Dominus squinted at the boy as he slowly walked towards him, pointing a finger. He looked closely at the boy's eyes, searching for any sign of deceit. "Are you telling me, that you'll slay the Pandora Goblin in my name?"
It was only then that Beam had enough self-awareness to feel embarrassed. He grew red all the way to his ears, knowing how ridiculous it sounded. He had nothing at all to back up that foolish promise. He was not yet fast, nor strong, nor skilled with the sword, or sharp with his mind.
"Ah, I mean," he waved his hands out in front of him, panickedly trying to stall for time. "I mean I'm nothing at the moment. I know I'm trash. I'm not really good at anything yet… But maybe if you taught me, I might be in with a shot."
"Do you know why I have spent all this time in the mountains? Me, a knight of the fifth boundary? It was for that very purpose – so that I might avenge my comrade, so that I might finally strike down the brute that is the Pandora Goblin. You have seen the state of my limbs – you know what blackens them. With so little time left, do you really think I'd waste it on a peasant boy without a single skill to his name?" Dominus asked in a raised voice full of anger. "Do you even believe that you can slay it?"
"Uhm… Maybe, given enough time, I think I could?"
Now Dominus was shouting. "Maybe!? You want me to invest my remaining days in a maybe?"
From the way he was talking, Beam could feel his anger, and he worried that he was about to walk away at any second. So, without thinking, he committed himself fully. "Definitely! I'll definitely do it! If you train me, I'll definitely slay the Pandora Goblin in your name."
With the silence that followed those bold words, Beam almost closed his eyes in apprehension. He grew even redder, thoroughly embarrassed with himself by now. He was sure Dominus wouldn't even look at him again after saying something so stupid. The longer the silence stretched on, the more he wanted to take his words back.
But instead of walking away, Dominus gave him a calm response. "…Like I said kid, I've been testing you, and I still don't know your worth."
With those words, Beam's heart fell. He was sure it was the build-up to a rejection.
With a long sigh, Dominus looked up at the sky. Two years he'd spent in the mountains, with nothing to show for it. He was never the type to take apprentices at any point in life – never mind right towards the end, when he was struggling so intensely for a breakthrough.
'Arthur…' He murmured to himself in a voice that Beam could not hear. He pictured his valued friend. The hero that was always there in times of need. Who always placed others' lives above his own. Who continued to sacrifice everything for his country and his people right up until his death. Arthur would never have turned the boy away, be he peasant or slave. But Dominus was not Arthur.
Dominus had never found warmth or meaning amongst people. It was only through Arthur that he learned how to do that. Sure, the boy had talent, but to bet on him… It was too much of a risk.
Bringing his eyes back downwards, Dominus looked at Beam, determined to reject him, but instead, what came out of his mouth were words that surprised even him. "I still don't know your worth boy. I do not know how far you will go. The more progress you make, the more the darkness within you will rage, hoping to consume your spirit. I do not believe you can resist that… But in this long life, I suppose, I have been wrong many times over. I will give you a month."
"A month?" Beam repeated, his eyes widening in surprise. "Does that mean…?"
Dominus nodded. "I will train you for a month to see what you're worth, and at the end of the month, I will set tests for you. If you do not pass those tests, I will cast you aside."
"What kind of tests?"
"Well, for a start, I can't have an apprentice of mine being in the bottom rung of such a lowly village. You're going to need to sort your reputation out. You're going to have to change how people see you, so you can form connections," Dominus told him.
Beam frowned at that. It wasn't the answer he was expecting. He couldn't see much point in improving his relations, and he said as much. "But what does it matter whether I get on with the villagers or not? It's not like they've been good to me. When I tried to settle here after earning my freedom, they didn't give me an easy time of it."
"Hah!" Dominus barked his laughter. "The boy is a fool. Don't tell me you mean to challenge the Pandora Goblin alone? No? Then how do you intend to inspire allies when you can't even get on neutral terms with some peasants in a remote village like this?"
"Ah," Beam gulped again, understanding his folly.
"Not only that, but responsibility plays a significant role in breaking through the boundaries set by the Goddess Claudia. Why is that? Her measurement of responsibility is a measurement of connection. She looks to see how connected you are with the people around you. Some people are able to form vast connections, like Arthur was. With those vast connections, they are able to augment their progress, so they need not suffer quite as much for it," Dominus said. "That is why the strength lies in the knights – they take on more responsibility than anyone else. That is why the greatest generals in our land are often also the strongest swordsmen. The two go hand in hand."
Beam couldn't quite hear all that he said. "What was that?" He interrupted.
Dominus cleared his throat. "Nothing. Besides good relations with people, you'll have to learn strategy and you'll have to learn leadership. There's no greater danger than an incompetent but charismatic leader. By the end of the month, if you haven't beaten me in a single game of Battle, you're unfit to be my pupil. Similarly, if you have not made a single friend by then, you're unfit. If you prove unable to balance the growth of light and dark within you, you're also unfit"