I returned to my lessons shortly after that peculiar scenario. The other boy, Baron, spoke few words and returned to his sword training outside without a single discussion about what happened.

I decided that it's best not to tell Lance. This is because of my suspicion that the door I went through was in fact the 'infinity door' he mentioned; I don't want to risk getting in trouble so I'll keep quiet. I'm not exactly sure what the door is, but I know it holds many mysteries.

The following day, on our way outside for physical training, I asked Lance about the door.

"You mentioned the Infinity Door yesterday. Can you tell me what it is?"

He stopped in his tracks and turned around, his stare causing my body to fix in place. Did I ask something bad?

"The Infinity Door is a dangerous artefact. Those who go through never return alive. I personally haven't been through it, and I don't plan on it. It's sealed within this building, but that's all I know."

Dangerous? I didn't feel like I was in danger when I went through. To be honest, the most dangerous part about it was that other person I saw. Wait... Does that mean that the danger isn't the door itself, but the people inside? If so, then that person...

I shrugged off the thought and continued to follow him outside.

The weather was getting colder as we approached the middle of the year. Trees were losing their luscious green leaves, those same leaves now bronze and coating the ground like a blanket of crunchiness.

Dark, ominous clouds have been gathering in the sky recently, a sign that a storm is on the way. Occasionally there is a few rain drops, but other than that it was relatively dry. Dry but cold, oh so very cold. I'm shivering to the bone, and it's not even winter.

I wore nothing but a white leather t-shirt and some brown shorts. I stood bare foot in the muddy field and by my side, in a straight line, were all the other trainees. They all looked like young adults except for Baron and I. We all wore the same outfit but they didn't seem to shiver. They must be used to the cold.

The knight training us was none other than the grey bearded man from yesterday, Michael. He didn't wear his armour this time, instead he wore warm leather clothing and a fur cloak. He also carried a wooden stick which I suspect isn't for a bad back.

"We'll start with a basic warm up routine to welcome our new trainee. Run to the wooden post, tap it, stretch and run back and then stretch again."

He spoke a lot calmer than yesterday and had a sophisticated atmosphere around him. I feel like he's of noble blood by the way he talks and moves. Or maybe that's just how most knights are.

"Begin!"

Quickly, upon the order to start, all the trainees darted off towards the post. I won't be able to catch up to them, but I can still run fast. I've had my fair share of escaping from angry villagers.

Eventually I reached the wooden post and tapped it with my hand. I breathed hard and felt my lungs expanding in my chest with every harsh breath. I did some leg stretches and then took off again. Everyone else was far ahead, already getting back in line.

Baron's the same age as me yet he's so much faster. I need to catch up with them all.

I reached the starting point, did the final stretches and got back in line. Is this what they have to go through every day? No, he said this is the basic warm up... This place is hell.

"Alright, now then, we'll do basic exercises before sparring, and that'll be it! Twenty push ups!"

Twenty? I sighed with regret and dropped down like everyone else. I planted my feet on the ground and my hands in the mud. I began to complete the twenty push ups.

At five push ups I nearly collapsed. And then at ten I did collapse, and that's how I found out the stick's use. It smacked hard and loud upon my back, bruising me and causing me to writhe in pain and anger.

"Ouch!"

"Well work harder if you don't want to be whacked!"

This old man...

I completed the twenty, hellish, push ups and stood back in line, last once again. It's only been half an hour and my lung already feel like they'll collapse. My legs feel like jelly and I'm sweating like it's mid-summer.

"Jumps! If you don't jump high enough you get the whack!"

I glanced down the line, watching everyone jump. They were making it at least a meter off the ground, is that even possible? I began to question how I could jump that high when I felt the stick crack against my arm, so I began to jump.

I was whacked five more times before we stopped jumping. My body is already sore all over and I just want to collapse into my bed. I think I'd prefer studying over this.

"Into pairs! William and Baron, you two are together since you're the same age!"

Same age, but definitely not same size. Baron stood nearly a foot taller than me with muscles much larger than mine. He had no shoes or socks, like everyone else, and wore a tunic and shorts. His blonde hair was sweaty and messy. He also smells like a dead animal.

"Begin! First to the ground loses!"

I wasn't prepared at all. I've never actually fought in my life, so this is the first time. Within a second I was heaved off the ground, my legs swept to the side and my back slammed into the mud.

