"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king."
- J.R.R. Tolkien
Chapter 8: Strength
2 years pass and today is the star of my training, the past two years were just me studying about academics and reading about how to train.
The holy maidens and priest Gabriel couldn't train me so they asked me to read about training so i did.
Strangely the duke didn't visited me anymore since a year ago, i don't know why it kinda makes me sad but i think he have his own reason so i didn't bother.
When the duke saw how big the difference between the me he first met and the me after the awakening, he wasn't startled nor faltered he just stand there and stared at me then later on he picked me up and throws me up in the air, i was unfazed and his actions made me yawn so he didn't do it again.
It was funny so i chuckled a bit and he patted me on the head, the holy maidens told him about me going to train but he stopped them and told them that they should let me experience youth more.
So here i am 2 years later trying to train.
According to my body's age and capacity i should start with my flexibility and stamina.
In my former life, i'm good with every sports and my stamina is long, i guess i couldn't do what i can do in my previous life, only the knowledge is the only thing that i manage to gain when reincarnating.
Well it makes sense, new appearance same mind, same soul new body.
After stretching my body i start running laps around the field. I probably haven't told you where am i, at the back of the forest of the church there's plain field that hasn't been constructed with houses.
Priest Gabriel let me uses the field and i didn't complain and just accepted it, and besides this plain field can makes me see the whole town and the mountain where the kingdom is placed.
When i couldn't handle running anymore i took a few deep breaths and started stretching again.
This method could make me get used to exercising it's very effective. In my previous life i always exercise like this, stretch run and stretch.
It can also cool me down and let me absorb some air more.
After doing those i pick up the stick the has the exact length of the sword and places it in front of me, putting my left leg behind me and slight slightly bending, i took a deep breath and swings my stick.
I repeated this action till my arms went numb.
I think my body will be in huge pain once i wake up.
Well at least i have an excuse not to stand up from the bed right?.
"100" i counted and rested my arms, i shake both of my now numb hands and stared at them.
They were trembling probably because of the pain and exhaustion... I stared at the blue sky and stretches my arms.
"I need to strengthen my body for martial arms right?" I am starting to question my credibility when it comes to martial arts and sports.
Anyway because my body is still not fully strengthen i did the basics, i raise my thigh, jerk my hip and extended my leg, doing a body kick or 45° kick.
I repeated the action till my leg become numb just like how I did with my arm and then switches to my other side.
When both of my legs become very exhausted i started doing leg stretch or axe kick, swinging my leg upwards where i could manage to reach and doing the same thing in my other leg.
When i was still peyton, my first sport was taekwondo, a martial art sport that uses kicks and barely uses hands and other offense techniques that uses other part of the body.
A classmate of mine was a member of that sport club and invited me to try, that time i was desperate of an extra curriculum activity and this opportunity greeted me, so without another word I agreed.
And then i got hooked.
My second Martial art was karate, a japanese martial art, i was already skilled with my kicks so i wanted to be skilled with my punches too so i tried the sport and just like taekwondo, i got also hooked at this sport.
The next sport i entered was basketball and then track N' Field came next, followed by football and so on so fort.
Sports was my specialty it keeps me sane and relax everytime i started thinking of quiting life.
It keeps me distracted just like how hadley keeps me distracted and giving me hope.
Ah here i am again thinking about her... I am really dependable to her, she's my savior and my first love.
Yeah she's my first love... I mean gender doesn't matter if you fall in love right?
Don't worry i'm still attracted to guys.
I don't know if you already know my sexuality i mean i kissed a cashier lady...
"Ezu, time for lunch" i wipe my sweat and nods lazily and followed mother grace, she wipes my sweat with a towel and gave me water.
"Ezu is really intelligent~ she can manage to train herself without asking for help~ wait does this mean our ezu is a genius?" Mother krisha coed and stared at me lovingly.
I stared at her and grinned cheerily.
Is this what you call a genuine praise?
I never receive one before, my teachers would just congratulate me and smiled at me, my instructors would just nod at me and train me more, my classmates would just stare at me in admiration and envy.. And hadley...
Come to think of it... I never heard her compliment me, not once i receive a praise from her nor any words that would comfort me, when i'm sad she would just stand beside me and plays with her phone. I assume she was just accompanying me as a comfort, i guess i'm wrong.
I wonder why i love her,
Love is really unpredictable and confusing.
When we arrive at the dinning area everyone were just chatting when they notice me they all smiles and praises me for doing a good work.
So i raise my hands and showed a thumbs up while my expression remains apathetic, they chuckles and went back to chatting.
I sat between priest gabriel and mother fate.
"How was you training?"
"It was very tiring" he smiled and patted my head.
"I see, you must have been working hard, thank you for your dedication and perseverance ezu"
I guess a bit more training won't be that bad.