Somewhere in the vast plains of Balt, two figures were walking unhurriedly on a beaten path. They were both wearing rough and worn-down travel clothes, giving them a bedraggled appearance.

One of them was a young man around fifteen years old with a strong build and short brown hair. He should be someone rather tall and with a good bearing, but right now his back was slightly bent over, and his forehead glistened with sweat.

He was carrying two heavy rucksacks, one over each shoulder, and was holding a large rock near his chest. Why he did that was a mystery. This strange sight would always draw questioning glances from the occasional travelers they met on the road.

At his side was a tall woman holding onto a walking staff, her long undulated red-hair swaying in the breeze. Her beautiful features were in stark contrast to the young man’s, as she didn’t betray an ounce of tiredness. She also drew her fair share of stares, but they were because even her baggy clothes couldn’t hide her womanly curves. All in all, they made for a peculiar pair.

“Master, can I drop the rock now?” asked the young man with difficulty.

“I’ve told you before to not call me master, Claude. I’m just teaching you some things. A master-pupil relationship is something much more serious,” replied the woman.

“I’m sorry miss Fang Chu.”

“All right, since we’re almost at Berat you can drop the rock.”

Claude dropped the rock to the side and gave a long sigh. He adjusted his posture and stretched his arms, making low moans in the process. He didn’t remember for how long he was carrying that boulder; he only knew that getting rid of it was sweet release. Fang Chu watched the young man from the side and shook her head slightly, her eyes containing a complex expression.

Berat was a bustling river port town. All the goods coming from the northeast part of the kingdom passed through its docks to be sent further down river towards the capital, Kalafrana. From there the merchandise would be redistributed to the rest of the nation.

As they waited in line to enter the city, the young man’s eyes darted here and there with curiosity. He saw merchants organizing their cargo for inspection, boats drifting up and down along the river, and many non-humans, like dwarves, gnomes and halflings, going about their business. Everything was new to him.

The woman on the other hand payed no mind to all of that, focusing her attention on the town’s size, its wooden palisade and its overall infrastructure. Honestly, she was disappointed. An unintentional hint of contempt flashed past her eyes.

“Wow, it’s my first time seeing a city so big! It’s so full of people!” exclaimed Claude.

“Big? Full of people? I guess. We haven’t been to anything but villages and hamlets so far,” replied Fang Chu.

A middle-aged pedlar that was waiting in front of them turned around to assess the duo. When he saw Fang Chu he was stunned at first, but being an experienced merchant he hid his surprise very quickly. He gave Claude and ingratiating smile and spoke in an open manner.

“Is it your first time traveling away from your village lad?”

“That’s right sir, I’ve never seen a place this big or crowded!”

“Hahaha, that’s nothing! You should see the capital then, now that’s a big city! It’s only a few days downriver by boat, you should go if you have the chance.”

“Really? How big is it? How many people live there?” asked Fang Chu.

“It’s easily a few times bigger than Berat, miss. As for population, how can one tell? It should be around 200,000… maybe. I don’t know.”

“Two hundred thousand? Is that a lot? How many is that?” asked Claude.

[Only 200,000? For the capital? That’s so few!] thought Fang Chu in shock.

“Huh, how to put it… here, look at this. See this grain I’m holding? It’s called rice. Look at how small it is. Now imagine that each grain is one person. To have 200,000 people is like filling one of the rucksacks you’re carrying to the brim with this grain, that’s how many people there are in the capital.”

The young man took a while to understand, such kind of abstract thinking wasn’t something he was used to do. Finally, he gasped with his mouth wide open.

“Wow, that’s a lot!” Claude said in astonishment.

The pedlar smile faltered for a moment. He could feel that the young man wasn’t being honest, but rather putting up a show. It was almost like the lad wanted everyone around to see him as naïve and honest. That left the middle-aged man uncomfortable, because he couldn’t figure out the reason behind such an attitude; they’d just met, after all. He kept conversing with the duo for a while longer and disengaged himself politely. Soon it was his turn for inspection. He went through the procedure quickly, as he wasn’t carrying too much goods.

Claude and Fang Chu also had no difficulty passing through security. They weren’t carrying any weapons or items for sale, so after giving their names, purpose and paying a fee, they were allowed in.

The first thing the duo did after entering the city was to find a place to stay for a few days. In their journey so far, they’d been camping outside or making use of the rule of hospitality, as no one of the small settlements they passed by had a proper inn.

They chose a simple establishment and payed for a few days in advanced. After dropping their luggage in the bedroom, they went to the communal area to get breakfast, which consisted of some gruel and flatbread.

“Ok, after the meal we’ll go looking around. If we search the slums and the docks, we’ll probably find a lot of candidates. Do you remember what to say?” asked Fang Chu.

A faint glimmer of discontentment and hatred flashed past Claude’s face, but it went away just as quickly as it appeared. Fang Chu, who was focusing on her bowl of gruel, didn’t seem to notice anything strange in the least.

