Nick said, "Today's training will involve the Art of Stealth. If you are better able to hide yourself and your presence, you will be better able to perform the Art of Hidden Weapons". I nodded my head in understanding, and awaited an explanation or demonstration. Instead of that, I got a question. "How would you hide, if your life depended on it?". I was confused, and didn't know what to say. Nick continued, "I just want some of your ideas. How would you go about doing that?". I thought about it for a while, then replied. "I would hide in a place hard to find". Nick responded with another question, "What if there was no such places? What would you do?". I thought about it some more, and said "Then I would attack". Nick smiled while asking, "What if you can't win, the result would be death. Do you have any other ideas?". I furrowed my brows. After a while of thinking, I said "What could I do? If I can't win and there is nowhere to hide, where would I hide then. The result would be death anyway!". Nick looked at me for a while, and replied. "No, you are wrong". A short pause later, he continued. "There is always a way to hide. Remember, if there is light and stuff around, there will always be a shadow in which you can hide. In other words, follow the shadows". I understoodwhat he meant, but what would that change? I said, "What will that change exactly? If I hid in the shadow of a house, that someone looking for me, would easily find me". He said "That is because, you haven't learned how to hide yourself in a shadow yet. You simply thought about standing in the shadow, and hoping for the best. I meant utilising the shadow to your advantage. You will learn in the future". I thought about something, then asked. "What if there is so much light, there are no shadows? A broad daylight with no buildings, trees or whatever around. What then?". Nick replied with a laugh, "Then you are screwed. Although, there is an exception... probably". I asked "Probably?". He continued "The records state, that those who master this Art, can hide anywhere they want. Even in broad daylight, without shadows". I asked intrigued "How?". He shrugged his shoulder, and replied "I don't know, I'm no master". Nick thought about it something a bit more, then said. "The records speak of a few masters in the Art of Stealth. But, there are no hints as to how they were able to do it. As far as I'm aware, each mastery looks differently. After all, every master is a different person, so it makes sense". I asked, "That mean, even your master never reach that stage?". He shook his head, and said "No, the supposed masters lived hundreds of years ago. I believe that they existed. Although some records might be incorrect or miss something, I believe these people existed, and can exist to this day". He then added, "Who knows, maybe you will reach that point as well. Maybe people will write history about you". I replied "Nah, I'm nothing great. Those historical figures, they were... different. I don't compare to them". Nick smiled and said "There is an old saying: The old makes way for the new. With time comes wisdom, and with age comes death. The cycle repeats, but one thing remains. Progress! Don't think of yourself too lowly, you are the new generation. Each generation has a chance to achieve something. Something that might be even greater than your predecessors". 'He is right. I can achieve something too. Wo said I couldn't? Everything is in my hands. If I work hard enough, People will write history about me too!' I thought to myself. Nick saw my excitement, and said "Keep that motivation in mine, you will need it. Now, let us focus on the Art of Stealth". Nick walked over to the corner of my house, and said "You will practice with this". What he pointed to, were six wooden poles. Each of them had a different size and breadth. 'Huh? Where did those things come from?' I asked myself. Although I didn't ask, Nick replied "Really? You are amazed by this? You will learn in the future. For now, focus on your training". He grabbed those wooden poles, and placed the vertically around the house. The spaces between them were not that big, but I was clueless why the poles were there in the first place. Nick quickly clarified the purpose for me. "You will walk on them without the poles moving or you falling. Of course, if a pole falls with or without you, that means its a fail too". I looked at him as if looking at an idiot, and asked "Are you an idiot? I mean great joke and all that, but what's the real training?". Nick grinned, and jumped on top of one pole. Not only did he land, the pole stayed still like it was nailed to the floor. Nick then moved... From one pole to the other. None of them fell down, none of them moved... It was like some sort of magical performance. 'Did he secretly glued them to the ground or something? I mean, he is fast, so perhaps I didn't see it?' I asked myself, and walked over to the poles. Nick already jumped down from them, and stood to the side. I pushed one of the poles, and I almost toppled it down. "What the?..." I asked myself. Nick replied rather smugly, "As you can see, it can be done quite neatly". I was lost for words. 'I'm supposed to repeat this? How the hell am I going to do that!?' I thought. Nick suggested, "Take your time. This is not an easy exercise. Before you ask another stupid question. Yes, this is a vital part of your training". The shortest pole was not as tall as me, It had about a metre in height. I tried jumping atop it, but the results were as I expected. I fell down on my ass, while the pole fell over as well. Nick caught it, and said "Don't make too much noise. I will bring you something cushion the sound. We don't want to make a ruckus here". I picked myself up and nodded my head. He left, and after a while appeared with a few quilts in his hands. We used that buffer the sound of falling poles, and I resumed my training. I got nowhere after a couple of tries. I asked, "Are there any tricks, or something that will help me?". He asked in reply, "Are you giving up that easily?". 'Alright, hard work it is. If I can't do it after 100 times, I will try 1000 times' I thought, and continued my training. After about and hour of falling constantly, I made pretty much no progress. Not only that, my ass hurt quite a bit from all that falling. Nick was already gone, but he left some food for me on the table, which was nice. I ate the food and rested. It was getting late, but I decided to practice a bit more. I jumped and fell like an idiot. Time slowlyu passed, and I was already covered in sweat. 'It's time to stop. I have to wake up tomrrow and do my tasks still. I will wash myself a bit first". After a quick trip to the well for some water. I washed myself, and went to sleep.