[DEV POV]
After taking a deep 4 hours of sleep, I woke up.
As my eyes adjusted to the unfamiliar ceiling, The events of the past two days came crashing back The system, the run, and the lady on the bus. After calming myself down, I started focusing on things at hand.
According to the officer there would be approximately 100-120 trainees divided in 4 batches each of 25-30 members. Also there are 7 instructors — all are retired commandos — namely
Vikram's instructor - Captain Mahajan - Unarmed Combat & Close Quarters Battle trainer- Batch A
Captain Pritam - Weaponry & Marksmanship trainer-Batch B
Captain Arun - Navigation & Survival technique trainer-Batch C
Captain Mahender - Psychological Warfare & Intelligence trainer - Batch D
Captain Mohit - Cyber & Electronic Warfare trainer
Captain Ram - Counterterrorism & Hostage Rescue trainer
and finally, Mine instructor - Captain Rana - Physical & Endurance Trainer
There are still 3 days left for trainees to reach camp after that an 8 month training camp would begin. The first month, called hell month only those who survive this would be able to continue out of those 100-120 trainees.
Only 20-25 trainee will remain. The rest would be sent home.
After gathering my thoughts, I took out the remaining protein bars. My stomach growled at the delay. As I chewed, I made a mental note to collect my trainee uniform and necessities before heading to the training ground.
[DEV POV ends]
Evening(5:00 PM)
After collecting the necessities and scouting the trainee camp in afternoon I reached the specific training ground
A tall man with wide shoulder wrapped in a plain olive-green shirt, sleeves rolled up to reveal thick, forearms. His face, weathered and unreadable with a big moustache giving feel of extreme strictness and no no-nonsense look.
"His name really match his face" Dev thought
As he went up to Rana he stopped precisely three feet away maintaining a distance which was Not too close to seem reckless, Not too far to appear unsure.
Rana's eyes locked onto Dev. Flat. Cold. Assessing. No warmth. No welcome.
"Now i guess why i am assigned to him. He matches my vibe" Dev thought
Dev too didn't blink while keeping a cold face he too started assessing Rana.
Rana's lips twitched slightly, noticing Dev assessing him.
"introduce yourself" Rana spoke in ordering tone
"Dev from Delhi. 18, a trainee" Dev introduced himself
"Drop your jacket," Rana ordered, his voice flat.
"He will not tell me to get naked after seeing my looks right?" dev joked inside while still following the order trying to relax his mind.
Dev shrugged off his jacket, hung it on the near bar with controlled indifference.
"Before beginning let me tell you I don't know why they assigned a kid to me" Rana spoke flatly
"But i don't do special treatment. I ain't gonna show mercy I'll train you for next 3 days before beginning hell month. Whether you are able to pass hell month or not is totally up to you. Today is just light assessment" Rana spoke
Dev replied with a nod
"Lets begin" Rana ordered
90 min Later
"This is what you call 'light training,' you motherf—" Dev cut the thought short as he did the last squat.
What happened.....
Rana ordered a series of sprints across uneven terrain Dev thought which was an easy task until Rana told him to carry the weighted bag which laid few feet away from us.
After about 10 rounds even he started to feel a little out of breathe.
After a 2-min rest,
Rana order of fifty knuckle push-ups with same weighted bag followed by squats and then planks.
The rhythm was relentless—designed to shatter stamina and expose weakness.
Sweat clung to Dev's skin in thick droplets, streaking the dirt clinging to his arms. Dev's limbs began to tremble but he kept his face impassive not showing any breaking.
Rana's expression remained unreadable, but his eyes watched closely noticing all movements.
Dev tried to control his breathing pattern, but Rana's continuous order didn't give him time to think.
After continuously making Dev exercise for 90 minutes ordered him to stop
[Dev pov]
"Take 30 minutes break when we will have a hand to hand combat match " Rana ordered and went away
I didn't have the energy to ask where he was going, nor did I care enough to find the question important
After stabilizing my breathing, my mind drifted to the system reward- adaptive physique. I still need to test its full abilities. I need to calculate how much time it takes my physique to adapt and how much does I improve?
And about this spar I Am sure i have no chance of winning after such intense exercise i will try my best not to be defeated poorly.
30 minutes later
Rana came back with two pair of gloves.
"Put them on." He tossed a pair towards me.
After sliding the gloves over my dirt-streaked knuckles.
I took basic boxing stance which I'd learned from reels and shorts.
He told me to attack.
Without a second thought. I lunged forward my punch aimed at his chin trying a knockout shot.
But the punch was effortlessly stopped by him using his palm
I swung a left hook on his temple which he dodged by bending out of reach and then without mercy
— he kicked my stomach.
All the air escaped my lungs. My mind for a second went blank.
After some efforts i stood up again thrashed by him and this cycle continued.
After some rounds of beating something clicked in my mind boosted comprehension started working I got basic hang of the technique.
At first, his attacks felt impossible to predict. But now… now, I could see them—just a fraction of a second before they happened.
He once again attacked me but this time a change happened I could see the pathway of his attack something I couldn't even imagine earlier.
I tried to block his attack but it was of no use the deference in our strength was visible.
Seeing me able to predict his attack surprise flicked in his eyes which soon turned into interest and because of it I got even more harsh beating.
[Dev pov end]
"Enough."
His voice was low. "You're done for today."
Dev's chest heaved with exertion, but he didn't speak even if he wanted to.
He spat blood, panting. His stomach and elbows throbbed from the repeated beating, his lips were bleeding.
Just a curt, silent nod was the response he could offer.
Rana stood and stepped back, leaving Dev sprawled in the dirt. "Back here. 4 AM. Sharp."
After some rest, his stomach growled.
"Man is he a sadist... Damn that hurt so much" while murmuring he limped to mess to grab dinner
After devouring food even though his jaw was hurting while chewing he made his way towards his room.
A few trainees glanced at me, but said nothing. Looking like this was just another day here.
When Dev entered his room he saw a muscular brown skinned guy laying on bed scrolling through his phone.