“Yes, miss Fang Chu. I’m to find abandoned kids or teenagers and give them a bit of food. Then I need to tell them they’ll get more if they meet me outside town tomorrow morning for some work.”

“That will do. Few people showed up after you joined and even fewer managed to last more than a couple days, but it’s time for us to get rid of this unlucky streak. This is a bustling port river town, I’m sure there’ll be many candidates!”

Claude tensed his shoulders and his stomach filled with butterflies. He eyed the red-headed woman carefully. She was still looking down, her full attention on the gruel bowl, like it was the most interesting thing in the world. He finally relaxed, concluding she didn’t mean anything by it.

“I’m sure we’ll miss. I’m just afraid they’ll give up in one or two days like most of them, your training is too severe for those weaklings,” he said evenly.

“Then it can’t be helped. I’m stringent in my requirements. If they can’t take that much there’s no point in continuing. I’ve told you before, I’m not looking for strength our aptitude. What I want is someone with a firm will and a decent personality…”

Done eating their breakfast, they exited the inn and separated. Fang Chu went to the docks and Claude went to the slums, each carrying a bag with many flatbreads inside. Both had very different things in mind, however.

[This is your last chance Claude! Don’t disappoint me!]

[Why! Why won’t she accept me as her disciple? Instead we keep searching and searching! Like hell I’ll let some weakling steal the favour of my guardian angel!]

Claude walked on the main street with large strides. Finding the slums was never a difficult task. All you needed to do was head for the town outskirts. Shaking his bag, Claude counted the number of breads inside and clicked his tongue. He took three pieces out and tossed the entire bag to the first beggar he found. With that bag he could entice around twenty people, but that was too many. Three was more than enough.

The beggar thanked him profusely, but Claude simply ignored the man. He kept walking around the alleyways, searching for his ideal targets. He was looking for someone alone, preferably young and easy to terrify. After searching around for some time, he found his first target.

“Hey, kid! Want this bread?”

The child nodded.

“Take it,” said Claude, tossing the flatbread to the ground. “If you want more you need to show up tomorrow morning outside the city gates. Don’t tell anyone or I’ll end you!”

Scared, the child grabbed the flatbread from the floor and nodded his head again. Feeling satisfied with the result, Claude kept searching around till he found his other two targets. When the task was done, he returned to the inn to wait for his future master.

-

The next day, outside the gates of Berat a group of eleven people had shown up before Fang Chu and Claude. They were mostly young boys ranging from nine to twelve years old, but there were some that were older, and a few girls mixed in too. Fang Chu nodded at them and Claude distributed another piece of flatbread to everyone.

“I know that most of you are here to receive that small piece of bread. That’s fine. You can leave now without a problem and that’s two meals you got for free. However, if you want to continue receiving my aid, you’ll need to listen to all my commands. That’s all.”

The kids ate their piece of bread in silence, but nobody dared to go back to town. They only had to obey some instructions to get some free food? Wasn’t that too easy?

“Since that’s your decision, follow me. We’ll move away from the city’s entrance to not bother everyone.”

Fang Chu moved out of the road and began walking away from town. Claude and the other kids followed her. They walked for a long time, making the kids get somewhat apprehensive.

[Where is she taking us?]

[Isn’t this too far away from town?]

[Maybe we should run back?]

Just when the kids started whispering amongst themselves, Fang Chu stopped. They were now far enough away from Berat. She grabbed her walking staff and began marking the ground. About ten minutes later, she’d made a giant circle on the grasslands.

“Ok kids, let’s begin! Get in line, one foot inside the circle and the other outside. Quick now, your lunch is waiting for you!”

The kids were confused at the order, but excited at the prospect of more food. They quickly lined up as instructed, with the line of the circle under their legs.

“Now crouch like you’re about to take a dump. Right, like that! Hold your hands on the back of your head. Now, without getting up, start walking, keeping the line on the ground between your legs. When you finish three laps, you’ll get to eat an apple!”

“That’s it?” one of the kids asked perplexed.

“That’s it,” said Fang Chu with a strange smile.

Claude shook his head and sneered. The children soon realized the exercise wasn’t as simple as it seemed. It was uncomfortable walking like that and the strain it put on their legs was tremendous. It wasn’t long before the first kid grunted and fell to the side.

“I can’t keep going, my legs hurt so much!”

“That’s ok, you can rest to the side. Later you can enjoy watching the others eating their apple,” said Fang Chu.

The boy gritted his teeth and got back in position. There was no way he’d give up food so easily. Every time he made a step he would say quietly “apple, apple”. He found, to his surprise, that reminding himself of the prize made it easier to keep going. Soon the other kids picked up on the trick and a chant of “apple, apple” sounded as they did their laps.

