Black…

Right, the black boots.

Leonidas?

No, wait,

It’s bright

Light?

Oh yeah, I passed out.

Guess it’s not for long though since it’s still bright.

Should I pretend I haven’t woken up yet?

Else the ‘training’ will continue…

Unfortunately, I must have shuddered at the thought of the ‘training’ because someone moved next to me and checked me instantly.

Breathing in, I knew who it was instantly.

Sia.

So I kept my eyes closed and allowed her to fuss around with my blanket and my temperature and whatnot.

Then I slowly opened them exaggeratedly, only for her to look at me with amusement in her eyes.

“Don’t think I don’t know that you’ve been awake for a while, Sir Sleepyhead,” she said with a smirk.

“Being taken care of feels kinda nice, you know,” I said with a cheeky grin.

“Oh, I believe it would feel quite nice indeed. You have the entire day of being looked after to look forward to,” she said with a weird smile.

“The entire day?” I ventured.

“Yes, the entire day,”

“By you?”

“No... By our dear Teacher,” Sia’s weird look intensified

I quivered even more badly than I had when I thought of the previous ‘training’

“This doesn’t sound too good, does it?” I asked, with a trembling voice.

“No... But you deserve it! Who told you to trigger your warforce twice in two days without awakening?”

“You could have died both times. What were you thinking?” She asked, angrily.

I twiddled my thumbs before shyly lifting my head and saying,

“I wanted to be as awesome as my senior disciple, that’s why I took such risks,” I said, extremely innocently.

“You! You... argh” she said and whirled around and left.

Not before I got a sight of her red face.

But then the blood drained from my face as another face replaced Sia’s.

Who else could it be but my dear, beloved teacher?

“You’re awake.” He remarked.

“No, no, no - the pain, oh the pain, it’s too much. I’m going to faint again, I am so-” I said, before coughing violently and passing out.

Thwack.

“Te-Teacher, what was that for? I’m injured! You can’t hit your disciple’s head like that! What would you do if I become stupid?”

“Save me a lot of trouble if that occurred is what would happen,” my teacher mused to himself.

“Ai, who told me to take such a brat as my disciple,” giving a long-suffering sigh, my teacher fixed his eyes on me.

“Speaking of which, cough up.”

“Huh?”

“Cough up?”

“What, you want me to cough up my lungs or what?”

“Why would I want your lungs? I’m saying cough up the money for my doublet!”

“What doublet?”

“The one you vomited on,” said my teacher, exasperatedly.

I reddened up, though, whether it was because of the embarrassment of vomiting or the next thing that he said was debatable.

“I don’t have any money, Teacher…”

“Nonsense, you’re telling me all these books were free? In which case, I should really ask Count Drayke for more benefits!” said my teacher, as he gestured around what I finally realized was my room.

“Alright fine, I’ll let you off this once,” he said, as he sniffed audibly.

“Hey, why are you turning red again like a tomato?”

“Can’t be brain damage, I checked him...so why?” He thought as he scratched his head puzzledly.

As for me, I was turning red because I suddenly realized that Sia had been in my room! My room!

This was the first time that she had been in my room!

No, is it?

Vaguely, a memory seems to be breaking free of the fog in my mind, but after concentrating hard for a few seconds, it receded into the depths of the fog.

“Oy, ignoring your teacher now, are we?” asked Leonidas, as he crossed his arms angrily.

“I’m sorry, what did you say Teacher?”

“I’m saying, you can stop lying there. It’s already been three days and your mother will have my hide if you don’t get off and go eat something. You can take today off, but I expect you tomorrow at 3:00 a.m at the prison. Oh, and this is for you,” he said, as he tossed a bottle towards me.

Catching it, I took a glance at it, only to end up being puzzled.

“What is this?”

“Something really good. Take 3 drops and mix them into your bath and soak in it till the water turns black. You’ll feel very nice!” he said, with that evil smile that I’ve come to recognize in only a few days.

“Go! Your mother is waiting,” saying so, the man again blinked away before I could even blink.

Sighing, I looked wistfully at the door, hoping Sia would again reappear.

But no such luck.

So I got out of bed slowly and carefully.

Neither of which stopped me from hissing in agony as the pain washed over me.

But I’m getting used to this.

Yes, Sir, I might be useless at everything else but I can take a beating alright. Even a cockroach would have to bow down in defeat in front of me.

