hustle around and form a straight line as per request by the trainer within the time given. Ayleth, who was still in shock, couldn't even move from her spot, making her the mid mark of the line. She stood right in front of the 5 men, just directly face to face with one of them.

She could felt sweats all over her body.

"Welcome to your first ever Royal Guard training. We are your trainers starting by today, until the day when you finally pass the whole recruitment process. My name is Tae," the man's sight fell at Ayleth. She felt tiny in front of him.

"But you have to call me Captain Tae," the man continued.

So, he is the leader! Ayleth muttered inside.

"Today is the day when we test whether you are eligible for the spot that we gave you. From here, you'll be conduct by our special physical trainer. Come at front, Lieutenant Beorn!"

The whole crowd gasped when a man came forward. Compared to the rest of the group, he looked so pale, weak and no promising. Not at all. His phsyche was far from a form of a physical trainer.

"You can call me sir. My name is Beorn," his voice was the second blown out fact. His voice was flat, normal, nothing that potrayed him as a physical trainer.

"Listen carefully. I'll only say it once. On the first two months, you'll be training under Lt. Beorn for the morning session before an hour break at the afternoon. After that, you'll be joining a combat training along with Lt. Beorn," said Tae.

The whole group of recruits kept their composure tight. However, deep down inside, everyone agrees that this was kind of confusing. How can this man leads them?

"You can take it from here, Beorn," Tae patted Beorn's shoulder once, before he left along with his comrade.

"Attention, recruits!"

Third blow has been unleashed.

This man, who looked so pale and weak, suddenly changed 360 degrees after his comrades left him. His normal, flat tone changed into a drill seargent mode, making the recruits shrunk in their place.

Is this the same man?

"Recruits! Ready for a morning drill!"

No respond. Maybe everyone still in shock.

"When I say something, I expect a respond from all of you!" Beorn glanced them with his sharp gaze.

"Sir, yes sir!"

"You called yourself a royal guard with this lame spirit?" Beorn entwined his brows.

"Sir, yes sir!!!"

The man smirked, feeling satisfied with the loud and high spirit reply.

"Before we start, I would like to teach you 10 formation in morning drill..."

***

Formation 1: Deadlift

- with both hands, lift your sword up. Straight both hand and wait until the drill instructor tells you to drop it.

Sounds easy?

The Sun was in 12 o'clock. With this scorching hot, even standing by both feet felt exhausted.

Let alone holding something up above your head.

Plus the heat from the ground in the middle of a dry, deserted ground.

"Pull up! Don't you dare put down those hands!" Beorn yelled at them. Those recruits hold on to dear life.

Ayleth couldn't feel her hands anymore. It's been a week since the first day she joined the recruitment. Still, her body sometimes betrayed her. That heavy sword took almost half of her life, at least that's what she imagined.

One of the recruit fell, defeated by the heat and weight. Everytime these recruits hears a clanck sound, they grit their teeth even more harder. No room for mistake for them.

Because that was just Formation 1.

***

Formation 2: Full-fledge Plank

- balance the body using the forearm. Body must be straight.

"Ugh!!!"

From far, everyone could hear grunts and sighs everywhere. Not to mentioned, sandy ground that scratched their arms, sometimes until they bleed.

"Few more second!" Beorn, as usual, yelled at them at the front. His eyes glaring, looking like a hawk hunting for fish in the river.

"Recruits down!"

Everyone slammed their body on the ground. Whoever could grunt kept grunting. Some even lose their willing to live. Ayleth laid on her chest, looking at Eran who was half alive next to her.

The man's chest waved up and down. Even a fit man like Eran got defeated in this hot weather.

She got no interest watching him anymore. She shifted her sight at Tan, who shrieked like a little girl at her right side. They exchange looks faintly.

They truly losing their laugh this time.

***

"It's just a week, and we already end up flounder like a fish..." said Reval. He put some ointment on his badly scratch hands.

"Not to mention doing all those formations... I think I can't feel my legs anymore!" Tan sighed.

Ayleth sat still on her bed. She casually glared to her side, looking at Eran who calmly laid on his bed.

"Do you want to use this?" Ayleth asked Eran while handing a tube of ointment at him. The man ignored her, before stood up from his bed and grab a towel from his closet.

"No point. You might get more later," he glanced at Tan and Reval. "The pool is open. Let's take a shower," Eran continued.

Those boys jump in excitement like a bunch of kids. They immediately grab their towels and ready to leave the room.

"Al! Come join us!" said Reval.

Open pool...

Cool water, swimming....

Ayleth was dying to swim. It's been ages since the last time she took a proper shower, let alone swimming. But, she did realized her position.

"It's okay. My body is too sore to even move," she declined the offer with a smile. Reval pouted a bit.

"If you say so..."

The boy left the room in hurry. Ayleth could only watch her friends having a good time of their life. She sighed, as she slowly stood up from the bed and look outside the window.

"I miss home..." Ayleth put her chin between her knees. She watched the Sun slowly descending between the mountain, painting the sky in pinkish orange.

As she was about to get more emotional, a rock hit her shoulder, making her winced in pain. There was a note, tied along with the stone. She took the stone, untied the note and read it.

"Go to the end of the building. Find a spiral stair. Go down. Meet me at the end of the caving route..." Ayleth read the note carefully. By the end of the note, she drew a faint smile.

"Aden..."