Chương 11: Squire Sabin

Waking up early, as was my habit, I changed into the fresh armor and clothing prepared for me. The door to my room opened, and the largest Squire entered my room.

"Good, you are up. I like people with energy and dislike those who are lazy. I am Squire Sabin," the large, muscular man declared. Someone cut his hair very short, and he looked like he was all muscle under his clothes. His arms were almost as thick as my waist.

"Morning, so back to the dungeon?"

"No. Squire Jessica's talent lies in her survival ability, but that is also what got her into trouble. My training is most effective when a Healer is nearby. I am going to beat you into the ground repeatedly, and you will get up and keep trying."

"That's it?"

"Yep. Your old tutor is now in charge of overseeing the mental training in the evenings. We are going to fight all day."

"All…day?" I asked nervously, and Squire Sabin grinned at me with shining white teeth.

"Yep. All day. That is my preferred training method. I can strictly control your pain and suffering, pushing you to the limit. Now come, the sun is coming up, and we have training!" Squire Sabin had way too much energy as I followed him out of my room to an isolated part of the estate that looked quite messed up." We will use this training ground for the elite guards at the estate over the next three months," Sabin said. I noticed a weapons rack set up under a pavilion, with an older man sitting there.

"Ah, Healer Castelle! Up already? Welcome." I followed Sabin to the old man.

"Waking me up so early. You are lucky the Supreme Warlady is paying a considerable fee for my services and that I owe her a debt," the old man muttered as two servants were busy preparing tea and breakfast nearby for the old man.

"Healer Castelle, you will keep an eye on things," Squire Sabin said.

"I will make sure he doesn't die and monitor his healing reserves. If I say stop, stop. I don't want any accidents. Also, keep his stamina topped off, but you know my limits. I don't want to take potions, so don't go overboard," Healer Castelle said to Squire Sabin, completely ignoring me.

"Perfect. Hopefully, I won't go overboard, but I love training and fighting!" He was shouting at the end of that sentence, which did not build confidence in his restraint. I felt a lot of danger and tried to move backwards. A hand grazed my armor, and I went spinning into the dirt.

"Always keep your guard up! But good job dodging a bit there." Squire Sabin then rushed forward, and I rolled out of the way as he tried to stomp on me.

"Don't just lie there on the ground. Dodge, dodge, dodge!" He moved towards me, swinging his open palms at me.

"Don't over dodge. Just move enough to avoid the attack and the danger, and then strike back. Never cross your feet. That is a good way to trip and die. Saw that happen once, completely embarrassing for the adventurer." I was breathing heavily after ten minutes.

"That was a good warmup. Now grab a weapon. We will go through all of them. I am going to use this padded pain stick, mimicking the forms of monsters. It will help push your skills. It might look silly, but if you get hit, it won't be pleasant. The enchantment…well, you will figure it out," Squire Sabin said with a grin. After two minutes of swinging and dodging, Sabin hit me. I shouted as pain wracked my body. The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Learn to push through the pain. It is a distraction. It is a weakness in your body. Move or die!" Sabin struck me again. The force behind the blow wasn't brutal, but pain wracked my body once more.

"Dodge or die!"

"Endure and eliminate!"

"Focus or fail!"

"Guard and get up!" Sabin threw one phrase after another at me as we continued sparring for an hour. During the sparring, Sabin would completely change his fighting style, so I couldn't just memorize his moves, I had to adapt. It was a struggle to keep up, as I felt my body tremble after every touch of the pain stick.

"Good, good. We are taking a break now. Have breakfast, recover. We will continue after that. Oh, one question first, did you notice anything about the phrases I was shouting?" Sabin asked me while staring at me intently. I tried to recall, but my body was exhausted, and I was wheezing.

"They were alphabetical?" I finally said, and he grinned at me.

"Good, very good. Many people miss that. Always pay attention to the details in combat. It is easy to get caught up in the fighting, but that is a good way to be lured at the pace of your enemy. You need to think and set your own pace. Now eat and rest," he said. The servants had prepared a breakfast table. I sat down and ate while Squire Sabin murmured with Healer Castelle. I couldn't hear what they were saying and didn't listen in. That would have been rude. Once I was done, I forced myself to get up and stretch.

