Chapter 10: Arrogance Contest
The healing mages rushed to the training grounds, carrying the injured one by one to the medical area.
A medic approached Zephyr, but he waved him off and stood up by himself. He wasn’t healed yet— he had sustained far too many injuries for that— but he could already feel his body starting to repair itself, so that was not his main concern. The important thing was, he was starving. Healing consumed energy pulled straight from his body, and that energy could only be replenished by eating.
"I... I need food," he whispered to the medic instead.
The commander overheard and burst out laughing.
"Hahaha!"
"Show the boy to the mess hall. He deserves it anyway," he said, then turned his eyes toward the other standing recruits. "They all do."
The medic gave a short nod and began leading the victorious recruits to the mess hall. They had all refused any form of treatment, as they didn’t want to eat into their merit points so early in the program. It was comical in a way— especially Zephyr and the Ponytail dude. Both of them had their faces caked red with dried blood and were holding their ribs as they walked, yet they still turned down treatment like it was beneath them.
Once the victors were gone, the instructor turned toward the soldiers who had failed to defeat their assigned recruits. His gaze was sharp and disdainful as he walked past them, stopping to look each one directly in the eyes.
"...You are a failure," he said with cutting calm.
Their knuckles clenched as they felt the bite of his words.
"You couldn’t even bring down some kids still wet behind the ears. What use are you to the military if you can’t complete such a simple task, hmmn?"