The Glacia Knight Captain was going to be Percy’s doom.
No sooner than he joined the knights’ training, Percy was ordered around. The Glacia Knights explained their training regime in great detail and enjoyed watching him suffer as he copied their movement sequences. They weren’t shy about calling out his flaws and punishing him for every wrong move.
Calling it punishment was probably a little far-fetched, but being forced to repeat every wrong move dozens of times until it was imprinted into his mind certainly felt like a punishment to Percy. He didn’t even think about acknowledging how efficient the knight training was.
You guys are excited, aren’t you? Just wait until I’m stronger than all of you. I will spar and defeat every single one of you!
Even though Percy threatened the Glacia Knights in his head, the training intensity didn’t decrease. On the contrary, the training got worse after the first day. The intensity increased drastically, pushing Percy to his limits and beyond. Whenever he thought he was at his limit and would collapse at any moment, Ulfhar and the Glacia Knights demonstrated how much more potential was hidden within his body.
The following days passed in the blink of an eye, and the torture of training several hours a day under the constant scrutiny of a dozen professionally trained knights transformed into excitement. His appearance changed slowly, thanks to the constant training, the addition of highly nutritious meals, and the constant use of mana, which further accelerated the changes happening to him.
His muscles were firmer than they used to be, and he gained weight. It was only a matter of months before his shoulders would be as broad as some knights’, but that was not his main goal. Percy felt good about his body, especially how easily mana coursed through him. His mana reserves didn’t expand after his last up-rank, but he learned to control his mana more freely. That was necessary to treat the soreness spreading all over his body after every training session, but also to spar with the Glacia Knights.
Their mana control was precise, but Percy was surprised to learn that his mana was not only stronger but also more precise. According to Ulfhar, Percy’s mana control was so high due to his Ego. Apparently, his Ego improved his control over mana and mana purity.
Percy had more questions for Ulfhar, but the Glacia Knight Captain was busy protecting and teaching Melissa. When he didn’t teach Melissa, he was out with the other Glacia Knights to clear some monster lairs or to meet with the Glacia Knights to discuss their next course of action.
The training sessions of the Glacia Knights decreased slowly as the days passed. That only applied to the Glacia Knights. Percy’s fate was sealed on the fourth day as the Glacia Knights' training stopped entirely. They stretched a little in the morning but stayed ready and in peak condition to fight potential enemies.
Since the Glacia Knights didn’t have to train, their focus diverted to Percy, whom they pushed further. They had fun watching him sweat and struggle while Percy wasn’t given any big breaks. The Glacia Knights would rather feed him with potions than let him rest for too long.
Percy understood that he improved quickly because of their expenses and the Glacia Knights’ efforts to push him beyond his limit, but he loathed them a little nonetheless.
At least they apologized for tricking me. If not for that, I would have added you to my blacklist!! He joked in his mind before collapsing to the ground.
The Glacia Knights pushed the responsibility for their trickery to Ulfhar, who grumbled something incomprehensibly before he accepted his fate. There seemed to be things Ulfhar didn’t want to say or acknowledge, but Percy was fine with that. Everyone apologized and reasoned with him, and it wasn’t like he had lost a lot. Percy was still alive and stronger than ever. Stronger than he ever expected to be.
But why are Ulfhar and Liam looking at me so often?
Percy noticed that the old knight and the Glacia Knight Captain looked into his eyes more often these days, even when he was busy with other stuff. They weren’t trying to get his attention or talk to him. All the two did was look at his eyes…not him. It was almost like they were looking for something.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
It is not like anyone here is normal. Igor has this weird relationship with his Dachshund. It’s impossible to separate them. Then there is Liam. He is old and should have retired already, yet he travels around the kingdom with the heiress, who is also a difficult case in her way. Ulfhar is kind but also a jerk. He doesn’t speak his mind and tries to explain things without revealing his honest opinion.
Everyone’s behavior was unique and weird sometimes, but that didn’t stop Percy from befriending them. His relationship with everyone, including Melissa Reeze, improved. Melissa started training more intently once the Glacia Knights stopped training. She focused on her Inheritance technique and often trained with Ulfhar, who pointed out her flaws, but Percy also found her paying more attention to him.
The days passed, and Percy glanced in the young noble’s direction whenever he was praised for something. He improved fast and Melissa grit her teeth whenever someone complimented his achievements. That was a pleasant sight.
His improvement rate was fast enough to earn him lots of praise, which provoked Melissa. At least, that was what he thought.
Maybe it’s too shameful for her image to have lost against a commoner in the Imperiat.
Percy told himself not to think too much about it, but inwardly, he was overjoyed to get on Melissa’s nerves with his progress. She was annoying, but Percy quickly noticed that his desire to exceed her fueled him. Melissa was in a similar situation. She didn’t want Percy to grow stronger until he would inevitably be stronger than her. As a noble and the heiress of the Reeze Dukedom, she had to be stronger…better.
Despite their differences and the few words they exchanged, Percy and Melissa trained together most of the day. They were together at all times and improved rapidly together. Though reluctantly, their ambition and determination were noticed by the other and acknowledged.
**
It was the early afternoon of the 8th day after Percy joined the knight training when Igor and Liam approached them.
“Dexter tracked a group of Ogres less than two kilometers ahead,” Igor said with a smile, “Do you want to see how much you’ve improved?”
“I would love to go hunting!” Percy dashed to the knight with a bright smile. The Dachshund monster barked, but Percy ignored Dexter.
“I will join as well,” Melissa declared, wiping her forehead with a piece of cloth.
You don’t have to come.
Percy grumbled inwardly but the thought of hunting excited him too much to stay in a bad mood.
“Please take the lead, Lady Reeze.”
Melissa shook her head after a moment, “You and Dexter can take the lead. I’m not familiar with this place, and you have Dexter to communicate with. He can lead us to the Ogres.”
Percy noticed Knight Liam nodding his head faintly. Melissa had not yet dispelled the trauma inflicted by the Pleacis. She trained tirelessly to overcome her trauma, but only real combat could solve her issues. Melissa knew that fighting a bloodthirsty creature like the Pleacis was her only way to regain her calm and confidence before reaching the Wintermoon estate.
Nonetheless, she was unwilling to risk everyone’s life leading the group when her inner demon, the disaster with the Elite Demon, still tormented her wherever she went. The Pleacis followed her even into her dreams. It was long since dead, but the Elite Demon might as well be alive to Melissa.
Is it just me, or is she afraid?
Percy studied Melissa for a few seconds. She left the group to change into her armor and readied her other Artifacts as well. Everything looked normal from an outsider’s point of view, but Percy was not an outsider anymore. He trained next to Melissa long enough to learn some of her traits.
The lifetime of teachings she received as a noble showed clearly. Engraved deep into her mind and bones, Melissa didn’t show her true feelings on the outside. She was a true noble and didn’t reveal the slightest weakness, not even to the Glacia Knights, let alone a commoner like Percy.
But despite her best efforts to show how strong and flawless she was, minor details showed her true feelings: how nervous the young noble was. Melissa nibbled on her lower lip when she thought nobody was looking, and she pulled longer on her clothes to ‘straighten’ them than she would normally. Her hand rested on the pommel of her sword, which was also quite unusual for the young noblelady.
She was tense and might not even notice that, but for someone who had been around her, studying her for a while to learn how to grow stronger than her, Melissa was uncomfortable.
Today marked the first hunt after the disaster with the Infernal Lair and the Pleacis.
“Alright. Let’s go hunt some Ogres!”