Loopbreaker

This is strange. We’re heading to the same spot Kels trained me in… how can he hope to help me level my skills faster when the enchantment doesn’t work like that?

Resisting the urge to say anything, Francis simply followed the one-armed man.

When they entered the tent, he saw Kels training, topless for the first time, sweating as before.

“General,” the knight said, immediately turning and bowing.

“Knight Kels, I have a task for you,” Stenson said, not slowing down his stride. “This is Sage Francis. I need you to train him in using the sword and shield, but I need you to use the advanced method.”

The blond-headed man’s face narrowed as he squinted at Francis, giving his fine clothes a quick inspection.

“A sage? So young? I would be honored, but if you want to use the advanced methods…”

“I already have the items on the way,” Stenson said. “He has told us he is proficient in the sword, so I’m interested to see how you handle this.”

Grinning, Kels stepped forward and gave a slight bow to Francis before holding out his hand. “Are you certain you’re up for this training?”

“I’m certain there isn’t any other way, since this tent is enchanted and will only help get one to twenty-five in a skill, if I’m correct.”

Coughing, the knight cleared his throat and studied the smiling general.

“I didn’t tell him,” Stenson said. “Go ahead and get him ready. The healer and the other items should arrive in less than five minutes. While I don’t have much time to watch, I want to see some of this.”

Kels grinned and motioned to the racks, where some weapons were stored. “I can’t tell you how excited I am about this. How long has it been since we’ve trained someone this way?”

“Maybe a year?” Stenson replied.

Francis started to shift slightly as the two of them talked, and the trio moved to where the weapons were waiting.

What did I just get myself into? The way they are talking… It’s as if they expect me to basically die

Never letting his eyes leave his soon-to-be trainer, Francis almost froze when Kels picked up a metal sword.

“We’re not using wooden ones?”

“That doesn’t work with this kind of training,” Stenson said, pointing at the rack. “Pick one, find a weapon you feel comfortable with. Honestly, I’m not sure you’ll be able to handle what comes next, but if you can endure it, the growth will be far greater than what many could ever hope for. Besides, you’ve eaten and have the best magical buff we can provide for a moment like this.”

“Bah,” Kels muttered. “You shared your personal food with him?”

“He is a sage.”

Sighing, the knight nodded and moved back to the center of the training area, still only wearing leather pants and boots.

Taking his time, Francis hefted a few different one-handed swords, examining their grips and weight.

I can easily swing them, though there is a slight difference in weight in the last three on the rack. It’s almost as if…

“Are these last ones weighted?”

“They are,” Stenson replied. “Those are typically used to help master control as the strength of the one using them increases. Part of the problem is that many swords can’t handle the stress and shatter, so those blades have a mix of magic and metal to overcome that.”

Pausing, the general pulled out the last sword and gave it a few quick swings. With a grin, he flipped it and handed it handle-first to Francis.

After sliding the one he had been holding back into the rack, Francis reached out and grabbed it--the moment the general let go, the blade crashed to the ground, tearing itself free from his grip.

“You.. You act like this is a twig!”

“For an old, one-armed man, the general is stronger than he looks,” Kels said. “I can’t even use that one yet.”

Francis couldn’t lift the sword even if he used both hands and his legs. The strain was beyond anything he had expected.

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Just how strong is Stenson? To hold this weapon like he did?

Letting the blade rest on the ground, he watched as the general winked, bent over, picked it up, and slid it carefully into the rack at the end.

“A lifetime has been spent honing my skill and strength,” Stenson said. “I only wish I still had my right arm.” The older man’s voice echoed with sadness momentarily before his face returned to its normal stony expression.

Less than a minute later, three men entered, each holding a small box. With them was a woman wearing a soft yellow robe.

“Ahh! Healer Dawn, thank you for coming,” Stenson said.

The woman frowned as she studied the three men in the center of the training area. “Stenson… is it true you’re about to torture this boy with these things?”

Shaking his head, the general pointed at Francis. “The Sage has asked for this. No one is forcing him, and we will see if he can even endure the first part.”

As the general spoke, the three men brought the packages they held to Stenson, who lifted one of the lids and smiled when peering inside.

“Francis, come here.”

Moving to where the man stood, Francis looked inside the open box and saw three rings, each set in a recessed section of some kind of wood. The rings buzzed slightly; one was blue, one was green, and one was red. Small runes were carved into their outer edges.

