Garden Of The Abyss

--It's been two months since I managed to convince Sora and Tristan to train me, although it feels like it's been a year. My lazy, undetermined old self was quite literally beaten away by their ruthless regime. I'm practically out here from dawn till dusk, making up for all of the outside activity I shut myself out from.

He scorned the gnawing heat that further tortured his exhausted body. All of his wishes yearned for a cool gust of wind to graze his sweat-coated skin. There wasn't much time to waste wishing for graces by the world as something was headed straight for him.

"Gh…!"

He winced at the sudden force brought down atop his head. In his lapse of focus, Sora had brought down a wooden sword directly against his skull--it wasn't the first time, mind you. What especially made this whack painful was the fact Sora managed to hit the same spot over and over again, resulting in him smacking the newly formed welt on his scalp.

"Get your head in the game!"

Sora roared out with his booming voice, reaching a decibel count that made his throat rival even high-end amps.

It was one thing to hear that yell a single time, but over the course of his training, his ears had been abused many times over.

"Maybe if you stopped beating my damn skull in, I'd be able to focus!"

Ren retorted, picking up his training sword again. Holding the prickly handle of the timber-made weapon had ill-effects on his hand, giving him splinters and friction burns that ultimately resulted in him developing calluses.

--As much as I've wanted to learn magic, because let's be honest here--who doesn't? They've insisted on building my "base" first, a.k.a, my body. I have to say, I can't complain with the results though.

A lack of internet, games, and most importantly--junk-food, all have played a part in Ren's recent transformation. He wasn't exactly "unhealthy" before, but he certainly wasn't in the shape he desired. Now, being cooped up inside all day yielded no benefits, and even if he wanted to--Sora and Tristan wouldn't allow it. From morning until noon, they tore him down with brutal physical training. Every day, with only one rest day per week. As a result of this grueling training in preparation for his magical education, he managed to develop the one goal each man has in their lives, no matter how far it may be--"abs".

The true benefit of this training that wasn't possible on Earth came in the form of healing magic. Days of rest were required to allow your damaged muscles to repair themselves; growing stronger and more durable. However, with the existence of magic that can repair said muscles, the process of training had been accelerated.

--It isn't exactly a soothing experience, though. Forcing my body to recuperate unnaturally has its own...painful drawbacks.

An attempt at a vertical swing missed his target, following up with a horizontal slash aimed at Sora's torso--once again only meeting his weapon.

-- I've even developed a slight tan!. Can't say I've ever had one before. If only I was like this back on Earth...oh man, don't get me started. Actually, it might just be an average complexion--but it is an improvement from the deathly pale I was before

He almost let his focus slip away once more, honing his senses as he countered an incoming swing from the bouldering crimson-haired man. Deflecting even a half-assed swing from Sora took every ounce of effort he could give, feeling the impact ring through his body still.

Keeping his fingers tightly wrapped around the rough handle of the sword as it was battered by his mentor's strikes was a feat of its own, feeling the harsh wood grate against his sensitive skin.

"Ha--!"

Honing his lessons from an endless amount of video games and T.V shows, he aimed for the man's wide, open chest. The attack landed--not so much as budging the boulder of a man however, as the wooden training sword bounced off Sora's chest. It would've been better for his brittle heart if Sora had just dodged the attack, instead watching his hopes be completely squashed as the man treated his attack like nothing more than a mosquito bite.

--This totally breaks the rules of RPGs! How can you have a high DEF stat, high STR, high AGL--even charisma! It just isn't fair!

Finding himself scorning the many inequalities of this world, half-jokingly while also feeling it as a reality, Ren nearly found himself hit across the head again before responding with another strike that did absolutely nothing to his mentor.

"That's your problem, right there, little bro! It's more of a "Hyooroah!" than a "Ha!"!"

Sora drilled into him, waving his blade of timber about in the air as he gave less than specific instructions to the exhausted trainee. After giving his explanation that fell flat on Ren's ears, he wore a smug expression as if he had just given sage advice to the young man.

"I don't understand your gibberish, that's the problem!"

This is how it always went. He was starting to understand why Donatien mocked Sora so often for his lack of brains--the man was a terrible teacher.

"Hey! These are valuable lessons you should be grateful for!"

Sora responded as if Ren's words were a personal attack, squeezing his own fist shut as if fighting against the words that berated his beloved guidance.

--He did teach me one thing pertaining to magic, though.

Ren smirked, swatting some of the sweat off of his bare chest as it pelted against the grass below. He closed his eyes momentarily, calming himself and bringing his concentration to its peak. The flow of mana travelled through his body like freshly pumped blood through his veins.

"Reinforcement--!"

Ren announced, opening his sight-enablers again with a heightened resolve.

--"Reinforcement", the most fundamental aspect of magic. In a sense, it is the most simple, pure usage of magic. Using your own inner mana in its raw form without any elemental affinity, Reinforcement magic adds an intangible layer of armor across your body while also boosting your physical capabilities.

"Oh? Looks like you're finally getting the hang of it, huh?"

Sora lowered his stance with a confident smirk, awaiting for the reinvigorated recruit mage to make his move.

"I guess I have some pretty awesome teachers to thank for that--!"

Ren returned the man's confident smirk with his own, it was hard not to get giddy when using magic, a concept he found himself entranced by since a young age.

--There is just one caveat with reinforcement magic: you can't train it, at least not directly. It is a form of magic that completely relies on both the quantity and quality of your mana. So for somebody like me--this reinforcement magic is at the bare minimum.

In fact, in his boundless curiosity, Ren actually analyzed the difference between his normal capabilities and when he is being amplified by reinforcement magic. Using speed as his initial grounds for testing—his normal speed in a one-hundred meter dash was roughly twenty-five seconds. However, when amplified, he cleared the one-hundred meters in just under ten seconds.

—Even if my level of magic is beginner at best, it's a helluva difference! Also, Meinhard--whenever I die, I'm slugging you for using reinforcement magic against me in our race, dammit!

"Bring it on...!"

Ren gritted his teeth, his voice slipping through his lips in a sharp breath. It was an arduous process, learning how to properly swing a sword. After these past couple months though, he felt like a knight in shining armor already.

Shifting his weight and timing his swing properly, he dragged the wooden weapon down through the air--and a miss.

"Close but no cigar."

Sora taunted him. Besides the smug smile wrapped across the linebacker's lips, the fact that he wasn't even using any magic only served to infuriate Ren further. Just his natural physicality alone was enough to toy with him, swiftly avoiding the rampant slashes, somehow moving his large, bulky body as if he was a dancer. After a countless number of fruitless swings, Sora finally countered with a side kick, jabbing his heel into Ren's side before sending him tumbling.

"Gah!"

Ren let out a gasp, followed by a trail of saliva. It was clear as day to him that Sora was a highly-trained fighter as he instinctively seemed to target his weak points without a second thought.

"You've definitely improved, but you've got ways to go, my friend, ways to go."

Sora let out a sigh, running his fingers through his shining crimson locks. There wasn't a drop of sweat to be seen on the man's blemish-free skin.

"Yeah, well, you're a damn monster--what do you expect from me?"

Ren retorted, caressing his throbbing side as he winced.

"Speaking of monsters, your new mentor for phase two of your training just returned today!" Sora smiled wide, his spotless teeth glimmering in the sunlight.

Ren slowly stood up, still holding his side as he looked at the man with a raised eyebrow. "New mentor"--he didn't know if he liked the sound of that at all.