After taking weapons and our history lesson, we retired for the day. Uncle Uuk is going to train us from tomorrow. While sleeping I felt nights were getting colder. It was challenging to sleep today as there was too much moonlight today. We cover our garden side door with leather drapes which act as blinders in the morning, but the major problem is the other door through which moonlight directly falls onto me.
I'll have to tell uncle Uuk about it. We should train some orcs in carpentry. We don't have doors, even in our lavatory. Thank god we have a toilet that only our family uses so there are no mishaps. I wonder how the rest of the tribe deals with that. While stargazing from my corridor, I wondered how other siblings are sleeping tonight. Our sensitive eyes can't sleep in such light. I noticed there was only one moon in this world that had the almost same size as the one back on earth. I can't remember if it was the same in the novel. But then I recalled one article about what will happen with tides and nights if there were more moons. It would have been a catastrophe for the earth to have over one moon. After a little more comparison of this world with earth, I felt chill and went back to bed.
As soon as I fell asleep, I was feeling a nudge on my legs. A little noise was entering my ears. I wondered if it was the same alarm as back. I opened my eyes a little to see uncle Uuk standing right beside my bed with his hair messed up." It's already morning? I remember laying down in my bed a few minutes ago."
"Uric get up, today is the day." He said in a normal voice. Usually, he is much louder. He is already dressed up for training. He was wearing his regular brown top with grey pants.
"Is it morning already? I can't see the sun yet and I just slept because there is no door to hold off the light." I complained with a long yawn, stretching out both my arms and flexing my calves. After that, I embraced my blanket again. It is hard to get out of bed today.
"Get up already now, even Dabi & Daru have woken up. Get ready and meet me with others in the glade." I heard his words. As soon as I turned, he was already at the gate. Honestly, I was expecting some more persuasion. As he was heading back, his back looked so big from behind. I wonder how strong he is actually.
I could hear a squabble going on outside. It's probably Dabi and Daru fighting over something. I needed no more motivation. It is a matter of time till both of them will barge into my room. Gathering all the motivation, I went up to wash up.
Contrary to every day, I was last today. After washing up, we went towards the glade. There was little light till now, just enough that I could see my hand. And I have decent night vision. We were walking in line with Daru, Dabi, Darg, and finally, me in the back. It was silent in the morning such that I could hear the stream flowing behind our house. No one talked about anything. Everyone was in their own thought. It's a good time to train. You feel fresh and those critters are probably deep asleep. As we got near the ground I saw uncle Uuk was already practicing his sword.
Upon our arrival, he stopped and rested his sword down on the ground. It went a few inches inside just because of its own weight.
"Come on, hurry." It was a little uphill where uncle was training. Twins raced to him upon hearing his words. While Darg went up slowly with me.
I gave a good look at the ground, analyzing it.
The training ground was about 40-50 m long and the same width. It was uneven, but it was still good. It's not like I can get a football pitch here. I saw in the far end that they have cut two close trees down from the top and they fixed an iron rod in between trunks to make a gymnastic horizontal bar. I remember it was not there till yesterday. Uncle must have made that right now for us.
There were lots of bushes and trees all around the training grounds, giving us enough privacy. It was our fortune that there were no berries in the surrounding which confirms goblins would not be hanging around here.
"Now sit in the same posture as me and close your eyes." Then he sat down on the ground in a meditating position. We all followed him and formed a circle and started waiting for the next instruction. I could feel cold little droplets of due. It seemed like we were sitting on ice. However, that was for a few seconds only. It got normal afterward.
"Now you will not think about anything else and will only concentrate on your breathing. Concentrate only on your breathing." he repeated those last words slowly. He was slowly breathing. We followed him. I know this shit already. Damn yoga.
"Now, imagine energy going inside your body from everywhere." We followed everything he said. We did it for a few minutes.
"Now imagine in your mind that energy going inside your body is moving and getting concentrated in a core in the middle of your chest." He said. I imagined it and soon I could feel a core as small as a teardrop inside me. I didn't know what was it so I was about to open my eyes to check what I was feeling in my chest.
