Two years went by in a flash, and Aerin is now a ten year old kid. During the past two years, Aerin did nothing but train his body. If in the past, he could not do a hundred push-ups, now, he can even do five hundred in one go.
Not only that, after doing a hundred push-ups, his grandfather made him do a hundred sit-ups too. And then his grandfather made him do an alternating push-up and sit-up, for a hundred repetitions.
Once he did all that, Aaron made him run for a hundred kilometers. It was very hard in the beginning. Aerin even thought of stopping, but he still persevered. Aaron did not know where his grandson got the determination from, but he was still pleased nonetheless.
After a few months of doing the same repetitions, it naturally became easy for Aerin, and so his grandfather increased the difficulty. He also added a few workouts. From a hundred repetitions, to two hundred, three hundred, until Aerin could do five hundred repetitions of various exercises his grandfather made him do.
Not once during the past two years did Aerin practiced combat. He did not even get close to unsheathing his daggers. One time, he got bored of doing the same action over and over again, so he sneaked out to try his daggers. However, he got caught by his grandfather, and Aaron made him do his exercises twice. After that, he did not even touch his daggers.
He once asked his grandfather about it. "You must awaken your ability first. We do not know how your ability will manifest in you, you may get a pair of wings, talons instead of hands, we don't really know. And your combat style will change depending on your ability, so it will be useless to start training how to fight now. We should train your body as best as we can, so that it will be much easier after getting your ability." was what his grandfather said to him.
After that conversation, he finally stopped pestering his grandfather about his daggers.
Aerin and his grandfather, Aaron, were inside the hut. The table was filled with foods, from fruits to meats. The already small hut was now even more cramped after putting a long table inside, not really a long table, but inside the hut, it seemed very long. They even had to put some of their things outside to make some space.
Today is a very special day. They did not train for the first time in two years, instead they were doing a feast. Today is Aerin's tenth birthday. And not just a normal birthday; his abilities were also supposed to awaken today. And so they were throwing a small party.
However, Aerin did not look completely happy at all.
"Is father really not coming back today?"
Aerin seemed sad. He kept on looking outside the window, waiting for his father to come home. Ever since his father left two years ago, not once did his father come back. It was the longest period of time that his father was gone.
Aerin was worried, and Aaron too. Especially since he knew what role Amon would be playing at their mission. However, he did his best not to show it on his face.
"Okay, it's past noon, we should eat. We cannot let these foods go cold, can we?"
Aaron smiled, hoping to ease his grandson's sadness a little. And it seemed to have worked a little. Aerin went to the table and picked a round green fruit, about the size of his fist, and took a bite. His face lightened up at the taste of the fruit.
"Yum! You should try it too, grandpa!"
Aerin picked another fruit and gave it to his grandfather. Aaron took it and took a bite.
"Delicious indeed. It was fresh from my garden. My plants sure did not disappoint."
Delighted and proud, Aaron took another bite.
"This too, grandpa. It is really delicious! "
They ate whatever they touched. It was a joyous moment, though they were missing one person right now. They thought they should be happy today for the sake of Amon, who is fighting with his life on the line right now.
Time passed quickly and it was already night. Maybe the kid ate too much, but he is now sleeping soundly on the bed, snoring loudly.
Aaron brushed his grandson's hair, his eyes gentle and loving.
"I could not believe you managed to hang on until the very end of our training, my precious grandson. You even managed to surpass my expectations. We are so proud of you."
The training was not supposed to be that rough. Aaron's goal was just for his grandson to get his body in shape, able to do a hundred push ups and other exercises, but he did not expect for Aerin to be able to do it in such a short time. And so he raised the difficulty, and not long after, he was curious about how far his grandson could go, and the results satisfied him greatly.
Aaron was amazed. He himself started training his body far earlier than his grandson. The situation was not good back then, so he was forced to learn how to fight much earlier.
However, the results that Aaron painstakingly worked hard for five years, Aerin managed to do it for two years. His grandson was truly talented. And add that with hard work, he is sure that Aerin will surely surpass them.
"It seems like today's generation has a bunch of monsters. That Lionkin kid, his grandson, and he heard that other families got talented kids too, not just from the major families, but minors also.
"Is this a good sign? Or a bad omen?"
Aaron sighed. Sitting there, he was left wondering what the future has in store for them.
He was disturbed from his thoughts by a sudden movement from Aerin. His face turned serious.
Aaron did not forget what day today is. Today is the day that Aerin's ability is supposed to awaken.