"We meet again, mortal," greeted Will, sitting in the chair. He was reading a book written in an unknown language to Laudis.
"Yes, greetings," the boy responded with a hand gesture. His eyes were focused on the text.
"It's just the laws of physics. I have to make sure they still make sense. By the way, do you want anything?"
"Right, you know I totally forgot, but I own a strange item. It's a picture frame without any photograph, but only a writing 'G.G. Portrait 583 V.E'. Do you have any information that would clarify the initials or the engraved date?"
"G.G., you say?"
"Yes?" he murmured, puzzled.
"I can share the information on what the initials stand for. As for the date, I cannot share its importance with you yet, because the price you would have to pay for it isn't in your possession," the figure replied with interest. A subtle smile drew onto his face, perhaps a nostalgic one.
"What is the offering you want from me for the name?"
"I want to take control of your body, like a puppet, I suppose," the entity laughed lightly.
"Is it really something so precious to me to offer my will?" the kid replied with scepticism.
"All I can say is his one phrase, 'It is better to sacrifice a thing and regret it than to keep it and regret the unknown outcome'."
"I see... I agree, but with three rules. Firstly, you will have only a week from now to do it. Secondly, you will possess me for seven minutes and not even a second longer. Thirdly, you are prohibited from killing or leaving anyone with long-term injuries. Is that clear?"
"I accept thy offering. Now, could you?" Will extended his hand with a strange symbol. It was a heptagon with a deep red, seven-pointed star.
Laudis extended his right arm. He felt like his blood mixed with his. A smell of minerals, gunpowder, and burnt wood hit his nostrils, numbing his senses even more. The kid felt light-headed, and he collapsed on the floor. His vision became blurry, his limbs went numb, and he felt a great pain in his chest. His heart began to beat faster and faster, then it suddenly stopped. The eyelids closed themselves; he ceased to exist for a moment. The darkness surrounded him. Nothingness. Then a loud screech, resembling the descriptions of souls in hell, just like in the poetry, woke him up. The boy sat on the bed. His muscles were twitching, and his body was covered in sweat. He checked the time; it was 4:43 a.m. His breathing was heavy and irregular.
'That was something else. This experience was the worst I endured yet. I couldn't do anything, not even a single thought entered my mind. I was hopeless. Wait, he didn't say the name. That bastard didn't bother to ensure the deal. Or maybe he actually did... Yes, the initials changed into the name 'Gareth Gwynn'. It doesn't ring a single bell. Now, instead of unknown letters, I have an unknown man and the chirograph with the devil. I should hide it and dress up. The run isn't going to do itself. Still, it felt like the pain was in fact real. I guess I will never know the truth...' thought Laudis, looking at the picture frame. There was no trace of the previous text.
The boy put on the black trousers, his shirt, and his eye-patch. Then, he went to the bathroom to refresh his face and mind. He ordered a glass of water, and the bartender didn't mind taking any money from him. The sun was rising, the sky resembled a blood ocean, and the clouds were like the fallen soldiers. It looked like the battle took place in heaven. Nonetheless, the run began. Every step was done with a thought, precisely without one. Muscles were moving on their own, while the brain was empty, filled with the image of the road. Laudis was indeed in the zone, the zone of obsession. He was a perfectionist; it was either a completed task or a task that wasn't even touched. The kid always had a binary belief about the world: it was a victim and an aggressor, a prey and a predator, and so on. Yet there was a single exception — ever since his birth, he didn't believe in a perfectly good being. 'If a perfectly good man were to live in this world, the wicked mankind would mock him, kill him, and at last question his existence. We do not deserve the pure kindness, but the pure evil who, by his sense of justice, would erase the humanity.' The boy completed the run after eighty-seven minutes, then he went back to the tavern and washed himself.
'Ha, no cigarettes this time, I guess. It's 6:46 a.m., so I'd better eat breakfast and start the real training. I have some knowledge about tree chopping, so the only thing stopping me from achieving my goal is my conditioning. I have to do it or I will...' Laudis thought, pouring water on his head. The scar from the clown mask had mostly healed, unlike his hand from yesterday.
The boy went downstairs and ordered food — three large potatoes, two rabbit legs, and water. Despite his liking for smoking, he despised alcohol drinking. The kid hated every aspect of it, from the taste to their makers. 'The foolish people drink to lose control of their senses, the smart ones smoke to enhance them.' Or so he justified the habit for his own sake.
