Training I

The next morning, King prepared for his morning lesson with Galain. Their schedule always started at eight o’clock in the morning, the meeting place at the field behind their house. Since the ground was flat with no rocks to incur accidents, it was a great area for physical activity. This was why on most days, other than special training, they practiced in this area. Plus, it was close, there was no need to go far.

King began to stretch his arms, pulling his muscles to reveal a stinging sensation. He then moved onto his legs, sitting on the floor and bringing his body forward, to the left, and then to the right. Since he had arrived a few minutes earlier than scheduled, he wanted to use his time productively. Two years was short. He had to use every second wisely.

Now, where’s that old man, he wondered while glancing over at the quiet house. Impatience piled up in his chest. After yesterday’s conversation, he became very curious about the training father had in store for him. That night, King couldn’t sleep, squirming in his bed trying to get rid of his thoughts. What could the old man have prepared? Knowing Galain, there will be some new factor in the training. Although King was sure hell was going to befall upon him, if he could get stronger, he didn’t mind the pain.

Besides, he was also very touched by Galain’s determination to help him achieve a seemingly impossible feat. Although Galain was his father, he was very rough at times, acting as if he didn’t care about his son. But in his heart, King could tell that Galain was quite the softie.

This was why he had come out earlier than usual. Curiosity was eating him up.

Once King saw Galain walking through the doors, he immediately stood up and waved his arms. “Good morning!”

However, when he saw what Galain was wearing, he couldn’t help but freeze. The large man was covered with a thick grey and brown armor. It was his old mercenary outfit he wore during his fighting days. King hadn’t seen the armor on his father since he was a child. Intriguing patterns decorated the dark metal which spanned from his chest, shoulders to his arms. Thick scale-like leather wrapped around underneath as the first layer of protection. On other parts of his body such as his forearms, knees, and lower region, metal plates were placed for protection. A large crest embodied the front of his chest with Galain’s logo - an image of his weapons in a cross-like formation.

In his right hand was a large sledgehammer, the head as long as King’s arm. By the way it shone against the sunlight, it was obviously made by top-tier quality with even engravings decorating the dark metal. It was father’s original sledgehammer: one of his three companions. During fights, this weapon was used to incur serious damage on his opponents. King gulped. This did not look good. In Galain’s other hand, there was another set of armor. Much more simpler than his father’s flashy gear but better than the one King himself was wearing.

Once he walked down the hill, Galain threw the armor before King’s feet. “Wear it. You’re going to need the extra protection.”

King felt reluctant to grab the piece, his hand floating right above it, but he fought the strange feeling in his gut and picked it up. The only time Galain wore this suit was in dangerous situations. He could already tell where the lesson was going towards.

Nonetheless, King obeyed and slipped his feet into the pants piece. Due to its relatively simple design, the get-up wasn’t hard to wear. He just needed to wear it by layer and piece, starting from his pants to the helmet.

Once everything was worn, King moved around, trying to find any flimsy areas. The armor itself was a tad big for him, loosening in the arms, but tight enough for him to be able to function inside it. He would be able to fight without much worry. From the proportions, King assumed that this piece used to be one of Galain’s companions as the suit was made for large-muscled skinny-framed bodies.

King patted down on the metal. “Who picked the forest green color? It’s ugly and clashes with the silver.”

“My good comrade Dolan,” Galain answered. Long ago, while he was still working as a mercenary, Dolan was someone who stayed with him through fights of life and death. During their third year together and near Galain’s own retirement, Dolan had found the love of his life on a mission and decided to quit the dangerous life for the sake of his new family. He gave Galain his armor as a token of friendship. Therefore, Galain was not going to stand any slander against his friend. “You should be honored to wear this.”

The frightening glare his father was sending him made King almost jump out of his skin. A nervous chuckle escaped his lips. “Yeah sorry about that. I take that back. This is a wonderful color and my my, the armor itself is fine too. I feel very honored.”

King sent quick glances towards his father to see if he settle down. Luckily, the fire fanned away after his statement.

“So anyways,” he drawled. His eyes flickered to Galain’s armor. “What is this all about?”

Galain let out a dark chuckle. His grip tightened against the handle of his axe. “We’re going to fight again.”

King predicted another fight would come, yet he couldn’t help but gulp. “Again?”

“Yes again. And this time…” Galain brought his hand to his neck, grabbing his chin and moving it from left to right. The sound of his cracking joints filled the air. “I’m not going to hold back. Don’t you dare die.”

King glanced at his own sword. It was similar to the one he used yesterday except the metal was a lot cleaner and sharp, but it didn’t compete against the large sledgehammer in Galain’s hands. “Isn’t this a little unfair…?”

