"What's your story by the way? I heard you were new here, just like me."
Feeling the energy come back to him, Jacob's breathing began to slow as his body cooled. Such was a perk of having high agility, he recovered his stamina faster than another person. While it was not much right now, later on, it would play a big part in wars.
His question was directed towards Jack who was fiddling with the hilt of his sword waiting for Jacob to recover.
"What is there to tell? My story is the average sort, I'm just a low born commoner trying to make a living. I never had the brains for the book like my brother, nor the desire to stay at home like my sister. I just wanted to explore a bit while I'm young before I find a nice woman to get married to. The end."
Jack felt that he would lead a rather simple life. His ambitions were not high, just make some money and see the world a bit. Working as a guard was just a step on his path. It provided him with free training, a decent pay but more importantly connections.
All of the guards came from somewhere just like him, and if he was ever in their village he might be treated kindly. As long as he told the villagers he was a friend of so and so.
Jacob was not buying it.
No one wanted to stay a nobody, everyone wanted to be a somebody.
"Come on man, you never thought about being a knight? A general? Maybe even work your way up until you become a lord in your own name?"
Jacob asked him once more hoping to get something out of him.
"A knight? I could never be one of those, the academy is too expensive. It's a thousand silver for one semester, so two thousand total. Add in the three to four years before you become a full-fledged knight and you have to fork out around six thousand if not more. Where in Nessa's name will I get that sort of silver from?"
Jack shook his head and shuddered just imagining the cost of attending the knight academy.
The only ones who managed to enter that place were nobles or those who had a patron to give them support.
Jack had neither of those, he had to fend for himself. Still, the idea of becoming a knight was tempting for any man. Work for the royal family, or enlist yourself in the service of a lord only to jump ranks and be paid ten times more than what he was making now.
A hundred silver a week? Jack could not even begin to count the number of things he would be able to buy with a wage that high. Forget one wife, he could afford to have two!
Jacob knew of a way to become a knight without having to pay such an expensive price. However, he did not want to slave away his time in the academy for years. There were other jobs he could do, not to mention when the rebellion happened this city would be on fire.
That was not something he planned on staying around to witness.
"There are ways, more than one if you ask me. They might not be legal, but sure as hell can get you the silver you need."
Jack sighed and shook his head.
He would not stoop that low. He had boundaries, ones that he would not cross.
"What about you? How did you end up here, and what is your job?"
This was something Jack was curious about since he heard about Jacob's arrival. Seeing as how he was not a guard, what was he? He was too young to be a butler, and he definitely was not a maid.
Jacob smiled.
"I'm not anything. Let us just say, mines and the lord's fates are tied together."
"Like bound by a spell?"
Jack asked curiously as he's heard of the wonders mages could do with magic. He has never seen one but that did not stop people from talking about them.
Jacob laughed hard.
"No. There is no magic in this world that can bind our fates together, it is something else. I can tell you my ambition though, what I hope to achieve in life. Eventually, I want to earn the status of a noble and acquire a castle or fort for myself."
"Big dreams for such a small child. Don't forget about me if you happen to become a noble."
Jack laughed a little but he was being serious. Nothing like working for a noble who you knew before they became one. There were perks you couldn't get otherwise.
Jacob could not tell if he was serious or not, but it did not matter. That goal would not be achieved for a long time.
"Alright, enough rest. I'm sure Oswald is wondering what is taking us so long to return."
Jack said.
It's been more than thirty minutes since he came here to find Jacob. More than enough for him to recover a little bit.
Jacob got up from the ground and dust himself off before grabbing the short axe.
Together, the two boys walked back towards the barracks where Oswald was. It was not a long walk, taking only two minutes to get there. Along the way, they chatted a bit more before the two split up once they arrived at their destination.
Oswald was seated on the deck with a sword in hand along with a Wheatstone using it to sharpen his blade.
Upon seeing Jacob he stopped his movements and looked Jacob over. His discerning eye could tell that Jacob still had energy to spare.
The first thought that came to his mind was 'Did the kid slack off?'.
Usually, the recruits would come to him half dead asking for a break, and he would respond with harsher training.
"Vulcan, I see ya are done. How was it? Did ya strike the tree until ya arms sore?"
Oswald questioned Jacob while watching his facial expression to see if he was lying or not.
