Aftermath

For the next three days, all the villagers stayed within the village centre. Andrew had no choice but to train within it, much to the amusement of the fellow villagers who watched him struggle to swing around a heavy sword, with Fredrick beside him.

"Fredrick," Andrew asked him while he was resting the next day, "What are the abyssals?"

Frederick sighed deeply. "They are the reason most of the races of this world are united."

"No one knows where they come from. Rumours say they are invaders from other dimensions. A few million years ago, the first of them started appearing in this world. Not many of them appeared at first, and they were not very powerful. The strongest of them were probably only Grand Knights in power, but even then, it was enough to cause a great shock to the world.

But after a while, the threat got larger. Multiple Saints appeared in the world. No one knew where they came out of - that was why it was so threatening. But after a while, humanity beat back the abyssals. But every once in a while, they invade again.

Back then when the abyssals started appearing, the world was going through a war, with the major races mired in conflict among each other. But the threat got all of us to fight as one together, and from then on, peace was achieved against a common enemy. That's why all the top academies allow all races to join, so this world's combatants will benefit as a whole.

Still, the abyssals are so many that even after eliminating the strongest ones, we can't ensure that every one of them is eliminated. There are definitely abyssals hiding among us in this continent. But our Pagia Kingdom is quite close to the Empire of Light, and not many abyssals dare to come here. So it's quite surprising to see one attack this village in the middle of nowhere."

"I've talked enough. Now start training again, lad."

The child started swinging his sword again, his muscles straining against the weight.

-----------

After the third day, the lockdown was over, and the villagers were allowed to get back to their houses. Still, the scare remained, and no one dared to go out of their houses unless necessary.

A week passed by, and Andrew found that the movement got easier. He still struggled like crazy to get the sword up and swing it, but he got more and more comfortable with it, and his movements, while jagged, became slightly more elegant. Andrew could not see Fredrick standing by the side, his expression visibly shocked. This improvement speed at this age…he could not believe it.

Still, he held back his emotions, and when Andrew was done with the exercises, he complimented him, "Good job. You have a little bit of talent in body strengthening. But don't be arrogant, I've seen hundreds, if not thousands of people who have equal or better talent. Hard work still wins in the end". Lying through his teeth, Frederick's face remained stoic. He followed by explaining the technique to strengthen the body.

"As you train any part of your body more, this world's innate energy will accumulate in your body, making you stronger. I could already feel that the movement is becoming easier for you. But the world's energy needs time to seep into your body, and the time is slightly shorter for you, because I suspect your pores are unusually receptive to the world's energy. That's a good thing for your age."

"For swordsmen, there is something we call the "peak period". During this period, your talent for both body strengthening and understanding techniques increases to an extreme level. Your pores open up multiple times wider, and the world's energy flows in at a rapid rate, strengthening your cells and your body. Meanwhile, your comprehension and understanding increases as well, so you can learn techniques multiple times faster. When you get stronger, your lifespan increases to thousands of years or even longer as you perfect your body, and the peak period also increases in length. But for normal people who are just starting out on the path of the sword, like you, their lifespan is about 100 years, and their peak period is in their early teens, starting at about 12, and ending at 16. It's slightly earlier than puberty."

"What happens after the peak period?" Andrew asked.

"You can still improve, but it'll be pitifully small. I've barely improved in the last 50 years. So the ultimate goal of a swordsman is to break through to higher levels to extend the peak period, as if you hit the end of the period, that means you'll be stuck at that level for your life. Well, save for some exceptional cases."

"The same goes for the period of time before the peak period. Typically, you can strengthen your body, but it'll take lots of time and effort. That's why I'm slightly impressed by you improving in a week. That means your speed of improvement in the peak period will be truly high, so you should make use of it when the time comes to strengthen yourself."

Andrew was happy after hearing the news. After being viciously rejected from the path of the mage, he had been accepted as someone with talent in the sword. He would push himself, to see how far he would go.

---------

One month passed by. Fredrick introduced Andrew to many more exercises and training routines to strengthen himself. Now, Andrew had no problem swinging the sword around, and during his training sessions, his sword drew large circular arcs in the air, making a whooshing sound. He had only learnt one move from Andrew - the simple slice, but was very competent in it now. Seeing him train, Fredrick smiled and thought to himself - he truly is a genius. As a teacher, I must train him the best I can!

"Fredrick," Andrew said.

Both of them were more accustomed to each other after spending so long with each other, and their conversations were much more informal now.

"Could you teach me other moves? The slice is getting quite boring."

"Hahahaha! Good that you want to learn more. I have no problem teaching you more moves, but on one condition - that you have proven to me you have reached at least a passable level of competence with the slice. Alright, you can take a 15 minute break. After that, let's have a spar."

His blood boiling, Andrew could feel his body filling up with vigour. The soreness of his muscle had completely disappeared, leaving him only with the singular will for a good battle. "It's fine, I don't need a break."

Drawing his sword and getting into battle posture. Andrew smiled confidently. "Let's spar now."