World of Demi-Humans: Freshmen Orientation(w/audiobook)

Class 09J07 - Hansen, Alice [Weekend Training]

"I love the night. I love its cold. I love its cruelty. I love it because in that cold cruelness, our instinct is to seek others. To seek comfort. To seek love. I love that is what we do. I love that who we are in the darkest hour."

-Snowstar

Weekend Training

"Thrust. Swing. Parry." Jerry shouted as Alice moved the blade in her hand. "Thrust. Swing. Parry."

Alice huffed and puffed keeping up with the boy's call. Sweat beaded her forehead as she stabbed forward, slashed to the side, and then swiped back before getting back into the starting position to start again. Thrust. Swing. Parry. Alice did them again and again.

"Oh, Sweet Mercy!" Samantha cried out red-faced and threw her trident to the ground, breaking the same pattern Alice was doing, "Jerry this is stupid. This won't help in a real fight."

"This isn't training Sam. It's a test." Jerry strolled past them. "I'm not trying to have you improve anything. I'm testing your endurance."

"Our endurance? We could have just ran the track!" Sam gestured over to the school forest with the track ring around it.

"I said endurance. Not stamina." Jerry clarified.

"What's the difference!?" Sam shouted.

"Ask Alice," Jerry said before strolling away.

Sam turned her gaze to Alice. The two girls were both in the khaki-colored sweats provided by the school. Past that the two were contrasted. Black hair, blond hair. Dull green eyes, bright blue eyes. Lean limbs and a narrow frame, built muscle and a bulk that made her the tallest girl in class. Even their complexion which they both got from their European home were different right then as Sam's huffing breath was only slowly returning her to her fair shade. She puffed, "Well?"

"Oh!" Alice jumped a bit, "Well, English is actually a second language for me. I don't really know what those words mean completely, but I'm guessing he's talking about the difference between normal work and an actual fight. Fighting is much harder than any exercise."

"So then why are we just exercising !" Sam shouted into the sky.

"Hey, you were the one who said to trust Jerry." Alice scowled.

"Well, that was before he had us thrusting and swinging and parrying for two hours!" Sam shouted swinging her trident wildly.

"Twenty minutes," Alice corrected.

"Shut up!" Sam slammed the trident pommel down, "I'm tired of this!"

"Oh hush up." Amanda called out from the field table she and Abraham were sitting at, "You are allowed to leave if you want."

"Oh, big talk! You're not even doing anything!" Sam shouted back.

"Am so," Amanda lifted a book up, "We're reading."

"We do that every day in class!" Sam shouted.

"At least your staying clean over there," York called from behind them. His khaki sweats were covered in dirt as was he. Nearby Brick was just as coated in dirt which gained another layer as he lean forward and allowed his bulk to slam into the ground, "When Jerry said to practice standing up I hadn't imagined it would be so taxing."

"What even is that about?" Sam asked as Brick lifted his bulk up.

"To put simply," York leaned himself forward and allowed himself to plop onto the ground, "For our body frames levering them up is more difficult. So falling down is much more dangerous for us."