Alex has always been the low man on the totem pole of the group, both physically and intellectually. He hoped for this opportunity, the city of wonders as they called it, to turn his life around completely.

They were a small group of five friends that decided to undertake this journey together. Three young boys and two girls, Alex, Richard, Frank, Brittney, and Karla, were their names.

Alex was pretty average in general, be it in his height, looks, and wit, only he was obese, as the son of a successful businessman he never felt the need to exercise. However, for his laziness, he has always been mocked by others, even if their jokes never went too far.

"AARGH!"

None of that mattered as gaping wounds plagued his back, sweat and blood mixing through the multiple folds of lard.

As he kept running, dark stains appeared on the hot sand, which had quickly absorbed his falling corporeal fluids.

To Alex, none of that mattered, as he was in so much pain like he didn't ever experience before. His throat was dry, gasping for air, still, for the first-hour mark, there were about forty minutes left.

Nestor was simply a few meters ahead of him, quickly trodding at the head of the group. They were nine humans in total, they were keeping each other in check, trying to avoid the last position at all costs.

'These elves ahead of us have yet to break a single sweat, they sure are tougher than us humans. Even the guy ahead, Marco, is sweating a lot, even if he doesn't seem that tired.

As for me, maybe it was thanks to the two days of walking I just made together with Linneo, but I'm still holding my ground.

I used the candle yesterday 'night', as I needed it to keep track of time and I had also walked a lot. I really feel like the stamina of my body increased, it is nothing groundbreaking, but still barely noticeable.'

As more minutes passed by, another scream was heard from the back.

Nestor turned around slightly, only to notice that one of the girls had been whipped by Captain Cole. Whom, in particular, surprised Nestor a little, the rigid night didn't change one bit since the start of the training.

For the sake of training them, the cold knight didn't discriminate at all, would the girl have been an elder or a child he would have done the same. Striking them with his inflexible whip of justice, for you were lagging behind only blood could wash away such stains.

' He's taking this seriously, and 'them, I can't seem to place them in this group.'

The three other trainees were, like the others, sweating and having some difficulties on the run. However, to Nestor all these legs shaking and deep breaths sounded somewhat faked, crafty acting orchestrated by the trio.

It wasn't the first time this kind of impression got the best of him, he felt a similar sensation before choosing his sword as well, only this time was much weaker.

'Is this the manifestation of my own powers? I remember Linneo saying something about them, they should be related to the 'soul'. However, it should be too soon for me to possess them.'

They didn't inspire much friendliness anyway, even if Nestor's assumptions were completely off.

Their bloodshot eyes and various ticks on their mouths made them strange enough.

'It's almost as if they are holding back, like a constant itch on their back that they can't scratch. Whatever it is, my best shot is to be careful around them. I'll try to avoid this three outside the academy.

If they'll be still around for the time I get out of here, I'll ask them a thing or two.'

As the desire for strength clouded his mind for a few minutes, Nestor had lost track of what was happening behind him.

Surprisingly enough his reflexes seemed to be sharper than ever, as his right arm quickly moved to intercept Cole's bloodies whip.

Sharp pain coming from the now open wound, yet he had contracted his muscles and adjusted the angle of impact before the collision. Even so, Nestor had never been an experienced fighter, he had only just taken a look at the fighting manual the day before falling asleep.

Thus the bloody wound was hurting a lot, and a brief moment of panic permeated his very being. Only the fear of an incoming second slash brought him back to reality, he started to sprint, rapidly increasing his pace and putting some distance from the group.

'How did this even happen in such a short period. Now that I have been hit as well I can surely understand the pain, but for them to rush so quickly...Oh!'

Only now did Nestor understand the cause of this incident, Alex, was now laying down, unconscious in a mess of sweat blood and dirty sand.

The fountain was slowly healing the lashes, however, the fatigue and stress accumulated would keep the pig down for a while.

Back at the top spots for the run, was Marco, with a joyful spirit he waved his hand at Nessa. The lady seemed to gasp for hair, as tiny cracks in her skin periodically released higher flames.

"If you knew this would have been too much of a burden, you should have stayed behind, with the others. Arrogance won't take you very far, especially while training."

The initial ridicule carried on with heartfelt advice, as Marco was simply trying to make some connections here and there, he still missed the friends he had before.

"Sometimes pride is necessary to bring you to greater heights, to live up to the expectations of others, of those that believe in you.

You won't understand this by only living for yourself."

Marco was left pondering the girl's words, he quickly wiped off the sweat on his forehead. He leaped forward, step after step, the sand that he lifted each time behind his feet.

'Am I really such a self-centered man? No, that's not it. I think that I've lost my purpose, what do I even want to achieve anymore ...'

While thinking so, his eyes lit up as if he discovered the key to some sort of inscrutable riddle.

"Pass him to me. I want fair competition, otherwise, you'll be training more than me, and that is unacceptable."

Still smiling, the youth extended his well refined, yet sweat, arm toward Nessa, as if not accepting the possibility of her denying the request.

A bit silly, but she still found it an act of kindness. Thus she quickly grabbed for something heavy holding onto her shoulders, it was her little brother, Isaac.

'The brat is heavier than I thought, and he's scorching hot too! Well, Marco you genius, what to expect, fire literally sips out from his skin!'

A look of discomfort plastered his face, as the kid didn't utter a word, simply holding onto Marco's backpack.

'Urgh this position is so uncomfortable, with the backpack too, but at lean he's not touching me much. It's time to put some more coal into the locomotive right?'

Soon after, the young athlete increased his pace once again, inspired by the new odds of his training.

On Nestor's side, things had escalated very quickly, as now he understood the dirty game of the evil trio.

'Even if I have to admit that I thought about doing it too, I couldn't really take myself to.

They are basically toying with the weakest trainees. One starts to fall behind they slow down, giving them the impression to be very tired too.

As the poor soul gives a little sprint in the hope to get out of their painful situation, they follow up the acceleration, denying their attempt in the end.

Doing so they are both tiring out the trainees on top of keeping them whipped by the merciless executioner.

While risky, I wanted to try so to see the limits of the instructor, however, we have already confirmed such a thing through The fatty's sacrifice.

Cole will keep whipping you until you black out, probably once you wake up, everything will simply repeat.

Then their reason must be as obvious and cruel as it is, entertainment. To find happiness in the misfortune of others, I may find it sickening given the circumstances, but humans have always been like this.'

At least these were Nestor's thoughts on the matter. Yet, among the sweat and fatigue of the run, the sinister smile they were hiding slipped up from his vision.