The Regression Of A Grand Mercenary - 16 - Teaching

After we dined, in our promise together, me and Theodore went outside of our home to train him against the strong winds.

We had to leave around midnight to avoid suspicion.

And to the place we went, we went to my training grounds.

It was a simple set of training.

If Theodore is able to produce a ball of fire against this storm, he can go back outside. But the fire had to last about ten seconds before it burns out.

And like so we began.

At first he failed.

For trying over six times, he barely could produce a big enough flame before it was blown by the wind.

and from the looks of it, he was already tired.

The last time, he was able to produce ten flames in the size of my fist before losing all strength, but the flames he produced today were non bigger than a marble before it could disappear into the wind.

Each attempt was a failure.

“…Can you do it?” I asked as I looked to his trembling sight. I can only imagine that his mind must be bursting with such a headache right now.

“…I’m…I’m trying!” he said.

“What do you think enables a mage to use magic?” I asked.

“…Mana?”

“What else?”

“Imagination.”

“The Will of thought, yes…what else?”

“A strong sense of will.”

“Yes, indeed…the will of man is what ignites the formation of magic. I do not know anything about magic, but I must tell you this. Will is what influences a man’s power. It goes with how warriors build their strength to raise their swords, it’s how us as blacksmiths have the power to finish a craft all to its end, and it’s how mages create their powers. Will is the most important figure in the progress of creation and advancement.” I said.

“…”

“You need to fight against the wind. Your will must be stronger than the wind and this storm for your flames to rise and develop.”

“I…I can’t-”

“Don’t say that you can’t! That in of itself is weakness to one’s dream. I will stay here even until sunrise…you must create a flame stronger than the winds of today.”

And from there, Theodore continued creating his flames over his hand.

For time and time again, he spent struggling…

Until finally, on the 25^th time, he succeeded, but the size of the flame was that of a marble.

Still, it was progress.

“Good job, lets go to sleep then.”

But before I could walk away, Theodore fell to his knees and he collapsed.

“…”

So I picked him up and carried him to our home.

The next day, he woke up around mid-day with a fever.

***

As I presumed, the storm ended when the morning came. And from here, the old man took every object they brought with them and put them on the back of their carriage. They plan to go to the village in to finally settle in among with the other villagers in the time they have here.

“I’ll see you this afternoon fter we settle in the inn. And I’ll hope you will join me in the start of our project.” said Evelyn as she stood by our front door.

“I will. I hope you had a goodnight sleeping here in our abode.”

“Hmm, I did. Thank you for your hospitality, not in just letting us stay for the night but also saving one of my people from the storm.” she said.

“I am glad to help.” I said.

“And here, a gift for helping the Amber family.” on her hands was a pouch to what I assumed was filled with coin. Raising my brow in return, I wanted to deny it.

“N-not thanks, its okay. You can keep your money.”

“Nonsense, this is simply the start of our…relationship.” she said as she took my hand and placed the coin on my palm.

And in that small moment, she took her time, caressing my hand along with the pouch of coin.

“…um.” having reacted, I blushed like a teenage boy who got his first gift from a girl.

“My, aren’t you the shy type.” she said as she smiled slyly.

And from there, she lets go of my hand and waved goodbye.

“Afternoon, don’t forget.” she said.

And there, they rode their carriage and went to the town inn.

“Hmm, isn’t she nice?” said Theresa as she was able to see the whole thing.

“…Right.”

“My brother…for what magic did you cast upon her to have her lay her attentions on you?”

“Hmm, please don’t tease me like that. I’m going back to the workshop, call me if you need anything.” I said as I avoided her prying curiosity.

“Hehe, I will. In the meantime, I’ll take care of Theodore. This isn’t the first time he gets sick after a storm.” she said.

“…Okay.”

As time went on, I did what I could and did the chores I never could from yesterday.

And after a while, the afternoon finally came and with it, a knock to our doors came as expected.

As I opened the door, Evelyn was there with her smile and simply invited me to the carriage.

“You’re taking me to the lot right?” I asked.

“Of course. Desmond and the mercenaries have already set up the camp near the lot.” she said.

“Okay then, but before we go, I have to get a few things from the workshop that might help with the clearing.” I said.

As I went back to the workshop, I grabbed a few things. One was an axe made of iron from the handle to it’s end and a few other things like a sharpening stone.

And after that, we started making our way there.

On our arrival, I noticed that the lot that they were given was marked by a long rope that designated their ownership.

“So, as long as we don’t pass the rope, everything inside it is your lot?” I asked.

“Yes. Along with clearing a part of the woods for the house, we also need to clear it big enough to make space for a garden.” she said.

“What about your planting fields? Where are they being put?” I asked.

“Well, there are some abandoned fields just about a few hundred steps away from this lot, just across a river. We also have to clear that part of the lot from it’s overgrowing weeds and trees.” she said.

“But for now, we have to take priority with this lot.” said Desmond as he walked in carrying an axe on his shoulders.

“Okay then, lets start.” as I said this, I dropped my things and started helping out.

“I’ll be by the tent, call me if you need anything.” she said.

***

Although I was asked to be a blacksmith, there wouldn’t be any jobs to be asked of until we finally start construction. And right now, we had to clear this forest.

I would have said no at first, but I was being paid to do this job. 15 silvers a day…that price is unusually high for this manual labor.  And as well as the pay, it can act as my form of strength training.

So, with my axe on hand, I approached a tree.

“Do you do well with an axe?” asked Desmond as he looked to me with sweat dripping from his forehead.

“I do fine. From the looks of it, there’s over three hundred, maybe more of these trees.” I said as I scanned the number simply by view.

“Two hundred, maybe less.” said a voice who I was unfamiliar with.

