Steven chewed his breakfast slowly. He wasn’t exactly hungry, but to replenish his stamina and to prepare for the day of manual labour ahead, he needed to eat. Around him, the trainees chattered. Some talked about the last night’s battle, others chatted about their new captain. And yet others moaned about the hard day ahead.

Many disliked manual labour, but Steven didn’t exactly mind it. What he did mind was the soreness and the muscle pain that results from manual labour. So, while he wasn’t exactly hungry, he had to eat. For the day gone by and the day ahead.

As Steven ate, Steven thought. Mostly, he thought about their new captain. Aela was her name, but Steven found it strange to refer to someone who was both older than him and his superior by their first name, so he just called her captain. She was a motherly woman, but she definitely had power. No one could ignore the full armour she wore or the huge sword on her back. She had strength, there was no doubt.

The overlord had described her as one who was experienced, and that was believable, judging by her age. Both Levran and the captain had assured the trainees that they were in good hands. But there were some trainees who were doubtful of that, with reason. The captain wasn’t the kind of person to show off her strength. Steven could see that from her demeanour. But those that complained likely didn’t see that there was more to being strong than strength.

Steven finished his breakfast sooner than most of the trainees and decided to spend the remaining time thinking. Steven walked over to a hill and sat down on it, contemplating. To Steven, the Captain certainly felt capable, but why? 

Maybe it was her demeanour. To have the luxury of worrying about others in an occupation so filled with danger such as the Luminous knights took a fair bit of strength. Enough to not have to worry about yourself, at least. Steven had some theories about the source of the captain’s observed strength. It was clear that she was strong, but it didn’t seem like that was it. First of all, it would be unlikely that she made captain based on strength alone. Though it was possible, it was mentioned that she had also turned down promotions. Promotions come with a larger mana pool, allegedly, and the fact that she turned them down might lead some to believe she didn’t need the mana, which could lend credibility to the strength theory, but Steven believed that it was not the case. He felt as if she had something more, something else.

Steven’s eyes roamed as he contemplated. He saw a fellow trainee, Freiya, practising something. Steven stared idly. She seemed to be practicing some form of martial arts. While her blows were clumsy, they were fast. At first, it only appeared to be martial arts, but there were flickers of white that suggested that she was using the power of Luminosity. More than meets the eye, certainly.

Steven felt like the captain was like that. More than meets the eye. It was certain that she was stronger than she would first appear, but Steven felt like she had something hidden up her sleeve. Judging solely on his assumptions, he believed that she might have a good control over Luminosity. But there was always a chance that she just had amazing vitality for a woman of her age. Regardless, the trainees were definitely in capable hands. Which was good. Steven didn’t want the last night’s events to happen again.

Steven lay back against the grassy hill, taking in the sunlight and the breeze. Things were peaceful now, they were calm. It was almost as if the chaos and death of the battle had happened in another world, far away from where he was right now. And in a way, it was a different world. One of chaos, fighting and death. It was almost unreal. How could the Steven from now be so different from the Steven before?

Steven stared into the blue sky and shut his eyes. He shouldn’t be thinking about that right now. What were others thinking? Steven smiled. They were probably complaining about having to do manual labour. Another world away from the fighting. Steven opened his eyes and sat up. No, he shouldn’t think about last night so much. It didn’t have that much to do with right now.

Steven got up and dusted himself off. He would think about last night’s fight later. Hours of backbreaking work loomed just ahead.