Ender tiredly sat down on a large boulder, placing the bamboo pole on his lap. Approaching, I stood before him, trying my best to relax my arms and shoulders so that the buzzing muscles could rest a bit.
"You have an excellent theoretical foundation," the sheriff finally said. "But it seems that no one taught you how to use this theory in practice." He stood up from the stone and circled around me. "It's normal for a novice not to know how to parry an unknown attack. I've seen that often, but your situation is quite different."
He took a pause and, as he almost moved out of my field of vision, delivered a light blow to my shin. I simply raised my leg and let the strike pass by.
"Exactly," the sheriff nodded. "Another person in your place would have jumped or parried the attack with their pole, but you did exactly the minimum necessary movement. As if you're not a novice but a warrior who has fought hundreds of battles and understands the importance of conserving even the slightest bit of energy." He launched a new attack, this time with a feint. I see through his trick, it can be parried in three different ways, but I can't decide which one to use in time and receive a poke just below my back. "Or like this. You just get lost in your knowledge and are late in making a choice. It feels like you inherited the memory of a great warrior, but no one taught you how to use it." The accuracy of the sheriff's speculation took my breath away. "Don't say anything; I don't need another dose of sacred mind stirring," he immediately waved his hand as I opened my mouth. "Whether I'm right or not in my assumption doesn't really matter. I don't need to know your past and its secrets." Ender stood in front of me and crossed his arms over his chest. "I've never seen a similar case. It vaguely reminds me of being controlled by an artifact weapon, where a person also gains foreign knowledge and skills, but still, your case is not quite the same. And you don't have an artifact of that level of power." He scratched his cleanly shaven chin. "Are your companions like you?"
"We came from the same place," I replied. My phrase wasn't "muffled" by the sacred veil, so I continued. "Each of them has enormous potential, so if you take them as your students, you won't regret it… But in terms of combat skills and abilities, they are blank slates."
"I see," the sheriff mused.
No sooner had he formulated his thought than Tuan and the earthlings appeared over the hillside. All of them were wet, covered in sea sand, with knees caked in dried clay. At the same time, the sheriff's assistant looked probably more exhausted than even the girls. Looking at them, I easily reconstructed the chronology of events. Most likely, Tuan decided to wear my companions out with simple running, perhaps with sharp accelerations. When that didn't work, he started driving them up and down the slopes of the hills. He did that for a long time, hence the traces of clay on their knees. But that didn't achieve the desired result either, and Tuan made them run on the sticky coastal sand.
I had to make an effort to hide my smile. The earthlings were no less surprised by the results they showed than the sheriff's assistant. Their faces clearly displayed bewilderment mixed with sudden pride: "Oh, look what I can do!"
Ender looked at his assistant, then at the earthlings, and then shifted his gaze to me. He seemed to be comparing the endurance I demonstrated during our training with what Tuan had encountered. I nodded to Ender, confirming his guess that my companions were as tenacious as I was.
"Run to the marshal, pick up the training poles, and come back," the sheriff ordered and demonstratively turned away from my companions.
Tuan bowed slightly in the Eastern manner and, nudging the earthlings, gestured for them to follow him, then broke into a trot. When they disappeared around the bend of the trail, Ender waved his hand and invited me to sit next to him.
"I didn't promise to take your companions as apprentices," he said, taking a sip of water from the jug. "I promised to train them today - before the expedition to the dungeon. But taking them as apprentices, no, I never promised that."
"It's not for long, just a couple of weeks. Just give them the basic training," I said.
"Teach them the basics in a couple of weeks?!" The sheriff laughed out loud. "Raven, the basics are the most difficult part; it takes years!"
"Don't exaggerate," I brushed him off. "The city militia in the West train for two weeks a year."
"Tsk," the sheriff spat as if he had heard something distasteful. "That militia doesn't make any difference in battle. What can even a hundred copper or iron fighters do against a single fighter of at least Sapphire rank? Nothing, maybe delay for a minute, if they're lucky."
"Nevertheless…" I pressed on, not wanting to argue with him. "I'll repeat, each of them has enormous potential."
I knew what I was talking about; among those whom the questers had transported from Earth to Ain, there were no mediocrities. Yes, the earthlings would need time to adapt, but once they figured out the surrounding environment and understood the rules by which Ain operates, they would make such strides that none of the locals could even dream of.
"And you're suggesting I take your word for it," he said.
"And what do you lose? Two weeks of your time, which you usually spend so productively in the tavern?" I replied with a smile.
