15.

As Sett gradually awakens, he is met with a deep sense of dread as he realizes he cannot move. He is encompassed by a hardened, dark wax-like substance that completely engulfs his entire being, trapping him in a helpless state. He attempts to struggle and thrash about but to no avail. As he tries to catch his breath, he realizes that even his face is covered in the substance, and he begins to panic, his screams muffled by the suffocating wax.

In a desperate attempt to free himself, Sett tries to break through the thin layer of wax covering his face, struggling to take in air. But the rest of his body is still trapped beneath the thick, dark wax, and he feels himself slipping further into utter hopelessness.

After what seems like an eternity of struggling, Sett breaks through another layer of wax, using every muscle in his face to scream out in frustration: "What the fuck?!"

After a few seconds, Sett hears footsteps approaching him. The stranger comes closer and calmly asks, "Hi, how are you doing?"

Sett repeated in disbelief, "What the fuck?!" and frantically managed to break off more wax from his face.

The man shushed him, "Just a moment, just a moment," before delicately removing the broken bits from Sett's face and freeing his face from the rest of the wax.

Sett gasped for air, relieved to be able to breathe correctly finally. The man quickly moved away from him, ignoring Sett's frantic calls for help. "Hello? Hey!! Come back!" Sett screamed, his voice echoing through the dark, damp room.

After a moment, the man returned to Sett and leaned over him. "You must drink. Drink, yes," he said, his voice low and menacing.

Sett hesitated, unsure of what was in the bottle that the man had produced from the shadows. Nevertheless, he obeyed and took a sip, coughing, and sputtering as the bitter liquid hit the back of his throat.

"What is this?" he asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

The man smirked and replied, "This is the recovery room."

Sett coughed again. "Recovery room? What do you mean?" he asked, confused.

The man shrugged and replied, "It means what it means. You're here to recover." Sett looked around and realized he was in some room, but it was like no other room he had ever seen. The walls were made of an unknown, shiny material that glimmered in the dim light. The air was thick and humid, and the smell was overpowering, like a mixture of chemicals and rotting vegetation.

"Where am I?" Sett asked, still trying to clear his head.

The man continued speaking, his tone low and severe. "This bath you are in is not just any bath. It's a specially designed concoction that stimulates your white blood cells and speeds healing. In here, bruises, cuts, and breaks heal in hours, not days." Sett looked at him, his eyes widening in disbelief.

"Are you shitting me?" he exclaimed. The man quickly shushed him again and gave him another sip from the bottle.

Sett coughed a little before asking, "What is it? Is it Sake?"

The man smiled. "I got an order to make a bath like this for you after every training session. Man, they're blowing money on you, you know?" the man said to Sett, to which he answered, "Well, I am the best investment into the future," said Sett with a shit-eating grin.

The man just rolled his eyes. "As I said, I will see you every day from now on. You can call me Doc," he added after they shared a glass of Sake. After that, the man stood up and walked away, but after one step, he stopped and looked at Sett again. "Don't move too much; I made this bath to heal your wounds. When the white thing softens and changes its consistency to a watery one, you can get up," he resumed his steps and added at the end, "You have around 30 minutes before you will be able to get up, and then Fox will come to get you to the next room. I will advise you to use it to relax and meditate. See you."

Sett did as advised and took advantage of the remaining time to relax and meditate. He closed his eyes and focused on breathing, letting his mind wander. The Sake calmed him, and he felt his muscles slowly relax.

As he meditated, Sett reflected on today's events. He had never felt so out of control in his life.

But for now, he was content just to be still and let his body heal. He could feel the white substance starting to soften and change, and he knew it was time to get out of the bath. He slowly stood up and felt a wave of dizziness wash over him, but he quickly regained his balance.

As he emerged from his bath, he gasped in awe at his perfectly healed wounds. The sight of his renewed skin made him feel invincible, as though he could take on the world and come out victorious.

Sett dried himself and put his clothes on, still in disbelief at the speed of his recovery. As he sat down in a nearby chair, Fox strolled into the room with a steely glint in her eye. He sensed her gaze's intensity and knew that it meant business. Without a word, she gestured for him to follow her. Sett got up and trailed her down a dimly lit hallway, the air thick with the smell of smoke and metal.

They arrived at a large room with a slotherhouse, and Sett's heart sank at the sight of it. But as he entered, he saw that a table with a wide array of guns had been set up in the middle of the room, and behind it stood a massive, muscular man with skin as black as coal. The man's face was lined with scars, and his eyes held a glint of something dangerous. Sett couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he knew he was in the presence of someone who had seen more than his fair share of bloodshed.

