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“Help what?” He asked as we walked out of the village.

“Training!” I said pumped up.

I had been feeling so energetic lately that it was a miracle I managed to hold back for so long.

“I need something to train while we are walking.” I could train in the evening too, but all the wasted time during the day should be put to good use. “I don’t have a Class to help maintain my body, after all.”

He raised an eyebrow. “How and, most importantly, why, should I help you?”

I sighed.

“Man, so grumpy. If you get annoyed by every small thing, no one’s going to like you. Look at Freya, she’s walking in silence. She’s even imitating a duck to liven up the atmosphere!” I chuckled. We were walking even slower than the previous day to let her loosen up a bit.

She looked at me with a frown for some reason.

“Smashing someone’s nose is not a small thing. You should learn some common sense,” he said, still hostile.

Man. They’re such a killjoy.

“And you should learn to be grateful when I hold back, because it was a small thing in my eyes, considering what you did” I said, losing all levity from my voice. “And if you want to see what I consider a not-so-small thing, you just have to ask.”

I smiled threateningly. I wasn’t exactly overflowing with good feelings for him. If he started being uncooperative, it would just be better to kill him and risk the consequences than having someone constantly drag me down every time he felt upset.

“If you want a reason to calm your wounded pride or whatever, then just think of it as helping yourself. The better my capabilities, the safer you’ll be in this journey. I may be no help with your pursuers but, as you said, they won’t be the only danger we may see.”

“So, can we have a nice conversation now?” I asked, letting my tone convey how little patience I had left.

A few seconds until he said, “Fine. I apologize for my behavior.”

He wasn’t brightening up, but I hoped that he at least would stop being so confrontational.

“Good!” I said, bringing back the joy in my voice. Staying all serious and depressed never helped anyone.

I then saw Freya looking at us a little alarmed, still doing the duck walk. Ah. So nice to have someone lifting your spirit when you feel upset.

“Don’t worry, little duck. We had a little painful conversation while you were passed out yesterday evening,” I said happily. She frowned again.

People frown too much. These two at least.

“In more ways than one…” I heard a murmur from the grumpy guy.

I ignored him.

“Now, where were we… right! I need weights!” I said to the guy. He should have something magical in that inventory of his to help out.

He waited a few seconds before responding.

“Well, sorry, I don’t have weights,” he said, shrugging. I dare say that the little shit even looked a bit satisfied.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

I thought about it a bit more.

“Are you sure? Because I think that I’ll fill my bag with rocks and tie a few small boulders to my hands and feet otherwise. It may be slightly noticeable, so I’m not sure it’s the best approach.”

He looked at me incredulously. “Slightly??”

“Don’t you have anything else? It doesn’t even need to be weights. I just need to have a hard time moving,” I continued as if he didn’t say anything.

He shook his head and stopped walking.

“I’ll take a look, but even if I don’t find anything, please avoid doing that.” He then closed his eyes.

I then looked at Freya. “So, how are you holding up until now? Do you think you can last all day?”

“I can do it.” She nodded resolutely. I liked that.

“Good. I also think that we will stop a bit earlier compared to yesterday. We’ll need to prepare camp.” I chuckled. “A bit better than our first camping night, maybe.”

She shuddered and took a step away from me.

What? Why?? I thought baffled.

I then remembered how it went. It wasn’t hard considering it was just the other day.

Okay, I may have scared her a bit, but I thought we were good now! There was no need to step away like that… I felt a bit sad.

“I think I found it,” said Zeph, bringing my attention back to him.

He took out two heavy-looking handcuffs and held them to me.

“What?” I said, perplexed.

“Put these on. It’s what you asked for,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone.

I was starting to get pissed.

“Hey, I indeed asked for something that makes it hard for me to move, but I didn’t mean it like this. And you know it.” He better have a good response ready.

He snorted.

“It’s exactly what you asked for,” he said, sounding displeased, “It’s a pair of handcuffs enchanted to slow down the movement of the prisoner. It should feel like you’re 'moving through dense water' and have 'feet feeling like lead'. That’s what I was told, since I didn’t try them on.”

Ok, he's good for now.

“I’ll look like a prisoner with these on, it’s not exactly inconspicuous.” I didn’t like to put on manacles — it made me feel like I was a slave again.

“They need to be put on both hands for them to work, but there doesn’t need to be a chain for them to work. They don’t even need to be on different arms. You can just wear them both on the same arm.”

Fine, I’ll be a bit unbalanced, but it will do. The first blacksmith I find will have to break this chain.

I took them and the key, putting them on. I felt something change right away.

The feeling of mana on my skin suddenly became different — like it became dense and oppressive. It resisted movement. I also felt like my feet were glued to the ground.

Marvelous. And also exactly what I needed.

“Good. Thanks, Zeph.”

“You’re welcome,” he said disinterestedly.

We then started walking again on the road which coasting the river.

I had to walk, almost as if I was pushing something. It wasn’t too hard at first, but after a few kilometers, I was panting and puffing. It’s harder than I thought.

The more time passed, the harder it became. We had a little break for lunch, but soon started marching again. The hot wind of the grassland blew against us while I dragged one foot over the other, drying the sweat before it could start dripping from my face.

My Mana consumption Attribute was constantly working to sustain me and for some reason even Regeneration got to work later, though I felt like it was working everywhere.

I could also see Zeph looking at me incredulously from time to time, but I had no spare energy to care for him.

When we reached a suitable place to rest, I had already consumed more than half my mana.

I don't think I can maintain this intensity every day, I thought as I took off my manacles and put down the bag. I'll need to alternate.

My body probably could keep going at it every day as it was now, but my willpower wasn't infinite. Moreover, I didn't want to pass all my time training like a madman.

I wasn't in the gladiator school anymore, and I wanted to enjoy the travel too.

Tomorrow I'll train moving my mana while walking, and use the sword a bit in the evening. Maybe spar with Zeph.

Light enough to be enjoyable while still doing something. It should be good.

Maybe one day my body would get strong enough to keep the manacles on at all time without making me feel like I'm dying but, for now, this was my plan.

I started to take out the tent when I saw Zeph taking out one of his own.

I looked at him questioningly, and he said, “I’ve got my tent.”

“Why did you even buy one for three, then?” I asked tiredly.

“For the same reason I bought backpacks,” he said while starting to set up his tent. “How would you explain three people traveling for kilometers with no tent, no food, and no supply of any kind?”

He had a point.

As the evening progressed, my Attributes kept working, though gradually slowing their drain on my mana as I rested and ate. I wasn’t feeling as tired as I should have thanks to them, but I still went to sleep soon after Freya.

I had a good workout today.

As I fell asleep I was prepared to dismiss the screen as always but, surprisingly, something changed already.

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