When I turned my head, I could see a man who was wearing a brown shirt paired with his silver hair that was tied to a pony tail and his golden eyes which reminded me of a wolf’s predatory-like nature.

“You must be the blacksmith where our client went and rested in your home.” he said.

“I am…and you must be one of the mercenaries.” I said.

“Andel, leader of the Wolf Cahol.” he said as he reached out his hand with a kind gesture.

As I took my hand to shake his, he gripped tight and he smiled.

“…” I could feel his strength. Despite his appearance, he only had developed the first stage of the pure core, the same as me. It’s a bit of a shame, knowing just how fierce his spirit seems.

“My name is Thill Cicial.” I said in return to his introduction.

And from it, I tightened my grip even more.

From this show of power, he recognized the very essence of my strength that comes from a Pure Core.

“!?” He was bewildered.

“Y-you surprised me…I can’t believe it. A blacksmith, carrying the strength of a warrior?” he asked.

“I’m surprised as well. Tell me, how many years have you been working as a mercenary?” I asked.

“…The Wolf Cahol has been standing for ten years and I have lead it for two years.”

“Hmm, I see.”

“Enough with your greetings, go back to chopping down the trees.” said Desmond.

“Fine, let’s talk later Thill.” said Andel as he walked and approached a tree next to mine.

As he raised his hand, he gathered his strength and readied him to swing his axe.

The tree was about a meter in diameter in thickness. Because of how rich the soil was in here, trees were larger than most.

“…” I could feel his concentration as he looked to the tree as if it was his prey.

It didn’t long before he did swing his axe.

With just 10 swungs of his axe, the tree was cut down, but in result, his axe turned dull.

From what I could see, he didn’t used his weapon and strength well. But for a simple man, it must have looked amazing to cut down a tree that large with that little effort. I felt the need to tell him just what was the right thing to do.

“…You’re doing it wrong.” I said.

“What?” and in reaction, Andel turned to me with an insulted look.

But I didn’t care for his gaze.

“Look at your axe, it became duller and duller for each swing you made. It wont be long before your axe is completely unusable.” I said.

And to my comments, he turned to his axe and noticed that it was chipped as if it was swung through stone.

“…And how do you suppose I do it then?” he asked.

“Like this.”

As I approached my own tree with the same size as his, I gripped my axe tight and I swung it down to the lowest part of it’s trunk.

The very way I swung my axe didn’t mattered. What mattered was how I used my strength in manipulating my own pure core into an efficient source. I’ve done this over and over again in the past… to me, slicing an entire body of a man, a tree of this size of even a pillar of stone, all felt the same once my weapon went deep into it and pass it.

*THUD!*

One full swing. That was all it took for the tree to fall down.

“!!?”

“!!!?”

Desmond who witnessed this and so did Andel were more shocked by the sight of my strength.

Slowly but surely, the tree fell and crashed to the floor.

*Boom!*

“This is how you do it.” I said.

And from it, I revealed the state of my weapon.

It was barely bent and chipped even at the near look of it.

“H-how did you do it?” he asked as he looked pale and terrified.

“It’s the proper way of manipulating your own strength.” I said.

And from it, I moved on to the next tree.

“…” Desmond on the other hand could only swallow the truth.

‘As I thought…he’s not just a simple blacksmith. I can’t shake the feeling that he might one day be a great asset to the family.’

As I continued taking down tree after tree, it didn’t take long before a few more eyes were pointed down on me.

Those eyes came from the other mercenary group who looked distraught by the sight of my strength.

“…Don’t just stand there, keep working.” said Evelyn as she came by, where she was overseeing the situation.

As the day went on, a time finally came when it was my break.

I rested under the shade of the tree while watching the sun set down.

“Hmm, the sunset looks pretty good from here.” I said as I was resting.

As I did, Andel came over looking just as tired as I was.

Already from the work we did for just this day alone, we’ve cut about a quarter of the forest. At this rate, maybe tomorrow of the day after, we’ll be done.

“…You really are a monster.” he said as he was holding on to his axe which was as a blunt as a stone.

“…Are you mad that your merc group won’t get paid as much by the day?” I asked.

“It’s not by the day that we get paid, it’s already taken to account that no matter how long we finish, we’ll be paid the same amount. 25 gold.” he said.

“Wow, that’s a lot for your services.” I said.

“Well, it’s not just about clearing the trees, it’s also about clearing possible enemies in the area.”

“Hmm, right now, you guys are lucky that you haven’t yet met a monster in a while. But come night time, be prepared. Since you’re camping here, it’s best that you keep your guard up.”

“…Let me ask you something.”

“What is it?”

“How did you get so strong?” he asked.

“I just knew how to swing an axe.”

“But you’re a blacksmith and that in of itself doesn’t make any sense.” he said.

“I don’t think you got any right to say what a blacksmith can and cannot do. You don’t know what it’s like being one.” I said.

“…That’s fair, but from the looks of it, you’re a lot younger than I am…and I’ve been working as a warrior for more than eight years…with that much time, it should have been enough for me to reach your level!” he said.

“…and?”

“Why…no, how?! how do you have that much strength.” he asked as he sounded desperate.

“Who knows, I can’t really tell you anything.”

“W-what?! Why not?”

“I don’t know you…and I’m no mentor when it comes to earning an understanding in what’s missing about you. I’m just a blacksmith.” I said.

“…I see. I guess you don’t understand the idea of what it means for a warrior to gain power. You’re a blacksmith…I should have understood that.”

“…It takes time.”

“What?”

“It takes time to know how to properly wield a sword while inhibiting the powers of a pure core. It simply isn’t a power up one can just harness like in any potion you drink…you’ll understand in time.”

“I don’t have the time…not with how my occupation is.”

“…Impatience is a path towards death.”

“If that is the case, then teach me!” he said as he looked desperate.