Training

Ezra's dad came in and heard the good news, though he saw Ezra was a bit bruised up, he said nothing since Ezra was happy. Oliver didn't seem to want Robert around, so he chased him away from the dojo.

"I'll come get you later." Robert said.

"Don't stress, I'll come back myself." Ezra said.

Robert wanted to argue, but Oliver kicked him out by force and locked the door. He walked to Ezra and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Let's see what you are capable of." A smile hung on his face.

The two of them faced each other at the center of the dojo were people sparred. Oliver tilted his neck left and right, his neck made cracking sounds.

"There exist two main energy forms that humans are enabled to use; do you know them?" Oliver asked.

"I know of mana, but nothing else." Ezra said.

"Hmm, I understand why you wouldn't know of the second form. Most people think that martial artist just train their bodies and get strong, but no, there is an energy that they use, and that energy is called vitality."

'Vitality? It is the same as the one in the system.'

"Can you explain what vitality is to me?" Ezra asked.

"Your internal energy son, the energy that comes from you. Your body is a generator of vitality, and with vitality, you can perform martial arts." Oliver explained.

'It is basically the same with that of the system, they all have to do with the physical attributes of my body.' Ezra thought.

"The way to train vitality is by bodily training, it increases the production rate and vitality capacity of your body. So, with that in mind, we will start your first training, and since you want to prove to me that you will never bow, I decided to start right from the hard stuff." Oliver said. A massive pressure came down on Ezra, like the one Oliver had used, but less.

Ezra could stand under the pressure as it was not too much, though he still felt it. He looked at Oliver waiting for him to explain what this training was about.

"This pressure is significantly less than the one you felt from me, it is coming directly from the dojo, a magical array built in the dojo is the cause of this pressure. The pressure increases every one minute, that means you must get stronger every minute to counter. This training will last for eight hours."

If you survive five hours, then you passed, if you do six, that's very good, seven is excellent, and eight, well let's wait and see.

'I am going for eight, I must get to the eighth hour.' Ezra said in his mind. He might be in the body of a child, but he was a trained cop, he had been trained in endurance and stamina.

Oliver sat down with down with his back against the wall, then he mysteriously took out and hourglass and placed in on the ground, the sand began trickling, meaning the countdown had started.

The first hour went smoothly, Ezra withstood every increase in pressure, but it was beginning to get serous, as his legs well trembling slightly.

'Keep it together, one hour down.' Ezra said as the last of the sand in the hourglass trickled down, Oliver took the glass and turned it over, restarting the clock.

The second hour came hard, beads of sweat were forming on is body, and he was shaking more than before. Still, he kept his unyielding mindset.

'Keep it together, two hours down.'

Oliver turned it over again, starting the third hour. By now, he could feel his muscles on fire, his body was drenched, his sweat trickled to the floor, and his body shook violently.

'Keep it together, don't bow, three hours down.'

He concluded the third hour and Oliver turned it over again, and the fourth hour began, and in all honesty, it was hell. He had begun shaking even more, his sweat was creating a puddle underneath him. His eyes were getting blurry, and his head was spinning, yet he kept standing, refusing to yield.

'Keep it together, four hours done.'

The fifth hour proved to be impossible, his body began shutting down, he could feel all control over his body stopping, his mind rejected yielding with all it could, but the body was beyond its limit, blood dripped from his nose, staining the puddle of sweat.

[You have gained one vitality]

A notification saved the day, as soon as he received the vitality, he felt an explosion of power in him, like he had been reborn. He felt completely rejuvenated, no more fatigue. His resistance the pressure also increased; no more shaking, no more sweating.

Oliver noticed the sudden change; he raised a brow in surprise.

'Seems the kid has gotten a minor breakthrough; he may be able to reach the last hour now' Oliver thought.

Ezra had no issues with crossing the reaming hours. The increases in vitality was just one, but it changed the whole game for him.

He moved through the fifth, six, seventh and eighth. The pressure on the last hour was normally the greatest, but he still got through it. When it ended, he was sweating, but not as bad as before, he didn't look completely run down, but like he still had energy.

"You had to go and past the last hour, right?" Oliver asked. The pressure stopped and allowed Ezra to breathe some fresh air.

"You have completed stage one with a distinction, and so you can begin level two, but that will be after we eat." Oliver got up and headed inside through the door.

'A stage two? Will I be able to get another vitality?' Ezra thought as he sat down crossed leg on the ground, waiting for Oliver. He didn't doubt Oliver's skill, since his technique had allowed him to get a vitality. If he was able to get at least one every day, then he would have five in five days, and that would complete level one of his plans.

Oliver returned with two bowls of food, he handed one to Ezra, while he sat to eat his own. "Your goal is good son, but I need you to understand something. There are times in life that you must bow. You can't brute force everything." Oliver said before taking a spoon of his food.

Ezra might be a twenty-five-year-old man, but he honestly didn't understand what Oliver was saying."

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Hmm, what I am saying is that desire is not the only thing to lead you. Some desires are too impossible to actualize a hundred percent. Take for instance a man that fights for a living, there can't be a way that he will fight for thirty years and never face a loss, a day must come.

Now imagine that his desire was to never lose, just like you never want to bow, but he loses one day because maybe that person that he was fighting kidnapped his mother and said he would have to lose the fight to get his mother back.

In essence, what I am saying is that you must learn to weigh your options to know what to do first, the statement 'I will not bow' can be interpreted in many ways at different times, depending on the situation."

Ezra was silent for a moment, then he spoke. "I understand."

'I don't care at all; I will never bow.' Ezra thought.