Aina

  The shadows in the room clung to the floor like a thick fog, making the interior of the cabin feel much smaller than it actually was. A simply made copper lantern hung from the center of the room, yet did little to banish the room’s dreary atmosphere. The lantern crackled and popped quietly, emitting an almost imperceptible sulfurous smell as it’s small flame consumed the fire mana crystal at its center. The logs used to make up the cabin hadn’t been entirely stripped, though she couldn’t tell if it was intentional or not, leaving small patches of the walls covered in rough bark. The layout of the cabin was simple, containing a sitting area around a fireplace and a small kitchen. A door on the opposite side of the room from the entrance must have been a bedroom, at least as far as she could tell.

  Looking back at the old man, Aina examined him for the umpteenth time. His back was broad and well-built despite his age, and his rough leather clothes and vest had been kept remarkably clean. Small scars and blemishes covered his skin all over, growing particularly dense around his forearms. Despite his toned physique, his age could be seen in the frailty of his hands and the silver hair on his head. He finished pouring a green-smelling liquid into a trio of wooden cups and turned to face them, placing the cups on a small table. His eyes were dark and sharp and his jaw was strong, bringing to mind a chunk of cold steel.

  “Sit,” He said, his rough voice carrying throughout the cabin. He spoke with a hardness in his voice that dared either of them to dispute him, likely developed over years as someone with some sort of authority, “I won’t go turning either of you in, I just want to hear your story before I go agreeing to anything.”

  Aina hesitated to move, glancing towards the open front door they had knocked on only moments ago. Either we make a run for it now or we take a chance and potentially earn an ally. The risks are too big here, I can’t tell what he’s thinking. Damn! If only I hadn’t… No, I just need to make the most of the situation I’m in now, no use complaining about what could have been. She forced her pulse to slow as best she could, then focused on the man in front of her.

  “Alright, but first-,” Aina started, glancing towards Aike as she spoke. He had been listening carefully, with one hand still pinching his bleeding nose shut. He returned her look, then nodded softly as if to say he trusted her, “-why not turn us in? You’re more than strong enough yourself, and I’m sure the reward on our heads isn’t small by any means. What do you have to gain from this?”

  The room fell silent for a moment, Aike quietly taking a step towards Aina protectively as they both watched the man- Mr. Kleiner- closely.

  Cutting the silence, he sighed aloud, then chuckled to himself, “Kids these days… Look, I have my reasons, but I’m not about to have a conversation on my feet. Sit down, have a drink, and then we’ll see if I’ll help you or not. Either way, I don’t have any intentions of turning you in.”

  As if to punctuate his sentence, he sat in one of the carved wooden chairs by the table and took a sip from his cup. Aike and Aina glanced at each other for a moment, hesitating for a moment before Aina slowly nodded. The pair each cautiously took a seat at the table. The cup in front of each of them smelled of grass and leaves, filled with a transparent green liquid. Aina could hear Aike sniff at the cup, or maybe he was trying to prevent any blood from spilling from his nose, but she couldn’t tell.

  “There, now we can talk,” Kleiner smiled what seemed to be an attempt at a welcoming expression, showing his palms as if to show he was unarmed, “Alright then, tell me why you’re here, what you want from me, and why.”

  It was a straightforward request, but was still one that neither of them could answer too honestly. Aina had taken a risk entering the cabin, even if she didn’t have much of a choice. Looking towards Aike, who had been glaring at his cup since they had taken their seats, she decided that she would have to do the negotiating.

  “I don’t mind going into more detail, but I would like some kind of guarantee before we continue this conversation,” Aina steeled her nerves and looked Kleiner in the eyes, not daring to back down under his steely gaze.

  Eyes glinting with a slight admiration for her courage, he smiled slightly as he took another sip from his wooden cup, “Well, I can’t give you anything other than my word. I would like to think that that would still have some weight, even though I’m just some old man in the woods.”

  Alright, this is a battle of wits. Aina thought to herself, feeling her pulse quicken slightly. I can see that he finds things like honor and respect seriously, and he doesn’t seem like the kind of person to take an oath like that lightly. From the sounds of it, he must have some kind of military background, or at least some sort of previous position of honor. I’m not sure what he stands to gain from this, but I do know that he’s both skilled and honorable, that’s something I can exploit! Aina glanced over at Aike once more to see if he had anything to say, but seemed to be preoccupied with the intimidation of his beverage, so she decided to take the lead once more.

