For the next few weeks, Ian had to endure the hellish punishment. The first week was the hardest for him. He couldn't even finish half of the full workout. This led to him spending most of his evening finishing the workout. By the time he'd finished, his dinner would be extremely cold. Sometimes he wouldn't even eat dinner.
The only times he was guaranteed to get dinner were the days he didn't have to work. He would spend most of his morning completing the workout before going off to do as he pleased.
The second week was a bit better for him. He still couldn't finish half of the workout but he was getting used to it. By the time he had to stop to go to work, he wouldn't be as sore. However, he would still be sleepy from having to wake up early.
The third week was still tough for him but he was no longer sleepy in the mornings. On the days he knew he wouldn't be able to eat dinner, he would go straight to sleep. This allowed him to get a few more hours of sleep. But it also allowed him to wake up a bit early to get something to eat. It could be something as simple as a piece of fruit or it could be a portion of the dinner he didn't eat.
Erik was surprised to see Ian awake before he was. He didn't expect Ian to adapt to this new routine so quickly. Most of the guards took a few months to get used to it. But Ian was adapting far faster.
The fourth week of Ian's punishment was the week he showed the most improvement. During this week, Ian started to finish half if not a little bit less than half of the workout. His physical appearance has also shown some improvements.
Ian wasn't the most physically fit person in the village but he was a bit above average. He was fairly skinny with plenty of muscle. But after working out for a month, his body looked slightly different.
One day, when he finished his leftover sets and ate dinner, he went to take a shower before sleeping. He never paid attention to his body, but when he removed his shirt, he saw that his muscles were a bit more defined. They hadn't grown much but they looked more solid.
The one spot he noticed the most was his abdomen. He never had visible abs but he was also fairly skinny. Now, he was able to see that his abs were beginning to form and solidify. He was impressed with the results of the training/punishment. This made him happy and made him want to train even more.
On his last week, before he had to get ready to leave, he seemed to be filled with a new determination. He no longer looked annoyed or tired when he had to train. He looked happy and excited.
Even though he still couldn't keep up with the others, he still pushed himself. By now, he was able to finish half of the workout, but he would still be tired by the end of it.
Erik had been keeping a close eye on Ian as he trained. He was surprised by how well he was doing and by his physical results. He didn't think Ian would be able to finish half of the workout by his last week. But he was happy with it nonetheless. He had now trained another one of his kids. Even if it was by force.
For their last two days there, Ian, Emmett, and Ellie spent most of their time saying goodbye to everyone and packing their bags. It was during this period that Ian found time to speak with Liam. He wanted to ask him if Lucky could come with him to the school. By this point, everyone in the village knew about Lucky. When Ian asked Liam the question, Liam told him some good and bad news about it.
Ian was told Lucky could be with him if he was trained and not hostile. Once that was confirmed, he would need to submit a form to have Lucky as an on-campus pet. After that got approved, Lucky would be allowed on the campus with Ian.
Ian was both happy and disappointed with this information. He was hoping that Lucky would be able to go with him to the school. Sadly, he would have to wait.
However, he wasn't going to let that bring him down. He asked Liam if he could take care of things for him while he was away. Liam happily agreed. Once Ian left for the academy and Liam came back, he would take care of all the paperwork until everything got approved.
Finally, the awaited day came and everyone gathered at the town center. All of the parents said their goodbyes, hugging their kids before they left.
Ian, Ellie, and Emmett were talking with Crystal and Erik. There were tears in all of their eyes as they said goodbye to each other.
Ellie was hugging Erik tightly. Even though she was the most serious of the three siblings, she was still a daddy's girl. It pained her having to leave but she knew this was for the best. As she hugged him, Ellie said, "I'll keep training every day and get stronger. I want to make you proud and keep the Crest legacy going."
Erik hugged her back while holding back tears. He said to her, "I'm already proud of you but you better keep up your training. I want to be able to pass down the torch to you when you're ready."
"I will Dad. I'll keep training every day until I'm ready," Ellie said as tears ran down her face.
At the same time, Crystal was holding Ian and Emmett. She held them tight as she said, "My boys are finally leaving me. I knew this day would come but I didn't expect it to come so soon." Her voice caught in her throat as she cried into their shoulders. "You two have grown so much."
