Chapter 13: An Old End, and a New Beginning

  Sev suddenly jerked awake, completely disoriented and unable to see. He tried to remain calm, but was kneeling on the ground with his hands tied behind his back. He tried to blink away the void he found himself in, but could not shake the darkness. As he moved, he felt a weight shift over his head. What is this? Where am I? What’s happening??

  “Well, well, it seems you are all awake. Good, that means we can get things rolling.” A familiar voice rang out and into Sev’s ears. Suddenly, the sack was ripped off of Sevagoth’s head, allowing the light to flood his eyes. “Now, there are five of you here who have been chosen. I have high hopes that each of you will survive to see the end of this, but I have my doubts as well.” Suddenly, the figure came into focus as Sev’s eyes adjusted to the light. Tyr? So this is The Claw? How did I get here? The last thing I remember is saying goodbye to Arthur and going to bed.

  “I’m sure you all have questions. Great. Keep them to yourselves, I can’t be fucked to care. For the next six years, your lives are mine. You will wake up when you are told, and you will sleep when you are told. You will fight when you are told, and you will die when you are told. Any failure to follow these rules will result in harsh penalties. Do I make myself clear?!?” Tyr yelled out to the children.

  “Sir!” Sev responded.

  Tyr faced Sev and gave him a twisted grin. “I somehow knew you’d catch on the fastest. Your training starts today. You will train for twelve hours a day. Six hours after breakfast, and six hours after lunch. These first four years will strengthen you physically and mentally. If you fail to prove yourself in training, you will not eat the next meal. If you underperform in both training sessions in a single day, you will not eat at all the next day. You earn your keep, or you starve to death. The choice is yours. Now, let's get things started, shall we?” Tyr said, eyes still locked onto Sev.

  “As of right now, you are no longer your own person. Your name means nothing, your families mean nothing, and you as an individual mean nothing. The only thing that matters now is what you accomplish. Going forward, you will be referred to only by the number I gave you when I recruited you. If you manage to survive the training and pass your test, you will be given another name that The Claw will know you by. Understood?” Tyr asked the group. Most of the kids looked confused, but Sev and one other seemed to understand what was going on. The number he gave us? Must have been when he referred to the number of people who knew about the order. I must be number 5 then.

  “Now, sound off. What are your names?!?” Tyr yelled at the group.

  “1, Sir!” Yelled a relatively tall kid. He had short blonde hair and was lanky. However, he seemed to be picking things up alongside Sev.

  “2!” Yelled a child who was pretty large for his age. He was already almost a full head taller than Sev and had started to develop a lot of muscle.

  “I don’t remember!” The other two children answered, overwhelmed by the stress of the situation.

  “5, Sir!” Sev yelled.

  “Well, well, it seems we have a few failures already. A bit earlier than I expected, I’ll admit. But, it’s a good learning opportunity.” Tyr said coldly, walking over to stand directly above one of the kids who couldn’t remember their number. “Now, follow me, all of you!” He shouted as he led the way out of the small, bland room.

  The group entered a long stone hallway, ceilings relatively low, just high enough that Tyr didn’t have to duck while walking. After about a minute, they arrived at a much larger room, several hundred feet in either direction and several stories tall. This is bigger than the entire garrison combined. What the hell? Sev thought as he entered. The room's construction was plain, but efficient. Simple stone walls with runes thrown in at regular intervals. Along the wall that had the door, several weapon and equipment racks were filled with all sorts of blades and armors, as well as other tools the kids had never seen before.

  The room was divided into small sections, with one half of it being a large running track, dotted with steep elevation changes and various other obstacles. In the middle of the track, there sat a massive wooden structure that seemed to resemble a keep. The opposite half of the room was split into three areas: a training area with wooden dummies, a training area with several small sections of water dotted around and pillars inside the water, and a third area that seemed to have the beginnings of an obstacle course. As the kids followed the course, they discovered that it extended over the two other training sections, as well as partially over the running track.

  “This will be where you will spend twelve hours a day, every day. There may be exceptions, such as special training. But unless otherwise noted, you will arrive here at 6 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon. If you are late by even a minute, you will be penalized. If you skip a training session, you will be penalized. I am going to make you strong enough to survive, but ultimately it has to be your choice. So don’t waste your time here. You all agreed to this. Don’t disappoint me.” Tyr said coldly as he led the group into the training room proper. “Now, let’s begin. The first week will be slightly easier, to give the weaker ones a chance to catch up. After that, there will be no more grace period. I suggest you keep that in mind.” He said, staring at the two who couldn’t remember their numbers.

