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CHAPTER EIGHT
The sun was beginning to set, casting a brilliant golden hue across the sprawling training grounds. The light glinted off the sweat-drenched faces of Al and Shin, both sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath. They lay beneath the shadow of a towering figure—Alexandri, the Iron Lion. His figure loomed over them like a mountain, imposing and unyielding.
"I never expected what I just witnessed from you both," he said, his voice a deep, amused rumble, breaking the silence. A grin tugged at the corner of his lips, but it was not one of pure satisfaction. "Impressive, yes, but you're both still lacking."
The boys could barely summon the energy to respond, but their eyes followed Alexandri’s movements as he signaled for a maid. A tall woman hurried over, carrying a wet towel. She began wiping the dust and debris off Alexandri’s body, gently dabbing at the sweat from the heat and grime from their sparring session.
"From tomorrow to a month," Alexandri continued, his voice carrying a tone of finality that made both boys tense, "you’ll be trained under me—both in physical exercises and sparring sessions. It will be brutal. Hellish, even. So, prepare yourselves."
As the maid finished, he tossed the towel aside and turned to face the boys. His smile had faded, replaced with the hard resolve of a master who saw their potential, but more importantly, their limits. "Go rest up. I’ll see you both bright and early tomorrow."
With that, he turned and began to walk away, leaving them alone in the dimming light of the evening. The distant sound of crickets filled the air, but for a moment, Al and Shin remained still, the weight of what had just been said sinking in. They exchanged a look, a shared, tired smile. The night sky above them seemed impossibly vast, stars twinkling like distant promises, but the road ahead was clear—brutality and growth.
The next morning came too soon.
The door to their room swung open with a violent force, and the commanding voice of Alexandri boomed across the space.
"Al, Shin, you rascals! The sun is high in the sky! What are you doing, not coming out?" His words were heavy with authority, and the sheer power in his voice made them jump up from their beds in a panic.
Before either of them could say a word, Alexandri grabbed them both—one in each arm—lifting them effortlessly as if they weighed no more than feathers. Without a second thought, he carried them out of the room, through the halls, and onto the training grounds.
The training ground was vast—easily its size was around 4,426 squared meters—its floor made up of rough dirt and compacted earth, marked with scars from previous training sessions. As he set them down, the two boys were still reeling from the shock of being physically manhandled so easily.
"Your stamina is too low," Alexandri said, eyes narrowing as he scanned them both. "You need to improve it. You also need to build strength."
He turned to Al, his voice becoming more focused. "I know you're a mage, but you’re also capable in close-range battles. That’s something I’ll make sure you master."
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Without warning, he pointed to the farthest end of the training ground. "Run twenty laps. Now."
Al and Shin exchanged brief, exhausted looks but nodded grimly. The ground was expansive, and the laps stretched across what felt like miles. The sun beat down mercilessly, and their legs felt like lead as they pushed themselves to complete the run. Their breaths came in heavy gasps, and their muscles screamed in protest.
When they finally completed the last lap, gasping and hunched over in exhaustion, Alexandri was waiting, his arms crossed in silent judgment.
"Now, 100 push-ups," he commanded. "100 squats. 100 lunges. 100 sit-ups. You have no time to waste, these are going to be part of your daily routines to boost your stamina,” he said.
Each order was a sledgehammer to their already breaking resolve. They got down, sweat pouring, their muscles trembling with fatigue, but Alexandri's presence was like a weight pressing them down.
"You’re not here to slack off," he growled. "Failure will have consequences."
Fear ran through their veins. They didn’t dare ask what those consequences were.
By the time they finished the final set of sit-ups, they could hardly move. Their bodies were wracked with soreness, their vision blurred with exhaustion. But Alexandri was relentless.
"The sun’s still up," he said, his voice like a cold wind. "Get up."
With shaky limbs, they managed to rise to their feet, wincing at the aches in their muscles. They could barely keep their eyes open, but Alexandri was not about to let them rest.
"I'm going to teach you my impenetrable tower defense technique," he said, his voice commanding them to focus. "This technique gave me the name ‘Iron Lion.’ I wrap my body with layers of aura, creating an armor that’s so strong, it makes me near-invisible to any attack."
He turned to Shin. "You’ve already tapped into something similar, but it’s a different kind of aura. Yours boosts your physical attributes—strength, speed, agility. We need to refine it so you can sustain it for longer periods."
Then, turning to Al, he continued, "You already have control over mana, which is a good start. But the aura we knights use is refined from mana. Your mana is pure, but it doesn’t strengthen your body like ours does. I’ll teach you to convert your mana into aura, and you’ll learn to wield it with a dagger." Al haf always been accustomed to fighting with his rune spells and incantations, but he had never once tried refining his mana into aura.
Both boys nodded, exhausted but determined.
"Now," Alexandri said, "let’s begin."
He ordered them into a squat position, their legs burning from the strain, and then he began his teaching.
"Using aura the wrong way can be explosive. It can damage your mana stream. So pay attention."
He turned to Shin. "Picture the first time you used aura, and manifest it now."
Al was confused. The squat position didn’t seem to make sense for mana circulation. Just as he opened his mouth to question, Alexandri struck both boys in the stomach with a flyn bamboo stick is renowned for combining the strength of steel with the elasticity of rubber.,
The blow was brutal. They both collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath, pain searing through their bodies.
"This is how you learn my technique," Alexandri said coldly, his gaze unflinching. "I’ll hit you until you can manifest your aura as a shield. Till you can shatter this bamboo stick. When that’s done, we move on to the next weapon. And the next."
Al and Shin, already aching from their earlier physical exercises, could hardly believe the intensity of the pain that followed. Alexandri struck again and again, relentlessly, until their bodies screamed for mercy.
With each blow, Al managed to manifest his aura—first weakly, then stronger. It helped dull the pain, but it wasn’t enough to shatter the bamboo.
After the fourth strike, Al's aura was beginning to solidify, but the bamboo stick remained unbroken. Shin, on the other hand, had barely begun to manifest his aura at all.
It felt like hours. The world around them blurred, and their bodies grew heavy as though every drop of energy had been drained. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, they collapsed, unable to hold on any longer.
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They woke in the mansion's infirmary, their bodies wrapped in soothing bandages. The healer, a quiet woman with soft hands, had tended to their wounds, but there was no magic to ease the soreness in their muscles.
"The wounds are healed," she said, her tone clinical. "But the pain… that’s yours to endure."
Shin, his body aching, glanced at Al. They both knew what this meant. The hellish training was just beginning.
---
Days passed in a blur of pain, exhaustion, and relentless training. They ran, they fought, they endured. By the fourth day, both Al and Shin were able to manifest an aura shield strong enough to shatter the bamboo. They had survived, but their resolve had been forged in the fire of Alexandri's brutal training.
The Iron Lion looked at them, his expression unreadable.
"Finally," he said, a rare smile flickering across his face. "Let’s see how you handle a wooden mace."
And so, the path to mastery continued, each day more grueling than the last.