I held the wooden sword parallel to my body to my right. Zekros and Antares were staring at me. I had to do it this time—break the straw dummy. I remembered everything that Antares had taught me.
"You can do this, Altair," I muttered to myself as I planted my left foot in front, making sure not to lose my balance. My blade rose, creating a beautiful arc, and hit the straw dummy. There was minimal damage but I wasn't done yet.
I brought my sword back up, as I made sure to gain some distance. Then I rushed towards the straw dummy, swinging my blade from left to right, in what should've been a clean cut. Unfortunately, the inertia knocked me back and knocked the sword out of my hands.
"Ha ha ha ha ha." Zekros giggled. "Well it seems that you don't have much expertise in swordsmanship as well. I'm glad it's not just magic." Zekros had developed a grin that covered his face, left to right.
"Kid, it seems like it's not a lack of skill that's holding you back. Your strikes, the angles, they all were great. But unfortunately not powerful enough."
I felt the bottom of my neck itch as I stared at my arms. They were pretty skinny. I barely ate, and never worked out back on Earth. I guess I was weak.
"Then what, if I'm weak, is precision and training going to get me nowhere?"
My question about blades wasn't answered by the swordsman in front of me but by the mage.
"My friend, there is a way to make your strike stronger without building muscle. Unfortunately for you, that is another thing you suck at."
"Mana infusion? Really? When the kid can't even shape mana, how do you expect him to infuse it into a weapon?" That was kind of insulting. But at the same time, Antares' point was valid.
"Mana infusion is not like moulding mana. Heck, for the most basic version of mana infusion, you don't even have to surround the blade with mana. All you gotta do is to inject it into the metal, strengthening his blade while not affecting the weight and compensating for his lack of strength."
I understood what Zekros was trying to say. I guess it was time to try this out.
___
The lodging wasn't especially comfortable. The bed was too hard, the sanitation was non-existent, and my query about the state of the bathrooms had dipped down to the worst case scenario possible.
The village chief seemed nice enough,
"Your Imperial Highness, is Rustborough treating you right? Please tell me is there something you need?"
"Firstly, my friend, I'm not royalty, nor am I nobility. You need not add honorifics or titles to my name. My name is Re,x and you can call me that. Secondly, No, your shit filled town is not treating me right. And if I started to list the things I needed. You'd have to empty your Village coffers, and you still wouldn't have half the things I dream of."
The chief looked like a hell hound had appeared in front of him. But I didn't feel bad. This was an appropriate level of disdain to offer these random peasants. Despite not receiving a title, as an Inquisitor, my rank was equal to that of a low-level noble. Therefore, I couldn't waste time talking to a barbarian in the middle of nowhere. Maybe it was that. Or maybe it was the experience I had with the Man of Mirrors rubbing off on me.
"I'll get going then, master." The chief exclaimed, still pale-faced, as he left my room in the lodging.
It wasn't exactly a lodging; it was someone's house that he had cleared, and it seemed the original tenants were staying at a family member's house.
The Baron had already fallen asleep in the room next to, while the vice captain slept in the attic. I should sleep, too. My senses were dull from not sleeping the past two days due to travel.
___
I woke up tardily to the Baron, fully dressed in his heavy attire stomping around my room, telling me to wake up.
"Young man, you're a military officer. There's no way the Imperial army is so wimpy, that one of their elites sleeps like there's not a damn thing in the world that could hurt him."
His words stabbed me, but it was expected. I quickly got up, ushered the big man out of my room, and got ready. My coffers, the armour, then my belt. The hilt, a duffel with dried food, and some clothes. These were my things. I brought them out to the stables, where the others were waiting for me.
"Bloody took your time, didn't ya," the baron yelled out. Not even trying slightly to act with courtesy.
"We can be on our way now." I waved my hand as I attached my duffel to my steed and got on it.
"I estimate we can reach the capital by dusk if we ride fast enough." The bookworm adjusted his glasses.
"You estimate right. From the city, it takes another three hours to get to the Palace."
We trodded out of the stables and through the haybale houses. I saw the lanky village chief standing near the exit to send us off.