"I know you can feel it. Don't open your eyes and just listen." Uncle said loudly just before I was going to open my eyes. I wonder if that was a fluke or experience.
"The thing you felt is your core. It will generate energy when you require it. You all have seen my sword. It is much heavier than me but I can easily swing it. That's because of my core energy. Right now your core is small, that's why you can't control it. With training, we will make it big enough for you to control its energy." uncle explained.
I was a little shocked at the beginning about feeling the core, but now I remember it. All orcs have a core inside them. You need to deplete that core energy, again and again, to make it big. It works the same as the muscles. When depleted, it assumes it needs to be bigger in order to survive and in the process makes the following orc stronger. Core energy strengthens your muscle inhumanely and gives your nerves more control over your muscles. But it is limited. Therefore, it is necessary to have a bigger core and to have better control over that energy. In orcs, as the size of the core increases, their color changes. In the green phase, orcs have two transformations. Initially, all orcs are forest green, then they transform to hunter green and finally to dark green. Later, when the size of the core increases with control such that they can release that energy out from their body, they turn into red orcs. When that happens, their core becomes like an lvl4 magic beast core. In the green phase, it's like lvl 1,2, and 3.
Uncle explained this all to us. We are all children, so he had to do it a few more times than expected. After that, he gave us a break and went towards the heritage room.
"Brother, do you think uncle Umok can become a red orc?" Darg asked as he just heard the closest one to become a red orc in our tribe was the father.
"I don't know." I genuinely don't know the answer. However, it would be good if we can have at least a few red orcs in our tribe before the war begins.
"Do you think we can become red orc one day?" He asked, watching his twinkling eye and an innocent face brought a smile to my face. Sometimes it pains my heart to think he had never seen his father.
"Of course, we can. It all depends on us. Didn't you hear uncle? We need to deplete our core as much time as we can." This time I knew the definite answer. Orcs children don't train seriously until they are a year old. Even our tribe's children will be the same even though it was just yesterday that father gave such a big speech on revenge. It is just on our parents' emphasis that we are getting trained for the future. We are already ahead of the curve. But it is not enough. This must-have happened in the original novel. We need to go extra hard this time.
"You know what? I am going to push myself to my absolute limit. Even if my legs break, I am still going to train. I must become a red orc as quickly as possible." I don't know why, but I started ranting, as Darg was listening closely with full attention.
"Why do you want to become a red orc so fast? What's the reason?" Now he is investigating me for an answer.
"The reason is simple. I want to become strong so that I can protect my family. Like my father, I don't want to suffer. I want us to grow strong, settle down in a nice place where there are no wars, and live a happy life." I couldn't tell him the truth, but what I told him was also not false. I want to live peacefully with my family. Darg listened to everything quietly.
"Yes, brother, let's do it. We want to become a red orc. Let's push each other to our limits." Daru and Dabi, who were quietly listening to our conversation, were all excited.
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"Yeah? Then make it a promise." I told them. I have told them what the promise is already. Once a promise is made, then you need to keep that promise. Otherwise, it will lower your honor.
"Yes, brother, I promise."
"I also promise, brother."
It's not an enormous task. Anything, that is a little interesting can excite them to death. This brought a relieved smile to my face. Bingo. I got my gym buddies now.
"What's happening? What are you guys discussing?" By now, uncle Uuk was back. He was carrying a few jackets in his hand.
"Shhh, don't tell uncle anything. That's a secret between us." I told my siblings and they all agreed excitedly.
"It's okay if you don't want to tell me about it. See what I got for you all." Uncle raised those jackets and said. Suddenly he dropped those and there was an enormous impact on the ground. I know they are weighted jackets. Come on. What day is today? Everything that happened till now was good. First, I got to sense my core, then got my new gym buddies and now weighted jacket. That's a perfect setup for working out.
'Wow uncle, what are they? Are we going to wear them?' Dabi could not control her excitement.
