“Augh.” I felt the next kick rock my insides about as I knelt to the ground, holding my stomach. “Try to hold back the need to throw up. If you don’t, it can be a real bitch to deal with in a fight.” Laira said, hovering over me.

The words were true, but it didn’t make me feel any better. Not that she was trying, but I didn’t feel good that I was paying for this crap. It sucked, but in a couple of weeks, it would be all worth it. Nothing life changing, but I’d at least increase my chances just that little bit.

“Let’s take a break. Can’t have you hurting so much you can’t pay me tomorrow.” Her shrewdness was not appreciated, but a truthful character was better than one of a misleading nature. I sludged my way over to some stumps in the forest we cleared the day before. Made nice chairs considering that we were a decent walk from Bellmare.

Not wanting to waste the time, I grabbed the last pack of jerky I stole from Greycott. It tasted all the same, but it brought my mind back to the hazel eyes of the girl I met: Myra. Didn’t have time to see if she made it, but as long as she stayed on the roof, then all should be fine. The Chevaliers were quite close as well. And with their character, I doubt they’d leave a kid stranded on the roof, but you never know, I guess. Also, I need to look into the pin on her chest, one of a shield and an X crossed on top.

Laira was pouring out some food chucks into a watery soup she brought along this morning. It didn’t look the most appetizing, but it was probably cheap. “Hey! Stop looking like I’m some animal. I gotta eat somehow. Ain’t spending it all on some food!” She practically yelled, covering her food from my non-existent prying eyes.

“Ya, ya, just thinking about all of this. Just all ridiculous in a crazy world.” I just hope this predictability would last at least a couple more weeks.

She raised an eyebrow. “That’s kinda out of the blue, but what’s your story? You aren't the most normal, considering you hired someone to train you.”

“Ya, it’s just what I’ve been going through lately.” I said, sighing as I stuffed another piece of jerky into my mouth. “My luck has hit rock bottom the past couple weeks and I’ve lost control of it. I can’t live like this, so I needed a solution.”

She nodded at the comment. “Ya, most go through something that sets their life path, myself included. At least for us at the bottom of the hierarchy.” Laira said, as her tone turned sour at the last words. The statement was kinda comforting, since I really wasn’t alone in all of this. Maybe not to the level of life of multiple threatening events, but everyone went through their own hardship.

I’m just another bystander in whatever this crazy world offers, but I’m still going to take control of what I can. I looked at Hurack, standing nearby, looking off into the distance. Couldn’t really have a normal conversation with him, but at least I can talk to Laira, they seemed as close as one could get, but that’s about all I knew.

“How about you?” If I’m going to be working with them, then I might as well get to know them.

“Not much. Lost our parents early. Had to do some things to survive. Now we normally go on missions assigned by the different guilds to make a living. The pay’s half decent, but Hurack here eats a half a cow every day and the missions normally take a few days.” She said, cautiously.

“That makes two of us. Quite recent for me, and it’s been difficult.” Leaning forward, I looked at the ground. “Had to figure things out the hard way, and I’m lucky to be alive and breathing. But I’m still here, whether by luck or… haphazard skill at best.” I said.

The wind blew through the trees, offering a cool sensation along my exposed skin. Laira looked to the ground as well, rustling the grass with a shuffle of her boot. “We went through the same thing as well, ‘luck or haphazard skill,’ as you call it. Learned to defend ourselves, but unfortunate memories will remain forever. Still haven’t gotten over losing our parents, but getting stronger to hold together what I have left is all that matters now.” She looked up to the tall form standing a few lengths away.

She started off somewhat gradually and with hesitance, but picked up towards the end. Not really my position to ask further, but reassuring in a way. ‘Hold together what I have left,’ not a bad way to put it. Have little left of myself too, but gotta keep what’s left or this crazy world will consume me. “Ok.” I stood up with a huff. Laira looked at me with a flick of her hair.

“Makes sense, but let’s get back to this. Can’t keep stalling, gotta get stronger somehow.” I said with a grin.

“Agreed.” She leaned the bowl back and finished the soup in an instant. With her hands on her knees, she pushed up, ready to inflict some pain with a smirk. “You attack first, just like yesterday. No hesitation, so try to actually hurt me this time.”

Raising my fists once more, I watched her take each step slower than the next. Ok, you got this, just don’t immediately fall to the ground and I’ll call it a success. I watched her form, getting all the more familiar with each of her unnatural movements.

Just as she took another step, I went right for an elbow strike, right to her chin, trying to part her defending arms. She twisted her arm to match the incoming strike, stopping it instantly. Her next actions were already flowing, using her leg to push me away with a kick. I go with it, re-stabilizing myself. It was too risky to just defend, so I continued the push.

Moving closer, I faked a sidekick. Nothing standard ever worked, so I need to go for something different every time. Most of my movement felt right, but it was lacking in every aspect as I watched her dance around me. As soon as she turned to block the fake kick, I planted my leg to the dirt below and reached for a section of her leather armor. My hand latched on with an iron grip, pulling her down as I brought up my knee, attempting to strike her exposed stomach.

