Chapter 30 Training Grounds of Resentment

The mood in the room soured as West’s words settled in. The initial excitement had drained from the students’ faces, replaced by frustration, resentment, and even anger - all of it aimed squarely at Aria. Whispers passed quickly from one to another, the resentment building up and twisting their earlier cheers into something bitter.

A few muscleheads who had cheered her on earlier clenched their fists, muttering, “She just had to show off, didn’t she? And now we’re getting more punishment. Great! We welcome some good exercise, our muscles will be even stronger! No punishment will break our spirits and muscles!”

The academic group glanced around uneasily, some holding their heads.

 “This is ridiculous! We were fine before she showed up with her ‘big scores.’ How will we manage now,” one of them whispered. 

Sierra felt the sting of West’s words sharply, her face tense with frustration as she glared in Aria’s direction. She knew, deep down, that West was right - that they all needed to push themselves harder - but that didn’t take away the sting of hearing it. Seeing Aria put up such a high score had only driven home her struggles. 

"So now we have to be compared to her?" she thought bitterly. Even though she’d never admit it, a part of her felt threatened by the newcomer. She clenched her fists, trying to swallow the resentment building up inside.

She crossed her arms tightly and whispered to Jacob, “This girl shows up and suddenly we’re all worthless. I don’t care how good she is, or if it was just a lucky score but one thing is clear - she’s making things worse for us, not better.”

Jacob said, "I guess we just need to work harder, huh? We better practice more than ever, or we will be running laps all day." 

In the background, Harry shook his head and muttered under his breath, “This is a nightmare. We’ll never hit 400,000. And this was a chance to go above the surface, to the outside. We were so close, with all the teams we were managing to score over 200,000 but now, it's all over.”

Aria, who had merely followed orders and tried to enjoy her training, now felt the cold stares all around her. She stood there, meeting the scowling faces and steely glares with a steady gaze, entirely unfazed. She’d seen this kind of reaction before - resentment, bitterness, insecurity - all things that had no place in real combat. In fact, she welcomed it. If her performance had rattled them, then they needed to be rattled. After all, the battlefield didn’t make room for the weak or the fainthearted.

 She spoke and broke the silence with a taunting smile.

 “Hey, hey - what’s with the long faces? It’s just 400,000 points. We can do it, right? I mean, you’re not all just sitting around doing nothing, are you? Because that’d be embarrassing. All those low scores today? A joke, right? A funny little prank to make us all laugh? Well, I’ll admit - it did get me to giggle a bit. But maybe it’s time to stop clowning around and get serious. Because personally? I’m ready to get outside, get in a real tank mech cockpit, and stretch my legs a bit.” 

She tilted her head with a small, satisfied smile.

 “So, what do you say? Let’s not give West a reason to make us run laps.”

West’s voice rang out, sharp and commanding, cutting through the room’s sudden cheer.

 “Hale is right! It’s time to get serious! Now, I know that hitting a 400,000 score won’t be easy for most of you. So, I’m going to offer you some support - consider it a handicap.”

“First!” he shouted, “I’ll grant unlimited access to the VR room for training, 24 hours, all week long. You can eat here and sleep here if you think that’ll get your scores higher - I don’t care. As long as I see improvement by next week!”

A murmur of excitement rippled through the room. Unlimited VR access was rare, especially with West’s usual strict controls on training hours.

“Second!” He gestured toward Harry, who shrank back, sensing the shift in attention. 

“Wim—I mean Harry. Since you’re so adamant in your beliefs, you’ll be training solo. From now on, you’re out of every team exercise. Yes, you heard me! I’ve done all I can to push you, and I know everyone here has tried too, but it seems nothing makes a dent in that thick skull of yours.”

The room erupted in cheers at this news, with some students clapping and others wiping away mock tears of relief.

“Enough!” West’s voice cut through the noise, and silence fell again.

 “Now, while he’ll no longer get in your way, let me make one thing very clear - Harry is still a student here. I can’t force him out of the academy; he’s caused no violation that would lead to expulsion, and he’s enlisted just like each of you. But in all honesty, Harry, you’d be better suited to something else, maybe agriculture, than to piloting a tank mech.”

Harry looked down, face pale, but said nothing.

West continued, addressing the whole class. 

“So, from now on, treat him as a shadow. He’s here until he decides to pass or leaves of his own will. You don’t need to pay him any attention.”

He paused, letting his words settle.

 “That’s all. I expect to see significant improvement in your scores. Dismissed!”

With that, he turned and left the room. 

With West gone, the classroom erupted in chatter. Students began to dart outside, eager to escape the weight of the instructor’s harsh words. The first to flee was Harry as he scurried away like a hunted rabbit, desperate to put distance between himself and the group.

Aria approached Sierra, a confident smile on her face.

 “Hey, I liked your take on the VR simulation,” she began, genuinely trying to connect.

 “But you know, you could be better. Do you want a tip?”

However, the compliment fell flat, and instead of encouragement, it landed like an insult. Sierra’s frustration boiled over.

 “Oh, Miss Perfect, did you come to rub salt in my face? Huh? Just because you scored big, you think you can mock me? Mock us? Well, go to hell with your score! And I’ll get better, just you wait!”

Grabbing Jacob’s sleeve she spun around to leave.

 “Come on, Jacob! Let’s finish running laps and then head back for some more VR training! I’m not letting you rest through the whole night, so you better get ready. I won’t stop until I’m satisfied!”

 “Okay, Sierra, okay, I’m with you! No need to pull me, save that energy for running,” he said, trying to keep pace as she pulled him toward the exit.

As Aria stepped out of the VR room she paused when she spotted West waiting at the corner of the hall, arms crossed and a serious expression on his face.

“Waiting for me?” 

“Yeah, just wanted to hear your thoughts about the VR training. Honestly, I expected a bit higher score from you. Not gonna lie, feeling a bit disappointed.”

“Yeah, in my condition, it was, let’s say, difficult to go serious. I had to hold back a lot. If I tried to push it, the controls of the cockpit would break. I'm not exactly human anymore, you know. If I got too excited, the controls would snap in my hands. I needed to go easy and slow just to get a feel for it. But with a bit more training, I can get the hang of it.”

“Is that so? Do you think you can improve? I bought you a full week, 24-hour unlimited access to the VR room. In there, you can train as much as you need. This is all I can get you to get back in shape. After this, the regular training hours will apply.”

 “Thanks, West, it was nice to feel what it's like to get back into the fight, even if it was just a VR. But I will be fine. I’ve been in tougher situations before. I just need to adapt to this new environment. I can feel it. Once I find my rhythm, I will be back to full strength.”

 “You’re confident, I’ll give you that. Just remember, confidence doesn’t equal skill. You need to get it back if you want to survive out there.”

“I'm on it, just you wait. And I will not only get my skills back but an awesome tank mech as well. But enough chatting, I'm off to run those laps.”

“Good! That’s the kind of attitude I need to see in this academy.”