In the dark cave, Master Corvin’s voice reached Leo once more.
But this time, he only explained a few simple sword moves. Then he went silent.
Nine-year-old Leo Ashford was alone in that pitch-black cave, surrounded by furious Owl-Ants. Pain shot through his whole body, again and again.
It slowed him down to a crawl.
But the moment he thought of Mama, courage rose from deep inside his heart.
The Owl-Ants only gave him terrible pain. So he clenched his teeth, pushed the pain down, and kept swinging his Bamboo Swords.
Outside the cave, Corvin stood waiting.
With every passing minute, his face changed. Not once, but many times, he raised his hand to move the giant boulder. And every time, he stopped himself.
Any other kid from Eldrin Hall would have passed out the second they fell in.
But Leo was still awake. He was still fighting the Owl-Ants.
The ants weren’t poisonous. But they could cause terrible pain. Each one was only a third of a decimeter long. Still, their bodies were rock hard, and their attacks were surprisingly strong.
Corvin’s eyes kept shifting.
He really was training Leo in the harshest way possible. As long as Leo could bear it, his mental strength, already so different from ordinary people, would grow at lightning speed.
This training had many more benefits. The biggest one: it would forge an iron will inside him.
Half an hour passed.
A full half hour!
To Leo, it felt like a hundred years. His whole body had gone numb from pain. He couldn’t lift the swords anymore.
His weak little body collapsed, unconscious.
At that moment, the boulder blocking the cave slid aside.
A powerful force wrapped around Leo’s body and pulled him up. A strange pressure pushed back countless Owl-Ants. They couldn’t even fly out.
Corvin did all of it.
The moment he saw Leo, he let out a deep breath. His eyes showed it clearly. He couldn’t hide his feelings anymore.
Leo was completely worn out. His body was swollen from stings. His sweet little face was almost unrecognizable. And the Bamboo Swords were covered in marks from smashing into ant bodies.
Corvin quickly held a special red medicine under Leo’s nose. Then, in a flash, he carried him back to the wooden huts like lightning.
There were three huts in total.
The master’s hut. The student’s hut. And a third hut that Leo had never entered.
Corvin took him straight inside the third one.
The moment he stepped in, thick, hot steam poured out.
Inside the hut was a rock with a pool carved into it. Actually, the pool had been there first, and the hut was built around it.
The water in the pool bubbled gently. It was brown, and many kinds of herbs floated in it.
Corvin had dug this hot spring himself. But unconscious Leo had no idea.
The medicine soaking into his body was worth more than ten thousand bottles of Elemental Training Liquid.
Half an hour later, Corvin saw the swelling on Leo’s body slowly go down.
Only then did he step out of the hut.
The sunlight was fading, and the soft glow of night was taking its place. Leo hadn’t even noticed that evening had come.
"Ow! It hurts... wow!"
Soaking in the hot pool, Leo’s eyes snapped open. He yelped.
His body jerked, but he couldn’t keep his balance. The pool wasn’t deep, but he still swallowed some water, then spat it out all at once.
Loud coughing echoed across the pool.
*Where am I?*
He looked around in confusion at the steam and the water.
The sharp pain was gone. His body was clean, and completely bare. Other than that, he felt totally fine.
Just then, the door opened. Corvin walked in, carrying clothes.
"Put these on and come out."
That was all he said. Then he left again.
Leo climbed out of the water, still confused. He grabbed the towel nearby and put on the clean clothes.
Then he remembered the Owl-Ants’ nest.
The moment he remembered that horrible pain, he shook all over. Back then, he had only survived on pure courage. But now, remembering it, he felt every bit of it again.
He pushed the door open. He had been in the third hut.
When he stepped into the middle hut, he saw a huge meal laid out on the table.
"Come. Eat."
Corvin acted like nothing had happened. He pointed at the food and started eating himself.
Leo looked at his master. He hesitated.
"Master, I..."
"Eat first."
Corvin gave him a sharp look.
Leo didn’t dare say more. He sat down fast and ate like he hadn’t had food in years.
Soon, he had cleaned up everything on the table. Except for the tiny portion Corvin had eaten.
Corvin didn’t let him clear the table yet. He asked in a calm voice.
"Tell me. How did today feel?"
"It really hurt, Master."
Leo answered honestly.
"That’s all?!"
Corvin’s voice was ice cold.
"That was only the beginning. Come outside with me. Bring your Bamboo Swords."
"Yes, Master!"
Master and student walked out of the hut and went up to the mountain top.
Two Bamboo Swords, just like Leo’s, appeared in Corvin’s hands.
"The sword is called the king of weapons. It can attack, and it can defend. If you want to protect others, you must first learn to protect yourself. Tonight, I’ll teach you close-combat moves. Watch carefully."
The Bamboo Swords moved, and shadows appeared in the air.
The sword light looked so strange, almost unreal. It flashed across the mountain top. And Corvin’s words, spoken with each move, sank into Leo’s ears.
His hell-like training had only just begun.
Days passed.
Every day, Corvin taught Leo something new. Astronomy. Geography. History. One day he taught, and the next day he tested.
For Leo, those lessons were the happiest part of the day.
When noon came, hell began.
The Owl-Ants’ nest was his daily training. And the result was always the same.
That pain, far beyond what any person could bear, almost killed Leo every single time. But whenever his heart wanted to quit, Corvin reminded him that in just a few days, he could go home.
Each time, Leo trained in the nest until he passed out. And each time he woke up, he was floating in the hot pool, and the pain was already gone.
After dinner, training started again.
Corvin taught him some skills. And made him memorize other things, so he would remember them well. Training only ended when the night was deep.
The worst part for Leo was that Corvin wouldn’t let him sleep.
When night faded and Leo was completely worn out, Corvin taught him a way to sit and meditate. Leo called it "sleeping while sitting."
And when morning came, Corvin’s sword never hesitated to come down and wake him up.
Then, on the seventh morning, Leo waited for the sword.
It never came.
Instead, he opened his eyes and saw Corvin standing at the door, holding something small and wrapped in cloth.
"Today is the day you go home," Corvin said. "But first, I have a gift for you."