"Yes, they are made for training. Quickly put them on, then I will tell you how to train with them." Uncle Uuk told her. Dealing with children is an art. But my uncle is already excelling at it.
He had picked up a round a dozen of jackets, that made sure we will get our size. After wearing the jacket, we were ready for the training to begin.
"First, you need to run 50 rounds of this ground. Building stamina is the most important. It will help in both your fighting and hunting. Just remember a few rules: start slow and go long. Also, if you get tired stop for five breaths, and start running again." He explained. We all agreed and started running. Everyone except me was bouncing to go. Personally, I never enjoyed running. I am not an ardent supporter of cardio, as I always believed in lifting weights. But hearing him makes sense. In the future, we might need to run for hours in order to escape Aaron's pursuit. Damnn. What am I thinking right now? I should aim to get myself stronger right now. After just ten rounds, the twins were already taking a break. They clearly ignored their uncle's advice of starting slow and going long. As they dashed ahead right at the beginning.
"Dabi, Daru, that's already over 50 breaths. Now start running again." I could hear my uncle shouting at the twins while I passed by them. I felt little sympathy for them. However, Darg was constantly on my tail. I have a feeling that if I slack even for one breath, he will surpass me.
I ran with everything I've got to maintain my lead. It was going so smoothly that I even questioned if this training is good enough for this body, but the last 5-6 laps really got me. I thought of quitting up many times in the last 2-3 rounds, but I got through it. After completing 50 laps, I directly crashed into the ground and I immediately regretted it as my white top already became black from dirt. I was regularly working out, so I thought I won't have much problem. But I was damn wrong. Maybe it was because of these jackets.
"Uric, I refrained from saying anything because you were doing great. But you can take a rest, you don't have to overdo it. Save some of your energy for later. It's not the last exercise today." I simply nodded at his advice. I didn't speak, as I was still breathing hard.
"You must have felt that you will go down at some point but you didn't?'
'Yeah, many times during those last laps." I said as I was halfway up from the ground.
"That's because of the core energy that you got through." I suddenly looked at him on hearing this. He was smiling as usual. I understood when you are at your limit, your core energy will come out.
We got a little water break. Uncle said our next task will be to run uphill and downhill 10 times. Let's see how that turns out.
"It amazed me you pulled through 50 laps with me." I asked Darg who could keep up with me and now he is ready to go again.
"I only watched your back while I was running behind you. I imagined you to be my check post that is running away and somehow I kept running." His words amazed me. Now I am being used as a check-post for his training. He is different from the twins who were down at least 4-5 times in 50 laps. I know inside his heart he doesn't want to fall too much behind me. But I literally hope this competitiveness only remains till we are children.
After that, uncle took us to a small hill which was not too small. There, we ran uphill and downhill 10 times. This time also Darg was right behind me all the time. It became more and more difficult as we repeated it. In the end, we complete it but now we all are very exhausted.
In the end, we still made it somehow and now we are doing upside-down situps on a gymnastics pole. Uncle told us to do the maximum situps we can do but we are doing more than that. I am supporting their shoulder to go up, even when they are at their limits. I even made them do several sets of situps. It was the toughest one till now, even I took support from Darg at one point.
"Haa…Haa uncle, it's over. We can't move anymore." Dabi said as she was laying on the grass.
"Yeah uncle, I think she is right. I can't move. I think it's a cramp." Dabu said dramatically as he was gasping for air.
After situps, we sat down to rest a little. Some time passed and my uncle asked us to go to the water stream. Right now the twins are down and are complaining to uncle about how he should cancel the last workout. It was hilarious how such a big guy cannot get a few children on their feet. In the end, they agreed and got up.
"You absolutely need to do it. That's the most important exercise of the day." Uncle said in a serious tone, so no one complained. Usually, he is in a happy-go-lucky mode so it is easy for everyone to talk their mind in front of him.
Finally, we gather by the stream. It is around three to four meters wide. The current was strong but orcs can easily swim in this. However, I don't know if we can in our current situation and that too with these jackets.
