Cold and shivering, I moved through the darkening alley. It had taken ages before the heat had left my body, and now I felt cold and even more tired than before. The dense grey cloud cover blotting out the sun that had been there this morning wasn't helping either.

Pushing open the door, the warmth from inside was just that, warmth. The heat and blistering wafts of steaming air were gone, and the fireplace returned to it's normal knispering self. Agga wasn't anywhere around, but my ax lay on the wood crafting table I usually used.

I picked it up with my left two arms. It's weight was oppressive, almost too much to lift, let alone swing. A ping came from my status window, and the beautifully intricate patterns on the blade edges glowed for a second. Summoning my status, I gaped at the line before grinning.

> You have picked up a weapon crafted by you and improved by a Grandmaster wood crafter

> It is imbued with the One-Owner inscription

> When a being other than you tries to wield the ax, brambles will appear around the weapon.

Now I didn't have to worry about someone coming to steal it. As long as these spells and patterns couldn't just be removed, that was. Now, if only I could wield it. Moving to the middle of the room, I began slowly moving the weapon around. I had to do it as slow as possible, or the weight pulled me off balance.

When Agga moved back into the shop, I was sweating all over again but had a wide grin on my face. In just under an hour, I had already increased my muscle mass by two points and my stamina by one. The loaf of bread was gone, though, and I finally figured out the way to grind. I just needed to get a shit ton of food and swing the ax around. I'd become stronger and increase my skill at the same time!

"Haltir is waiting for you by the east gate," Agga said as she walked past me and sat at the leatherworking station.

She was carrying a packet that she put down and began unwrapping. Inside seemed to be a neatly folded, large leather hide.

"I'll go right now!"

I said, lugging the ax with me. As I left the workshop, I realized the Worg body was gone. Wondering if it had something to do with the package Agga had with her, I shrugged and moved to the east gate.

Haltir was waiting for me at the open area behind the east gate. He just nodded at me and looked at the ax. Noting the patterns, he whistled.

"Agga held nothing back. She must really like you, kid."

Always with the kid, or the boy. What was up with these people? Shrugging, I looked at the massive single-bladed ax he was holding. I was pretty sure he hadn't had that the first time I saw him.

"Alright. As we only have a single night, I'll make this short. Unless you are a prodigy, using a large ax in any battle is asking for trouble. Spear wielders outrange you, sword users are faster, and anybody with daggers will shorten the distance before you can blink and make your ax useless."

I was stunned as I looked at Haltir. His grey eyes looked straight into mine, seeming to expect a reaction. Was he expecting me to turn and walk away? He didn't seem very happy to teach me. Thinking for a moment, I looked at his ax and raised an eyebrow.

"So, if that's true, you must be a prodigy?"

Haltir nodded and looked at me without smiling.

"I am. I gained the ax mastery skill within a week of picking it up, and within a month, I had gotten it to level five. Only a dozen other people on this continent can say the same."

I blinked, and a grin spread on my face. Wait, so we were going to compare sizes?

"I have ax mastery," I said.

Halter blinked and cocked his head.

"You had it already?"

I shook my head and held up three fingers. "I got it three days after picking it up, and it's level three now."

Haltir blinked and looked at me with distrust. "Three days and level three?" I grunted, staring him straight in the eyes.

His eyes widened as I nodded.

I don't know what I had expected, but when Halter raised his ax in the air and began roaring with laughter, that hadn't been it. The disheveled man, his black hair greying at the temples, looked at me with shiny eyes.

"I've always been good at seeing when people lie, and I'd bet my left arm that you're not!"

Thinking about all the lies I'd been spouting so far, I hoped he was right.

Haltir began pacing in front of me, three steps left, three right.

"The ax is seen as a bad, poor choice for a weapon. One of the reasons is that very few people ever unlock the skill, while everyone and their granny gets sword mastery! People don't trust what they don't know. But-" and explosively, he sprang back, slicing the ax down in a swift arc.

"If you truly know how to wield an ax, it's power is without measure!"

Haltir began spinning the ax around, moving it around in snappy circles, wide circles, and choppy moves that I could barely follow. I quickly saw he was following a set of moves, a pattern he had practiced so many times it seemed easy to him.

After a few minutes, he finished. Slamming the ax butt in the ground, he grinned at me while a ping came from my status.

"Look at it!" Haltir said.

Wondering how these people seemed to know when my status bugged me, I summoned my status.

> A grandmaster ax wielder has performed his personal kata for you for the first time

> For three days, your learning rate for ax mastery will double

Whistling, I looked at Haltir.

"How many?"

I could see the expectation in his eyes and wondered what lower and upper bound even were.

"Three," I said.

He sighed and shook his head.

"Three hours will be cutting it close, even for someone as inherently skilled as you might be."

"No. Three days," I corrected him.