  “I’ll trust you, for now,” Aina stressed the last two words, “We are fleeing from the Empress for reasons I want to keep to myself, and we want to learn how to fight. We don’t have the skills necessary to defend ourselves if we need to-”

  “Obviously,” Kleiner interrupted, chuckling slightly as he finished the last of his tea.

  Aina cleared her throat, “Yes, well-”

  “I’m going to kill Tyrsyss,” Aike said suddenly, his hands balled into fists and shaking as he spoke, “If you teach me how to use my Circuit, I’m going to kill her.”

  The room fell silent as Aina stared at Aike in disbelief. She stood up so suddenly that the chair she had been sitting on was knocked over, “I-I swear he was jus-”

  Kleiner laughed, a hearty, heavy laugh that blew away all of Aina’s worry and replaced it with confusion, “You’re one stupid brat, you know that?”

  “What was that!?” Aike shouted, hitting the table with his palms as he stood, droplets of blood dripping from his still-bleeding nose, “You don’t know shit you dumbass!”

  “Hah! You’ve got a mouth on you!” Kleiner laughed, standing as well and leaning towards Aike as if to accept his challenge, “You think you’re hot shit? Even if I did train you, I doubt you could do much more than scuff her armor!”

  “Oh yeah!? Then why don’t you train me and we’ll find out?” Aike retorted. At this point, what had once been a conversation had devolved into a childish shouting match. Aike scowled at Kleiner, who just smiled and chuckled in return. Before Aina could get a word in, Kleiner and Aike seemed to exchange some sort of unspoken agreement.

  “Alright then, fine,” Kleiner grinned, as he held out a hand towards Aike, “Believe it or not, we have a few goals in common. I’ll try to turn you into at least a half-assed fighter, but we’ll see if you don’t give up halfway through”

  “Yeah right, I don’t intend on giving up anytime soon, especially not to the likes of you!” Aike growled, then slapped the hand that Kleiner had extended, leaving Aina to clasp her head in her hands in disbelief while to two of them established some sort of rivalry.

  Aike

  Aike swung the axe into the tree, sending another shock down his arms and into his fractured ribs, causing him to inhale sharply from the pain. Aike took a couple of shallow breaths as he tried to push the pain out of his mind, readying the axe once more.

  “Stupid old guy,” Aike swung the axe as he grumbled, “Making me chop down a stupid tree”

  Grumbles and curses would accompany each of Aike’s swings, and he would stop only to catch his beath or to wait for the pain in his chest to subside. He glanced up at the tree that extended upwards, its thick trunk more that six feet at its widest point. The tree’s bark was dark, almost black in color, and the wound in the side of the tree smelled strongly of sap. Looking down at his progress, he saw a small mark across the tree’s side, only an inch or so deep. Aike glared at the tree as if that would cause it to burst into flames, but it stood as firm and flame-free as it had been the last thirty minutes.

  The crack of steel on wood echoed through the forest around him, keeping a steady and consistent rhythm. Looking over his shoulder, he watched as Aina continued to work on her own tree. The difference in their progress was obvious, she had already cut almost halfway through the tree, and he had no doubt it would fall any minute. Aike raised a hand to his side, gently touching his ribs but flinching as a new wave of pain assailed his body.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  The old man, Kleiner, had ordered them to cut down trees. According to him, “If you want to learn how to fight, first you need to learn how to survive. If you want to sleep indoors anytime soon, you had better get to building.” After that nonsensical declaration, he threw a couple of axes in their hands and kicked them out.

  I might as well just leave! Bastard must think this is funny or something!

  “Damn it!” Aike muttered, gripping the axe harder as he imagined Kleiner looking down on him for running away. He could feel his face grow hot with anger as he lifted the axe once more, preparing to swing with all his might.

  The crack of the axe was louder than the rest of his swings, sending a shock through his hands and ribs that made them go numb with pain. Throwing the axe to the ground, Aike turned and stomped away from the tree, towards Kleiner’s cabin. With perfect timing, the front door swung open and Kleiner came strolling out as if he didn’t have a single care in the world.

  “Oh? I thought it was about time for you to come and complain,” Kleiner said, his wry smile making Aike hesitate to speak.

  “Look, I didn’t come here to be woodcutter or a carpenter, I came here to learn how to fight! You said you’d teach us how to fight, so what the hell’s the point of this!?” Aike growled, pointing towards the tree he had been working on as if to punctuate his sentence.