"May fortune sing praises upon your journey." The skinny man with a horseshoe moustache commented. And we galloped off to the next leg of our journey.
___
Elena often saw the kid marked by Famine training with Zekros and Arafat. She wondered how one so skinny could think about wielding a sword. Magic should've been his only priority. Anyway, she had bigger problems to deal with.
The two people she trusted most within the Guild were in front of her, both with harrowing expressions.
"The Baron has gotten full of himself. We should take a hardline stance against the number of curses he's spat at us." Her explorer captain, who had the most beautiful cherry blossom hair, spoke first.
"Xernean, we can't go around waging war for such small concessions. Anyway, it was his men that died because of one of our own's fault. We cannot be excused that easily." She was tired of dealing with Xernean's kill first, think later attitude.
"This is exactly why I thought you were incompetent to lead our forces. It was always Alexis who should hav-" Xernean's rant was stopped abruptly by the third person in the room.
"Shut up, Xernean. There is only so much I can overlook in terms of your etiquette. This is the Commander in front of you. Treat her with the respect she deserves." Alexis's face was serious. Xernean's head went down. Alexis continued,
"The Baron isn't a concern. That man talks a lot, but he still needs us to feed his men who are risking their lives on the frontline. I've gotten wind of a much more important problem. The shadow soldier I placed near the Central Runesca prison came back with a report. Tremors seem to be overtaking the area, as slight movements in that man's body seem to be noticed by security."
Xernean and Elena understood immediately who 'that man' was. The one prisoner who should never be released. A man so powerful that even a twitch in his body caused tremors across a continent. Their faces became dark as well.
"Do you think we should be concerned?" Elena finally opened her mouth.
"No, the seal placed there needs to be opened with all four keys, with all four leaders of the Guild's mana being poured into the lock. Otherwise, the rune can't be broken." Alexis added.
"I see. Then we shouldn't waste our time thinking about it; what's the next matter on the table."
___
I'd tried at least a thousand times. Wai,t no, maybe a hundred.
I'd tried a hundred times to get my infusion to work.
No matter how many times I tried, the wooden sword would either explode in my face due to excess mana or do nothing and barely give me a boost due to lack of mana.
Zekros and Arafat were still committed to getting me to understand how to do this thing, but I was close to giving up. I wanted to wish I was back home. But I didn't. I liked this place a lot more.
"Another time, focus on your mana," yelled Zekros.
I gripped the sword, I felt every part of it. The blade, the hilt and the guard. The blade was merely an extension of my arm, and I was pouring that mana into it. I felt every inch of wood that enveloped the hollow core of the training sword. I felt the sword well up with power. Enough to make it stronger, but not enough to destroy it. Yes, I had done it.
Now I rushed, my left foot went forward, and,
THWAP
I fell. While thinking of mastering the mana infusion, I lost concentration on the step of using the sword.
"I'm not a genius in terms of magic, but I think if you enhance your sword, and it doesn't reach your enemy. It isn't a viable use of your time or mana, is it?" Added Antares, smiling visibly.
But it was Zekros's reaction that made everything feel okay. He started laughing, "Ha ha ha ha ha." His laughter echoed through the barracks. And he screamed out,
"Oh My God. You can do it. You can actually channel your mana. I never thought this day would come. I had genuinely given up on you, and was training you for shits and giggles. But oh my god. This is amazing."
If anyone saw him saying all that, with that wide grin plastered on his face, they'd think I'd transcended into an Arch-Mage or something.
But even I couldn't help but smile at the step I'd finally taken towards becoming someone who could stand up for himself.
___
"Don't doze off, Mr Vice Captain." I had to remind the bookish kid not to fall asleep on his stallion every two minutes. The Baron was a surprisingly good rider. Easily keeping up with me for the long leg of the journey.
But stamina didn't seem to be his strong suit, as we were getting farther and farther from Rustborough, his speed and skill seemed to drop at an increasing rate.
But we were almost at the town where the road ended. The place where I parked my car. The moment we got there, we could calmly drive the rest of the way.
Unfortunately, at that point in time, none of them knew how horrible of a decision going into that town called "Altersville" would be.