Nico ran through the forest over and over. The more he ran, the pictures of his mother kept appearing in his mind. She was his determination. The one thing he held on to– her smile. Her beauty. Her love.
Nico ran the fifty seventh lap and stopped. His heart was beating faster than his blood flow, making it hard to breathe properly.
Nico gasped and wheezed, grabbing his chest tightly. The pain was unbearable. He'd been running nonstop, shielding the pain with determination but now everything was starting to eat at him.
"Ahh…" Nico yelled and fell down on his knees, gritting his teeth in pain.
This was worse than being stabbed through the heart. He fell on his face, squirming on the ground.
The sky cracked. It was about to rain.
The pain was already reducing. Nico stood up and as he made to run, the rain began to pour heavily. This would make it even harder.
Slippery floor.
Nico sped off. He began to run again ignoring the agonizing pain. As he ran, the rain drops stung him. It was like directing millions of pins towards him. He didn't really care. He just kept on running.
Nico's eyes slowly turned blue.
TZZZZ!!
The familiar sizzling sound again. The next step Nico took was followed by an outburst of mana that propelled him forwards.
Nico was unable to get a hold of himself and when he tried to stop, he inadvertently stumbled upon a fallen tree and was sent skidding deep into the forest.
He finally came to a stop, thanks to the muddy floor.
"What– what was that?" Nico questioned silently.
He slowly stood up and began to analyze his surroundings. Each time he ran, he would mark the trees with numbers to identify how far he'd run.
The mark was the final one. He'd just run a lap? That fast?
Without stopping to think about what it was, Nico began to run back again but the speed he'd expected didn't come. Instead, his stamina increased. He could run to and fro without getting tired.
"That's enough for me." Nico smirked as he ran.
As soon as he ran the 198th lap, he stumbled on nothing but fell straight down. Just inches away from hitting 199. Just what exactly was happening?His heart began to thud again. This time it was worse.
"Ahhhhhh!!!" Nico yelled, grabbing his chest tightly.
He'd run out of stamina.
Nico wheezed, his heart was tight. Veins, evidence of strain was visible in his neck and on the sides of his head. He dragged himself, fighting through the pain. If he could meet 199 and rest, he would run the final lap before morning.
The rain was making it worse for him, splattering mud all over his face.
His hand barely touched the tree for confirmation when his eyes glowed again.
TZZZZ!!!
The sizzling sound again. Nico was relieved. The strange blue aura slowly enveloped Nico from his feet, heading towards his head.
Nico felt the pain in his chest reduce. He began to let out relieved gasps. Nico stood up slowly and turned back to run the last lap.
"After this–" he began, wheezing slowly.
"I'm gonna walk it.. walk it off."
With that, he fell straight down on his face. He'd passed out. The rain dropped on him mercilessly and the mud rushing towards him, enveloped him without any barriers.
—
Nico could feel the change in the atmosphere. It was morning already. Did he complete his punishment? Before he passed out, what did he do last?
Nico quickly opened his eyes and sprung up on his feet. He wasn't in the forest. He quickly surveyed the room he was in.
He was already at the cabin.
He walked to the door, pushed it open and walked outside. Torvald was warming up. Tied to his belt holder was a horse whip. In his hand was a wooden sword.
Neryssa sat on the bench watching Torvald move, showing off his amazing sword techniques.
Then he stopped.
"You're awake!" Torvald said, his gaze not meeting Nico.
Nico took a step and realized his upper body was bare– he had no shirt on. Nico slowly approached him, cautiously watching his gaze to detect if his mood was friendly.
Then Torvald slowly untucked the whip from his belt holder. Before Nico could calculate his next move, the whip had struck his back.
THWACKKK!!!
The sharp sound rang through the mountain. Neryssa leapt to her feet and covered her mouth with both palms.
Nico didn't flinch. No iota of pain evident in his face.
"You ran 199 laps." Torvald said and slowly tucked the whip back.
"Now we may begin training." Torvald said.
He walked into the cabin briefly. He soon came out with another wooden sword and tossed it to Nico who caught it with ease.
"I would only show you this once." Torvald said and took his stance. Clenching the hilt with hands, he raised the sword up.
His right leg outstretched, his left adjacent but slightly stretched.
"There are 24 sword techniques."
He swung his sword to his right.
"The techniques get harder and difficult as we proceed. First I'd teach you how to use sword techniques, then how to inscribe mana to make it effective." He said and Nico raised a brow?
"Mana?" Nico asked, puzzled.
"I don't have a mana core."
Torvald was stunned. The kid really had no idea.
"My mother told me that my mana core was destroyed because of the circumstances of my birth." Nico explained.
"I can see it." Neryssa said, grabbing the attention of Nico and Torvald.
"I can see your mana core."