Volume 1 Chapter 3: Part 2: The Start Of Their Training

The next day, Onyx woke up really early. He looks around the room,

Oh yeah. I'm living in the palace now. Onyx can't believe he got such a big room in the Espoir castle. The bed's something he never imagines sleeping on. It felt surreal to him.

But what makes this situation not feel like a dream is the person sleeping beside him. Irene was hugging onto a pillow, drooling all over it. Last night he was caught in the moment, allowing her to sleep in his room. Onyx makes a wry smile as he looks at her.

If anybody from the village saw her like this, they wouldn't believe their beauty acted like this.

"Nnnn." Irene begins to move around, making the blanket fall off.

What am I going to do with you? Onyx sighs at how defenseless Irene is. He covers her back up with the blanket and walks out to the balcony. He sees the morning sun rising up.

Looking at the morning sun, Onyx has decided.

Where did I put my clothes? Onyx went back into his room, looking for his clothes to change from his pajamas. As he looks around, he can't find any of it. His face turns into a frown,

Should I use it? Onyx turns over to a bell on his nightstand. This was given to him by the head butler. Once he rang it, a maid and butler would come over to him.

I'll just go out like this. Onyx frowns, remembering the first time he used the bell. The moment he did, a group of maids and butlers came over to him!

If it was one, then Onyx would be fine. But a bunch came, and he felt that was overkill. He will never get used to people looking after him like that.

As Onyx slowly opens the door,

"Young master, where are you going?" The head butler was there waiting in front of his door.

"Woah!" Where did you come from?! Onyx looks at him in surprise. But he quickly regains his composure as he explains, "I just want to go workout."

It didn't sit well for him to not move at all. With the incidents of breaking items, Onyx was forced to not move a single inch!

But with his body's power regulated, how can he not move now?

"If you want to train, then I would suggest the courtyards. That's where the knight's train."

They should be having morning practice right now. Thinking about it now, the head butler continues, "If you go down the hall and take the stairs down, you will be in the courtyard."

"Also, do you need some clothes?" The head butler notices Onyx is still wearing his sleep clothes.

"Yes, please." It doesn't take long for Onyx to get changed. After changing his clothes, he bows to the head butler, "Thank you very much." He rushes away before the butler can say anything to him.

...

Once Onyx gets down to the courtyard, he sees the knights swinging their swords around. The knights notice Onyx as well. Whispers begin to swirl around from them.

"Why is there a kid here?"

"Shh, that's the new hero."

"He's the new hero? He's so thin."

"So cute! I want to eat him up!"

Onyx can hear the conversations between the knights. His expression turns wry when he hears all of it. Maybe I should go. Before Onyx can leave,

"Silence! Do you want to drop and give me 50 push-ups!" A rough voice shouts out. All of the knights turn silent and quickly go back to swinging their swords.

Onyx turns around to see a giant bear-sized man walking toward him.

"Hello, hero. My name is Frederick. I'm sorry that you have to hear all of that." Frederick bows his head in front of Onyx, which surprises him.

Onyx quickly regains his composure as he says, "Ahhh, I'm Onyx. It's fine. It's my fault for disturbing your practice.

"There's no need to apologize, hero. So why have you come here?"

"I'm just here to do some practice swings."

Frederick's face brightens, "If you are here for practice: please pick out any weapon you need." He drags Onyx over to the weapons rack and leaves him to his own devices.

Onyx doesn't think much about it anymore as he looks at the weapon's rack. All of them were made of metal, dulled. There were several types of weapons too.

But Onyx doesn't need to look at all of them. He looks at the swords. From great to short swords, the rack has it all.

Which one should I choose? Onyx was a little overwhelmed by the selection. In the end, he chooses a regular sword. It was about the same size as the sword Edson had given him to practice with.

It was much lighter than the one he had before. Onyx doesn't think more about this as he starts swinging the sword around.