I’d moved her a little, but her body stiffened, resisting my pull. She twisted back, stopping my knee before it could gain speed as she loosened her arms to grab my conveniently placed arm still gripping onto her armor. “Nice try.” She said, pulling my wrist to the ground immediately, not giving any chance to resist. And before I can think further, I hit the ground, seeing the world turn upside down.

“Oh, man. That was your best attempt yet. You’re growing quickly with the ‘shit beaten out of you’ training method. Not the best at using words to teach, as you’ve probably guessed, but at least this is working. After all, wouldn't want to disappoint my employer, now would I?” Her tone had an unusual uplift to it, sounding like she enjoyed beating someone a bit too much.

“Ya, if only I wasn’t so weak.” I laid on the ground, not moving and taking the defeat wholeheartedly.

“You don’t learn this in a day. Just be patient.” She shot back as I got up for yet another beating.

The old man Tywin was making headway through the forest as he dipped in between the trees. It took a bit of work, but his body was beginning to remember what it needed to do within just the week of travel. Everything felt connected as his joints moved with gusto and strength, yet again, proving that he hadn’t lost what took so long to build.

“And here I thought this wouldn’t go so smoothly.” Even the air feels so fresh now. Ever since he left his crushing responsibilities, the world came to life once again. It wasn’t just a stone building surrounded by a mass of people, but a world yet to be explored and still obscured by the forces of nature.

It was a welcome change and one Tywin hoped would last for eternity.

“Finally, here.” The mountain range was an uncommon sight back in Yuor, one he wasn’t used to, but it would be his point of operation for the foreseeable future. The twisted trees of Edra were once his favorite, but their hardness was difficult to deal with. Great for practice swords, but the lack of a large producer made it quite costly, especially with the distance to Yuor.

There once was a well-kept path when he was young and sprite, but now it was long gone. With no village at the other end, it’s lost most of its purpose.

Sad, but the harshness of the wilderness proved too much, as reality always reminded you just how dangerous it was beyond the border of the Human Kingdoms.

The Chevaliers probably travel this way occasionally, for Scatting patrols, but nothing more than that nowadays. The other direction probably headed to some city, but such was beyond his knowledge.

However, something remained, an offshoot of the path, a cutout alongside the mountain. Carved out from the eroded rocks.

The rock slides blocked it further up, but the home in the mountain should remain. The mountain path curved with each step, becoming narrower with each step as the gravel slipped beneath his feet, but the next push off made his form firm on the loose surface.

The wind pushed down from the mountain peaks, but the cutout in the mountain was just enough to protect those traversing along. And finally, after the week's journey, a cut out into the mountainside revealed itself. As Tywin approached the destination at hand, an unfortunate sight entered his sight.

Rocks of all sizes laid in front of him, blocking the path into the mountain home.

“Ah Shit.” The collapsed entrance wasn’t a good start. Twing grabbed one of the smaller rocks and pondered. Not the best at this. Doubt any of my abilities would be effective.

He threw the rock over his shoulder, flying down the mountainside and echoing as it hit the forest below. Footsteps laid all around the collapsed rocks. This was recent.

It was a lone mountain side outpost, away from reality and once belonging to the Barren Moons.

“Better get started.”

A small rock flew through the air, landing on a pile of its fellow brethren. A pile growing high enough to block the path further up the mountain as Tywin was a step closer to revealing the outpost within the mountainside.

All by a single man removing rock by rock out of the collapsed cave. As each rock opened the path further in, the stones grew in size. Now easily growing to over half his height. It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t impossible. He reached around, locking his hands on the other side with a grunt before tossing them to the side once again.

Not the complex negotiation, paper upon papers to sign, nor any appearances to keep up. Just a retired man free of restrictions, doing something that was ‘relieving.’

“Man, it’s been over 10 years since I’ve done anything this manual.” Tywin had a stupid smile written all over his face. He didn’t think ‘moving rocks’ was how his retirement would start, but it was simple and easing on the mind compared to the endless bureaucratic messes he once dealt with.

“This would have been finished by now if it was back then, but good enough for an old man, if I do say so myself.”

Moving down once again, he wrapped his arm around the next rock chunk. With a huff, he twisted his body. Tossing it away and down the mountainside.

Tywin looked back to see a hole, filled with darkness from within the mountainside outpost. The end of the collapsed entrance.

“It’s about time.” The smile grew on the old man’s face. “And here I thought I was going to make my way in rock by rock.” The hole still wasn’t enough to fit his hulking form, but a few more of the larger rocks should be enough.

Light shined in his eyes as a vigor enveloped his body. “Now, [Invigorate] might be useful here.” As he looked at a notably larger stone. One he’d avoided moving before as it was just too big to firmly clasp his hands on the other side.

