When Nick finally snapped out of it, he said "You will not understand what it means... Perhaps in the future you will". I was more interested in other things he would teach me. I asked, "What else will you teach me?". Nick replied "There indeed is one more Art I know. The Art is called Art of Stealth". 'Now we are getting somewhere. This I could use a lot' I thought. I wondered why would he mention it last. I asked, "You left it till the end, because it's the best Art?". He replied "There is no such thing as the best Art. There was no reason behind it, I just mentioned it last". I nodded my head, and Nick continued "I'm no master, but I know a thing or two about it. I can only teach you that much, but that doesn't mean you will be weak. On the contrary, if you train well, you will be very strong with such skill set". He then melded into the shadow. I couldn't see him at all. 'He just disappeared, as if by magic'. I was sure that I wouldn't be able find him, even if I searched the whole house. Nick then appeared out of nowhere. He stood in the same place, before he disappeared. I stared at Nick for a while, but couldn't figure out how he did it. Nick smiled while saying, "Do you finally see the greatness of my Arts?". I didn't reply to that, I wouldn't give him the pleasure. Instead I asked, "So, when do we start?". He replied, "You will need constant supply of food in order to regain your strength first. You will also need to rest couple of days". He then thought for a while, and continued "I'd say, after four or five days of doing nothing, you should be back to your condition from before. Therefore, we will start your training in a few days". I nodded my head, while Nick continued "You are still a slave though. I will teach you at your house, after you are done with your tasks". I had no problem with him teaching me at my house. After all, it would be less suspicious. 'Although he has the ability to dispose of anyone in this village, he can't kill Rand. I don't know if I can take Rand on either. Best idea is to keep this quiet. Later on, I might not care' I thought. Nick said "Now that you can move, leave already. I will visit you myself, when I deem it appropriate. As for the food, it will be waiting for you at your house". I nodded my head, and left his house. I was feeling much better than before. That was all thanks to the food, that Nick gave me. I returned to my house, and took the quilt with me outside. I had to wash the blood off of my quilt somehow. I didn't want to sleep in blood all the time. I went to the well and draw some water, then I put the quilt into the bucket. Using my hands, I did the laundry. I had no soap. My only solution, was to scrub it for a long time. The stain was still there in the end, but at least the collected dirt and smell was gone. I squeezed out as much water as I could, and returned to my house. I didn't want to hang it outside. It was autumn already, so rain was not unusual, but more importantly, someone might just play a "prank" and steal it. It wouldn't even be a prank, someone would do this in order to make my life more difficult. That night, I went to sleep without my quilt. The nights weren't that chilly yet, so sleeping without a quilt was still acceptable. Next morning, I woke up and felt hunger. When I looked around, I noticed some food laying on my table. It was roasted meat and some bread, as well as the usual porridge. The quantity was abnormal, compared to what I used to get. I devoured the food, in a matter of minutes. I didn't go out anywhere that day. I stayed at my house and rest properly. Nick occasionally popped in to give me more food. I always received some meat, when Nick brought the food. This went on for a few days. My strength returned, and even surpassed my previous state. I did nothing for couple of days, while the amount of food increased. Thanks to that, my body recovered very well. I was still very skinny, but not skeleton like skinny. My wounds, courtesy of Nick of course, healed very well. I could now run, swing my arms and so on, just like any other healthy person. It was time for me to return to my daily work. When I started water carrying task, I noticed that the bucket filled with water, was actually much lighter compared to before. This was a welcoming change, and proved to me that my strength did improve. I felt like I could throw it a great distance, but of course I didn't do that. With this light warm up, I went to the Woodcutter's Lodge to chop some wood. I was surprised again. It was no longer hard at all. I even suspected they gave me a good axe by mistake, but no. The axe was the same old rubbish axe, I always used. 'This is soo easy... It's like splitting butter with a knife' I thought. Although I could now chop a much greater amount of wood, I didn't. For one, no one paid me to do this. More importantly, why would I flaunt my strength? I took the usual breaks, and faked tiredness. After this task, I went back to my house. Inside, I noticed some food on the table. 'They will provide me with food, now that I work again. Good, I can gain my strength back even quicker'. After the breakfast, which was the usual porridge and bread, I headed to the Blacksmith's Workshop. I was surprised to see the blacksmith Grond waiting for me. I wondered 'What type of task, will he change it to now?'. I soon got my answer, "Kid. Today, I will show you how to refine the steel even further. This will be your task from now on". I nodded my head, and watched in silence. Grond took two lumps of Iron Ore, as well as a lump of Coal, then he threw that into the furnace. 'Standard stuff as far as the ore is concerned' I thought. After pouring the molten metal into the bar mould, he worked on it. 'This doesn't change either, he just does the same thing again... So what exactly is there to watch' I thought. But I was wrong. After he did three cycles as one normally would, he threw that back into the furnace. Not only that, he added one more lump of Iron Ore, which looked a bit more shiny compared to others, as well as one more clump of Coal, but again different. This time though, he worked on that metal for five cycles. Only after those five cycles, he smashed it into an Ingot mould, and the work was completed. It took him well over an hour, to just make that one ingot. He was all sweaty and tired for the work. He turned towards me, and said "That is what you have to do. First step, make the Steel Ingot as usual, then melt it together with Purified Iron Ore and Purified Coal. Those Ores can be found here, they are stored separately for a reason, SO DON'T MIX THEM!". I nodded my head, and went to work. He left the workshop as usual, while I was left alone. I knew I could do the same ingot no problem. With my current strength, I would even do it faster. In the end, I managed to create one such ingot. The blacksmith's eyes shone like lanterns, when he saw the finished Ingot. I was tired at the end, but I faked it even further. I made it look like, I was at my last breath. He examined my ingot, and nodded a few times. After that, he said "You can go now, Tomorrow, this will be your task. Start immediatelly when you get here". I left, and headed back to my house for lunch. Nick provided one for me of course, and as usual, there was meat in the menu. 'Nick might be crazy, be he spoils me too much' I thought. I was really happy that I got to eat meat everyday. After eating so many fishes and bowls of porridge, this was a welcomed change. The last task, was at nicks place. He didn't treat me any differently compared to before. I guessed the reason quite quickly. 'There is no need for our little secret to be known' I thought. I took care of the patients with light injuries, and called Nick over when someone had more serious injuries. Still, he usually explained stuff in a way, so I could learn. Although it wasn't obvious, but that was his intention. He was teaching me, how to take care of more serious injuries on live subjects. The day passed uneventfully. Back at my house, the food provided by the village, sat on the table waiting. While I ate, I heard Nick's voice from inside the house. "You seem a lot better now". I was startled, and almost dropped my food. He didn't use the doors... nor windows. Or maybe he did, I just didn't notice. The windows were closed, and dirty enough to block the sunlight. I never cleaned them for a few reason, but mostly because no one could spy on me like that. I asked, "How did you enter?". Nick appeared out of nowhere, then replied with a smile on his face. "That is your question? You have loads to learn, we will work on that".