Elemental Dissonance.

Nux Plains,

Outer Boundary.

"We halt here, unload the carriages, arrange the Captain's tent" Dayes shouted "Everyone come to report at once"

With an efficient speed, the workers cleared up the area of tall grasses and set up the tent in no time.

Taking a deep yawn, Bilal looked up the sky and observed the Crimson Sun rising into the distance.

"Ahhh….six hours and not even a tenth of the route is travelled" He muttered under his breath, stretched out his legs and sat on a coarse rock.

Those six hours had been particularly taxing for him, since it was nighttime thus more attention was required and he was the person responsible for the whole Rearguard, burdening him further.

Luckily they didn't encounter anything strange or dangerous, it was just them crossing through the silent Nux Plains under the dim illumination of the moon.

Other than that, his head was aching badly probably due to overusing the System's Night vision mode.

Discovering this weakness made Bilal somewhat discontent but he put those thoughts on the back of his head and tried resting for a few minutes or so, before getting a call for the Captain's tent.

He checked upon Trake along the way and dragged his beaten body towards the tent.

As he came closer, several shadows came into his sight from within the Tent. They were a few prominent soldiers from the Vanguard and both the Flankguard leaders, they appeared to be bobbing their heads at the words said by the Old man who stood by the corner, taking the chance Bilal stood inconspicuously behind the crowd, blending into it.

---------------------------------------

"We've crossed the outer boundary of the Nux plains and from now on we have to be extra cautious any mistake would cost us gravely" The Old man said and clapped "Everyone dismissed, except Bilal"

"Captain" Bilal said.

"Ahh..Bilal, I've arranged a training ground for you with Dayes, he would teach you how to grasp the Battle Energy within no time" The Old man sighed lightly "I'm afraid the journey ahead won't be this peaceful and the Rearguard is our weakest front, thus I hope that you grasp the Battle Energy as soon as possible"

"I won't disappoint you Captain" Bilal replied.

"Only time would tell, go rest for half an hour, dismissed"

---------------------------------------

Relaxing half an hour, Bilal calmed his mind and restored his energy, besides sensing the urgency in the Captain's voice he too was eager to learn this Battle Energy, therefore despite feeling sleepy he got up and strolled the encampment to meet Dayes.

Soon he located him at the cooking area of the encampment, he stood together with two other Soldiers holding pikes.

"Brother Dayes" Bilal called from behind.

"Ohh, there you are, we've sent someone to the Rearguard to find you, you didn't get the call?" Dayes raised his brows and asked curiously.

"No, I didn't got any call" Bilal replied.

"Strange….." Dayes looked sideways and said "They are Berat and Tyler, they too are of your level, Mortal Apprentice but yet to grasp Battle Energy, you would train alongside them"

"Enough talk, let's get going" Dayes directed.

Together they went behind their encampment, to a barren pre-cleared area in the shape of an open race track, it was tens of meters in diameter.

"Before anything else, start running l.a.p.s till you get exhausted!!" Dayes commanded "It builds up your stamina alongside getting you ready to sense your Battle Energy"

"Till we get exhausted!?" Bilal's face looked grim as he thought of something.

By the time he returned to his senses, he noticed both the Soldiers had already started running, throwing their pikes on the ground.

He too followed their suit and started with a simple jog, and he slowly increased the speed.

"Don't jog!! RUN!" Dayes screamed at the top of his lungs.

Three laps…..

"Battle Energy is a power granted to us, Warriors, by the plane of Yreka to compensate for our harsh training, it is a power derived from the self…."

Six laps…..

"The objective is to have your mind aligned with your body, fully exhaust yourself, don't leave a shred of power left in your body" Dayes yelled "Unite with every fiber of your muscles and bring out its inner potential"

Twelve laps….

"YES, now I can see you are trying….faster….go even faster"

Twenty-four laps….

It was at that moment, sweat started breaking out of Bilal's forehead in the form of small driblets, looking up he saw the other two also breaking sweat and decreasing their speeds.

