The biggest difference of the day came during the late afternoon training.
As always, we began with one hour of meditation. The field was quiet while we sat cross-legged in the dirt, focusing on our breathing and sensing mana around us.
After the meditation ended, Spiro stood up and called out a name.
"Margaretha."
She stepped forward immediately.
"Stand in the middle."
Spiro drew a circle on the ground with his boot and pointed at it.
"Do not leave this circle."
Then he gestured toward a nearby pile of gravel.
"Everyone else. Throw stones."
Margaretha blinked in confusion.
"What?"
"You will block them," Spiro replied.
She had no weapon. No armor.
That meant she would have to rely entirely on her wind control.
Robert picked up the first stone and threw it from the left side. The throw was fast, and Margaretha quickly lifted her hand. A small burst of wind pushed the stone away.
But sweat already appeared on her forehead.
Blocking was harder than attacking.
Seeing the opportunity, I threw the stone in my hand.
The stone struck her forehead with a dull sound.
Blood appeared immediately.
Margaretha glared at me for a split second, but she didn't have time to complain because more stones were already flying toward her.
Theo threw one. Agni followed. Then Pritha.
Spiro crossed his arms and watched us.
"If you do not throw stones," he said calmly, "I will throw them at you instead."
So we continued.
I started timing my throws carefully. Each time Margaretha blocked Robert's stone or Theo's stone, I threw mine right after, when her attention shifted.
This time, I aimed at safer places like her arms, her stomach, and her legs.
But the stones still hit.
Again and again.
By the end of the training session, Margaretha's body was covered in bruises and small cuts.
When Spiro finally ended the exercise, she walked directly toward me. For a moment I thought she might hit me.
Instead, she smiled.
"Next time," she said, "I'll block your stones, Rick."
She had clearly noticed my timing, but she didn't seem angry.
That surprised me.
Night came afterward, but my body wasn't as exhausted as usual. I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep.
Fear slowly crept into my chest.
What if the nightmare returned?
Then I heard quiet footsteps beside my bunk.
Robert stood there holding his wooden sword.
"Rick," he whispered.
I looked at him.
"Do you want to join me?"
"Join you?"
He lifted the sword slightly.
"Let's swing until our bodies can't move."
I understood immediately.
I nodded.
We went outside under the moonlight and began swinging our swords again and again. The quiet night was filled only with the sound of wood cutting through the air.
We continued until our arms trembled and our legs barely supported us.
When we returned to the dormitory, we collapsed into bed and fell asleep instantly.
No dreams came that night.
The third day arrived quickly.
The morning routine repeated itself: water carrying, cleaning, running, and supply transport.
By the afternoon meditation ended, Spiro called Theo forward.
"Theo will hide," Spiro announced. "You will find him."
Theo grinned confidently.
Then Spiro added another rule.
"Every time you find him, you may punch his face."
Theo froze.
Then he ran.
Theo hid somewhere inside the hideout complex, and the rest of us began searching.
For the others, it was difficult.
But for me, it was easy.
My eyes could see mana.
Theo's mana was like a faint glow in the darkness.
So I found him.
And I punched him.
Again.
And again.
After several rounds, I began to feel slightly bad for him.
But then Spiro shouted from across the field.
"Harder."
So I punched harder.
For a moment the motion reminded me of Frans.
My fist froze.
The memory began to rise inside my mind like poison.
Then someone poked my side.
Margaretha.
"Focus, Rick."
Her voice pulled me back.
The memory faded again.
Training continued.
That night, Robert and I swung our swords again until exhaustion swallowed us.
It felt like we had discovered a weapon against nightmares.
Exhaustion.
***
Fourth day.
Same training.
Same pain.
That was Agni and Pritha's turn.
They stood across from each other, throwing small fireballs.
Meanwhile, Spiro gave the rest of us a different command.
"Hit each other."
Theo and I paired.
Robert and Margaretha paired.
We took turns striking.
Punch.
Kick.
Punch.
Kick.
It hurt.
A lot.
But Margaretha suffered the most.
Robert was a monster when it came to strength.
Even when he held back, his punches were heavy.
By the end of the training, she looked worse than Agni and Pritha.
That night, Robert and I didn't train.
We simply slept, and the dreams never came.
***
Fifth day.
My turn.
My personal training resembled Margaretha's.
But my circle was much larger.
That meant I could dodge.
Margaretha looked very pleased about that.
Robert threw the first stone.
I dodged easily.
My Avenir Eyes caught the movement instantly.
But then…
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Six stones came at once.
Margaretha.
Of course.
I dodged two.
Blocked one.
Three hit me.
She grinned widely.
So she had been waiting.
As time passed, maintaining my eyes became harder.
My head throbbed.
My concentration weakened.
By the end, I was covered in bruises and numerous wounds.
When Spiro finally ended it I could barely stand.
Robert went to swing swords that night.
I didn't.
I was too tired.
***
Sixth day.
Robert's turn again.
He fell asleep immediately after training.
But I continued swinging.
Alone.
Then I tried something new.
I activated my Avenir Eyes while swinging.
The exhaustion came faster.
Much faster.
Good.
That meant I could reach deep exhaustion quicker than Robert.
More exhaustion meant deeper sleep.
***
Seventh day.
Margaretha's turn again.
She had improved.
She blocked my timed throws easily now.
Her gaze clearly said I win.
***
Tenth day.
Agni and Pritha's turn again.
I could already feel the pain waiting for me.
But at least Robert and I didn't need night training.
***
Eleventh day.
My turn again.
This time, my "swing-while-maintaining-Avenir-Eyes" method worked well.
I lasted longer inside the circle.
Margaretha still managed to hit me often, though.
And she still grinned every time.
***
Thirteenth day.
My eyes had improved.
Hitting Margaretha became easier.
When one of my stones struck her shoulder, she looked confused.
That felt… satisfying.
***
Sixteenth day.
Robert's turn again.
But something changed.
When we started the run to the village, Spiro handed each of us a large backpack before we even began.
He said nothing.
We simply accepted it.
The bags were heavy.
Very heavy.
Pritha no longer collapses during runs now.
Which probably meant one thing.
Spiro decided our lives were becoming too easy.
So he made them harder again.