  Sev couldn’t help but smirk. Tyr wasn’t kidding. This is going to be FUN. Tyr noticed the smirk and hid one of his own. The other kids looked somewhat scared, still not adjusted to their new reality.

  “Let’s see what you are all capable of, shall we? How many of you have actually trained for combat before?” Tyr asked. All five of the children raised their hands. “I should have guessed. Who has actually trained with a real weapon?” Only 5(Sev) raised his hand. Tyr couldn’t help but chuckle. “This should be interesting then. 5, how confident are you that you could take out the other four?” Tyr asked with an evil grin on his face.

  “I’ll do it if you give the order, Sir!” 5 responded confidently.

  “Then do it.” Tyr said.

  “Understood. How do you want it done?” 5 asked coldly, turning to face the other kids.

  Tyr’s smile only deepened. “Since they’ve never used real weapons, it would be unfair to give you one. Fight them bare-handed.” He said as he walked towards the other four children. “You four will get training swords. I suggest you learn quickly. Your performance will be noted starting now.” He said coldly, walking past and leading the kids to the training area.

  A few minutes later, the children were prepared to spar. 5 stood on one side by himself, while the other four stood about 20 feet away. Tyr had given the four students wooden training swords, as well as a few minutes to discuss each other's strengths and figure out a plan. Finally, they were ready to start. 1 and 2 stood there confidently, while 3 and 4 were shaking.

  “3… 2… 1… BEGIN!!” Tyr yelled out.

  5 wasted no time in closing the gap, sprinting directly towards 1. 1 tried to respond by backstepping and cutting with a downswing, but 5 simply sidestepped and lunged forward. 5 grabbed the hilt of 1’s sword with his left hand as he grabbed 1’s face with his right. 5 quickly kicked out 1’s legs and slammed his head into the stone floor with a heavy thud. 2 tried to rush in and hit a rising slice onto 5, but 5 simply stomped on the sword, knocking 2 off balance. While 2 recovered, 5 quickly ran over to 3 and hit a solid blow to the ribs, knocking 3 down before kicking them in the face to make sure they didn’t get up. 2 tried to catch up, throwing a wide slash at 5. 5 smirked and ducked under the swing and punched out 2’s left knee, buckling it and causing 2 to stumble and hit the floor. 5 quickly kneed 2 in the face, making him drop the sword. 5 turned to face 4, blood now decorating his face, shirt, and knuckles. 4 quickly dropped the blade and tried to surrender. 5 shot a quick look at Tyr, who nodded. 5 quickly swept 4’s legs, causing him to hit the ground hard, before 5 put a foot on his throat.

  “That’s enough!” Tyr yelled, his eyes gleaming with excitement. This kid is the real deal. Is he seriously only 10??

  5 quickly stepped back and did a quick bow to Tyr. The other four kids were trying to sit up and catch their breath. 3 and 4 refused to make eye contact with anyone, while 1 and 2 were shooting daggers at 5. 2 was trying to stop his bleeding nose, while 1 was still rattled from hitting the ground so fast. Who is this kid? All of them thought in unison.

  “5, well done. Your target priority was excellent, as was your positional awareness. You also listened to my orders absolutely, an important skill.” Tyr said, still excited by what he saw. Once he gets older, he’ll be a monster in his own right. I can’t wait. “The rest of you, that was a pathetic performance. You had the range advantage as well as time to come up with a plan, yet you allowed 5 to control the pacing and positioning of the fight. It took him less than 2 minutes to drop all of you. You are lucky this little exercise was out of my curiosity. I’ll give you one more chance to earn your lunch today.” Tyr said coldly.

  “Thank you, sir.” The other four kids said in unison.

  “Now, get up and get ready. I need to test each of you for endurance and speed. I need to know what I’m working with.” Tyr said as he led the way to the running track. “Each lap around this track is half a mile. You will be running 10 laps as fast as you can, while avoiding and overcoming the obstacles.”

  As the kids got closer, they could see these ‘obstacles’ in greater detail. There were several holes in the ground, some as deep as 15 feet. There were many log walls 2 stories high, as well as sections of water where the only way across was a single rope or some posts spread around. Ladders, rope walls, cable swings, 30-foot drops, and even fake market stalls decorated the running track. This was to simulate all of the various environments their missions might take them to.

