CH. 24

"Listen up kid, cause' I'm only gonna explain this one more time. If you don't get your footwork right, like I've shown you already, your whole damn form is gonna go to shit. You won't be balanced right and your swings won't be as powerful as they should be. If the foundation isn't right then the whole structure collapses, get it? SORT IT OUT!"

"Right! I'm sorry!"

"Don't be sorry just do it!"

"I'm sor-"

"WHAT'D I JUST SAY!?"

Roaring, he sent me sprawling to the ground with a slash I tried to block but had no strength to stop, I lay there gasping, attempting to catch my breath.

With the training sword across his shoulders, Stoldt stood tall, looking down at me, all business and no play.

This had been our daily routine for the past couple of months.

Every morning, at the break of dawn, I would meet with Stoldt at our designated sparring area, where a grueling training session would then unfold. First, he would have me warm up by stretching and running laps.

Once I was thoroughly warmed up, or wrecked depending on how you chose to look at it, my training with the sword would begin.

In the beginning it had been correct form techniques that he had shown me, followed by swing after swing after swing after swing of the blade.

"Repetition, repetition, repetition. Drive it into your muscles kid, so it becomes muscle memory and you won't even have to think about the form once it becomes natural. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. The speed and power will come with it."

So he had explained then. To be fair, the more I repeated the exercises and as the days passed by, even I began to see an improvement in my skill. Although, skill was still a big stretch of the definition of that particular word.

Our sparring sessions would leave me battered and bruised from the beating I endured. Stoldt would absolutely dominate me. He was definitely a learn the hard way, sink or swim kind of teacher. Relentlessly, physically beating his teachings literally upon my body.

The physical aspect of these sessions was the most intense of any physical training I had ever done. Bearing in mind I had been a shut-in during my previous life, who spent their days watching anime and playing computer games until the break of dawn, I was really struggling.

But.

As the days went by and the more I progressed, a sense of pride began to blossom within myself. Being able to visibility see the fruits of my labor successfully grow and expand, was a very rewarding experience.

I imagined this was how a power lifter felt, watching and experiencing the growth of their weightlifting capacity increase over time, lifting heavier and heavier weights. Striving towards a goal, committed with a sense of purpose, and being justly rewarded for the time and effort put in.

"Already done for today? How do you expect to improve if you're going to give up so easily? Your opponent wouldn't let you catch your breath. They would doggedly pursue you until satisfied that you're dead! And there's no coming back from death kid."

"I'm not done yet! I can keep going!"

"Then on your feet and have at me!"

Unslinging the sword from his shoulders, he continued its arc down towards where I lay. Rolling to the side, it buried itself into the earth and I sprang back upon my feet, taking a guarded stance.

This continued for another hour before he finally raised a hand and put a stop to the session.

"Right. Now go for a run around the property perimeter. I want three laps from you."

"What? But I'm exhausted and I've already run this morning. You have got to be kidding."

I whined. Surely, he was jesting. I could barely move my arms, let alone my legs. The muscle strain in them was tight and completely expired of any remaining energy I thought they possessed.

"Do I look like I'm joking kid? Or would you prefer I continue to beat it into you? Or better yet, how does a boot up your arse sound?"

"I would prefer neither to be honest."

With a dangerous glint in his eye at my smart arsed reply, Stoldt took a threatening step towards me. Gulping, I took a step back and readied my sword once more for the impending attack that would surely be any moment.

"Alright. Lemme explain it this way then. What happens if you come across an opponent who you are equally matched against in skill and experience? You swing, stab, parry, block, evade and whatever else over and over again, but neither of you gets the upper hand. Do you know who wins that combat?" He paused.

"…"

That was a tough one. Who would survive a situation like that? It sounded more like a riddle than anything else, or a rhetorical question with no right answer the more I thought about it. Maybe he was trying to lead me into a trap…

Although, there was one thing I could think of that would possibly be the single, correct and only applicable answer.

"Whoever can use magic! That would be the only way to upset the equal balance of power. Introduce a separate, outside force."

I was pretty proud of that answer if I did say so myself. That had to be the correct answer.

If you couldn't defeat an opponent with a weapon then surely the answer had to be magic. Introduce a variable that the other wasn't expecting and change the flow of the dynamic situation.

Stoldt stood there staring at me.

Oh yeah, he looks pretty damn surprised that I got it right!

Proud as punch with my answer I allowed myself to grin at him.

"You truly are an idiot."

Shaking his head he sighed in defeat.

"Huh?"

That wasn't the right answer? So it had been a trick after all and I'd walked right into it.

Damnit!

"You can't use magic. Not properly yet anyway, the Baronet is looking for an answer for that. But until then you're stuck like the rest of us average, mere mortals. Besides, if your opponent can use magic, they would have defenses against it. You don't know anything about magic. So for now, we will focus on what I can teach you. Which are a variety of physical weapons, but more specifically, the blade."

He had a point. Ever since that one off incident with the Duke's daughter, I hadn't been able to utilize that same power that I had then. The mana that I secretly tried to gather when I was alone, would fail to be drawn out, leaving me frustrated and annoyed.

I had already been warned about trying to practice by myself, should I repeat the consequence of last time, but I couldn't help myself.

Keiran had told me that he was searching for a way to properly educate and train me in utilizing magic. But so far, there had been no results in his endeavors and I was left knowing just as little as I did when I arrived in this world.

But at least I had been training with Stoldt.

I was moving forward. Slowly, but surely, step by single step, I was making progress.

"So what do you think the correct answer is to what I asked kid? Or is your head full of rocks, devoid of a brain and any intelligence?"

"Well, I was pretty sure that magic was the correct answer. Other than that, I'm out of available options to choose from."

"Ugh. How does your body feel?"

Disgusted with me lack of imagination, he pointed at me with the point of the sword.

Thinking about it, not only were my legs strained, but my entire body ached with a soreness. Particular points that had copped a walloping were more painful than other areas, but there was still a general ache everywhere.

And I felt so tired. Every day, after our session, I would bathe the dirt and sweat from my body. Have whatever injuries I'd sustained patched up and then crawl into bed for a nap to recover my lost energy.

I used to sleep restlessly every night, struggling to close my eyes and enter dreamland. Counting sheep never worked and whoever came up with that idea was stupid I'd decided.

Now, I was out like the flick of a light switch and slept like a rock. Oftentimes, Mera, Keiran or Lilly would have to wake me in the morning or I would sleep past the agreed meeting time for our training.

"Do you get it now kid? The answer is pretty obvious, even if your head was half brain and half rock." He raised an eyebrow.

"I guess the one with the most energy?"

"Close enough… Those that have the stamina to continue on, are the ones who prevail. If you have to, outlasting your opponent with simple endurance will keep you alive, while they falter and fall. Which is why you will now run, to build up that stamina. You will be able to fight longer and harder as a result!"

"Grrnnnn."

"Right, here I come!"

"Okay, okay!"

I took off at a sprint, putting distance between us and starting my first lap around the perimeter.

"Run, run, run big brother!"

Lilly cheered me on from the sidelines, clutching froggy close to her chest.

Since day one, she had sat and watched my training experiences with Stoldt, cheering me on when I faltered and encouraging me when I needed the encouragement.

Hell, occasionally she would even run at Stoldt and attack him during the more particularly intense and painful moments where it felt like he would not hold back and beat me to a pulp. Tiny fists beating against his iron-like body, it was a comical sight, done to defend her big brother.

Giving credit when credit is due, I had to commend her for the support as a little sister she provided to her big brother.