The old instructor didn’t hesitate to give precise instructions.

“Leave your sword there, I’m going to show you something completely different.”

Cedric hesitated for a moment before setting his sword on the ground. The weapon was large enough that he would be able to see it from anywhere, not that he needed to worry about it. He walked behind the old man as he led him towards one of the walls of the training ground.

“Kid, you have no idea just how strong you are. The greatsword is a good choice, but you need to understand what a swing from your hand means.”

Speaking without turning around, the man picked up a pickaxe that was leaning against the wall. He proceeded to pick the tool up lazily, before raising it above his head. Cedric watched as the old man’s stance changed, and he even seemed a little younger as he swung. The force of the impact cracked the stone, and Cedric guessed that it was impressive. He gave the old man a smile but didn’t really know what was average. The old man chuckled before speaking.

“I know it probably didn’t look like much, but even with my age, I am still as strong as any ten people. Now give it a shot yourself.”

Cedric nodded, and carefully picked up the pickaxe. It felt lighter than his own arm, and he frowned at the useless tool. The frown didn’t last for long as he realized that he must have grown stronger from the elixir. There must be a limit, and while he felt a craving for more, he also felt content with what he had already gained.

“You don’t have to use the ax if you don’t want to.”

The old man must have been able to read Cedric’s thoughts because his response came shortly after Cedric had grabbed the tool. He nodded quickly, letting the item fall back to the ground. he just turned to face the wall. He could hit a wall, that much shouldn’t be hard.

Before throwing the punch, he set his feet properly. The ground was uneven, and the stone jutted randomly. It was hard to find some perfect footing, so he just made sure he wouldn’t slip. Satisfied, he swung with his longer arm. He couldn’t help but close his eyes, even if he knew that it probably wouldn’t hurt much. A stinging sensation from his fingers told him that he made an impact. Although the noise was probably a better indicator. It was far louder than when the old man had used the pickaxe.

Opening his eyes, he was surprised to see a small crater where his hand had struck. Cracks cascaded out from them and crawled along the wall and even covered the ground. He barely gave that any attention, as his eyes were focused on his fist. It was embedded into the stone; the impact having dug into the wall. His hand was almost entirely encased by the stone, and he couldn’t help but grin a little as he pulled his hand out. It felt like he was leaving his mark in the place, proving that he was there.

“Even with a tenth of that strength, you would be able to kill hundreds of knights. With the power you have now even chanters would struggle to even hurt you. By the time you finish getting all you can from the elixir, you will be able to take cities on your own.”

Cedric couldn’t help but feel the pressure of the instructor’s words. Knowing that he had gotten stronger was different from being told it in such a direct way. Looking at the way his fist had broken a solid stone wall, he had to agree.

“Judging by your expression, you finally understand what you are. Let’s get started with your training.”

The old man had turned before he finished speaking, heading back to where Cedric had left his sword. Cedric followed behind him, but his eyes were on his own hands. Trying to observe the power that he held and felt thrumming through his body.

The old man attempted to pick up the sword and barely managed to get the handle up in the air. He couldn’t lift it completely and used the point to lever the sword upwards.

“You really picked the heaviest thing you could find didn’t you. Well, whatever, look at my hands and the way I’m gripping the sword. I want you to do the same and do about a thousand overhead swings. “

Cedric emulated the man’s grip and raised the sword over his head. It was easy, but as he swung it forward, he took a step forward with the motion. As the wind got pushed by his swing, the sound it made was incredible. He couldn’t help but flush a little when he heard the man chuckling. Although, he tried again, only to end up with the same result.

‘Don’t do the same thing. Check your grip after every swing and adjust if you feel uncomfortable. Watch your feet before swinging and change their position if you fall forward.”

The man’s words chased Cedric’s third attempt. After this swing, he took the opportunity to check his grip. He listened to the man’s instruction and repeated the swing making changes all the while.

Minutes turned to hours, and he had no idea how much time had passed. He just kept at the exercise, swinging his weapon, and making minor adjustments after each attempt. By the time lunch rolled around, Cedric stopped making any changes. He found the perfect grip, though it required him to hold the hilt as far up as he could. Part of his hand pressed against the guard, but the old man didn’t correct him. Only when they broke for lunch, did the man add anything else to his lesson.

“Good job on your grip, but your footwork could use some help. You’re setting your feet too firmly. I know you have the strength to wield the weapon like a piece of paper, and I expect you to do it. Go eat your lunch, I’ll have something for you to do for the remainder of the night.”

