Training (2)

After the early morning training, it was time for them to have breakfast and let their bodies relax a little before their actual training started. Still, for Sammy, the break was mostly about drinking enough water to survive and stopping himself from shaking, even when sitting. He couldn't feel his legs anymore...

Inside the training complex, in the vast cafeteria that could accommodate at least a hundred individuals, they were now the only four people, as the Princess was also eating there, sitting in front of them. Looking around, Elian could no longer attribute the deafening silence to the fact that they had come late or gone to bed early. There was not even a single staff member around except Nika, who prepared their breakfast, a properly measured portion according to their body sizes. It was eerie... Uncomfortable. Where were the people?

"Where is everybody?" He asked, munching on his toast, showing little to no signs of being tired from their morning run.

"With the army." Nika said calmly, "At the moment, you are the only two cadets here. Previously, this school was used for training future knights, but it has been closed for the most part since the war with the Lich Queen broke out. Knight training is a complex and lengthy process... With the years behind us..." He sighed, shaking her head.

"Why?" Elian asked, looking at them, feeling troubled by the confused gazes of Sammy and Nika. "As I said, I was a hermit, okay? I paid no attention to the world!" He added in a hurry, realizing he had just made a fool out of himself. Again.

"Yes!" Sakku repeated immediately, following the Hero's wishes, not wanting to oust himself just yet. "He was!"

"Hmmm..." Nika already opened her mouth to ask a question, but in the end, she decided against it. "Knights are not just about being fit, intelligent, and capable of leading; they are all skilled in using their Aspects. They are individuals who can stand up to dozens of regular warriors and still emerge victorious. Even when someone awakens their Aspect, it is still just a starting point; nothing more. It doesn't make them into a knight. Knights are warriors who have been training and fighting against other Knights; they are not to be compared to those who have just started using their gifts. Awakening an Aspect and mastering it are two different things."

"I see... hm... So... How many knights do we have?"

"..."

"What, did I ask something weird again?" He moaned, feeling a headache rising within. "I'm a country bumpkin, okay?"

"No... It's not that..." Nika smiled at him, her eyes betraying the pain she was feeling in her heart. "We had more than a thousand of them before the Lich Queen. Then, by the time she was defeated, we were down badly, with only a handful of them remaining. Then, half of them betrayed us! So... if you want to know, we have only twelve remaining!"

"What...?! That does not sound good..." Elian exclaimed, unable to hold it back.

"It isn't." Nika agreed, crossing her fingers and resting her chin atop the back of her hand. "I was injured in the previous battle and came back to recuperate. I can't just sit still and do nothing, so I decided to open the search for knights to fill our ranks and find new ones. That's the short version."

"That sounds like an impossible task. If it is truly something that can't be done just like that, you are bound to fail." Elian stated clearly, making Sammy stiffen beside him, looking back and forth between the two, not knowing what to say. Or when. "Even if you had found enough knights, you couldn't have trained them and only to send them to their death against veterans."

"Elian..." Sakku whispered, feeling similarly stifled as the young boy.

"It's fine! I expect my knights to speak their minds." Nika beamed, glancing at Sakku with her crimson eyes, moving them back onto Elian ever so slowly, watching him without blinking. "It was something that I did on a whim, not expecting it to truly work. I understood that it wouldn't... Yet, here I am, sitting with two interesting candidates. What about that? My father once told me that you won't know unless you try... And here we are! He was right."

"Touché," Elian replied, chuckling, missing the fact that Nika's eyes twitched hearing the word, a sudden glint flashing through them. 

"It paid out." She continued, her eyes falling onto Sakku once again, "The ryuins always brought us hope when we were in a pinch. Maybe fate is here to correct what went wrong."

"I'm sorry... Princess..." Sakku whispered, lowering her head, her eyes filling with tears, "We never intended to bring a monster... We did not... We..."

"Hey... It's okay!" She hastily added, beginning to stroke her head, reaching over the table, "Nobody blames you. You were always the kindest beings in all of Susaria!"

