-CHAPTER 19-

“Congratulations, ya’ passed.” Adir said, clapping while coming out of his hiding place.

My lungs bobbed up and down, like a boat anchored and docked on the water.

I crouched over the body of the boar, and said a blessing over it.

Now next to me, Adir said, “That was impressive. For yer first demon, I picked a tough one.”

“Demon?” I asked, surprised.

“Yes, that was a demon, The Bloodied Boar is known as a tough demon for all who run into it. Despite living relatively close to towns, they are hard to master due to their ability. The ‘Bloody Mirror,’ shows yer the part of yerself you hate the most.”

“I see.” I said aloud, then quieted down to a whisper, “So I truly was seeing myself through it…”

“I was skeptical about making ya’ fight it at first, but I couldn’t think of any other way to train yer mind.”

“My mind?”

“That’s right. I’ve heard stories of people who have mastered the sword, and yet succumb to weak demons because of their fear.”

“Wow. So you really planned this all out didn’t you?”

“Yes. If ya’ die on yer way to Crater, it’s my responsibility, so I haf’ ter give ya the best training possible.”

“Are there more demons between here and Crater?”

“Yes, and a lot stronger ones too. Ye’re going to haf’ ter do a hell of a lot more trainin’ if ya’ wannter survive out there.”

Now fully understanding his motives, a bit of gratitude slipped from my lips.

“Thank you, Adir.”

“It’s me pleasure.”

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Up until now, Keshet, Naomi, and I have managed to keep our eyes concealed from Adir, thanks to religious use of our hoods. It’s been difficult, but possible.

I’ve had a few close calls with the sprints, but I’ve managed to keep my head low, and my hood on.

But now that I'm dangling from the roof of a 2 story building, I’m really starting to question if I can keep it up.

“That’s it, in one motion, kick yer leg up and over!” Adir shouted down at me.

I was hanging from the gutter, while Adir stood on top of the roof. How did I get here? Well, I’m not fully sure, but I think it involved at least one crime.

I could feel the instability in the gutter, but I pressed on.

I swung myself back, and then as fluidly as I could, kicked my right leg up on the roof. “There yer have it! Now just pull yerself up.”

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I readjusted my grip to be on the roof tiles, and used all my upper body strength to hoist myself up.

Tired out, I laid face down on the roof.

“I don’t know if I can do that again…”

“Don’t worry, yer won’t have to do just that. We’ll put the whole exercise together now.”

I coughed in shock.

“The whole thing?!”

“Calm down, yu’ve done them all individually, right?”

“Yeah, but…”

“Well, then let’s get this going.”

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We now stood at the start of the, “course.” The idea behind the exercise was that I would free-run around the area to gain some dexterity in my limbs.

Adir stood eagerly with the stopwatch.

“I think I’m ready.” I said cautiously.

“Alright then, line up.” I stood at the corner of Adir’s shop, and leaned forward. “3, 2, 1, GO!!”

I set off. The first objective was to run 75 meters with a time less than 10.5. Easy.

Handily, I cleared the first stage. Gaining confidence, I took a sharp turn into the 2nd obstacle. The ramp.

A long wooden ramp that went up a few feet functioned essentially like a seesaw. All I had to do was get enough height from it that I could jump onto a one story building.

With the speed I already had, I leaped off the seesaw, and made the jump onto the roof.

Now, was a series of jumps back and forth on rooftops. It seemed easy enough, but I had to complete the 100 meter section with a time of 18 seconds or less, a feat I had only accomplished once in training.

One side to the other. Come on, just redirect your energy, keep your momentum!

1st jump - Clear.

2nd jump - Clear.

3rd jump - A little sloppy, but clear.

With an immense amount of nervousness, I prepared for the long jump forward…

4th jump - Clear.

Yes.

I had two obstacles left now, “The Fall,” and, “The Climb.

The fall approached me rapidly. With tunnel vision, I took a leap off the building…

And successfully rolled on the ground.

Finally, the climb was near. The final obstacle, and the most difficult by far.

I had to scale a 2 story building. Luckily, this building was composed of various rocks which stuck out a couple inches.

I jumped up the wall, trying to skip as much climbing as I could.

Climb. Climb. Climb. Just don’t let go.

One hand up, then one foot up. Hand. Foot. Hand. Foot.

I reached for the gutter, and missed.

“Sh*t!” I thought to myself. “I just need a bit more… A bit more!”

With everything I had left, I shot my arm and leg up and onto the roof.

Safe.

My energy absent, I laid down on the roof. My hood had fallen, but I didn’t have the strength to pull it back up.

“Congratulations kid. Yet another time, yer pass” Adir, who had taken a shortcut, smiled.

I breathed heavily, trying to cure my lack of oxygen,

Adir held his fist down towards me. He looked directly into my unsheathed eyes. “Not to mention, ya’ look great kid.”

With my limited energy now regained, I bumped his fist against mine.