Plus, his armor wasn’t that good to withstand the strength of that boulder-on-a-stick.

“Today’s lesson: Fighting with a disadvantage. If you’re going to go to Valentia you’re going to experience this everyday so don’t complain.”

King raised his eyebrow suspiciously. For some reason, more than Valentia, he felt as if the fight was more geared towards Galain’s own satisfaction to beat him. But what he was saying did make sense. The weapons that the gifteds would possessed were much more stronger than his father’s sledgehammer. There was no room to complain.

“Okay. Let’s do this.”

The sledgehammer was scary as fuck.

Everytime the big chunk of metal neared his body, King shifted to the side, his heart beating rapidly. Different from the sword, this monster was made to crush bones and guts. King could already imagine himself made into a bloody mash against the grass. A shudder rose up his body. Terrifying. This had been going on for an hour.

“Don’t hide. Fight!” Galain roared. He swung the beast around, aiming for King’s upper body. Due to his fast reflexes, he was able to dodge without a scratch. Cold sweat trickled down his forehead. He understood that through deathly fights he would grow immensely in strength but as his father, did Galain have zero worry of him possibly dying? Just a slight?

Perhaps, the old man trusted his skills too much. King didn’t know whether or not that was a blessing or a curse. After all, it was true that he was able to prevent himself from getting hurt.

Since the sledgehammer was on the heavier side, the movement was slower than other weapons. Furthermore, when swinging the object, the trajectory was harder to stop due to its weight. By using this weapons weakness, King was able to avoid with ease. Didn’t mean that the object wasn’t scary though.

The sledgehammer banged against the floor, right beside where King was standing. “Stop stalling and start fighting!”

A chuckle escaped his lips. King wiped the sweat from his forehead and tightened his grip against his weapon. It was time to stop avoiding the fight and to partake in it. His father was right. He was stalling. The longer Galain swung that monster, the more strength he was going to use. With the power came the downfall, the quickly depleting energy. By now, his swings were a lot slower than when he made his first. This would make it hard for the old man to block his advances.

It was time.

Swish. While the axe went to the right, King jumped back, avoiding the weapon, and followed its trajectory. By following the weapon, it would be harder for his father to switch the direction and aim for him. Many openings would open for a few seconds, enough time for him to strike.

“Gotcha.”

King lifted his sword to Galain’s neck.

The game was finished. The victor King yet again. All the avoiding was worth it for he won in the end.

“Hell yeah!” King exclaimed, pumping his fist up in the air. He did a little dance, the chirping of the birds as his music, before sending Galain a wink. “I beat the sledgehammer monster.”

Galain placed his hand on King’s head. “Good job. You found my weakness and used it against me.”

King let out a smirk. “It was pretty easy.”

“That’s the biggest downfall of such a heavy weapon.” Galain balanced the head against the floor and leaned against the handle. “I only use this when I know that my opponents aren’t fast, have intense armor, or if its a short battle since it has an obvious flaw. Of course, not all opponents that you face are going to have an easy weakness like me but it’s good to see your brain running.”

Galain took of his helmet, revealing his sweat covered hair. The sun glistened against his strands as if he dived into a lake. “But you shouldn’t be celebrating. I purposely picked the sledgehammer knowing you would win. Now, let’s take about your flaws.”

Was he played? King couldn’t believe it. He was supposed to be the smarter one out of the two! He cocked his head. “My flaws?”

The old man nodded. “You’re good at analysing and you have a talent with strategizing. but because you lack experience. You’re knowledge in how to strategize is limited; you are not able to see the full picture because you can’t decipher all of its components. This can be seen by how long the game unnecessarily played out for,” Galain began. He continued with another statement. “Tying in, another thing I have to mention is that you lack speed. You need to be faster. There has been opponents that I couldn’t use the sledgehammer against because I knew that they would beat me the second I swung my weapon. You need to reach that level. As of right now, you were waiting for me to lose my strength so that you could attack back. That’s great, but in a battle against multiple opponents, this shit isn’t going to work. You need to be faster and you need to understand that this method isn’t going to work unless it is one-on-one.”

This was the difference between King and Galain. Although King was able to analyse his opponents with his current knowledge, he was not able to look further, ignoring the scope. He also couldn’t point out his own flaws, a mistake on his part. Now, he realized what today’s training was going to be about.

“If this was a real battle…” The white-haired boy said.

Galain continued his statement. “You would lose.”

Admiration filled his body. King widened his eyes. “Teach me please.”

Galain let out a hardy laugh before dropping his smile. Darkness took over his complexion. “That’s what i’m here for. Let the training begin.”