Chapter 43

****Author Note****

This chapter contains a reference to another Author's works, it was done with his permission, and I think ya'll will enjoy it :)

****End Author Note****

Chapter 43

It wasn't Sindra's first time running a training camp, that was for sure. Drew had woken up and had a nice, relaxing pre-dawn before heading out to find his Valkryie co-worker, only to find that she'd done some major renovations to his property. Specifically, the giant training yard that had been constructed throughout the night on the west side of the property. Drew's previous use of mesquite trees as targets looked practically mundane next to what the winged warrior had constructed, as it looked like something out of a movie. How did she even get the supplies to do all of it? He could understand her magic being able to raise stone from the ground, but this was on a different level.

For one, it was two hundred yards in length, and another two hundred in width. There were protective stone walls around its perimeter, likely to keep stray attacks within its boundaries. There were several sections as well, some of which Sindra was actively testing to make sure they functioned by the time he arrived. Some parts of the ground were dirt, others were sand, others were gravel, another area had ice, and lastly there was an obstacle course made from stones, boulders and stone pillars. There were targets as well, not regular old bullseyes either, but humanoid dummies made of metal.

Some of the dummies looked like they were meant to be tackled, similar to what football players would use in practice, other targets moved... actually moved, in ways that were similar to people running, jumping, or attacking. Lastly, there was an entire wall that held nothing but weapons. Weapons of every flavor, weapons Drew had never seen or imagined. Normal stuff was there too, like swords, maces and axes. But it also included flails, spears, halberds, daggers, bows, crossbows, and even throwing weapons. Did The Baleful Lady send all this stuff for his camp via express mail? Or, did Sindra just happen to have a mobile armory and training center stored in her spatial inventory?

When she had agreed to help train him and the others, he had the image in his mind of an old sage throwing rocks at him while he tried to balance on top of a wooden pole, or some martial arts expert teaching him to wax cars. This... this was a camp. A boot camp even. When she saw him approach, she waved him over.

"What do you think?" She asked.

"I'm thinking you had an armory stored in your inventory, and I'm left without words." Drew replied.

"Hmmm? Oh. No, this is just the practice yard I have on me to help young Valkyries train in The Lady's service while on the road during missions. There's no way I could carry a full armory."

"Yeah, again. No words. Something like this will be immensely beneficial to the folks here, they might actually have a chance to survive now."

"Oh, they'll survive. Barely." She said under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. When should I be expecting the new recruits?"

"I'm not sure. My team went out to inform everyone about the training last night, so I'd expect they'll start showing up shortly."

"Good, good. A bit of light exercise is good for the soul."

Why did Drew suddenly feel a shiver run down his spine? Was it something she said, or just his excitement of getting some proper training for everyone? The people slowly trickled in as the sun started to crest the horizon. Drew had brought his co-worker a cup of coffee, and they sat and enjoyed it while waiting for the people to show up.

In the end, every single living soul showed up. Along with some undead ones as well. The Soulflames, including Dickbag even came along to join in on the fun. Scolder, who Drew was beginning to suspect had developed some form of basic personality, also made an appearance and sat off to the side. Groups of people were congregated, his main team, the Soulflames, and several small groups of newcomers. Most talked excitedly, others whispered in hushed tones, but they all looked around with awed expressions. It was easy to understand, last night the training camp hadn't been here, yet now it looked like it'd been here for years. Sindra walked to the the front of the people and addressed everyone.

"Recruits! You are here voluntarily. As such, you're free to leave at any time. You're all new to The System, and wet behind the ears. That will change. I've extended my stay here, and I will be whipping everyone into shape. Make no mistake, this will be the hardest three weeks of your life! Three weeks is all I need to turn you green recruits into something capable of surviving the coming days, but it won't be easy. I won't hold back, and I'll push you until you collapse. While you're here, you will do what I say, how I say it, and when I say it. If you're too weak willed to continue, you're free to leave and take your chances on your own. I will not coddle you. Now, let's begin." Sindra said.

Uh-oh.

*****************************************

Drew and Amber collapsed into their bed after stripping down their armor, and washing up. It was the end of day five of their 'training' and they were exhausted. Drew wanted to say that they had it easier than the other people, due to their higher levels and stats, but that wasn't even remotely truthful. That winged devil knew exactly how hard to push them, without breaking them completely. Increased stat points didn't mean shit when the Valkyrie just increased the workloads tenfold.

