Sieg wanted to dream of something pleasant — perhaps a family member? Well, he certainly can smell the aroma of a mother's cooking.
He opened his eyes to find his late mother standing in a kitchen. "Mother?" he murmured.
"I don't remember ever having a kitchen."
Each step he took toward her, drawn by the glimpse of her cooking, only caused her to retreat farther away, the distance stretching impossibly within the narrow space. It was silent. His mother offered no reply — and that absence alone hurt Sieg in a way he couldn't fully name.
The slum boy, remained isolated…
Tap! tap!
Who the hell?
He felt someone tap his forehead — then he heard the muffled voice of a man.
"Boy, you have been asleep for far too long, wake up—" After hearing those words, he jolted awake, opening his eyes to the familiar cave and bonfire, with the smell of the usual beef stew already set right beside him.
"Mister Knight, how long was I asleep?" Sieg asked, yawning, and stretching. The sensation of his stiff and cold muscles were both satisfying and constricting.
"Eighteen hours…" Mister Knight answered.
The boy's eyes widened; however, he wasn't all that surprised.
Outside, it was still dark. Mister Knight hadn't been kidding when he said time meant nothing here. Even now, Sieg couldn't tell how long it had been since his arrival. As he reached for his beef bowl, a sharp soreness shot through his forearms and legs.
Ouch…
"Wake up your mind and body. We start in a few hours." Mister Knight was as straightforward as ever.
"I understand… Mister Knight." After finishing his meal and easing the tension in his muscles with a stretch, Sieg still felt the dream lingering in his mind, trailing behind him as he stepped in front of Mister Knight for their training session.
"Something in your mind, boy?"
Sieg shook his head, "Nothing Mister Knight, please guide me again."
Mister Knight narrowed his eyes, sensing the lie, yet he said nothing and simply positioned himself for the lesson.
Time passed quickly, especially when you couldn't tell it, and after a long training session, Sieg's muscles ached and his hands were blistered. Yet Mister Knight continued instructing him on a diagonal cut meant to disrupt an opponent's guard.
"Focus, and think of nothing else!" Mister Knight said calmly, continuing his relentless assaults on the slum boy.
A smack—! Gah!
"Mister Knight just teaches and teaches!" However, Sieg's strikes were still weak and awkward; slowly, painfully, they began to land with greater finesse.
"Decent, keep that up." Mister Knight praised.
Sieg was starting to get the hang of it — but he didn't dare be overconfident. The lesson moved to the next level, as Mister Knight introduced parrying and thrusting combinations.
"Perform it better—"
"Yes, sir…"
"Setting aside" and "displacing",Mister Knight hoped, perhaps wishfully, that Sieg could learn these techniques until they became second nature. But that would be impossible without months of training.
Sieg performed "Setting Aside." Mister Knight launched an attack, but instead of blocking first and then countering, the boy intercepted his sword, meeting the strike near the hilt with his own little strength.
"Excellent," Mister Knight said, his praise almost devoid of enthusiasm — but that was him being generous for the boy's small effort.
Proper leverage, angles, one's footwork matter more than raw strenght, but this will suffice, considering the short amount of time I trained him. Mister Knight thought inwardly.
That one compliment caused the student to smile ear to ear. With a sudden surge of confidence, Sieg lunged, aiming a thrust straight at Mister Knight's chest.
Can I finally land a strike on him?!
"Oh?!" In one fluid motion, Mister Knight's blade met his, forcing Sieg's point aside. Reflexively, Sieg displaced the attack. Mister Knight could have overpowered him at any moment, but he allowed the boy's blade to guide the movement, just enough to step into a counter.
Mister Knight barely raised an eyebrow under his helmet, letting the boy taste the proper way to do displacement.
"Well done — I'm sure you can tell that we are far from over?"
Sieg gazed at Mister Knight's one visible eye, "I know, Mister Knight, I'm prepared to face your every challenge."
The boy couldn't see it but under the helmet Mister Knight smirked.
Painful! Aughhhh!
Sieg was in fact — not prepared to face Mister Knight's every challenge.
More unknown days passed — and Mister Knight's drills grew increasingly complex: multiple strikes, feints, and grueling one-on-ones. It was agonizing, but not impossible.
Gradually, Sieg managed to scrape away some of the impurities in his stance, to the point where he could somewhat maintain his posture while advancing, parrying while striking, and adjusting his feet to control the distance from Mister Knight.
Owieee!
"Get up, and try again."
"Yes sir…"
Sieg fell repeatedly, and at the same time rose repeatedly, sometimes on the brink of collapse from his severely exhausted body.
How long has it been… I haven't seen sunlight in weeks… Each time Sieg failed, Mister Knight's lone eye judged him in silence, then drove him harder than before — while also rewarding him with meals a boy from the slums could only dream of eating, it was all packed with protein to help his physical growth.
How the hell did Mister Knight manage to get beef, chicken, and fishes?! Some sort of Trial magic!! Who am I to complain! It's basically free food!
"Do not question my sources, boy." Mister Knight remarked with a stern voice.
"I understand—"
But the stronger Sieg became, the more the knight pushes him, testing both his physical and mental limits.
Huff huff — I CAN DO IT!
"Keep moving—" Even in the blizzard outside the cave, Mister Knight forced him to practice footwork on icy rocks.
"Control it—"
"I'm trying my best!" The training got so bizarre that Sieg was commanded to carry logs and do laps on the nearby road, on the same place where he once died once.
The core lesson of it all was slowly learned — a disciplined mindset, which was more important than him being able to swing with fluidity, and before he realized it, his body had transformed, more defined muscles, and some visible abs, far cry from the malnourished slum boy he once was.
Sieg's mind was so preoccupied — that he hasn't realized that every positive mental change he had, the blizzard slowly weakened.
And perhaps.
A little bit more — and Sieg would be reminded of what it feels like to embrace the warmth of the sun again.
Chapter End.