Thanks to the medicines they obtained in the town, and due to Zaos's magic skills, everyone in his squad was ready to train three days after their return. Even Zaos himself, the wound in his left shoulder was already completely gone, but he could see a round scar there. He will have a hard time explaining that to his mother…

                      Zaos had planned to train his squad earnestly in order to prevent losing so many allies again, but much to his surprise. Elius didn't give the order, and instead of just watching, he approached them.

"You guys survived your first life and death battle, in a sense, you have more experience than most of the kids who graduated from this place in the last one hundred years," Elius said. "However, you are still lacking in all other aspects. That is why I am going to train you guys seriously. In one year, you will receive the training most recruits receive in three. It will be harsh, but we don't have time to waste. Battles like that one will happen many times, after all."

                      Elius passed some training swords, shields to the squad members. As for Zaos, he just gave him a huge chunk of iron that resembled a long sword, but it was too big for him to actually train in a spar.

"You already have the basics on you and your skills with a longsword aren't half bad, but you are too slow," Elius said. "From now on, you will train with that until you become fast enough. Also, when you are not training, you will have to walk around with that. The same goes for you, these training items are heavier than usual, so you will be able to work on your strength even outside the training."

                      It was only natural, but some of the recruits couldn't help but frown a little since Zaos would have a different type of training. However, they also realized that someone who had already been trained with shields and swords couldn't keep using them forever. One had to find their own fighting style.

"Usually, most of the recruits spent three years learning how to fight using a shield and a sword, but the squad leaders can train with other weapons, because of their previous training," Elius explained. "Maybe some of you don't know, but once you graduate, you can pick a new type of weapon to use. As long as you are decent with shields and a sword, you can serve the kingdom anywhere, but if you want to strive for more, then you have to do it by yourself, in your free time. Remember, if you aren't confident or you are inexperienced, a short sword and a shield are the best equipment you can have."

                      While Elius was teaching the basics and correcting everyone as they were sparring, Zaos was practicing what he already knew with that huge chunk of iron. Most likely, the piece of iron weighed ten kilograms… two times more than the longsword Zaos used in the last part of the fight. Thanks to that, he could barely keep any stance without seeing his arms trembling.

"I guess I will use the high guard as much as possible to build up the strength that I need for this," Zaos concluded.

                      In the end, after the first practice session, Zaos barely could raise his arms. Things only got harder late in the day, but that kind of training was what Zaos really liked, so he didn't complain. At the end of the third session, Elius talked with them one more time before finishing their tasks for the day.

"Today, you will receive your first payment, while you are only recruits, the kingdom still pays for your services," Elius said. "Usually, each one of you would receive three gold coins, but anyone can receive an extra when a battle happens. Use your money well, and before you ask anything, the families of those who fell in that battle will receive their share."

                      That was unexpected, but after thinking for a while, Zaos concluded it was natural… in the end, much money wouldn't be used since they would only pay for the share of recruits for a single month's work and for a single battle as well. Lately, Zaos has been pondering many things, and another thing just increased the size of the list… essentially, he would receive extra money for surviving and for taking other people's lives.

"… I need to change this mindset…" Zaos muttered after a long sigh. "This is the only path available to me since the very beginning… I can't let such a mentality slow me down for too long."

                      Things were a lot more organized when it comes to payment in the base. Along with his payment in a small bag filled with coins, Zaos found a small note. He had been paid three gold coins for being a recruit, two gold coins for being a squad leader, four gold coins for having stayed in the town and guarded the place for eight days, seven gold coins for having killed around thirty-five mercenaries, and twelve gold coins for killing six followers of the demon god… twenty-eight gold coins for a rookie was a pretty decent prize. However, Zaos still couldn't feel excited about that.

"Whatever… I should use this money and buy an intermediate magic book," Zaos nodded to himself. "But I need to save some in order to buy another focus amulet when possible."

                    Wyn solved that problem later quickly for Zaos, even though Zaos himself wasted a few days thinking about the type of magic book he should buy. While he left the base a few times to guard certain places, he never had the chance to check the places that sell magic books. As if that wasn't enough, the variety wasn't that good…   

                      Regardless, despite the fact that not a single person in the northern base didn't drop their guard, nothing serious happened over the next few months. While that was good, it was also bad for one specific reason: Zaos and the other recruits couldn't take the two weeks off they were supposed to have every three months.