Trick

Khan could return to the training hall right after the lessons ended. A few members of the special class tried to exchange some polite words, but he didn't have time to waste during that week.

Lieutenant Unchai didn't say anything about the second week. Khan had understood that he would have to face the Ef'i, but he was oblivious to everything else.

One week with the training hall wasn't enough to learn much, but Khan planned to do his best to improve his battle style. After all, he felt that it would be a long time before he obtained a similar chance.

Khan had already developed a faint schedule. He required a bit more info about the training hall to perfect that plan, but he believed that everything would become clear after the afternoon.

'I should be able to test different martial arts today,' Khan thought while entering the training hall and plugging his phone into the floor. 'I must take full advantage of the longer days.'

Khan ordered some food before tapping his foot on the floor and browsing through the menus to select his training program. The system had countless martial arts in store, and it even gave brief descriptions of their style.

The system also described the points of each martial art. Khan immediately found those which had achieved a fifty or slightly lower score and proceeded to pick the first one on the list. Then, he selected the fifth level, and the gears inside the wall activated.

A tall puppet with multiple reinforcements on its arms, legs, torso, and neck came out of the wall and took a defensive stance. That dummy was far bigger than the other, and it didn't appear nearly as fast.

Khan shot ahead and began to release a storm of kicks. The puppet didn't budge and endured all the blows, and his arm eventually shot forward when it found an opening in Khan's guard.

Khan had left that opening on purpose. The puppet finally gave him a chance to pierce its guard with a flying kick that required a horizontal spin.

His leg slammed on the puppet's head and bent its metal, but the dummy seemed able to endure the blow. Its arms shot toward the airborne Khan and tried to grab his feet.

Khan planted his feet on the puppet's chest and performed a backflip to dodge the incoming attack. He landed on the floor perfectly, and the dummy quickly resumed its defensive stance.

'I'll take it down nice and slow,' Khan concluded in his mind before resuming his offensive.

The fifth level appeared far easier now that the system didn't choose good matchups against the Lightning-demon style. Khan could learn to face different martial arts without suffering many injuries. It was perfect for him.

Khan's new schedule soon took form. He practiced inside the training hall for the entire afternoon and gained a general idea of how difficult the fifth level was without data about the Lightning-demon style. He even tested his power against different martial arts, but the list was still long.

The experience gathered during the afternoon made Khan understand that he could use the mornings to continue testing his power against the fifth level since it didn't inflict many injuries. That would allow him to attend the lessons and leave him with an entire day to push his limits.

Khan had the flat for himself, but his friends came to visit him once he returned inside the building. He was exhausted, but Luke, Bruce, and Martha wanted to hear more about the Ef'i.

"Their tail is dangerous," Khan revealed. "They are also quite strong, so I suggest you meditate a lot during this week."

"How did you even get the chance to fight one of them?" Luke asked. "We only saw the Ef'i when we came out of the teleport. They act as ghosts here."

"They must train underground," Bruce revealed. "I've seen a few tunnels inside the mountain. I bet we'll go there if Lieutenant Unchai selects us."

"How strong can the others even be?" Khan wondered. "I should have defeated the best among them. They shouldn't be able to do much in a mere week."

"Maybe they have something in store," Martha suggested. "The Ef'i are an honorable warrior race, but they also aim for victory like every other species. I wouldn't be surprised if they made you fight the second strongest or even less."

"Who is paranoid now?" Khan mocked Martha, but the latter ignored him.

"Well, Khan should be able to improve with the training hall," Bruce announced. "I suspect he'll be far stronger after this week."

The boys and girl eventually left Khan alone and gave him the time to approach his meditations and mental exercises. He still had the eighth lesson to clear, and improvements struggled to arrive.

The week went by quickly. The schedule of the recruits was quite dull and tiring since they had to become used to having thirty hours in a day. Still, their endurance inevitably improved due to Lieutenant Unchai's hellish training method.

Khan felt like he was in heaven. He could use the training hall every day, and his combat abilities inevitably improved. He even got the chance to clear some of the sixth levels when the puppet's martial arts were a favorable match-up for the Lightning-demon style.

The constant stress and gathering of battle experience sharpened his mind and benefitted his mental training. Pain and struggles could improve the resilience of his brain, especially since Khan didn't forget about the mental exercises when fighting.

Lieutenant Unchai gathered the recruits in front of their dorm on the first day of the second week. The soldier wore an angry expression that didn't seem to target Khan and the others. He was livid, but the kids ignored the nature of that feeling.

"I made a mistake," Lieutenant Unchai suddenly announced. "Teco has tricked me. I showed the strongest of you to his group, but he didn't do the same. I don't like losing discussions, so let's avoid the topic altogether."

Khan shot a glance toward Martha. She had ended up being correct about the Ef'i, but she didn't appear happy about the matter.

"Let's move now," Lieutenant Unchai shouted. "The Ef'i have prepared a surprise for us. I don't want you to be late."

The recruits felt excited, but they remained silent during the trip. It seemed that Lieutenant Unchai would bring all the kids to the Ef'i, but their destination remained unclear until they approached the mountain and a tunnel unfolded in their vision.

The Lieutenant led the recruits inside the tunnel. The red-brown rocks and terrain seemed darker there, and vegetation even appeared.

Khan didn't know what to say in front of the strange plants that filled the tunnel. Even the grass was red, and a few purple flowers occupied random spots in that scenery.

The scent radiated by those plants was quite intoxicating. It made the recruits' eyes red and forced them to shed tears. The mana inside their bodies activated to fend off the negative effects of that odor, but some of the kids with low attunement didn't manage to regain their senses even after a few minutes passed.

Lieutenant Unchai promptly took a series of pills and shoved them inside the mouths of the recruits that had yet to grow used to the scent. Their complexion immediately improved after that event, so the group could proceed on their march.

A large arena eventually appeared after the corridor. A series of Ef'i were already waiting for their opponents on one side of the underground hall, and they didn't hesitate to perform polite salutes when they saw Khan.

Some of the aliens revealed shame when they glanced at a tall Ef'i sitting at some distance from their group. Khan moved his attention on him, and the latter eventually opened his eyes when he heard the arrival of his opponents.

"[They are thinner than I imagined]," The unfamiliar Ef'i announced while standing up and patting his broad chest. "[I hope they can put up a decent fight]!"

Teco came out of one of the tunnels connected to the arena and slapped the unfamiliar Ef'i head. He wasn't pleased about his arrogant behavior, but his focus soon moved on Lieutenant Unchai.

"[I hope this is enough to forgive me]," Teco announced. "[Humans are winning too often lately]."

"[Just show me the goods]," Lieutenant Unchai replied, and the Ef'i took out a small metal sphere from his pocket.

"That's faswite!" Luke suddenly announced at the sight of the silver mineral, and the entirety of his group showed interest in that material.

****

Author's notes: I have a pretty harsh fever. I thought I could just endure it, but I can barely suppress the tremors with meds. I'll do only one for chaos and one long for demonic sword until I feel better.