George came back to his room and didn’t feel like reading the skills and its uses manual. He still had all of next week and didn’t want to do something he didn’t feel like doing right now. He didn’t want to study martial arts but he had no other option. Like it or not, the village was controlled by the tree clans and the academy and if any of these four wanted you to do something you had to do it or they could make live a living hell for you. George had to be patient and wait for the right time if he wanted to do something about it.

After resting for a while George got up to go to the training area. On his way, he saw Tyler training archery. Seeing George, Tyler got surprised and started to walk towards him with a big smile on his face.

“I didn’t think you liked training, why are you here?”

George not in the mood for small talk told Tyler what had happened and kept walking toward the training ground. Training grounds were separated for every class. Archery had the biggest training ground and was the closest to the academy with the tank training ground the smallest and the farthest away from the academy.

Tyler couldn’t keep his laughter in and started to laugh out loud. From what George could tell he had already met the principal and wasn’t surprised by what George was telling him.

“Yes the principal is special, I remember the first time I met him. But to be honest I’m happy he made you do basic training. Maybe the day will come when we both can leave the village together and go see the world.”

George could not read Tyler like the others and didn’t know if he was serious or just polite.

“You talk like there is no other way to leave this village except for cultivating. I also hope that the one day we can leave wine village and go see the world.”

George had already decided that he wanted to leave Wine village after he saved enough money to go to the first city. He wanted to go see the world and even learn new things. Besides the library here didn’t have enough books for him to stay here for the rest of his life anyways.

Tyler happy that George also wanted to travel the world and see what it had to offer shook his head.

“It’s a long story and I can’t tell you about it. The academy forbids students to share information that they learned in class. It’s a new rule the principal made when he noticed how much credits he was losing because of students who were sharing information with each other. Of course, the chance of being caught is pretty small, but you have the money anyways. Go to master tod’s class about geography later, he will explain it to you.”

George interested made a mental note. After walking for a while they came by the fighters training ground and he saw the boy in blue training hard like always. George would see him train every day and knew that he didn’t need a job because of his noble birth. But the thing he didn’t understand was why he was staying in a small two-person room at the academy instead of the big mansion owned by the Hooper clan.

Seeing George focus all of his attention to the boy in blue Tyler started to become curious.

“Do you know him?”

George gave a quick nod, but seeing Tyler still looking at him decided to elaborate.

“He is my roommate; we don’t talk much but he seems like a hard worker.”

Tyler not expecting that was startled, but after a while started to shake his head.

“You need to be careful around him. He is not just a member of the Hooper clan, he is the son of one of the five generals who after the clan lord have the most influence in the clan. This means that he is far more powerful than the clan leader who is put in charge of Wine village.

I heard stories about how his father is a great fighter and that the position of general has been passed on from his grandfather to his father before he went on adventuring. So I expect he wants to get strong enough to take the position from his father when he grows up.”

George didn’t think that his status would be so high, and if his status was so high why was he staying in his dorm room.

“Why is he staying in my room if he is the son of some great general?”

Tyler expecting the question went on explaining.

“I heard some rumors from a couple of Hooper nobles when I was drinking in the pub. Apparently, it was expected of him to take his father’s place just like his father had taken his grandfather's place, but the thing nobody thought about was that there was a chance he would not get the same class as his father and grandfather because everyone in his family for three generations had become a fighter.

When he did the test, it was to everyone’s surprise that he didn’t have the fighters class but a cleric instead. Even though clerics are support types and are mostly specialized in healing it’s still a good class. But he couldn’t accept it and keeps practicing the sword refusing his father’s command to become a healer instead.

When his father heard of this he got angry and ordered his son thrown out of the mansion and excommunicated from the clan. The clan leader did this but still, keeps giving him financial support in the fear that one day he will fall back in the good graces of his father and come for revenge.

At first, I didn’t think of it as anything more than rumors but seeing that he really is staying at a small room maybe it’s true. But then against maybe it’s not, who knows.”

George hearing the story felt a little closer to the boy in blue, just like him he was being forced to do something he didn’t want and when he didn’t do it he was punished by his father like George would be punished by the principal.

“It’s funny how two people with almost nothing in common have the same problems with authority.”

Tyler shook his head and didn’t seem to agree with George.

“What you are doing it totally different from what he is doing. You won’t want to train in martial arts because you don’t want to be a warrior. What he is trying to do is become a tiger when he is just a sheep. He can stand there and swing that sword for ten years but that won’t change that he will never be a warrior.

I know that a lot of people look at him and see bravery and passion, but when I look at him I see a fool who just can’t accept reality.”

George understanding Tyler’s reasoning and could to an extent agree with him, but still felt a little bad for the boy in blue.

“I don’t know enough about how skills or the cleric class to say anything about that, but as a person, I feel sorry for him and I hope he finds his own way in life.”

Seeing George react like that made Tyler a little ashamed. It was true that he didn’t have all the information and that he couldn’t tell for certainty that there was no way.

“Are you saying that because you also want to follow your own way, and think that if he succeeds you can too?”

George gave a rare smile and nodded his head.

“Is that so bad? Most of you dream of becoming great soldiers or whatever you call it, but I don’t. So what’s the use of practicing martial arts or cultivating?

When I finally find something that I want to do and it becomes my dream, I will do anything needed to reach it. If that means that I need to learn martial arts so be it.”

Tyler laughed out loud and didn’t say anything. He liked to talk to George but found himself losing arguments most of the time.

After a while, they reached the training ground. Tyler said his goodbyes and told him to visit him next session day to get a new skill from master Percy.

George looked around and saw a lot of students training. At the center of the ground was a middle-aged man standing with a muscular body. George thinking that it was his best bet started to walk toward the man.

“Excuse me, I’m looking for master Keven. Do you know where I can find him?”

The man had a kind look on his face and gave a quick nod.

“You must be the new kid. I have been waiting for you for a couple of hours now. I heard from the principal you don’t like martial arts. Master Keven is at the back waiting for you to arrive. Go inside the small house at the end of the training ground, you will find him there.”

George nodding his head started to walk towards the end of the training ground. There he found a house made of stone that looked more like a small hut.

George walked inside and found nothing more than a table and two chairs in the room with an old man sleeping in the chair.

At first, George didn’t want to wake him up but decided that making the old man angry was a better option than going back to the principal the next session day without learning anything.

“Excuse me, sir, I’m here at the request of the principal.”

The old man opened his eyes and had an angry look on his face.

“What took you so long. that annoying kid told me that you would be here hours ago.”

George didn’t know what to say, the principal told him to go in the afternoon and didn’t give him a timeline to follow.

“my apologies, the principal just told me to be here in the afternoon and didn’t give me a specified time.”

The old man starting to wake up, stood up from the chair and started to walk toward the exit of the hut. He looked like he could fall any second and even used a long stick as a cane to walk.

“And here I thought that he forgot the time because of his long ramblings, I swear if I was twenty years younger….”

The old man coming back to his senses started to caught and played with his white beard.

“Come with me kid, I will teach you the basics of the tank class. I heard from the kid that you don’t have any interest in martial arts but that is none of my concern. I will do my job and teach you to my best ability’s, and what you do with it is up to you.”