Squire Sabin came back after a few minutes.

"Good, good. Keep your body limber. It is, after all, the best weapon. Now, it is time for more training. I will throw stones occasionally. Do your best to dodge them," Squire Sabin said. The hellish training continued for the rest of the morning. We had another break for lunch and then resumed immediately after that. Four times, Healer Castelle had to replenish my stamina, which had bottomed out. By afternoon and dinner, I had completely lost the will to move, breathe, think, and possibly even live.

"Ah, that was some enjoyable light training," Sabin said with a grin while looking at me. I couldn't even muster up the energy to stare at him in despair.

"Light?" I gasped between my heavy breaths.

"Light. But it is perfect for your age and stats. The more you sweat here, the less you will bleed in the dungeon. You can't train while you are already in the middle of a fight. And you don't want to have regrets, do you?" I shook my head slowly.

"Exactly. That is why it is best to make the most of your time while you can. It isn't easy, but that is the bare minimum that becoming a legend requires." I just nodded, too tired to think." Well, you will recover by tomorrow. Healer Castelle has ensured that. Now off you go to dinner back at the mansion, and for your mental skill training." I shambled off towards dinner. My siblings hadn't returned, and my father wasn't here either, so I ate by myself. Once I was done, I made my way to the library.

"Ah, young Justin, welcome," my tutor, Damian, greeted me.

"Hello, Tutor Damian," I said with as much energy as I could muster.

"Hard physical training?" He asked me, and I nodded.

"Well, just sit here and let's get to work on copying that dictionary. A great way to breakthrough in your Eldarin Language and hopefully your Writing Skills as well. In fact, why don't you read what you have already written, and I will correct any mispronunciations?" For the first time, I doubted the path I had chosen. The pain stick was absolutely brutal. While getting my stamina back was nice, it only kept my body going. All the pain and physical training completely fried my brain.

While I wanted to ask if my mother approved, that wasn't an honest question. Squire Sabin had seen what happened to his fellow Squire who didn't listen to my mother. He wouldn't dare disobey her. That meant all of this had her approval. I had asked to be pushed. To grow my stats and skills… I didn't realize how brutal it would be, how painful.

"You know, you are lucky. Many people would kill for this type of enhanced training." I had paused for a long time just looking at my partially copied dictionary. I looked up at Tutor Damian.

"Really?" I asked tiredly. I didn't want to ask, but I also didn't want to talk at the moment, and Tutor Damian loved to speak.

"They pay for the privilege. Quite a lot as well. You have basic teachers, since Teaching is a Tier 1 skill, right at the bottom of the barrel. Then you have a Tutor, and an Empowered Tutor like myself, a tier 3 skill, and I specialize in several basic skills that I teach here at the estate. I even taught your siblings, you know."

"Uh-huh," I said tiredly as he continued talking.

"Then you have specialists who can teach specific Tier 4 skills. Normally, they focus on one or two and get fantastic at teaching them. After that, you have apprenticeships, like your mother has with her Squires, where you teach higher-tier skills. A specialist like Squire Sabin would be expensive, not to mention the esteemed Healer on standby, who is boosting your stamina. Ah, to be young again and to consider fighting as a career. It almost gets my blood boiling too, you know."

I just gave another affirmative as my brain tried to process what he was saying.

"Physical training might seem hard, but just think of the Vitality. They say each point allows you to live another year beyond the base 50 that all humans are allotted. While some people invest all their free stats into Vitality, I think that is a mistake. The Mind is just as important if one wants to keep learning and improving."

"I mean, just consider your growth. It is nothing short of remarkable and is quickly surpassing the achievements of other children who have received similar opportunities. It is good that you are keeping up with your studies." There was no end to his talking. My brain began to shut down as I couldn't pay attention to him anymore. I was just too tired even to think. I just nodded along as Damian kept talking.

"Oh, it is time to sleep. I will put everything away. You look exhausted."

"Thanks," I muttered and made my way to my room before passing out onto my bed. I was too tired even to get changed.