The world spun and I looked up at him. He didn't even offer a hand, he just turned and trudged off.

"That's it for the basic training, you two! There's more after dinner, so be sure to come back later!"

Dinner, that's right. I didn't get to have breakfast or dinner yesterday because I was busy all day, I instead had them delivered to my room. I'm also missing breakfast this morning because of this stupid lesson, so I'm looking forward to dinner..

I got up and went back to my room to change before venturing to my tiny, one desk classroom.

"You're just in time. Let's begin."

I sat down at my desk and took out my notebook. He handed an ink pot and pen over to me.

"Yesterday we didn't get to start the basics of discharge, so we'll go over them today. Write these terms down."

On the chalk board, he wrote 'Construction phase', 'Acting phase' and 'Effect phase'. I jotted down these key terms and listened to his explanation.

"These are the three steps to discharge magic. Construction involves turning the pure mana into something else, for example, fire. After that is the acting phase. This would be where the fire ball is actually fired at the target. Finally there's the Effect phase. What does the fireball do? Does it explode? Does it set them on fire? Does it pierce them like an arrow? Maybe it does multiple things at once?"

This all seems fairly simple. Is magic actually that complicated?

"Seems fairly simple, doesn't it?" He asked. Can he read my mind? "But it's very hard. Discharging magic is hard because the mana naturally drifts away. You have to concentrate on it and keep it under your will or else it will just dissipate."

"What is the easiest type of magic?" I asked him. I'm curious as to what we might be learning first, and the easiest is probably first.

"Well Charge could be called the easiest to use because it happens naturally. But, like I mentioned last lesson, there isn't anything to learn about charge. Few mages can actually control it. No magic types are stronger than another or easier, it depends on how you use them."

I wrote this down and nodded along. But I'm more curious...

"Can you use discharge?"

He seemed surprised at the question but just nodded. "Of course I can, I'm a knight after all."

"Can you show me?"

"Yes. I'll show you outside, so follow me."

He led me out of the building and back into the fields where some trainees were doing physical exercises. We walked towards an empty area where I sat down and watched him.

He began to focus and I watched his palm that he held out intensely. He stared into space, like he was watching something otherworldly. Suddenly I heard a crack. And then I saw a small blue flash originate from his hand. Small blue sparks began to appear in his palm. They quickly coated his hand and began to concentrate into a glowing blue bow that he clenched in his left hand. He pulled back the crackling string, forming a lightning arrow from thin air.

"Watch this." He aimed at a tree over a couple hundred meters away and released the lightning string. The arrow fired and curved towards the tree like it had a conscience of its own. And it struck the bark. I closed my eyes due to the sudden flash, but when I opened them I found that the tree was reduced to a black stump.

"Heh, pretty cool, right?"

"Very cool! Can I do something like that?"

"Well you can't even feel mana yet. So that'll be our starting point. Concentrate on all of your senses and what you can feel around you."

I nodded, crossed my legs and closed my eyes.

I can feel the breeze against my boy. I can feel the moisture in the air. I can feel the mud underneath me. I can feel the grass tickling me. I can feel the hair against my forehead. I can feel...

Something new that I struggle to describe. Like the breeze that blew against me, except it was constant and coated everything, not just me. And it's inside of me as well, moving around in my blood and my heart.

"I can feel it."

"Good. Now then, you'll need to focus on moving it out of your body and into your palm. Keep your will over it. And then turn it into a flame, that's the most basic thing you can do. You have the potential, so you can do it."

The potential? He keeps mentioning that, but what does he mean? Well, I need to concentrate.

I lifted up my right hand with the palm facing upwards and focused on the mana inside of me. It began to move, tickling my entire body from the inside and eventually slipping out of my fingertips. It gathered into my right palm, so I focused on turning it into fire.

But when I focused on turning it into fire, I began to lose my will over its shape. It dispersed into the air, leaving me trying to catch my breath. Why is it so hard?

"That was a good first try! I could see the flame! You did a lot better than most starter mages, I'll give you that. We'll try again after your afternoon physical training. For now, you can rest."

"The time is near, my brothers and sisters. We'll conquer the city above us and make it our new home, no longer forced to live under the dirt they bury their cow shit in!"

Cheers erupted throughout the massive cave from the thousands of men and women, echoing and bouncing off of the walls high above.

"Soon, so very soon. We just have to wait..."