Standing behind him was a familiar armored figure.

"Larcet?"

Gawain coughed behind him as he whispered. "Honorifics kid... honorifics!"

Recovering quickly, Ace prepared to correct himself but a wave from Larcet's hand silenced him.

"It's fine Gawain. I can take it from here."

With just those few words, Instructor Gawain disappeared into the tree line.

Walking up to the two boys, Larcet threw a pen and a piece of paper into the mute boy's lap.

"Your name. Write it."

The boy did as told, quickly scribbling something on the piece of paper before handing it back to Larcet.

He looked it over before tucking the paper away.

He then took off his war hammer and shield and sat down on the stone floor with them. As he moved, moonlight glinted off his armor, creating small silver shimmers.

Unexpectedly, he even took off his helmet, showing the mess of wavy brown hair sitting atop his head. Ace squinted his eyes. Larcet had an extremely angular and robust face, as if it carved from a block of stone. If not for the hair and the eyes, he would have had a hard time telling that he and Stellis were siblings.

Finally comfortable, Larcet's relaxed face grew serious.

"Ace and Silas... I will be brief. The reason that I will be your instructor is because you two are young Lawless and we need you to get as strong as possible. Gawain's path is great... but for you two... it won't work. Your upbringing conflicts with his strict and disciplined style. Mine is a bit more... rough. To prepare you for the upcoming tournament, I have been ordered to assist in your development.

In light of this, you will train with the other recruits until the evening. Then, your training with me will begin. Do not use your Sever energy for any of the training in the morning. You will need it when you are with me."

Ace glanced over at Silas, but he only shrugged his shoulders in return.

Larcet continued.

"Your first lesson will be tomorrow. Now return to your quarters and rest up."

With those words, he disappeared off into the distance, armor glinting in the moonlight as he climbed the mountain with powerful jumps.

*** The Next Day ***

Ace sat at a table in the dining hall with two other trainees, Silas and Bell. Even though Silas couldn't speak, Bell remained energetic, asking a nearly endless amount of yes or no questions. Each time, Silas would enthusiastically nod or shake his head. Despite the look his abyss-like eyes gave off, he had the widest smile on his face.

Watching the two of them talk, Ace couldn't help but smile to himself. It was almost like he was making friends, something he had never had to do in his life. All he had needed was his family. Now that they were gone, a void was left in his heart, desperate to be filled.

Before he knew it, a lone tear rolled down his cheek. He wiped it away before his two companions could see it.

Ace continued to listen to their conversation which was only stopped once they were called out to the practice field.

Instructor Gawain was waiting for them.

"Trainees! Having finished the Phase 1 duels, we will now transition to individual weapons training! With that said, follow the supervisor holding the same weapon as yourself."

At his words, the 10 supervisors stepped out, each wielding a different weapon. There were three of them holding swords, so Ace picked the one with the sword about the same length as his own weapon.

Falling into formation with about 100 other trainees, he followed the supervisor into the forest for a few hundred yards until they stood in a clearing. In it, were dozens upon dozens of upright wooden pillars with some strange fabric wrapped around them.

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Turning to the students, the supervisor pointed behind him with a smile.

"These training dummies will be your best friend every afternoon until you either move on to the next phase or drop out. They may look like regular sword dummies but they're a little special... you'll see! Now, everyone gather around!"

Ace did as he was told, joining his classmates as they formed a large arch around the supervisor and the training dummies. His booming voice echoed out soon after.

"The longsword is a great weapon! But of course there's a catch. There always is. Because of its size, you must commit to offensive or evasive maneuvers. You have no shield to cower behind. As a result, this weapon is for those with confidence. Those with skill."

Taking a pause, he walked over to a tree while brandishing his sword.

"Now many of you may be thinking that you can simply muscle through all your fights with Sever energy. After all, who needs a shield when you can bolster yourself with Sever energy? Who needs skill when you can regenerate limbs and organs? Let me tell you now... If you thought these things... you are wrong, terribly so."

