Morning came quickly, with Lios’s father abruptly interrupting a dream about cooking delicious food. Alexilios groggily sat up, not protesting, before eagerly donning a simple sleeveless shirt and brown pants that tied in the front. The fabric was a bit rough, but they were sturdy, breathable, and flexible.

  “Good morning. Come outside with me, no need to wake your mother.” His father said in a hushed tone.

  Lios nodded and followed him, taking his boots outside with him but not donning them. Ezekiel led them to a clearing behind their house and garden, a stretch of land free of trees and buildings about a hundred yards between their home and the forest.

  “Before I can teach you, I’ll need you to come at me with everything you’ve got.” Zeke grinned as he tossed Lios a dull, battered training sword. It was a short sword but felt much more like a bastard sword to the young boy, considering his size. He blinked, looking down at the floor as it hit the grass, and back up at his callous, cocky father. He picked up the sword, feeling its weight, and gave it a few practice swings, slicing through the air. He could tell already his technique was sloppy. Lios wasn’t delusional. It also felt heavier than he had expected. He knew that swords typically ranged from one to five pounds in his last world, but was unsure if with levels that would still be the case. However, feeling the weight of the blade in his hands, he understood it was likely still the case, at least for amateur or training swords.

  After his practice swings, he turned towards his father, holding the sword with both hands. Lios wasn’t stupid enough to believe that his having a weapon while his father stood unarmed was to his advantage. The man had decades more experience than Lios did, along with the benefits of skills and levels. He steeled himself, ready to give this quick spar everything he could.

  Lios swung the sword at him, a soft whistle following the tip of the straight sword. It reminded him the medieval straight swords he had seen knights use in movies, only noticeably more ragged and beat. Lios did his best to swing the blade only as much as he had to, to not let its weight pull him. He was slightly successful, but his inexperience and age showed through. Ezekiel simply stepped outside of his range as he slashed at him once again, each time taking a few leisurely movements to dodge Lios’s strenuous ones. It frustrated him, the difference that levels could make. The cockiness on Zeke's face as he observed his son. Lios growled, irate at the nonchalance he was being shown, and lunged at him, thrusting the sword towards his dad's belly.

  Then Lios had a thought. It was crazy, but even though his dad was training him, the boy wanted to land at least one hit on him. So he did something he had seen plenty of in media; he swung at him, but as his sword reached the apex of the swing, he released the hilt, having known his father would dodge it again. Lios used the momentum to twist his body and lash out with a kick, letting the tip of the blade penetrate the ground.

  As he kicked at his father, he felt the top of his right foot connect with Zeke's left forearm, his eyes a little wider than before. Lios spun, grabbing the sword again as he did so, twisting to slash at him diagonally. He kicked off of the ground and stabbed at him again, as he sidestepped, Lios changed my thrust into a horizontal slash, desperate to hit him. He just caught the blade and smiled at his son.

  “I think I’ve seen enough.” He grinned, tapping his chin as he considered how Lios fought. “You have decent battle instincts, or at least decent ideas when fighting, but your sword work is sloppy. The first thing we’ll do is ingrain the eight basic sword techniques into you. After I show them to you, I’ll have to head to work, and aside from some sparring in the mornings, these will be your exercises until you can complete a hundred of each within two hours. That’s roughly 6 practice swings a minute. It's intense but doable, though it may take you a month or more to be capable of doing it. Understood?”

  Lios nodded at him, panting a bit. The brief spar winded him, his heart was pounding in his chest, and sweat dripped down the young boy's face. “Yes, sir.”

  Ezekiel took the training sword from his son; the weapon looked small next to him. “Watch carefully. I will show you each of the basic techniques. Afterward, we should have enough time for me to watch you do a couple of each. Also, pay close attention to my stance.” He took a wide stance, feet shoulder-width apart. Knees slightly bent, he raised the sword. “First, vertical downward cleave.” He swung it down, the wind whistling and screaming. “Second, upward vertical cleave.” He swung it back up, having to twist his arms a bit to do so effectively. “Diagonal downward slash, both left to right and right to left.” He demonstrated both using only one hand instead of two. “Aaand back up.” He swung the sword back up, from left hip to right shoulder and then from right hip to left shoulder. “And finally, horizontal.” Left to right, right to left. “Those are the eight most basic sword swings. Of course, there’s much more to swordplay, but you’re not ready for that yet. So, for now, you will do these eight techniques in repetition until you can complete one hundred of each within two hours. On top of those, I'll have you do a basic calisthenics workout: pushups, sit-ups, squats, and a twenty kell jog. Once you can do that, you’ll be ready for me to teach you some footwork. We will spar every morning, and I will give you tips each time.”

