Chapter 4: Training

It was a late summer morning, and the sun was only beginning to rise in the horizon. And yet – Tobias was already standing in front of Magnus, donned in his winter wear. It was still morning, sure, but the fact that he was wearing something designed for freezing temperatures only made him feel excessively warm.

Why did the old man tell him to wear his winter wear?

“Listen, Sir Magnus. I know you were supposed to train me and all... but can I at least get some proper clothes on?” Tobias fanned his neck, trying to cool himself as best as he could. He didn’t quite pant yet, and his eyes only pleaded with the old man.

“No.” Magnus replied, and his eyes was only reminiscent of steel – hard, unyielding, and merciless. “Your mother trusted me to train you to push the boundaries of human limitations. And I intend to keep that promise, if only for my own personal gains. You see those golden hills, correct? I want you to run to the top of the hill, and run back here.”

“I see.” Tobias nodded. It seemed simple enough.

So he idly stretched his legs and arms, before bolting towards the golden-like hills of wheat. It really was a familiar sight – he often walked towards the top of the hill to observe the village, and was usually sent off to work the fields whenever he had nothing to do.

So when he reached the top, he paused for a second to take in the view. Magnus was still at the foot of the hill, and even from the distance, he could feel the old man’s observant, calculating gaze. So without any further delay, he ran downwards. It was a lot easier to run down a hill, than to run up, so it was much, much faster.

“You have proven yourself much more capable than I thought.” The old man nodded, and hummed to himself. Then his eyes narrowed, and he pointed at the hill again. “Now do it ten times in a row, no breaks in between.”

That late summer morning, Tobias could only do four, before his legs began to shake, and his body overheated. While he was running down, a combination of the heat and his tired legs made him trip, and literally roll down the rest of the hill.

The old man only limped to where he was, and gazed down on him with the most neutral expression he had ever seen.

***

“Ow, ow...” Tobias hissed lightly, when the soaked rag brushed against the friction burn in his elbow.

“I’m sorry, Toby.” Catherine apologized, but otherwise didn’t stop lightly scrubbing against the injury. The rag was lightly stained red, but a quick dip in the nearby basin of water washed it away.

“It’s fine.” He waved casually. “But you’re still calling me that?” He only looked at her with a mildly confused expression, and she gave a sweet smile back at him.

“This reminds me of the times were kids. You always ended up with a new wound everyday.” She giggled to herself.

“I can’t really help it.” Tobias flinched when water was introduced to his other wound. Good thing that the winter coat protected most of his body from direct scratches. Friction burns were a hell though, and his hands and head weren’t quite spared. “Old man Magnus is one hell of an instructor. And to think that Marcus was only subjected to only a part of what I’m going through...”

“Mhm, I’ve seen him train with Sir Magnus once. He didn’t quite go home with as much wounds as you.” Catherine gave a distant smile. “But was it true? The fact that Marcus was whisked away by Death?”

He stared at her. “They told you that?”

“Hey, I’m still the eldest child, remember?” She gave him a light chop on the head, and he pouted at her antic. It was, after all, virtually impossible to get angry at the gentle, honest soul that his older, half-twin sister possessed. “But if you’re not going to deny that, then I guess I’ll just have to accept it as truth.”

He paused to think to himself, but flinched when another wound stung. “What do you think of Marcus, anyways?”

“Marcus...?” She looked away, then hummed to herself for a slight bit. Then she turned around again, and gave a somewhat bitter smile. “I... honestly kind of liked him back when we were little. When I grew up, those childish feelings disappeared. But him being gone is just... sad.”

“Wait. Really?” He asked, and she only nodded back. “I see.”

“That’s it? I kind of expected you to be a little more... surprised?”

“I can’t deny that I think you two would make a good married couple.” Tobias shrugged, admitting it shamelessly. Then, another light chop caused his head to dip slightly, and he looked at her. “What?”

“T-that’s taking it too far.” She stammered. Her cheeks were lightly flushed, and she looked somewhat annoyed at him.

“You’re blushing.” He grinned. “It looks like you haven’t outgrew those feelings, after all.”

“Mmm...!” Catherine pouted, and Tobias hissed at the sudden pain. She scrubbed that wound harder than she needed to...! “But really... I can’t lie to you. Maybe I still do like him, after all.”

“I see.” He looked at the window, and towards the sky which was already past its zenith. And looking at his older sister who tended to his wounds, his conviction only grows with intensity.

It wasn’t only him who wanted his friend back. There were at least two more people in this world who wanted the hero known as Marcus back.

Yes... he would train harder, to the point where he could get recognized by Death.

***

It was an early fall morning, and the sun was peeking out of the horizon. Because it wasn’t summer anymore and the days were back to normal-length days, then that meant Tobias only woke up a bit later than he was used to, and he felt well-rested because of it.

The air was nowhere as cold as spring’s, yet it was much, much milder compared to the unrelenting summer breeze. So then... why did his current clothes consist of a thin, white night shirt, and similarly thin trousers which did nothing to keep the slightly-chilly winds away? And if this were to keep up, then... it would be worse.

“Sir Magnus...” Tobias began, as he looked down. “Why did you make me wear my night clothes...?”

“Mental strength is just as important as physical strength.” The old man replied cryptically, then straightened his back and placed his hands behind him at breakneck speeds. Tobias instinctively knew what he was supposed to do, so he also straightened his back and put his arms by his side. “Now, I want you to run to the top of the hill, and run back here.”

“That’s...” Tobias only sighed, and didn’t even bother to vocalize his thoughts anymore. This old man always kept saying that first thing in the morning... “Yes, sir.”

And so, he ran up the fields of earth. The wheat was already harvested, and sprouts of some autumn crop replaced them. Well, it was refreshing to see green for once, after witnessing golden crops for weeks on end while running up the hill.

And that wasn’t the only thing that changed. It was still morning, yet the autumn season meant that it was already cooler than anticipated. When paired with the fact that the old man made him wear his night clothes, it only meant that the breeze caused by his running made him feel slightly chilly. And to think that this was only early fall... But it was relaxing in comparison to suffering nigh-inevitable heat strokes, so that was better.

He always liked the cold, anyways. So without any further risk to his health, he descended down the hill.

“You know what I am supposed to say at this point, correct?” Magnus only said, and Tobias nodded.

So he went up and down the hill multiple times. On the bright side, he managed to complete all twenty repetitions. And on the other bright side, the temperature was much more pleasant. There was no downside. Summer is just a terrible time to train. Any of the other three seasons is superior.

“Oh. You did not roll this time.” Magnus pointed out, and the boy only gave an annoyed glare. Did he really have to remind him...?

“I have been doing this for almost a month. And besides, this isn’t the first time I’ve completed all of the repetitions.”

“Is that so.” The old man hummed to himself, and as if a bright idea struck him, he slowly turned to Tobias. “I assume you are getting bored with just running, correct?” A nod. “Then... Let us move on to your next exercise.”

Tobias’ eyes shimmered with excitement. “What is it?”

“The mother of all arm-based strength training.” Magnus replied, and pointed on the floor. “Push ups.”

A few minutes and a live demonstration later, Tobias decided that he liked push ups.

“Now do a hundred.”

A few minutes later, Tobias decided that he did not like push ups. It was too embarrassing to tell how he did, but he will disclose that he did less than half of the goal.