“T-Thank you, sir!”

He stammered out the words while giving him a quick salute. He heard the man chuckling, as Cedric started heading towards the food area. As he made his way, he wondered if he didn’t need to act so respectfully. None of the others did, and he was one of the strongest among them according to the instructor.

Lunch consisted of three baked potatoes and a large slab of meat. He was looking for an empty table but couldn’t find one. Scanning them quickly, he did see two that were mostly empty. The arrogant man from before was mostly by himself, and the strong girl was two benches down from the man. Other than those two the table was completely empty. Cedric took the opportunity and sat down in the middle of the two. The empty bench that had been skipped between them.

He gave them a shallow nod, before taking his seat. He wanted to change himself, and took the first step, by speaking to them.

“Hello.”

Neither of them said anything, but he saw the girl give him a nod, and even the man turned to face him. After a short while, the man shook his head in dismissal, and Cedric left it at that. Even if he only managed a single word, it had taken more effort than he would like to admit.

Instead, he refocused on the food and began eating quickly. There wasn’t much flavor other than salt and pepper, but the freshness of the meat was satisfying enough. It was filling too, and easily twice as much as he could’ve eaten before. he didn’t rush his meal, using the time to contemplate what he had been doing with the sword. He found his hand moving up and down on the fork, adjusting his grip even though he didn’t need to. By the time he finished the meal, he was one of the last people remaining in the room.

Once he returned to the training ground, it wasn’t hard to find the instructor from earlier, and he quickly ran back for the rest of his lessons. Even as he approached, he noticed dozens of multicolored circles across the ground. He didn’t know what was happening but was prepared to follow the man’s instructions. Even though Cedric had heard several people arguing with their instructors, he just appreciated the specialized guidance. In the past, most people wouldn’t give him the time of day, and he would listen to those that did.

“Had your fill? Took you long enough, half thought I was going to have to come and get you. Well, it's fine. This exercise is simple. You must stand in the colors I call out. We are going to start with me yelling out a single color, and you need to make sure at least one foot is inside one of those circles. Once you get the hang of it, I’ll make it harder.”

The instructor couldn’t help but smirk as he spoke, and Cedric realized he had never asked for the man’s name.

“Yes sir…”

Intentionally dragging on the word sir, Cedric tried to get the man to introduce himself. The elderly man just laughed as he responded.

“You can just call me sir L and get to it.”

The exercise started, and Cedric immediately began swinging as he had before. Keeping his ears open for the instructions while focusing on his grip and footing was difficult. His anticipation kept building as the man refused to say a color, and just let him swing the weapon as he had before.

“Green!”

Cedric immediately panicked, stopping his swing, and looking over the circles on the ground. he felt something hit the back of his head a second later. Turning he saw the instructor getting ready to throw another rock at him. The old man was smiling as he spoke.

“You’re too slow, and don’t stop your swing.”

Cedric dodged the next rock and found a green circle. He set one foot inside while starting to swing again. He was expecting another color to be called, but there was merely another long pause. After a while, he heard the man call something out.

“Yellow!”

This time Cedric had an idea of where a yellow circle was and swung towards it while taking a step. The ground was uneven, and he slipped forward, breaking his motions. However, it also let him dodge the thrown rock, although it wouldn’t have hurt even if it had hit him. Each failure was still annoying.

He managed to recover more quickly this time and readjusted his footing. The exercise continued like this for a while, and he slipped more times than he could count. He had been thoroughly pelted by rocks too, but as expected he felt little need to care about them. After an hour or two of the repetitive practice, Cedric had come up with an idea for stopping himself from slipping.

If he could shatter the walls with his hands, he could do the same to the rocks on the ground with his feet. With the idea in his mind, he waited for the instructor to call out the next color.

“Red!”

Slamming his foot down without hesitation, Cedric stepped directly on top of a jagged stone. He felt the stone beneath his feet, as the rock got smashed to bits from the force. It worked, and he found easy footing as he continued his swing. The noise had been loud though and caused much of the people in the room to turn to him. Cedric was surprised to have noticed them, but the exercise required him to keep his vision wide, otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to keep track of the circles.

Finally finding a method that worked, Cedric felt renewed as he followed each instruction the man gave. It was going so well, that he moved on to the next stage. This involved him lining up both feet on the colors that he indicated. The circles were only large enough for one foot, so he needed to step into two different circles at once. It was a lot harder this way, but a lot more fun too. He kept doing the same exercise all the way to dinner.