The next day, they found out the style of the challenge. On the announcement board was a paper with the details. It said:
"A good leader has many qualities, but above all else is the ability to earn the trust and respect of their subordinates. How is this done? By being able to do all of the things their subordinates can, and being able to help them improve in these areas.
Therefore, the first challenge will be a weapons challenge. You must demonstrate your abilities with weapons in 1 on 1 duels. Each duel you may only use one weapon, after which you may not use that weapon for the remainder of the challenge.
You will earn points based on your mastery of each weapon, from 1-100 based on skill level. Points are not affected by whether you win or lose, only on how well you can use your implement of choice, so it would be wise to focus on the weapon rather than your individual ability.
At the end of this challenge, only the top 50% will remain in consideration. However participation is still mandatory for all soldiers. This means that the person ranked 0001 may end up not in a leadership role, and the person ranked 0250 may end up as a platoon sergeant.
Good luck to all of you."
The soldiers of first platoon first squad Alpha team (the survivors of Bravo team were still hospitalized and therefore automatically disqualified) were stunned. Travis playfully punched Kiara's shoulder.
"See that! I'm definitely going to end up being your squad leader!"
"Fat chance! Fighting isn't the only thing I'm better than you at." She huffed indignantly.
"Now now you two. It would definitely Victor to take that spot of the four of us." Justin said.
"Yeah I'm way more leader like than any of you three." Victor replied.
"Hey Justin, how about you hope off his dick." Kiara snorted.
"Yeah just because he's a neat freak doesn't make him a good leader." Travis added.
"Yeah well we'll see soon won't we." Victor said, looking at the pair defiantly.
○○○
The next morning, Travis walked to the drill hall wearing his PT outfit of shorts and a short sleeved shirt, and found ten Mats laid out on the floor. An NCO was stationed at each one as a referee. The wall was lined with every kind of weapon you could imagine and then some, all made of wood to ensure no one died. He looked around and saw he was one of the first to arrive.
"Private Miller, grab a weapons and go to that mat there. You'll be one of the first to go." One of the sergeant said. Pointing him to a mat towards the center.
He grabbed a standard one handed sword, and went to his mat, waiting for his opponent. When one finally arrived, he found himself standing before one of the privates from 3rd platoon, although he couldn't remember the guy's name. He held a spear in his hand.
"Both of you ready?" The NCO beside the mat asked, upon getting a nod from both, he continued. "Begin!"
His opponent immediately jumped forward and thrust the spear towards Travis' gut, aiming for his center of mass. Travis parried the spear tip to his left, then thrust the sword towards the man. He brought the butt of the spear up and blocked the sword.
He swung the spear around over his head trying to slash at Travis, but he jumped back out of range before closing again and slashing horizontally. They danced back and forth, slashing and stabbing trying to find an opening.
Eventually Travis blocked a slash at his gut, kicked the man back and stabbed towards the man's gut. Winded and dazed he was unable to block it, and the wooden sword slammed into him, knocking him to the floor.
"Victory Miller!" The referee announced. "Miller, you could use a little work with your speed and precision, but well done. 92 points. Schmidt, you also did well, but you made some mistakes with your distancing, and you didn't make use of the full spear, so you get 75 points. You would do well to practice against a living person instead of combat dummies."
They both thanked him for the advice, then thanked each other for the spar before stepping off. He looked and saw his other teammates were on the mat asked well. Kiara slammed a shield into her opponents face then smacked him across the face with her wooden sword.
Victor ripped his opponent's sword out of her hands with a hook sword, then hooked her ankle and pulled her off her feet, pointing the swords at her throat. Justin used a scythe, which apparently was his signature weapon now, and completely dominated his opponent. He slashed the blade across his chest, and then hooked it behind his knees and pulled, forcing the guy to his knees. Then he jumped over him, and swung thr scythe around, stopping just before the man's throat.
Lance used an ax, swinging it so hard and fast his opponent could barely block it. Eventually he found a gap and slammed it into the poor man's gut, making him almost throw up from the force. And Rebecca used twin daggers, sticking close to her opponent to negate her reach advantage. She was moving around her opponent so fast it seemed like she was everywhere and nowhere all at once. She finally caught her off guard and executed a quick series of thrusts to all of the vital points she could before the referee stopped her.
'Wow, my squad is absolutely incredible.' Travis thought. 'I'll need to up my game if I want to win.'