Taking off his cloak, Tywin reached for the next boulder. He took one breath, activating [Invigorate]. The mana pulled from around, gathering to him and his muscles, offering power in return.

In a single motion, the rock groaned off the ground. Weighing a couple magnitudes more than Tywin as his feet sunk into the gravel. “Aggggh.” With a grunt, the rock was thrown off the cliff at speed.

The poor rock almost started crying as its fate became sealed, thrown into the whims of a man on a mission. A loud crash echoed from the forest below as Tywin already moved to the next victim.

The rocks soon disappeared to make a gap ‘almost’ large enough. Standing next to the hole, Tywin outright kicked a boulder beneath him, no longer supported by the rocks around it. It exploded into the cave’s darkness under the unfortunate force, clearing the perfect opening. Grabbing his cloak, he walked in without hesitation.

With each step, the air whooshed aside as he strutted in. The darkness quickly enveloped his form, but he remained unfazed with a small crystal attached to his waist, offering a dim light.

The walls still carried the extinguished gas lamps, exuding a pungent odor that filled the still air. After the first bend down the cave's hallway, Tywin’s eyes darted to the floor. A black stain tinted the rock below, accompanied by splashes of purple on a wooden door.

His eyes narrowed as he went further into the mountainside, suspicion growing.

The air wafted into the room as he forced his way through a wooden door. A quick scan of the room revealed all he needed to know. The counters and chairs were ransacked and destroyed to mere splinters.

Nothing intact left.

Moving down the hall revealed another two doors. Continuing his same brashness with opening doors, the next one revealed a set of chains attached to the lower part of the wall, but a set of clothes sat upon a similar black and purple stain.

“Fuckin’ controllers. Alote’s gonna wanna hear about this if she doesn’t already know already. Not sure if this is near the invasion that happened. Surprised the barren Moons didn’t guard this place continuously with the mana density here and all, but Edra has been trying to get them out of their hair for a while, so not completely unexpected.” He turned around, disgust in his eyes as he moved to the hallway’s end. “Still blocked up, huh. Well, at least they kept this blocked up.” Wooden planks laid vertically against the wall, looking as if to support the soil above.

But that was the whole plan, to make it look normal.

Grabbing the double hook’d shaft from his back, he held it rearward, taking a firm stance. And with one leg in front of the other, he paused with a deep breath.

[Invigorate]. His body tensed up once again, taking one step forward as he swung the shaft horizontally, shattering the wooden planks as they ricochet down the hall, hitting the stone walls.

It revealed a set of stone stairs carved from the rock, leading downward, into the depths of darkness and further into the mountain. The old crusty atmosphere gave a chilling sense as Tywin continued without hesitation.

The descending hallway had marks decorating the wall, showing signs from when it was first carved from the mountain. The stairs twisted and curved downwards for almost an hour. Webs and rubble laid near the floor as the steps became less uniform, eventually turning to a jagged descent between layers of limestone.

It ended after another short hallway, leading to a plain door. Upon opening, a vacant room presented itself. Just enough for someone to stretch, but nothing more. Three of the sides were the same old stone of the mountain, marked by the tools used to carve the room, but the one directly across presented 9 horizontal planks.

The planks were… not the same in Tywin’s memory, free from the dust and debris that scattered about the floor, cleaned to a dark luster.

“Whhh… what?” Tywin abruptly stopped, looking at the sheen exuded by the wall. Wh… where is the mold? He stuttered forward, placing his palm on the smooth surface. “Why… Why now? What changed?” Tywin’s eyebrows furrowed. “The Unsurpassable Wall. Changed…”

As he brushed his hand along the planks, a divot pricked his finger. “Huh… Is that… a hole?” He leaned closer, noticing a dim light on the other side of the Unsurpassable wooden planks. A frown formed. This wall was something stout, remaining strong as even the mold growing on it didn’t appear to affect its strength.

But for such a change to happen… It was unthinkable.

He was here once before, many seasons ago, trying to break the wall with force, but it repelled his hubris blows. Even help from a renowned [Barren Pythoness] from the Barren Moons didn’t help.

Tywin took a step back, shaking his head as he closed his eyes. He gripped his hooked shaft, letting long breaths, calming his pounding heart. It slowed to a crawl as he opened his eyes once again. “Not now. Train first. Already wasted enough of my time on this.”

Although the purpose of the wooden wall was unknown, the stone room still had a purpose. Not clear by the dull rocks on either side, but what was beyond, beyond the plane of the physical world.

“Now, I hope you’re still the same. Last, I have to get Royse of Veil here to figure it out, haa! As if they would ever let me…” He took one breath. “Oh, mana, let's see if you're still the same. Unnaturally abunt.”

Sitting down, he focused on something he couldn’t sense or see. An impossible task, but an attempt was all that mattered. The silence of the descended dark became even more so after the only thing changing was the slowing breathing of one old man.

The lacking thoughts were a perfect preparation for the re-training to come. It would be lonely, but the benefits would outweigh anything else.

After all, what does a man with no more obligations do?