The Heart of a Guardian (Elsword)

Chapter 13: Understanding

Chung landed hard on his back, sliding some distance before coming to a full stop. Thankfully the impact was lessened by the soft sand beneath him. He stared up at the stone ceiling above him as he tried to fight back the urge to cry.

"Come on, son! Get up!" he could hear his father calling.

"I... I can't..."

"You can, Chung! I know you can!" Helputt's voice echoed. It spurred his body to move but in his mind had already given up.

"I... I can't beat them. I'm not strong enough. It's no use."

"Your majesty," Advisor Picklebottom's voice could be heard followed by barely audible whispers between the two.

Great, Chung thought, was he going to pull his father away, again? Chung sighed, rolling off his back and onto all fours as he tried to fight back his tears. He didn't want to be a paladin anymore. If it meant getting hurt like this and being shown how weak he was compared to the youngest squires, he'd rather do without it. The prince glanced over at his opponent: a fourteen-year-old boy dressed in his own custom-made Freiturnier that was one size too big. In his hand he carried a wooden practice destroyer with the ends heavily layered in worn straw and linen.

"No, no. Nonsense," Helputt said loudly, "He said he wanted to be a paladin then I'll do my best to make it happen. Best to start him off early, I say."

"But, your majesty, he's only ten! His strength hasn't even developed yet. You're being too forward with this-"

"Chung," Helputt voice echoed in the stone training ground, causing his son to flinch at the volume. "You want to be a paladin, right?"

"Y-yes," Chung squeaked, a mouse to a lion.

"You want to protect others like your old man, don't you?"

"Y...yes!" the prince pushed himself up on his feet, dusting the sand off his knees before attempting to pick up his practice destroyer. It was too heavy. How could he carry an actual cannon if he couldn't lift a fake one?

"And you want to best your old man one day, right?"

"Y..." The prince hesitated, "No?" He heard the heavy footfalls of the fully armed and armored White Colossus approach him as he struggled to hoist the practice weapon over his shoulder.

Helputt laughed, placing a large gauntleted hand on his son's shoulder. "I can't be the hero forever, you know. One day, you're going to have to take up that mantle. But that's far in the future, Chung. For now, you've gotta set an easy goal for yourself."

The king faced his son towards his opponent and, after motioning at the squire, gave his son a hard pat on the back. "So your goal for now is to beat this guy. You think you can do that?"

Chung hesitated before slowly shaking his head. "It hurts, father. I can barely lift my weapon and he hits me so hard. I'm not strong enough to beat him."

The king chuckled, "There's more to combat than strength, you know?"

"There's more?" the prince asked as a look of disdain filled his face. It was hard enough finding the strength to fight but he had to think about more things?

The king saw this and gave him a comforting smile. "Sure. It's about endurance, perseverance, tactical positioning and hundreds of other things that I have yet to teach you."

That only solidified the boy's fears and the grip on the practice cannon loosened, his eyes drooping from his father's use of big words.

Helputt continued, "But the most important thing, above all else, is heart."