"You've got an appetite," Dantenium joined him. His meal consisted of half a chicken and a cup of beer.
"I prefer to have fewer meals and have them bigger," he replied, filled with inner disgust from the unfavourable smell of the liquid.
"I understand... Now, do you want any help from me? I can teach you something if you wan—"
"There is no need for such actions. I have a plan for the second trial. I appreciate your proposition, yet I don't need such merc— I mean assistance," responded Laudis with eye contact. His voice was emotionless.
"Okay, just one last question. What do you hide behind that eye-patch? I know it isn't a black eye, because it would have shrunk or gone off already."
"I will reveal the truth during the third trial; for now, it's better this way."
The boy left the plate and the tavern. The man was filled with a strange feeling, almost like he had already witnessed this scene before. Laudis went to the market and bought a used axe for six golds. The temperature was getting higher, the air was pretty humid, and the wind was light. The clouds were long and torn apart; judging by their appearance, it seemed that some time rain would pour from them. He went to the forest to the training grounds, where the Crusaders were training. The girl was practicing close combat with the captain. The blue-haired female was perfecting her water manipulation. The man focused on precision by striking the thin tree branches stuck in the dummy.
"Hey Raudis, did you see that?" Solisia asked with a smirk.
"I did not, and it's Laudis."
"I know, I know. I wanted to give you a nickname, but I guess you don't want one..."
"Going to the north, so if anyone has a thing for me, go there," the kid replied with a raised hand. He didn't bother to stop; the axe caught everyone's attention.
"He didn't just go to chop down the trees, did he?" the knight wondered with a subtle disorientation.
"He probably is going to do that. Would you remind him?"
"Yeah, I am the leader after all..."
The boy took a stable stance and prepared himself for the first hit. He was about to swing the tool when he heard someone from behind.
"Wait!"
"What now?"
"You cannot chop down those trees."
"And why is that?" asked Laudis with surprise.
"It's the royal forest, therefore you can't alter its appearance."
"What about those dummies and such?"
"We have a small terrain, which we can use freely."
"Okay? So where am I supposed to practice before the trial?"
"I don't know. I am no fortune teller, go ask someone else," Gladius said with apathy.
"Nice..."
Laudis left filled with anger, but not with the common type, but more like a disappointing way. After a quick chat, the rest told him where to head for the local sawmill. He went to the east for a while. He noticed the lumberjack. The man was built like a stereotypical one — long, brown beard, about one hundred ninety centimeters tall, with visible muscles. The smell of fresh pine cones, wood, and moss caught the boy's attention.
"So what brings you here, kid?" the man asked, cleaning his axe.
"May I use this part of the forest for training?"
"What do you mean by training?"
"I am in the process of becoming a Crusader. My second trial consists of chopping down twenty-five trees in twelve hours. I'd like to prepare myself for it."
"Hm... Okay, but you have to pay for every one you take."
"Excuse me? I've never said I needed the wood, I only need to practice the chopping," the boy replied with hidden surprise.
"Oh, so you don't want anything. I guess you can do it for free then, but you have to place the logs in that area," the male showed him a pile of stacked logs.
"Understood, I appreciate it."
Laudis went down to the north and found a good piece of spruce. It wasn't that old nor new, perfect for the first try. He checked the time, it was 8:37 a.m.. The kid picked up his axe and began the procedure. Thuck — the blade went into the plant with ease. Every following hit was harder for him to control and use the right amount of power. After a while, he created the necessary notch. The boy went to the other side and started to incise at the same level. With every strike, the tree was wobbling, and suddenly it plummeted with a loud bang, scaring off the birds. Laudis checked the time; it was 9:13 a.m..
'With that kind of tempo, I will never accomplish the target. I have to shorten the damn time to around twenty-eight minutes, and not the thirty-six I have now. If only I had the cigarette to chill out in this scenery, if I only had even one of them... Nonetheless, I must continue the training. Firstly, I will chop down the trees while measuring the time, and then carry them. The work is not going to do itself,' the kid thought, sitting at the cut spruce.
