"What the heck is this?" I screamed with my parched throat, taking the scene in front of me.
It was a dilapidated wooden fence demarcating a piece of land about the size of a lord's manor? I wasn't sure because my eyes couldn't see the fence's end.
While all this wasn't actually very surprising, it was the eerie silence akin to that of a graveyard.
It also raised the question…
'Why aren't the knights training here?'
This was the most baffling question on Ezra's mind.
While the first training ground was far better in quality, it was only about half of this one's size.
'And if it's renovation, I highly doubt the Empire is lacking money'
Seeing he couldn't do anything about it, he threw it to the back of his mind as he went in slowly with his legs aching all over.
*Screech*
The door was screeching when I pushed it in, but that wasn't on my mind.
I look inside and I find it just how I pictured it, big but empty, disappointing to say the least.
Everything looked old and spent. Sacks of different types were hung on the wooden fence that looked like it would fall off at the slightest hit.
Training dummies and archery targets were covered in dust and cobwebs, so was the weapons shack on the right.
The ground itself was dusty as hell, making me cough multiple times, yet surprisingly, no leaves or plants grew on the ground.
As I examined the place, a voice I knew all too well called out.
"Ohohoho, ye up already? Figured ye sleep till dusk, but this works too"
It was Sir Fredrick, whose hands were filled with cleaning items as he beckoned me to come over.
Then he drops the cleaning equipment at my feet and begins to speak…
"Alright lad, it's time for bodybuilding and the first task I have for ye is to clean this whole yard before going back to the castle, any questions?"
"Of course I do! Isn't this too much for a five year old kid? How am I supposed to do this in a day?"
"Hmm, fair enough, you have three days to clean every nook and cranny of this place"
"What the? Can't you call someone else to do it?" I asked, visibly annoyed.
"I can do that, but the queens said I could train you in any way I want in order to stimulate your enormous potential"
As soon as I heard those words, everything clicked.
Actually, I had been wondering what schemes those three witches would use to delay my progress.
I hadn't expected this though, because he wasn't their style.
As for what they were trying to do though, I'll find out soon enough.
"Yes, sir" was all I said as soon as I knew it was the work of my step-mothers.
Also, the fact that father didn't object means he's testing me again, well, that's most likely or he couldn't be bothered.
'Either way, he's my combat instructor for who knows how long, I have to make the best of this opportunity'
And so began one of the worst events of my life.
-Three days later-
"Huff…Huff…Huff"
We see Ezra breathless as his chest heaved up and down while lying on his back.
Dirt and dust all over his clothes and body.
A shadow loomed over his body before a voice rang out not long after.
"Well done toddler, ye did a good job"
At this moment, Ezra's face scrunched up which made him look very unsightly.
"What are ye looking at me like that for? I said you did a good job, didn't I?"
At this point, Ezra really wanted to curse and yell, but held it in by closing his eyes and taking deep breaths.
The past three days had been hellish, to say the least.
It took all of Ezra's willpower to endure such an ordeal.
He had cleaned the dusty sacks, which he later found filled with sand and removed the patches of grass across a soccer field size training ground.
Not to mention the training dummies and archery targets and the myriad weapon's along with the weapons shack.
He also learned a little carpentry by changing the ones that couldn't hold out any longer.
Thankfully, the new planks were already cut out by a professional, so he only had to put them in place after removing an old one.
This also caused him a great deal of pain and energy because some nails were hammered wrongly, cutting his fingers in the process, which was all cured by the healers.
If his legs had been protesting when he sprinted on the first day, they were now crying for mercy.
That was how much his entire body was aching.
It was thanks to cultivating mana and the fact that he was being attended to by the castle's healers that helped his body recover from fatigue much faster and kept him healthy through it all.
That, coupled with the firm resolve to get his revenge helped him the most, because the magic could heal his body but not his mental fatigue.
He was assured that no one his age could have ever done such a thing, but then again, most children started their combat training at ten, or eight at earliest.
