The next morning, Squad 2 and Squad 3 gathered at the sandy training ground, forming two long, orderly lines. On the right were the new recruits—Squad 2, consisting of Shinji, Lio, Akidou, Omelet, and Alba—with Squad 3 members is Therion, Macaw, and Vdolky standing behind them. On the left stood the elite soldiers, including Napoleta and the others. Standing between the two lines was Commander Tachi Tsukigami.
Tachi cleared his throat and spoke.
"I have matters to attend to today, so someone else will be training you."
A murmur spread through the group, but Tachi quickly added.
"You are to obey the instructor's orders absolutely. No distractions, understood?"
After saying that, he turned and walked toward the large gate.
On the other side, Therion lightly nudged Macaw and whispered.
"Hey, isn't Commander Argos strange? He leads Squad 2, yet we never see him here."
Vdolky immediately placed a hand on both of their shoulders—Therion and Macaw only reached his chest.
"Be quiet. Stay focused."
Suddenly, Tachi stopped and turned back.
"Oh, right. The Grand Commander Prometheus might come for a surprise inspection."
At the mere mention of that name, the elite soldiers instantly went pale, sweat forming across their foreheads.
Shinji leaned toward Napoleta and whispered.
"Why is everyone so afraid of Prometheus?"
Instead of answering directly, Napoleta pointed toward a nearby soldier. Shinji followed his gaze and saw that the man's arm was severely burned all the way up to his shoulder.
"He coughed while Grand Commander Prometheus was present."
Hearing that, Shinji immediately understood and broke into a cold sweat like the others.
The steel gate creaked heavily as it slowly opened. A tall figure, completely cloaked, stepped inside.
"He's here!"
Shinji stared at the figure and suddenly froze.
"Ares!"
Alba turned to him.
"What are you talking about?"
Shinji pointed at the cloak.
"The first time I met Ares, he was dressed just like that."
Alba shook his head.
"No way. Grand Commander Ares manages Military District 3. There's no reason for him to be here."
The tall man walked to the center. Everyone immediately stood straight and saluted.
He spoke in a deep voice.
"Hello. I'll be your instructor today, replacing Tachi."
He removed his hood, revealing a stern face and dark brown skin.
"My name is Ganso, from the Kingdom of Saffrom on the Sernik continent."
Shinji tilted his head toward Alba.
"Why does he's covered in mud?"
Alba sighed.
"That's his skin color. Sernik is hot, so people there tend to have darker skin. Unlike our continent, which is cooler, so it's rare."
Ganso walked around the field once, then pointed to the ground.
"Sit here."
Everyone quickly sat in rows—recruits in front, elites behind. Shinji happened to sit next to Therion from Squad 3.
Therion extended his hand.
"Hi, I'm Therion."
Shinji shook it.
"I'm Shinji. Nice to meet you."
Akidou leaned in as well.
"I'm Akidou!"
Therion smiled lightly.
"You're quite sociable, aren't you?"
He adjusted his glasses and introduced the others.
"This is Macaw, and that's Vdolky."
Vdolky waved, while Macaw remained silent, wearing pink headphones.
"He's… pretty quiet, huh?"
Akidou muttered.
Vdolky chuckled.
"That's just how Macaw is."
At the front, Ganso dragged out a large crate of weapons and overturned it, letting everything spill onto the ground.
"Pick whatever you want."
Napoleta raised his hand.
"There are strong and weak fighters among us. If we fight each other, it won't be fair."
Ganso laughed.
"Fighting each other would be boring."
He then removed his cloak, leaving only a grayish-yellow pair of pants, revealing his muscular physique.
"You'll be fighting me."
He spread his arms.
"As many of you as you want. Just defeat me."
But no one stepped forward.
"What's wrong? Afraid?"
Ganso sighed, then pulled out a heavy pouch of coins and dropped it onto the ground. The metallic clink echoed.
"Your reward."
Two elite soldiers exchanged glances.
"Shall we go, Paul?"
"Let's do it, Perrie."
They stepped forward to applause from the others.
Ganso grinned.
"Good. I'll point out your weaknesses as we fight."
Paul wielded multiple daggers, each wedged between his fingers. Perrie held two sharp ring-shaped weapons.
"Let's show the recruits what we can do!" "Attack together!"
Paul threw his daggers while Perrie launched his rings at high speed toward Ganso. But in less than ten seconds, Paul was unconscious inside the weapon crate, and Perrie was slammed into the steel gate.
"One is too hasty. The other lacks decisiveness."
Ganso brushed his hands off.
"Next."
No one moved.
"Well then…"
He raised a finger and pointed.
"You. Come here."
His finger landed on Akidou, who had been the most distracted.
Startled, Akidou stepped forward.
"What's your strength?"
Ganso asked.
Akidou removed the bandage on his leg and answered firmly.
"Martial arts."
Ganso nodded with interest.
"Good. Then I'll use martial arts as well."
He crossed his arms.
"Attack me. I won't counter."
Akidou immediately channeled Essence into his leg, a red aura wrapping around it. "Are you sure, Ganso?"
Ganso nodded.
"Strengthen Body! Crimson Kick!"
Akidou spun and delivered a powerful kick to Ganso's left side. But the attack had almost no effect.
Ganso shook his head.
"Your Essence isn't fully concentrated in your leg."
Akidou frowned.
"Isn't Essence supposed to flow automatically when you use a technique?"
Ganso replied.
" No. Now try reinforcing just your right leg."
Akidou gathered Essence again. This time, the red energy surrounded him, but still spread outward.
Ganso then focused his own Essence into his leg. Unlike Akidou's, his Essence did not disperse—it condensed tightly around his limb like a dense layer.
"This is the correct way."
He lifted his leg slightly.
"Essence exists throughout your entire body. But when you use it, only the Essence in the specific body part is actually active."
His Essence clung firmly, unmoving.
"When you gather Essence from multiple parts like both legs and your core, it becomes denser and doesn't leak outward."
Ganso looked up at Akidou.
"Are you sure you're properly defending with Essence?"
Akidou nodded.
"Then I'm attacking."
Ganso dashed forward, stomping the ground before launching his first kick. Akidou managed to dodge, and the crowd below cheered.
But instantly—
"Don't lose focus!"
Before Akidou could react, Ganso planted his hands on the ground and spun, launching a second kick.
Akidou hastily reinforced half his body with Essence.
"Strengthen Body—!"
The kick struck his side directly. All the Essence condensed around Ganso's leg exploded outward, creating a shockwave that shook everyone nearby.
Even with full defense, Akidou coughed up blood and collapsed.
Ganso caught him, but Akidou still tried to stand.
With just a light touch, however, he fell unconscious.
Ganso calmly said.
"That strike targeted the internal organs. No matter how strong your external defense is… the inside will still take damage."