"I've lost the habit of such bluntness..." As I thought, he wasn't offended by the truth; he just grunted and made a forced smile. "What do I gain in return?" Ender asked, crossing his arms.
"Like me, during registration in the Tunnellers' Guild, they will mention your name as one of their mentors," I responded.
It seemed to me that I had figured out Ender. Yesterday he let slip that he possesses a "mental barrier," a family technique. That means that at least three generations of his ancestors reached the precious Coil. He also mentioned an older brother and a family business. Ender himself only reached Steel, and he's over forty-five. It's unlikely he will advance even one more rank - at most, he will stabilize his Core, but that's it. Perhaps his family considers him a failure who hasn't even reached Opal. Most likely, that's the case, or else he wouldn't be here at the other end of the world from his homeland, and even in the position of a sheriff at that. Moreover, no matter how much he "complained" to me after getting drunk, he likes it here and doesn't seem too eager to return to his fatherland. Maybe his family has long forgotten about him, as a failure who achieved nothing in life and then disappeared somewhere. Most likely, Ender himself has come to terms with this situation.
But then I appeared, and he saw in me a chance to remind others that Ender, son of Ofet from Logarad, is still alive. And that he is not a failure but worthy of respect as a mentor to someone who will one day reach heroic ranks. The sheriff, having seen the "Pure Palm of Five Empty Fingers" sign before my face, had no doubt about this. Besides, he didn't need to work hard to make this a reality. He knew that I would soon leave the island of Un, and he wouldn't have to teach me for years, passing on his knowledge the way true mentors do.
Maybe I made it all up, maybe it's not like that. But what do I have to lose? If I'm wrong, he'll just refuse now.
"They're like you, then," the sheriff scratched his chin again.
"Huge potential," I nodded, feeling like a sales agent.
"Two weeks?"
"I think they, like me, won't stay on Un any longer," I replied. I thought to myself that the questers' next assignment would make them head toward Pentapolis, but of course, I didn't say this out loud.
"Fine, I'll talk to each of them," Ender grumbled as if letting himself be persuaded. "But I promise nothing."
His outward theatrical discontent didn't fool me; I had noticed how eagerly his eyes had lit up.
Lost in thought, Ender instructed me to run circles around him while he periodically tried to hit my legs with his pole. Sometimes he succeeded, and I would roll down the slope, but I would get back up and resume the exercise.
The earthlings returned not only accompanied by the tracker but also by the sheriff's second assistant, a bronze-ranked sorceress named Ximi. Apparently, I hadn't noticed it, but Ender had signaled Tuan to bring her along. The sheriff immediately got up from the stone, put a bowl of water on my head, and sent me on the run to the edge of the surf and back, instructing me not to hold the bowl with my hands and not to spill any water from it. After that, he strode towards my companions. The way he did it, casually twirling his bamboo pole in his hand, showed me that he was enjoying his new role.
When I returned, only a sip of water was left in the bowl on my head. Ender didn't like this; he refilled the bowl and sent me back to the shore with the same instructions. It took me five attempts to return to the slope of the hill with the bowl half full. By that time, the sheriff was already resting, and his assistants were training the earthlings. Tuan was chasing Flavius with his pole just as Ender had chased me not too long ago. Ximi was explaining something to the girls, occasionally punctuating her explanations with firm pokes of her staff.
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Removing the bowl from my head, the sheriff frowned disapprovingly but did not send me on another run. Instead, he instructed me to go down the hill, called the other earthlings to him, and said:
"You three, while I'm resting, don't let anyone approach me." He then turned to me. "Raven, fetch me some water."
I climbed the hill, filled the bowl with water from the jug, and brought it to the sheriff. As soon as his fingers touched the bowl I handed him, Ender burst into a whirlwind of blows. Flavius, Miranda, and Ilona immediately fell to the ground, knocked down. But the sheriff didn't stop there, dealing several more very painful blows to the earthlings. He made no concessions for the girls and hit them with the same force as the blond guy. He accompanied each strike with the words:
"Fools. End. Up. In. The. Grave."
Flavius tried to get up, but the sheriff's pole undercut him at the knee and then painfully poked him in the center of his forehead.
"You. Three. Are. Idiots." Each word was a blow. "What. Were. You. Told? Don't. Let. Anyone. Approach. Me! Are. You. Stupid?"
He suddenly stopped and languidly sat down on the stone he had previously taken a liking to.