He took a quick swipe at the tree, his blade turning into a blur as it passed through the trunk like a knife through butter. The tree fell soon after.

He pointed to the fallen trunk.

"Now imagine yourself as this tree. Good luck recovering from that without being completely useless for the rest of the day."

He turned back towards the trainees, many of whom were sweating profusely.

"Combat between Notched is about the little things. The reason we had you fight without enhancing your bodies was so that you could feel the danger, feel the stakes of a real fight. What I am going to teach you is how to take advantage of the little things. But that comes later! For now we will focus on the basics."

He walked up to a random training dummy and struck it with his sword.

"Stamina is king. Using your sword must be as effortless as writing with a pencil. In light of that, just as I have done. You will swing your sword 100 times today. You don't need to worry about the dummy either, it will withstand the impact."

He then pointed to a holographic number floating at the top of the log.

"If you're swing is good and incorporates proper footwork and hip rotation, then the number will increase. I will demonstrate once more."

Keeping his promise, the supervisor took a measured step forward. He then swung his sword, moving his arms as both his hips and feet rotated. It was a beautiful movement, leaving many of the students in awe of its perfection.

Turning back towards the trainees, he pointed to the dummies behind him.

"Well, what are you waiting for?! The sooner you finish, the sooner you can retire for the night!"

***

Ace fell to the ground in a puddle of sweat. He looked up at the holographic number.

It read 100. He had taken a few hours and was now the last one in the clearing. Because he had one arm, he couldn't simply copy the supervisors form. He had to change it. With no off hand to help pull and guide the blade along the right path, he had to use more force and be more precise from the start of the swing.

Out of breath, he stared at the moon while gasping for air. The supervisor's footsteps echoed closely behind him.

"On your feet Trainee! The 1st Son of Steel is waiting for you in the practice field. Leave your sword here."

Grumbling internally, Ace dropped his sword off at the locker and retraced his steps back towards the practice field. He saw Larcet and Silas already waiting for him.

On his approach, he heard an exasperated sigh from Larcet.

"Look who decided to show up."

Ace only looked down in embarrassment as he shuffled awkwardly to stand next to Silas.

Larcet pointed to both of their chests.

"What you two lack is focus."

They tilted their heads at him.

"Your Sever energy. It lacks direction. Do you two even know where it comes from?"

They shook their heads.

"It's spread thinly in your body. This is why when you use it, you feel it bunch up before it's ready. What you have been doing is wildly inefficient. When you two use your Notch abilities you probably run out of energy pretty fast right?"

Receiving an affirmation from the two boys, he continued.

"What I'm going to teach you will change that. It is called a refinement technique. Each house has one, and what I am going to teach you is known only by the 12 Blades, my siblings, and The Matriarch. If for some reason you decide to go back on your word with the tournament, we will find you."

At that moment, Talos chimed in his head.

[New Sever knowledge acquired! New entry added to Personal Assessment page!]

Dismissing the mental projection, Ace focused all his attention on Larcet's lecture.

"Our technique is know as Heart of Steel. What it does is condense Sever energy around one's heart, like a shell. When you want to use your Notch or enhancement, you simply break a piece off the shell and direct it as you normally would."

"This refinement technique is strong for two reasons. First, you will always have immediate access to condensed energy, allowing for stronger bursts of enhancement and healing. Second, it is incredibly efficient, allowing you to test actions you'd like to use in battle and familiarize yourself with how much of your shell is required beforehand. Overall the technique will drastically increase your efficiency and burst potential."

Ace internalized Larcet's words. It was seeming a little too good to be true.

"What's the downside? There has to be one." He asked tentatively.

Larcet smirked and pointed to his own heart.

"Actually there's two. The first is that if you misjudge the power for a task, then you may damage yourself internally. The second is... the way you start building the shell."

"Which is?" Ace asked as he leaned in closer along with Silas.

Hesitating briefly, Larcet put on a grim expression and tossed them both daggers.

"You have to stab yourself in the heart."