Ian and Emmett held Crystal close to comfort her. They too tried to hold back tears but a couple fell down their faces.
This was hard for everyone, especially Ellie. Once they all stopped hugging each other, Erik said, "I wish you all the best of luck." he turned to Ian and Emmett and said, "Ian, Emmett, take care of your sister for me."
Ian stepped in and said, "We will. You don't have to worry. We have everything under control."
Erik didn't say anything, he just nodded at them in approval. Crystal then stepped in and said, "And Ellie, make sure your brothers don't step out of line."
"I will Mom. But I think Zoey has you covered with that when it comes to Emmett. I'll still keep an eye on him though," Ellie said with a smile.
The family said their goodbyes one last time before the three siblings started walking away. As they walked away, Erik couldn't hold it in anymore and dropped to the ground crying. In between his sobs, he said, "I can't believe my precious little girl is leaving me. Why did it have to happen so soon?"
Crystal wrapped her arms around him to comfort him. She patted his back as she said, "It'll all be fine. She'll come back to us eventually. Besides, we can always make another if you feel so terrible about letting her go. We have a lot of alone time now."
Erik looked up at Crystal, his face covered in snot and tears as he asked, "Really?"
"Of course. I'm here for you sweetheart," Crystal said as she hugged him tighter.
Ian, Emmett, and Ellie watched this entire interaction unfold. They felt embarrassed seeing others looking at their parents. They quickened the pace and met up with Kevin and Zoey.
The group walked over to Liam and Frida who were standing next to four different large carriages. Liam greeted the group and told them which carriage they were going to go in.
Each carriage had enough room for six people so Liam got enough carriages for everyone. He placed Ian and his group in one carriage, Darren and his group in another, and the remaining would go in the third carriage. As for the last one, that carriage was just for Liam and Frida.
Once everyone placed their bags in the carriage and got settled in, Liam gave the go and all the carriages began moving. As the carriages left the village, everyone waved goodbye for the last time. In less than two days, they would arrive in the royal capital.
But first, they had to make their way to the next town. From there they would take a different form of transportation to the royal capital.
Along the way, Ian and the others watched as the carriages left the forested area their home was in and entered a wide-open plain. They saw large fields of hilly grasslands. The grass swayed in the wind, the afternoon sun lighting up the fields beautifully.
The group hadn't ventured out of the village into the grassy plains that much. This was especially true for Ian who had never left the forested area.
The village the gang lived in was located to the far west of the Nation of Alexandria, near the very edge of its borders. It was placed there because Liam started the settlement there in the forest. Further west from there was unclaimed territory filled with more forested areas. Past the forest the village resided in, was the Great Mountain Barrier.
The Great Mountain Barrier was known as that due to its unusual formation. The mountains formed a circular barrier around a vast forest known as the Mystical Forest of Lost Souls.
The Mystical Forest of Lost Souls is a mysterious place. Not much is known about it. The only thing most people knew was that anyone who ventures into it never returns. No one knew why people never returned but everyone knew why people entered the forest.
It's rumored that the first king's resting place lies within that forest. It is also said that there is a powerful artifact that belonged to the first king in the forest as well. However, no one knew if the stories were true.
Liam wanted to study the forest and its properties so he chose to start a settlement in the forest on the opposite side of the Great Mountain Barrier. However, the area closest to the mountain was deemed extremely dangerous so he still hadn't ventured close to it.
Instead, he focused on working on his machines and inventions. He planned to create many machines that would allow him to venture into the dangerous areas near the mountains. The first of these machines was the stone giant he used to assist Erik in his fight against the wolf leader. Sadly, it was damaged badly during the fight so he had to work on it some more.
Now he was traveling East to the royal capital to not only help everyone who was getting into the academy but to also make a report on everything that had happened recently in the village. He had to make a report every time something major happened.
Usually, he would make a written report to the capital but this time he thought it would be better to make the report in person. He was already heading there so it would be easier for him.
It would take him and everyone else less than two days to get to the royal capital. First, they had to make the trip to the town closest to their village, which was almost a full-day trip. By the time they would arrive at the next town, it would already be late into the night.