"Raven, go back to the foot of the hill," was the short command after which he gave a contemptuous look to the earthlings, who were getting back on their feet. "Being weak and unskilled is normal at the beginning of any Path. But being stupid is unacceptable!" Noticing Mirana's fury-filled gaze, the sheriff raised his right eyebrow. "I'm not keeping anyone here."
"We understand," Flavius answered for all of them, clenching his fists.
"Do you?" Ender smiled. "Good, I'll believe you. You three, while I rest, don't let anyone approach me. Raven, bring me water." And he clapped his hands.
This time, the trio of earthlings tried to hinder me. Flavius wanted to knock the bowl of water out of my hands while the girls attempted to grab my arms. I easily evaded Ilona by catching her off-balance, spun Miranda around myself and left her behind me, and simply tripped the blond guy when he lunged towards me.
"Your water, master."
"Thank you." The sheriff expressed gratitude, took a small sip, and handed the bowl back to me.
"You could have let us win!" Mirana whispered quietly and angrily in my direction.
Before she could finish her sentence, she bent over in pain from a powerful blow to the solar plexus. The sheriff, looming over her, growled through his teeth.
"You suggested that a student poorly execute a teacher's order?!" Another blow - and blood began to flow from the future sorceress's nose. "Get out of here. Your stupidity is incorrigible!"
With that, he kicked the girl just below the back, causing her to roll down the hill. Flavius and Ilona silently watched all of this, but neither took a step to help the future sorceress.
This was bad. Ender wasn't playing around; he was genuinely outraged by what Miranda had said, down to his core.
I take a step forward.
"Master," I bow in the deepest plea. "I ask for forgiveness for my fellow companion; I assure you such disrespect on her part will not happen again."
If Miranda doesn't put her haughtiness and fake pride aside right now and plays along with me, her training with Ender will end here.
Having gotten up, the girl was about to say something sharp, but she noticed how Ilona stared at her and swallowed the words she had prepared. The healer was looking at her as if she was an unworthy, arrogant fool whom life had finally put in her place. It was this gaze, and not something else, that changed Miranda's decision, and she bowed her head instead of leaving.
"Lower!" I signaled her with a gesture; she saw it and bowed down to the ground.
Ender shifted his gaze to me. He was silent for almost a minute and then finally said, addressing me:
"Under your responsibility."
I hesitate for a second, weighing the pros and cons. If it were just the two of us here, Miranda and me, I would have refused to take on such a burden. On Ain, one must watch one's words, and if she hasn't grasped that by now, it's her own fault. But we're not alone - there are also Flavius and Ilona, so I bow my head.
"Alright." The sheriff nods, clearly displeased. "Raven, bring her over."
As I descend the hill, I help the girl to her feet. Blood is no longer flowing from her broken nose. When I lean over her, I whisper into her ear so that only she can hear:
"If you screw up again, I'll personally wring your neck." As proof, I show her the "Shadow Leader" sign that I received as a result of the first group trial.
No matter how brave the girl wanted to appear, my tone and the Sign pierced her armor. Miranda turned pale as chalk.
"If you screw up, Ender will throw both of us out, understand?" I say to her, calmer this time. "So, if you're not ready, it's better to leave."
She hesitates for a second, then makes a jerking motion with her hand, pushing me away.
"I can handle it," she says, looking not at me but at Ilona.
"I warned you."
"You don't need to tell me twice!"
As soon as we climbed to the top of the hill, the sheriff sat back down on the stone and waved at me with his hand:
"Raven, back to the starting point."
Since I didn't consider my companions stupid, I took the jug of water with me as I went down. Because the easiest solution for the earthlings would have been to pour out the water and not let me fill the bowl. From how Flavius crinkled his brow in annoyance, I could tell I had correctly anticipated his next move.
"Your task is the same," the sheriff condescendingly nods at the earthlings as if speaking to children. Then, raising his voice, he shouted, "Raven, I still want to drink!"
This time the earthlings are more insistent, which makes my ascent even easier. The movements of my companions are so predictable that I manage to plan all my actions before they even get close to me.
A long step forward, a push to the side combined with a leg sweep, and Ilona, knocking Miranda down with her body, goes tumbling down together with the future sorceress. Flavius, who has spread his arms wide to block me, gets a straight kick to the stomach and doubles over, gasping for air.
"Your water, teacher."
"I'm beginning to doubt your words about their potential," Ender whispers to me, covering his lips with the bowl.
"A blank slate, they are a blank slate," I insist.
As Miranda climbs up the hill, she suddenly stops and bends over a bamboo pole lying next to her. No one stopped her, she picked it up, and the sheriff did not react in any way. Nodding in satisfaction, the girl switched the pole to her hands and looked at me with anticipation.
