Chapter 3 — The First Lesson
The next morning arrived far too quickly.
At least, that was Rudra's opinion.
He was still half asleep when someone knocked on his bedroom door.
Rudra pulled the blanket over his head.
"Rudra."
He ignored the voice.
"Rudra."
Nothing.
The door opened.
Thor stepped inside.
"Wake up."
Rudra pulled the blanket tighter.
"I am awake."
Thor looked at the bed.
"You are hiding under a blanket."
"I can be awake under a blanket."
Thor laughed.
"Come on. Training."
Rudra slowly uncovered his face.
"It is still dark."
"It is morning."
"It looks like night."
"You need to get used to it."
Rudra stared at him.
"Why?"
Thor smiled.
"Because warriors don't wait for the sun."
Rudra sighed.
"I already dislike training."
Thor laughed.
"You haven't even started."
"That is why I still have hope."
Thor shook his head.
"Get dressed."
A short while later, Rudra stood in the training yard.
The morning air was cold.
Warriors were already practicing.
Some carried swords.
Others trained with spears and shields.
A few were sparring without weapons.
Rudra looked around.
There were more warriors than he had ever seen together.
Thor stood beside him.
"Today we begin with the basics."
Rudra looked at the wooden sword in his hand.
"I already know how to hold it."
Thor smiled.
"That's not the same as knowing how to use it."
Rudra frowned.
Loki, who had apparently decided to watch from nearby, smiled.
"That is something you should remember."
Rudra looked at him.
"You're not training?"
Loki held up his book.
"I have chosen a more civilized form of education."
Thor rolled his eyes.
"Reading won't help you if someone attacks you."
Loki calmly turned a page.
"Knowing why they are attacking might."
Thor stared at him.
Rudra smiled.
"Why?"
Thor groaned.
"Not again."
Loki laughed.
Thor moved in front of Rudra.
"Stand properly."
Rudra adjusted his feet.
"Like this?"
"Wider."
Rudra moved them.
"Like this?"
"Good."
Thor adjusted Rudra's shoulders.
"Relax."
Rudra immediately stiffened.
"I'm relaxed."
Thor laughed.
"No, you aren't."
Rudra frowned.
"How can you tell?"
"Your shoulders are too high."
Rudra lowered them.
Thor nodded.
"Better."
Then Thor stepped backward.
"Now walk."
Rudra took a step.
"Again."
Another.
"Again."
Rudra continued.
Thor watched carefully.
"Don't cross your feet."
Rudra corrected himself.
"Why?"
"Because you can lose balance."
Rudra looked down.
Thor suddenly pushed his shoulder.
Rudra stumbled.
He caught himself before falling.
Thor smiled.
"Exactly."
Rudra looked annoyed.
"You pushed me."
"I did."
"Why?"
"To teach you."
"You could have told me."
"You wouldn't remember it as well."
Rudra thought about that.
He couldn't argue.
Thor smiled.
"Again."
The lesson continued for nearly an hour.
Rudra learned how to stand.
How to move.
How to turn.
How to keep his balance.
How to fall without hurting himself.
He discovered something important about Asgardian children.
They were strong.
Much stronger than children from his memories.
Even at six, Rudra could carry weights that would have been impossible for a human child in his previous life.
But Thor made one thing clear.
Natural strength was not enough.
"You are Asgardian," Thor said. "Your body will become strong naturally."
Rudra listened.
"But that does not mean you can ignore training."
Thor handed him the wooden sword again.
"Strength without control is dangerous."
Rudra nodded.
"And control without strength?"
Thor smiled.
"Useful, but limited."
Rudra thought for a moment.
"So I need both."
"Exactly."
Rudra smiled.
That made sense.
The System appeared.
Only Rudra could see it.
[Training Function Activated.]
[Basic Physical Training Detected.]
[Training Record Created.]
[Balance: Improving.]
[Footwork: Beginner.]
[Sword Handling: Beginner.]
[Stamina: Developing.]
Rudra blinked.
The System had started recording everything.
He looked at his hands.
Thor noticed his distraction.
"What is it?"
Rudra quickly looked up.
"Nothing."
Thor narrowed his eyes.
"You do that often."
"Do what?"
"Look at something that isn't there."
Rudra smiled.
"Maybe I'm thinking."
Thor laughed.
"Then think while you train."
After several weeks, Rudra began noticing improvements.
He could move more easily.
His balance became better.
He could hold the wooden sword for longer.
He could run farther.
He could recover from falls faster.
But he was still a child.
And Thor never let him forget that.
One afternoon, Rudra tried to lift a training shield that Thor had been using.
He managed to raise it.
For three seconds.
Then it fell.
Rudra stared at it.
Thor laughed.
"Not yet."
Rudra looked at him.
"I'll lift it."
"I know."
"How long?"
Thor smiled.
"As long as it takes."
Rudra nodded.
That answer was enough.
His training wasn't limited to weapons.
Frigga began teaching him something just as important.
Healing.
Not magical healing.
Not yet.
She taught him how to recognize when someone was injured.
How to clean a wound.
How to remain calm when someone was frightened.
How to listen.
One afternoon, Rudra accidentally scraped his hand while climbing over a stone wall.
He looked at the small cut.
Frigga walked over.
"You're hurt."
Rudra looked at it.
"It doesn't hurt much."
"That doesn't mean you ignore it."
She cleaned the wound.
Rudra watched carefully.
"What are you doing?"