In the end, of the eleven children only seven managed to finish three laps and get their reward. The others were told to give their best in the next exercise, for the prize was a piece of jerky. In that manner the training continued, always a harsh exercise followed by some treat.

The number of people that managed to complete the exercises dwindled until everyone was unable to keep going. Seeing they wouldn’t be able to proceed with the training, Fang Chu decided to end it for the day.

“All right, that’s it for now. Tomorrow we’ll do the same thing. If you’re interested in some more free food, come back here again in the morning.”

The kids were sprawled all around in the ground, too spent to respond. None of them had easy lives, but this was perhaps the first time they felt so completely exhausted. There wasn’t a single muscle in their bodies that didn’t hurt.

“Claude here will keep you company till you recover enough to get back to town. You can have the rest of the food as a parting gift for today. Later kiddos.”

Claude waited till Fang Chu was gone. The kind smile and honest expression he maintained during the entire training session finally vanished. He narrowed his eyes and grimaced.

“Listen up you little shits! Get the hell away from here as soon as you can walk. I won’t wait for long! Those that can’t leave will be left behind to the goblins and other creatures that prowl around here!”

The children shuddered from the frostiness of his voice and did their best to recuperate and leave as soon as possible. Whenever one recovered enough to walk, they would limp back to town as fast as they could. Soon there were only four kids remaining in the training grounds, the only ones that were still too tired to walk back.

[Four is good enough. Let’s start the culling,] thought Claude.

The following day only seven kids returned. They did another demanding training session and, like before, Claude was the one responsible to watch over their recovery. The day after that, only five children showed up. The numbers kept dwindling until finally, on the fifth day, the only ones in that patch of grasslands were Fang Chu and Claude.

“A bunch of weaklings, they don’t deserve miss Fang Chu’s care!” exclaimed Claude feigning righteous indignation.

“You’re really a piece of shit Claude…” said Fang Chu with a sigh.

“That’s right! They’re a bunch of little shits… wait, what?!” asked Claude in astonishment.

“I’ve told you time and time again. Focus on improving yourself. Don’t be jealous of others. The person I’m looking for doesn’t need to be filled with strength or have a good aptitude, I just need someone with a strong will and a decent personality. In the end, you’re not the one I’m looking for. From now on, we’ll go our separate ways.”

“What?! Why?! I don’t understand! I’ve gone through all the gruelling training! I’ve done all you’ve asked! Why I’m not good enough?”

“Everything I asked? Did I ask you to keep beating and threatening the possible candidates that we find? To scare them so badly they don’t return?”

Claude’s eyes opened wide, his mouth hanging in an “O” shape. He never imagined she knew all the shady things he did to guarantee he was the only possible candidate remaining! He was always so careful! How could she have possibly found out?

“Did one of those little bastards rat on me?” he asked with gritted teeth.

“No, they did not. If they had the courage to come and find me or show up in the next day despite all your threats I would have been delighted. That would be someone worth nurturing. In the end they were too scared.”

“Then how did you know?”

“What, do you think I’m dumb?! If you did it only once or twice I might have not caught on, but after so many times? You’re really offending my intelligence!” roared Fang Chu.

Fang Chu’s shout made the young man tremble. He’d never seen her so angry and filled with disappointment like this before. His saviour was always strict, aloof and beautiful. Her look of contempt towards him made his heart quake.

“Enough, let it be. You won’t starve like in the past with your current strength. That’s plenty. Try to fix your flaws and live a good life. Bye Claude.”

“Wait, miss Fang Chu! Don’t leave me! Give me another chance!”

Claude ran after Fang Chu in desperation, his arms outstretched in attempt to hold her in place. Like she’d eyes on the back of her head, Fang Chu turned around with explosive speed, landing a roundhouse kick at Claude’s side, lifting him up in the air. The young man flew a few meters and crashed on the ground. His entire torso was burning in pain, making hard for him to breath.

“Let that kick be compensation for all of those that you’ve beaten up and threatened. I hope you’ll do better in the future.”

Claude was powerless as he watched Fang Chu fade from his sight. She was the person that saved his life, she was the one that gave him strength, and now she was gone. Claude began crying and sobbing like a little kid, saying “I’m sorry” over and over again. In the meantime, Fang Chu was making her way back to Berat shaking her head endlessly, lost in a myriad of thoughts.

[I told him, but he never listened! I gave him plenty of chances! In the end he was egotistical and self-centred to the core. Ah~, I’m tired! None of the people I found in this Balt Kingdom were any good!]

[I need some time off to clear my head and relax a little! I’ll go to this capital and see how it’s like. I doubt it will come even near one of our great cities. Everything here is so small, simplistic and dirty.]

[Nevertheless, it should be many times better than the hamlets and small towns I’ve been to so far. It’s decided then! I’ll take some time off, stay in a top of the line inn, take a real bath and get rid of these stinking travel clothes! Oh, I can’t wait to feel the smoothness of silk upon my skin again! Kalafrana, here I come!]