Boom!
After hearing the commotion from Roland's training ground Lusuka quickly rushed over. The scene that greeted her made her tremble involuntarily. Before Mentor Martine the towering boulder had been reduced to dust leaving only the area below it's center. Even the walls of the training ground behind the boulder had been punched through.
Roland was still in a daze. He could not believe the carefree miss that appeared only twenty something could make such a powerful punch.
Mentor Martine relaxed her body and shook her wrist a couple times. "Don't look so freightened, I haven't even showed any punching techniques so you could say I held back a little" Picking up the wooden pole that had been thrown to the ground Martine turned to Roland " I'm heading out for a while. Practice what I just showed you until I get back"
"Wait I don't understand....Right" before he could complain Martine had already vanished from his sight. Roland turned to look at Sir Vincent whom had just arrived with a pleading look.
Sir Vincent shrugged helplessly. Even if he had wanted to teach Roland only his mentor, Martine could do what she had just done and since she had told him to figure it out himself it seems she had high hopes for Roland so there was no need for him to butt in.
After Lusuka and Sir Vincent had left Roland returned to his room and planted his face onto his bed while recalling the overbearing power that had turned the boulder into powder in a single punch. Even if he were a hundred times stronger than his current self Roland doubted whether or not he could parry such a strike much less withstand it directly. As the scene kept replaying in his head a notification appeared on Roland's Q-Link. It was a message from Carter. Roland opened the message and a holographic image of Carter appeared. "Roland I know it's a bit late but I've heard of my brother's betrayal and hope to renew the trust between the two of us. I will not ask for forgiveness on behalf of my foolish older brother but rather between us friends. I have gathered a few gifts for you, take it as my way of showing my sincerity" as Carter finished the holographic video faded. Roland jumped back out of his bed and walked back to the training ground. He had almost forgotten how Hendrik had nearly sent him to an early grave. Rather than anger however Roland felt a bout of confusion as he tried to understand what could have made Hendrik, someone he had trusted for as long as he could remember to suddenly attack him. Roland was haughty by nature and rarely approved of others so having one of the few people he acknowledged turn against him made him apprehensive. It must be a mistake right? I'm sure brother Hendrik had his reasons! the more he thought about it the more convinced Roland became. In his mind someone he had approved of would never cause him harm.
Roland saw an attachment that had been sent along with Carter's video and opened it. Inside was a detailed report on everything that had occurred in the city over the past few months as well as weapon tokens. Roland scrolled through almost everything until he arrived at what he was most curious about- the Bladeheart family's current situation. Roland frowned as he read and the more he read the more twisted his expression became. Under the information regarding his family were a few highlighted words which made Roland bitter.
Sophina Bladeheart - Unconscious since practicing Blade Heart technique second stage 2 months ago.
Since his mind was occupied with thoughts Roland did not attempt to practice but instead loitered under the evening glow. Roland sat quietly and watched the hours go by. The day was at it's end and the moon soon spread it's veil over the village.
Roland finally stood up. Walking towards a boulder that was almost identical to the one Mentor Martine had used earlier he threw out a punch.
Pah!
Roland punched the boulder and quickly withdrew his fist.
Pah Pah Pah!
Roland rained down fists onto the boulder and shouted at the top of his lungs. He knew his father was indifferent to his children but Roland had not expected it to be to such an extent. Sophina's weak physique was unsuitable for learning the Bladeheart technique and it could possibly kill her.
Roland threw out his fist as hard as he could but felt his wrist was suddenly caught in a steel grip.
"That's enough, beating yourself up will only hinder your progress." Mentor Martine said as she released his hand. "Rest for today. Tomorrow I'll give you a formal task for you to complete"
Blood was dripping from Roland's hands but he was so dazed that he could not feel his own pain.
The next morning Roland woke up feeling groggy. His hands were burning and his head was aching terribly. He even felt like he might have to skip training and stay in bed until he had recovered. Before he could pull the covers over his head a slender arm reached over his chest and grabbed his collar, dragging him out of bed.
Feeling his world spin around him Roland looked up at Mentor Martine who was upside down in the sky or rather, he was the one that was upside down.
"I'm only at Gold rank so I can't fly, bear with me for a moment" Martine said as she sped up.
Roland saw the buildings around him flittering by until they were soon surrounded by trees. After about fifteen minutes Martine threw Roland to the floor. "This should be far enough" Martine said.
"Far enough for what?" Roland asked, unhappily rubbing his back.
"I'll teach you how to do what I showed you yesterday but only under two conditions" Mentor Martine said
"I accept" Roland wasn't interested in any conditions but decided to accept anyways. After a little thinking he had decided on a few things that he would do after leaving the village and without enough power he might die before he even make it back home.
