บท 50: Pens
Khan fell silent at that remark. He knew exactly what Lieutenant Unchai meant, but his real character wasn't something that simple pretenses could hide, especially with the summary in front of them.
"You aren't dumb," Lieutenant Unchai sighed. "You try to appear naïve and stupid, but that's not your real nature, is it?"
Khan opened his mouth, but no words came out of it. His experience in lies and pretenses was useless when Lieutenant Unchai could read what had happened in the fifth level.
"You could have stepped away here," Lieutenant Unchai pointed at the green sign marking the fifth level. "Instead, you chose to jump in a battle that you couldn't hope to win, and you didn't even rest properly before it. I guess you still wanted to make it to the lessons."
Khan turned on his back. He didn't know what to say, especially when the people around him showed concern.
"Guess what?" Lieutenant Unchai snorted. "You only hurt yourself and failed to attend the lessons on time. You are lucky that these are mere general courses, or maybe you have chosen to rest for that very reason."
Khan gulped, and Lieutenant Unchai finally decided to look at him. He wanted to maintain a stern expression, but he could only shake his head at the sight of the injuries.
Khan's body was full of red bruises. His skin carried the marks of the clashes with the metal fingers. Multiple holes had even appeared on his trousers.
"Did you learn something at least?" Lieutenant Unchai asked.
"I have a lot to improve," Khan promptly replied. "I'm not talking only about the executions of my techniques. I mainly lack battle experience, and the nature of my martial art doesn't help in the matter."
"What do you plan to do about it then?" Lieutenant Unchai continued with his questions.
"Fight with as many different martial arts as possible in the fifth level," Khan explained, "Test the sixth level with favorable matchups after training for a few days, and see how far I can push my limits."
"That's the correct approach," Lieutenant Unchai nodded. "However, it's clear that you are a danger to yourself, so I'll set a few rules."
"I have only gone overboard, sir," Khan attempted to appease the Lieutenant's anger with polite words. "It won't happen again. I was so excited about the training hall that I couldn't hold back, but I know my limits now. Don't limit my time here."
Khan was obviously worried that the Lieutenant could limit his time inside the training hall due to his reckless approach, but the soldier only smiled when he saw the regret in his face.
"I won't," Lieutenant Unchai announced, "But I can't give complete freedom to someone who has no care for his own body. I'll give you one last chance before applying proper limits to your time here."
"I won't disappoint you, sir!" Khan happily shouted, but the soldier's smile suddenly vanished.
"You can't be late to lessons anymore," Lieutenant Unchai ordered. "I'll let today pass, but punishments will arrive if you fail to attend them regularly."
"I won't miss a single day!" Khan shouted again.
"Good," Lieutenant Unchai exclaimed. "Go now. You can still catch the second hour of chemistry."
Khan's expression froze, and Lieutenant Unchai did his best not to explode into a laugh. Instead, he proceeded to explain the real meaning behind his previous words.
"I'll let today pass," Lieutenant Unchai explained. "I didn't say that you could skip today's lessons altogether."
Khan stared at the Lieutenant before glancing at his body. Everything still hurt, but his limbs had started to regain some power. He couldn't move properly, but he was a bit better.
Khan glanced at the Lieutenant again and understood that the soldier had no intention to let the matter go. He seemed ready to glare at Khan with his severe gaze until the boy left the training hall.
"I'll leave now," Khan whispered while turning on his belly and pushing with his left arm.
He had to perform multiple slow movements to get back on his feet. Khan pointed his knees, then raised one leg before spreading his arms to control his balance while lifting his whole body.
A sense of dizziness spread inside his mind when he went back on his feet. Something inside Khan told him that it was too early to stand up, but he suppressed that feeling and turned toward the exit.
"What about your phone?" Lieutenant Unchai asked while pointing at the corner of the training hall. "How did you plan to reach the building with the lessons without it?"
Khan inspected Lieutenant Unchai's stern face before moving toward his phone. He supported himself on the wall and gave voice to a faint groan when he bent to pick his device, but he managed to maintain his equilibrium during that walk.