Haltir moved to me in two steps, so fast I barely had the time to blink, and he grabbed my shoulder. His fingers dug deep into the flesh, and I almost recoiled. He held me in place, staring deep into my eyes.

"Three days?" he asked, looking at me as if he would eat me.

I nodded, and he gasped for breath as he stepped back, releasing me.

"Finally! And in this stupid little town, no less! How is it possible... Perhaps it's because of the four arms."

Unsure what he was clambering on about, I quickly stepped back so he wouldn't grab me again.

Haltir turned back to me, and suddenly his good mood was gone as he glared at me. "Agga said you were going to leave tomorrow?"

I nodded, getting a bad premonition.

"No. I won't have it. You will stay here with me for the next three days."

Haltir stepped forward, straightening to his full length and looming over me. I hadn't realized he was a bit taller than I was.

"I can't, I-"

"Quiet!" He bellowed, and I felt a pressure emanate from him as he stood straight, his shoulders drawn back like a soldier.

"I don't care what you can or can't do. Next year there will be another battle of the arms-masters. The winners gain another decade of favors from the gods of battle! We of the ax have long been the cast outs, the least favored, the laughing stock," he growled the last part, and I could see the pain in his eyes.

"Not since the days of the Legend have we won even a single of the contests. For almost a thousand years we have had to deal with those stuck-up sword-masters and their feeling of superiority!"

I was swallowing as I listened to his roaring speech. If he continued, he might draw a crowd. I was also starting to get the idea I was in for a world of trouble.

Haltir placed his hand on my shoulder without squeezing this time.

"No longer! I was almost able to win twenty years ago, but I was too young and inexperienced. Ten years ago, I would have won a contest if not for those cheating liars. You have more potential than I ever had!"

Swallowing, I looked at the other. He sounded like one of those criers that promised the world if you just joined their cause. The words were nice, but there was always something nasty hidden underneath.

"I can't," I stammered, quickly continuing when his eyebrows raised, and a storm cloud seemed to pass across his face. "I need to help someone in trouble, and the journey will be forty or more days on foot!"

Haltir opened his mouth, closed it, then frowned. "Where do you need to travel to?"

"The temple of Flowheart in Dursic."

It was quiet for a few moments as Haltir stared off in the distance, his eyes flickering to and fro.

"Fine," he finally said with a nod. "If time is your trouble, I will fix that for you. Three days from now, the current batch of Daggers of Doom will be relieved. The caravan that brings the new mercenaries will travel to the town of Grainhaven to get fresh supplies before heading to their next stop. If you travel with them till Grainhaven, you will shave almost ten days from your journey."

"Will they just let me join?" I said.

"Let me take care of that. We will train for a few hours now, then you go and rest while I get you a spot on the caravan. Then, in the morning, meet me here for more training."

I wasn't sure if I should thank the other or run away. Swallowing, I nodded.

"How do we start?"

Haltir's eyes gleamed as he smiled at me. Seeing his sharp teeth glitter in the light from the torches, I shivered.

--

"Wake up, Est! That crazy man has been knocking for ten minutes already!"

Groaning, I tried to turn my back to the prodding foot. I knew he was there, just like he had been yesterday and the day before. Today marketed the third day of my training as he called it. I think indentured servitude to a psychopath was more like it. The only good thing about waking up today would be that it marked the last day of my torture by Haltir.

"Est!" Agga hissed, this time kicking my back. It didn't hurt a lot, probably because she didn't put much force into it. The thicker layer of muscles I'd grown in two days helped too, though.

A stronger kick struck my shoulder, one that actually stung.

"I'm up," I said. With a groan, I rolled on my back and looked a the ceiling.

Agga stalked away, probably preparing food again. When I came back completely mangled the first day of training, she had been ready with food and more when I awoke. She even had a pack of bread and dried fish ready for in the afternoon. I needed it. The little fat I'd gained had melted right off again. Besides my increasingly prominent muscles, I was skin and bones.

Knowing I was delaying the inevitable, I got up and stretched. Every muscle in my body hurt, and not even an increase of a stat helped to relieve it anymore. Sitting down, I began gobbling down any, and all food Agga put in front of me.

The constant knocking on the door never ceased or abated for a moment.

"Was he always like this?" I muttered.

"From what I've heard, he was worse when he was still the master sergeant. They sent him here after he was too old, mainly because there weren't any other soldiers. They feared he might suffer retaliation."

My mouth fell open as I stared at Agga. Couldn't she have told me that two days ago?

The knocking turned to slamming, and I knew the door would break if I didn't hurry. Stuffing the last fish in my mouth, I rushed from the table to where my ax stood against the wall. It stood on the ground, the end of the haft reaching my ribs, while the blades were wide enough to cover my hips. Although it was a magnificent weapon, I was almost starting to despise it.