Sniffing at myself and gagging from the repulsive smell of the salves and ointments that had been smeared all over me, I dragged myself to the bathtub. One large enough to lie in comfortably, especially for a pipsqueak like me standing just short of 130 cm at 6 years…

Normally, kids my age would already be close to 150 cm since we proteans grow very fast, but not as fast as our ancestors did for some reason.

Our ancestors, though, oof.

They would be fully grown adults in 5 years... Soldiers at 10!

One day, I’ll be a soldier, but not just any soldier.

I’ll be a knight. But for that, I’ll have to wait till 21 and silver rank,

For which, I have to awaken my warforce.

So off goes my clothes, in goes the 3 drops of the red bottle, which smelt viler than I did myself, and in with a gungho shout.

Only to scream and scream as the liquid scalded and burned my skin repeatedly.

The water soon started bubbling and steaming, but the agony that I was in made getting out of the deep bathtub impossible.

Just when I thought I would die the most inglorious death, I was pleasantly surprised to find the stinging pain receding and the most comfortable warmth seeping deep inside my bones.

“Ahhh,” I let out a groan of relief.

“Ohhh,” I let out a sigh of pleasure

“Owahhhh,” I screamed as the pain returned.

Bal.

Didn’t this thing finish?

Wait, Teacher said to stop when the liquid is black.

I looked and looked, and my vision seemed to be going black, but the water's red was unchanged.

Cursing a hundred profanities a second, the majority directed at my dear teacher; I gritted my teeth and submerged myself.

After all, the faster it finishes, the less agony I go through right.

Brilliant idea Faustus.

Brilliant indeed.

So can you explain why the agony is 10 times more now?!

You Balakash!

If my body could speak, those were the words it would be saying.

The pain before was like a gentle breeze caressing me.

The pain now was as if a wicked fiend was swinging a barbed club with abandon at my body.

The wicked fiend had the face of my teacher for some reason, though.

“Ahhhh-Ahhhh-Ahhh,”

The torture went on for another minute before my door burst open and Sia rushed in, only to see my head poking out of the tub.

—-

Bulging eyes met bulging eyes.

Bulging eyes turned to mortified eyes.

One pair of mortified eyes turned and ran out as fast as it came, but not before she threw something at the other pair of mortified eyes.

The other pair of mortified eyes went cross-eyed as the sword, for it was the sword, replete in its sheath, hit him in the middle of the forehead.

Bubbles rose, covering the comatose form, which fortunately was still conscious but willingly submerged in the liquid, and wished it was so for eternity to come.

But time passed, and the water eventually turned black.

A bright red Faustus drained the water and refilled it with the sophisticated pipe system that only the palace had before having another bath.

Then he got dressed in the outfit that Ares had left on the dresser.

Ares, who had wisely retreated as soon as he saw Sia charge in and charge out.

——-

I picked up the sword that had fallen outside the bathtub, only to find that it wasn’t a sword but a heavy piece of wood with a pommel and hilt that looked like a sword.

Also, it weighed close to my body weight, which astounded me and cleared me of the doubts I harbored.

Doubts such as why Sia didn’t use it against Harold, doubts why Sia - who valued knighthood so dearly, would throw her sword so wrongly at a boy as innocent as myself.

Yes, Sir, my soul is whiter than the skivvies that I am wearing, for sure!

But for now, food calls for my stomach has started to rumble like a beast awakening from slumber and so I broke into a trot for my parents' chambers.

Only to stop in stupefaction.

My speed has increased by half?

What sorcery is this?

Let me try it out again.

Holy Bal!

I’m so fast!

Let me try running as fast as I can!

Zooooom, zooom, “aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh, I’m so sorry - let me help you up.”

“Ah no, I didn’t mean to try to pull your hand off. It’s just that Young Miss is a lot lighter than you look, so I used too much strength.”

“Yes, I’ll be a good boy and not run around, Miss!”

“Sorry again and bye-bye!”

Dashing over to a secluded corner, I looked at my hands in disbelief.

Since when did I get so fast? So strong?

Was it that liquid? But isn’t this too exaggerated?

Is my sadistic, devilish evil teacher not what he seems to be?

*GROWL*

Clutching my stomach, I again hurried to my parent’s chambers while throwing these thoughts to the back of my mind to be explored later.

For now,

Food!