Gareth continued cultivating until a few minutes till Eleven. When he saw the time, he immediately stood up and made his way down to the knights training area.
He only saw a few knights there who he nodded to in greeting. They responded back and without a word, he started his training.
By the time it was noon, the rest of the knights had come here, and some had already started light sparring. Commander Donovan had also arrived and was watching Gareth complete the last of the laps.
After he was done, Gareth was left gasping for breath, but not completely out of it like he was previously. Seeing him done, Commander Donovan only gave him a few minutes to relax before continuing his training.
A week passed like this.
Gareth had developed something of a routine by now. By Eleven, he would start his laps around the estate. Then by noon, he would join the rest of the knights in their training.
Though Commander Donovan only made him do physical training, it was still quite taxing for him. However, it was not without great gains.
Over the past week, his figure had changed noticeably. His lean figure had bulked up, and he had noticeably gained more muscle mass. Not enough to become huge, but enough to clearly be noticeable.
His change could be said to be drastic, and even Commander Donovan was surprised when he noticed it.
However, those were the physical changes. Over the past week, Gareth had been trying to channel his mana through his body, though he was unsuccessful.
However, he wasn't discouraged. Every day, he learnt new things, and he knew that he would soon be able to accomplish it.
Today, after his regular 20 laps around the estate, he was about to move to his weight training when Commander Donovan stopped him.
"Normally, I wouldn't do this so quickly, but seeing how fast you're progressing, I think we can move to the next stage."
'The next stage?' Gareth thought to himself, though he didn't voice his thoughts.
"Follow me." Commander Donovan said, before turning around, and without even waiting for him, began to walk away.
Gareth, of course, followed with one step behind him as they walked towards a corner of the training ground.
What was in this corner, you might ask?
Well, it was the weapons rack.
Various weapons, mostly made of wood, could be seen there. However, there were those that seemed to be made of blunt metal as well.
"Pick one." Commander Donovan spoke succinctly.
Gareth's hand outstretched to pick a sword, but before he could, the Commander spoke once again.
"Don't be so hasty. Whichever one you pick now, you won't be allowed to change. At least, not when I'm teaching you."
His words stopped Gareth in his tracks, and he started to think more about what he wanted to pick. He initially wanted to pick a sword, as that was the default weapon in any fantasy world.
Most knights used swords, and he was sure that it would be a good weapon for him. However, now that he thought about it more, he realized that there were weapons better suited to him than just a long sword.
His first thought was to pick a greatsword. With his size and extraordinary strength, it was a good choice that could make use of it very well.
However, he didn't like how slow it made its user. That was the reason he didn't pick it. He didn't want something that would hinder his speed.
With that, his gaze shifted towards a different weapon. One that could take advantage of his height and strength, while not slowing him down.
As soon as he saw the weapon, he knew it would serve him more than a great sword. Without any more hesitation, he reached out an picked up the weapon.
"Good choice, but the spear is not going to be an easy weapon to master." Commander Donovan stated.
That's right, the weapon that Gareth had picked was the spear. Like the great sword, it would be a great weapon to maximize his strength without hindering his speed.
Gareth simply nodded and started feeling the weapon against his palm. Satisfied, he turned his gaze back to Commander Donovan before speaking.
"I'll do my best." He said, not backing down.
The Commander merely nodded perfunctorily, not paying particular attention to his words. They stepped to a secluded area of the open field where the Commander was going to train Gareth personally.
The other knights stared in wonder, watching the Commander personally train this fellow. They had been watching him for the whole week and were somewhat familiar with him.
Many of them remembered the Countess personally escorting him, but few were close enough to actually hear her words. But now, seeing the Commander personally training him, they could tell the importance that the Countess placed on him.
They all looked on in wonder, some even daydreaming of being in his place. However, among the knights, one could be seen glaring at him with undisguised hatred and fury.
His fury was so intense that even the Ardent Commander noticed. He glanced at the direction the killing intent came from and after seeing who it was merely shook his head lightly.
Meanwhile, Gareth didn't notice anything and was merely excited to start weapon training.
"Alright, first lesson. Learn how to hold the spear correctly and stop holding it like a broom." The Commander said. He gave Gareth a series of instructions, telling him how to hold the spear properly.
Gareth immediately switched his grip according to the instructions, finally holding the spear like the deadly weapon that it was.
Seeing his adjusted grip, the Commander nodded silently in approval before continuing.
"Now, your stance." The Commander said while tapping his foot between Gareth's legs.
"Wider! Put your weight forward!"
Gareth shifted into the correct stance, feeling his balance settle.
"Now, thrust!"
Gareth tried. The spear wobbled sideways, tip dipping embarrasingly low.
Commander Donovan sighed through his nose.
"Again. This time, don't throw your whole body. Speed comes after accuracy."