“These will be yours during the training. Once you have finished, you will return them to their box in the order in which they are set,” Stenson said. “Do not take them out of this tent. The pain would be… unbearable.” The general frowned when he reached inside and pulled out the blue one first, handing it to Francis. “Put this on your left hand, pointer finger. The next will go on your middle finger, and the last on your ring finger.”

Sliding the blue ring over his skin sent a shock of some kind through his body. It made his hand spasm momentarily. Gritting his teeth, Francis pushed through the discomfort, doing what he could to not react.

The green ring sent out an even bigger jolt of electricity, which required him to clench his teeth and push with much more effort to slide it down his middle finger.

“Impressive,” the older man said with a wink. “You handled both of those well. Now for the real test. I promise you, what is coming next is far worse than the last two, but if you can endure and push through the pain, you will be ready to start.”

“Men,” Dawn muttered. “Such idiots.”

Glancing around the tent, Francis saw the way Kels was studying him. The knight had a slight smile, his head bobbing slightly.

How bad can this really be?

Clearing his throat, Stenson took the final ring, the red one, and held it out. “Bring your hands closer together to make this easier. Good luck.”

The moment his fingers touched the ring, Francis wasn’t sure what he had done in life to deserve such pain.

Every muscle in his body spasmed, and the world seemed to swirl around him. Breathing felt impossible as his chest and lungs wanted to stop working.

Only inches separated the ring he held, clinched between his fingertips, and the finger on his left hand he was supposed to place it on.

Francis’ whole body trembled, and getting his hands to move felt impossible.

“Fight it! Push through it!” Someone was shouting, but Francis wasn’t sure who it was. It was as if he were in a cave; a voice was calling out to him somewhere deeper in it.

Why?! Why am I doing this?!

Every part of him wanted to let go of the red ring, to be done with it, but that question came over and over in his head.

Then, an image of his brother appeared.

A memory from four years ago took shape. They were lying under a fruit tree, staring up at the sky. For some reason, Francis felt himself relieving it.

***

“This is the life,” Michael said with a sigh. “A full stomach and someone who understands my pain.”

“Yeah, but the shits are going to be awful tomorrow.”

Both boys laughed, each glancing at the two dozen or more apple cores eaten to the nubs nearby.

“I’m glad you’re here,” his brother said. “I can’t imagine going through life alone.”

Francis nodded.

If it weren’t for you, I’d be dead or someone's slave.

Francis had lost count of the times his older brother had saved him from bullies, those who sought to take advantage of two boys they knew had no one, and countless others. Lessons had been taught, and learning to read people was a skill he now possessed only because Michael had been his guide.

“Someday, I’ll pay you back when I’m rich,” Francis said, rolling over onto his side, plucking a blade of the green grass and sticking it between his lips.

“Sure… someday… When we both have our own farms and hundreds of kids,” replied Michael.

“Bah… I’m not having kids… can you imagine putting up with someone like us?”

Laughter echoed through the woods where they were lounging, not a care in the world as the warm sun and full bellies made them forget about the pain they often endured.

***

His mouth was open, and Francis wasn’t sure if he was shouting, but the red ring crept toward its target.

Each second felt like an eternity as he brought both hands together, and when his skin touched the inside of the circle, the pain only grew. Sliding it along the shaft of his finger, each inch felt unbearable, like someone was stripping the flesh from his body slowly.

Still, he fought it, his brother’s face locked in that place that always drove him not to quit, no matter how hard something was.

And then all the pain and agony suddenly stopped.

He could hear his voice, a choke cry coming from his own throat, eyes able to see that the red band had come to rest at the base of his left hand.

“Impressive,” Stenson said, clapping his hand down on Francis’ shoulder. “You have done what many could not. Now, the real training can begin.”

“Fools,” Dawn groaned again as she moved to where Francis was, reaching out toward him. “Let me see your hand with the rings for a moment.”

Shaking his head to clear the cobwebs that still lingered, Francis nodded and held out his hand, only then noticing that his fingers looked bent.

They’re broken!

The understanding suddenly hit, but Dawn reached out immediately, taking his hand as more pain shot through his whole arm.

A glow surrounded his arm, and the healer's lips moved. No words came out, but with each passing second, the pain lessened until it finally vanished.

“Try your hand now.”

Clenching it and making a fist, Francis saw that it appeared to be fine—no more broken fingers.

“What… what just happened?”

“Check your notifications,” the general stated.

Blinking, Francis noticed there was indeed a notification he’d missed.