After getting the arm guards, he finally left the place. Alea kept apologizing to him about her grandfather's teasing even though Theo didn't mind it anymore. In fact, if they didn't have anything between them, why should they overreact to a simple joke made by an elderly man? That was why both of them handled the joke pretty calmly.
Although Alea wanted to stay with him for a bit more to know what kind of environment and personality Theo had in order to read him better, Theo decided to return to his home, saying he would like to rest.
Since she didn't want to be that pushy either, she let him go and returned to prepare for tomorrow.
…
The next day, Theo quickly did everything needed before going to school. Surprisingly, he found his spear and sword in his room, delivered by his master, albeit he never saw or felt her coming.
When he checked the two weapons, he found a piece of paper.
"Focus on your Awareness and Technique for the first month. No need to go out to get to another level unless your team asks you to go with them." Theo fell silent and pondered the reason his master gave this kind of instruction.
His Breathing had been pretty good and became the first one he mastered and his control had improved as he could even aim at ten different targets at the same time. Although it wouldn't be as accurate, the level of control he grasped was still apparent.
However, it was different for his Techniques. He managed to remember all the steps in his footwork, but he needed so much practice before it could be instilled into his instinct. There was also a spear technique which he would probably rehearse in this room.
But his Awareness was more important because it was his worst aspect and he needed to work a bit harder to completely understand it.
As soon as they returned to the gym, they found their instructor, Radvils, waiting for them. He seemed to be holding his Skylink, checking some files that he deemed useful.
After another five minutes, he raised his head and looked at them. "You all have finally arrived… Five minutes before the schedule. That's good enough."
Rising from his chair, he then tapped something on his Skylink as the gym's light turned off while another blue screen appeared right behind Radvils. "I'm going to explain the rules for this second stage of training. You have two months, specifically eight weeks, including this one, for this session. Every Monday to Friday, you are to study like usual. We can't afford to have you slacked in your exam after all. School and Grand Gaia have the same importance to me, so don't make trouble… I will be listening to your teachers. Those who are causing trouble will be expelled from the competition.
"On Saturday, you can have a group meeting all you want and how you spend it is up to you and your group. On Sunday, you have the chance to fight against another group. The one who wins will get someone from the opponent's team.
"Once you only have yourself in your group, your chance has gone to smoke. In other words, the first round of battles will surely eliminate half of the people here.
"Anyway, I don't care about trash who lose in the first battle, so let's move on to the winner. After getting the third member, you will continue with this schedule until you get the six members. If you don't want to participate to rest your body, you can tell me to stop your matchmaking every Sunday.
"And yes, the decision is yours. I only have one thing I want from you. Whatever you think about your teammate, prioritize yourself over them. Win! Even if you need to do it by yourself. I don't care what happens to the losers anyway. Alright, I will now allow a few questions." Radvils finally stopped and looked at them with a serious expression.
Surprisingly, the first person who raised her hand was none other than Alea. "I just want to confirm three things. First, you said we have the right to choose for ourselves… Is it including the matches? Something like a challenge match. Second, since the Grand Gaia requires two participants from each grade, there is a possibility of us having no one to choose, especially when we have five members. Lastly, do we have an option to not pick anyone in a particular fight?"
Thinking about it for a while, Radvils nodded his head. "For the first question, no, you won't get a challenge match. Everything will be random and I don't want to hear you say, "I lost because my opponent was too strong… It was bad luck." Once you say it, get lost. The Grand Gaia won't let you pick your opponent as well, so it's a preparation for the real deal.
"For the second and third questions, I can assure you will get at least one member from each fight. Also, you have to choose someone in every fight. Don't want to choose? Just lose. You won't choose anyone at that moment." He shrugged.
Alea closed her eyes for a few seconds before lowering her hand. "Thank you."
"Any more questions?"
The second person was a small guy. Yes, it was none other than Phyrill Hilbert. He asked, "Suppose we lost, would we have the chance to exact our revenge?"
"That's an interesting question. As long as the number of the team is the same, you will have the chance to get a revenge match. Of course, once you're defeated, your opponent won't stop going forward, so you have no chance to fight them again just like in real life. And congratulations, you've become a loser."
"That's an interesting answer, thank you."
Suddenly, another person raised his hand and asked, "It's just my opinion, but I can't accept your statement. What do you mean by prioritizing yourself? We are here to make a group of six. For most of us, our team is our main priority, particularly those of us who'll participate on the international stage. There's no way I can accept that statement."
Radvils widened his eyes as if he was taken aback. He closed his eyes and thought for a moment to see if he could give an answer with proper language. Unfortunately for him and everyone else, Radvils simply had no other words in his mind other than his usual style.
Even the principal had been obliterated by his own speech, and he was too lazy to even change it, especially for a kid before him.
His expression was calm but his tone was annoyed. He opened his mouth, and the words that came out of his mouth stunned everyone.
"Get lost, then."