Gritting his teeth, Bilal continued. Juicing out the initial strength with some effort.

Thirty-six laps…..

"Come on! COME ON!! Don't stop, embrace the feeling of pain in your legs and sense the Battle Energy coursing through your feet" Dayes looked at the runners and tried uplifting their spirits with his words.

But the effect didn't seem that obvious, since all three of them had their speed continuously falling.

Forty-eight laps…..

"I can see your effort, do not stop! Do Not Stop!! All your previous efforts would be a waste if you do….try going for an extra lap…try sensing the Battle Energy" Dayes exclaimed and yelled with loud volume.

But his words continue to fall on deaf ears, since all three of them looked extremely exhausted and were ceaselessly slowing down.

In an unforeseen manner both Berat and Tyler collapsed like string severed dolls, only Bilal continued on.

Dayes looked at both of them and shook his head with disappointment, but his reaction was completely different when he gazed at Bilal, it seemed to be filled up of hope.

Unfortunately his last hope too collapsed, after a few extra l.a.p.s or so, with a dull 'thud'.

Slowly approaching Berat he asked a question: "Did your lower abdomen feel heaten up while running?"

"No" the man answered meekly.

Even though the answer was within his expectations, Dayes' still looked solemn, he shook his head and went to Tyler to ask the same question.

But the man remained silent, getting his answer from the silence he moved towards Bilal.

"Bilal, did your lower abdomen felt hot as you ran?" Dayes asked nonchalantly, not expecting anything different.

"Yes...it felt like a…a small stream of hot water within my legs, it gave me the strength to continue for the last laps" Bilal replied as he sat up and caught his breath.

"Really?!" Dayes asked excitedly "Why did you collapse then?"

"I…i don't know, but my legs felt too burdened, almost like they would break if I continue" Bilal said as he calmed his breath.

"Ohhh…finally, finally someone with talent!!" Dayes uttered subconsciously and looked deeply at Bilal with a frantic gaze "Bilal, despite what you think, sensing the Battle Energy at your first attempt is an incredible display of talent in itself"

"Your Swordsmanship is excellent and your body also seemed to be strengthened in the correct way, there's no problem with that, it's just your Stamina that you lose out in….Don't worry, we'll get it on appropriate levels with some training" Dayes evaluated him quickly "Go rest for an hour, we're staying for extra this time"

"As for you two, there's no need to be disappointed, atleast five of these sensing attempts is a norm, I felt mine on my third attempt and Captain grasped his on his second" He instructed both of them with a sober expression "We'll do sessions like this based on the availability of breaks, till then incorporate small running practise while walking to get your bodies accustomed"

-------------------------------------

Captain's Tent.

Sitting within his tent leisurely, the Old Adrogen grabbed a piece of Dried jerky and chewed merrily "So….is he worth investing in?"

"Yes uncle, he's very much worth investing in, if he hadn't lied to me" Dayes looked up and replied in a soft tone.

"If we get out of the Wilderness safely, I'm going to assign him into the Special Trainees squad…." The Old man paused for a moment before asking "How's your training going? How long before you breakthrough into Initiate?"

"I can feel it, I've perfected my Lion's Strike technique, I just need a small push" Dayes replied earnestly.

"Good…good…try having it within these upcoming days, we've entered a Monsters' Nest territory" Adrogen said with dismay.

"Monsters' Nest? Of which monsters is it?" Dayes appeared thunderstruck as if he was electrocuted with a million volts.

But his reaction was reasonable since any sane person would give the same, when hearing a Monsters' Nest is nearby, unlike roaming Monster Tribes, Monsters' Nest is the aggregate of a settled number of monsters in a sustainable environment. A single monster nest sometimes may have up to two or three times the number of monsters in comparison to a Tribe, they are a Nightmare to any Noble Lord. The High council of Olga Federation even mandates a Noble Lord to clear out the infested Monsters' Nest if ever encountered in their territories.

"Ground Devils…those dirt eating snakelings"