Luciferis was an exceptional talent. Godlike even. He wasn't used to training more than a few days a week; he had once gone a whole year without lifting a sword, yet he still grew stronger.
'Had I worked harder, would I have grown even more?'
That question teased him occasionally, but he ignored it. The situation back then was already in his favour after all.
So when Alize forced him into a cold, uncomfortable river filled with dirt and venomous animals. It was strange and, most of all, humiliating.
"M-Master! Do I have to do this?!"
Alize smirked, sitting on a chair on the riverbank. Sipping her tea, she released a small sigh before she spoke.
"Five more minutes. Or, if you really want to come out. Let a venomous snake bite you. That'll build your immunity."
Luciferis shivered, his hair and body dirty. He felt leaves and twigs crash against his body, each leaving a small sting in their wake. Yet he forced himself to endure in silence.
'I got to get through this. Mikael, that bastard, worked harder than anyone. And he won. This world belongs to those who work hard and are talented. No amount of talent without hard work can get me through to victory this time.'
Alize noted her disciple's silence. That was surprising. She wasn't actually going to force Luciferis to stay in the icy cold water.
'If he's so determined… I should pay respect to his wishes.'
The woman chuckled to herself, a hint of mischief dancing inside of her emerald green eyes, showing she had an ulterior motive as she stood up.
"Feeling cold. My dear student?"
"Y-Yes damn it!" Luciferis shouted, clutching at his own body to retain any bit of warmth, but it was like fanning a dying flame.
Alize tilted her head ever so slightly before tipping the piping hot tea into the river.
"Well. Here ya go. Hopefully it helps."
'This bastard… No. She's teaching me something valuable. I'm… I'm too pampered. Before and now. I need to change. There's a reason I lost.' Luciferis forced a smirk onto his face. It was sarcastic and a bit taunting, even.
But it was something Alize saw through immediately
"Thanks, Master. That tea was too good for you anyway."
"Alright. The timer's been reset~" She replied, kicking more dirt into the river to make it dirtier.
"W-Wait!! Come on!" Luciferis complained as he tried to get farther away from the pile of dirt floating on the river.
He didn't break his gaze away from Alize, who was almost… Proud of him? But the woman turned around before Leonidas could see her face properly.
"Well. Since you've endured this much. I'll allow you to come out."
Hearing this. Luciferis jumped out happily, but his clothes, which were obviously incredibly expensive, were pretty much destroyed now.
"Well… Leonidas. Go ahead and rest up on the 3rd Division's ground. You have an hour. Shower, eat, sleep, do anything." Alize said as she began walking. Luciferis stumbling behind her. Still sore from getting beaten the day before, and the cold wasn't really helping him either.
After reaching the training grounds, Luciferis collapsed on the carpeted floor of his tent.
'God… I feel exhausted.' Luciferis, for the first time. Actually felt tired from training.
'Is this what others have to go through to get strong when they don't have Vitin? My Vitin. I wonder what training Alize will give. I'm sure I can improve faster without him. But you know what? I'll work twice as hard. I'll train on my own and with Alize!'
(...)
It wasn't wrong to say that Luciferis had regretted his decision. In the day, he was brutally trained to the bone by Alize alongside the soldiers of the 3rd Division, who were… Basically mutts of the Orchel's. Known for loyalty and determination.
"Hey, Young Master!" William, who had also been training alongside Leonidas, burst into his tent early in the morning.
"Lady Alize's gonna kill us! Get up!" Luciferis, who was deep in sleep, woke up instantly.
"I'm up! I'm up!" Luciferis jumped up from the bed, picking up his sword, the same one which he had used against Alize in the sparring session a few days ago.
"Let's go. She's about to finish breakfast-" William turned to the entrance of the tent, ready to run out any second, but he froze.
"Oi. You both are late again." Alize, dressed in everyday pyjamas, stood at the entrance. Her voice was menacing, and her face sported a smirk.
"You both need to be punished for that."
William groaned, glaring at Lucifeirs, who sheepishly rubbed the back of his head while mouthing an apology to his fellow trainee.
"10 laps around the barracks. And whenever I give the command, you both need to fight each other at 100%. Got it?"
William sighed. He was really bad at anything endurance-based, and Luciferis didn't even know how to use Vitin.
But they both obliged, preparing themselves mentally and physically before beginning their laps.
Alize had climbed on top of a tree to oversee them both clearly. And much to her surprise, William was keeping up with Luciferis, albeit the boy had to really pace himself.
'It's been almost a week since I began training Willy and Leonidas, they're both pretty gosh darn talented from what it looks like. But Willy's body is weak as hell, and Leonidas can't get a breakthrough for god's sake. This is the best way to awaken them both.'
"Fight!" She shouted from the tree line as both William and Luciferis drew their sword, stopping mid-run and attacking each other.
William moved like a rhino, blocking all attacks from his opponent and rushing forward, and if he was cut by Luciferis? He simply ignored it and continued his onslaught.
But Luciferis was somewhere in between; he had the same intensity as William did, but also fluidity like water, which allowed him to land a good blow to William's side, piercing his skin just a bit as the boy winced in pain. But he retaliated, slamming the hilt of his sword on Luciferis' shoulder.
"Go back to running! You both have 8 more laps to run!"
Luciferis and William both tried running, but their injuries didn't allow that. Yet they didn't bear any sort of hatred or resentment towards each other.
"Young Master, how did you even learn how to move like that? Orchels don't have a specific fighting style, sure, but yours is different from them entirely." William grasped at his side where Luciferis had cut him; it wasn't deep, but it burned like hell.