  He handed me back the sword. “Now, show me what you’ve got.”

  Lios took the sword and took up the same stance that his dad had, one foot slightly behind him and straight with another in front, knee bent, about two and a half feet apart. Zeke stepped behind him, using his feet to adjust the boys, holding his shoulders and guiding him into a proper stance. “Good, back straight. Bend your knees a little. Now, vertical downward cleave.” Lios did as he said, adhering to his guidance. He slashed downwards, stopping before the tip of the sword tore into the earth.

  “Okay, now upward slash.” Lios did that as well, and they rinsed and repeated with each technique. Ezekiel gave him some advice at each stage before having him repeat the cycle.

  Lios followed his instructions, staring straight ahead as he had him repeat the cycle a few times. After a bit Zeke looked up to the sky, noting the sun cresting over the trees. “I should probably make my way to the guardhouse. You did good, although you were fairly stiff. You'll get it, eventually. You'll need to take breaks. Start with 25 of each thing, including the pushups, situps and all. This is your first day of training, no need to burn yourself out before you even get started.” He put a hand on his son's head, not minding the sweat wetting his hair. “Oh, and make sure you stop for lunch and drink plenty of water. It's important.” With that, he walked back towards the house, leaving Lios to my training.

  He already knew it was going to be too hot to keep his thick shirt on so he took it off, also taking off his heavy boots so he was barefoot in the grass. The stiff, turf-like grass tickled the bottom of his feet not unpleasantly, the sun bearing down on his back and shoulders feeling like a warm blanket had wrapped him up.

  He swung his sword, standing still. He swung it again and again. It was exhausting, the three-pound sword now feeling like it weighed thirty. Lios committed to doing 25 of each technique. After an hour he had completed half, his progress slowing as he felt the burning of every muscle in his arms, shoulder, back and chest. At first, despite moving somewhat slowly, the boy could do upwards of around ten swings a minute. But his endurance quickly proved to be incapable of handling that, so he slowed down even further to six a minute, as his father had recommended. Unfortunately, he had to take a few breaks between repetitions to ensure he didn’t overwork himself.

  As soon as he completed his last swing, twenty-five of each type, Lios sauntered to the well and pulled up a bucket of water. A groan escaped his lips as he poured a ladle of chilled water over his head and back. The heat of the sun beating down on him abated for a moment. Midday approached, and he had barely met the halfway point of his workout, knowing calisthenics were still on his schedule.

  With water dripping down from sopping hair and washing away sweat, he collapsed and rested in the shadow cast by the well, his back to the grass and dirt. As he rested his aching muscles, fatigued by the morning of training, cried out in relief. He couldn’t remember a time where he had been so tired since being reborn. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, relishing the comfort of stasis and rest, before the call of his mother interrupted him.

  “Lios come in for lunch!” Grumbling, he stood up, muscles twitching and straining with the movement. But it was a good ache, an ache that proved he was making some progress at least. That said he had done something, that the exercises weren’t for nothing. He trudged through the garden. While his legs were not under as much strain and duress as the rest of his body, they were still aching from holding his stance for so long.

  As Lios stepped closer to the door, seeing his mother watch for him, he saw her glance up and down his body, pursing her lips. She noted the dirt, the sweat, the exhaustion in his eyes despite only practicing for a few hours total. “Perhaps you should eat outside today and enjoy the fresh air.” She suggested in a tone that made it clear it was not just a suggestion. “I’ll be back out with some food and juice.”

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  “Yes, mother, thank you,” Lios replied quietly before sitting down and leaning against the house, feeling the rough stone of the foundation at his back. The stone was cool to the touch; the sun overhead had not reached it just yet.

  It didn't take long for her to return. She set a plate with bread, smoked beef, cheese, and a glass of juice next to him. He quickly got to work turning it into a sandwich of bread, cheese and beef and took three quick, large gulps of the juice, feeling immediately refreshed.

  “Don’t push yourself too hard kiddo, you have a few years yet before you need to think about being strong.” She voiced her concern as she looked down at Lios, hands on her hips. Her voice was sweet but terse, a hint of worry echoing through it as she took in her son's form.

