Sieg wanted to dream of something pleasant — perhaps a family member? Well, he certainly can smell the aroma of a mother's cooking.
Mother? Huh… but I don't remember having a kitchen.
With every step he took toward the kitchen to glimpse his mother's cooking, she only grew more distant within a narrow space.
This is torture, I haven't heard your voice in years.
It was silent. His mother offered no reply — and that absence alone hurt the boy in a way he couldn't fully name.
The slum boy, remained isolated…
Tap! tap!
Who the hell?
He felt someone tap his forehead — then he heard a muffled familiar voice of a man.
"Boy, you have been asleep for far too long."
"Wake up—"
After hearing those words, he jolted to awake, opening his eyes to the familiar cave and bonfire, with the smell of the usual beef stew already set right beside him.
Yawn, and stretching—
"Sir Knight, how long was I asleep?" Sieg asked.
"Eighteen hours…" the knight answered.
The boy's eyes widened; however, he wasn't all that surprised. The sensation of his stiff and cold muscles were both satisfying and constricting.
Outside is still dark. Mister Knight wasn't joking when he said time means nothing here.
Even now, I can't tell how long it's been since I arrived.
When he reached for his bowl, a sharp soreness shot through his forearm and legs.
Owie…
"Eat. Then wake up your blood and body. We start in a few hours."
"I understand… Mister Knight."
As straightforward as ever.
Once he finished eating and eased the tension from his muscles, the dream still pressed against his thoughts, trailing after him as he stepped toward the knight for training.
"Something in your mind, boy?"
He shook his head — "Nothing mister knight, please guide me again."
Mister Knight narrowed his eyes, sensing the lie, yet he said nothing and simply positioned himself for the lesson.
Time passed by rather quickly especially if you cannot guess it, and after training for a while, Sieg's muscles screamed with pain, and his hands were blistered, but the knight continued teaching a diagonal cut aimed to disrupt an opponent's guard.
"Focus and think of nothing else!"
A smack—! Gah!
This guy just teaches and teaches!
However, Sieg's strikes were still weak, and awkward, but slowly, painfully — they began to land with more finesse.
"Good, keep that up."
I'm getting the hang of it — but I wouldn't be so confident.
But the lesson went to the next level, as mister knight introduced parrying and thrusting combinations.
"Perform it better—"
"Yes, sir…"
'Setting aside' and 'displacing', Mister Knight hoped, perhaps wishfully, that Sieg could learn this until it became second nature—but that was impossible without months of training.
I don't mind this part—
Sieg performed 'Setting aside', Mister knight went in for an attack, but Instead of blocking first and then counterattacking, the boy intercepted Mister Knight's sword, meeting the strike near the hilt with his own raw strength.
"Excellent." Mister knight complimented with little to no enthusiasm, but that was him being generous for his small efforts.
Proper leverage, angles, one's footwork matter more than raw strenght, but this will suffice, considering the short amount of time I trained him.
Mister Knight thought inwardly.
That one compliment caused the apprentice to smile ear to ear. With a sudden surge of confidence, Sieg lunged, aiming a thrust straight at Mister Knight's chest.
Can I finally land a strike on him?!
"Oh?!" In one fluid motion, the knight's blade met his, forcing Sieg's point aside. Reflexively, Sieg displaced the attack. The knight could have overpowered him at any moment, but he allowed the boy's blade to guide the movement, just enough to step into a counter.
Mister Knight barely raised an eyebrow under his helmet, letting the boy taste the proper way to do displacement.
"Well done — I'm sure you realized that we are far from over?"
Sieg gazed at the Knight's eye, "I know, Mister knight, I'm prepared to face your every challenge."
The boy couldn't see it but under the helmet the Knight smiled for the first time.
Painful! Aughhhh—
I was in fact, not prepared to face mister knight's every challenge!
More unknown hours passed, borderlining to days — and mister knight's drills grew more complex: multiple strikes, feints, simulated combat scenarios.
It's agonizing, but it's not impossible.
Slowly but surely, Sieg managed to scrape off impurities within his stance, to the point that he can somewhat maintain it while advancing, parrying while striking, and moving his feet to control distance from mister knight.
Owieee!
"Get up, and try again."
"Yes sir…"
Sieg fell repeatedly, and at the same time rose repeatedly, sometimes on the brink of collapse from his severely exhausted body.
How long has it been… I haven't seen sunlight in days…
Each time he failed, the knight's lone eye judged him in silence, then drove him harder than before — while also rewarding him with meals a boy from the slums could only dream of, packed with protein to help his physical growth.
"Do not question my ways, boy." Mister knight remarked with a stern voice.
"I understand—"
How the hell did mister knight manage to get beef, chicken, and fishes?! Some sort of Trial magic!! Who am I to complain! It's basically free food!
But the stronger Sieg becomes, the more the knight pushes him, testing both his physical and mental limits.
Huff huff — I CAN DO IT!
"Keep moving—" Even in the blizzard outside the cave, the knight forced him to practice footwork on icy rocks.
"Control it—"
"I'm trying mister knight!"
The training got so bizarre that he was commanded to carry logs and do laps on the nearby road, on the same placed where he once collapsed.
Now that's messed up…
The core lesson of it all was slowly learned — a disciplined mindset, which was more important that him being able to swing with fluidity, and before he realized it, his body had transformed, more defined muscles, and some visible abs, far cry from the malnourished slum boy he once was.
His mind was so preoccupied — that he hasn't realized that every positive mental change he had, the blizzard slowly weakened.
And perhaps.
A little bit more — and Sieg would be reminded of what it feels like to embrace the warmth of the sun again.
Chapter End.