Remembering what Edson taught him, Onyx continues to focus on his slashes. As he did, Onyx's mind tunneled in.

Again, nothing is around him. It's just Onyx and the sword.

The sound of the sword cutting through the air continues to grow sharper every time he slashes.

While Onyx does this, he doesn't realize the knights are staring at him. They look at him with surprise, mesmerized by how focused Onyx is.

What good form. Frederick doesn't expect Onyx would be this good.

Onyx keeps swinging for a while. But he realizes something's off. He turns around only to find the knights staring so closely at him.

"What's wrong?" Onyx tilts his head as he questions them. They have dead fish eyes.

"Nothing is wrong, hero. We're just surprised by how good your form is." Frederick says. He isn't alone in this as the other knights behind him nod their heads.

"You praise me too much. I'm just a beginner." Onyx didn't feel what he was doing was great. He knows it too. He's just a beginner.

"..." Frederick asks, "Umm, young hero, how long have you practiced with a sword?" He couldn't believe a 15-year-old would be able to swing so well. Not unless he got years of training.

"I've only held a sword for the past 2 days." Onyx gives a wry smile as he laughs.

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"..." The moment Onyx says this, the knights turn speechless. They didn't know what to say. Was this the power of the hero? How can he be so good in such a short time?

"Hero Onyx."

"Hmm, what is it?"

"Would you like to have a spar with me?" Frederick says with a serious expression.

"Commander, have you gone mad?!"

"How can you attack such a cute child!"

"He's only been swinging his sword for 2 days! How can you ask him for a spar!"

"You gorilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllla!"

All the knights shout. The female knights were especially adamant about this. How can the commander of the knights spar with an inexperienced swordsman?!

"All of you, be quiet! And who called me a gorilla?! I'll smash you!" Frederick's face turns red, ready to smack all of the knights. But he has more important things as he turns back to Onyx,

"You don't have to worry about being injured. I will be holding back my strength." Even Fredericks knows if he used his full strength, it wouldn't be called a spar.

"Why do you want to spar with me?" Onyx's confused about why Frederick would want to spar with him.

"I-I just want to give you some tips. You don't have to worry about anything. Treat this like training as well." Frederick quickly says.

"Geeeeeeeeeeee." But all the knights thought differently. Frederick has the worst poker face ever.

Onyx doesn't know about it. His eyes were sparkling, "I understand!" Hearing this, Frederick smiles. He turns over to the knights, signaling them to move away from the two of them.

"Best regards." Frederick bows his head. Onyx copies him and gets ready, holding the sword up.

Frederick holds up his sword as well and locks eyes with Onyx.

"!" Onyx steps back, feeling the pressure coming off of Frederick. It felt like a beast was staring him down.

Stronger than the fang boar.

Frederick's size was already enormous. However, it felt like a towering unbreaking wall was in front of him.

But Onyx wasn't going to cower from the pressure. He charges in, wanting to be the one to land the first strike! Frederick calmly blocks it with the hilt of his blade, redirecting Onyx's attack downwards.

But Onyx doesn't stop his attack as he swings his sword by the side. But Frederick continues to block. The exchange between the two kept going on.

"C'mon, you got this!"

"Beat that gorilla up!"

"Cutie beat him to a bloody pulp!"

As the two fought, the knights cheered. All of it was towards Onyx. Hearing it all, Frederick's face twisted.

Can you guys not act like this? He couldn't believe his knights would be so cold towards him.

"Would you guys-" Before Frederick can tell them to shut up, his face turns serious. He turns his head only to find Onyx's sword a few millimeters away from his face!

"!" Frederick quickly uses his sword to block the slash. And he counters as he blows Onyx's sword away and punches Onyx's stomach! Onyx was like a broken kite as he flew a couple of meters away from his original position.

"..." Nobody can even speak of what just happened.

"You gorilla!"

"How could you!"

"How can you use such a heavy hand on a child!"

"Quickly! Get a stretcher!"

