Liam rolled in his bed. The blanket snuggled tightly against his body for warmth. His eyes were closed and a satisfied smile hang on his lips. If anyone saw him it would be clear as day just how much pleasure he was getting from being able to sleep in a bed once again.
A loud rattling sound woke him. A pounding at the door made him jump. The blanket regrettably fell over the edge and spilled on the falling.
A groan swept through the room but Liam was too groggy to tell whether it came from him or from Lad who slept in the bunk below.
The banging of metal came again. This time more insistent. Liam looked to the door and sighed.
He had a feeling he knew what was banging on his door, or rather who. He jumped down from his bunk and landed on the ground about a meter below. The balls of his feet instantly sent raw pain through his system as though to punish him for his reckless folly. His knees joined in the punishment.
Still, a small smile crawled up his face.
He could never jump down from such a height before, and remain basically unscathed but there was more to be realized than that. More potential to be unearthed in this new body of his, and the possibilities excited him more than anything.
And now he was paying for that excitement.
Opening the door to the cabin, Liam expected to find Ushanti waiting there for him.
It wasn't.
Shay stood with her arms crossed over her chest. She was tall, taller than his own mother and most other women. She wore brown fur clothes that consisted of a top that might have been a tank top that exposed the middle of her hard toned abs. She also wore a skirt of some sort with leather pants beneath them.
No matter how Liam looked at this woman he was sure of one thing.
'She's strong'
"So you are the boy who is trying to seduce our princess?" she asked her face stone.
Liam froze then gave an awkward cough as he said:
"No seducing involved. Just training"
Shay regarded him with her brown eyes. Liam couldn't help but feel like a rabbit standing before a tiger. He even had the urge to take a step back but he fought it down.
Without saying anything, Shay turned and began to walk.
"We begin training now" she said a short distance away.
"Okay" Liam nodded while turning back to bed.
Wait.
He froze, then rushed to door and peeped into the corridor. Shay stood with her head turned in his direction. "Now?"
...
The sun rose over the horizon, setting the waters aflame with a crimson light. It was beautiful. It was wonderful. And Liam was in no state of mind, and body, to appreciate any of it. Not when his body burned and his lungs screamed for air. He was covered in sweat.
"Kill me" he wheezed.
Shay merely stood over him with a raised eyebrow but otherwise kept her face indifferent. "From today we'll train here 2 hours before the sun rises then you can rest for the day"
"...but...is it...supposed to hurt like this?" Liam complained.
"If you want to get any results it has to be this way. Unless of course you can willingly turn your ability on and off?"
He remained silent.
"Then from this day until we arrive at Quescue" with that she turned and left.
Liam pressed his forehead on the floor and looked up at the slowly clearing sky.
"This might have been a mistake"
It would take the ship seven days to reach Quescue.
...
For four days Liam went through Shay's gruelling regime. She always banged at this door at 4 in the morning. She was never late more than a minute. He'd checked. From there he would follow her to the docks where she would stand with a wooden staff twice his height.
He didn't know where she got that but it was a really hard stick. Then she would proceed to hit him with it. Liam was forced to keep his arms up and his stance wide and solid. He wasn't meant to fall. And yet he always did.
He couldn't even withstand two thrashing blows from that stick on the first day and he had to repeat it again and again until his Aether was critically low.
Today however. Liam grinned as he took the stance. It was familiar now. He didn't even have to think or carefully get into position he could do it subconsciously, just like how one would always remember how to ride a bicycle.
"Eager aren't we?" Shay said with a slight curve of her lip. That had been the only change her face showed him but it was clear that she was finally warming up.
"I just have a good feeling about today that's all" Liam raised his arms to shield either side of his face.
"We'll see" Shay swung the wooden staff in a sweeping motion. It slapped against his arm eliciting a flinch and a groan from him but nothing more. His arms stung but his Self-Healing kicked in cooling them.
Shay repeated the sequence only varying slightly. Arms, torso, back, shins, thighs repeat. Each time she gathered her momentum and each strike landing heavier than ever. Yet despite it all Liam didn't fall until the last of his Aether was but a wisp in the wind, only then did he collapse to the floor.
"You lasted 30 seconds longer. Your endurance grows with each day." Shay said.
"It doesn't hurt any less though" Liam said getting to his feet. His thighs burned and his shins throbbed but it was manageable.
"No it doesn't and that's a good thing. Pain means you are alive. Its when you don't feel pain that you should be worried" she said before directing to the area around the dock. "Now run"
Liam ran. He started at a small jog. He circled around the edges of the dock, reached the stern then he followed the line until he was running towards the starboard side and then he circled and ran back.
The second lap is when he picked up speed. He ran faster at the third. By the fifth he was going at a full sprint around the ship. His lungs gasping for air and his hair moist with sweat. He wanted to sit down and rest but at the same time he could feel something warm washing over his body and nourishing it.
The dragon essence.
It was being integrated further with his being albeit at lower increments but with each session he was slowly getting stronger and that thought alone, was enough motivation to push himself further.
He collapsed after three more laps. His legs feeling as solid as lead. Shay let him rest for about a minute.
"Alright the final set" she said to which Liam groaned.
He positioned himself on the floor, using his arms to lift his upper body up while his legs were locked straight behind him.
"One" Shay chanted. Liam bent his arms and lowered his upper body. He stopped with his chest hovering just couple of inches from the ground.
"Hold" Shay pressed her foot on his back adding more weight. Liam held. His arms were already starting to heat up. "Up"
Liam pushed his entire weight. Shay didn't move her foot, in fact she pressed it down making it harder for him but Liam was nothing if not relentless. His blood was boiling and his arms were trembling but he didn't give up.
Liam continued with his push-ups. 5, 10, 25, 30. He collapsed on his front.
Shay backed off and without even having to look Liam knew the sun was rising. He rolled to his back and stared over the horizon. True enough the sun of dawn was already shining, burning the ocean waters in its fiery glow.
Day five of training was over.
...
Liam headed to the mess hall with a drag in his step. His Aether had refilled a while ago but for some reason his muscles still ached, he honestly didn't know how but the fact that he was feeling fire in his veins was a good thing.
Shay said so.
It still hurt though.
After greeting Rodrick, he grabbed his food and went to sit at his usual table. Ushanti and Lad were already having their meals.
"Here comes the gym rat" Lad said with a goofy smile.
"I'd slap you if my arms weren't trying to kill me right now" Liam said as he shrugged into the table.
Ushanti gave him a knowing smile. "Already giving up city boy?"
Ushanti's insults had levelled up from the singular mainlander, she now added city boy and twig to her vocabulary. Liam gave Lad a grieved look. "Somehow I think you are becoming a bad influence on her"
Lad chuckled.
"Is Shay being too rough?" Ushanti asked after the laughter died down.
"She is a little rough... but I can tell its really working"
Ushanti smiled at him and ended the conversation there. The three of them ate in silence.