It was a talent he picked up a while back. He learned how to read people's expressions and could tell if they were telling him the truth or not. Oswald did not like secrets and lies being kept from him.
"Yeah, it was harder than I imagined but I managed to pull through."
"Ya? How many times did ya manage? Back when I was a recruit, I managed a little above two hundred."
There it was, the two hundred strikes that Jack said Oswald exaggerated about. Jacob wanted to chuckle but felt that it was not an appropriate response.
"I lost count, but a little under two hundred I believe. That or a bit over."
Jacob's expression stayed the same, usually, there would be a slight twitch if they were lying. Sometimes they even moved their eyes away from the person they were lying to. Jacob did none of that. His blue eyes stayed focused on Oswald.
"How in the world did ya manage that? That scrawny body of yours seen to be hiding some real talent. What ya saw to starting the next stage right away?"
From the way Jacob was breathing and how he kept standing upright normally, Oswald figured he has recovered more than enough. Why give him a break when he can keep working him hard?
Jacob's body ached and wanted a break. Recovering his stamina was not hard, but that did not mean it stopped his muscles from being sore. That only meant he could continue to move his body.
His arms still felt heavy, just not as heavy as before.
Seeing as how Jacob was not responding, Oswald seemed to read his mind.
"Don't worry, you'll get a break. I just need ya to run a few laps around the estate until I finish sharpening my sword. Shouldn't be too long."
Jacob's eyes looked down at the sword in Oswald's hand. Polishing it would take how long? It depended on the person, but a sword was your partner and you needed to keep it in good condition. He was sure that Oswald understood that better than most.
Oswald could spend ten minutes on his sword, but Jacob doubted that. He was more likely to spend an hour or two on it instead.
"Off ya go now. Oh, and if ya think it's too easy there a sack with some rocks in it. Strap it on as ya run, be sure to get you all worn out."
Sighing, Jacob placed the short ax down and walked off.
After learning he could gain experience while listening to Oswald, Jacob was not too upset. The more experience he gained, the quicker he could level up.
Running would not get him any proficiency points, but it would help his body. His breathing would get better, increase his metabolism, and a few other things. The biggest benefit was he stamina control.
The twenty points of agility already gave him increased speed, reduced stamina usage and a few other things. However, it did teach him how to maintain the output of energy he was using.
Running over a period of time would allow him to regulate the amount of stamina he used. Right now, Jacob was just like the other people in the world. If they all used two percent of stamina while running, he would too. His agility would cause it to be half of that, so that was not really true. Yet, the stronger people in the world could use one percent or less when they ran.
That was because they had a fine control over their body's stamina usage.
A figure appeared behind Oswald who began to work on his sword.
"Why are you bothering yourself with that kid? Renold is away, which rarely happens. This is a good time to state our demands to the lord."
A cat-like whisper entered Oswald's ear.
Oswald paid the figure no mind as he continued to polish his sword.
"Patience. Renold is away for now, but he will be back. There is still Rolf, he may not look like much due to his joyful attitude but he is a fearsome warrior. By himself, he could take down six or seven of you. Then you have the old butler, I've watched him for a while. He's not one to play around with either, pretty sure he survived the aftermath of that assassination on Lezhalt's parents. Count him in and that's another three or four down."
"While they hold us back, Lezhalt can easily escape."
Oswald no longer spoke with the accent he normally used. Instead, he spoke properly as if he was a native.
"Still, that does not mean you should spend much time with that brat. Afterall, Renold did bring him in. He cannot be trusted."
"Why do you think I'm training him. Slowly I will bring him over to my side. Pretty sure Renold and Lezhalt have other plans for the kid, but I do not plan on seeing it achieved. That kid has too much potential for him to be killed off right now. Not to mention his resemblance to Lezhalt himself. No, Vulcan is not going anywhere. He's our key. We no longer need Lezhalt, after all, he has been cooped up in the mansion for a long time now. No one will notice if he was replaced by someone else."
Oswald turned his head as he eyed the figure who appeared behind him.
"And what have I told you about speaking to me like this? There are eyes and ears everywhere, next time just wait until I contact you."
Jacob did not realize while he was making plans to survive the threat that was coming for the lord, Oswald was making plans to use him. He did not picture Oswald as the type to come up with such a complex scheme. Hearing what those guards said on patrol, Jacob thought Oswald only wanted a higher position and pay. Little did he knew Oswald's ambition had no limits.