Kapitel 27: Training Begins

"Thanks, I thought I would have to go and meet the Lilian girl again, but you saved me the stress," Garmond said to Nate, who had just led him to his room.

Nathan chuckled, a bright smile on his face as he replied, "It's nothing, it's the least I could do to thank you for the food from earlier."

Garmond wryly smiled, 'You paid for that a while ago,' he thought, remembering how he'd pulled him into the fight from before.

He shut the door behind him as he entered inside the room. It was a modest room, at least on par with one that belonged to an aristocrat family.

There was a stark difference between it and that of Devine back at the village. It was spacious and beautifully arranged. A sizeable bed was placed in the center facing towards the window. And a small reading desk was placed by the side.

Tiredly, Garmond fell to the bed. He had worked so much in the past few days that it left him with nothing but a sense of numbness all over his body.

The bed cushioned his weight, leaving only a soft sensation all over his body.

Garmond wanted to turn over, have a better feel of the bed, but as he did, he felt a sharp, stinging pain.

"Ouch," he winced, staring at the bed to find a knife on the bed.

"The hell, what's this?" he questioned confusedly. However, taking a closer look, he quickly recognized the blade, although there had been a few changes.

"Oh, I forgot it back at the fields, but how'd it get here?" he said to himself, picking up the sharp-pointed blade.

"And why did it grow longer?" he wondered.

"I can answer that," Ariana started, "You see, the blade is a special one that feeds off magical energy. The more it feeds, the longer it grows. It shrunk because there was no energy in the first place to retain its original state, plus, since you couldn't wield it, it decided to become more sizeable. As time goes on, it will regain full strength and take the form of any sword you want," Ariana explained.

"I see," Garmond stared at the blade in understanding. Holding onto it, he could feel some kind of connection between the two of them, like it was a disjointed part of him.

"Well, at least now I know I have a weapon that'll be following me about." His eyes narrowed with excitement.

"Thinking of it, this world has really changed a lot. I mean, it's the same, but a lot has changed," Garmond said to Ariana, staring off at the white ceiling of the room.

"Yes, that's because of Azazel's presence. It's his talent, and it's the rarest of its kind," Ariana explained.

"Talent?" Garmond knitted his brows.

Ariana let out a resigned sigh. She somewhat kept forgetting that the person she was talking to wasn't an elf like herself and didn't have even the slightest idea of whatever she had to say in relation to magic.

"It's a special attribute each member of the royal family of elves possesses. Azazel's talent draws magic to wherever he finds himself."

'That completely explains why our world became so magical, despite having almost no magical energy before.' His eyes lit up in realization.

"Then he must have a really powerful talent," Garmond replied.

"Indeed he does," she stated calmly, as the room fell into complete silence again, leaving Garmond to his thoughts.

'Although, thanks to all this magic, it would be easier for me to reach my peak strength again. Even surpassing what I once was.' His thoughts were a whirl of possibilities and plans.

'I have a promise to keep, and I'm going to do so,' he thought, determination brimming in his eyes as he clenched his fist.

'For now though, I think I need to rest well first.' He finally retired to his bed, falling into a deep sleep.

---

The chirping sounds of the birds filled his ears. The sun welcomed him with a warm glow as his eyes flickered open.

It was finally a new day, the day he would finally begin his training!

Suddenly, he could hear soft steps echoing loudly as they walked the passage of the dormitory.

"You guys are still asleep?! We should've begun training! I don't need slackers," Chris's calm voice echoed.

Garmond quickly jolted up. He had to prepare himself. For the next few weeks, he'd be doing as much as he could to become stronger, even though he was being trained by a possible enemy.

"It doesn't matter, all I need is the knowledge and I'm good to go!" Garmond said, looking at his lanky figure in the mirror that lay on the wall by the side of his bed.

"It's time to get this weak ass into something better!" he said, his eyes having a hint of excitement in them.

---

The rustling sounds of green leaves could be heard.

They stood in the large green field. Chris was in front of them, his expression as cold as usual. Bearing no emotions. His silver hair matched perfectly well with his oval face.

"So, today, I'll have you all picking weapons. Whatever weapon you choose, that's what I'll train you on how to use. Lilian and Stephen have already picked their weapons. It's only the two of you that are left," Chris said.

After much observation, Garmond figured that these instructors valued stoicism. He had to try to adopt such an attitude as well. It would help him get in tune with his new surroundings.

'A weapon?' Garmond thought inwardly.

He had already made up his mind that he would stick with the sword, so he already had his weapon, and it seemed it was the same with Hendrix.

"I'm sticking with these babies," Hendrix said, pulling out the short blades from the straps on his waist, behind his coat.

"I'm very good with them already," he added, puffing his chest up, showing a hint of pride.

"I see, what about you?" Chris asked, turning his gaze towards Garmond.

"I'll be learning the sword," Garmond replied without much thought.

'I'm very much certain that's the description that Dad's book gave!' Lilian thought, her eyes fixed on Garmond's jet-black hair that had distinct strands of red running through them.

Garmond's eyes met hers and she immediately shifted her gaze.

'What's with her?' Garmond couldn't help but ponder. He had noticed the way she had been looking at him ever since they met for the first time. It made him overly cautious of her.

"Oh, at least one of you decided to pick my mastered weapon," Chris said enthusiastically.

"Mastered weapon?" Lilian was the first to react to his words.

"Indeed, you'll learn more when you've used your weapon to a certain extent. But before that, you'll all need to tamper your bodies; you're all too weak." His eyes narrowed into slits as he made mention of his last words.

An immense pressure bore down on the four of them, and they began sweating profusely.

"You all have to train your body till you can bear my aura. Then we'll get back to your weapons," Chris said with a stern voice as he slowly retracted his menacing aura.

Lilian cleared her throat, struggling to find her voice. His little outburst had made quite an impact on all of them.

"What does training our body have to do with learning to use the weapons?" she asked curiously.

"Perfect mastery of a weapon, without the strength to back it, makes you useless against your enemies. Let me show you what I mean," Chris said as he stretched out his hands. A bright glow engulfed his hands as a sword suddenly appeared.

"What was that right now?" Garmond asked. It was something he'd never seen. Since Ariana was someone who seemed to be grounded in the arts of magic, she would have an idea of what it was, right?

"It's a special ring. It allows the user to keep valuable items in a different space, allowing them to carry them around," she explained briefly.

"Wow! That can really come in handy," Garmond replied, quite amazed, his eyes fixed on the jet-black and nondescript ring Chris had on his hands.

Suddenly, he saw Chris throw the sheathed blade towards him.

Garmond jolted slightly as he caught the sword mid-air.

"Give it a try," Chris urged, as the attention of the others drifted towards him.

Taking a deep breath, Garmond held the sword straight with both hands. With a swift motion, he pulled the brightly shining blade from its sheath.

It was a slick sword, slightly curved and very thin, similar to a katana.

Taking a stance, Garmond made a swift downward motion. It whistled as its sharp edges cut through the air.

"Now, toss it back," Chris calmly said, and Garmond sheathed the sword, quickly doing as he was told.

In a swift motion, Chris didn't catch the sword with its sheath; rather, he pulled the blade out mid-air, leaving the sheath in the air.

He stood with focus and a somber expression. His moves were fast, very fast! In a nanosecond, he had already slashed at the air, placing the sword back in its sheath.

There was no noise, just complete silence. But looking off in the distance, that one single motion had split a rock as large as a milestone in two!