Chapter 84: 083 Limits

Donovan was less than impressed with the performance of his new subordinates. Sure they had been jogging without break for six hours and were understandably exhausted, he had jogged just behind them, but they broke way too quickly. Don was expecting to have to work Sanna over for at least another three hours before he became unconditionally obedient, yet here he was rolling about in the mud.

Donovan supposed that it wasn't entirely bad. For one, he wouldn't need to push them through the meat grinder quite as hard, and could instead focus on finding their physical limits when under extreme mental duress. He could also start imprinting onto them something he had read about, but never had the chance to see in action.

"Alright now piglets, I'd say you are adequately protected from the sun. Onto the next exercise. Tell me, do you know what a push up is?"

The three of them remained silent. They were breathing heavily still, and Donovan could tell their legs were jelly.

"That's what I thought." Donovan sighed to himself. They probably did know what a push up was, they just didn't have the energy to answer him. "What do they even teach you guys nowadays?"

Donovan was similarly well aware that they knew he was new here and would have absolutely no idea what sort of drills they were taught, but he didn't care.

"You get down on your belly like this, see, and put your arms about where your shoulders are. Hey, are you paying attention?"

Titanyana drew her sword, making sure to slide the side against the metal scabbard locket so they could hear it. Inexplicably, a surge of energy coursed through their bodies.

"Good. Like I was saying, lay on belly, hands by shoulders, and then you push up like so. That's why its called a push up, I know, not the most inspired name. Why don't you give it a try?" 

They wriggled to their stomachs and tried their hand at it. However, they found themselves unsuccessful. More than just being exhausted, they were slipping in the mud. Wall, who had managed to get a few inches off the ground, slammed face first and got a mouthful of wet dirt. Don wanted to laugh, but he held it back in order to maintain his current domineering image.

"Aw, poor piggies! Are you tired? Do you need nappies? How about you close your eyes for a bit and rest, okay?" Donovan was being incredibly condescending in the moment, but he really did want them to get some rest. If they couldn't even do a pushup, what else could they do?

He was still going to use the opportunity to harass them though.

Donovan was of the mind that he shouldn't ever let a good opportunity go to waste, so if he couldn't put them through the ringer physically, he would do so mentally. Eating in front of them while they were starving and trying to sleep would probably be effective, and they could use the practice with getting sleep under simulated combat conditions.

In truth, Donovan didn't know what 'combat conditions' entailed in the academy, he was justifying his actions to himself.

"Madam Gretts!" Donovan called over his shoulder towards the general direction of the kitchen. Hearing her name, the old lady stuck her head out of one of the windows, momentarily grinning after seeing the little piggies taking a mud nap.

"What do you need?" She didn't conform to the standards of pleasantry that Donovan was certain the Sanctum desired of her, but that only made it better.

"I was feeling a little peckish, and I was wondering if you could prepare a meal for me and my assistant here," Donovan turned to Titanyana, "if you're feeling hungry that is."

Titanyana nodded her head in response. She wasn't necessarily that hungry, but she was well aware of the rest of the day's schedule. She wouldn't have a chance to eat for a very long time.

"Are you feeling stew? A salad?"

"I was thinking something more aromatic."

"Aromatic, eh? How about some form of curried poultry and soft bread?"

"That sounds lovely."

"Mm."

Groans came from the floor.

"I'll get on that then. Should take half an hour or so. Should I prepare some for the-"

"No, the piglets are just fine. In fact, they are seeming a little fat. I can't have you make the problem worse, you see."

"Ah, no problem. I understand your concern. Well, I'll get to work."

"Thank you Gretts."

- - - - -

It was absolutely delicious, and he was keen to make sure the three of them knew it.

"You know, I don't think I've ever had something quite like this. I don't even have a particularly high tolerance for spice either." The dish was spicier than he might have initially desired, but it wasn't overbearing like those fire stalks he had on the Oberlux. He assumed the bread might have had something to do with it, but he hadn't experimented enough to be sure. "I was always under the impression that more subdued dishes were better for breakfast, but this might have just broken that belief. Thank you once again, Gretts."

"My pleasure boy, feel free to make a request whenever you feel like it."

"Perhaps if I'm feeling something in particular, but I'd much rather leave it to you. I have a feeling my meals will be that much more enticing if I don't know what I'll be having."

"Careful with that, I might just make you nothing but tuber stew and roasted veggies."

"A luxury meal." Donovan left whether he was kidding or not up to interpretation, the ambiguity of his response leading Gretts to scoff. "Could I get a few cups of water, just as a refreshment?"

- - - - -

Len regained consciousness to ice cold water landing on his face. 

"Push ups, get on it."

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As he righted himself and prepared to do as Donovan asked, the scent of delicious food tickled his nose. Len didn't consider himself particularly smart, but even he could tell what Donovan was doing. Now more than ever, he was thanking Titanyana for telling him to eat dinner.

