The darkened man grinned, “Joseph, prepare yourself.”

Joseph had no time to react before being kicked in his chest. He had his armor on so it did little damage, however it did send him flying out The Boss’s tent, past other tents, and out of their little camp. Finally Joseph shoved his arm in the ground which eventually brought him to a stop. He then watched as The Boss ran from White, her nipping at his backside with every step he took.

Joseph smiled, “White!” The great wolf understood what Joseph wanted even with only one word to convey it. She snorted and pranced off into the woods in protest.

The darkened man gathered himself before speaking, “I shall now teach you something that will make you stronger immediately. Reinforcement magic.”

“But I can’t sense my magic yet?” Joseph questioned.

“Nonsense, I’m guessing that old mage told you that you had to find your magic within you before you can use it. Well, reinforcement magic isn’t that complex. You’ll probably grasp the concept today. In fact, go ahead and grab a stick.”

Joseph did, as the boss said, without hesitation. Now holding a stick in his hand, he waited for the next command.

“Channel your magic into it Joseph.” The Boss said.

Joseph stared at the stick.

“Don't overthink it, Joseph, make the stick stronger.

‘Oh, so that's what he means.’ Joseph thought while strengthening the stick.

“Now that you're making it stronger, feel the power flow from you into the stick. Pay attention to that power and trace it back into your body. Follow it up your arm, to your shoulder, into your chest, and down to your stomach. Do you feel it?”

Joseph opened his eyes wide, “I do, I feel it!”

“Good. Now let go of the stick and hold on to that power. Realize that that power is not only in your arm or your chest or your stomach. It's in your body, everywhere. It is your body.”

Joseph clenched his fists and closed his eyes. The boss is right. He felt an overwhelmingly powerful force throughout his body. “How have I never noticed this?”

The Boss smiled, “That's because it wasn't there before.”

Joseph opened his eyes, looking at the boss and confusion, “But you told me to realize that it wasn't just in my arm? Doesn’t that mean it was already in my body?”

“I lied. That was just a little trick to get you to spread it throughout your body without even realizing it. For some people, the power comes from their stomach, others their chest, and others their spine. Whether or not you feel it here or there doesn't matter. Once you realize it's there, you can spread it throughout your body at will. Hit the tree and tell me what you feel.”

Joseph once again did as he was told without question. The tree shook violently after absorbing his blow. Joseph looked back to the Boss in surprise. Not surprised at his strength, but surprise at the feeling in his knuckles, or rather the lack of.

“I told you before that strength was just a side effect of the magic. Its real effect is protecting one's body. Now, focus all that power in your fist and strike the tree again.” The Boss looked on, eager to see if he could do it.

Joseph closed his eyes, feeling the power in his body and trying to force it to his fist. Once there, he struck the tree again, this time he felt nothing in his fist, only the vibration in his arm as if he were using a hammer.

“This is reinforcement magic, Joseph. The reason mages call it a lower form of magic is because it is easy to learn. And while it protects your body from physical attacks, it does not do well against elemental attacks. It also does not give you strength, but rather multiplies the strength you already possess. So those ones with a weak body, mages, see no use for it. However, to men like us, Joseph, this couldn't be further from the truth.”

Joseph looked at his hand while he spoke to the Boss, “So you're saying even with this power, a mage can still hurt me?”

“Absolutely, mages are very dangerous foes. For one’s reinforcement magic to protect from an elemental magic attack, It would have to be much greater. However, if that elemental magic attack is in physical form, it will protect you. So if someone burns you or shoots you with lightning, it will hurt you. But if somebody were to, let's say, hit you with a chunk of terra, it would protect you.”

“Is that the extent of reinforcement magic, the only magic I am able to use.” Joseph said with a gloomy expression.

The Boss shouted in laughter, “You just find your magic, and you believe this is the extent of it? Haha, you dare insult the warrior’s magic? Train this power and hone it. That will allow you to alter the effects of it. You can increase the strength multiplier making you three or four times stronger than you were without it. Or you can focus on building up your defense, making you a walking shield.”

Joseph spoke with curiosity, “Strength or defense? Which did you choose, Boss?”

“It would be obvious to a normal person, but I guess it's not to you. I chose strength over defense. However, you don't really get a choice, not yet at least.”

“And why is that?” Joseph was slightly irritated by the suggestion.

I want to teach you to fight and don't want to have to worry about accidentally killing you all the time. If you are able to overpower me in strength you'll get used to winning that way, and not care for technique. For these reasons, you will focus on defense.”

‘That does make sense; however, I do have my armor. From what I can tell, its defense is stronger than any of theirs. Would it just be a waste of time to increase my defense when I have armor?’ Joseph thought to himself and concluded, “I choose strength. I have my armor for defense. I'm not just a boy anymore. I make my own decisions.”

The darkened man narrowed his eyes, “Is that so? What of the other issue? How do you plan on solving the fact that you'll be able to overpower me to win, if you choose strength?”

“It is simple. I shall fight you without magic.” Joseph nodded, agreeing with himself.

“Are you sure about that? I planned to train you as a man, not as a boy. I will not be holding back. If you want to stand beside me and my men you will be given no leniency. My training is designed for someone with reinforcement magic, and you think you can do it without it?”

Joseph punched the tree, this time with no reinforcement magic. He felt the bark against his knuckles, the light pain in his skin. “And if a man were to build a body that could complete the training without reinforcement magic. How strong would that man be with reinforcement magic focused on strengthening?”

The Boss looked at Joseph almost dumbfounded, “Unbelievably so.”

“That is what I shall do then.” Joseph began walking back towards The Boss.

“Well, I find this absurd. I do think you have a chance of doing it. That is, only if you commit fully to it. Give me your word you are not wasting my time.” The darkened man looked Joseph in the eyes.

“I'm sorry Boss, but that is something I cannot do.”

This seemed to confirm the darkened man’s suspicions, “So you intend on wasting my time, I see.”

“That is not what I meant. I am fully committed to completing the training, however, I have not forgotten the lesson you taught me. Under no circumstances can I die, and because of this, I cannot put myself in a position where I might die. If I were to give you my word that I would complete this training. I would have to complete it or die trying. And since I cannot die, I'm afraid I cannot give you my word.” Joseph held The Boss’s gaze, not wavering.

The darkened man scoffed at Joseph, “there you go talking like a boy again. A man's word is placed on his honor, if you were not able to uphold your word, then it would discredit your honor. That does not mean You would have to give up your life for it. Only boys think in that level of dark or light?”

Anger threatened to overcome Joseph, “I Don't know what type of a man you're talking about, but it isn't me. My word is neither placed on my honor, nor my life. If you were to force me to give you everything I had, everything I could give. You still would not have my word. My word is above all of that. That is why I cannot give it so easily over something so small. however, to prove to you that I am serious, you can have my arm.”

“Excuse me, what did you just say?” The Boss leaned in.

“If I do fail your training and I have wasted your time, you have the right to take one of my arms. That is a small price to pay in comparison to my word.” Joseph stuck his left arm out, grabbing it by the bicep, showing his gesture was serious.

“Alright, alright. Enough of this, I agree to train you even if you do not use reinforcement magic. We will begin tomorrow. For now, commit what you've learned today to your memory.” The Darkened man began walking back to his tent, ‘I believe this boy may be insane.’