Read Counting to Infinity :: Chapter 8, Part II

They fell into a rhythm over the next few days: travelling during the day, and training at night. Raine was trying not to be ungrateful, but it was becoming increasingly tiring to repeat this cycle. When he wasn't suffering from numb legs and a sore ass, he was being subjected to both physical and mental endurance tests by a sadist.

It was like he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Or rather, ricocheting between them. Raine had a growing suspicion that Rascal was intentionally trotting with an uneven gait to make him more uncomfortable.

When night fell, Raine practically fell off Rascal's saddle. He was far too exhausted for graceful leaps to the ground and instead stumbled his way down while clutching the saddle.

After Raine took care of the necessities, such as setting up the tent, he reluctantly plodded away from the camp to a wide, empty space. It was better to rip off the proverbial bandaid as soon as possible, rather than agonising about it and being forcefully dragged by Nikolay.

Let's just get this over and done with.

Eager today, aren't we?

Mhm. What special taste of hell am I delightfully privy to this time?

Drills.

Again?

Yes. Based on the estimated time to reach Veritas and your currently calculated learning curve, we should focus on two skills per week. However, considering that the basics will take longer, I've set out a plan to go through approximately one basic skill each week. That should be enough general fighting knowledge to hold your own against most regular people.

Nikolay sounded a little too invested in this, to Raine's dismay. He was expecting some casual exercises, not a rigorous bootcamp training regiment. Clearly, he severely underestimated Nikolay's obsessive planning skills.

We're doing this for weeks?! Raine exclaimed. Nikolay. You forgot to account for the fact that I am a human being and not a robot.

Hmm. I'll factor that in.

Are you actually- Forget it. Next time, don't tell me what's coming. I'd rather keep my hopes up.

Taking it into account.

With no other substance to distract Nikolay with, Raine took up a loose fighting stance. Okay, be my guide.

How poetic, Nikolay said in amusement. You should use that more often. Makes it sound like you're depending on me.

Raine broke his concentration to scowl at the air in front of him. God forbid a man joke around with his only companion for days on end.

I'm only teasing. You can call me whatever you like.

How does 'stupid asshole' sound?

Your words wound me deeply, Nikolay said in feigned hurt. I will never recover from such a hurtful comment said by someone just as stupid.

You know, the only time you're not serious is when it gives you an opportunity to insult me.

Is that so? I'll have to be more serious when insulting you, then.

How chivalrous of you, Raine sighed. Truly my knight in shining armour.

That's enough fooling around. Get to work.

They were barely a few minutes into the drills, and Raine was feeling the exhaustion already settling into his bones and aching muscles. Each miniscule movement became more and more difficult, to the point where it took a Herculean effort just to lift his arm. It was as if lead had replaced his blood, constantly weighing down his limbs. Though, obviously this wasn't the case, and Raine was just suffering from sleep withdrawal and criminally low levels of energy.

His struggle didn't go unnoticed by his unforgiving coach. Nothing escaped Nikolay's sharp gaze, especially when he pinned his entire attention on Raine's every movement. But despite all of Nikolay's focus on Raine, he misinterpreted the cause of his fatigue.

We should work on your endurance instead of drills tomorrow. It won't be doing anybody a favour if we continue to repeat something without solving the issue.

Too busy trying to block out the screaming protest from his overexerted muscles, Nikolay's words were distant echoes in Raine's mind. He barely registered the sound, let alone the meaning.

Nikolay paused for a moment, then prodded Raine's dormant consciousness with a spark of annoyance. Raine.

Wh- Huh?

Nikolay let out a quiet sigh. We should take a break from training today.

Raine startled at Nikolay's sudden words. Wait, why? Don't tell me that you've given up?

You're clearly too tired to do anything effectively, Nikolay raised a metaphorical eyebrow. But I didn't realise that you were looking forward to getting yelled at by me.

Raine sagged against a nearby tree trunk, feeling his aching muscles thank him. It's just that I feel unproductive if we don't do anything at night. The clock is ticking with this prophecy and we'd just be... lying down and doing nothing.

Nikolay hummed to himself as he pondered Raine's answer.

Then, how about this? We'll do something less physically demanding. Close your eyes.

I have a bad feeling about this, Raine said apprehensively, as he followed Nikolay's command.

Focus on your breathing. Block out everything else. I want you to take a deep breath in and then hold it for five seconds before exhaling.

It sounded easy enough. Raine did as Nikolay instructed, taking a deep breath in and holding it for five seconds, then exhaling slowly.

I'll stop talking to remove any further distractions. Continue the rhythm.

Instead of simply placing a wall around his thoughts, Nikolay's presence seemed to dissolve away and disappear. For the first time in ages, Raine felt like he was alone. Even though he was probably being closely observed by Nikolay, it was easy to pretend otherwise.

Raine dutifully continued the breathing exercise. In, hold, out. In, hold, out.

