THE LAST KEEPER

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: DILEMA

The two days Sagiri was barred from physical training had finally come to an end. His schedule was back to normal, except for his sitting arrangement in the dining wing. He was either accompanied by Zolinka or Ulekai. Sometimes, Kiuga forced them to sit together with Kaka, and in those times, he had to eat more than three servings. Even those still received scornful looks from Kaka, but he kept quiet and minded his business, leaving all the chitchat to Kiuga.

Since he hadn’t joined physical practice for three days, he used the time to study as much as possible. He had managed to finish the second year compressed study, and he was halfway through the compulsory units taught in the first year in those days. Without the exhaustion from physical study, he did not need much to catch up. The only thing he struggled with was still combat.

He was bursting with strength just remembering the weapon dances. He wanted to be able to move with such vigour. Apart from the theoretical subjects, which he only needed two more weeks to finish, he delegated a whole week to Tagayia languages. Then he would use that time to study fiscal fitness, weaponry, and combat.

The morning started just as usual, with Torena leading the meditation. Sagiri had finally finished a week and a half in Galka War Academy, and the grueling schedule had become like second nature to him. He took off running to the first-year combat arena. He was not alone in the arena this time. It was packed full of first-year cadets who now wore their deep brown sashes. He was the only one wearing the ash-gray sash, and he stood out across all years. The first year had been wearing the ash gray. This was a day ago when they graduated, leaving only him in the recruits category.

Till they could officially become cadets, they could only study physical fitness. They could now officially start their study in combat. Sagiri, on the other hand, could have to study. joined them standing in the last row.

”I see you look happy to have moved up from mere recruits to cadets. That, however, does not mean anything!” Fuwuka started standing on the raised platform in the middle of the arena, looking at them like they were nothing. ”If you fail to improve in your core strength and stamina, and show improvement, you will be forced to repeat the same year. And as you know, anyone that does not make improvements in a year does not belong in Galka War Academy and will have to be culled,” he continued.

No student has ever failed to show improvement in the history of Galka because only those capable enough could secure a spot. Only the best 250 students by Galka requirements each year could join the Galka Academy. They had to be fit and show at least prowess in one weapon. Sagiri could have possibly failed the Galka War Academy entry exam, yet here he was.

”I will be your combat instructor till your fourth year. I don’t tolerate laziness, tardiness, and lack of progress,” he continued, looking at Sagiri. ”Now get in formation. I want you to run 10 laps around the arena. After each lap, you are to run to the centre of the arena, do fifty pushups, and then repeat.”

”Move!” he announced, and the crowd of students immediately moved. within no time, Sagiri was at the last of the group, and Fuwuka’s eye twitched. Sagiri was not as sore as the week before, and he could already feel improvement inside of him, even though it was a little. He was not panting for breath as much or feeling as if his heart was going to shatter. Whatever N’varu had done to him while he passed out had not only improved his stamina a little bit but also renewed his body strength. He tried to keep up, but he was still the last of the group. He realized how bad his core strength was after three laps and 150 pushups.

”This is just physical fitness! Get a move on!” Fuwuka announced, and they all answered in unison.

”Yes, captain!” the voice echoed around the whole arena. After three more laps and 150 more pushups, Sagiri was out of breath. However, he was not going to give up this time, even with his lungs burning. He was still two laps behind when the others finished. By the time he completed the ninth lap, the breakfast gong had already gone off, and the others gave their respect salute to Commander Fuwuka before leaving. Sagiri’s muscles burned, and his heart was beating out of his chest. Fuwuka remained still watching him, almost expecting him to fall forward, spitting blood. After the display Sagiri witnessed in the ceremonial arena, however, he knew that slowing down was not an option. He pushed himself to finish the last round and pushed himself to finish the fifty pushups even with shaking hands.

He barely had any strength to give a respectful salute to Fuwuka before he fell forward flat on the ground. He did not have the luxury to stay unmoving. He dragged his tired body to the fourth-year Pentagon. The only difference was that he made it to the dining hall this time before the assembly gong sounded. The serving time was over, and some students had already finished eating. He stood by the door wiping his sweat. It was an improvement, but he was still behind. He was about to turn around and leave, but a voice called out to him.