The knights scream out. Some ran over to Onyx, wondering if he was still conscious. Frederick quickly runs over as well,

"Are you alright, Onyx?" Onyx moves his body upwards,

"I'm fine." I think. He can feel his head going in circles.

"I'm sorry for hitting what I did!" Frederick sighs in relief when Onyx looks ok. But then he bows his head in guilt.

"It's ok. I expected to get hit in a spar." A spar means a battle between the two. So, of course, Onyx wasn't surprised that he got hit in the stomach. He just didn't expect the power.

It was like getting hit by a hammer.

Is this the difference between the two of us?

"Hero Onyx, King Walter wants to meet with you in the reception hall. Hmm, what happened?" Breaking the tense atmosphere, the head butler came down. However, what he saw was the knights crowding around Onyx.

"I understand." Onyx gets off the ground and places the sword back onto the rack.

"..." The knights didn't know what to say to the head butler. What would happen to them if the king found out they just beat up a hero?! The repercussions will be enormous. Frederick steps up, ready to take the blame.

However, he didn't need to.

"I was just practicing with my sword, and commander Frederick gave me lessons on my form." Onyx notices the suspicious look the head butler has and quickly pushes him,

"Let's go. I don't want to keep the king waiting." Pushing the head butler away, Onyx turns back to the knights and gives a gentle smile.

Kyiuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu(Arrows piercing their hearts. Idk what the sound of that is)

Ahh, did we just see an angel? The knights didn't expect Onyx would be so kind to them. They felt their hearts were turned into jelly as they watched him leave.

While the knights were spellbound by Onyx, they didn't notice Frederick looking down at his hand. His right hand, which held his sword, was shaking.

...

"Wait! Hero Onyx, Will you go to the receptionist hall wearing your normal clothes?" Onyx tilts his head at the head butler's question.

"Espoir kingdom nobles and people of the Holy Land will be there. If they see you like this, they will think badly of you." Right now, Onyx's clothes are covered with sweat and dirt. If he goes in looking like that, the nobles will start denouncing him!

Without waiting for Onyx to respond, the head butler drags Onyx to the bathroom.

...

I still can't get used to this. Onyx continues to loosen the collar of his suit. The moment he got dragged into the bathroom, the butlers and maids made their move. His hair was combed, and his body was washed as quickly as possible.

"It looks good on you, though?" Irene was beside him and was the same. She was wearing a splendid azure dress, and her hair got tidied up.

The head butler had a wry smile on his face. But then he got another notification from another butler,

"Hero Onyx and Hero Irene, please go in now."

The two nod. As the guards open the door for the two, they can hear the squire shouting,

"And now entering; Hero Onyx and Hero Irene!"

As the two walked in, the two got all the attention of everybody. Many nobles were gazing at the two in admiration. And sitting on the throne was Walter, smiling down on the two.

"Welcome, you two. Looks like you guys have grown accustomed to your stay in the castle?"

"Mmmhmm."

"That is good." Walter smiles and turns to the nobles, "Thank you guys for coming here on such short notice."

The nobles bow their heads. Walter nods and continues,

"The reason why I asked you all to come here is because of the heroes. Even though they are heroes, as you see, they are still children. That's why we need to teach and help them. That's why I decided to work with the Holy Land to help the heroes."

That was the proposal Walter gave to Otter.

Otter speaks, "I agree; with the Espoir Kingdom and the Holy Land working together, the heroes will get the best education. Our priest will be providing the magical lessons. While King Walter will be focusing on swordsmanship."

Walter turns back to the two, "Is this fine with you, Onyx, Irene?"

"I'm ok with it!" "...Alright." Irene sparkles as she says this. But Onyx took a bit to think about it.

"That's good." Walter sighs. He thought they would disagree.

"Question, King Walter." One of the nobles spoke up, "Will Frederick be the one to teach them close combat?"

Walter shakes his head, "No, Frederick won't be the one teaching them. He has his duty as the commander of the knights. I don't want to put more work onto him."