  “You asked to learn from me, now you question my methods?” Kleiner smiled, leaning down to look Aike in the eye, “You’re impatient, and you’re too hotheaded. You need to take a breather and look at your surroundings.”

  Aike could feel his face growing hotter, but he tried to keep his breathing level. The sound of Aina’s axe had gone silent, which likely meant that she had stopped her work to watch him complain.

  “Sit down. If you really need me to explain, then I’ll tell you why I’m making you cut down trees,” Kleiner said, moving towards the cabin and grabbing a simple iron hoe before walking towards the center of the dirt clearing, “You too girl, I’m not explaining this twice”

  Aike glared at Kleiner as Aina emerged from the forest, axe in hand, “He’s right, you’re way too hotheaded”

  Aike gaped at her, “Who’s side are you on!?”

  “I’m on my side,” She said flatly, dropping her axe by the forest’s edge before following after Kleiner.

  Aike felt a few unkind words rise in his throat, but he forced them back down as she walked away. The heat in his face and chest slowly dissipated, leaving him feeling more ashamed than angry. …Maybe I am being hotheaded?…ugh.

  Following after Aina, they both approached Kleiner who stood waiting at the center of the packed dirt clearing, an iron hoe in his hands and an impatient look on his face. The center of the clearing was flat and empty, but Kleiner had flipped over a couple of wooden buckets to act as seats for Aike and Aina. As Aike tried to sit on the bucket his ribs cried out in protest, causing him to clutch at them due to the pain.

  “You’re hurt?” Kleiner asked, then sighed aloud, “No wonder you’re so much slower than Aina.I thought you were just an idiot.”

  “What the hell-!?”Aike began, but was interrupted when Kleiner produced a small greenish glass vial and tossed it towards Aike. Catching it in his free hand, he looked over its somewhat dull surface.

  It was a simple green glass bottle, but the glass was dull and mostly opaque. A dark liquid sloshed around inside, barely visible behind the thick paper label around the entirety of the bottle. The label had a few faded scribbles of writing, with the largest letters still barely legible.

  “‘Green Tonic’? You carry healing tonics around with you?” Aike asked, looking up at Kleiner as he spoke, “These are usually pretty expensive though…”

  “What, you’re shy now? Just drink it,” Kleiner said, watching as Aike popped out the cork and swallowed the contents in a single gulp, “Though, it’s a few months old so I’m not sure it’ll still taste good”

  Kleiner’s words reached Aike too late. Either that or he had intentionally waited to warn him until after he had already downed the tonic. Either way didn’t matter, the only thing on Aike’s mind was the burning sensation that made its way down his throat and through his body slowly. The tonic tasted like week old spinach mixed with strong alcohol, with a pinch of old sweaty clothes as an aftertaste.

  “Oh my god, don’t puke on me!” Aina shouted, pushing Aike away from her as he retched.

  Aike’s body tried to expel the tonic, but it seemed to be working despite the torment it was putting him through. The heat from before surged through Aike’s body, dying down quickly everywhere but the areas near his wounds. He could feel his flesh and bones begin to boil for a moment, followed by an intense itching sensation from under his skin. The sensation was unbearable for just a second, then died down until it was no more than a dull yet persistent pain.

  “You’re… a bastard… you know that?” Aike said between breaths as he wiped tears from his eyes.

  “I have plenty more where that came from, so try not to get hurt too badly,” Kleiner smiled, waving another three small green vials held between his fingers, “That is, unless you want to get used to their incredible flavor”

  Aike silently cursed the man, then realized that the pain in his ribs had all but faded. Aike lightly pressed on his chest and felt a slight pain in his ribs. They weren’t completely healed, but the pain had been reduced to a bearable level, at least enough that he felt confident he wouldn’t have any more trouble with the tree.

  “Now, let’s get into why I’m making you build cabins,” Kleiner declared, beginning to draw a large diagram of a person in the dirt, their arms and legs spread out to either side. Inside the diagram he drew a collection of twisting and knotted lines, all converging on an intricate knotted ball at the center of the diagram’s chest.

  “This, is a person’s Soul Circuit,” Kleiner explained, pointing at the lines with the edge of the hoe, “They all converge towards the Soul, at the center of the chest. It is a system that transmits energy throughout a person’s body. As a person goes about their daily life, they generate this energy within themselves. Breathing, moving, and even thinking generates this power, causing it to be distributed throughout a person’s Soul Circuit evenly.”

