Chapter 7 – First Day of Training [Part 1]

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I woke up to the sound of someone knocking on the door of my room.

“Hero Fortuna, it’s Lucilla. Are you awake? I’ve brought you breakfast.”

I stretched a bit while yawning.

“Yes, I’m awake. Please, come in.”

She opened the door end entered with a food trolley covered with an array of different foods.

“We didn’t know what you would have liked for breakfast so we made a bit of everything that came to mind, feel free to choose anything you like.”

“Then I’d like some of that bread with eggs and some of these round sweets.” I said while pointing at a plate with salty french toasts on top and then to a tray filled with sweets of different kinds.

She took an empty tray and placed the plate with the french toasts and some sweets on it, then passed it to me, who was still in bed.

(Having breakfast served to you while you’re still in bed by a beautiful maid, is this heaven? No wait, it’s not...)

I ate the French toasts which, apart from being a bit spicy, were completely normal salty french toasts but then I tasted the sweets.

(This is! Sugar of Saturn! How nostalgic. Well, they didn’t really use it to make sweets like these but still…)

“Hey Lucilla, what kind of sweetener is used for these sweets?”

“It should be boiled capui juice, why?”

“It’s really good.” I said while smiling at the sweet in my hand like an idiot.

“Really? Personally I prefer honey.”

“Would it be possible to have these every morning? Maybe with something salty to eat before them, I live the choice to you about this.”

“Yes, of course.”

“Thank you.”

I finished eating and got out of bed. Lucilla in the meantime went to the wardrobe and started looking for clothes for me.

“Lord Gabriel is waiting for you at the training ground near the palace, he asked that you would dress in easy to move in clothes and go there. I will lead you there, naturally.” She said, while passing me a pair of long brown cotton pants, a white shirt and a pair of leather boots.

“Oh, alright.”

I put on the clothes Lucilla gave me, they were much easier to wear and much more comfortable than that dress I had to wear the night before.

“If you are ready I will guide you to the training grounds.”

“Wait a moment.”

“What is it?”

“Well, I just got up and still haven’t gone to the toilet. I may be a summoned hero but I am still a human.”

“Oh, right. Sorry.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be back in a moment then.”

When I got out of the toilet Lucilla was waiting for me in the hallway.

“Shell we go then?”

“Yes, I’m ready.”

We walked out of the palace and after a few hundred meters we arrived at outer walls of the training grounds.

“Well then, here we are, these are the training grounds. I’m sorry but I won’t be able to stay here during your training, I will come again at lunch time.”

(I hope Gabriel remembered to tell these guys about me.)

When I passed truth the archway that lead in the training grounds I saw an area as big as four football fields, surrounded by a four meters high wall, where a few hundreds of soldiers were training, here and there some doors leading to buildings connected to the training grounds could be seen and on the opposite side from the archway there was a tower with a clock. Most of the soldiers looked at me when I entered but immediately got back to what they were doing.

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(Those are trained soldiers for you, prepared and composed. Maybe Gabriel is actually a good commander. By the way where is he…ah, there.)

I walked up to Gabriel who was giving instructions to a group of soldiers.

“Good morning Lord Gabriel.”

He turned away from the soldiers and looked at me.

“Good morning Fortuna. A bit late aren’t we?”

(Ohi ohi, where has my title gone there?)

“Well, it’s difficult to be on time when a time hasn’t be decided, especially if you spent the night talking to various nobles, by the way, I didn’t see you at yesterday party.”

“These things just aren’t for me. Anyway, today is okay to start a bit late because it’s your first day but starting tomorrow I want you here at dawn. Also remember that while we are in these training grounds there are neither lords nor ladies, you will call me either ‘Commander Gabriel’, ‘Instructor Gabriel’ or ‘sir’. We don’t play here, if you can’t bear pain don’t even bother and go play with magic. If you get severely injured there are healers from the church ready at any time.”

(What is this? Are we in a movie with a hellish instructor and a fat crazy guy?)

“Yes sir.”

(Don’t laugh, don’t laugh, don’t laugh, don’t laugh.)

“Good, come with me.”

I followed Gabriel to a door in the wall, when he opened the door I saw a small warehouse filled with old weapons and armors. Gabriel entered and started searching in a pile of gambesons. He finally took one out and while handing it to me said:

“Here, wear it.”

I took it and almost fell.

(Heavy, this shit is heavy!)

“Are you sure I have to wear this? It doesn’t seem like the best equipment.”

“It’s for getting you used to wearing gambesons while fighting; these ones are particularly heavy and stiff so they are perfect for the job. Now put it on, we don’t have all day.”

