Rules

"New pupil?" I said, 'bewildered'.

"Yes."

"Why?" I asked, expecting him to respond with something like 'You've got a Martial Physique, pupil', just as he had with Alexander, but...

"I don't know. I just felt like it."

'Just felt like it? No, you're meant to say that it's destiny or some shit!'

"Do I maybe have a special physique?" I questioned, praying for it to be a yes.

"Nope, not at all. I checked 4 times. Nothing stood out."

'Well, fuck. It can't get much worse than that, can it?' I thought, only to regret it immediately, realizing that I had raised a flag. A very big one at that. 'Well, if I was fucked before, I'm royally fucked now.'

"If at any point you fail to meet my expectations, you'll die. Understood?" He said threateningly, with a warm smile on his face.

'I'm getting mixed messages here, buddy. I'm going to need you to be more specific.'

I knew that he wouldn't kill me, probably, because Alexander had failed a couple of times, but had been perfectly fine.

"By the way, don't think to yourself that I'm bluffing. I don't know why I took you in as a pupil, but I know I can easily get rid of you. You have no special physique, so you have 0 worth right now."

'Fuuuuuuuck! I need to stop raising flags!'

"Yes, Master!" I said, eager to stop the discussion and find out more ways that I might die.

"Well then, let's get going." He said, untying the ropes binding me in an instant.

I shook them off, shrugging and rubbing my shoulders while tapping my foot on the floor. I looked toward the man who was now my 'Master' and smiled.

'It's a great opportunity, after all. I just hope I don't die.'

He smiled back, something I hadn't expected, and I took a good look at him.

He seemed about 60 years old, with whitish hair in a bun, a pale complexion, brown eyes, and wrinkly skin. He was most likely over a thousand years old, although he could be much older. 

He wore a white robe, with a black rope around his waist. The robe reached just around his shoulders, ending with a ripped design, whilst it followed the same pattern at his legs, reaching the ankles.

He turned around, exiting through the door and gesturing for me to follow.

I followed quickly, but not without asking the question on my mind.

"Um, Master, may I know your name?" In the story, Alexander had never been told the name of his Master, and I felt that it would be the same for me, but I wanted to double-check.

"Bah, you're not worthy enough to know my name, boy. I've lived for more than 10 times your age, and a fingernail of mine is stronger than yours. Become as strong as at least both my legs and maybe I'll tell you."

'Well, at least I have a goal.' Alexander had never heard that line, so something other than our respective prowess was different.

We reached a door, and Master told me to enter. He stayed behind, and I walked in.

Inside was a simple bedroom.

A bed and a closet, that was all. There were no windows, no light, no nothing.

"This is where you'll sleep for however long it takes for me to train you. It has the bare minimum, which is all you will need, considering that you will only sleep here. Everything else will be done outside. Now, go to sleep. You've got a long day ahead."

SLAM- CLICK!

The door suddenly shut with a slam, and I heard a click ring out.

'No, he didn't, did he?' I thought going up to the door. I grabbed the handle, rattling it, but it was futile. 'Hah, he fucking did.'

I'd been locked in the room. Not even Alexander had received this treatment.

"Bastard." I cursed under my breath.

"I heard that." Master's voice suddenly rang out, so loud that it reached me from wherever it was, yet so quiet that I had to strain to hear.

'How in the...'

In the end, I gave up, slumping onto the bed. After all, what could I do? Escape? Don't make me laugh.

Whilst I was not aware of the full specifics of my Master, I knew that he was one of, if not the strongest humans to exist. Escape was futile.

All I could do was hope that I had a talent for martial arts and sword fighting, as I was sure that was all I was going to learn. Maybe, just maybe he taught me the spear or dagger, but nothing else.

I looked up at the ceiling of the room that was now shrouded in darkness, and let myself drift into the oasis of sleep.

---

I woke up to the sound of birds, or I would have I'm sure, were I not locked in a tiny room with no windows.