  “Your performance will be recorded and graded in several ways. The biggest things, however, are speed, lack of injury, and problem-solving skills. There are several ways to pass through or around each obstacle. I expect to see intelligence making up for physicality where necessary.” Tyr said as the group arrived at the ‘start’ of the track. “Now, we’ll go in order of number. 1, you are up first.”

  “But then the others will see how to avoid the obstacles!” 1 protested.

  “Did I tell you to speak, boy?” Tyr said, anger pouring off each word.

  “No, Sir!” 1 said quickly, physically pulling away from Tyr.

  “Then you'd better get started. 10 laps, now!” Tyr yelled.

  1 quickly started running the course. He stumbled several times, struggling most with the water crossing and higher drop sections. He rolled his ankle on the 6th lap, which slowed his progress substantially. It took him 87 minutes to finish.

  “Pathetic. You had done that 30 ft drop 5 times, and yet you still couldn’t figure it out enough to not get hurt? You fail. No lunch for you.” Tyr said, spitting as he did. “2, you’re up!”

  2 quickly started the course, and made sure to be more cautious around the drops than 1 was. 2 struggled with the rope walls and the ladders, but still outperformed 1. 2’s final time was 66 minutes.

  “Better. Focus on your footing on the ropes, and keep your core tight. Otherwise, you’ll spin out of control like you did this time. However, you pass.” Tyr said, nodding approvingly at 2. “3, your turn. Let’s go!”

  3 and 4 took their turns. They both struggled much more than 2 had, and were physically weaker than him. They slipped up several times and ended up getting 79 and 81 minutes, respectively.

  “As I said, use this week to catch up. You are weak and slow. You’d better work on that if you want to eat after this week. You pass, for now.” Tyr said, annoyed by the physical difference so present in this batch of children. “5, you’re up.”

  5 nodded and quickly sprinted away from the group. He had regularly gone on runs with Arthur and the other paladins, even wearing mock plate armor and weapons to help with their stamina. He was never a big fan of running, but he was good at it. As he ran, blood frenzy kicked in to help keep his pacing steady. He easily crossed all the obstacles, getting creative by sliding and vaulting over the market stalls when ducking wasn’t an option. During one of his rotations, the rope over one of the log walls was missing, forcing him to climb up and over without it. He barely flinched over the water portion, shooting across the posts. At the end, it only took him around 46 minutes to run the 10 laps. He got back to the group, breathing hard yet steady breaths.

  “Well done. That’s how it should look. 5 learned from each of your runs and optimized his method to each obstacle, while also adjusting each time he went through and adapting to his personal strengths. We are training you to gather and use information. Sometimes you can’t get the full picture, but your work can be the foundation for another agent to finish the puzzle. 5, you pass with flying colors. Well done. That’s enough for now; those who passed should head for the cantina. Eat, hydrate, and be back here in an hour.” Tyr said, excusing the group. “1, the staff already knows not to feed you. You’d better not take anyone else’s food either. Be back here in 45 minutes.”

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “Sir!” The students yelled in unison.

  The students made their way back to the training room after they had eaten their meals. 5 headed back 30 minutes early, as he didn’t need a full hour to eat. Tyr was waiting there, as if he knew that 5 would be returning. He smirked as he stood up and approached 5.

  “Well, didn’t I say to be back in an hour?” Tyr said sarcastically.

  “I assumed that was the maximum time, not the minimum. Plus, a meal shouldn’t take an hour unless you have guests, which we don’t.” 5 responded dryly.

  “Fine then, let’s get back into things. After all, you’ve got a long way to go before you're strong enough to kill anyone.” Tyr said, smirking as he taunted Sev.

  “Well then, we'd better work on your teaching. After all, a failure of a student is a measure of his teacher, is it not?” 5 shot an arrogant stare at Tyr, trying to see if his jab had worked.

  Tyr erupted in laughter. “You know what, kid, you’re right. I’ll be less gentle with you, since it’s my fault you are so weak.” As Tyr said this, he sent Sev flying with a cheap-shot kick to the stomach. Sev landed a few feet away, the wind knocked out of his lungs.

  “That's better. I think you’re getting the hang of it.” 5 taunted as he stood up, breath ragged.

  A short while later, the other four students entered the room. They froze in place as they saw the scene before them. Tyr was fighting Sev in unarmed combat. It wasn’t a spar, it wasn’t training. It was as if Tyr was actually trying to kill Sev. Most surprising, though, was how well Sev was holding his own.