  “No need to worry, Ma, I’ll be okay, I promise.” He said between bites of my sandwich. “Are you still going to teach me Elvish tonight?”

  She sighed wearily. “If you're even able to stay awake. I swear, what is your ol’ man making you do?” Without waiting for a reply, she went back inside for a few moments before coming back out and refilling his glass of juice. “Drink your fill, and remember to hydrate as you train. And don’t stay out in the sun too long. You're already starting to burn and…”

  “Mom, I promise I'm okay. I’ll take plenty of breaks. I'm taking it as easy as I can, but I still want to push myself a little.” He smiled at her before taking a long drink of the juice. It wasn’t quite orange or grapefruit but something in between. Their town wasn’t too far from the ocean and was located pretty far south, so they had access to many tropical fruits and vegetables. They even grew a few fruit trees within the tree line of the forest behind the house.

  “I just worry about you son, you're too young to be worried about this kind of thing…” She shook her head. “But I ‘spose nothing I say will stop you, huh?”

  “Nope, nothing. Besides, I’ll probably be a ladies' man once I get strong, isn’t that a consolation?”

  “You're just like your father. Okay, fine. Just make sure you wash up before supper or I'll make your father be stricter on your exercises.” She shook her head but looked at him endearingly.

  “Yes mother. I guess I should get back to it, no time like the present.”

  “Oh, I like that saying… where did you hear it?” Lios froze a little; he didn’t realize he was using an idiom from his past life.

  “Oh, just… heard another kid say it, maybe he picked it up from his parents? Anyway, I'll be off.” He stood and stretched a bit before taking off slowly toward the clearing where he had left the training sword.

  “Okay! Don’t forget to take breaks, and I’ll have clean clothes waiting for you when you get back.” She waved her son off.

  Lios nodded and waved back before he started working on doing pushups, sit-ups and squats. They were agonizing. His body was already in such pain that each push-up made his limbs tremble. He could only do a few at a time before needing to rest and settled for doing twenty-five of everything this time as well. After around two hours, he finished the last of his exercises for the day, his small body covered in sweat and dust. He went to collect the soap, towel, and clothes his mother had set out for him before trekking through the woods towards a small, isolated creek where his father would occasionally take him to wash up. It was pretty close to the edge of the trees, only barely past Brioche's new den.

  She saw him as he passed the edge of her grove, a small clearing surrounded by trees with a den beneath the roots of one of the larger oaks. He heard her before seeing her, she was yipping in excitement as he neared. From behind the bushes, a rustle announced her arrival, having been wandering her slim territory.

  “Hi Bri-Bri I’m sorry I don’t have any snacks, but we can play for a few moments!” he sat on the ground, back against a fallen log as she came and cuddled in his lap for a bit, letting him pet her as she gave occasional affectionate licks and nips to his hand. The wild fox snuggled against Lios lovingly, adoring having her fur stroked.

  It felt like the next hour and a half went by in a flash, sitting near the fox’s burrow and just relaxing for a bit. Before too long, the boy had to leave to go take a bath. “I’m sorry, Brioche but I have to go wash up before dinner, okay?”

  Almost as though the animal understood him, she rolled around and presented her belly to pet, as if to convince him to stay. He laughed and scratched her belly for a few moments before standing up and walking the rest of the way to the creek. Before he got too far, he realized Brioche was following him, but he didn’t mind.

  Soon enough, he arrived at the river. This part of it wasn't very deep, and the water didn’t run all that fast. It formed a sort of shallow pool before continuing on and meandering deeper into the Deepbloom. Carefully, Lios removed his clothes and boots before wading into the river, allowing the cool water to ease his aching muscles.

  For a short while, perhaps half an hour, he simply laid back and half floated in the water. His body now was far denser than it had been in his past life, despite the difference in his age. A solid combination of a better diet and a healthy amount of exercise meant his body was fairly lean, though his muscles had yet to fully develop.

  After spending some time enjoying the cold water, feeling his warm body cool down, he washed up and donned his simple brown pants and white tunic. Then he meandered his way back home. He took his time. The sun was nowhere near setting yet, so he knew he had time. So rather than taking the path that led directly home, he struck out on a branching footpath, curious about where it led.

