37 Chapter 37

Next day when Aaron woke up, his parents were already up. His mother was preparing food in the kitchen, while his father was outside. He went out as well.

"You are up. Good. Come with me. " His father took him to the very familiar field. This was where he had trained as a kid.

He remembered all of it.

"Come show me how you trained. " Mike asked Aaron.

Aaron stretched a little and warmed running a few rounds. The ground which seemed so large as a kid seemed small now. He easily ran a few rounds. Once he ready, he showed the free hand exercises he had learned.

"Not bad. Seems like you had someone to guide you a little. "

"Yes. He was a member of the guard stationed at the academy. He taught me these. He taught me a little about swords as well." Aaron fell into a somber mood as he said that. He remembered how he failed to use his training in a good way when it mattered.

"Sword training? Thats a good thing. But why are you making that kind of a face?"

Aaron hesitated whether or not to tell his father about the incident. He decided to tell after thinking about it. So he told the whole story.

"I see. So you feel guilty for the deaths and your inability to properly use what you learned. Right?"

"The moment you stopped feeling guilty for a death of a human being, you are no longer a human. No matter what the reason might have been, a death is a death. You might hear some people say that they deserver death. They might have deserved it, but if you killed them and don't feel anything, you are not a human. The guilt would make you consider when to kill and when not to. But it doesnt mean that you go soft on your decisions. Having a firm belief in your decisions is important as well. "

"You are mage now, in the future you might have to make decisions which influences the life of more people than you can imagine. What would you do if you cant make decisions if you are weak at heart?"

Aaron heard his father talk. He understood what he tried to convey. But it was hard to accept it.

"I know what you are thinking. Its not easy to accept. Acceptance comes with time. You need to keep a firm heart and believe that you are right in doing what you have done. You need to have that conviction. And whenever you feel too guilty, go back to your routine. So whatever it is that you do. Dont stay cooped up somewhere. You wont want to do anything, but force yourself. A daily routine would bring back normalcy. "

Aaron pondered about what his father said. It did make sense. He was cooped up in the carriage being miserable. But he only felt better once Maria took him out and he sat by the fire like he did everyday. Even such a small thing could make a difference. He decided to keep in mind what your father said.

"As for the other thing, it is very common to be afraid for your life. Thats your self preserving mechanism acting. You fought that fear and finally did what you were supposed to do. Its an achievement in itself."

"Or do you think a great warrior or hero is made in a day?"

"The books on heroes always overlook the difficulties they faced amd glorify their achievements. But each one has struggled in their own right."

"If you dont want that to happen again, train harder. You said you lacked strength in full frontal confrontation, get your strength up then."

"Dont come up with excuses for why you werent able to perform, come up with solutions."

"I see you have the basic foundation right with your body. Although its not as good as a warrior, but its good enough for a common person. You are not a common person though. You are a mage. Find a way which allows you to use your body to your advantage in magic."

Those words resounded within Aaron's head. He had the advantage of being a mage. He had to think like one too. If only using magic power wasnt enough for him to attack since he wasnt a combat, he needed to find a way to use his physical advantage.

"Now, show me how you use that sword."

Few seconds later, Aaron was on the ground and looking up to his father.

"I see what you meant when you said you lacked experience. The person you have been training took it too easy. He was probably afraid of your identity as a mage and only showed you how to use those moves. He never showed you the intent of those moves. Each sword move is meant to hurt someone. Remember that. Now, come again."

The morning routine continued daily. Aaron was starting to get better. He could see the difference between his father and Hinds. His father didnt hold back much. Aaron would have bruises at the end of training. His mother would berate Mike but Aaron asked his mother to allow it. He needed it.

Aaron also put some thinking on how to use his magic with sword.

Maybe he could use his magic to expand or contract his sword during fight. But he knew he wasnt skilled enough to not be put off by the change in size himself.

He could shrink a larger sword to smaller one. The resulting sword would be heavy and stronger. But he didn't have the preference to use a heavy sword.

He kept thinking how to use magic with sword.

At last it came to him, Sharpness.