I ignored my fatigue and raised my sword, looking forward once more. My opponent advanced furiously toward me, launching several high and low attacks. I couldn't keep up with the rhythm of his movements and he forced me to retreat without pause; I simply couldn't counterattack—he was very fast and precise.
When I thought there was nothing I could do, I saw it: an opening. He had raised his sword too high, seemingly planning to charge with everything from above and finish it in one blow. So I took a high guard, waited to receive his attack with my sword, and land a punch to his abdomen.
Just when I thought I had him… he took a sudden step to the right and the sword came from below. I immediately fell to the ground with a sharp pain in my stomach.
"Damn, I'm sorry Luke, are you okay?" Rowan stretched out his hand to help me up.
"…seven to zero." I murmured and accepted his help to get back on my feet.
"What do you mean?"
"Seven to zero, that's the score in our 'duels'." I smiled and brushed the dust off my body.
"Are you seriously keeping track?" He raised an eyebrow and chuckled lightly.
I scratched my head. "Of course, what's wrong with that?"
"That's enough nonsense, come here," Edric said, raising his voice.
I was very tired, so I dragged myself over as best I could and sat down in front of him along with my brother. Almost six months had passed since we arrived here. The first five we practiced sword use and meditation to feel the pulsing; in the last three—almost four—weeks, the old man had begun pitting Rowan and me against each other in short duels. He overwhelmed me again and again.
He looked at Row first. "Well done this time, that was a very good final feint, Rowan." Then he looked in my direction. "And you, Luke, even if you're being mercilessly beaten by your brother time and time again…"
"Thanks for that," I rolled my eyes.
He smiled and continued. "You're also doing incredibly well. Remember that he already had experience with the sword before, and even if he doesn't remember its basic fundamentals from before, his body does."
I nodded briefly and asked, "Uncle Ed… and when will you teach us to use the pulsing in combat?"
He put on a more serious expression. "Be patient, boy. You're not ready yet—you're not ready. The pulsing is not a toy. You have to learn to feel it and control it properly before trying to enhance your blood or muscles, and much more so to do it with a sword." As I slumped slightly in disappointment, Edric spoke again. "Don't worry needlessly; you don't have much left before we put it into practice. So, keep up your current routine."
Today we had trained early in the morning, since the old man had something to do in the afternoon.
"Luke, do you want to go eat something?" Rowan asked as we walked toward the house.
"I can't today, maybe later. I have to go to work now. Myriam said they needed me a bit earlier than usual today; they have a lot of work."
"No problem, see you tonight." With that we said goodbye and each went our own way.
Once I arrived at my workplace, I greeted my boss.
"Good morning. Is your husband still in bed today as well?" I said when I arrived.
"Oh Luke, good morning, you're just in time," she said as she set some logs on the ground. "He's still sick, but he'll get better soon; it's nothing serious."
"I'm glad to hear that. Shall we begin?"
I worked for about an hour and then went to have lunch with Mrs. Myriam; she had prepared the meal.
"How has your training with Edric been going?" she asked while serving her plate of food.
"Very well. I've made a lot of progress with the sword, and I can also feel the pulsing much better now."
"I'm very glad to hear that. Maybe in a few years you can stand guard with the group of lumberjacks," she said with a warm smile on her face. "And besides, when you become a full-fledged shocker you'll be able to protect them better, including my beloved son," she finished, winking at me.
"Maybe." I remembered something and spoke again. "From what I've heard, your son could already be considered Corin's and Serin's 'squire.' Apparently he's good with the spear."
"Oh, ho ho, that's what the group has been saying on their last expeditions. I'm very proud of him. Even if he doesn't have the official title of squire from the empire, he's still doing his job very well." Her smile grew even wider; she always spoke about how proud she was of her son and became very happy when she did.
She flinched slightly as she remembered something. "I almost forgot—I'm going to increase your salary for this week and the following ones. I don't know how long it will last, but we're having a lot of income due to the high sale of wood to the capital."
The empire was buying large quantities of wood, mainly from this area, due to the high-quality, durable trees here. Apparently, they were building a large fleet of ships. "I'm glad to hear that, but… is it okay? I mean, since your husband is in bed and all."
"Don't worry about that; it's nothing serious, he'll be fine. Besides, as I said, a lot of money is coming in. You're doing my husband's job right now, so I'll also give you an extra bonus on top of your raise until he recovers."
"Thank you very much, I really appreciate it."
After I finished my working hours and got paid my wages, I was walking home under the rain. I looked at myself reflected in a nearby puddle. I was very different from who I had been six months ago. My hair was relatively the same since I cut it often, but my body was no longer as skinny and scrawny as before—not muscular either, but somewhat athletic. "I don't look bad…"
Suddenly someone touched my back and startled me. "You don't look bad? I didn't know you were such a narcissist, my friend."
"Damn it, Miles, don't scare me like that," I said in a slightly annoyed tone.
"Haha, don't get so angry. I thought shockers didn't get scared so easily."
"I'm not a shocker yet," I grumbled, still upset by the scare.
We started walking together along the main road. "What are you doing on this side of town? It's rare to see you here," I asked with some curiosity.
"My grandfather sent me to pick up a sack of hops for the beer, but the vendor's sack broke and got soaked by the rain, so I'll have to come back next week when he brings more." He looked around. "And I've improved a lot with the spear. It really is easier than the sword, just like you said. Leofric is a good teacher for being so young."
Leofric was Myriam's son. I had introduced him to Miles a few weeks ago so he could learn to use a spear. Whenever I talked about my training, I noticed Miles looked somewhat dejected and regretful.
"That's excellent. Maybe if you try hard enough, one day you'll catch up to me." I smiled sarcastically.
"Catch up to you? According to what you told me last week, you weren't even close to beating your brother in a duel."
"Shut up," I said, pushing him playfully with the back of my hand.
Just as we were about to part ways, we saw the lumberjacks' caravan returning to the village. They usually left for two to three days to bring back the best wood possible, which was found at the foot of a nearby mountain.
There was a man who seemed to be injured in the arm, which was bandaged. When I spotted Leofric, I went over to ask him, "Hey Leo, did something bad happen?"
He turned when he heard me and smiled slightly. "Oh, hi Luke, Miles." He glanced from me to the injured man. "There was an attack by some wild beasts, but nothing serious. Serin managed to drive them off quickly."
"I'm glad you're okay, master," Miles said in a solemn voice.
"Don't call me that, idiot, we're almost the same age." The three of us laughed at the same time.
"Well guys, I'll see you later. I have to go with Serin to make the report to the chief."
We said goodbye to him, and then I said goodbye to Miles and headed back home.
When I arrived, Rowan was waiting for me at the door. I saw him from a distance as I walked, and it seemed he saw me too, so he waited by the entrance. We greeted each other with a gesture and went inside.
Upon entering, I was surprised to see the old man—but not by the fact that he was there. Rather, he was sitting on the couch with a young man and woman.
"Come in, boys, I was waiting for you," Edric said when he saw us. "These are my grandchildren, Claire and Daren." He turned to look at them. "These are Luke and Rowan, the boys I told you about."
"Nice to meet you." The four of us said it in unison. We were all surprised, and it gave us a bit of a laugh.
After a brief silence, Edric spoke again. "I know this may sound a bit sudden, but they'll be staying with us for a while and… they'll train with you, since they're also capable of using the pulsar."