Undying Blood - Beta - Chapter 023 -

We’re seriously heading to the same tent that Ginge trained me in… how can he hope to help me level my skills faster when the enchantment doesn’t work like that.

Resisting the urge to say anything, Francis simply followed the one-armed man.

When they entered the tent, he was already familiar with and saw Ginge training, topless as the first time, covered in the same sheen of sweat as before.

“General,” the knight said, stopping his training of different swings and giving a bow.

“Knight Ginge, I have a task for you,” Stenson said, not slowing down the same stride he had moved with the entire trip here. “This is Sage Francis. I need you to train him in using the sword and shield, but I need you to use the advanced method.”

The blond-headed man’s face narrowed as he squinted at the youngest one in the tent, studying him in the fine clothes.

“A sage? At this age? I would be honored but if you want to use the advanced methods…”

“I already have the items on the way.  He has told us he is already proficient in the sword, so I’m interested to see how you handle this.”

Grinning, Ginge stepped forward and gave a slight bow to Francis before holding out his hand.

“Are you certain you’re up for the training he is talking about?”

“I’m certain there isn’t any other way since this tent is enchanted and will only help get one to twenty-five in a skill if I’m correct.”

Coughing, the knight cleared his throat and studied the general who was smiling.

“I didn’t tell him. Go ahead and get him ready. The healer and the other items should arrive in less than five minutes, and while I don’t have a ton of time to watch, I want to see some of this.”

Ginge grinned and motioned to the racks where some weapons were.

“I can’t tell you how excited I am about this.  How long has it been since we’ve trained someone this way?”

“Months… maybe a year?”

Francis started to shift slightly as the two of them talked, and the trio moved to where the weapons were waiting.

What did I just get myself into? The way they are talking… I mean, death isn’t fun but how bad could this be?”

Never letting his eyes leave his soon-to-be trainer, Francis almost froze when Ginge picked up a metal sword.

“We’re not using wooden ones?”

“That doesn’t work with this kind of training,” Stenson said, pointing at the rack. “Pick one. Find one you feel comfortable with. Honestly, I’m not sure you’ll be able to handle what comes next but know if you can endure, the growth is far greater than many could ever hope for.  Besides, you’ve eaten and have the best buff we can give for a moment like this.”

“Bah,” Ginge muttered. “You shared your personal food with him?”

“He is a sage.”

Sighing, the man nodded and moved back to the center of the training area, still only wearing leather pants and boots.

Taking his time, Francis lifted out a few different one-handed swords, examining their grips and weight.

I can easily swing them though there is a slight difference in weight in the last three on the rack.  It’s almost as if…

“Are these last ones weighted?”

“They are,” Stenson replied. “Those are typically used to help gain strength and control as one works through certain sword movements.  When you can master the pattern with one of these, you’ll move to the next one in line.  Eventually…”

Pausing, the general pulled out the last sword and gave it a few quick swings. Grinning, he flipped it and handed it handle first to Francis.

Sliding the one he had been holding back into the rack, he reached out and grabbed it, and the moment the general let go, the blade crashed to the ground, tearing itself free from his grip.

“Holy shit! You.. you act like this is a twig!”

“For an old, one-armed man, the general is stronger than he looks,” Ginge said. “I can’t even use that one yet.”

Using both hands and his legs, he was able to stand the sword up a little bit, but the strain was beyond anything he had expected.

Just how strong is Stenson? To hold this weapon like he did and so easily flip it? 

Letting the blade fall, he watched as the general winked and bent over and picked it up, sliding it carefully into the rack at the end.

“A lifetime has been spent honing my skill and strength.  I only wish I still had my right arm.”

The older man’s voice echoed a sense of sadness for a moment before his face returned to the normal stony expression.

Less than a minute later, three men came in with a small box each. With them was a woman wearing a soft yellow robe.

“Ahh, healer, Dawn, thank you for coming.”

The woman frowned as she studied the three men in the center of the training area.

“Stenson… is it true you are about to make this boy endure what I have heard?”

Shaking his head, the general pointed at Francis.

“The sage has actually asked for this.  No one is forcing him and as I have mentioned, we will quickly see if he can endure such a thing.”

As the general spoke, the three men brought the packages they held to the general, who lifted one's lid and smiled when peering inside.

“Francis, come here.”

Moving to where the man stood, he looked inside the open box and saw three rings, each one set in a recessed section of some kind of wood. Each ring almost seemed to buzz slightly, one was blue, one was green and one was red.  Small runes were carved into the outer edges of them.

