Lying down in his bed at night, Rain thought about his first training day. It started off great; he had already made some starting progress with his Reflection and was quite excited for the next session. The combat lesson, however, was much more physically exhausting than he could’ve thought. Even now, already in bed, his movement was heavily impaired by sheer pain.

  ‘This is just too much. My body doesn’t even respond to me anymore…That Blessed dinner has to work, otherwise I'm screwed.’

  Luckily for him, the poorer trainees received the special rations to improve their general physique and stamina building substantially quicker than normally possible. As to give them a better fighting chance out in the Mirror. This surely was quite the cost for the government, as food made by Blessed cooks was already a delicacy, even more so, dishes that granted special bonuses. Nevertheless, the government agreed to it, even saving one more Selected from the jaws of death went indeed in their favour, because these days, even the power of a singular entity could shift the balance to humanity’s side.

  Still not being able to quite go to sleep yet, Rain rocked around in his tough yet comforting bed, thinking back on today’s lesson.

  “Again!”

  Rain couldn’t even count the number of times he had hit the floor, but it surely passed the dozen by now. Struggling up to his feet with the help of the wooden sparring spear, he wiped the sweat from the side of his face and went into position as he was instructed. Holding the spear with both of his arms to the side of his body, he pointed its dull point towards Officer Stein, who was using a spear herself.

  The lesson had begun merely thirty minutes ago, but after an already demanding workout, Rain went right into sparring without even learning the basics.

  Officer Stein rushed forward with the spear, aiming for his head. Rain had already been hit by that before, so he knew to block it, shifting his spear sideways to catch it. Pulling her spear back, she went for another thrust, this time going for his stomach. Again with a quick reaction, Rain lowered his spear and tried to lock his opponent in place, before a sharp pain hit his ribs, as Officer Stein struck him with the heel of the spear, sending him back to the ground.

  ‘Ugh, fuck! Is she just a sadist, or why does she just want to beat me up?!’

  “Take a break, Rain.”

  Spinning her spear, Officer Stein placed it back on the rack and sat down herself, facing Rain. Struggling to stand up, Rain took a look around the training hall.

  Multiple groups were gathered, with the more skilled students sparring against each other, while the instructors mostly paid attention to the less skilled ones. Close to him were Lance and Yuol, both engaged against one another. This time, Lance was wielding a simple sparring sword, while Yuol’s weapon of choice was an enormous double-sided warhammer. Their spar seemed to be going well, with Lance giving him pointers and assistance.

  Rain clenched his jaw at the thought that he only had a month to learn. On top of all that, he had even more lessons to go through. While his sorcery training had a great start, it was still time-consuming. Additionally, after the first two weeks, the practical focus would shift to theory, and other important classes would start. For many, these classes were basic knowledge, something they had already acquired in school or private academies, encompassing survival skills, world knowledge, Shard knowledge, and many other subjects, ranging from botany to even more esoteric subjects such as ancient writing. All of which were very useful to Rain.

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  In the end of it all, it didn’t matter. As much as Rain complained about the unfairness of the world, his goal didn’t change. He still wanted to survive, and if he managed to do that under all these circumstances, he would grow more than the ones privileged enough to coast by. Turning back towards Officer Stein, he steeled his resolve and grabbed his spear.

  “You know, you might think of me as a sadist who likes beating up younglings like you. But I’m not that crazy.”

  ‘She read my mind.’

  “This is the second time I’ve been surprised today by your group. The first time being that overly talkative one earlier today.”

  Rain gave her a slight smirk.

  ‘I wonder who that is.’

  Officer Stein continued talking as she stood from her chair and walked towards Rain. Her imposing figure towering over him.

  “I’ve taught probably a thousand trainees by now over the years. Many of whom came from the slums like you. I understand life has been unfair to you, but the Mirror won’t grant you mercy. You need to train three times as hard as anyone for the slightest chance in there. The other one…he stopped talking after getting his ass beaten so many times…even so, he kept going. To the point I started to feel bad. By the end of it, I asked him why he was trying that much harder than the many others before him.”

  With a slight smile, Officer Stein spoke in a heartfelt way, contrasting her brutish appearance.

  “He told me he still had a family to come back to.”

  Looking to the ground, Rain reminisced about the times he saw Elys with his family. Always playing up the big brother act to his younger sister, working from a young age to help pay the bills. Even the times they all got scolded by his mother for getting into trouble.

  “As well as a promise he held to a friend. So I ask you now, Rain. What is your reason?”

  Rain didn’t have to think long; this question had been playing on his mind ever since the Selection drew nearer. Nearly becoming an obsession.

  “I want to live. Life hasn’t been good to me and others I hold dear. I have the chance to change it…forever. I…don’t have a grand goal in mind…I just can’t stand the thought of being born into a shitty world and happily living in it, knowing I could change it.”

  It was true. He would rather die than willingly spend one more day inside the slums, wasting his life away, and so, the Selection became the greatest opportunity he would ever have of breaking his chains.

  “Good answer, kid. Come here, let’s begin. You have good instincts; now my job is to help you learn how to use them.”

  With a nod, Rain postured himself once more and threw himself into combat, knowing he would fail again and again. Until someday, he could change his world.

  His eyes slowly closed as he drifted off into a well-needed rest. The unknown visions clouding his mind parted like clouds, as the light finally found a way, revealing a path beyond his envisioned death, into a brighter future.

  With that, two weeks passed by, and new challenges arose.

  “I want to live. Life hasn’t been good to me and others I hold dear. I have the chance to change it…forever. I…don’t have a grand goal in mind…I just can’t stand the thought of being born into a shitty world and happily living in it, knowing I could change it.”

  It was true. He would rather die than willingly spend one more day inside the slums, wasting his life away, and so, the Selection became the greatest opportunity he would ever have of breaking his chains.

  “Good answer, kid. Come here, let’s begin. You have good instincts; now my job is to help you learn how to use them.”

  With a nod, Rain postured himself once more and threw himself into combat, knowing he would fail again and again. Until someday, he could change his world.

  His eyes slowly closed as he drifted off into a well-needed rest. The unknown visions obscuring his mind parted like clouds, with light finally cutting through, revealing a path beyond his envisioned death and into a brighter future.

  With that, two weeks passed by, and new challenges arose.