"I don't know, it's just natural."
Luciferis suspected that his shoulder was probably bruised or fractured. But they had no choice but to go at each other at 100%, or else Alize would make sure they suffered more, and William's upbringing in the 3rd Division also played a role.
He was used to fighting for the kill, not for sport or competition.
(...)
At the end of the laps, Luciferis and William both collapsed to the ground, covered in slashes and bruises all over their body. They were exhausted before Alize had even begun training them properly.
"God damn it, Young Master... I swear to god you should be up at dawn. Because I am not going through that again."
Luciferis chuckled lightly, still feeling bad for being the cause of all of this. But he couldn't lie, Alize's training was really effective, because of her, he had gotten closer and closer to a Breakthrough. He just needed one big push to use Vitin.
"Alright, you little sissies. It's lunch time. You were just walking the last few miles. So, you missed half the day already." Alize walked towards them on the ground as she kicked them both, making them stand up.
"Go and get healed! Snowflakes! I'm training snowflakes!" She yelled at the boys, who were suddenly energised from the mention of food. "Oh, and Leonidas! Come to the river after finishing!"
Luciferis nodded back at her before he disappeared, following William into a big wooden shack where everyone ate their meals.
It was filled to the brim with people, hardened from fighting against monsters and even between themselves, silently eating.
'Well, this is a perfect place for a fight. But we're way too tired for any fight, and we're outclassed by everyone anyway.'
"Young Master, you should just sit here. I'll be back with our meal." William said that courteously, but it was evident that it was forced; he didn't really like abiding by authority. And Luciferis hadn't really done anything to get a lot of respect from anyone.
"Sure..." Luciferis mumbled in reply, sitting down on one of the empty wooden benches inside the tent. It wasn't comfortable; he could feel a nail underneath his thigh, but he was far too tired to even move.
William came back after a few minutes, putting down two trays of bland, tasteless food on the table, sitting down in front of Luciferis.
"So, we've barely talked apart from during training."
"Yep..." Luciferis said as he forced down a spoonful of chewy beef mixed with charred vegetables and mushy wet rice down his throat.
"How is it like being a noble?" William asked, poking the food with his own spoon.
Luciferis didn't answer immediately; he didn't expect this question all of a sudden. So he spent a good few moments thinking about how to answer.
"I-I guess pretty good. I mean, I don't really want to complain." Luciferis leaned forward, as William shook his head slightly. His expression was unreadable.
"But it's annoying with all the expectations I assume? I mean, you went into Vitin Counterflow, which basically means your body was absorbing everything, good or bad. And usually, the bad overwhelms people." William finally began eating; it seems like he was well-informed and knowledgeable.
Luciferis nodded. He had seen Leonidas' original memories, while no one realised this, Leonidas was basically forced into drinking a potion to become stronger. And that caused Vitin Counterflow to happen. For that, he'll never forgive Vilkens.
"Enough about me... What about you? I mean, you're talented and all, but why'd you come here? You're weak physically."
Williams sighed slightly; he wasn't keen on talking about his own personal life. But he didn't exactly want to seem like a prick either.
"My older sister and brother. Both want to go to the Nivinean Academy. I was doing mercenary work before the 3rd Division's Captain came; he basically forced me to come here."
'Nivinean Academy. Isn't that in the far east? And it's for nobles as well. But, his siblings should be pulling their own weight.' Luciferis wanted to criticise William's siblings really badly, because what kind of siblings just depend on a single kid to provide for their desires?
But he sealed his lips shut, silently eating as they both didn't talk at all. It was awkward, but they were both teenagers who barely knew each other. It was to be expected.
Suddenly, a metal tray came flying towards Luciferis as William stepped in just in time to kick it away. It was Braun; he was usually nice and supportive, but why was he suddenly trying to pick a fight with a noble?
"Hey, Braun, what's your problem?" William narrowed his eyes, looking at the much larger man who slowly approached them both, the sudden provocation bringing silence charged with tension.
"Oi brat, I respect you, you're a good fighter, and I wouldn't want you to be crippled. Let me talk to this coddled baby on my own."
Braun was aware that the noble he was targeting was the son of the Grand Marquis, but he still wanted to get rid of the anger he had been trying to control for the past few days.
"This moron's dad sent my two brothers to fight against a pack of Ogres on their own. And they died because of that stupid decision."
"I'm sorry for your loss, Braun. But. I'm not responsible for my dad's decision."
Luciferis stood up, walking towards Braun, who was now shaking with anger; it looked like the veins on his temples might pop from how angry he was.
"Listen, can we talk this out-"
"Shut up!"
The man punched Luciferis in the face as the entire shack began roaring. It seemed like everyone had a vendetta against him
The punch was definitely strong, strong enough to send Luciferis flying backwards as his back hit the wooden walls, shaking the very foundation of the building.
'Damn this oaf!'
Luciferis dashed forward, picking up a metal tray from the ground and hitting Braun across the face. But it did nothing but dirty the man's face.
'Well. I'm screwed.' Luciferis again tried to attack, this time kicking the inside of Braun's knee, which actually made the warrior bow down just a bit, enough for William to step in and deliver a kick to it, enhanced with Vitin.
And that kick actually made Braun fall onto his back. Yet it made him even angrier as he roared in rage.
"Hey Leonidas, if Master finds out I wasn't supporting you, she'll probably make me clean your feet or something stupid like that. So, just try to keep up."
"On second thought, if it means that you'll be my servant, I'd rather get beaten up by Braun," Luciferis smirked, wiping away the blood leaking from his nose.