"We are not swimming with these jackets. Right, uncle?" Dabi said while pouting. By this time I can see even my uncle got embarrassed. Even he feels like it's becoming torturous for children. In the end, he promised to give the magic beast's heart to the one who swims the most to convince the twins for wearing jackets. It was a thing that we siblings fight for while eating. Competing for it while training is a good idea but the twins were not ready to hear it. In the end, they started to remove their jackets.
It was funny how two little kids were toying with his patience.
'Of course, you need to have those things on. Did you already forget what your father told you yesterday? You all have to train hard so that you don't die easily while fighting.' He suddenly reminded us of those words from the father. Dabi rolled her eyes as if she was tolerating him. Lol,' it's amazing that she can make these expressions already. It should be enough. Father is the only one whom these twins fear a bit. She said nothing back once she saw Daru was getting ready to get into the water.
"Swim till you can. Don't worry about anything else. If you get loose consciousness, I'll take you out of the stream, so don't worry." Uncle said.
"What if you can't? The Stream is fast." Dabu asked.
"It's okay, stream goes past our house down there. Someone will pick you up." we bursted out in boisterous laughter at his response.
Everyone entered the stream and was getting ready to swim. We started swimming. For a few seconds, it was okay. I was going ahead but suddenly it became very difficult to move forward. A minute has passed and this time Darg could not hold himself near me. I saw over my shoulder that he was lagging far behind. Uncle also took out the twins from the water. I understood they lost their consciousness. So, I started focusing on my swimming.
After a few more seconds, it became extremely difficult to move forward. However, I kept going forward as my vision was getting blurred. I could only see one point in front of me as I splashed the water with all my might. Then suddenly it became blank.
I felt there was a huge Blackhole inside my chest that was engulfing my surrounding. Yeah, I remember it. Uncle said this will happen when we deplete our core. My mind was a little conscious. I could feel myself floating down the river stream. However, it was not a good feeling.
I regained my consciousness to see that everyone was awake. "What happened? Why was I last in getting up?" I wondered as I probably have better resilience than any other children in my tribe.
'Darg got unconscious at the same time as you, but the distance was large, so it took time before I picked you out. Are you alright now?' uncle's words explained what happened. I remember myself floating on water. I can't tell, but from my condition and everyone's reaction, I can say that I must have drunk 2-3 liters of water. It was nice working out till you pass out. But it is bad right now. My mind is not stable even now. I gathered all my strength and with remaining zeal, I got up. I was still having vertigos and dizziness. My legs are numb and my shoulder are sore as I somehow staggered to the river stream and put my head inside the water.
As I dipped my head inside, a flashback of Aaron's quest rolled over in front of my eyes. Suddenly I remembered a place. Dima lake. I must go there. I pulled back my face from the river and wiped off the water from my face. "Wow, that did wonders."
"Anyone up for more training? I will give my magic beast's heart if you can beat me." I don't know what happened in my mind, but I poke suddenly as I was pulling back my hair.
"Aahahaha. That's good. That's what I want from a future leader of a tribe. Should I also join?" Uncle said with his demonic laughter.
" I will do it." Darg agreed immediately. I hope my words rather than uncles inspired him.
They all agreed. I started doing squats to lead by example. I saw everyone following me except for Dabu.
'What happened? You are too tired?' I asked him as he first agreed, but now is watching us instead of following.
"I think I'll pass. If there is any other exercise, then I will do it, but not this one." He replied. I don't know what got into him.
"Why? What's wrong with this exercise?"
'You have made us do that exercise before in the garden. I know it. We won't be able to sit in the pit after competing in that exercise.' another joyous laughter bursted out on his comment. Yes, it will be difficult for us to sit in the pit. To sit in a dry pit is a struggle even normally not to say with a sore muscle.
Twins didn't follow but I and Darg completed squats, pullups, and pushups. Of course, he wasn't able to beat me in any of them. As we completed our exhaustive and adventurous workout, it was already lunchtime by the time we finished. So we headed back to our house.