We had said our goodbyes to the Twin Horns, with me getting an agreement from Jasmine for her to teach me new thing everytime they came back to Xyrus. Our walk to this friend dad talked about, named Vincent Helstea, was surprisingly therapeutic as I took in all the new sights. This was a true medieval city with people hawking wares from stalls or small booths. People mingled and weaved between each other with all manners of clothing, from gowns and dressy clothes to simple tunics and the armor of adventurers and guards.
Small wagons and carriages passed us by, hauling passengers and cargo up and down the streets. Occasionally I saw teenagers wearing the same uniform with an insignia woven into the fabric. I realized they must be students of Xyrus Academy, the place that I wanted to attend to help make me stronger. But I still needed to form a core to even attend this academy.
Soon I saw a large manor coming into view and was at a loss for words as we continued directly for it. Reynolds had never said that his friend was so rich.
"Rey! My friend! The hero who saved my life! What brings you to this little city?" A man wearing a fancy suit with colors and accents that complemented his brown hair and eyes, the glasses giving him scholarly vibe. He immediately hugged my dad before stepping back to take a look at me and mother. Appearing in the door way behind him was a beautiful woman with hair almost as dark as Jasmine's. She had the appearance of what I would think of when imagining a "lady of the house" everything about her seemed graceful. Beside her was a little girl that seemed to be around my age, she had features mirroring her mother but her hair and eye color were the same brown as her father.
Greetings and introductions were exchanged as they led us into their living room to talk in comfort. Tabitha and Lilia, Vincent's wife and daughter, sat on a small couch next to Vincent and I found myself sat between my mom and dad.
As they talked my opinion of Vincent and his family only grew with each exchange. My dad's previous desperate ask for a job was turned around as if he would be doing Vincent a favor. Tabitha was equally kind and accommodating, instantly taking to mom with friendly conversation.
That left me with Lilia. It was strange to say the least as I hadn't really interacted with someone my own age since coming here. Arthur was like in being someone mentslly older than their physical appearance, and their weren't any children we played with back in Ashber. Not too mention Lilia seemed to be quite shy as she just mostly stared at her shoes while our parents talked.
Soon night approached and we went to our room in the left wing of the manor. There were enough room for me to have my own, but at least for the first night we all found ourselves in the same bed. None of us said anything but it was obvious what was on everyone's mind as we slowly drifted off to sleep.
My sleep was restless with dreams that wouldn't stop showing me what I didn't want to see. Thankfully the sun was beginning to peak through the window and quickly got up, leaving my parents to continue sleeping. If anything the dreams had strengthened my determination to continue to get stronger. I slipped the wooden training sword in the loop that held it to my waist and grabbed my dagger that Jasmine had given me
I wasn't going to be training with them today or anytime soon, Jasmine's orders, but she had told me that it would be good to get used to the weight of them. For now my training consisted of running, body weight exercises and stretches. Jasmine had told me that the three most important things for a dagger wielder was:
1. Speed because we are constantly dipping in and back out of range of ours and our opponents strikes.
2. Accuracy since our attacks would not have the same wide range as a sword or other longer bladed weapons. We had to make each strike count.
3. Flexibility. Give our limited reach we had to be able to make full use of our body and its range of motion. If we could catch an opponent off guard with a move they wouldn't think to be possible it could give us an advantage.
So that's why my main focus while training was my legs and core. Along with the stretches that Jasmine taught me I also did some basic leg and core exercises that I knew from my past life. The goal to work my body until I couldn't move anymore.
The cool morning breeze felt great on my heated skin as i closed in on my tenth lap around the manor. Sweat covered my entire body and I fought to keep my breathing controlled as I kept up the pace. I could feel the burn in my legs from the couple hours of training already. I had been breaking up each set with a lap and this would be the last one before I did some stretches to end the work out.
A maid had brought me water at some point and even Lilia had watched me for a little from the window of the living room. The only thing that I had ever enjoyed in the past about working out was the ability to just turn my mind off. Something about the exercise allowed to disconnect from things I didn't want to think about and focus strictly on my body and the work.
"Hey, buddy." Reynolds voice broke through my concentration as I finished the final lap and I found him stopping along side me.
"Were you running with me?" I asked between breaths.
"Ya I joined about halfway through, but you seemed to be focused elsewhere. The maids sad that you had been out here for a couple hours, is everything okay?" He asked, concern clear on his face.
"I'm… not fine. Not yet. But it also didn't want to do nothing. I just want to work twice as hard as before." I replied beginning my stretches with some toe touches.
"I see. Roland, just promise me that you won't push yourself too hard. You still deserved to be and act like a kid." My dad's voice was calm and gentle as he rested his hand on my shoulder once I straightened up. I looked him in the eyes and I was grateful that he meant it, but I think we both knew that wasn't the case. Something like that is hard even for an adult to bounce back from, let alone a kid. I had never lost someone in such a tragic way before, so I had no prior experience to fall back in. This was still new to me.
"I'll try." Was all I managed and it seemed to be enough for him as he nodded at my words.
"Well then if you're done working out why don't you come inside and get some breakfast. If you're going to grow as big and strong as me you'll need to make sure you eat a lot!" He said cheerfully, patting me on the back as he pointed towards the house over his shoulder.
"Ya, let me just finish going through my stretches. I'll wash up and then be in there." I said with a smile. He just ruffled my hair and made his way back to the house. I continued stretching for another 15 minutes before I finally felt it was enough and headed inside to wash up.
It was going to take some time to get used to this big house and all the staff doing things for me. As soon as I entered the house one of them took my empty glass and the other led me to the wash room where they already had me a warm bath ran. Not too hot as to overheat me after my workout, but still warm enough to be soothing. Before getting in the tub though I needed to wash off all this dirt, sweat and grime.
"Perhaps I'll do some meditating after breakfast." I muttered to myself while scrubbing away at my chest. For now strengthening my body was my highest priority, but I still couldn't shake the need and want to become a mage. Slipping into the warm water I closed my eyes and tried to envision my core.
Arthur had told me that when he meditated he saw little lights in the surroundings and pulled them in. I wondered if these little lights were the things that made this world seem brighter and more vibrant to me. When I first got here I thought it was just because this body had better eyes, but as thought about I had wondered if it was the mana of the world doing it.
Could that be possible if I'm not a mage? Maybe that means I have the capability to become one and I'm sensitive to mana. Surely that means I should be able to awaken early even if it's not as early as Arthur had.
As my body relaxed I focused more and more on my body, the steady breaths I took. Bringing in oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide. Surely it was along the same lines for a core, you bring in what you need and expell what you don't. I continued doing this imagining bringing in the mana in my surroundings and then filtering out the bad. In and out, in and out over and over again until finally I saw something.
In the dark void I finally saw a little light, it was yellow and flickered faintly. I pulled and pulled at it, desperately trying to bring it in. Then another light appeared and another, and soon my lights flickered all over the void in a myriad of colors. I kept pulling and pulling until exhaustion started to kick in and I had to stop.
My heart was pounding and I could hear my blood rush and I exhaled the lungful of air I had brought in. I worried that I had just been seeing spots from depriving myself of oxygen, but when I closed my eyes again I couldn't stop the smile that formed across my face as I saw all the lights were still there. Just floating around as if asking to be formed into a core.
Soon.