  With a quick stroke of the hoe’s sharp edge, he cut a line through the diagram’s right hand, then drew a simple image of a sword, “When a person calls forth their Circuit, it is an extension of their Soul Circuit, but shaped by their Soul. This is why every Circuit is unique in the same way that every person is unique”

  “What about Circuits that don’t have a specific form?” Aina asked, a serious look on her face as she spoke.

  Kleiner waited a moment before he answered, glancing toward the old oak that hung over the clearing. Its shimmering leaves reflected the light as it hit them, causing small spots of white light to dance back and forth as the wind rustled the tree’s branches, “It’s possible, but rare and difficult to control,” he said, glancing between Aike and Aina, though his eyes lingered on Aike for a moment longer, “I’ll explain more about that later on, so for now pay attention and try to memorize what I say”

  Glancing over at Aina, she seemed annoyed at having information held back from her, but didn’t interrupt any further.

  “Now, the energy within a person’s Soul Circuit is generated by their Soul, though their capacity for energy is limited. By forcefully generating more energy than you can normally hold, such as through strenuous activity like exercise, it’s possible to permanently increase a person’s capacity for storing this energy,” Kleiner explained, laying the hoe on the ground as he spoke and kneeling down to match their gaze, “You two need to increase the amount of energy your bodies can withstand, and as part of that increase how much your bodies can expel at once. By doing that, you’ll increase the amount of time you’ll be able to wield your Circuit, as well as how much power you can put behind each strike”

  Aike and Aina were silent for a moment. Doing his best to understand and memorize what the old man had said, he stared hard at the diagram in the dirt. I feel like I understand the gist of it, but I’m still not sure what he means by “energy”. Though, I guess that building the cabin will help me get stronger somehow? Looking up from the dirt, Kleiner and Aina were both staring hard at him as if they were waiting for him, “Huh? What is it?”

  “Just waiting to see if you got all of that or not,” Kleiner muttered as he stood, grabbing the hoe and using it to support his weight as he did, “I don’t want to explain it again if I can help it”

  Aike felt heat rise into his face again, “I-I got it! I’m not an idiot!”

  “That remains to be seen,” Kleiner chuckled, then looked up at the reddening sky overhead, “Now that you’ve had a break, get back to work.”

  “Right, I guess I’ll get back to it then,” Aina muttered to herself as she stood, brushing the dirt from her backside as she did. She rolled up her sleeves, turning back to the forest and leaving Aike behind.

  “So, just to get this straight- If I work out, then both my body and Circuit get stronger?” Aike asked, standing up as well, “I’ve done a lot of physical labor before, doesn’t that mean that my Circuit should already be pretty strong?”

  Kleiner looked down at Aike with a smirk, “Not really, no. If the physical activity isn’t intense enough, then your body doesn’t have to generate anything more than what’s necessary. The only way you’ll grow is by pushing yourself to your limits, over and over again.”

  Aike glanced back towards the forest where he and Aina had been working in a few minutes ago, Aina picking up her axe and beginning to chop at the tree she had been working on before. Shifting his gaze over to his own tree, he felt a wave of fatigue wash over him. Over the last half hour of grueling and painful work, he had only managed about half as much progress as Aina had. If it took half an hour to do that, then how long is it gonna take for me to build a whole damn cabin!?

  “How do you expect-!?” Aike began, being cut off by the old man’s evil-looking smile as he towered over Aike.

  “Like I said,” Kleiner began, gripping the iron hoe as if he were the grim reaper, only wielding a slightly different farming implement rather than a scythe, “You’ll need to push yourself to your limits if you want to get any stronger”

  Aike took a step back, Kleiner closing the distance once more a moment later, “You’ve only got two weeks until the chill sets in you now? If you don’t want to freeze in the winter, then you’d better get to work.”

  Images of Aike shivering in the cold night flashed through his mind, Kleiner laughing from within his warm and comfortable cabin as Aike froze to death, “Y-you wouldn’t leave me outside to freeze, would you!?”

  Kleiner’s smile was as cold as the winter nights would surely be, sending a chill down his spine despite the sun’s warmth. Ah, I see now. He’s crazy. He went insane in his old age. Even as Aike thought those words to himself, he could see the cold and calculating intent in Kleiner’s eyes.

  Clenching his fists, Aike turned and bolted towards the forest once more, shouting over his shoulder as he ran, “Y-you’re an evil old bastard!”