"Let's stretch out a bit before beginning." said Bruce, smiling to his nephew.
Levi followed his uncle's advice and proceeded to warm up his muscles. He started throwing punches in the air and kicking the grass to Bruce's delight.
"You don't know what a warm up means, do you?" asked Bruce, bursting into laughter. "Follow my lead."
Bruce began his stretching routine and Levi tried to reenact what he saw.
"This is the worst impression of me I have ever seen."
After ten minutes of rigorous stretching, they retook their roles as trainer and trainee.
"We can't do anything until we don't check for how long can you keep it up for."
"What do you mean by this?"
"Ten laps around the house, go!"
Without even realizing, Levi's legs entered a state of mechanical movement. One leg in front of the other, he started running.
'This is too easy. I can keep it up for another twenty laps if I have to. That breathing technique proves to be useful once again.'
"Pay attention to what you are doing. Conserve your energy so you can exploit it for as long as possible."
'As if I hadn't already known that.'
Levi kept going for another two laps. Unbeknownst to him, his body was soon going to fail.
Beginning the third lap, Levi felt his legs burning to an unbearable ache. His breathing turned into a shallower one than when he started running. His cheeks and nose turned red. His heart struggled to pump blood to his muscles and brain.
'C'mon man, what the fuck is up with this body?!'
He stopped for a breather while his uncle approached him.
"Not good, but not terrible either. Tone it down a bit, you are not a 20-year-old man. Take a break, I'll be back soon."
Levi sat down under a tree. His uncle went around the house and came back with metal short sword.
The rusty blade was glazed in sunlight. Its two edges bore the faint memory of what was once a mighty weapon. The worn-out leather wrapped handle had imprints of its previous owners.
"Since you are too young to actually learn any sword fighting techniques, I'll teach you how to wield it first."
Happiness covered Levi's face.
'Finally, something interesting to learn.'
He took the sword in his hands and tried to swing it.
'It's unbalanced, light enough for me to hold it, yet too heavy to do anything with it.'
"Your task is to hold it for three hours straight."
"Just like this?"
Levi held the sword with both hands, one on top of the other. His legs were joined while he struggled to maintain his balance.
"No! Don't you see how hard it is for you to stay balanced?"
Bruce grabbed the sword in his hands.
"Here, look."
He placed his hands on the hilt, holding it with a firm grip.
"Right hand under the guard, left hand underneath."
Bruce's hands were too big for the sword he was holding, but Levi understood what he had to do.
"Legs spread apart, shoulder's length. It makes it easier for you to hold your balance."
He leaned back, straightening his arms and letting the sword swing down a short distance, such that it was now pointing a bit forward and up.
"Use all of your muscles, not just the ones in your arms. You'll get tired quickly if you don't."
Bruce's back was arched forward with his muscles in tension.
"Learn to use your body as a whole. Don't divide its strength."
The man let the sword swing forward until it reached the ground. It hit with a faint thud. He pointed the hilt towards Levi.
"Here, now you try it."
Levi approached the sword with less confidence then before. However, he was determined to complete this task.
"You can take breaks if you need, but until you are able to hold it up for three hours straight, we won't be able to do anything else."
"I'll do my best."
The boy lifted the sword in his hands. Just like his uncle showed him, he places his right hand under the hilt and his left one beneath it. His hands were the perfect fit for the sword, with enough room to wiggle. He then gripped it tight while spreading his legs. He leaned back, arched his spine forward.
"Now let it drop a bit."
Levi relaxed his muscles and the sword swung down.
"Wow there boy, too much."
Bruce lifted the tip of the sword and told Levi to hold. He then left, leaving Levi alone.
"See you in three hours."
'This feels easy enough, but so did the running. I feel like I'm going to be disappointed by my body again.'
Ten minutes into holding the sword, the blade started shaking in tempo with his body.
'Much harder than I thought, and I'm only one-hour in.'
After five more minutes, a deafened thud echoed when the blade hit the ground.
'What the actual fuck? I was so closed.'
He tried to lift the sword again, but to no avail. He couldn't hold it anymore.
'It looks like my body is more tired than it feels. I should relax for a minute.'
Levi gathered his forces and tried to lift the sword once again. The relief brought to him by the few minutes that he sat down, relaxing, aided him into lifting the sword up.
'If I'm already here, I might just as well meditate.'
He closed his eyes and a familiar feeling flooded his mind. Although his eyelids were shut, light could still pass through them. It cast a shadow somewhere in his mind of the same intriguing system of strings. This time it looked different. It was more detailed than ever. All the paths now seemed to emerge from somewhere. For Levi, it wasn't clear what it was, but he knew it was there. The origin, or just its shadow, was finally accessible for him. Nonetheless, he couldn't discern what it represented. He felt it there, the spot where the light coming from outside stopped.
The meditation empowered his body in a strange way. He didn't feel as tired as before. His strength was the same, only his stamina was affected. Through his technique, he used not only his whole body, but also his mind to aid him into completing the task.
Levi opened his eyes and the sword fell out of his hands once again. His body followed.
He was more tired than before. Although his mind was clear, his body was close to shutting down due to exhaustion. His muscles ached in a way that felt comfortable for him. This ache reminded him of his past life.
'I'm certainly going to feel this tomorrow.'
Bruce returned to the sight of his nephew lying on the ground.
"You still alive, kid? Do I need to call Fraya?"
"I'm fine, just tired."
"You managed to hold it for 40 minutes with no breaks. I'm quite impressed. After your first attempt, I wasn't sure you were gonna last longer the second time."
"What? I thought I was closing in to the three hours mark."
"Kid, you barely got 10 minutes in until you dropped it like it was hot."
Levi stared in disbelief.
"Although the second time you managed to impress me. I expected you to drop it sooner, but you almost got to the one-hour mark."
Bruce looked at him, with pride in his eyes.
"Go rest a bit, kid. You are gonna need the energy back."