As I ran through the forest, my breath grew shorter and shorter, making each inhale sharper than the last. My feet were pounding the earth in a steady rhythm, but they started to feel numb. Because of all the training I did today, I almost had no energy left. I just hoped that our training would be over after I finished my laps. I silently prayed that Alaric would end our training for the day.

After a few more laps, I reached our rendezvous point with Alaric. My legs started to cramp, my feet felt numb, and my heart was pounding like crazy. Alaric stood ahead, a steadfast figure framed by the gnarled trees, his intense blue eyes sweeping the surroundings. As usual, his black straight hair was in a high ponytail. His usual stern demeanor softened into a brief smile as he noted my approach.

"Good," he said. His voice was firm yet encouraging. "You're getting faster."

I managed a weary smile, but as I opened my mouth to respond, I tripped and fell. Pain shot through my hands as I broke my fall. I groaned, yet Alaric didn't come to my side. He stood there, looking at me with concerned eyes.

"Are you okay?" He asked, with a calm voice.

"I think I hurt my hands," I said as I rose and looked at them. My palms were skinned. "Other than that, I'm okay."

I got up and moved closer to Alaric. He glanced at my hands, then back at me quickly.

"Today, we're focusing on hand-to-hand combat," he said. I felt disappointed at his words.

"But we've been at it all day, Alaric. I'm exhausted. Can't we just call it a day?"

"No," he countered without hesitation. "You need to be able to defend yourself, no matter the situation." Without warning, he launched a swift strike that I barely dodged.

He rarely begins our fighting exercises so abruptly. Normally, I'm quite adept at sparring with him, but today's fatigue made each move a struggle. Despite my best efforts to apply the techniques Alaric had taught me, my reactions were sluggish, and my movements were a fraction too slow. He exploited these weaknesses effortlessly, and he had me pinned to the ground within minutes.

The cool earth beneath me seemed almost comforting as I lay there, catching my breath. I stared up into the fading light filtering through the trees while Alaric gazed at me with dissatisfaction."Concentrate, Bumble! Does the threat of danger lessen because you're tired?"

"No," I said with a teary voice as I stood up. I felt frustrated. "It's just my hands. It's hard to make a fist when my nail pushes against my peeled skin, and I am really tired. My whole body feels numb. It's not like I am not trying. Even though I try my hardest, my body won't let me!"

Alaric crouched beside me. He gently held my hands and looked at them.

"They are not that badly injured," he murmured thoughtfully. "This is also a perfect learning moment."

Confused, I met his gaze. "How so?"

"As I've told you before, you need to fight in any situation if you want to survive," Alaric said while helping me get up." You must fight through the pain, through exhaustion."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"But wouldn't it make more sense to retreat and recover first?" I asked, hoping for some logic in my favor.

"Sometimes, yes. But often, there's no chance for that. If you turn your back to heal, you might expose yourself to greater risks. You must keep fighting until the threat is fully neutralized."

I nodded to his response.

"Alright then, let's continue." He said. This time, he gave me time to prepare before resuming our training.

As the sun began to dip below the treeline, casting long shadows through the forest, our sparring continued. Each exchange left me more drained than before. Finally, Alaric held up a hand, signaling a pause. I collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

"Did I do something to make you mad?" I asked Alaric.

"No," he responded as he sat next to me. "And I also didn't raise the level today."

I groaned at Alaric's response. So, I was that bad today.

"Here, drink some water," Alaric said while handing me a water bottle. I drank half of it immediately.

"Thanks, Alaric," I said. He smiled at me, and we stayed like that for a while without saying anything. As my breath and my heart became normalized, Alaric got up.

"Come on, let's go."

"To home?" I asked, hopeful.

"No, to the border."

Oh, he was going to lecture me again. He might not realize that, but he did this often if I did poorly in the training. I sighed and got up. We started to walk toward the border immediately. None of us were talking.

It took about 15 minutes, but we reached it. Unlike the inside of the border, the outside was deserted. The trees were lively here, green and shiny. But outside was gloomy. Even the tree's leaves were darker shades of color. Not long after, the voidspawns started to show up. They could still feel our presence even while we were in this safe and protected place.

In one of our latest lessons, Alaric introduced me to the voidspawns. He told me they emerged centuries ago during the 'First Descent'. Their origin was not certain, but these days, they were mostly transformed humans. This blackish goo with shiny white eyes attacked every living thing it sees, driven by a relentless hunger to consume life energy. Humanity had created about 2000 safe places; at that time, 1995 of them remained active. They were specially designed so that voidspawns couldn't enter or see us. However, they could still somehow sense our presence.

"What do you see?" he asked, his voice was calm but firm.

"Voidspawns," I replied, as I watched the voidspawns, their movements erratic and unpredictable.

"Exactly," Alaric nodded. "And those creatures—they don't care if you're injured or tired. They don't hesitate. Every day you train, every moment you feel pain and push through it, you're preparing yourself to face them."

I nodded to his words. "I understand, Alaric, but," I said while looking at my hands, "How can I just continue to fight it while it hurts?" I asked, feeling small and vulnerable under the expanse of the shadowy world before us.

"It does. And it will," Alaric acknowledged, his voice softening. "Pain is part of this life. It's a signal, not a barrier. It tells you you're alive and fighting. The day you stop feeling, you might as well be one of them." He gestured towards the voidspawns.

I nodded slowly to his words.

"Remember the First Loss, Bumble. The day we weren't prepared, it cost us dearly, to everyone. A lot of people died, and we lost the 7th safe place. Now look at them. They've lost all sense of pain, of humanity. They are relentless. If you give up whenever you're hurt, how will you ever protect yourself or anyone else?" Alaric continued, his eyes scanning the horizon.

"I won't give up," I said, more to myself than to him.

"Good," he replied, standing up straight. "Because we can't afford to. Now, let's go back. You need to rest and heal, and we'll train again tomorrow. Don't forget, every passing day, you need to push harder, go faster, become stronger."

As we walked back through the forest, the silence was filled with the distant calls of the voidspawns. Each step I took was a reminder of what was at stake. Alaric was right—I had to be ready for anything.

"Remember, Bumble," Alaric said as we approached our cabin, "the world is unforgiving to the unprepared. We train not just to fight but to survive."

"Yes, Alaric," I replied, my resolve firming. Tomorrow, I would be ready to face whatever challenges came my way.

In the end, tomorrow will be another day.