Neidr's head pounded, and his lungs felt like a blizzard was blowing in them. Sharp pains coursed through his marrow. Every further step he took felt like his shins would split in half. Running circles around him, literally. Laszlo spoke in a calm tone.

"Your breathing is ineffective. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Try to match your breathing with your exertions. Breathe in rhythm with your body. Try to make your exhalation last longer than your inhalation." [Laszlo]

'could you tell me one thing at a time, for Christ's sake!'

"Stop." [Laszlo] Neidr rested his hands on his knees and began to breathe heavily.

'Thank whatever gods rule this world.'

"Take off your shoes."[Laszlo]

'what?'

"What?" [Neidr]

"The way you are running is harming you. It is hard to unteach bad habits."[Laszlo]

'I think the 'running' is what's harming me.'

"Do your shins hurt?" [Laszlo] Neidr nodded, not wanting to speak anymore than necessary.

"You are heel striking as you run. Heel striking will cause you long-term damage. It is because you feel comfortable doing such an action in your shoes. When you run without shoes, you run as one would naturally. This will be the first thing you will learn."[Laszlo]

"What... does ... this ... have to do... with swordsmanship?" [Neidr] Neidr could hardly speak through his gasping for air. Laszlo stared at Neidr for a moment and said,

"When learning something, it is necessary to first acquire the base knowledge. You would not teach someone poetry if they could not speak or write. It is the same with this. However,"[Laszlo] Laszlo pointed towards his temple, "What you are learning does not go to the head, but the body. Physical fitness is the base knowledge for many of the things you would learn with your body. Your base knowledge is inadequate."[Laszlo]

'...'

Neidr took off his shoes while feeling insulted. As soon as he stood up, Laszlo called out to him to start running again. If they were still running along the wooden floor there would be no issue, however they had long transitioned to the earthen paths. Rocks poked the bottoms of Neidr's soft feet, and he winced in pain as he continued to run.

'fuck'

'shit'

Soon enough, Neidr started to pay much more attention to where his feet landed. Instead of focusing of where he was going, he focused on his feet to make sure they were not harmed. Fortunately, the campus was rather empty. The peasants were still in that pre-test whilst the nobles were preparing for a banquet. Neidr did not feel embarrassed nor did he worry about running into someone.

It had been a long time ago that Neidr wanted to stop running, but there was one phrase that kept repeating itself in his mind. When he first slowed down to stop running, Laszlo said,

"You can quit at any time, but if you make it all the way, you can think of tomorrow as a rest day." [Laszlo]

Everytime Neidr's steps would falter, he could scream out and continue running.

'There is no way in hell I'm doing this tomorrow!'

Finally, the duo reached a secluded area with a small pond surrounded by a grove of trees. This area was shaded and hidden from view.

"Stop."[Laszlo] Neidr nearly collapsed. He slammed his hands of his knees and began to breathe heavily.

"Stand up straight. Breath with your diaphragm. Your stance inhibits your breathing." [Laszlo] Neidr stood up straight and began to rethink his life. Why did he think a weird swordsmanship teacher would be lazy? Just because it was a magic school, and he seemed to never have students?

"Good, now it is time to warm up. " [Laszlo] Neidr's head turned to look at Laszlo with haste, he asked unassuredly,

"Warmup?"[Neidr]

"Yes, start stretching, so you can prepare to do physical exercises."[Laszlo]

"Didn't we just do the exercise?" [Neidr]

"No, this is the route to get to the training area."[Laszlo]

The both of them stared at each other for a while, minutes passed. Eventually, Neidr slacked his shoulder and began to stretch. It seemed that this maniac wasn't joking. He'd better prepare then. If you are wondering why Neidr would listen at all, well Rotham Academy would not take well to ignoring your instructor. If he got thrown out of this place for such a reason, it would make the rest of his life a hell of a lot harder. This place has a lot of prestige afterall.

"Very good, however, your stretches aren't appropriate." [Laszlo] Laszlo then spent some time micromanaging Neidr's stretches and breathing. Once that was done, Laszlo led Neidr into a four stage exercise. Push-ups to the limit, squats to the limit, pull-ups to the limit, and leg raises to the limit. Then repeat.

It came to a point that Neidr could barely do a single push-up, Laszlo nodded. It should be noted that this whole time, along with micromanaging Neidr's form, Laszlo was doing all the exercises along with him without breaking a sweat.

"Lets go back."[Laszlo] Neidr forced himself up and began to run back however,

"Stop."[ Laszlo] Neidr did so.

"I have an idea of your limits now. I shall design a daily exercise routine for you based on your current abilities. It will increase in difficulty by each week. Do not worry, you will not have the will power to do it. You will do it with me. Walk and run as we go back in five-minute intervals. At this point a straight run would do you more harm than good. First walk five minutes, then run five. Do not worry, tomorrow shall be a rest day. " [Laszlo]

Neidr nodded weakly, and they slowly made it back to Laszlo's classroom. Neidr picked his shoes up on the way and said,

"Tomorrow I shall lead you through some resting exercises and teach you some things for your mind. Afterall, swordsmanship mixes the three components." [Laszlo] with that he shut the door on Neidr's face. After a few moments, Neidr could hear the distinct sound of a blade being sharpened.

...

...

...

'What the Fuck do you mean?! What the hell is a ReStInG ExErCiSe?! Isn't that an oxymoron?!'

Neidr shut his eyes and pressed his lips into a line, calming down. He kcoked on the door.

"Yes?" [Laszlo]

"I'm bleeding."[Neidr]

"Do you know someone with medical skills?"[Laszlo]

'You aren't going to do anything about it?' Neidr took in a deep breath automatically according to the method he had learned today. This pissed him off more rather than calming him down.

"Yes."[Neidr] Neidr growled

"Find them, seek their advice, and ask them to train you in their trade."[Laszlo] Neidr eyebrows scrunched together violently, and he said,

"Why?" [Neidr]

"Basic first aid is critical for swordsmen. They get injured all the time." [Laszlo] Neidr eyebrows raised up.

'This is where you're lazy!?' At this point Neidr was fuming, but he asked calmly,

"Why can't you teach me?" [Neidr]

"Although I am your teacher and you are my student, I am not your father and you are not my son. I have no obligation to teach you everything. You should take responsibility for bettering yourself." [Laszlo]

Neidr bit his lip and asked,

"Ok, can you at least teach me how to get her to teach me? People don't give away information for free, afterall."[Neidr]

"Of course, teach her a skill in exchange for the skill she is teaching you." [Laszlo]

There was a silence. It lasted one minute

then two

then three

then,

"You do have a skill don't you?" [Laszlo]

Neidr walked away.