“These will be yours during the training. Once you have finished, you will return them to this box in the order they are set in. Do not take them out of this tent. The pain would be… unbearable.”

A frown appeared as the older man reached inside and pulled out the blue one first, handing it to Francis.

“Put this on your left hand, pointer finger. The next will go on your middle finger and then finally your ring finger.”

Sliding it over his skin, a shock of energy made his hand spasm momentarily, yet pushing through the pain, Francis endured, doing what he could not to react.

The green ring sent out an even bigger jolt of electricity, which required him to clench his teeth and push with much more effort to slide it down his middle finger.

“Impressive,” the older man said with a wink. “You handled both of those well. Now for the real test. I promise you, what is coming next is far worse than the last but if you can endure and push through the pain, you will be ready to start.”

“Men,” Dawn muttered. “Such idiots.”

Glancing around the tent, Francis saw the way Ginge was studying him. Part of the man’s face had a slight smile, and the faintest bobbing of his head was there, perhaps a look of respect at whatever he had apparently done.

How bad can this really be?

Clearing his throat, Stenson took the final ring, the red one, and held it out.

“Bring your hands closer together to make this easier and good luck.”

The moment his fingers touched it, Francis wasn’t sure what he had done in life to deserve such pain.

Every muscle in his body spasmed, and the world seemed to swirl around him.

Breathing felt impossible as his chest and lungs wanted to stop working.

Only inches separated his fingers which were completely white, squeezing the metal band with every ounce of strength they had and the outstretched ring finger on his left hand.

His whole body trembled and getting his hands to move felt impossible.

“Fight it! Push through it!”

Someone was shouting, but Francis wasn’t sure. It was as if he was in a cave, and somewhere deeper in it, a voice was calling out to him.

Why?! Why am I doing this?!

Every part of him wanted to let go of the red ring. To be done with this but that question came over and over in his head.

Then, an image of his brother appeared.

A memory of them lying under a fruit tree years ago, staring up at the sky, having eaten more food than they had in months upon finding that tree.

***

“This is the life,” Michael said with a sigh. “A full stomach and someone who understands my pain.”

“Yeah, but the shits are going to be awful tomorrow.”

Both boys laughed, each of them glancing at the two dozen or more apple cores that were eaten to the nubs.

“I’m glad you’re here,” his brother said.  “I can’t imagine going through life alone.”

Francis nodded, and while he had just turned thirteen a few months ago, Michael was right.

If it wasn’t for you I’d be dead or someones slave.

He had lost count of the number of times his older brother had saved. Bullies, those who sought to take advantage of two boys they knew had no one, and countless others.  Lessons had been taught and learning to read people was a skill he possessed only because Michael was always there.

“Someday I’ll pay you back when I’m rich,” Francis said, rolling over onto his side, plucking a blade of the green grass and sticking it between his lips.

“Sure… someday… when we both have our own farms and hundreds of kids,” replied Michael.

“Bah… I’m not having kids… can you imagine having to put up with someone like us?”

Laughter echoed through the woods where they were lounging, not a care in the world as the warm sun and full bellies made them forget about some of the pain they often endured.

***

His mouth was open and Francis wasn’t sure if he was shouting but the red ring moved so slowly toward its target. 

Each second felt like an eternity as he brought both hands together and when the metal touched the inside of the circle, the pain only grew.  Sliding it along the shaft of his finger, each inch felt unbearable, like someone was stripping the flesh from his body slowly.

Still he fought it, his brother’s face locked in that place that always drove him to not quit no matter how hard something was.

And then all the pain and agony suddenly stopped.

He could hear his voice, a choke and cry coming from his own throat, eyes able to see that the red band had come to rest at the base of his left hand.

“Impressive,” Stenson said, clapping his hand down on Francis’s shoulder. “You have done what many could not. Now the real training can begin.”

“Fools,” Bella groaned again as she moved to where the young man stood, reaching out with a hand. “Let me see your hand with the rings for a moment.”

Shaking his head to clear the cobwebs that still lingered, Francis nodded and held out the hand, seeing how his fingers looked to be bent funny.

They're broken!

“HOLY FUCK!”

The knowledge of how they were suddenly hit and then Bella reached out taking his hand as more pain shot through his whole arm.

A glow surrounded his arm and the healers lips moved, no words coming out but each second lessened the pain until it finally vanished.

“Try your hand now.”

Clenching it and making a fist, Francis saw how it appeared to be fine, no more broken fingers.

“What… what just happened?”

“Check your notifications,” the general stated.

Blinking, Francis noticed that there was a notification, having missed it completely.