Fox approached the man, her tone respectful, "He knows more about peace than anybody, and he will teach you how to use one." Sett looked at her, puzzled, but she didn't explain.

The man towered over them, his piercing gaze evaluating Sett. "How you doing?" the man asked with a deep but calm voice.

"Actually, pretty good," answered Sett.

The man looked at him steely and replied, "They call me Blackout. And you must be The recruit."

The room's darkness seemed to swallow Sett whole, suffocating him as he watched the machinery whirred to life. The noise grated on his nerves, causing him to shudder with each thud and clank. Suddenly, he saw three bodies - lifeless and cold - transported towards him on a rail. Sett felt his stomach lurch as he realized what was happening.

Standing beside him, the Blackout pressed a button, and the machinery stopped. He looked at Sett with an eerie calmness in his eyes and spoke, "Yes, these are real bodies. You need to know how it feels to put a bullet in someone."

Sett could hardly believe his ears as he watched the man slowly pull out a gun, aim it at one of the corpses, reload it, and finally, shoot it right between the eyes.

"Bullseye hu," Sett commented.

The man handed him a pistol, his voice ringing in his ears, "Now, you."

Sett shrugged, took the pistol from Blackout's hand, and aimed at the lifeless body before him.He took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger. The sound of the gunshot echoed through the room, and Sett felt a surge of adrenaline rush through his veins. He had done it.

Blackout nodded in approval and handed him another gun. "Again," he said.

Sett hesitated momentarily, but then he remembered why he was here. This time, he felt more confident and more in control. He pulled the trigger, and another lifeless body fell to the ground.

Blackout continued to hand him guns, and Sett continued to shoot. Each shot felt more manageable than the last.

The Blockout nodded, seeing on which stage Sett was. "For a new one, you're good enough," he said.

Sett looked at him and replied, "I don't like guns. I prefer my fists."

The Blockout looked at him and said, "It's okay, but you should remember that a gun is an excellent tool. It would be a shame not to learn how to use it. Sometimes, a pistol can be more effective than fists. Besides, you may not always want to get your hands dirty."

As Sett fired his last bullet, Blackout signaled the end of the lesson. But Blackout had one more crucial thing to teach him before Sett could leave. Sett gave him his full attention.

Blackout's tone grew more serious as he spoke. "There are a lot of foolish gun users out there, from marines to pirates. They forget about the essential thing." He paused for emphasis, ensuring Sett understood his following words' gravity. "Whenever you point a pistol at someone else, you risk your life."

Slowly he straightened himself up. "And as one of the most dangerous people in this world taught me, guns are not meant for threats; they are meant for action." As he spoke, Sett could see the fire in Blackout's eyes, and the words left a lasting impact on him.

In the blink of an eye, Blackout pulled out his pistol and shot the corpse in the farthest part of the room, right between the eyes. He then blew the smoke away in a cool and collected manner.

Sett was impressed by Blackout's skill with the gun. He couldn't help but feel a sense of awe as he watched the smoke slowly dissipate from the pistol. He had never seen anyone handle a gun with such ease and precision. Blackout was an extension of the weapon, a natural-born killer. Sett couldn't deny the power of the gun, even if he preferred to use his fists. He knew he had a lot to learn it.

Fox looked at Sett and said, "It's all for today. Come back here tomorrow morning." Sett nodded and followed Fox out of the sloth house. As they walked through the dark alleys, Sett couldn't help but think about everything he had experienced today.

Sett returned to his room, his mind racing with all the new information he had learned today. He knew that tomorrow would bring even more challenges and was ready to face them head-on. He sat on his bed, staring at the ceiling, and closed his eyes.

The following day, Sett returned and went through the same routine.

He sat roped to the chair and spoke up to the repairman. "I thought you were going to teach me how to be stronger," he said, looking back and forth between Fox and the repairman. "If I wanted to get beat up, I'd stay on my street." The repairman glared at him with his cold, blue eyes and took a half step back, preparing himself to punch Sett. Despite Sett's attempts to persuade him not to beat him, he knew it was unsuccessful. "Fuck!" Sett exclaimed, tensing all his muscles in anticipation of the coming blows.

The butcher looked at Sett and threw a knife in his direction. Sett caught it with effort. "Let's start, shall we?" said the butcher with a smirk, eyeing Sett's grip on the knife.