  Sev was blocking several blows to critical areas and was purposely allowing many of the other hits to land in empty spaces. He fights like Arthur, which makes sense, I suppose. Lucky me. Sev thought as he twisted to allow Tyr to hit his back rather than his kidney. Sev used this as a chance to spin around Tyr’s side to land a heavy blow to the floating rib. Sev heard a loud crack, and Tyr winced from the pain.

  Tyr noticed the other children entered, but didn’t care. He was focused solely on seeing the absolute limit of Sev’s abilities. Tyr felt his floating rib crack against Sev’s elbow. He noticed that Sev was controlling where he was struck, and was trading blows to hit Tyr in the vital spots. Damn, Arthur, you taught this kid well. He thought as he placed another kick into Sev’s stomach, sending him reeling. Sev tried to back-step to avoid further blows, but as he did, he bumped into Tyr, who had moved behind him.

  “Sorry, kid, the others are here. We’ll have to cut this short.” Tyr said as he grappled Sev and threw him onto the ground with a heavy thud.

  The students stared in horror. Did the master just kill him? They thought as Tyr stood up and Sev stayed down. Tyr’s blood was rushing as he approached the other students.

  “Who can tell me why I won? Anyone?” Tyr asked.

  1 raised his hand. Tyr nodded to have him answer. “He was fighting a much larger and more experienced enemy.” He answered confidently.

  “That’s part of it, yes. Anyone else?” Tyr asked.

  “He got arrogant and then panicked.” 3 replied.

  “He isn’t skilled, and was just throwing punches!” 2 replied, still annoyed by the training earlier in the day.

  “Hah! Right. Tell me, what is the difference between arrogance and confidence?” Tyr asked. None of the children had a good answer. They looked at each other, and then back at Tyr.

  “It’s simple. The difference is whether or not you can back up your words. With confidence, you only say things you know you are capable of and can repeat over and over again. Arrogance is just saying things to make yourself seem more intimidating or powerful.” Tyr responded thoughtfully. “So, was 5 confident or arrogant?”

  “Arrogant!” The children answered in unison.

  “Wrong answer!” Tyr laughed as he lifted his shirt, revealing the bruised and broken rib that Sev had given him. “I am the only one who sustained a ‘serious’ injury. At best, that fight was a draw for me.” Tyr said, a smirk crossing his face yet again.

  “Uuuugh. Draw my ass. You fed me the floor. Sir…” 5 muttered as he slowly stood up off the ground and began to brush the dust off of his face and clothes. He slowly approached the group and stepped to stand in place with the others. The children looked in silence. How is he alive, and walking no less! The kids thought. 5 slowly lifted his arms to stretch them out and pop his shoulders, while a twisted grin hit his face. So that’s what he’s like. This’ll be fun. 5 thought as he stood waiting for orders.

  “Now, let’s get the second training session underway for today!” Tyr said as he led the way to the stone pool with wooden poles scattered around its surface. “We will be training here. The idea is to get a sense of your balance and multi-tasking. You will be training in pairs. You must stay on the wooden poles at all times, or else you lose. The idea is to knock your opponent off balance before they knock you off balance. Understood?” Tyr asked as he finished explaining the rules.

  “Sir!” The students responded.

  “Good. Since there is an odd number, 5 will be training with me. That should keep things more fair. Pick your weapons of choice, and get ready. 1 and 2, you’ll be going first. Be ready in five minutes.” Tyr ordered as he led the children to the training weapon racks once more.

  “Yes, Sir!” 1 and 2 yelled in unison.

  A few minutes later, 1 and 2 were standing on two of the poles poking about 3 feet out of the water. The pool they stood above was a 40x40 ft square, and the water was about 10 ft deep. There were well over 100 of these poles, and they varied greatly in terms of height and diameter, as well as the materials they were made of. Some were only a few inches from each other, while others were several feet apart. Many were flush with the surface of the water, making them slick and dangerous to maneuver on. The arena was set up this way to promote the ability to focus on difficult traversal, as well as an opponent hunting you down.

  “The idea of this exercise is simple: knock your opponent into the water without being knocked into the water. If you fall in on your own, you will fail and will not be allowed to eat dinner tonight. Am I understood?” Tyr asked briefly, obviously trying to get the ball rolling on the afternoon training.

  “Sir!” The students answered in unison.

  “Begin!” Tyr shouted.

