Assassins' Academy: The Book of Bawb 1 by Scott Baron

Author:Scott Baron [Baron, Scott]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-04-02T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

The duel sessions went on for hours, with each student facing a different opponent until they all had the opportunity to try their skills against each other. As expected, they all improved dramatically as the day progressed, and they gained muscle memory experience with their spellcasting.

The point was to wear them down. To exhaust them. To make it so they were reacting without thinking, and by the end of the day, it worked.

Once the act of intent finally became something they simply did rather than stopped to think about, then they truly began to understand. And Bawb, who had been rather humiliated in his first duel, proved to be one of the better casters in the group once he got the hang of it.

Hozark’s words also helped, of course. Sometimes the slightest adjustment could make all the difference, and his notes had made Bawb see things much more clearly, especially when he was falling into a bad habit like being too aggressive, when allowing his opponent to press the attack and stumble into an opening was a better option.

They finished class relatively early, tired and sweaty. But just because they were done with the training portion did not mean the endurance part wasn’t still in play. The bunkhouse was hours away, and if they wanted to sleep in their own beds, they would have to make the long trek there despite their exhaustion.

It was a long distance, but the group ran together, helping their slower members by surrounding them and making them keep pace. It wasn’t the fastest they’d gone by any measure, but they were consistent in their progress. By the time they reached the training house it was dinnertime.

Voracious might be an appropriate word to describe their appetites after the last two days of exercises. Between the dungeon and the duels, they had been pushed much farther than they’d imagined they could withstand. This was all done to show them by forced example rather than words that what they thought was impossible in reality was not.

“Sleep well, Aspirants,” Rovos said as he made the final evening’s rounds at their quarters. “Tomorrow will be an easier day.”

No one believed him.

Funny enough, the following day actually was easier. Sure, it was mentally taxing, but physically, they were being afforded something of a break. A respite to allow their bodies to recharge and recover.

They were brought to a small room full of worktables and stools, the surfaces covered with all manner of seemingly random items. Teacher Warfin was there, as was Demelza, though she was there in a purely observational capacity.

“Good morning, Aspirants,” Warfin greeted the students. “Today, we have something different for you to sink your teeth into. Figuratively, of course.” He walked over to the nearest table and picked up a seemingly normal dining plate. “Today’s class will focus on crafting skills.”

Albinius raised his hand. Warfin’s gaze intentionally flew right past him as he continued. “Now, I know what some of you are thinking. Crafting is boring, and

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