At the apex of the sun's rise, Elderond's tired eyes opened.
The usual waking sensations hit him instantly: sweat, pain and thirst.
"Ugh, I'm never going to get used to this."
"Well, I wonder how you would feel after a rough night, Master."
Medea laughed mischievously within his mind.
"Funny how you say I think lewd things, Medea, you're worse."
"Oh please, it's merely a joke. After all, there's no way you would get with anyone, Master."
The laughter echoed again through his cerebral system.
Elderond punched the side of his pillow in frustration. The interface had vexed him again.
Grumpily, he slides off the wooden bed and takes a shower. The water flowed down his chest and back, soothing some of the pain which he constantly felt.
His only saving grace was the lotion Grandpa Lex had given him. Taking a handful of the substance from the vial- he placed it in his hands and applied it to his whole body. A cold and numbing sensation spread across his muscles, relaxing the expression of pain on his face.
Leaving the safety of his bedroom, he went and sat at the kitchen table. Apprehension filled him as he waited for Grandpa Lex to reveal what was on the torture menu today.
"Well, finally awake, I see. Today we'll take a break from the physical activities regarding training your body."
"Today, you shall train your mind."
"Wait, training the mind… how?"
"Curious, aren't you? Well, never mind, I shall explain."
"To train the mind, there are three stages: the calm state of mind, the solving state of mind and the tranquil state of mind."
Elderond took in all the information but wasn't exactly sure how these states would work.
"It seems Grandpa is just about to explain, Master."
"For the first state- calm state of mind, you will need to train your attitude when facing backlash, bullying, insults and teasing; thus, you will train against provocation and remain cool-headed in all situations."
"The best way for this is to control the way you react against someone who provokes you."
Lex stared at Elderond or specifically Medea and Elderond, as he could sense the presence of the voice in Elderond's head.
"You will train the first stage by conversing with Medea daily; she will be as rude as she wants."
"Great, well, that's nothing new for me."
"Aha, it seems my wish has been, granted Master, prepare for pain."
Elderond hung his head in his hands. Why did he have to suffer like this?
But then reality hit him.
He needed to get stronger both physically and mentally. Being childish wasn't going to get him anywhere.
"Ok, I will do what is required, Grandpa."
"Great."
Taking a spoonful of aromatic porridge with forest fruit and a form of honey, Lex began the explanation of the other stages.
"Now for the second stage: the solving state of mind."
"It is what it means you will solving some form of problem, allowing you to train the way your mind calculates and figures out patterns."
Elderond watched as Grandpa Lex fiddled with his robe, pulling out a cuboid-shaped piece of metal. It consisted of smaller cubes, each with some form of runic symbol inscribed on it.
"This is called the cube of the trickster."
"The cube needs to be arranged in a specific way allowing you to unlock a technique, skill, location or some piece of valuable information."
"However it isn't known as the 'trickster' for no reason. The cube will automatically rearrange itself back to its default state within 2 minutes of a wrong combination if you don't figure out the right combination for the arrangement of cubes in time."
Elderond face looked mummified- he had to deal with mental abuse and mental strain. It couldn't possibly get worse, could it?
"Don't jinx it, Master."
"Ah, we are now on to the final state: the tranquil state of mind. This state is by far the hardest, and I don't expect you to reach this state till you reach Master tier; but, it's good practice to start now."
"The tranquil state is a state where you enter a place or memory in which you can no longer feel pain or any form of irritation in the body or mind. Allowing you to focus on the task at hand optimally."
"The way you can practice this now- is to no longer treat yourself after training with the vial. Merely try to block out the pain from your mind and recover, building up your tolerance."
Elderond, whose face was looking mummified, now looked like he was burning in Satan's hellfire.
"Just great, mental pain, mental strain and mental abuse, what a combination."
"You will just have to overcome it Elderond, I believe in you."
"Ha, good luck Master, though for this, I don't have much faith."
"I can always rely on you for moral support Medea."
The sarcastic exchange concluded, signalling the start of the training phase.
Elderond finished off his porridge and moved onto beginning the training with Medea.
"Master, you sure you can handle this?"
"Well, I'm used to it by now- it shouldn't be too hard."
"Well, don't say I didn't warn you."
Then as if to confirm what Medea said, the insults began.
"Hmm, to think I would be stuck with such a useless Master, you can't even retort to anything I say, neither can you use the fundamental aspect required to survive in the world: essence."
"Bloody hell, straight for the jugular."
"Well, it's not great having artificial intelligence that can barely help me. All you do is make fun of me."
"Ahem, Master, I will remind you, my capabilities are only limited- due to the fact you're not at the right standard. It is YOU who has to be at the right standard to unlock the seals."
The penny had dropped. Like a tsunami crashing, Elderond buttocks hit the floor. Everything she had said was true: he was useless.
"Fuck! I know, I'm working on it."
Frustration was evident in his voice but also a sense of desperation for acknowledgement.
"Are you working? What do you have to show for it? Some bruises? Pathetic."
Elderond could no longer contain himself.
"Why, you little…"
"Enough! I thought you said you were used to it, Elderond?"
"You have failed the first state. Move to the second, regardless of if people consider you useless or not- you should keep striving to prove others wrong."
Dejectedly, Elderond picked up the cuboid and sat down on his bed, trying out different combinations to align the runic symbols perfectly.
An hour had gone past; yet, no developments appeared on the surface of the cube.
"Damn, this is quite difficult. Maybe there is some specific pattern to these runes?"
Elderond then spent the next thirty minutes studying the runes on the cube. Each rune had some weird flics upon it and engravings of dots.
Medea was quick to point out one thing.
"Master, have you ever considered if it's from some ancient civilisation or some language? These runes must mean something."
"You may be onto something there, Medea."
Elderond stood and tried to find any bookshelves within the wooden house. He spent five minutes and was greeted, with a title that read 'History of Hystious vol. 5'. He nearly threw the book in annoyance; but, Grandpa would probably kill him if he did. Placing the book back, he returned to the cube.
Lex shook his head.
"Sometimes, the solution is right before your eyes."
Just when Elderond was about to give up, something caught his eyes on the cuboid. The engraving of dots had lines. Each line had an arrow next to it with an engraving of a specific type of dot.
"Bingo!"
Elderond rotated the cuboid within his palm, gliding his fingers across it as he moved the smaller cubes. Six of the smaller cubes clicked into place as the dots aligned, joined by the lines. Within five minutes, he had completed 1/36th of the cuboid.
Sighing with satisfaction, he placed the cuboid back on the table. He had finally solved one part after failing multiple times and having to restart from scratch.
"See, some perseverance is all you needed."
A smile crept onto Elderond's face.
"Indeed, sometimes the solution is right in front of our eyes, thanks, Grandpa."
Lex nodded and went back to cooking dinner.
The final state had begun.
As the lotion's effect wore off, pain flared within Elderond's body.
Taking slow-deep breathes, Elderond closed his eyes and meditated, trying to enter a place in his mind where the pain would be void.
It was futile; however, he was only 16. How could he possibly block out all the pain?
However, despite this, he kept going, beads of sweat coated his forehead, and faint moans of pain slithered out of his lips.
Yet, he didn't scream.
"Remarkable he really can be one tough lad at times."
Lex clapped his hands.
"That will be enough for today- you need to continue with this training till you have mastered the states."
"Remember, one man can kill hundreds or even thousands; but, only a tactician can win a war."