Bab 15: Stamina
In front of the Inn, Leo said goodnight. He was about to go back to the Guild.
"Thank you Leo. Maybe if it wasn't for this occasion I would have waited longer till seeing her again."
Thomas patted Leo's shoulder, his eyes smiling.
"I did nothing, you chose the place."
Thomas and Bron left in the other direction, back to their home.
As if waiting for that, Keith came out the door, looking left and right. When finding Leo, he walked over, stretching out his right hand.
"I like you. You are curious, but know restraint. Bet you gave Thomas that push to come here for real."
Perplexed, Leo shook his hand.
"Did he really not visited for so long? It is obvious he likes her."
They separated, and Keith told him:
"He came over sometimes, but either he moved past this door or mother was too shy to contact him.
She may heard you two talking, and made the decision."
He walked back to the door, opening it. Before leaving, he said:
"Your presence was more important than you think."
Keith left, and with a complex, but warm feeling so did Leo.
'Anyway, glad I could help these two somehow. They needed to meet again, that was obvious.'
He went to the guild, ready to train a bit before sleeping. The night began a bit later, the sky still lit up enough for some hours.
When he arrived on the training field, he took out his shield and warpick.
Standing before the dummy, he practiced some moves from his training with Sophie.
Albeit slowly realizing:
'Training alone with a weapon is one thing, but I can't do much with the shield like that.'
He hit the dummies from multiple angles, paying attention to keep up his shield close to him.
After another 10 minutes, he stopped.
'I need someone to help me.', he concluded.
He looked around, searching for a partner. Due to the time, few were out. Some had a partner already, having spars or trained catch in the obstacle course.
'That looks quite effective' he thought.
'I can always train with Ms. Sophie, but my movements are rather stiff. On a battlefield or a mission that can be lethal.'
He stood by the obstacle course, a wide quadrate picked with poles, walls, small hills and different kinds of barriers.
Observing the two guys who trained there, he was amazed.
'This is basically parkour, but with the addition of combat techniques.'
The guys, one with a bald head and only clothes protecting him chased a nimble looking guy. That one had grey hair and a grey chin beard. He, too, wore light clothes. Their hands were free, only used when they had a stable stand for a moment. Then they would take out a throwing knife with rounded edges.
While chasing, the grey guy climbed over barriers with minimal moves, used poles and corners to propel him into different directions.
The baldy hold up fine, jumping on different constructs to gain a height advantage.
The chase continued, with the baldy giving up.
"Roland, you Moncoon. You are harder to catch than a bag of gold thrown into the crowd.", baldy said.
He sat down , catching his breath. Sweat was flowing down his neck, and light steam rose from his head. The training seemed to be quite intense.
"Had to give my all, Rob. You scare me shitless when coming from above so suddenly."
Roland remained standing, walking up and down, hands in the hips and breathing heavy.
After getting some rest, they turned their eyes toward Leo.
"You know him?", asked Rob his partner. "He's watching quite some time."
"No, never saw him. Must be a newcomer."
He walked over to Leo, still panting and coughing here and there.
"And you are?", Roland asked.
Leo waited for this moment. The more he watched, the more he wanted to acquire these techniques. At least getting proficient enough to use them in sticky situations.
"My name is Caesar, a new adventurer. I registrated yesterday, and came here to train.
When seeing you two, I had to watch.", Leo replied.
"Ahh, that's why, Well, nice to meet you, Caesar. My cover is Swift, and that baldy there," he pointed at Rob," is my friend Hound.
Your cover is quite normal, why so?"
'It is? Isn't that supposed to be?', Leo wondered.
He poked:
"Why so? Don't know, honestly. The name was inspired by a great man, one who was on top of the continent, remembered a long time after. How should a cover name be?"
Swift pondered a moment.
"Can't remember a Caesar in history, but am not the brightest, either." He laughed healthy.
"But anyway, they should have explained you. Many choose a cover which somehow represents your strong sides or traits.
I'm fast and agile, so Swift. My friend is a good tracker, chasing you down every time, namely Hound."
"Are normal names a no-go then?" inquired Leo worried. He liked the name he has.
"Nono, You can have a normal name, but getting recommended Quests is harder, as clients can't deduce if you are the right one."
Hound came over after he saw his friend talking to the stranger.
Together they answered patiently the questions of Leo.
"What are these recommended quests?"
Hound, appearing intimidating with his bald head and sharp eyes, explained kindly:
"When a client or the staff want certain adventurers for a quest, because it requires a certain skill, they ask the adventurers directly or message them. A name implying your strong point is only helpful, especially if you are new."
"Just stay to your cover, it has a nice ring to it" cheered Swift.
"Back to the main reason: why were you watching? Only to observe?"
"Honestly, I want to ask if you can help me train in this area."
He showed them his set up, the heavy shield and weapon.
"I aim to be a kind of vanguard or guardian in the future, but thought a bit of training regarding movements is important, too."