After another visit to the Doc and shooting session, Fox led Sett to an area that looked like a library. There were countless books there. Fox said, "These are all the books you'll ever need. We have a wide range of subjects that are essential to us. We won't test you on these subjects, but memorizing the most important parts will be in your best interest. " Fox then moved towards bookshelves with markings on them. "As you can see, our library has a wide variety of knowledge, from physical training regimes, psychology, and basic martial arts, to some niche subjects like stealing, lying, sleight of hand, poisons, explosives, and many more. You can enter here anytime you're not trained by me. Use it wisely."

Sett nodded and walked towards the shelves. He picked up a book on training regimes and essential martial arts and started to read. The more he read, the more he realized how little he knew about physical training and martial arts. He had always relied on his brute strength and instinct, but now he understood there was much more to learn. He read about different exercises, stretching routines, and techniques he had never heard of before.

After several hours of studying and researching different training methods, Sett developed his regimen. His notes read as follows:

TRAINING REGIMEN

It is essential for anyone pursuing the warrior's way to maintain a high fitness level. The following guide includes fitness, martial arts, weapons training, and methods for endurance, speed, and skill. The following text will provide an idea of what to train for. The ideal training schedule would involve a forested hill of reasonable size and a few spare hours.

Warm-Up/Conditioning:

Run up the hill for approximately 1.5 miles.

Once at a preselected point containing logs, trees, and clear space, proceed as follows:

400 normal sit-ups.

300 sit-ups with hands moving to touch the bottom of the knees.

300 sit-ups with hands to the top of the knees.

150 inverted sit-ups.

200 normal push-ups.

200 push-ups with hands wide.

150 push-ups with fingers pointing inward.

150 push-ups with hands close together.

300 squats.

Hang on a bar/branch and raise your legs horizontally.

100 chin-ups with palms facing away.

100 chin-ups with palms away and hands wide.

(Divide all of it by 10 and you have excellent training. Go, guys, Go!!!)

Stretches:

Three head circles.

10 swings of arms forwards/backward.

10 clockwise and counterclockwise hip rotations.

20 knee bends.

Touch the floor with hands and feet together four times.

30 seconds each of standing with legs wide apart, reaching left/right/middle.

30 seconds each of sitting with legs apart, going left/right/middle.

10 tuck jumps.

10 swings of the leg straight up in front, each leg.

10 swings of the leg out to the side, each leg.

Body Conditioning:

Already taken care of, thanks to the torture from the repairman and the fights with the butcher.

As he walked back to the training area, Sett couldn't help but wonder if his new training regime would interfere with Fox's plans for him. He decided to ask her about it the next day during their session.

Sett arrived at the training area the next day, ready to ask Fox about his new regime.

He approached her and asked, "Fox, I've created my training regime based on what I've researched. I was wondering if it will interfere with your plans for me?"

Fox listened attentively and studied Sett's notes. After a moment, she said, "I see no problem with incorporating your regime into our training. It's great that you've taken the initiative to create your routine".

Fox approved of Sett's new training routine but decided to add to it upon further reflection. "Wait here a second," she said before leaving and returning with something in her hand a few minutes later. She approached Sett and said, "This is my training routine from back in the day."

Fox's plan for martial arts training involved finding a large log, approximately 7-8 feet long and relatively wide. A hole would be dug deep enough for the log to stand in and protrude about 6 feet, which can be altered according to Sett's height. Next, some rope would be wrapped around the log at the head, body, and leg points. Sett would need to practice unarmed combat for 2 minutes straight and, over time, increase the duration. Using boots will lightly load the legs and help to increase speed, and kicking with boots must come to a stopping point. Sett would need to perform each kick on both legs to get each one precise. The following techniques were included in Fox's plan:

Jabs (100 each)

Reverse punch

Hooks (100)

Uppercuts (away from the log) (100)

Front kick (100)

Roundhouse/turning kick (100)

Side kicks (100)

Back fist (100)

Palm heel (100)

Ridge hand (100)

Back kick (50)

Double roundhouse/turning kicks (100)

Hooking elbow strike (100)

Rising elbow strike (away from the log) (100)

Knee rising off the front leg (50)

Knee rising off the back leg (50)

Knee round off front (as turning kick but don't extend leg) (50)

Knee round off back (50)

"Now, I want you to follow it. Your days will look like this: first, the repairman and butcher, then a visit Doc for shooting practice with Blackout. After that, you will do your workout and eat. When you finish, return to Doc for a bath. After that, you are free but should spend some time in the library. Now come on, we are running. The repairman is already waiting for us."

Sett sighed deeply as he walked towards the repairman, mentally preparing himself for another torture session.