About halfway through the work, the rain started, but he didn't care about it. It wasn't that much of a deal for him. Actually, the kid appreciated the cool breeze nature gave him. The boy continued his training. After about eight hours, he cut down fifteen trees altogether. Laudis wasn't content with the results. He carried the eight logs to the station and proceeded to walk away. The lumberjack stopped him in the way.
"Am I obliged to do some more?" the kid wondered with a tired face.
"No, no. Here, take it," the male passed down sixty golds.
"I know it's not much, but I still have to clear and finish them off, so it's the most I can pay you," the man continued.
"Nice, I didn't think I would get paid for this. Pleasant surprise, I appreciate it, really," the boy took the money with a subtle smile.
"See you, if you want, you can come back."
"I will, for sure," Laudis left with a raised hand.
He went straight for the tavern; the sun was heading towards the horizon. The merchants were closing their stands. The lights on the clock tower were lit, illuminating its hands. The Crusaders were also there, sitting in the corner, eating dinner. The kid ordered half of a bread, three chicken legs, and a fine wine. He took the plate and three glasses for the alcohol.
"Who do you plan to drink with?" wondered Dantenium with intrigue.
"I am not drinking tonight. Treat it as a token of my gratitude, perhaps," Laudis poured the drink and gave it to him, the knight, and to the blue-haired female.
"Really? Thanks, but why don't you drink it with us?"
"I dislike the taste of it."
"Okay, okay. Now, why am I the one left out?!" asked Solisia with discontent.
"You are too young for this, I think you are around fifteen years old, so you know."
"Fifteen?! Do you think I am some kid? I am sixteen, you're only one year older!"
"Your behaviour says otherwise."
"Hmph!"
"By the way, I wonder about one thing since I saw you. Why do you have blue hair?"
"You know, when I was around nineteen, I was told that blue hair boosts your Water element power. I dyed my hair at some hermit's tent, he really changed it, but..."
"But what?"
"It didn't have any effect, nor can it be changed back. I am now stuck with that stupid hair color for the rest of my life," the woman said with glazed eyes.
"And my crimson hair didn't surprise you?"
"No, I had a culpri— I mean a friend with similar hair. I know you can dye it naturally with red berries, if I'm not mistaken."
"Yeah, you aren't wrong."
The party went on for about forty minutes, then Laudis finished the meal. Everyone left the table. When he wanted to go upstairs, he felt someone's hand on his shoulder. It was Udania, who didn't have any strength after drinking.
"C—Could you help me go to my room?" she asked with a red face and embarrassment.
"Agh... I guess I have no choice left," he replied, dissatisfied.
The kid took her one arm over his shoulder and walked her. The height difference between those two was negligible. Her walking was wobbly and irregular, so he had to stabilise her entire walk. From time to time, the boy felt the heat of her chest on his shoulder, causing him distress.
'I knew women had those, but they can hold them down somehow. Right? Besides, her room is nearby, so I guess it's all done,' thought Laudis, feeling unpleasant, keeping a stoic face.
"Here we are, may I leave you now?"
"Actually... Can you help me undress?"
"No chance in a damn hell! I'm not going to undress you; the only ones allowed to do this are your family, spouse, or a medic. Not a random man," he responded with further disquiet.
"Please..." the woman tried to grab his hand without success. His senses were all high after her words. The youth felt pressure greater than he was fighting a vampire.
"I'm leaving," his cold stare threw the drunk female off.
Laudis went to his room; it was already 8:11 p.m.. He took off his clothes, all wet from his exercise. The stars were shining like fireflies in the swamps. The kid noticed the smell of his sweat. It made him open up the window, letting fresh air in.
'I cannot stand those ignorants. Firstly, their strange attitude, gluttony for alcohol, or even their prideful behaviour. It was a test that they had failed miserably. I need to understand them, or I will forfeit the application. That woman really wanted me to take her clothes off... I—I actually wanted to do it, but then I remembered. What a man I really would like to become. I despise hedonism, yet I really tried to do it. I need to discipline myself more, or I will become like those people. Tomorrow I have to buy some perfumes too, I need to smell at least tolerable. Crap, I didn't do any shadow boxing yet, that's right, I need to focus more...' thought Laudis, preparing the space. His mind was filled with that image. The image of her reached her hand to him. He couldn't stop thinking about it. For the first time in his life, he actually felt that his presence wasn't despised.
The boy trained for about twenty-seven minutes, then went to sleep. The first day of preparation has passed.