Ezra was an anomaly, and he knew so too.
'Seems I was asking too much when I thought he would actually compliment me, and yet, he said "You did a good job"'
Ezra's face soured once he thought about it.
The ground was completely free of grass, the sacks and dummies looked almost unused, the weapons were mostly sparkling and neatly arranged on the polished shack.
But no, it was only "a good job".
It then suddenly struck him that he was acting like a kid, so he forcibly threw it out of his mind and got up slowly while reminding himself why he put up with it.
'I'll have my revenge, just you wait' he thought as his tired eyes looked like a flame was lit in them.
Meanwhile, Sir Fredrick's mind was churning with multiple thoughts while his face remained impassive.
'Damn, I think I see why those arrogant queens are agitated because of him, even some ten year olds would be bedridden for a week at least, but this guy…this guy's a monster in his own right!'
'Then…I should increase the training to the maximum to know his limits, which I'll use to make the most suitable bodybuilding guide for him' Sir Fredrick nodded as he thought of this idea, while also a little excited.
"Alright, toddler, is seems you are able to move, let's begin real training then"
By now, Ezra didn't even have the energy to argue, merely nodding, before being told to do a hundred push-ups.
He firmed his resolve while ignoring his crying bones and began, but in a slow manner that looked like he would fall at any time.
Yet, slowly but surely, he kept going gradually while counting inwardly.
'1, 2, 3…41…53'
When he got here, he had to actively use mana to stimulate his muscles into moving before continuing.
'54, 55, 56…67…78…83'
At this point, he was as slow as a snail and his body was seriously hot with small drops of blood falling from his nose, causing Sir Fredrick to sweat while standing seven meters away.
This was the result of overworking his muscle while overloading his meridians.
Yet…
'I can't give up here! Because it's always easier the second time, I must never allow the FIRST!'
His motivation was sky-high. Too bad his motivation wasn't going to move his body.
So he froze and started thinking.
No matter what he wanted, at the current rate, he wouldn't do more than two before his body gave up on him.
'But…what can I do?'
He thought about a few things but shook his head, there weren't any 'ifs' in life. He had to use what he had right now to achieve his goals.
But for that, there was only one viable solution.
'I have to go all out'
As soon as Ezra found a viable solution, he picked it, because staying still could be more fatal than continuous movement.
He stared at the ground filled with his sweat and in one thought, steadied himself.
And then…he put his body in overdrive.
Like a car with little fuel left but not enough to make the finish line in hindsight.
Ezra put his body on Nitro by using the wisps of mana left to coat his hands' muscle's, numbing the pain a little and then moving fast.
'84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97…'
He exhausted his mana at this very instant, and the pain hit him like water trying to break a dam.
'Not yet! Damn it! It's not enough!' he thought as a wave of despair came about.
But before he could succumb to it…
'Then, I'LL JUST MAKE IT ENOUGH!' he shouted inwardly, like a dead car coming back to life, a silver light shined in his eyes and he moved.
'98, 99, 100!' he thought before his sight was engulfed in darkness.
*Bam*
His body hit the wet floor with a "bam" that echoed throughout the empty training grounds.
As Ezra's head was about to do the same, we see an open palm appear under it, saving it from directly hitting the stoned ground.
"Hah, ye one crazy toddler aren't you?" Sir Fredrick said.
"Ye could have stopped half-way and I wouldn't have been- huh?" he suddenly stopped when he saw something incomprehensible.
The five-year-old boy whose body was so hot it would melt rubber, with blood trickling down his nose, was slightly quivering from overuse.
There…was a smile on his face, a smile of fulfillment. But that is exactly why it was more baffling.
'A smile of fulfillment…on a five year old? What the hell happened to you?' he thought, but no answer came to mind, so he could only sigh.
'It seems everyone has a secret' he thought, as he carried Ezra in his arms with his head on Sir Fredrick's shoulder, and walked slowly towards, not the royal castle, but somewhere else.
A lot of thoughts went through his mind while doing so.