”Keeper.” He had not seen N’varu approach, but he was standing beside him. ”I served you a portion. I knew you would be late again, he said, pointing at a table where he must have been previously sitting. There was an untouched serving of food. He turned around to tell him to stay away from him, but he was already gone. He looked between the now-empty doorway and the delicious, welcoming serving of food for long moments, unmoving. He was contemplating whether to go ahead and eat the welcoming food or to leave and go hungry again. He did not trust anyone yet because he was targeted by an invisible enemy. N’varu had, however, made sense when he said that he was not his enemy, and if he had wanted to kill him while he slept. Even the combat class with the first years had made clear the glaring fact that he was physically worse off than any first year. If he wanted to kill him with his stealth movements and strength, he could just attack him while he was unaware and kill him. Even if he used his power to attack, it could still end the same. He had said he could dodge it and kill him. It’s not like he had stolen some dark flower and slipped it in his food. or had he?

It took everything in him to turn away from the steaming food and head to the assembly ground on an empty stomach yet again. The day was pretty much like the last week, but he seemed to have built a resistance. He walked into the second-year library and pushed himself to study, but on an empty stomach, he could not achieve as much as he wanted. He wished he could have eaten the food, but eating food made by your enemy was the most foolish thing to do. He walked into the third-year library, and since he was already done, he moved to other topics that were not in the syllabus. He could study anything and everything that he could get his hands on. He had a lot he needed to know, and perhaps one book could teach him how to undo the barrier in his mind. By the time lunchtime arrived, he was famished, and he gulped down the food before heading to Miss Lakiya’s class. She was making the teams play a game of tag of war this time.

This time, it was not team against team. It was class against class. All they did in her class was play games, and it kept everyone on their toes. She always came up with new games, and it was scary and exciting at the same time. She was standing in the middle of the area when the fourth year cadets gathered around her.

”Boys, you kept me waiting,” she said with a wicked grin on her face. It was as if she arrived early because she just enjoyed the taste of adrenaline oozing off teams as they competed for the win. The games might have looked innocent, but when no one standing in the arena loved to lose, then it was a battle. With each game, the boys kept growing farther and further apart as if the self-interest in them kept growing. It was as if her class was meant to do the opposite of what it was supposed to do. It was dividing classes and teams instead of building team spirit. It made everyone wary of each other, and teams with stronger opponents were frowned upon.

”Cadets, apologize!” all the students sang in unison, making the grin on her face grow even wider. She caressed a very thick white rope going around her thin waist a dozen times, some of it still trailing behind her.

”Why do you boys look so on edge?” she started caressing the rope lovingly. ”It’s not like you hate my games, do you?” She asked, her sad tone not matching her wicked grin.

”As you can see today, I am not in the company of other instructors, which only means the game today is easy to let you relax from the previous game and unwind. The game today will not include earning points. It is just to build team morale. For those who did not earn any points, don’t worry, we still have many games to play before your midterm in three months, and many mini-tests in between that will award you points.” Her voice echoed sharply, intimidating, filling the whole arena.

”Today we just played a simple game of tag of war,” she said, and some held breaths were released, yet there were still anxious feelings and looks hanging in the air. No game suggested by her could be that simple. What she loved more than making her students play games was playing mind games.

”Here are the rules for the game!”

”Today the game will be according to streams. Since I don’t want to make any team feel left out, all streams will play four games. The team which loses two of the four games is directly disqualified. For each of the two teams competing, the opposite team has to choose a member of the opposite team to compete in hitting the bulls eye. The team that doesn’t hit the bulls eye gets to lose a member of the other teams choosing. No member can get chosen twice for the bow and arrow however.

”Now according to classes you have five minutes to read on the board the order of games”

A-B

C-D

D-E

B-C

E-A

D-B

C-A

E-C

A-D

B-E

”Team A and B, chose the other team’s member you want to compete in archery.”