- Maybe they should be in school right now. mumbles Roderick with a serious frown

Leas opens his eyes and starts panting. He turns and looks at his father

- How long *huff* *huff*have *gasp* I been meditating? asks Leas while panting and gasping

- Four minutes. answers Roderick after looking at a pocket watch he took out of his pocket

- *huff* *huff* It felt much longer than that. says Leas calmly

Roderick smiles

- That's only normal. he says. Just so you know, you're the one that lasted the longest

Leas looks at Malick and Enzo

- Are you sure about that? he asks while looking at Enzo and Malick

- These two just went back to it. Roderick confirms. So, were you able to feel Lethe?

Leas looks down with a frown

- I think that I was really close. says Leas with a frustrated frown. I was really close but... 

- But, what? asks Roderick

- It's nothing. Leas says after lying down on his back. I'll take a short break and get back at it

{Roderick}

" He wasn't able to feel Lethe but I definitely felt it. Leas was absorbing Lethe. What exactly is going on here?"

Enzo's and Malick's concentration breaks and the both of them lie on their backs

- * huff* *huff* *huff* How much time did we last this time? asks Enzo with a smile

- A few seconds. answers Roderick after exhaling

- I...*huff* *huff* cant even move. says Malick while panting

- I'll give you five minutes of rest. says Roderick while looking at his pocket watch. After that, we're doing physical training and we'll end today's training session with some swordsmanship.

[Five Minutes Laater]

Malick, Leas, and Enzo are stretching while waiting for Roderick

- Where did Master go? asks Malick while stretching his legs

- I don't know. says Enzo while stretching his arms

Enzo looks at Leas who is looking at the palm of his hand

- Are you ok, Leas? asks Enzo with worry

- Dont you find it weird? asks Leas

- What are you talking about? Malick asks while doing some small jumps

- Is it just me or did we recover our stamina faster than we usually do? asks Leas

- Now that you mention it... I do feel a little lighter on my feet. says Malick with a confused and surprised expression

- That's the effect of meditation. says Roderick as he arrives with ankles and wrist weights made from metal 

Roderick drops the weights in front of the kids. The kids look at the weights, then look at Roderick

- It can't be right? asks Enzo with an awkward smile full of disbelief

Roderick smiles

- You've got to be kidding me. says Malick with a nervous smile

- This is crazy. says Leas with a nervous smile

- Put them on. Roderick says with a smile

The three exhales strongly and each of them puts their weight on

*Click*

- Click? says Enzo with confusion. What does "Click" mean? 

- Click means that you are stuck with these until you can use Excel or that I take them off for you. says Roderick with a smirk

- So, we are stuck with these, huh? says Malick while looking at his wrists

- And we can only take them off using Excel. says Leas. Does that mean that these can only be unlocked with Excel

Roderick nods with a smile

- That's right. he says. Not only do you need to use Excel to unlock them but you also need a great amount of control over your Excel.

- Because...? asks Enzo

- When the weights were made, I asked the blacksmith to create a path for the Excel to travel through. explains Roderick with a smile. Once your Excel reaches the end of the path, the weights unlocks

- And why did you do that? asks Enzo with confusion

- It's obviously so that he could train his control over his Excel. says Leas 

- Exactly. says Roderick. Now, the three of you are going to do three sets of 20 push-ups

- WHAT!? the kids exclaim

- Right now. says Roderick with a scary smile

Malick, Leas, and Enzo get into position while grumbling their complaints and start doing their push-ups

- Is there *grunts* nothing fun to *grunts* do in this training? says Enzo while doing his fifth push-up

- Stop talking and focus. says Roderick while walking around the kids. And go lower than that, Leas

- Fine. answers Leas as he goes lower than he did during the last two push-ups

[A Few Minutes Later]

- This *grunts* wasn't too hard. says Malick with a smile as he finishes his last push-up

{Roderick}

" As I thought, Malick's muscles are far stronger and more developed than other kids, maybe even adults."

Enzo and Leas finish their last push-ups and finally sit down

- Now that you are done with this, you can take a break. says Roderick with a proud smile

- Finally! says Enzo while exhaling strongly 

- And after, you three are going to run laps around the village. finishes Roderick

- YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!?!? yells Malick and Enzo with anger in their voices

- Why would you think that? asks Roderick with his head slightly tilted to the side

- How the hell are we supposed to run around with those weights on? asks Malick

- You move your legs. says Roderick with a smile

Leas gets up

- I am going. he says as he starts to run

Enzo quickly gets up

- If you are going, then I am going. says Enzo as he follows Leas

Malick also gets up and follows the brothers

- There is no point in complaining if I am the only one doing so. he mumbles as he follows them

[With Enzo, Leas, and Malick who are currently running around the village]

- What are you three doing this time? asks an old sitting in front of his house

- TRAINING! yells Enzo with difficulty 

Malick, Enzo, and Leas are all running but they are also obviously struggling to keep doing so because of the weights that they have on

- *pants* *pants* How many *pants laps do we have *pants* left? asks Malick while panting heavily

- Three *pants* *pants* more. answers Leas

- No matter how much I think about it, I don't understand this training that Dad is giving us. says Enzo with a frown. Are we going to be able to get stronger just by running laps, doing push-ups, and meditation?

- Do you think that your father is not teaching us seriously? asks Malick 

- Well, to be honest, I feel like it doesn't make sense that they would let us participate in the war. says Enzo. I mean, in the end, we are just kids

{Leas}

" Enzo is right. The training that Dad is making us do, might just be some kind of excuse. If we can't master Excel before the war starts, then we won't be able to help. What they are doing is pretty obvious."

- Leas, what did Dad say to Mom in her ear before she left for work? asks Enzo as he stops running 

- I don't know. answers Leas as he also stops

Malick also stops and the three of them sit down to recover some of their stamina and catch a breath

- I thought that you had really good hearing. says Enzo. How come you couldn't hear anything?

- I don't know. answers Leas after taking a deep breath. It felt like they weren't even talking

- Hmm.... it makes Malick. What if it was possible to erase noise with Excel? Maybe that's why you couldn't hear anything

Leas starts to nod

- That would explain why it felt like they weren't making any noise even though they were talking. says Leas as he stops nodding 

Leas takes another deep breath and exhales

- There is no point in overthinking about all of this. he says as he gets up and stretches. All we need to do is focus and train 

- I guess you are not wrong. says Malick as he gets up and stretches his arms

The three of them start running again and after an hour, they finish their third and last lap. After finishing their lap, the boys head back toward the house.

- I... am so hungry. says Malick with his stomach growling

- Yeah, you're not the only one. says Enzo with his hand on his stomach

When the three of them arrive at the house, a table with food and water is waiting for them in the yard

- Go ahead and eat. says Roderick who comes out of the house with another plate of food

Roderick puts the plate on the table

- All of this is for the three of you. he says as he puts the plate down

The three kids rush to the table and start devouring everything that was laid on it.

{Roderick}

" Leas is good at meditation while Malick has strength and Enzo has endurance. I'll have to keep this in mind as I make each of them a personalized training menu."

Time passed by quickly as the three of them continued their harsh and rigorous training with Roderick. In the blink of an eye, three years, a total of three years passed. The event that would change the lives of many was closer than ever

[3 Years Later]