The newcomers started the day with a light ten-mile jog, around the interior of the property. Then, they were sent to run up and down the stairs of the eight-story tall lighthouse, five times each. All this was done, without rest, or so little rest that it should really be called a breather. Sindra was there the entire time, setting the pace for the recruits. Some, she'd tell to reduce, or increase the pace, custom fitting the regimen to each individual, so they benefited the most, without keeling over.

After the brisk jog, the newcomers rested for thirty minutes before starting on weight training. In the afternoon, they spent all day sparing, fighting, and learning basic tactics with the weapons the Valkyrie had assigned to them. Before sunset, she'd let the newcomers break for the day, sending them out with Robert and Spock to set up the farm, and build the shelter. When they were finished with that, they went out with Amber, Mark, Beefcake, Drew, and the other main team to hunt for monsters and beasts roaming nearby. By the time everything was said and done for the day, they had five to seven hours of free time...until training started again. But that was just for the newcomers.

Drew and his main team, had the pleasure of receiving extra special personal care, straight from Sindra herself. They did everything the newcomers did, but due to their increased stats, some other fun activities were included in their training program. Stone pillars, about the width of a person, were scattered around outside the security fences. Those stone pillars would quickly raise, and then lower in height, at random intervals. His team had to run, using the quickly moving pillars as footholds. Fifty total laps, before, and after the jog the newcomers did. That jog was also extended, to one hundred miles. These activities alone took almost six hours to finish, even at Drew's top speed.

Then there was the sparring. They worked with the target dummies, using weapons, skills, and spells to great effect, only for the targets to automatically rebuild themselves within minutes. The weight training was intense as well. Drew could now say that he could bench press a small car, and Beefcake could handle a school bus worth of weight. Finally, the sparring. They sparred each other, sure. But the main takeaway was sparring Sindra, who would ruthlessly exploit every opening, and every weakness to put them on their asses. Even when Drew worked together with Amber, Robert, Mark, Miranda, Beefcake, Spock, Freya, and his mom...it still wasn't enough. Sindra would wipe them out before they even understood what had happened.

Poor Freya continued to look at Drew and Amber in a super sad manner. Those giant brown puppy dog eyes that once begged for table scraps, were now begging to be given a Benadryl, so she could skip training for a day. Amber had whispered to Drew on day three, that Freya had offered to stop farting when near them, just to get out of seeing Sindra. They had a good laugh about that, until they realized what it meant. The dog had been ripping nasty puppy farts near them for all these years on purpose. It hardened their hearts as they continued training, not having any sympathy for the shepherd.

As for the benefits? Oh yes, there were benefits. People could still gain strength the old-fashioned way, leveling up was just far faster. Leveling up was something most of the others had been doing. But not Drew, he was letting the other people take the experience for the time being, and all his efforts were spent protecting them. Well, that, and training. The stat boosts were not insignificant for Drew, but he knew the others were benefiting far more than he was in the stat department. This was mainly due to his level, and insane stats to begin with. He'd also seen a huge improvement in his swordsmanship. The difference between day one, and the training he'd just finished, were like night and day.

Not everyone was cut out for the training and leveling however. Many of the older folks, and Amber's pain in the ass sister, were much more interested in professions. In his sister-in-law's case, he was pretty sure it was due to laziness, and lack of drive to do anything other than leech off of others. Everyone else however had been excited to gain their professions. The original aversion that some newcomers had towards The System was swept under the rug after their interactions with Sindra. They called her the 'Blessed Messenger', or 'The Chosen Prophet'. Who knew that if you threw an astronomically strong being that looked just like an Angel into peoples' faces, they'd start worshipping her and doing everything she suggested?

Personally, Drew thought that part was funny as hell, because it made Sindra highly uncomfortable. To her, it was basically sacrilege. She served a Primordial, and wasn't yet a god, yet people were still singing her praises and making her offerings. A little girl, no older than seven or eight years old, made her a crown of flowers. The crown stayed on her head all day, and she seemed very proud of it.

The Soulsmith had arrived during the second day of training. A hole in space tore open and out came him and his workers. According to Sindra, it was a one-way portal of some kind, and it was relatively cheap to use, at least compared to other modes of transportation. His 'flight' had several layovers at other planets before he got to a planet within range of Earth, and made it to Drew's property. Thankfully, stereotypes did exist for a reason in the multiverse, and the smith ended up being a Dwarf, which had Drew and Mark super pleased. The bad news was the smith took the form of a ghost, and thus couldn't drink, and he had no accent whatsoever. Which really bummed out the two super nerds.

