Cycle of Ruin - Arrival: A LitRPG Series

Chapter 17

Why did I agree to this? Leo thought for perhaps the millionth time. Beads of sweat rolled down his face from the thick midday humidity of the garden as his arms shook with the strain of sending Aveth down in another overhead slice. After revealing to Leo what had happened to Erreth and the looming threat over his own head four days ago, the old man had become relentless with his training.

Every morning, he would barge into his room shouting, "Guard!" while slashing at him with a practice sword. As much as Zeld had laughed at him after his first ambush, Leo was convinced that any sane person would also scream like a little girl and fall off their bed if a crazed old lunatic charged into their bedroom violently flailing a wooden stick.

Unfortunately, it seemed pranking the sleeping Arrival had become the new source of entertainment for the whole household, with Zeld, Sparky and even Pride sneaking into his room late at night for a 'sneak attack' that left him burnt, sore or without a pillow to lay his head on. When Sparky had the gall to greet him with a pleasant hello chirp after a particularly long and toasty night, he almost made a new feather-stuffed pillow out of the obnoxious bird right there. Only the pleasant memory of the bucket of ice cold water falling on top of her from its perch on his cracked doorway had been enough to stave off his anger.

Zeld justified the torment with the same excuse he always used: It was a "training exercise." Supposedly they were helping him learn to keep "one eye and both ears open" when he slept, but Leo didn't buy it. The excuse might have been believable if Zeld actually lived the way he preached and didn't keep him up with his overtly loud snoring in the next room over.

After a quick breakfast together would come the next part of his regimen, physical training, which consisted of him running laps around the yard and lifting an assortment of small boulders the old coot had sitting in his storage ring for whatever reason. At least he had finally figured out where Zeld stored his ever-present pipe during their midday lesson of weapons and concepts, which he had the misfortune of currently being in.

"Eyes front!" barked the old man as he paced the grassy clearing barefoot in his white robes, training sword tucked readily behind his back to lash out at any incorrect answer or mistake in his form. "Name the most prominent faction neighboring the Valley of Erreth!"

The Valley of Erreth was a resource-rich hunting ground on the surface world below, previously used to strengthen the nation by spurring the growth of its citizens. Leo's thoughts whirled in his head as he rapidly sifted through the mountain of information that had been drilled into him, trying to recall the long talk on neighboring factions they had yesterday. "Vezetch..." Leo panted. "Their empire is massive...it stretches from the Red Forest to across the Endless Wastes in the East."

"Good, now tell me about their ruler!" Zeld demanded, using his practice sword to absently right an out-of-place leg with a hefty smack.

"Ugh-their ruler is Emperor Helios. The citizens there treat him like a god!" Leo said with a grunt as he restarted his set of basic sword moves for the umpteenth time that afternoon. Left...right...overhead...thrust! His motions had become a mantra in his head on endless repeat. He knew Zeld wouldn't be satisfied with such a paltry answer and he desperately scavenged his brain for anything else related. "It's said that every grain of sand in Vezetch serve as the eyes and ears of the emperor."

"Do you remember why that is?"

"Uh..." Failing to remember the answer to the question made Leo's next swing falter a half-second behind rhythm. He was already wincing from the expected pain when the flat of the dreaded wooden blade cracked him on his back and wrist in a blink.

"You need to be able to think and move at the same time!" admonished his impatient instructor. "The saying is old, born from the mysterious disappearance of Vezetch's citizens. Any man, woman, or child who spoke out against the empire, even in the quiet of their homes, would disappear before the next sunrise," Zeld reminded him.