Worse still, some were already carrying large basins of male classmates' underwear and stinking socks over to claim spots by the sinks... It was miserable and humiliating.
But... a bet was a bet, and the losers had to pay up.
If their skills fell short, they had to own it!
Lunchtime was approaching. With only a little time left, everyone was discussing martial theory, exchanging ideas about things they did not understand, were not good at, had yet to figure out, or had yet to master...
There certainly was not enough time left for sparring, anyway.
"I got attacked three times last night... Holy shit, that was absolutely savage!"
"I'm a bird startled by the twang of a bow! The slightest noise has me scrambling up and looking around in panic..."
"Don't even mention it. Things finally settled down in the second half of the night, but Hao Han farted in the top bunk and woke me up. I couldn't get back to sleep for ages... Fuck!"
"Count yourself lucky. At least a noise woke you up. What about me? Even the faint breathing of someone sleeping sounds to me like someone's lying in ambush behind me, ready to attack. Seeing enemy soldiers in every bush and tree doesn't even begin to describe it... How miserable is that?"
"I told my big brother on the front lines at Sun Moon Pass about this. He said our level was still nowhere near enough. We'd have to get weapons stuck into our flesh a few times before we could even count as having passed the first hurdle..."
"Excellent insight!"
As everyone was talking, someone suddenly offered that assessment.
But those two words came from behind them, from someone who had not been part of the discussion.
Everyone turned toward the voice, and