How did they manage to end up with the one Dwarf that didn't drink and didn't have an accent of any kind? Drew didn't know, but he'd let it slide because they badly needed his services. Sindra wasn't planning to let the people keep her weapons when she left after all, and she was already doing them a huge favor... despite all the pain it brought. She'd even used additional vacation days to stay longer and help out. According to The Baleful Lady, she was very proud of the Valkyrie for using her time off to help out her new Champion. Something she'd expressed to Drew when he thanked her for sending the smith.

The smith, Jonathan, seemed very excited to be on Earth, both for the chance to grow and advance, and to serve The Lady's Champion. Additionally, Drew found an ulterior motive as well. The demons had started to slowly release the content they'd gotten from Earth's TV and movies, and Jonathan wanted to see the place that created The Lord of the Rings, which was apparently hitting number one on all the charts. Humanity had somehow managed to capture the imaginations of beings across the multiverse with their displays in fiction, and according to Jonathan, there was a massive spike in interest to immigrate to the newly integrated planet.

That last part was more than a little concerning to Drew, as he doubted Earth was anywhere near stable at the moment. He hadn't had the time or desire to go check in on other towns yet, as he'd been too busy with training and boosting everyone's chance at survival. But, he somehow doubted that many of the towns or cities had fared well. That, and history had shown, plenty of times, that humans deeply disliked change, and sometimes outright hated members of their own species due to differences in culture and religion. Not to mention sexuality, skin color, and anything else that made people 'different'. Throwing alien species into the mix, might create a powder keg.

Jonathan had quickly gotten to work, taking souls collected from the lighthouse, along with wood, and other materials to begin creating tools, arrows, and construction materials for people to use. The clanging of the hammer upon an anvil could be heard almost all day long, and it only ceased for ten hours a day or so.

Out of the non-combatants, a couple had picked up the herbology profession, two had picked up alchemy, one had picked up tanner, and another had picked up blacksmith and was currently working underneath Jonathan as a kind of intern. The combat-oriented folks were a mixed bag, most of them hadn't had the time to pick anything up yet, but several had chosen farmer, builder, or leatherworker. One person picked up taxidermist for some strange reason, it wasn't going to add anything to the community at all, but at least they'd gain levels over time... maybe. Maybe it was another leech... oh well. He'd kick them out if they became a problem.

There was one more major development though. It was something that stumped everyone, including Sindra, and The Baleful Lady when he asked them. Early in the morning of day two, Spock had raced over to the training camp to grab Drew and Amber. Something had happened. Something big. The three of them stood in front of the broken remains of the chicken coop. At first Drew had thought a predator had gotten in and tore it apart, but after closely examining the debris, he came to the conclusion that something had caused it to basically explode.

The good news was they did find the chickens eventually, and they were unharmed. The bad news was they were going to need a stable now. No one had a satisfactory answer for Drew. Even the goddess and the Valkyrie had simply said it was basically more System fuckery. Instead of the thirteen cute, feathered birds that provided eggs for them, they now had thirteen horse-sized chickens. Chickens with red eyes. Chickens with devil horns.

Beefcake at least knew what the chickens had become.

"Oh, those are Dickens." He said nonchalantly.

"Excuse me, did you say Dickens?" Drew asked.

"Yeah. Dickens. You know, Demonic Chickens. Quite common in my home plane."

"But...why?"

"Why Dickens you mean?"

"Uh... yes?"

"They're superior to other animals. They're intelligent, they lay eggs that are the size of your watermelons, and they make excellent mounts for personal transportation."

"And they're called Dickens?" Drew asked.

"Yes. Was I not clear on that already?"

"So... how does the personal transportation work?"

"Oh, that's very simple. You'll need a saddle, although some demons prefer to go bareback. Then you just mount your Dicken, and ride it until it takes you where you'd like to go."

Amber and Drew broke out laughing. They laughed so hard; they fell to their knees grasping their stomachs as tears rolled down their faces.

"I don't understand... what's so funny?" Beefcake asked.

"I am unsure. They're clearly majestic animals. I'd love to ride a Dicken one day." Spock said with certainty.

The largest Dicken bowed to Spock after listening to him praise them. It was the white spotted rooster. Spock bowed back.

Drew vomited from laughing so hard.