Osric and Jayson were now inside Franklin's office.
"What brings you to me this time?" He asked.
"First of all, thanks for your help again."
"Yes, thank you sir." Jayson repeated.
"Sure."
Osric hesitated slightly.
"I hope this isn't too much, but I need a couple more small favours. Jayson here has joined our party, but he doesn't have any equipment or experience with weapons. I was hoping that you could provide him with both equipment and some basic training."
Franklin chuckled.
"Since when are you the nervous type, Osric? This is exactly what I am here for. Well at least for you."
"I can easily provide some basic leather armor and a decent iron weapon. But before doing so, I need to test Jayson here, to see where his strengths lie."
"Also, have you even registered as an adventurer yet?"
Both Osric and Jayson looked surprised.
'Damn, I forgot.'
"Not yet. We will do that now." Osric said.
This wasn't a problem though, the process was very quick to get an F-Rank badge.
After doing that, the three of them went to the training ground behind the building.
—
Franklin picked up two practice swords and tossed one to Jayson.
"You ever held a sword before, kid?"
"No, sir."
"Got it. Just do what feels natural to you and try attacking me with everything you got."
Jayson was nervous.
'I never thought that I would spar with a knight. This is scary but also exciting.'
Franklin looked at him more closely and quickly noticed it.
'A mana seed? Impressive that Osric found him.'
'But what this kid does with his mana seed, is what matters. Can he bring out his potential with mana?'
Jayson jumped into action.
Whoosh!
Clack!
His strike was easily blocked.
'Sloppy but fast.' Franklin thought.
'But he doesn't know how to utilise his strength, that he gets from his mana seed correctly, which is normal. His biggest weakness is the lack of training he's had, both physically and technically.'
Franklin sighed.
'Having a mana seed is rare enough, but the actual problem is that most people with it are never taught how to handle mana. And in his case, he hasn't even had training that has nothing to do with mana.'
Jayson kept swinging wildly with full force, but nothing landed or even made Franklin take a step.
'I can feel this kid's determination. I will do my best to train him, starting with a physical foundation.'
'With my help, he can at least become an apprentice knight, what comes after is up to him and his talent.'
After a few more minutes of useless attempts of attacking Franklin, he ended the spar with a swift strike to Jayson's leg.
Pow!
He was swept off the ground and fell.
'Ouch.'
'I was completely helpless.' Jayson thought.
He heard steps approaching.
"I know how you feel. I felt the same not too long ago, when I faced Franklin the first time." Osric said and reached out his hand to help Jayson up.
He grabbed the hand and answered. "How do you do against him now?"
Osric shrugged.
"What do you think? He's still a knight. I'm still nothing compared to him and can't make him take a single step—
But I have improved a lot thanks to him."
Jayson felt a little better.
Osric turned to Franklin.
"Thanks for helping. What did you think?"
Franklin responded in his usual relaxed but serious manner.
"He has absolutely no foundation and an untrained body. He's even worse off than you were, because he's relied too much on his natural abilities from his mana seed."
"But that will change with some serious training with me."
Osric nodded.
"How long will it take for him to be ready to go on a mission with our party?"
"That totally depends on him, but I will free up some time this week to train him every day a few hours. It's not every day that I get to know someone with a mana seed."
"I believe it's worth investing in him as I did with you. And this will be a big help to you as well, Osric."
Osric was genuinely happy.
"I agree and thank you for everything. You won't regret investing in us."
Osric turned back to Jayson.
"Jayson, I will leave you to Franklin for the time being. I still have a lot to do before our party starts doing official missions again. I will still check on you everyday, so do your best."
Jayson was very motivated.
"Yes sir!"
'For my mom, for Osric and also for myself. I will become stronger no matter what.'