"Nice thinking. Many underestimate the importance of movements and flexibility at the beginning, concentrating on strength and weapons. A lot of them learn never, 'cause they died."
He exchanged a fast, sad look with Hound, quickly coming back to Leo.
"If you want to learn, begin with the basics."
"These are?", Leo asked expectant.
"Running, till you fall and then continuing" Swift said mischievously.
"Just that?"
"Just that. Expect to jump over this wall there without constitution or speed? Forget it.
Build up your stamina and leg strength first, the jumping will follow."
Leo nodded, and began to run at a set pace around the field. After running a few laps, he stopped by the two friends, who were taking another break.
"This is killing me" he stammered, short on breath and feeling like glass filled his lungs.
They smiled knowingly, trying to cheer him up.
"You lasted a lot longer than we anticipated. Your body is stronger than it looks and you recover fast.
Others would lay on the ground, barely breathing."
"My advice would be: Don't run at the same pace, if you want more balanced speed, try to mix it up with sprints. But that will be harder than just running."
"Thank you... for the advice" pressed Leo out.
"But for today I will take my leave. I have to attend my employer tomorrow."
With shacking legs, he walked back to the entrance. His weapon and shield on his body, he walked upstairs. He drank some well water prepared by the staff, laid down on the bed and was fast asleep.
On the field, after Leo left, Hound and Swift discussed something.
"This kid is quite a machine. Although not that fast, he ran multiple laps, with his equipment on top."
Roland nodded at his friends remark. Running that time is one thing, but with added weight another.
"He may not be the fastest, but a guy with his endurance on the battlefield, pared with the movements he will train in the future. That is a dangerous combination. He will be a reliable Guardian if he can pull that up."
Roland made a mental note to keep an eye on that kid.
Leo slept like a stone that night.
When he awoke the next day, he felt the muscle pain from the day of training.
He grabbed his things, twitching sometimes from the pain.
After adjusting, he made his way down.
Still early, the guild was again only barley visited. Some ruff looking guys had booze on a table, openly celebrating a success.
He only gave them a fleeting look, as they produced quite some noise. He chose not to bother, as they may be the typical bunch of Do you seek death kind of people.
He walked over to Mary, who stood behind a counter, sorting some papers.
"Hello Ms. Mary, back to the registration?"
"Ah, good morning Mr. Caesar. Yes, I think I like it here the most, but if needed I do bar work, too.
And please drop the Ms., you are a friend of Sam and it makes me feel old."
"Okay, thanks Mary. Call me Leo, too. It's a lot more comfortable.
What I wanted to ask though, can I wash myself here somewhere? And my clothes, too?"
Leo's clothes got quite dirty. All the training and running made him sweat a lot.
'Can't come like this to Ms. Sophie and Mr. Siegfried.'
"Sure. We provide a separate house with a pump. It is the small building next to the trainings field.
But my advice regarding the clothes would be: buy new ones. These won't hold much longer."
"Got it, see you later Mary."
He left, walking over to the bunker like house with a flat roof. In it were four separate rooms, also toilets within a cabine.
'I never took a good poop, why not now?'
Leo looked down the hole. The toilet itself was simple, just a hole and some wood around it.
But when looking down, he couldn't believe his eyes: a small, bluish pile of pudding was at the bottom. It remained motionless, except some occasional wobbles.
"Guess that's what Henry meant when saying slimes eat organic waste. Hard to adjust, but at least this is clean."
After finishing business, Leo pumped up some water, washing himself with a provided piece of cloth.
Without soap, he had to scrub hard to remove some persistent dirt.
Feeling the cold water, he felt awake and refreshed. But also some reverence.
"I never thought a hot shower would be something I miss that much."
He put his clothes back on. Ne noticed more holes than before, and it had stains which will be hard to remove.
'Shopping time.'
He left the wash house, taking all his belongings with him. He wandered the Guild street, as the natives called it, down, searching for a cheap tailor.
A shop captured his attention. It was simple, not showing any kind of special decorations, only a sign with a scissor and needle hanging over a window.
The open door let Leo peak inside, and the clothes presented looked simple and nice.
Walking in, he was greeted by a young girl, not much older than twenty.
"Welcome, please take your time. We have a variety of clothes, made from good material."
"Who made these?", Leo asked as he inspected a cloak. The seams were neat, and the material felt smooth and good processed.
"I, but I'm still learning, so many have smaller defects or bad seams.
Over there are some of these of worse quality, but also much cheaper."
She pointed at a table. Various clothes were laying there, neatly folded.
As his budget was not high, he walked over and began to search.
He found some long shirts, fitting pants and underwear.
He placed them on the counter.
The girl seemed happy that someone would buy her defects, as her aura was bright, or so Leo felt.
"31 copper, please.", said the women.
Pained by the price, Leo remembered Sam's words.
'Certainly, clothes aren't cheap. These are even defects.'
He paid with a silver, receiving the change. His Pouch was now filed with a lot of small copper coins.
Then he asked the lady:
"Do you have something like a backpack here?"
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone