The Destruction of Batana

THE SKY ACADEMY 2

　

　

Warming up after 8. Continue with breakfast.

I was surprised to see the food in front of me. A bowl of rice is equivalent to three servings of adults plus abundant vegetables and meat. Just seeing it I was immediately not tasteful. I'm used to a little prison food.

“Make sure you do not leave one grain of rice. What you are serving you have to spend. Think of this as one of the exercises in the Sky Academy.” Said one of the seniors.

I started to feed the food. And it doesn't taste very good. The meat is bland. It's worse than food in prison. I might even miss my time in prison. I kept forcing my mouth to chew the food. Like grandparents who chew food. Some other disciples started to cover their mouths. Some frowned, raised eyebrows, cried out stifled.

My food was in the toilet for about ten minutes. The seniors went around checking our plates. If they saw a grain of rice or other food scraps, they would snap. He told us to eat another bowl of rice as punishment. Kasian once saw the students who got the punishment. I can imagine the nausea they were experiencing.

After breakfast we continued the training.

Since we are new students, the seniors are still giving us physical endurance training. This time we were told to walk on mud for 5 meters while carrying two buckets of water. This exercise is very difficult. We can't spill the water that's in the bucket. If it spills, we have to repeat it again from the starting point. I have trouble keeping my balance. My steps are heavy. My face and body are dirty. Maybe my face already looks like a swamp monster. From this exercise I fell 10 times.

The tools in my body don't help much. The proof is that I am so exhausted. My body hurts and my legs are cramped. My arm felt stiff after carrying a bucket filled with water. My breath was running out and sweat was pouring out of my forehead. I've been on the verge of my limit. My originally white uniform is now completely brown.

However, our training is not over. With the body still full of mud, the seniors told us to practice the crossbar. My body felt heavier because of the sludge that dried up on my shirt.

We were told to pass through an arena filled with traps and obstacles. With a tired body of course my focus becomes reduced. Several times my body was hit by traps, falling thumping. As I tried to climb up the sloping wall that was given a rope, I fell tumbling over. As I was passing through a thin pole with water under it I slipped.  We were not given the opportunity to stop waiting for the pain to go away. Last we were told to lay down under the barbed wire and continue with the cooling. What a tiring day.

I'm done cleaning myself up. Putting myself on a soft dorm bed. Tiredness and pain all over my body. Again I did not find Marko in his bed.

“At lunch.” The monitor makes a sound.

I complain, I'm so lazy to put my foot on. But I also do not want to get punishment just to satisfy my laziness. I walked towards the dormitory canteen. Every time I move my body hurts. I could see another new disciple grimacing in pain.

I began to eat the dishes available in front of me. Fortunately, this portion is not as much as this morning. But the real obstacle is the pain all over my body. Even just lifting a spoon feels like a challenge. I grimaced with pain. My gaze was fixed on the seniors, timidly if they reprimanded me.

After lunch, we new disciples were told to gather in the hall. One of the most spacious places in the Sky Academy. We will do teaching and learning activities. Not only physical exercise, of course, science is still an important thing that we must master. We sat listening to every explanation our teacher gave us with sleepy eyes. The seniors are watching us. If they find anyone asleep, they wake us up and tell us to stand up.

I just got a break after dinner. Put myself in bed. This fatigue helps at least. I didn't feel compelled to close my eyes, and without realizing it, I was asleep.

Two weeks passed.

We still do the same exercise over and over again. I'm getting used to it. My body began to adapt, no longer hurting like the first time I ran exercise after exercise. I have no difficulty when I am in the mud arena or barrier. My instincts are getting sharper and my reflexes are getting more agile. I've been able to avoid every trap that's in the barrier arena.

However, I still can't communicate with Marko. He was very rarely in the room. Even if there is, he is always lying on his bed while covering his face with his arms. His breath was always wheezing every time I saw him. And we never talked at last. I feel like he's the kind of person who doesn't care about the people around him. I once found him sitting in the cafeteria alone.

It doesn't feel like a month has passed.

We are now doing a different exercise. We are heading to the next level of martial arts. We are no longer guided by seniors. Rather than being guided directly by a Prosperous Master. He taught us basic martial arts techniques. These are horses, punches, fends, and kicks. This was the exercise I liked the most during my time at the Sky Academy.

For a month I still couldn't talk to Marko. He never even asked me my name. I dare not ask her anything. Maybe he had his own reasons for acting like that. Like Vero and Bundara.

Until I witnessed the unexpected. I accidentally saw him cry.

That day, more precisely that night. I woke up and found a voice. Crying sounds. My eyes were straight at Marko. The crying came from him. I thought maybe he was delirious in his dreams. But I was wrong, she was really crying.

This continued in the following days. I'm starting to worry if he hasn't slept in all this time. Is it true if he has a sleep problem? I would love to ask him directly. But I decided not to ask. If he tries to hide his face, it means he doesn't want anyone to see him, doesn't want anyone to interfere in his affairs. I'm also not good at entertaining people like Vero.

We both kept each other quiet.

Two months passed. I have mastered all the techniques taught by the Prosperous Master. This time I did not wear my white uniform, but a light blue uniform that showed I was no longer a beginner. However, I'm still curious about Marko. I've never seen her change her uniform color. He still wears a grey uniform.

