“What… what kind of ground rules?” Kaelum asked nervously. Tiela seemed very serious all of a sudden.
“First of all, no more eating trash!” Just as he was about to protest, she continued “Before, you didn’t have any money, so I could understand that. But now that you have some money, you will be buying at the very least some bread every morning. Besides, you need way more nutrients if you’re going to be training and working so hard.”
He finally nodded in assent, it’s not like he enjoyed eating from the trash like a raccoon, after all.
After ensuring that she wouldn’t be tasting trash any time in the future, Tiela shooed Kaelum from his soul space for the night.
The whole process had taken a while, so it was about eleven at night by the time Kaelum left his soul space.
Coming back into his real body, he immediately started his breathing technique. Tiela had told him to practice it every waking moment. After nearly a week, he was pretty proficient in it and didn’t have to solely focus on it to keep it up.
He felt it would probably become second nature over the next few days if he kept at it. After actively practicing his breathing for a while, Kaelum got ready to go to sleep. He’d be waking up early for the foreseeable future so he needed to get some good rest.
He kept up his breathing technique until he slipped into sleep. He managed to get a good night’s sleep.
His princess alarm clock woke him up early by circulating ice-cold mana through his veins. Waking him with a jolt.
“What the hell is that” he shouted into the air sluggishly. After regaining some clarity he heard Tiela’s laugh in his mind and said aloud with an angry tone “Don’t wake me up like that!”
‘I tried waking you by shouting, but it seems you didn’t hear me.’ She said between bouts of laughter ‘Besides, I like this reaction much more.’ She finished deviously.
Why are you even awake right now? Do you even sleep? Kaelum asked indignantly.
‘Yes, but being such a powerful mage, I’m naturally less reliant on rest. My soul is much stronger than a mortal’s, after all.’ Kaelum didn’t know why, but her tone grated on his ears this early in the morning.
How powerful are you anyways? His irritation slightly faded and replaced with curiosity. She had never actually told him what tier she was.
‘I was… Not powerful enough…’ She said glumly, seemingly thinking of the past. Before continuing ‘Anyway, let’s start training.’
After getting up, Tiela had him leave the slums and towards the west gate that he usually took to Miller’s camp. The sun had yet to rise as he walked the empty streets in the chilly morning air.
Usually, the shopkeepers and merchants would take this time to start getting ready, but it looked like they were hiding indoors until sunrise these days. This slum monster seemed to have everyone spooked.
Kaelum felt a chill up his spine as he walked, he didn’t think it was just the morning air and he couldn’t shake the feeling that a pair of eyes were on him the whole time. It’s probably one of the merchants he thought while trying to shake the feeling.
After reaching the western gate he asked aloud with a whisper “Where am I going now? Isn’t it dangerous to leave the city alone?” Thinking that it would make it easier for whatever monster was prowling to eat him if he was alone in the woods.
‘Head to the forest that Miller’s camp cuts trees from, we’ll find a good spot to train in that forest from now on. Besides, you’re not alone.’ Tiela said reassuringly, reminding him of her presence.
The two guards at the gate let him through without any trouble after seeing his face, they were used to seeing him leave over the past week for work at Miller’s camp. Kaelum was glad to see another person’s face, even if they were the guards he usually hid from.
It took Kaelum about thirty minutes to reach the gate from the slums, much faster than when he was sneaking earlier in the week, especially when the fear of a monster put a hop in his step.
He soon reached the edge of the forest and Tiela had him walk around, looking for a good spot to claim as a training ground. All the while he had a slight nagging sensation in the back of his telling him he was still being watched.
While he walked around the forest, he asked Tiela about it. Deciding to talk aloud to dispel any weird tension in the air “Does it feel like we’re being watched? I’ve felt eyes on me since I left this morning”
‘Oh? Maybe it’s the flesh-eater’ she answered, teasing him.
After sensing him tense up a bit more, she laughed and said ‘There’s nothing to worry about, nothing in your immediate vicinity possesses mana and if anything directs ill intent at you, I’ll let you know’
Seeing that he was still sneaking glances at his surroundings, Tiela sighed and said ‘I may not be as powerful as I once was, but if anything tries to attack you I can guarantee your safety from some mana less attacker.‘ She reminded him he was under the protection of a powerful mage
His fears finally assuaged, and his curiosity piqued, Kaelum asked in his mind How are you even able to sense things I can’t see? Everyone always seems to be able to sense whenever someone’s about to open a door before they even do it!
Tiela chuckled and said ‘By using the mana in the air to sense things, it’s also how people can tell other mages power‘
After pacing around for a bit, she had him stop at a small clearing about five meters in diameter. It was only a short walk into the forest, but it was far enough to conceal any sights or sounds of his “training ground” from the outside world.
After settling the training ground, she had him search around for ironwood trees to find some branches. Ironwood trees are extremely tough grey trees, a lot of weapons and tools that need a strong grip utilize them.
‘Until we can buy some proper weapons, we’ll have to make do with ironwood that’s similar in weight and shape’ Tiela explained.
Kaelum found a branch that was just over two meters and in a diameter that wasn’t too unwieldy. It was much heavier than a normal tree branch and was a dull grey colour. It felt as if it weighed as much as iron, doing the name ‘ironwood’ proud.
‘Perfect’ Said Tiela in his mind ‘We can use that as a stand-in for a spear. Then that’s the weapon type we’ll start with.’
By the time they had gotten started, the sun was already over Kaelum’s head.
She had him start by getting into position while holding his makeshift spear, before making slight corrections to his stance.
‘Spread your legs slightly farther apart… a little farther… good.‘ She corrected his stance
“Like this?” Kaelum asked aloud after following her instructions.
‘Yes, but lower your body more, if you try to attack like that you’ll throw your balance off completely.‘
Once he was in position, Tiela continued ‘Good, but try to loosen your leg muscles. If you tense that much during a fight you won’t last long.’
Finally satisfied with his stance, she said ‘Alright your stance is good, try thrusting the branch forward like you want to stab something with the tip.‘
After hearing the go-ahead, Kaelum thrust his makeshift spear forward.
‘Good try, but wrong. Don’t try to thrust with just your arms, put your whole body into the strike.’ Tiela said, after seeing his attack ‘That threw your stance off so correct it as best you remember.‘
As he went back to his stance, Tiela pointed out small mistakes until she declared ‘Good enough, try thrusting again.’
It seemed his attack still wasn’t up to snuff, she said ‘Correct your stance and try again. When you strike, fully extend your arms, but don’t lock them.’
The training continued in this manner for what felt like hours to Kaelum, the feeling that he was being watched never left him. Though at this point it was easy to just ignore.
Tiela eventually had him stop for a break, just in time too. He felt like he was about to collapse from the physical exertion. As he slumped to the ground and took a deep breath, he heard Tiela’s voice in his mind.
While panting, Kaelum asked aloud “Why does this feel way worse than carrying wood all day?”
Tiela answered him with a chuckle, ‘You’re using a lot of muscles that don’t normally get a lot of action, after a short break we’ll continue.’
And continue they did, the day of practise mainly consisted of Tiela correcting Kaelum’s stance and him performing a single thrust, before doing it over again. Kaelum thought he’d be learning to fight, but he was just repeating the same stance and thrust over and over again! Not only was it painful, but it was also boring!
Just as the sun reached high overhead, Tiela told him ‘It’s getting close to noon so we’ll stop here for today… Good job today.’
His tired muscles seemed rejuvenated from the unexpected praise as he made his way out of the clearing and towards Miller’s camp to work.
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