22 - Harsh Laws

Finn's mouth began to water as he asked, "What is that boar for?"

"It's for dinner," answered the man. "Since this is your first day, I'll treat you to dinner. But from tomorrow onward, hunting for your meal will be part of your training."

Mase was quick to protest. "But we have never hunted before."

"So what? Until a couple of days ago, you never held a weapon, but here we are. There is a first time for everything. It might be a bit messy and heavy on your stomach, but I suggest you watch. Learning how to skin an animal is a very useful skill.

The group watched in awe as Osvaldo skilfully skinned, dissected, and cooked the boar. His precision with each cut was impeccable, and everyone was impressed with his technique. Even Mase and Albert, who weren't as used to this type of activity, did very well. Finn, however, had to look away halfway through as he started to feel nauseous. Osvaldo then prepared the boar by building a fire using some firewood from the nearby pile. He expertly nurtured the fire until it was just right, allowing the boar to cook to perfection. The group was in a state of amazement, and they savored the delicious meal.

[Palazzo Montecitorio]

"317 votes in favor 313 votes against"

The set of laws that passed by a slim margin was met with dismay, with those who voted for and against it wearing expressions of defeat. While a few individuals were pleased with the outcome, most could be heard asking, "What have they done? How did we allow such dreadful laws to be approved?"

The gravity of the situation was echoed by a politician, who stated, "This is a dangerous decision, but it has to be done. That's the hard part of being a politician, taking decisions that no one wants to take."

The speaker of the camera announced, "First edict, Starting from next week awakeners won't have access to standard schools anymore, this applies to both teachers and students. They will attend schools only for awakeners. The goal of this law is to avoid discrimination from both sides."

One of Roland's collaborators was clearly infuriated, exclaiming, "They are shameless to the point of selling this de facto discriminatory law as a shield for discrimination." The sentiment was shared by many in the room, a sense of defeat settling in as people realized that such a law had been approved.

"Second edict, Awakeners have the duty to heed the government orders in case of a crisis such as war, dangerous rifts, or when the country is deemed unstable. Of course they will be compensated for their services, but refusing to perform such duties will result in falling under the martial laws for treason or deserting."

'In other words we are not only restricting their freedom, but potentially forcing them to risk their lives.' He thought.

"Third edict, in case an awakener is deemed dangerous the government will take the freedom to put bounties on their heads. Any awakener will be authorized and justified to imprison or kill the target depending on the circumstances. In exchange they will receive the amount of money stated on the bounty."

'The biggest loophole in this law is that there is no indication of what can be deemed dangerous, meaning that they can basically issue bounties on a whim, not to mention that they are legalizing the death sentence and a system that was discarded hundreds of years ago.' The sheer injustice of this law was clear, and many found themselves unable to accept it.

"The Fourth Edict states that both Awakeners and non-Awakeners are permitted to establish private companies dedicated to clearing rifts, selling monster-related goods, and profiting from rifts. However, the membership of such companies must not exceed 100 to avoid the formation of private militias."

'In other words they are scared of a riot. This is the only law that is somewhat decent, at least they gave the freedom to create private companies. However overall…'

"The state is dead." Another Trevisani sympathizer sitting right beside him whispered to himself.

"That's all, today's session is adjourned."

[Back to the mountains]

In just three days, the group was completely exhausted despite Finn's healing skills. The combination of intense training and hunting for their meals took a toll on their bodies. However, their spirits were lifted by a notification they received at the end of the second day.

[Ding!][Spear Mastery Leveled up to LV 1][Bow Mastery Leveled up to LV 1][Rapier Mastery Leveled up to LV 1]

That was an absolute confirmation that their training was giving his results.

On the fourth day Osvaldo finally gave them a different task.

"You probably didn't even notice it, because you had to hunt down wild animals to eat, but in just three days you are already able to perform the most basic action of your weapon with almost no failing and taking less than ⅔ of the time you took the first day to reach the goal of 1000 repetition."

'He's right. I didn't even realize it because I still took the full day to complete my task, but considering that I also had to hunt for our meals, it would have been impossible for me to finish the task in time if I hadn't improved my speed.' Finn contemplated.

"It's time for a little test. Depending on your performance, we might move on to the next form or you might need to practice this one a little longer."

"What is this test about?" Albert asked.

"It's quite simple: the three of you will attack me at the same time, without using any awakened abilities. You have 5 minutes to do your best."

The boys tightened their grips on their weapons. Mase thought, 'No way, I'm not going to do lunge training for another second,' and immediately charged at Osvaldo. The other two struggled a bit more as they had to overcome the fear of hitting or potentially killing another human being. This momentary hesitation resulted in a temporary one vs one fight.

Mase lunged forward, his rapier aimed directly at Osvaldo's kidney. However, Osvaldo wasn't caught off guard. "I taught you that move, don't you think I would know how to counter it?" he said with a smirk. He dodged to the side and deftly intercepted Mase's attack by placing his hand on the guard of the rapier, trapping the blade between his ring and middle finger. With his superior strength, Osvaldo shifted the attack upwards, causing Mase to lose his balance and stumble forward. Before Mase could recover, Osvaldo delivered a powerful left hook to his face, knocking him out cold. "Looks like it's a 2 v 1 now," he remarked. "What are you waiting for?"

Albert locked eyes with Finn, and they nodded in unison. Finn cautiously approached Osvaldo while maintaining a safe distance. The tense standoff dragged on for what felt like an eternity until Albert finally broke the silence. "NOW!" he shouted.

He aimed an arrow at Osvaldo's right shoulder as Finn thrust his spear to the left of the teacher. The plan was clear: Osvaldo would dodge the arrow to the left and get hit by Finn's spear, or dodge right and still risk getting hit by Albert's arrow. However, Osvaldo surprised them by crouching below the spear level and rushing at Finn, delivering an uppercut before he could react. "That's two, we only have one left," he said. Osvaldo felt a sharp pain in his right thigh and saw a small cut bleeding. 'Despite his brother being taken down, he didn't waste a single second and shot a second arrow before I could put my guard up. Even if he barely grazed me, it was still impressive. However, he made a grave mistake.' As Albert drew the bow to shoot his third arrow, Osvaldo threw a small rock that he harvested from the ground. With a loud thud Albert lost consciousness.