This time we learned how to anticipate the impact of an attack if we were to fall or be thrown. One of the techniques taught is how to roll when we are pushed or fell due to the opponent's blow. In this exercise, the seniors use wind throwers. The wind pressure is able to push or drop us by several meters. The floor is covered in soft foam so that no students are injured or injured while doing this simulation.

This exercise is more difficult than when I was still practicing walking on mud. Every time the wind pushed me I always lost my balance and failed to land my feet perfectly. As a result, I fell in a prone position. I still don't understand how to master this exercise.

I decided to use my free time to practice this technique. Visit the gym available at the Sky Academy. There's a trampoline available there. At least the function of the trampoline and air thrower is almost similar. Equally capable of catapulting my body several meters in the air.

Unexpected thing awaits me at the gym. For the first time, I saw Marko outside the dorm. He was running on one of the tread miles. It was obvious why he was so rarely in the room. He uses his free time to practice. I stopped to say hello, passing as if I didn't care.

I finished practicing at 7 p.m. The gym had been quiet, yet I still saw Marko practicing using other gym equipment. I wondered about his little body. How could he be so strong training all day with a body smaller than mine? Even after doing the entire training in the Sky Academy he was still training in the gym. Again, maybe he has a reason. Didn't Bundara come here to take away his pain and prejudice? I also did, thanks to my life in the Sky Academy I no longer need to drink Ruzdora's unsavory tea just to sleep.

Three months passed which meant that I had been in the Sky Academy for six months. I am taking the exam today. All of the exercises we have mastered are re-tested before going to the next level. I managed to pass all the tests without any difficulty. Not many students have successfully passed this test. Those who fail will have to take a repeat exam which will be held next month.

But again, I have a new question about him. Lately I've always found Marko sitting daydreaming on one of the gym benches. At first I thought, maybe he took a break. But tomorrow, he sat longer than he trained. His eyes looked empty as if he was lamenting something.

Marko is my mysterious roommate. That's how I call it. His Mystery even defeated my mystery. I still talk to other students a lot, get to know some of my old friends. But Marko, I never found him talking to anyone.

Then I decided to end this silence. Start with a light question.

“Senior,” I called him that because of his gray uniform color.

Marko, who was lying on his bed, looked at me. His gaze was so cold and so unfriendly.

“I haven't introduced myself yet. I feel disrespectful about it. My name is Lian.” I said that sentence with a flat face. To this day, I still cannot smile at others. In fact, when I was in prison, I never smiled in front of Vero and Bundara.

He smiled thinly. For the first time I saw another expression other than her cold face.

“I already know. Ah, don't call me senior. I don't deserve.” That was the only word that came out of his mouth. He covered his face with his arm.

I really don't know how to deal with it. Again I'm not as good at entertaining as Vero. I moved from where I stood. Leaving him lying on his bed. My intention to end this silence failed.

I decided to find out by asking one of my old friends. Hope to find the answer to my question about him. I asked one of my friends who is known for his hobby of writing about other people or interesting events while in the Sky Academy. Such people are usually called data bases.

“Rahabas, I want to ask you something.” I called his name. Starting questions.

“Gosh! Are you really my mysterious classmate Lian? It's exciting news” He exclaims in surprise. Recorded this incident in his little book. Complete with date, month, year, and time of occurrence. Actually, this is really annoying. But to find the answer to my question, I let it go.

“Please, Lian. You want to ask what?” He returned to the direction of the conversation while still holding his pen and little book.

“This is about my roommate, Markonce her name. Do you know anything about him?”

He opened his notes. Flipping pages. His hands were so agile, his eyes twitching. And stopped on one of the pages.

“What is the uniform color?” He asked to make sure.

“Abu-abu” I replied briefly.

“You sure?” He went back to making sure.

I nodded firmly, impatiently waiting for his answer.

“That means he's on the dark list, Lian. The gray uniform is a uniform for students that the Sky Academy does not recognize or can be called a dark list. Because the gray color reflects the cloudy color of the sky..”.

“Wait a minute! Did you just say gray uniforms are a dark list?  Then how is it different from the one wearing black?” I cut the talk.

“I know what you're thinking, Lian. You must be thinking the darker the color of the uniform, which means the higher the rank. But try to think back, is there no color of the sky that is gray other than the sky that is cloudy? If there is black, it is the color of space. Therefore gray becomes a list of dark colors. Whoever uses it, means he can never be a soldier.”

“Reason! Tell me the reason why they are not recognized!” I called out ketus.

“Eh, of course this information is not free. In return, can I ask for your autograph as proof you've talked to me?”

I patted the jidat. I can't believe he's not giving this information away for free. I took her little book, took out my autograph complete with my full name. Which I can't figure out, since when does he have my picture in his notes? What is a stalker?

“Alright, I'll tell you. The reasons vary, but I just found out there are three. Violating various applicable regulations, disrespectful to seniors or teachers in the Sky Academy, and the latter for having a history of illness.”

“Marko including which one?”

“Hey, I told you my information is not free. Instead, can you tell me about your past?”

I decided to leave. I'd rather find out for myself than have to tell you that.

“Tu, Wait! At least just a piece.”.

I don't give a shit. Leaving him who was disappointed.