Then, Khan finally left the training hall and proceeded to walk alongside the wall of the corridor to exit the building. His phone was already on the menu that showed a blueprint of the camp with all the various activities. Finding the way to the lessons wasn't a problem.
"You forgot your uniform," Lieutenant Unchai's voice suddenly resounded from behind him, and Khan suppressed a loud curse.
Khan was still shirtless and without shoes. He had completely forgotten about the rest of his uniform since he was using most of his concentration to remain on his feet.
Lieutenant Unchai had no intention to bring those clothes to Khan, so he had to walk back inside the training hall and crouch again to pick them up. He almost fell during the process, but the soldier didn't mock him.
"I'm off then, sir," Khan announced while suppressing a few grunts while he wore his uniform and supported himself on the wall to handle his shoes.
Khan managed to get out of the building without interruptions at that time. He even felt slightly better after going up and down through the corridor. His ankles still hurt, but they had regained most of their steadiness.
The training camp wasn't big, but Khan still took a while to reach the building where the lessons happened. He walked quite slowly, and his destination was near the center of the site.
The hot environment didn't help his struggle. The two suns were higher in the sky now, and the temperatures had risen. The red-brown ground radiated scorching sensations that managed to get past the sole of Khan's shoes and tried to force him to walk faster.
Khan couldn't comply with that instinct. His legs weren't able to accelerate in that situation, so he had to endure the heat accumulated on his feet while he made his way through the camp.
The temperatures completely changed once Khan stepped inside the building. The metal floor was cold, and the air flowing inside the corridors relieved him from the struggles of his recent march.
Khan felt tempted to sit in a corner and meditate. His mind seemed unable to accept that he had to go through hours of boring lessons, but he feared Lieutenant Unchai's threats too much to skip them.
His priority was to use the training hall as much as possible since the benefits connected to that technology were simply massive. Spending a few hours listening to boring lessons was a fair price to pay for his current benefits.
Khan found the room meant for his lessons in an instant, and he slowly slipped inside it while an unfamiliar professor read through notes on his interactive desk. A large hall with hundreds of stands unfolded in his view, but his eyes only searched for his friends.
Some of the recruits sitting on the stands noticed Khan moving silently on the staircases that ran among the seats, and a hand eventually rose from the crowd. Khan's eyes lit up when he saw Martha and an empty chair next to her.
"What has even happened to you?" Martha asked in a worried tone, but she found it hard to suppress her laugh when she inspected her friend.
Khan had a large red spot at the center of his forehead. His uniform was untidy and full of holes. He didn't even tie his shoes.
"The training halls are amazing," Khan announced while keeping his voice down. "I don't know how I'll survive once this trip is over."
"I don't know if you'll survive the trip," Martha joked about his state. "The Lieutenant has given you the chance to use a training hall then. That's great. We did nothing but perform our techniques on dummies and spar a little."
"Did you win?" Khan asked while revealing a curious smile.
"Of course," Martha replied while wearing a proud expression. "Everyone was too scared to fight for real, but I suspect that Lieutenant Unchai will start punishing them this afternoon."
Khan nodded, but two shadows suddenly appeared in the corner of vision. His hands instinctively shot forward since his mind was still in battle mode, and his grasp closed on two digital pens.
Khan raised his eyes and noticed that the entire class was staring at him. Even the professor in the distance couldn't help but show his surprise at that scene.
'Did he throw them because we were talking?' Khan wondered before standing and walking down the staircase to give the pens back to the professor.
Then, he climbed the steps to return to his seat. A faint smile appeared on his face after confirming that his ankles were far better now, but he quickly wore a regretful expression since the professor was still staring at him.
"You are the kid who defeated the Ef'i, right?" The professor asked, interrupting the silence that had fallen in the hall.
Khan nodded, and the professor couldn't help but reveal a proud smirk. He picked one of the pens that Khan had brought back and stared at the boy for a few seconds before resuming the lesson.
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