Enmity

So, this is what Lord Thasal was talking about when he said that a portal to Yggdrasil would appear.' Kayden thought, still in awe.

It seemed like a faint illusion, but he noticed it was slowly becoming more realistic.

Kayden supposed that this was the process of the portal's creation.

He couldn't wait to see what Yggdrasil's interior was like, but he quickly calmed his thoughts and set about cultivating.

***

A few hours later, Kayden breathed out, completely exhausted.

Captain Jake's mention of the Trial had reminded him that he needed to be as strong as possible before it started.

He didn't know why, but something about the test gave him a bad feeling. Seeing people so excited about it deepened this feeling even more.

Perhaps it was due to Lord Thasal warning those who weren't prepared to not participate.

Even if he knew that the participants wouldn't actually die, Kayden couldn't stop thinking that the consequences of dying would be dire.

Therefore, he was determined to do everything possible to increase his chances of success.

In the last hours, he had unlocked four more nodes, making nineteen in total.

Although he had thought about trying to unlock the twentieth node, he knew it was going to be much more difficult than the previous ones and would probably take several hours, so he decided to take a break for lunch.

He took a quick cold shower, which helped to refresh his head and headed for the canteen.

***

After finishing his meal, Kayden got ready to train and was on his way to the gym when he suddenly stopped.

"Hey, Kayden, how is it going?" An amused voice said, getting on his nerves.

"What do you want, Elena?" He asked rudely.

"Why are you so rude?" She asked, holding her hand to her chest as if his words had hurt her.

Kayden's teeth gnashed as she continued.

"Shouldn't we be closer after going through a life-or-death situation?" She said, with a smile that didn't quite reach her almond-shaped eyes.

"We might be. If you hadn't abandoned me without even calling rescue services." He uttered coldly.

She acted as if she was hurt, replying dramatically, "I know, I know, I was wrong. I apologize. My injuries prevented me from thinking clearly and I ended up making a big mistake."

Seeing her false regret and remembering all that he had suffered in the past week, Kayden could no longer contain his anger.

"You will regret treating me this way in the future, I will make sure of it."

"Regrets? For you?" She burst out laughing before adding with disdain, "We are no longer in the same league, and we will never be again. I can see you aren't bad from your white badge, but I'm simply different. I can feel it."

After her utterly arrogant response, Kayden laughed.

You are different? We'll see who is the different one between us. I look forward to seeing you at the trials in the future.

With that, Kayden continued his way to the gym, completely ignoring Elena's response.

***

The next morning, Kayden woke up and stretched.

His body felt tired, but he ignored it. Due to the mana in his body, he was now able to train for hours on end and only had mild soreness as a result.

Because of this, he had been training for around five or six hours yesterday, most at the gym and the rest practicing with the sword at the fight hall.

He got ready and went to the entrance of the main building.

When he arrived, most recruits were already standing in a loose formation, chatting amongst themselves.

As Kayden approached, some of them fell silent and turned to face him, which made him feel a wave of discomfort at the sudden attention.

"Good morning, everyone," he said, breaking the silence.

"Good morning," they replied in unison.

Of course, Audrey, Nick, and some more didn't greet him back.

The captain arrived shortly after, and they all snapped to attention.

"At ease," he said, gesturing for them to relax.

"Today, I will be explaining the basics of Trials and the point system that is used in the base to buy different things."

"First, I will talk about the point system since it is simpler than the Trials," He began.

"But, sir, isn't food the only thing we can buy with the points?" A confused voice asked.

"For now, yes, but soon you will have access to a wider range of items, from special weapons to magic elixirs that will enhance your cultivation," He paused before saying, "But that's another topic."

The enthusiasm of the recruits, which was sky-high after hearing the captain talk about the rewards, quickly dissipated.

Kayden couldn't blame them since he was also extremely interested in the special weapons and elixirs the captain had mentioned.

Besides, he wondered how much information the government received from Lord Thasal and what they paid in return.

"I will now announce the number of points each of you got from the sparring session." The captain uttered before looking at a screen.

Hearing his words, they all looked at him as they waited, expectant and nervous at the same time.

"Those ranked eleventh to twentieth will receive five points, between the tenth and sixth ten points. The fifth will get twenty and the fourth twenty-five. Finally, the third forty points, the second forty-five, and the first fifty." He concluded.

The recruits were silent as they listened to how many points they had. Expressions varied greatly, from envy, regret, or indifference to determination, satisfaction, or joy.

Will looked especially determined, his eyes shining with resolution as he looked at the white badge worn by Lucas, formerly his own.

Alice, also with a determined look, questioned, "Sir, how many points each canteen menu is worth?"

"I was about to explain that. As Sergeant Lee told you, the basic menu is free. For the second one, it is one point. Finally, the most special one cost twenty." He explained, leaving them speechless as he said the price of the third menu.

'Although it's incredibly expensive, it only makes me more curious about its benefits.' Kayden thought, eager to try it.

"Even though this sounds expensive, you have to consider that there will be more opportunities to win points in the future. Although I cannot tell you what it will be about, six days from now, there will be another test."

They started murmuring among themselves, wondering how it would be.

'How will the test be? A team test? A physical one? Or maybe it will be another sparring, and they just want us to be under pressure?' Kayden asked himself, not nervous at all since he was very confident of his strength.

The captain continued, "However, this is not the main way of getting points. That would be your performance in the Trial, which begs the question, what are exactly the Trials?"