"You know, I'm really starting to like this place," Erik said as they stretched after a particularly grueling workout. "I've never seen so many people working out before." He said, glancing at his friends, who nodded with him.
"It's different here than back at school," Floyd replied between breaths. His muscles were already pumped from all their training.
He didn't seem winded by it one bit despite having just finished an exhausting sprint on the treadmill, followed up by some weight lifting on top of more running.
In fact, if anyone looked worse for wear now, it was Martha. Her face had gone beet red due to over-exertion and sweat pouring off her brow. The young woman wasn't talkative, but they let her stay with them while training since she was Benedict's friend. After all, they didn't want to sound rude, and judging by the ease with which she trained, she had to be strong.
"Do you need my help, Martha?" Benedict asked.
The group started with only Amber, Gwen, Erik, Floyd, Benedict, and Martha. Still, following the spar between Benedict and Anderson, the latter, Aaron, and Mikey joined the group.
It was weird to see since the three didn't usually mingle with Amber and company, probably due to Floyd. But here, in this new environment that the Red Palace represented, with thousands of students training to improve and become stronger, most of them being in the military, it was better for the three to be in a larger group.
As Erik trained, he often heard other's people conversations. They mainly described how hellish the military life was and how hard it was compared to their previous one.
Erik understood something from those conversations: First, joining the militaries didn't mean that a member had to quit at the Red Palace.
On the contrary, they were encouraged to train their fighting skills here, do sparring matches, and learn weapons during the morning while attending regular military classes during the evening.
Drills, survival training, Thaid hunting, and the likes were all things that the military taught, clearly offering other kinds of training for those who weren't strong enough to join the Red Palace.
It seemed like this institution was deeply rooted in the government and the military as if they were part of each other.
"So, what are we going to do this afternoon?" Amber asked the group.
"I don't know, I would like to train," Gwen said.
"You want to train more?" Amber said.
"The lessons will start tomorrow, so it would be better to be in top shape," She replied.
"Yeah, I agree," Anderson said.
"I can't," Erik said, making everyone turn in his direction. "I have to work."
"Work?" Benedict said. "What do you mean? Isn't your father or mother supporting you?" To be honest, Benedict was a little bit dense, so he didn't think about the fact that maybe Erik was alone.
"My mother died when I was a child, and my father went missing years ago..." Erik said, making his friends' mood plummet.
It was the first time they had heard this information from their friend. They were obviously aware of his family trouble, but it wasn't easy for them to make Erik talk about it.
It wasn't their business anyway, so they refrained from talking about it. Anderson was slightly embarrassed by the question since they were not friends with Erik and the others, so he felt like he was hearing something he shouldn't.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear it, but I still don't get it. Here you have food and accommodation; why do you keep working?" Benedict asked.
"Because I like it," Erik said. It was true that he liked farming life, but the real reason why he wanted to go there was to go hunt Thaids.
"You like working? What kind of job do you do?" Benedict asked.
"He works on a farm! He is the plant hugger," Floyd said, teasing him a little bit.
"Hey! Don't make fun of him!" Amber said.
"Plant hugger?" Benedict asked.
"It's related to my birth power. I can make plants grow faster and stronger... It's almost useless during fights, but it is useful outside of this context," Erik said.
"Well, the important thing is that you like it," Benedict said, leaving everyone speechless, Erik included. Amber was the first one to say that he had a beautiful power, but the young man was the first to say that the only thing that mattered was for him to like it.
The truth was that Erik hated his power for many years, but since he got the system, he could see how helpful it was to have a brain crystal power like that.
He was bound to never starve essentially, and could also be used in particular situations, some of which would be particularly useful once he escaped the country.
Time flew by during training, and the nine friends decided to go eat once their training was done and lunchtime arrived.
"Hey, Benedict," Floyd said, quickly gaining the young man's attention. "How did you manage to join the Red Palace?"
The young man looked at them curiously. "Why?"
"We thought that maybe you had connections inside," Amber said.
"I just applied," Benedict answered. "Then I had to undergo several tests, but could go past them easily."
"You were lucky then to have passed them. Instead, we had to participate in a tournament held by the school. Who had some reserved spots essentially."
"Yes, well, I guess I had been lucky," Benedict replied.
Anderson gave the two boys a look.
"Luck? Are you sure about that?" Anderson said.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Floyd replied coldly.
"It looks to me that he is plenty strong to join this establishment," Anderson said.
"Thank you, Anderson," Benedict replied.
"I wasn't implying he is not strong. I saw the spar with everybody else."
"Just stop it, guys," Gwen said, stopping whatever was going to start.
Erik then finished eating, "All right guys, it is better I go to the farm. I can't be late..."
"Ok, bro!" Floyd said.
"Have a nice trip," Amber added.
With that, Erik left the cafeteria, went to his room to retrieve his backpack with some spare clothes in case his current ones got stained with blood and left the Red Palace.
He obviously had to take the train in order to get there. The train station was located in a building similar to the one in the eastern district.
It was a tall building with floating tracks coming out from the last thirty floors and on which countless trains traveled on.
Fast-moving metal tubes that didn't make a sound as they sped up between buildings. The young man took the elevator and quickly arrived at the designated floor, and there, he waited for the train to arrive.
If the building was very similar to the ones in the other districts, the people waiting for the train weren't. The majority of them were soldiers wearing Frant's military uniforms. Some of these were a couple of years older than Erik and were talking to their friends about this and that.
The train arrived soon at the station, and Erik boarded it. He couldn't wait for it to arrive in the northern district. He hoped that he would be able to hunt as many thaids as he did last time and quickly increase his level.
If he did, the best thing to do would be to increase his dexterity to train more efficiently and learn faster. However, he was also curious about the effects of intelligence. Erik decided not to waste time anymore; he had to become stronger as soon as possible and planned to train all day to make neural links once he returned from the farm.
After a little time, the train finally arrived at the northern district, and Erik started walking on the unpaved road, heading to the breach. On his way, he passed by a few farms where farmers tended to crops or animals.
There were no skyscrapers here. Instead, large warehouses and barns stood side by side. As he walked further northward, the houses became less numerous. Eventually, after passing through the wheat field, he reached the breach.
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