AN: This is a flashback chapter back to Alex and Ghost was training.
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"Again!"
"Hyaah!"
"Again!"
"Hyaah!"
"Well, you're finally learning the basics, at least."
Alex bent over, holding his knees, breathing heavily. He has been training with Ghost for a few days now. So far, it's just been exercising to condition his body to handle the swordsman techniques Ghost wants to teach him.
"Listen, today we're going to do something different. So far, we've been conditioning your body, but now it's time to train your reflexes. Follow me." Ghost said.
Ghost started to walk deep into the woods. Alex didn't even know where they were anymore.
"Uhm, where are we going?" Alex asked.
"Deeper into the woods." Ghost said.
Alex shook his head in response. "Well, that's obvious." he thought to himself.
The two continued deeper into the woods, but Ghost stopped in a small clearing.
"Now you will find your own way back to our training grounds. You have four hours." Ghost said.
"Four hours? It only took us about half an hour to get here." Alex asked.
"Trust me, it's going to take you longer to get back." Ghost responded.
Soon after saying that, Ghost disappeared with a trail of lightning behind him.
"I need to learn how to do that." Alex thought to himself.
Alex started going back down the path that Ghost took him down.
However, things weren't that easy.
"What the he-"
*Boom*
A small bolt of lightning hit right where Alex was walking.
"Are you trying to kill me, master?" Alex yelled out, to no response.
"So that's why he said it was going to take longer; dammit, I should have known." Alex thought to himself.
He continued to sprint down the path, however.
*Swoosh*
"Shit!"
A log tied to a rope swung down at Alex from a tree and nearly hit him. Alex barely managed to dodge, but he cut up his leg in the process.
"Ok, hurts, but I still should be able to dodge other traps." Alex thought to himself.
He continued running; however, he didn't realize there was a pit trap in the dirt. Alex tripped up on himself and fell inside the pit. It was a long way down, but he couldn't get himself out of it.
Soon, Alex noticed a face staring at him from the top of the hole.
"Again!"
Ghost repositioned Alex back to the start point.
"Okay, attempt number two." Alex said.
He ran down the path and dodged the lightning shot and the tree log. When he got to the pit, he jumped over it; however, he heard an all too familiar sound.
*crackle*
"Oh shi-"
*BOOM!"
Alex was directly hit in the chest by a bolt of lightning.
Ghost walked over to his side.
"You alive?" Ghost asked.
"Barely." Alex could barely speak as he was trying to regain his breath.
"Again!"
Alex was once again back to where he started for the third time.
"Crap!" Alex said as he fell into a second pitfall.
"Again!"
*Boom*
"Again!"
*Smash*
"Again!"
Time after time, Alex kept trying and failing.
Alex is lined up to start the obstacle course for the twelfth time now.
He had cuts and bruises all over his body; his forehead was cut open as blood rushed down to his eye.
"You have twenty minutes left; do you want to call it?" Ghost asked.
"No, let's go." Alex responded.
"Alright, last attempt." Ghost said.
Ghost vanished, and Alex wiped his eye to clear up the blood.
Alex started to spring down the path. First, he dodged the lightning bolt with ease, then he got past the swinging tree, and then he jumped over the first pitfall. Next up, he dodged the second lightning strike.
"Hmmm."
Ghost was observing Alex push through the obstacles.
"Despite getting more injured with every run, he's improving every time."
Alex then got past the second tree swing and dodged the knives that Ghost threw at him.
Alex was more determined than ever.
"Six Minutes left! I will make it!" Alex thought to himself.
He convinced himself he was going to reach the field soon.
The last obstacle was a combination of everything. He got there only once before, on his tenth run.
To start it off, three lightning strikes were targeted at Alex. Alex had to dodge each in consecutive order while not stepping on any of the three pit falls.
Alex dodged to the right, getting past the first strike; however, he then had to jump over a pit. The second strike came while he was in midair. He had to dodge lightning in midair. This is what beat him in his tenth run. Alex used every bit of muscle he had to move himself to the left of the lightning strike; however, going right to the left was another pitfall. Alex could only do one thing.
Alex channeled his mana throughout his body in one last push attempt.
*Crackle*
Alex had used his lighting to move his body past the hole, similar to how Ghost uses lightning for speed. Alex did it in his own style, which, while not perfect, worked for now.
Then the tree and the final lightning strike came at Alex. Alex knew he couldn't dodge both at the moment, so he had one plan.
He generated his lightning in his palm.
"I haven't mastered this yet, but this has to work!" Alex thought to himself.
Becoming more and more determined, he channeled more and more mana into his palm.
"AAAAAHHHH!"
*Lightning crackle*
*BOOM*
Alex had shot the lightning from his palm at the tree, turning it into burnt pieces. He felt drained after the attack but kept running on pure adrenaline. Once he got past the traps, he ran past the tree line, arriving at the training grounds.
Alex fell down to lay on his back, struggling to catch his breath. He was both physically drained and out of mana.
Alex was sweating and feeling sick to his stomach; he was getting more and more lightheaded.
His vision was blurred; he could barely make out the figure above him.
"Did I pass?" Alex asked.
"Barley, but yes. Although we need to work on your mana use. Otherwise, you'll just make yourself more and more sickly." Ghost explained.
"Adaptability is survivability." Alex jokingly said.
"And stupidity at the wrong time will get you killed." Ghost said. "Now here, drink this potion and head back home. It's getting late."
Alex drank the potion, and about ten minutes later he was coming to his senses.
"Well, thanks for this experience, master." Alex said, smiling.
"Did you just thank me for torturing you?" Ghost asked.
"Well, if it didn't suck, I wouldn't learn how to make it stop sucking, right?" Alex said.
His point was that if it was easy, it wasn't worth doing. If it was something you wanted and it gave you trouble, then it was worth it.
"Good mindset, Alex, but go home now; you always say your mother gets angry when you're late." Ghost said.
"Shit." Alex quickly got ready and started running back.
Ghost was always impressed by Alex; he always had the mental fortitude to receive the origin, but his body wasn't ready. However, he made significant progress in that regard.
"He's almost ready, and just at the right time. I sense a storm coming. I just hope he can handle what's to come."
Alex finally got back home, and he thought he could sneak back into his room unnoticed.
He was wrong.
"Alex..."
Alex had one thought at this moment.
"Well shit."
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