I shrug my shoulders; they would have figured it out eventually that no one was limiting their means. Unlike me, since handling a pole with a full cup of water in my hand is too much even for me. Miranda's example proved contagious, and Flavius and Ilona also armed themselves.
"Start over!" A new clap of hands echoes over the hill.
And yet my companions still haven't realized that they are in a different world and should leave the earthly rules aside. They should have hit full force right away, but they held back, which made their blows with the bamboo poles excessively slow. I, on the other hand, did not hold back at all.
Ilona was very surprised when I grabbed her by the hair, pulled her down, and nailed her jaw with my knee. She was surprised to the point of seeing stars. Miranda received such a blow to the knee from me that if it wasn't for the "Fortified Body," she wouldn't have been able to walk for a couple of days after that. Flavius, again, received a strong blow to the solar plexus. I deliberately hit the same spot, and the guy was out of commission for almost a minute.
"Your water, teacher."
Three minutes for my companions to recover, and again over the hill rings:
"Start over!" And a clap of hands.
With such harshness, I achieved my goal. The first thing that greeted me on the new ascent was not a blow with a pole but Miranda's shout:
"Flame!" And a narrow stream of scorching fire shot toward my face.
The sorceress' mistake was that, having pronounced the spell, she blinked from the brightness of the fire she had summoned. This gave me the opportunity to slip under the flame and knock her out with one blow.
I had no time to straighten up as I had to dive down again, avoiding a wide blow from Flavius. The guy was swinging the pole quickly and recklessly, but, unfortunately for him, he was doing it absolutely clumsily. Having let another one of his blows pass over my shoulder, I closed the distance and again punched him in the solar plexus.
It was even simpler with Ilona. A step to the side, pinning her pole with my elbow, and… I hesitated for a moment but still struck. The crunch of a broken nose under my fist. A sharp cry full of pain and surprise rings in my ears. I ignore it, stepping over the girl who fell to her knees.
In the world of Ain, women can equal men in everything; there is true equality here. And women are held to no lesser standards than men. The sooner Ilona and Miranda realize this, the better for them.
"Your water, teacher."
While the sheriff took a slow sip, Ximi approached Ilona and healed the girl's nose.
I turn anxiously to my companions and barely hold back a sigh of relief. None of them gave up or retreated. In the gazes of Flavius and Ilona, directed towards me, there is no malice, only determination.
"Raven, back to the starting position... Start over!"
This time I had to give it my all. My companions realized they were a group. Miranda tried to blind me with her fire. Ilona aimed for my legs, not daring to get too close. Flavius, on the other hand, was targeting the cup of water, limiting my freedom of movement. Yes, the earthlings were clumsy, their blows lacked any experience, but they worked together, and most importantly - they held nothing back. They weren't afraid to harm me. My harshness towards them in the past attempts did not go in vain.
But I also raised the bar of ruthlessness in response. Realizing that Ximi was not just a battle mage but also a healer, I hit with full force. I wouldn't have been able to kill any of the earthlings with my bare hands without resorting to the Rune of Des anyway because they, like me, possessed an "Enhanced Body" of mithril level. So my blows were sure to hit.
As I bowed to Ender, the three earthlings behind me were groaning, unable to get up. But even in that condition, with a broken leg, Ilona was trying to crawl to me and knock the cup out of my hand with her staff.
"Here is your water, teacher."
"Where?" I heard in response.
I lower my gaze. Damn! There's not even enough water in the cup for the smallest sip.
"My apologies," I lower my head in a gesture of repentance. "Just a moment."
I calmly and deliberately slowly descend to collect water again. As I ascend the slope, Miranda, standing on one leg and leaning on a staggering Flavius, tries to burn me. All this time, Ilona hastily heals the sorceress, not caring about her own fracture. I simply circled around them, and no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't catch up with me in their condition.
"Here is your water, teacher."
After taking a sip from the cup, Ender threw me three bottles of "Medium Restoration" potion.
"On your tab," the sheriff said so quietly that only I could hear him. Then Ender spoke louder. "The exercise is over. Ten minutes break."
Tuan helped me secure Ilona's leg in the proper position and held the girl while the potion was working. Flavius also didn't refuse my help. Miranda, however, snatching the potion bottle from my hand, whispered angrily:
"Don't even think that I will forget all this!"
It seems that even in this Cycle, we won't be able to become friends.
Was I upset about it?
No.