  He hadn’t yet forgotten the dangers that could inhabit this region of the forest, but he knew it was overall fairly safe. Still though, he was careful. Even a simple insect could have the capacity to kill him, much like the Liko Bees he had seen as a child, let alone animals such as rottfangs. He didn’t yet know all the potential dangers, but he knew enough to be cautious.

  As he wended his way along the path, he found it opening up into a clearing. Echoing between the trees, the sound of a song piqued his interest. It was one he recognized from the various festivals he had attended with his parents and was presented through a young female voice. Alongside the voice, the air reverberated with the clumsy plucking of a string..

  He stepped carefully, taking his time so as not to startle the singer. When he finally reached the opening of the path, he saw a gorgeous view, and a small ten-foot-tall waterfall gently roared. He gazed upon it, taking in the vibrant green leaves and the clear rushing water, upstream from where his father typically took him to bathe.

  The soft rumbling of the water was a fantastic accompaniment to the singer, his eyes rested on after taking in the scenery. A girl not much older than him, but older all the same, had her eyes focused on her left hand, the one depressing strings made from the guts of an unknown animal. She wore a long green dress and had a crystal butterfly in her fiery hair.

  From the edge of the clearing, Lios could see she had her tongue sticking out from the corner of her mouth in her concentration, a small pink dot from where he stood. She had stopped singing for a moment as she focused on playing the lute.

  Not wishing to disturb her, Lios walked around the edge of the woods until he found a root sticking up enough to sit on. He took a seat and watched, listening to the birds chirp harmoniously and the squirrels chattering even as she played soft notes on her lute.

  After a few moments she sang again, her clear and easily played notes suffering a bit from the diversion of her concentration. He could see her frowning at the imperfection as she continued, trying to correct her finger movements as her voice rippled outward. Despite her age she had quite a mature voice, sounding closer to fifteen than eight, which was how old he assumed her to be.

  She sang for about thirty seconds before she leaned over to read from a piece of paper held to the ground with a rock. When she went to sit back up, to resume singing what he assumed were the lyrics she just read, she caught sight of her audience member. Quickly, her face turned red, nearly the shade of her hair, and she yelped.

  “So. Sorry, I didn’t mean to spook you, I just heard you singing and... “Lios began, not really knowing how to explain himself.

  “It... It’s okay. I was just leaving, so don’t worry about it!” The girl spoke shyly, quickly packing up her scant items. Her lute quickly found its way strapped across her back, and her papers with details on the song she was learning were quickly folded and slipped into her pockets.

  “I needed to head back home soon too, perhaps we could walk together?” She gave him a strange look at the invitation as he stood up and brushed his pants off.

  Without replying, she started walking toward him, her cheeks still red, biting her bottom lip the entire time as though in thought. She moved slowly, having to pick her way over roots and rocks to save herself from stumbling. When she finally reached Lios, she had calmed down; her cheeks were still a little flushed, but she didn’t seem nearly as flustered.

  “Sure, we can walk together for a bit.” She said in a quiet voice as she turned down the path that he had come from. He stepped up next to her, keeping pace easily. He was still carrying his towel and dirty clothes over his shoulder, though his hair was barely damp at this point.

  They walked in silence for a few minutes, rapidly approaching the end of the path. Neither knew what to say, or even if there was anything to say to ease the awkward atmosphere. Before long, the path opened up to reveal a short stretch of land between the forests and the outskirts of Arborton.

  “Well, I‘m this way,” the girl said, pointing far to the right.

  “I'm over here...” Lios said shyly, pointing toward his house that was almost directly in front of the opening to the trail. “Wait before you go; my name is Lios. And I wanted to say, you’ve a lovely voice. I can’t wait to listen to your singing again!”

  His face was nearly as red as her vibrant hair, though not as deep nor dark as his. She stopped to look back at him, blushing as well, unsure what to say. She opened her mouth a couple of times, perhaps to thank him for the compliment, perhaps to tease him. Neither knew what she had wanted to say. Finally, she settled for something simple.

  “My name is Rose. It was nice to meet you.” Then she turned and jogged back toward her home.

  Lios ran a hand through his shaggy hair, fingers gliding through crimson locks, and chuckled to himself. “Gods I’m still so awkward...” then he ran back toward his own home to help his mother prepare for dinner. His body was still aching, and he was ready to relax for a while longer, no longer so impatient to start something new.