"Cleaning it."
"Why?"
"So it heals properly."
Rudra looked at the wound.
"Can everyone heal?"
"Most injuries heal naturally."
"What about serious injuries?"
Frigga became more serious.
"Sometimes they need help."
Rudra remembered the System's healing functions.
He wondered how powerful they could eventually become.
But he did not ask.
Not yet.
There were some things he needed to discover himself.
Loki's lessons were different.
He taught Rudra to read more complicated books.
At first, Rudra preferred stories.
Then history.
Then maps.
Then books about the Nine Realms.
Loki noticed his interest.
"You like maps."
Rudra nodded.
"They show places."
"And?"
Rudra thought.
"They show where things are."
Loki smiled.
"And what else?"
Rudra studied the map.
"Distance."
"Good."
"Dangers."
"Sometimes."
"People."
"Sometimes."
Rudra looked at Loki.
"And what they don't show."
Loki's expression changed slightly.
"Very good."
Rudra smiled.
Loki pointed toward a large map.
"A map tells you what someone wants you to know."
Rudra looked at it again.
"So I should ask what isn't there."
Loki smiled.
"Now you're thinking."
Rudra's previous-life memories continued returning.
Not every day.
Not in order.
Sometimes they appeared while he slept.
Sometimes while he was awake.
A Pokémon battle.
A game.
A character.
A region.
A Legendary Pokémon.
A strange piece of technology.
Some memories were clear.
Others were nothing more than feelings.
One evening, Rudra remembered something about Dragonite.
He could not remember exactly what.
Only that Dragonite had once represented something important to him.
Friendship.
Strength.
Freedom.
The feeling disappeared before he could understand it.
Rudra opened his eyes.
The room was dark.
The System appeared.
[Memory Fragment Detected.]
[Pokémon Identification: Dragonite.]
[Relationship Data: Incomplete.]
Rudra whispered,
"Why do I remember you?"
No answer came.
He looked toward the window.
Perhaps the System didn't want to tell him.
Or perhaps it couldn't.
Either way, Rudra would wait.
As the months passed, Rudra's life became a balance between training and childhood.
He trained with Thor in the mornings.
He studied with Loki during parts of the afternoon.
He spent time with Frigga.
Sometimes Odin took him into the palace halls and explained matters of Asgardian history.
And whenever he had free time, Rudra explored.
The gardens.
The libraries.
The palace towers.
The training grounds.
The kitchens.
He even discovered a small balcony overlooking the city that quickly became his favorite place.
From there, he could see Asgard's golden streets.
Warriors walking through the city.
Children playing.
Ships arriving.
The Bifrost glowing in the distance.
For a child, it was an entire world.
For Rudra, it was something more.
It was the beginning of a life he had never expected.
One afternoon, Rudra was training with Thor when something unexpected happened.
Thor attacked.
Rudra blocked.
Thor attacked again.
Rudra stepped backward.
Thor swung from the other side.
Rudra ducked.
Thor stopped.
Rudra looked surprised.
Thor smiled.
"You saw it."
Rudra nodded.
"You moved your shoulder."
Thor's smile grew.
"You're starting to read movement."
Rudra looked at his wooden sword.
"I didn't think."
Thor shook his head.
"You did think."
Rudra looked confused.
"You reacted."
Thor nodded.
"That is what training is for."
Rudra smiled.
For the first time, the movements felt natural.
Not perfect.
Not fast.
But natural.
The System appeared.
[Combat Observation Improved.]
[Reaction Training: Progress Increased.]
[Battle Awareness: Beginner.]
Rudra smiled.
He was getting better.
Slowly.
But genuinely.
That evening, Thor sat beside Rudra on the edge of the training platform.
"You did well today."
Rudra looked surprised.
"Really?"
Thor nodded.
"You didn't win."
Rudra frowned.
"Then why did I do well?"
"Because you learned something."
Rudra smiled.
Thor looked toward the city.
"You don't have to become like me."
Rudra looked at him.
Thor continued.
"You can fight differently."
Rudra thought about that.
"What kind of warrior should I become?"
Thor smiled.
"That is for you to decide."
Rudra looked toward the stars.
That answer felt familiar.
His father had said something similar when he was named.
His mother had said it in different ways.
Even Loki had taught him to think rather than simply follow.
Perhaps everyone around him was trying to teach him the same lesson.
His future belonged to him.
Later that night, Rudra opened the System.
The display was simple.
Name: Rudra Odinson
Age: 6
Race: Asgardian
Level: 7
Pokémon: None
Soul Bond: None
System Synchronization: 8%
Training: Active
Pokédex: Limited
First Partner Selection: Locked
Rudra looked at the final line.
He smiled.
"Still locked?"
The System gave no answer.
Rudra closed the window.
He was not disappointed.
Not anymore.
He had learned something during his first months of training.
Not everything needed to happen immediately.
Some things had to be earned.
Some things had to be discovered.
And some things had to wait.
Rudra looked toward the night sky.
Somewhere in that enormous universe were creatures he remembered from another life.
Somewhere, perhaps, there was a small blue dragon waiting for a future that neither of them could see yet.
Rudra smiled.
"Someday."
Then he returned to his room.
Tomorrow there would be another lesson.
Another training session.
Another book.
Another question.
Another day of growing up.
And Rudra had no idea that the years ahead would slowly turn a curious Asgardian child into something the Nine Realms had never seen before.
End of Chapter 3