  1 and 2 both chose simple swords as their weapons for this activity. They wanted something they were familiar with. They slowly hopped and stepped from pole to pole, closing in and clashing swords. 2 was physically stronger, but 1 had a longer reach and was trying to keep him at bay. 2 gained some confidence after a few moments, and began to press the attack more fiercely. 1 turned and dashed away, using his longer legs to build some distance. As he looked back, he turned to see 2 chasing him. However, 2 misjudged the distance between two of the poles, missing the edge and slipping off. He tried to catch himself by jumping, but only ended up hitting his face into the stone pole he had tried to reach. His lip burst open and began to leak blood, and his teeth had cut the inside of his lip as well. He splashed into the water, ending the bout.

  “1, winner!” Tyr called out, annoyed by how short the spat had lasted. “2, because you fell in on account of your own failure, you will not be eating dinner tonight. Now, 3 and 4, you’re up!”

  3 and 4 quickly got into position. 4 had chosen a spear, an easy weapon to train with and one that gave a fantastic reach advantage. 3 chose a sword and shield, hoping to have the defensive advantage. They began at the command of Tyr, with 4 immediately making space to take advantage of the spear. They were weaker and slower than 1 and 2, but their match lasted several minutes longer. Whenever 4 lost range, he would immediately maneuver to a new post to regain his advantage, and 3 would methodically block until an opening presented itself, at which point he would close the distance. Eventually, after about 8 minutes, 4 finally got the upper hand and forced 3 into the water.

  “4, winner. The two of you may not be strong physically, but you didn’t force anything unnecessary. 3, you may have lost, but you put up a good defense and a methodical advance. Well done, both of you.” Tyr nodded as he said this. He understood the difference in his students and decided he needed to build up their strengths to make the most of them. After all, they were assassins and intelligence agents in training. They didn’t need to be powerhouses physically, but a sharp mind was crucial to success. “5, we are up next. Grab your weapon, let’s go.” Tyr called as he grabbed a long sword from the rack. The only difference was that this was a real blade, not a training blade.

  5 quickly caught on and nodded. He stood for a brief moment in front of the weapons rack before quickly grabbing a glaive. It was much smaller than the ones that Bryton used, but it was roughly the same scale compared to 5. The glaive was a couple of feet taller than him, well over six feet. This should do nicely. 5 thought as he quickly bounced his way to the center of the pool, standing opposite Tyr.

  “Begin!” Tyr called as 5 took his place.

  The two quickly took the offensive, testing each other's balance and looking for a weakness in stancing or positioning. 5 used the glaive to stab at and slash towards Tyr, mixing the offensive to make it less predictable. Tyr smirked wordlessly as he continued to block and deflect 5’s attacks. Tyr decided it was his turn on the offense, quickly parrying the glaive and trying to close the distance that 5 had built. However, as he moved, 5 rushed him in kind. He watched as 5 nimbly ducked the attack and danced around the same pole that Tyr stood on. 5 used the haft of the glaive to whack the back of Tyr’s knees, causing one to buckle slightly at the unexpected impact.

  Tyr quickly corrected his footing before pivoting towards 5. 5 wasted no time in moving several poles away, dancing nimbly to put several feet between him and his master. Tyr couldn’t help but smirk. Cheeky bastard. He thought as 5 bounced slightly on his new perch, hopping from foot to foot and shaking his shoulders to help himself stay loose and fluid.

  “Fine then, let’s take things up a notch!” Tyr said as he quickly rushed 5’s position.

  5 smirked in return, quickly swiping his glaive into the water to splash the poles between himself and Tyr. Let’s at least give them a good show, yeah? He thought as he made another swipe into the water, throwing it straight into Tyr’s face.

  “Little brat!” Tyr growled in excitement. He wasn’t angry, he was thrilled. This kid gets more and more interesting by the minute. How fortunate. He thought as he wiped the water from his eyes before resuming his dash towards 5.

  5 grinned and once again rushed towards Tyr in response. However, he had something different in mind. He should be heavy enough. Let’s give it a shot. 5 couldn’t help but laugh as he charged his teacher. He hadn’t had this much fun since his training with Magdin and Theo.

  5 quickly planted the butt end of his glaive into the pole directly in front of him, vaulting six feet into the air, just as Bryton had taught him. Tyr stared blankly for a moment as he watched 5 fly over him. But 5 wasn’t done yet. Midair, he quickly twisted his legs to build momentum, like a cat trying to right itself after a fall. As he twisted, 5 used the newfound energy to throw the back of the glaive's blade into Tyr’s recently broken rib. Tyr was in limbo between curiosity and surprise, not able to respond in time as the glaive found its mark.