I attempted to look around and find my bearing, but there was not much else to see, other than darkness. I would have to rely on my memory.

It being my first night in the room, I only memorized the general layout of the room, so I ended up stubbing my toe on the bedframe.

"Son of a-" My curse was cut short by the sound of a lock opening, and I stood still as I watched the door open.

Light entered my eyes, temporarily blinding me until my pupils shrunk.

"Good morning, disciple. Get up, we're going to the nearest mountain.

---

"Hah, Hah, motherfucker. Mountain my ass, this is far too tall to be a mountain. In what world is a mountain taller than the diameter of its moon? HUH!" I cried out.

"You don't even let me rest, asshole!" I had been walking up this mountain for the past 14 hours straight, and every time I tried to stop, Fire would come ablaze under my feet. 

'This isn't endurance training, this is hell!' Alexander had done this before, but he had done it almost halfway into his training. So why was I doing it now?

Good question. I don't know myself. I wasn't given a reason.

'Just go up the mountain. I don't care how, but I want you up there by the end of the day.' That is what he said.

1 hour in, I had been fine.

2 hours in, I still couldn't feel it.

4 hours in, it started to hit me, and sweat began to drip from my face.

8 hours in, and I wanted to rest, as I was covered in so much sweat it was hard to open my eyes.

And now, 14 hours in, I wanted to die.

Might I add that I was carrying close to 100 KG¹.

I took another step, looking up at the mountain, of which I had covered less than 40%, and frowned.

The snowy white peak of the mountain looked further than ever, and the green trees that I was close to were now gone. I looked back to double-check, and I hadn't passed the trees. 'I know I'm sweating, but I have water. I'm not hallucinating.'

'Strange. Is this?' In the book, Alexander easily cleared this challenge, stunning Master, and never had to do it again. Also, we were never given specifics. Of course, my hypothesis was just that, a hypothesis, so I would have to confirm it.

I turned around to walk down a bit, just to test, but before my foot hit the rocky floor, it was set ablaze.

"Argh, motherfucker!" I yelled, grabbing my foot and hopping to turn around. The moment I faced forward again, the Fire disappeared.

'Well, that confirms it, I think.' I thought, rubbing my now injured foot. 'He better have some meds, I swear.'

"I know this is an Illusion. Don't lie. This mountain is fake!" I screamed, hoping that he would hear me.

"Impressive disciple, I'm proud that you found that out..." A voice boomed across the mountain, its source unclear.

'Yes, yes, now say I can leave!'

"But so what!? You're still going to climb it. Up you go!"

'I hate you, Master!'

---

"HAh, HaH." I panted, as the air seemed to evade my lungs. No matter how much I breathed, I couldn't seem to get any air. 

I rolled over, peeking up toward the mountain that towered above me.

My eyes filled with determination, and I made a claim in my mind that I would soon regret.

'I'm gonna conquer you, and then I'm going to destroy you!'

The satisfaction that would come with its destruction would make the regret worth it, however.

'Master allowed me a 50-minute break, and it's been 20. I don't have much time, and I need to do something.'

Since I had figured out that the mountain was an Illusion, I had been traveling for another 6 hours, meaning that a fifth of the day had gone by, and I had yet to achieve more than 40%. There was a chance that I had gotten further away. Honestly, I couldn't tell anymore.

"Break's over, lazy bones. Get up and start climbing!" Master's voice boomed.

'It's not been 30 minutes yet, let alone 50.' I thought, climbing to my feet. 'I know that I wanted to be trained by this man, but I'm starting to regret it. And it's only day 1.'

________

¹ = I will use our systems. Whilst I did invent metrix (1 = 5 miles) and Valrix (1 = 50 pounds), I feel it makes sense for Arthur not to use them. Being the person he is, he will find it difficult, or something. Anyway, in my opinion, it dones't suit him, however they still will be a thing.