"..."

"The Princess," Sammy began, but when Nika looked at her, he quickly corrected himself, "What the Commander is saying is true! I also never blamed the ryuins. My parents died not to you but because of those traitors! I will make sure everyone knows that..."

"So I was right!" Elian thought, hearing his words. He was sure of it, but now, hearing Sammy say it, there was no question left about what he was doing here all alone.

He said nothing but simply patted Sammy's shoulders, realizing how much fire and anger he was hiding deep within, something that also did not escape Nika's eyes and ears. The boy was a sealed volcano bubbling deep within, even if he did not appear that way on the surface. Even though he was calm about it now, the underlying emotions backing his words were clear as day for both of them.

"One thing I learned," Nika explained, giving a lesson to them without wanting it to sound like one, "is that everyone has a monster inside of them. Some simply can't control it."

...

....

.....

"Why am I running again?"

"Because you have the energy to ask questions!" Nika shouted, this time no longer kind or friendly, her eyes commanding Sammy to continue the laps around the orange-colored field.

"So... What about me?" Elian asked, standing face to face with her, feeling that his task would be something different. More... extreme.

"I need to test your physical strength, as it is an enigma before me right now."

What Elian missed was the fact that Nika used a word that mostly had a meaning... in his world. And the fact that he didn't even react was something that made the Princess's lips slightly curve upwards.

"Is... that a bad thing?"

"Not necessarily. Against your enemies, it will be the best weapon. For me? Not so much... I miscalculated once already. Meals are prepared for both of you based on a projected threshold, calculating the amount of nutrients you need for optimal improvement. I can already tell your height and physical state with one look... Or I should have. Now... I know that I can no longer measure you by simply averaging you against the Knights under me; as it turns out, your appearance is fake."

"Okay...? A bit rude, but... sure?"

"Hit me."

"Excuse me?!" He stammered, not expecting such an order, but her now much wilder smile and eyes were not lying.

"Come on. Hit me."

"I never fought-ugh?!"

By the time his third word escaped his mouth, Elian could swear he heard a distant tiger roar while the world was abruptly turned upside down and began spinning in slow motion. The moment his senses adapted, he crashlanded on the ground, twenty meters from his starting point, kicking up a cloud of orange dust into the air. The strangest thing was that it barely hurt him at all. He was expecting so much more pain, but it was simply inconvenient instead of troubling. It was a hard landing, something that would probably crack the skull of someone normal... but he wasn't an ordinary man, not anymore. 

He realized it while in mid-air because, while 'flying,' he knew he saw her move. He saw the four steps she took towards him, moving with lightning speed. He could remember how her hands thrusted forward, striking his chest with open palms, transferring an incredible amount of force while her whole body glowed in a faint mix of white and crimson electricity. On the other hand, Nika stood in his previous position, looking on with glowing eyes and watching Elian stand up, covered in dust and grime.

"I was right..." she whispered to herself, "He has to have an Aspect, or he would be dead!"

The strength she used was the minimum she could do while restricting her Aspect; still, for an untrained individual, it should have been deadly. She was ready to stop her punch before making contact, but the way Elian's body reacted, almost dodging by instinct, made her go through with it and make contact, sending him flying... yet he seemed uninjured. The man was either a liar or...

"That... hurt..." Elian groaned, standing back up and rubbing his chest. "This will leave a mark..."

"Keep running!" Nika shouted, her voice engulfing the whole training field and scaring Sammy, who stopped to watch what was happening. "And you!" She pointed at Elian, "Come and hit me already! Today's training will only end for you if you complete it... Or I knock you senseless." then, seeing his hesiatation, she moved again, but this time, Elian's body was ready, managing to dodge... well, the first thrust he did, but the legsweep made him spin in the air before landing on his back. "This feeling..." She thought to herself, snapping her head once at Sakku, then back at Elian, "I can't believe it..."