  As the glaive made impact, Tyr winced heavily, losing his footing on the wet metal surface of the pole he was stepping onto. 5 pushed with all his might into the side of Tyr, achieving two outcomes. First, Tyr stumbled, and his left foot dipped into the water before he could catch it. Second, Tyr’s weight had acted as a second launch point for 5, allowing him to vault another 6 feet away in midair, landing in a bounce before coming to a halt on a dry, wooden pillar almost 7 feet away from his opponent.

  The room was almost completely quiet as the bout came to an end, the only sound coming from 5 as he continued to stay on guard, bouncing loosely on the top of the pole, ready to move at the slightest provocation from Tyr. Tyr, however, simply stood up and laughed heartily before calling an end to the spat.

  “5, winner!” Tyr said, still caught off guard by what he had just seen. This kid is insane. Though I suppose it makes sense since he was trained by so many members of The Crown. They aren’t exactly your average bunch of soldiers… He thought as he stepped out of the training area and joined the rest of the students.

  The other four students were speechless. When they had been on those same pillars just minutes before, they could barely keep their balance with a weapon in hand. Yet here 5 was, floating around like a paper in the wind. He showed no signs of fear or hesitation. He simply moved. What the hell?! The other student thought, as if conversing with each other in secret.

  “Now, students, let’s review our training thus far. What can we take away from the first spat?” Tyr asked with a wide grin on his face and adrenaline burning through his veins.

  “1 made good use of his reach. 2 rushed to follow the enemy without analyzing to see if a better path could be taken.” 4 responded after a few moments.

  Tyr nodded approvingly. “Good. An accurate assessment.” Tyr waited a moment to see if other answers were offered. However, 4 had summed up all there was to the first match. “Alright, how about the second match?”

  “They were methodical and moved with purpose. They didn’t make any rushed movements because they understood their physical limits.” 2 answered, holding a now bloody rag against his face.

  Tyr once again nodded. “Good. Now, who wants to tell me about that last match??” Tyr asked excitedly.

  “To be honest, I don’t really know what happened...” 1 answered.

  “5 made excellent use of his size, using it to invade your space and stagger you. He then used his weapon to put you at a disadvantage by wetting the tops of the poles that you would have to cross to get to him. And finally, he did… whatever that was at the end to escape and put you in the water.” 3 answered shortly, still a bit confused as to what he had seen.

  “Good. Well said.” Tyr said, still grinning. “5, what the hell was that? And where did you learn to do that?” He asked.

  “All I did was use your size to my advantage. And I learned it here and now.” 5 answered dryly, obviously lying. He smirked slightly, his eyes taunting Tyr. We should never reveal the truth to our enemies. Isn’t that right, Dear Master? He thought smugly.

  “Good, keep your secrets. You are an agent for the King, focusing on espionage and assassinations. NEVER, and I mean NEVER, reveal a secret to an enemy. Our greatest asset is information, and the more we control it, the better we can do our jobs.” Tyr said, using this as a teaching moment. “At this point, I am your trainer. My goal is to shape you into worthy blades to be wielded by his majesty. We are not partners, and I sure as hell am not your friend. I don’t care about your secrets or your convictions. I care only for your dedication, loyalty, and results. The methods you use to get those results are yours to define, as long as they fall within reason. Am I understood?”

  “Sir!” The students called in response. 5 couldn’t help but respect Tyr. Arthur wasn’t lying; he really is a good leader. I have much to learn from him.

  “Good. Now, we’ll run a couple more drills at the pools. You only have 1 week left in the grace period, so you should be taking this as seriously as possible. I want no excuses. Now, 1 and 4, get ready. You’ll be our next match.” Tyr said, getting back to the matter at hand.

  The students quickly scrambled to prepare for their next matches. The four of them continued to swap training partners between each other, while 5 continued to spar with Tyr. None of the students complained, however. They realized there was a pretty hefty gap in skill between them. And not only that, but 5 somehow seemed to be getting stronger and faster the longer the sessions went on. Tyr was able to hold back less and less, enjoying the chance to push 5 to his absolute limits.

  5 was enjoying every minute of the training. He was trying to absorb every ounce of knowledge and experience from Tyr as he possibly could. I only have a few years to learn from him. I HAVE to make them count. And if this is just the beginning, I can’t wait to see where things go from here. He thought as a smirk once again broke out across his face.