Martine smiled. "Listen before you accept or you might regret it later, what I want isn't something an ordinary person is capable of"
"Teach do not belittle me, how could I , Roland Bladeheart be ordinary?" Roland spoke arrogantly but soon realized his fatal flaw. He had not been in his right state of mind recently and had lowered his guard.
Martine nodded. Roland's origins were no secret to her. She was even slightly surprised that he had only made his first blunder after almost a year. "Well since you're from that bloodline I can expect great things"
Roland opened his mouth to say something but then closed it again. There was nothing he could say to salvage the situation.
Martine saw through his worry and assured Roland his identity would be kept a secret from the rest of the village. "Stop wasting time, I brought you here to test your training."
"I trained as you told me to every day what reason is there to test me" Roland whined while feeling his headache getting worse.
"Be quiet, just listen to my instructions like you're supposed to" Martine replied sternly then continued. " I want you to close your eyes and feel the energy in this forest. Start with listening for your own heartbeat once you can do that you'll be ready to learn what I have to teach you. Hurry it up, the monster season around these parts are already here. You might get eaten"
Roland didn't reply but instead closed his eyes like he was instructed and listened. The forest was noisy- the critters in the grass made weird noises, birds were chirping with no sense of harmony, low class beasts rummaged through the forest contributing to the noise. Am I really supposed to hear my heartbeat through all this noise? Roland was skeptical at this point. Maybe Martine was simply pulling his leg and had no real intention of teaching him the move she had used the other day.
Hearing his heart through the noise was harder than Roland could have imagined. Everytime he thought he had finally heard it the noise from his surroundings would break his concentration.
Two weeks went by but Roland still had not heard the sound he was supposed to. The monster season had started and new creatures had started to appear in the forest. Roland did not want to have a fight since he had little experience and wondered if Mentor Martine was hiding nearby in case he had an accident.
Thump Thump
Maybe it was due to his anxiety but Roland suddenly heard his heartbeat faintly. It was a slow palpitation. Roland then adjusted his breathing to match the pace of each palpitation. Even though he could hear his heartbeat Roland didn't feel any different than before besides his breathlessness after pacing his breathing and thought he might have been doing something wrong.
The following night.
A slender figure dressed in tight fitting black clothes sat on a rock outside the village with a bottle of wine in her embrace. Her jet black hair had been tied into a ponytail and the moonlight reflected in her crimson eyes, making her give off a chilling vibe.
Sounds of trees rustling in the distance immediately made the figure act. Picking up a nearby rock she threw it into the distance.
"Aaagh!" a painful scream came from the trees where the rock had been thrown followed by a loud thud.
"Berserker Princess our divisions have no grudge with you, do you mean to go against his highness?" A figure similarly dressed in black landed next to the woman in black.
"My actions are taken as an individual and will not reflect my division's standpoint. I feel like protecting this place and so I will. Anyone that steps foot into this place will answer to me. Your dog emperor can kiss my ass" the lady called Berserker Princess replied in a haughty tone.
A bulky figure appeared next to the man in black. Unlike the others however, he wore a red robe and did not hide his features. On the back of his hand was a golden sigil that represented the empire - a royal enslavement mark. "Jasmine do not be stubborn, come with me and live a life with no more frustration and suffering. With me here none of these insects dare put their hands on you and I can ask his highness to call of his execution of the townspeople here" the bulky man said.
"F*** off, you traitor" Jasmine spoke with scorn and her eyes shone with a cold light as she reached for her weapon.
Shwing!
Sounds of swords being drawn could be heard from every direction as all eyes laid on Jasmine. Everyone present knew how scary she was and no one dared to take her lightly. Even with a head count of one hundred and thirty hidden assassins the bulky figure knew that if jasmine was pushed beyond her limit none of them would leave alive tonight.
Swoosh!
Jasmine swiped her weapon through the air and a blade of wind tore through the body of two assassins that had been close by, splattering the blood at the bulky figure's feet. "Last warning"
The bulky figure looked at the blood on his shoes and frowned. As he turned away the bulky figure clenched his fists "Jasmine don't regret your decision"
By the time the bulky figure's words had faded the presence of all the assassins along with their silhouettes had vanished.
*******
After six days and seven nights Roland had made a shocking discovery. The closer the sync between his breathing and his heartbeat became a wild energy would stir in every cell of his being. The only issue that worried him was his fatigue after his breathing became unstable had caused him to pass out each and every time which could prove fatal in an actual fight.
The next morning Roland woke up with a pair of silver eyes staring into his own. It was Mentor Martine and judging by the smile on her face Roland could tell his life was about to become a lot more miserable.