The noble's face brightens, "Then let me do it!"

"No! My family has always produced top-quality knights."

"Your majesty, please choose my family. I will give the two heroes the best treatment."

The nobles start to argue with each other, wanting to train Onyx and Irene.

"Enough, you guys won't be the ones to train them. Vargar and I will be the ones to do it."

"..." If a pin dropped, everybody could hear it.

"You're majesty! What about your work?!"

"Let us deal with the training of the heroes! You have other priorities more important than them!" The nobles start to voice their opinions about this. However, Walter puts his foot down,

"Enough! I have spoken! And who else is capable of training them besides Vargar and me?!"

"..." The nobles went silent again. They can't say anything to the sound argument. Walter and Vargar's skills are already known to be top class. Who else can train the two besides the best of the best?

"I will be one to teach Irene. While Vargar will be the one to teach Onyx."

Hearing that, Irene's excited. Onyx can just feel the happy aura coming off of her. She always looked up to Walter and Vargar.

Two heroes. And now they are being taught by them. It's a godsend for her.

"This is the only thing I have to say now." Walter doesn't say anything else and leaves everybody to their own devices.

"Irene, let's get something to eat," Onyx says. The two haven't had breakfast yet, and the buffet by the side has been in Onyx's rearview of his eye for the entire time.

Irene nods, hungry as well. But when the two try to go there,

"Hello, Hero Onyx. I'm viscount-"

"Please come to my estate."

"Please meet my daughter."

"Your beauty is like the sun. Please talk with my son."

Onyx and Irene were being bombarded by requests from nobles, splitting the two apart. His mind was in disarray as nobles invited him to their estate. Onyx turns over to see that Irene is a few meters away from him!

The nobles kept pushing toward them, moving them apart from each other.

Even if she's far away from him, Onyx can tell she's uncomfortable. The nobles are looking at Irene with lecherous eyes.

Those guys! Onyx grew angry. He lightly excuses himself from the nobles in front of him and quickly walks towards Irene.

"!" Onyx pulls Irene behind him, shielding her away from the noble's gaze, and he apologizes to them,

"I'm sorry. But Irene doesn't do well with talking to strangers. Please be more mindful." Even though he doesn't want to cause trouble, Onyx won't let Irene get bullied like that.

"You-" The nobles became pissed off. But before they can say anything back to Onyx, Walter coughs loudly enough to make everybody turn over to him!

"My apologies. It seems that I caught a cold." Walter has a wry smile as he waves it off. However, he starts eyeing down the nobles close to Onyx and Irene.

They notice it too.

"Let's go." The nobles have a dirty faces as they quickly leave the two there.

Phew. Onyx sighs, thankful that this problem is over. He turns over to Walter, giving him a light smile, thanking him. Walter nods back to him.

Onyx looks at Irene, "Are you ok?" Instead of a response, Irene just jumps into his chest,

"!" Onyx blushes. The number of eyes on them just increased 10 fold! He can even see Walter and Vargar giving the two the elder look.

"Can you not do this in front of everybody?" Onyx whispers into Irene's ears.

Irene looks up to him with a big smile, "No. I want everybody to know that I have a knight in shining armor." She felt her heart pierced by ten thousand arrows of love.

Onyx scratches his cheeks in embarrassment and adds, "Let's go get something to eat now."

"Ok." Irene smiles and holds onto Onyx's hands. The nobles didn't block their way. What Walter did made the other nobles wary of any rushed moves.

As Onyx and Irene were eating at the buffet,

Snap.

Onyx felt something pricking at him. Onyx turns around and notices a person in priest clothes looking at him. He sees a dark aura surrounding him.

What's going on? Onyx was confused as to why he could see something like that. It felt weird.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Irene notices Onyx's stale expression. But Onyx quickly turns into a gentle one,

"Nothing, I think I just ate a lot." Onyx doesn't want to make Irene worry. It might be just a farce or something.