"I said push ups. Go." Donovan kicked something at them, pushing the trio to get moving. "When I say up, push yourselves up. When I say down, you hold yourself just above the ground. Up."

Len hurried to get his chest off of the ground, the grunts indicating Sanna and Wall were doing the same.

"Good, down." The three of them dropped down as far as they dared. Donovan on the other hand, crossed his legs and spooned some food into his mouth. He took an excruciatingly uncomfortable amount of time to chew such a soft food before swallowing. "Good form, good form. Up." He paused for a second or two. "Down."

Once again he took a bite of food, chewing it slowly before permitting them their two seconds of rest in the up position. Two pushups in, and Len's arm already stung. If this pattern was going to continue for his entire dish, they were in trouble.

- - - - -

"What's wrong Sanna? Are you feeling tired? Here I was thinking I would be able to finish my meal without having to discipline you guys." Donovan put his meal to the side, the aroma still causing their stomachs to growl, and stomped on over to Sanna. Hands on his hips, he bent over to face him. "Can't take it? Can't do a simple little push up? Do a push up for me."

"... no sir …"

"Oh?" 

WHAP

A cry of pain escaped Sanna's mouth as he curled up in the drying mud. He had his back to Len, who turned to see what the damage was. As expected, he was covered in mud, his white skin almost completely covered in a thick brown paste, except for a vaguely square shaped patch on his shoulder that was glowing a bright pink.

"I SAID DO A PUSH UP SANNA!!!!"

The yell hurt Len's ears, and he wasn't even the target.

"UP!"

Slowly but surely, Sanna struggled to the up position.

"DOWN!"

The three of them obeyed, not wanting to feel the kiss of that riding crop on their skin.

- - - - -

"I think that's enough. You can take a rest now." Donovan checked his tablet, ten o'clock. They had already put in nine hours of work, though about an hour of that was rest. At this point he was fully convinced that there was nothing they would be able to do for the immediate future. He would have to end his little exercise soon, whether he wanted to or not. "Titanyana, get them some water."

Donovan looked down on the three little piggies, now turned back into respectable men, with a modicum of pity. He didn't necessarily like doing this to them, and it most certainly wasn't fun, but it was something he felt he needed to do. Before this point, Donovan had absolutely no idea what the physical standards were, now he was left disappointed. He didn't expect them to be elite, in fact he was satisfied that they were in quite good physical condition. Sanna in particular had surprised Don with his level of fitness, he had taken him to be more of a bookworm.

What infuriated him was their extreme dependence on Split. Len aside (he probably thought split was forbidden for some reason or another), he had noticed a trend in their performance. For the first bit of the run they performed very well, in excess of expectations, but they practically crashed after a certain point. Initially it was something that Donovan couldn't understand, exhaustion didn't hit you all at once. Usually, it's a gradual decay in efficacy over time until you collapse.

It was only once Donovan considered that split might have been a factor did he become angry. From what he had been learning and what he had seen from Titanyana, Split was not a resource to be utilized in an endurance competition like jogging or push ups. Split is a short term capability enhancer, powerful but limited. If you don't have to use it, you shouldn't be using it.

Was everybody else like that? Was the predominant theory of force utilization to use split for everything? Did anybody have endurance around here? 

Donovan would have to wait until he had more examples to work off of. For now, Titanyana was back with water.

"Alright, drill sergeant mode off. Gentlemen, I will tell you I am somewhat disappointed with your performance even if it was well within my expectations. I've identified a few potential problem spots that I'd like to discuss with you, but first I'll give you time to ask questions and make grievances known."

They weren't silent, but that was on account of their chugging the water. Even after that they were quiet for a few minutes, collecting themselves. Sanna was the first to speak, his tone steeped in vitriol even if it was weak.

"Was it really necessary to hit us that hard?"

"Yes." No hesitation. "Yesterday, when I told you I would be testing your limits, I did not specify how. If I told you, it would have diminished the effect. Now tell me, did hitting you get you to go that extra bit further?"

Sanna said nothing in response. Whether this was because he was satisfied or out of exhaustion was not clear, though his anger seemed to abate somewhat.

"Can we eat now?" Wall was naturally more interested in the immediate.

"Maybe a mouthful or two, but I suggest you wait a bit longer for the full meal in order to keep yourselves from throwing up. Drink some more water, let your body rest, and take a bath. It should be ready by the time you're out. After that go immediately to bed, you understand me?"

"Aye boss."

"Good. I'll have some of the Oberlux' crew pour water on you again to get the mud off. I don't want to make unnecessary work for the maids, but I don't think they'll complain too much about minor mud stains. Titanyana, could you get them some bread and more water for them? Len, Sanna, any more questions?"

They shook their heads.

"Wall?"

"No sir."

"Good. You all go get rest, I'll get ready for my training session with Titanyana."

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