Commander Marcus stood up, his massive body nearly reaching the roof of the chamber. He continued his monologue "Not all elves, giants, dwarves, and so on, are trying to enslave and wipe out our kind. It's mainly the greedy and powerful who have brainwashed much of their populations. They want to take our resources and exploit us for their own gain… They know that us humans are no worse or better than any of them."
Marcus continued, "In fact, we've have abilities too, although we are not extremely gifted or very strong, we are more gifted than the giants, and stronger than the elves. I myself, am an expert mage and a master knight. However, this is well above average for humans. Most humans never even become mages, and fewer reach 'scholar'.
In time, I hope you can become both the most skillful knight, and the most powerful mage."
"Sorry, what's an expert mage, master knight and 'skilled'?" Asked Ryan.
Commander Marcus shook his head, sighing as he said, "How could I forget… I'll tell you now…"
((READ THE AUXILLARY for tiers/ranks! The tier/rank system is similar for each race, but for "higher beings" it is different!))
After an arduous explanation, Ryan felt exhausted, the young guard from earlier was then given the task of showing Ryan where his room was and after a few wrong turns in the labyrinth of stone corridors, they reached Ryan's room.
There wasn't much to look at, really: badly carved rocky walls, a bed, a table and a candle.
"You should get out of those… odd clothes, they aren't suitable for training, there is a set of clothes on the bed over there, good night!" Said the joyful young soldier who quickly hurried off to his next job.
Ryan rapidly threw his wet and torn suit off and hopped into his new clothes that were similar to the gear of all the other military members of this hideout.
At least there won't be any millipedes in this hideout, thought Ryan, as his mind gave in to fatigue.
————
An unknown amount of time later, Ryan woke to an ear-piercing shout.
"WAKE UP, YOU LAZY WORM!"
Ryan jumped out of bed, half asleep. His eyes were barely open enough to see who was shouting. Ryan remembered him from the main chamber. He was sitting at the table having a discussion with three other men. He had ginger hair, was balding, and his eyes were a striking blue. He was quite small, standing a few inches lower than Ryan.
"You were meant to arrive at the training hall an hour ago! I expect you to be prepared and in the training hall before 7:00, which is in 5 minutes!"
"If you think you will get special treatment because you are a hero, you are wrong! You need to work just as hard, No! Harder than any of us!"
Please. stop. shouting. thought Ryan, as he fought the urge to cover his ears with his hands. He quickly stopped himself, realising that the short man would probably kill him if he dared to do so.
The man rushed off, slamming the room's door behind him.
Rude!
Ryan sluggishly put on his new shoes; pointy and made of leather, and rushed out of his room into the dingy, stone corridor.
What about breakfast…
Wait… where is the training hall?
Ryan's mind starting aching, as he realised he had no clue where the training hall was.
With a sense of urgency, he guessed the left pathway and began running. His footsteps echoed off the stone walls as he followed the sound of distant voices.
Who decided to make this impossible to navigate? Where are the people at, is there no one to ask for directions?
Navigating the maze-like corridors proved to be a daunting task, and Ryan found himself everywhere but the training hall, even reaching the exit of the base, twice. Panic gnawed at his insides as the minutes ticked by, each second bringing him closer to the dreaded deadline.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity of frantic searching, Ryan stumbled upon a bright lit chamber with an open doorway. The sound of clashing weapons and gruff voices drifted out from within, signaling that he had found the training hall at last.
Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, Ryan stepped into the room, his eyes widening at the sight before him. On the left side of the entrance, many warriors of various shapes and sizes sparred with one another, their movements fluid and precise as they fought. Sweat glistened on their heads, and the air crackled with the energy of their exertion.
On the right side of the entrance there were fewer people-most of which were sitting down meditating and one them that he recognised. Toris was here, sitting still, practicing his concentration.
"Good, you are here" Said Toris, his eyes still closed.
Creepy
"How much did the 'Divine' teach you about mana and magic, everything?" Continued Toris.
Divine must be those angel people I met.
"Not much, something about sitting still and searching for mana, that's about it." Replied Ryan, who was now a couple meters away from Toris.
"Sit down, you have a lot learn and not much time. I think we'll start by clarifying the knowledge you already have, did you try sensing mana yet?"
"I've tried, but the most I have felt is a tingling sensation in my fingertips." Said Ryan, mimicking Toris' positioning.
"That is one of the normal first signs. How long have you been here, a couple weeks?"
"I've been here less than a week," said Ryan.
"Unbelievable. If you keep that up you'll be tier one in no time." Toris said, nodding his head in disbelief. "Are you ready for a few tips?"
Ryan gave a thumbs up.
"Okay, I'll take that gesture as a yes… we'll start with mana sense. All that you need to do is simply find the mana around you, it is everywhere, and once you do you will unlock your sixth sense, it will come on to you like a rush. When using your sixth sense, the mana sense, you will be able to feel mana and someday see mana, easily. This process usually takes us humans, with good potential, a year to a year and a half to achieve the mana sense."