The apprentices walked around the armory, looking at all the weapons, discussing among themselves. Ray and the group looked around. Elaira spotted iron daggers and picked them up. Cassandra asked, “Do you use daggers?”

  Elaira’s lips curled upwards as she buckled the daggers onto her waist. “I have always.” She then clapped. “I got mine; what about you guys?”

  Ray pointed to another section of the armory. “Those weapons look better, but we can’t get them now, I guess.”

  The man in red-white standing near them spoke, “The weapons you are choosing now are basic weapons. As you move onto the next year, you may choose a new, better weapon or keep using the one you choose now.”

  The group nodded, and Sera crossed her arms. “So are the basic weapons only crafted from steel and iron?”

  The man nodded in agreement and said, “There are four graded weapons in this armory. These basic weapons are made of steel and iron.” Pointing at the next room. “Those are intermediate weapons. They are made of cold iron and sky steel.”

  Jon tilted his head. “What’s cold iron and sky steel?” Ray tapped his chin. “Hundred-year-old iron and steel.”

  “Wouldn’t they corrode?” Sera questioned. Ray shook his head and said, “No, they don’t corrode since they exist in environments that lack air. Such as the land near the Blood Sea.”

  Sera scratched her temple. “If that area lacks air, humans won’t survive there, so then how do you get cold iron and sky steel?”

  “Anyone who has trained their internal harmony in smell can hold their breath for as long as they want.” Ray shrugged.

  The group nodded while the man in red-white said, “There are people who do these kinds of jobs for a living; they are called scavengers.”

  Soon the group started looking at the weapons to choose from. Elaira and Cassandra helped Sera look for a spear, while also looking for a sword for Cassandra. Jon, Aidan and Victor looked through the different swords. Jon picked up a curved sword. “This looks nice; too bad I can’t use it.” Aidan let out a hearty laugh and said, “You can learn to use it here at the academy.” Jon blinked. “I can?!” Victor, who had talked little until now, said, “Yes, there are instructors here you can ask to learn from to use any weapon you choose.”

  Jon gleamed with excitement and buckled the curved sword onto his waist. “Alright, I’m done. I have my weapon. Come on, guys, hurry. I can’t wait all day.” Aidan frowned and said, “Shut up, idiot.” Jon glared at him. “Who are you calling an idiot? You’re an idiot.” They started wrestling each other, and while unsuccessful, Victor still tried to calm them down.

  Elaira sighed as she looked at them. “What are they doing?” Sera replied, still searching for a spear. “Don’t worry about them.” Cassandra chuckled as she picked up a broad blade. Elaira’s eyes widened as she pointed at her, as her hands shook. “H-how did you pick that up so easily?”

  Sera squinted her eyes and turned. “What do yo—” She stopped mid-sentence as she spotted Cassandra holding a giant sword, almost the size of her.

  Cassandra looked at them and smiled. “I’ve always been strong.” As she raised the sword with only one hand.

  As Ray looked around for a weapon, he spotted Cassandra holding a giant sword in the air. “What the fuck?”

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Look at her arm muscles; she must have trained ?a lot.

  He shook her head. I should avoid angering her. He thought and went back to look for a weapon.

  Cassandra strapped the sword onto her back and said, “Let’s look for your spear, Sera.”

  Sera and Elaira nodded, their eyes still wide, and continued to look for a spear. After a moment of looking, Sera spotted a spear she liked. It had a long, pointed blade attached to a semi-long wooden handle.

  She picked it up and stabbed forward a few times and smiled. “I like this. It’s just the right length.” Strapping it to her back, they turned to look for Mei Zhi, who stood by the door silently observing everyone.

  Elaira asked, “Listen here, Vivi. Are you not choosing a weapon?” Mei Zhi frowned. “Vivi?” Elaira just stared at her without responding. Mei Zhi sighed and raised her fist. “These are my weapons.”

  Cassandra leaned in and stared at her fist and said, “How will you block a sword with this?”

  Mei Zhi let out a short breath. “Block? Why? I can just dodge.”

  Sera pointed to a section in the armory. “There are gauntlets over there.”

  “I don’t need that,” she said as she punched the nearby wall, cracking it. “My fists are strong enough.”

  Cassandra clapped as Sera and Elaira shrugged, and the four of them went outside. One woman in red-white spotted the cracked wall and sighed. “Every time… Can’t they show their strengths outside?”

  Aidan, Victor and Jon, after picking their swords, stopped near Ray, who was still looking around. Jon asked, “What are you doing? Just pick a sword and let’s go.”

  Ray stared at the floor. “Just a moment.”

  Duval had a sapphire sword. Was it an advance weapon? Maybe the last tier, the one above, advanced. I have never seen one like that in books.

  He shrugged and picked a random, well-balanced sword from the rack and said, “Alright, I’m done; let’s go.” The four of them also made their way to the grounds.

  Once back outside, the apprentices lined up as before. Lysa’s eyes hovered over them for a few moments as the silence pressed down upon them. The gentle morning breeze flowing by them as they waited in anticipation. She cleared her throat. “Swords, I see a lot of swords.” She paused, but only for a moment. “Out of the three hundred and twenty of you, roughly around two hundred have chosen swords.” After a long moment of silence, she asked, “Why?”

  The apprentices glanced at each other, unsure how to respond. Lysa waited for them to answer. Michael raised his hand. “Because swords are the superior weapon.”

  Ray scoffed. No, not really.

  Lysa didn’t respond to Michael’s answer. Another apprentice said, “Because, uh, it’s easier to learn.”

  Ray nodded in agreement. Yes, but the spear might be easier.

  Lysa shook her head. “No one?” Silence filled the grounds as Lysa shook her head. “Michael, your statement is wrong. No weapon is superior to the other; remember that.”

  Looking at the other apprentice who answered. “A sword is easier to learn but harder to master.” She scratched the back of her head. “I’m not built for teaching.” She then took a deep breath. “You chose the sword because it’s popular. Everyone uses it, so why not?”

  Ray smirked. Yep, that’s definitely it.

  “How many of you who chose a sword can use other weapons?” She asked, her voice low and playful.

  Ray and a few others raised their hands. Lysa nodded in approval and said, “Good, a jack of all trades is a master of none; I don’t like that line. I think it’s bullshit.”

  She’s acting completely different from before.

  Lysa shrugged and pointed at them. “You can use any weapon you want; don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” She pointed at Mei Zhi. “You can also just not use any weapons and still be strong. Like Vivian.”

  Then with a sly smirk she added, “But then if you aren’t as strong as she is, you might just die. Well, some of you will die, surely.”

  The apprentices flinched and glanced at each other, murmuring among themselves.

  Ray stared at Lysa. This is a blatant change. She’s like a completely different person.

  Maximus, who was resting on top of the Academy, sighed. “She’s going crazy again.” He stood up and jumped, landing next to Lysa, and said, “You’re scaring them. Calm down.” Lysa patted Maximus’ back and said, “Oh! Here’s someone who can use multiple weapons. Tell them, Max, how many weapons you can use.”

  Maximus raised four of his arms with a slight smirk. “Four. I can use four different weapons.” The apprentices’ eyes widened, sweating and voices low. “Woah…”

  He has a smile on his face. Are all strong people fucking insane? Ray thought as he stared at Maximus and Lysa.