Picking it up with two hands, I sighed as I releazed it felt lighter again. Still heavy as hell, but at least I could carry it around without falling over. There was no denying the success of the training. If only it didn't suck so much. Putting the ax across one shoulder, I moved to the door and kicked it open. I hoped it would knock Haltir's teeth out.

The door slammed against the wall while the always grinning monster stood a step back.

"You sleep too long! This is the last day, and I want to set a record!" Haltir said.

I almost turned back around. But it was useless. He would just force me to follow him. Moving past him, I headed towards the east gate. Tomorrow by this time, I would be heading away, and I didn't have to see the sergeant ever again.

Haltir followed right behind me, whistling happily all the way.

When we reached the east gate, Egilla stood on the wall. She had either known or guessed we were coming as she grinned at me and waved.

Great, she'd be watching and shouting encouragement again? Hell… shoot me now!

Trying to ignore her and Haltir, I moved to the middle of the muddy area. Spreading my legs, I began waving the ax around to warm up as Haltir had shown me.

Ten minutes later, I was drenched in sweat and my arms shaking. I could swing the ax now, but not for a long time. Glaring at the thick blade, I wished I had made it a bit thinner and lighter. Maybe hollow?

"Enough! Walk the entire form you've concocted," Haltir said in what I had figured out was his drill sergeant voice.

Gritting my teeth, I began.

"Stop!"

I froze, and Haltir came forward, moving my shoulders back, two of my arms forward and the other two further from my body and to the back. I waited for his ascent and continued. Before I finished, he stopped me a dozen more times.

"You are improving, but not fast enough! Again!"

Groaning, I complied.

The first day I had tried to ignore him, which had resulted in one hour of involuntary sparring. The pain would hound me to the end of my life… well, maybe not that bad, but it was horrible even still.

Four full circles of the form later, I felt ready to keel over.

"Good. Five minutes rest, then sparring."

Groaning, something I'd seemed to be doing a lot lately, I slumped on the ground. I made sure to hold my ax on my knees and not drop it in the mud. That, too, was an excellent way to gain a reprimand, usually combined with corporal punishment.

I couldn't wait for tomorrow. Looking up at the wall, I saw Egilla look at me with slightly shining eyes. Dammit, was she a sadist too? These people.

The time flew by too fast, and I barely caught my breath when Haltir picked up his wooden training ax.

"Alright, like the day before. You are not allowed to attack, only defend. Try and stay at the optimal distance!"

He swung the dull ax at my head, and I cursed as I ducked down. The edge was dull, but it would still hurt like a son of a bitch. I had the bruises to prove it.

Jumping sideways, I held back my desire to strike. If I did, he would retaliate with blinding speed and knock my lights out. Hearing the whistle of the ax to the side, I jumped forward and passed him. A foot tripped me, and I slammed into the ground. The ax thudded on the back of my head, pushing my face deeper into the mud.

"Dead. Again!"

After defense sparring was offense sparring, then a moment of reprieve as Haltir performed another kata I had to try and copy. Finally, when the sun started setting, a ping came for which I had been praying for hours.

Stopping midswing, I summoned my status window and rose all four arms in triumph.

> Derived Strength: 10

> Derived Dexterity: 14

> Derived Constitution: 10

> Derived Intelligence: 4

> Derived Common sense: 1

> Derived Charisma 1

> Total mass: 70 KG

> Current weight: 70 KG

Active attributes: (Easily changed)

> 21/23: Muscle mass

> 01/80: Fat

> 20/25: Coordination

> 20/20: Stamina

> 03/20: Learning rate

> 94/199: Knowledge

> 02/20: Beauty

> 00/99: Grooming

> 02/40: Well spoken

Skills (Learned)

> 1/4

> Ax master 5/10

> You have reached ax mastery 5

> Abilities unlocked

> Unlocked: Last-ditch effort

> When hitpoints drop below ten percent, muscle mass temporarily doubles

> Milestone reward!

> You have beaten the previous fastest record holder for getting to the halfway point of ax mastery!

> Generating a random ability based on your previous actions

> 'Desperate swing' unlocked

> When all hope is lost, and victory is gone, your perception of time will slow, and you will gain a final attack to balance the scales

Abilities (Gained)

> 2

The exhaustion I had felt drained away, and I stood straight. I felt great, even if the abilities gave me the idea I was being pushed into a barbarian role. I could deal with that later.

"So, you are at five now?"

I nodded, and he laughed.

"Good, you are now an apprentice! Congratulations! From five to six will be as hard as from one to five, so keep it up!"

I blinked. Was he kidding?

"Now, let's put that refreshed stamina of yours to good use!"

Feeling my hairs stand on end, I turned to him. Now he was kidding, right?

Haltir raised his ax and jumped at me.