I put the gambeson then went outside after Gabriel.

“Let’s start with some running as a warm up to improve your stamina.”

(Seems reasonable.)

“Do twenty-five laps around the training ground.”

“Twenty-five?”

“Twenty-five. You have half an hour starting from now”

(Hey, they are ten kilometers in half an hour; it isn’t exactly a warm up.)

“The clock is ticking.”

“Right.”

I started running.

When I was at the twelfth lap suddenly an arrow went through my leg.

“Shit!”

I fell down face first.

“Who the fuck shot an arrow at me?” I shouted while looking around the training grounds.

“Sorry, it was an order from the commander.” Said a man fifteen meters away from me who was standing next to Gabriel.

“Why!?”

“It’s for developing the ‘sense danger’ skill.” Said Gabriel

“And how am I supposed to run thirteen laps with an arrow trough my leg now?”

“Don’t worry about it.” He said, then he turned towards a man with a white robe.

“Hey you, the healer over there, come here we have a wounded.”

The man ran up to me, took the arrow out and, in less than a minute, healed my wound.

“Now you can keep running.” Gabriel said to me with a smirk on his face.

“I swear I’m going to cut you, a lot.”

“You managing to cut me is one of my goals.”

“I’m happy to hear that.” I said while smiling at him.

I resumed my running and managed to finish the twenty-five laps in time as no one shot me again. When I stopped I was already tired and started resting a bit with my hands on my knees as I tried to regain my breath.

 (This shit is too heavy to train in!)

Before I could regain my breath completely Gabriel was already next to me.

“You did it, I didn’t think you would.”

I threw up.

(No! My breakfast! Don’t go away! Mama needs you!)

Gabriel now had a very puzzled look on his face.

“Do you need some rest?”

“No, I’m totally fine, let’s keep going.”

He smiled.

“Well then, take these.” He said while handing me two persian meels that weighted around ten kilos.

“I will show you how to do the next exercise watch carefully.”

“Yes.”

He started swinging another pair of persian meels, making sure I was following his movements, then after a few swings he got back to the starting position.

“That’s it, really simple isn’t it? Now you try doing it.”

I started swinging the meels as he had just shown me while he checked my posture during every movement and when I finished the series I stopped.

“It seems like you got it. Now do it one hundred times.”

(Is this Hell!? No wait, it isn’t…)

“I’m going to cut you so bad some day.” I said as I started swinging.

“I’m counting on it.” He said smiling.

After the exercise with the persian meels, during which a man stabbed me from behind because “It’s for ‘danger perception’”, I had to do five minutes of plank, work with the back muscles, other leg exercise, then a weird exercise for all the upper body with a big iron ball.

“Have a break, it’s an order.”

When Gabriel said so I dropped the iron ball and fell to the ground. After I managed to regain a bit of stamina I went to the well that was just outside of the training grounds to drink. I sat against the well while scooping water out of the bucket of the well with my hands. When finally I felt I had rested enough I went back.

When I got back to the training grounds Gabriel was there, waiting me with two arming swords.

“You already want me to cut you?” I said to him jokingly.

“Well, try and see if you can.” He answered laughing while passing me one of the two arming swords.

…in the end I didn’t land a single hit and for a good twenty minutes, while I was getting cuts everywhere, which were immediately healed by the healer that was always ready near us.

(This gambeson sucks! It can’t even stop a small cut! A small cut! Is it even a gambeson?)

Finally I managed to create what I thought was an opening when his sword missed me as he was doing a upward cut from his left. Confident I tried a thrust but in the blink of an eye he let go of his sword with his right hand, caught it with his left hand by the guard and parried my sword with the hilt.

When the hilt of his sword hit the blade of mine it was done with so much force that the steel bent and pain started to spread through my arm. I let go of the sword from the pain and started holding my wrist.

“Fuck!”

“Idiot! Shift your grip when you thrust! You’re going to rupture your tendons if you keep thrusting like that with a hammer grip!”

After another ten minutes of this one-sided fight finally Gabriel decided it was enough, probably because even the healer was getting exhausted.

“You are free to go for today, I expect you to be here tomorrow at dawn.”

“Yes sir.”

When I turned towards the archway which was the entrance to the training grounds I saw there a person that looked like an angel after hours of training with that sadistic commander.

“Lucilla!”

“Hero Fortuna, if you have finished your training I will accompany you to your room and serve lunch.”

“But of course, lets go.”

Like that I left the training grounds after my first morning of physical training.