Time seemed to pass outside of himself, as though it was something inconsequential. Sounds of rustling trees and cicada calls became a distant hum in the background. The usual clamour of his thoughts died down, giving way to the action of his methodical breathing.

This was... nice.

It was oddly soothing, contrary to his expectations. Funny how Nikolay's absence made everything much calmer.

Stop thinking about me. I can feel your animosity from here.

Ah- You- I... Raine was a deer in headlights, too flustered to respond immediately. Why did you word it like that?! I'm only thinking about you because you're constantly up my ass about everything I do!

I didn't even say a word until just now, Nikolay sighed. And now your concentration is broken. Well, it was a good thirty minutes while it lasted.

No! I'm not that easily distracted. You're just underestimating me!

Raine desperately tried to shut out Nikolay's amusement and concentrate again. As much as spite acted as a powerful fuel for him to prove Nikolay wrong, it was impossible to return to the zen-like state from before.

Don't say a word, you prick.

Even though Nikolay obliged, it didn't stop his smugness from conveying the same message.

You're insufferable, Raine sighed.

It's hardly my fault that you're the first person to be bad at meditation.

Wait. You're telling me that we spent a night on... meditating? Oh my god Nikolay, I thought you were more practical than that.

What!? You were the one complaining about being too tired. Don't pin this on me, Nikolay said defensively. What did you think you were doing, anyway? It was pretty clear what I was telling you to do.

I don't know, some... magic thing? It doesn't help that I've been constantly in the dark about how things work around here. I sure as hell wasn't expecting meditation, of all things.

Raine let out a breath and smiled, despite his words.

...But thank you anyway.

Nikolay made a noncommital sound, almost as if he was unsure of how to respond. You're strange.

Raine was relieved at having a break from training, but a larger part of him felt guilty for being happy about it. After all, he was essentially shirking his duties because he was 'too tired'.

But there was a silver lining to it all when he reflected on the night. It was a pleasant surprise when Nikolay didn't force him to go through another night of drills, considering how unforgiving he could be. Raine got to see Nikolay's softer side again, without the added pain of having a panic attack. At least, he was too tired these days to have another existential crisis about his current predicament.

Maybe it was just Raine's wishful thinking, but after that day, Nikolay seemed less harsh in their training sessions. His instructions were in a less demanding tone, and even borderline helpful at times. Still no praise whenever Raine got something right, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

The next day started with significantly less muscle ache than usual. When Raine sat back down in Rascal's saddle, it was a joy to see that it didn't hurt nearly as much as he expected.

At first, it seemed like another day of monotonous riding was ahead of them. However, they were quickly proved wrong.

Do you see that?

Raine nodded, lips tightened into a thin line. He squinted at the black dot on the horizon as they approached to get a better look. After a few nerve-wracking minutes, their eyes could make out a figure riding in the opposite direction to them.

This path wasn't well known; Navi's map had clearly indicated this as a back road, only used if the main road had some serious disaster befallen it. Clearly, this wasn't the case if only a single person was travelling down the path. There weren't many reasons why they would have any business here.

Nikolay made a disconcerted sound. They aren't carrying any bags with them. How did they survive all this way?

It was true. There was a distinct lack of luggage attached to the horse's saddle. The figure raised an arm and waved while signalling for their horse to slow down.

Raine tensed up in anticipation. There was no reason to talk to strangers, not even if they were travelling on the same niche path. Even still, he pulled slightly on Rascal's reins to slow down as well. It was better if they complied for now, since he wasn't sure whether Rascal could outpace the stranger's horse.

More details revealed themselves as they got closer. Loose hessian cloth swathed the unknown rider's entire body, and a scarf obscured the majority of their face. A wide-brim straw hat covered whatever the scarf didn't, effectively making them completely unidentifiable.

I know I say this a lot, but this doesn't look good.

I agree. I'm inclined to think that it's not just your anxiety this time.

Who was this person, and why was he so eager to talk to Nikorai? Surely nothing good could come out of this interaction, but it was near impossible to avoid such a direct encounter.

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⚠️ANNOUNCEMENT⚠️

Hello everybody! (AKA: the 2 random people reading this. Thanks guys)

Since we have officially passed the first week of Counting to Infinity, uploads will now be weekly instead of daily. Fret not, because each weekly chapter will be MUCH more interesting now that the initial boring part is over.

Here's what you can look forward to in the coming weeks if you stick around:

- An introduction to the villain of the story (but are they really the bad guy?)

- A glimpse into Nikolay's past and why he acts so pissy all the time

- Raine getting traumatised 😃👍

Updates will happen every Sunday at UTC 11:00AM.

Here's a list of popular English-speaking time zones in case you're too lazy to convert that:

Pacific Standard Time/PST - 1:00AM (sorry)

Mountain Standard Time/MST - 4:00AM

Central Standard Time/CST - 5:00AM

Eastern Standard Time/EST - 6:00AM

Greenwich Mean Time/GMT - 11:00AM

Australian Western Standard Time/AWST - 7:00PM