Another week had passed.
Just like the previous, to Lukas, it was as if only a few days had gone. But when he was told by Bene that he would begin training, he realised that a week had really passed.
On the bright side, he could walk comfortably now. He could even run for a few minutes, only feeling some discomfort. Any more than that, however, and the pain would seep in from his soles up his legs.
As they made their way to the edge of the forest, Bene informed Lukas of what this week's training would entail.
"You will run a kilometre north of the cabin, into the woods. When you reach the return point, you will run back. All the while, I will be attempting to catch you. There will also be traps designed to slow you down. The return point is marked by a 20-metre-tall tree carved to a point. It has no branches, no leaves, and no trees surrounding it. It's very hard to miss"
"What if I get lost?"
Bene looked him dead in the eyes.
"Don't."
A shiver crept up Lukas' spine at Bene's response. He didn't give Lukas a piece of advice, he gave him an order. By the gods, Lukas was going to follow it with the intensity with which Bene said it.
Then, as he finished warming up, Bene told Lukas to start traversing the course. Bene would start to come after him, as soon as he couldn't see him. Considering how dense the forest around this area was, he didn't have to go far before Bene would start to find him.
He was also told one other thing...
If he were caught, he would have to travel another kilometre into the forest before coming back. He wondered how he could find where he was supposed to go. But Bene told him there was a marked tree every kilometre. At least up to 10 kilometres out.
Lukas started by walking, not knowing how long he would be able to run, and if it would even help. The woods around him were rough and meticulously made to hinder his progress. Fallen trees provided hurdles. Strings were taut thin as to be well hidden, touching it would ring a small bell, or spring a trap to try and catch him.
'He wants me to run through this!?'
Lukas swiftly went through the course, which considering he was walking, was pretty fast. He often slowed down to not trip or trigger any small traps. When he slowed down, however, he would often hear the sound of crunching leaves, or twigs snapping. But it was when he didn't hear anything that he was truly scared.
This would feed him paranoia and cause him to speed up, often running into traps that would alert Bene to his presence.
When the sounds grew closer, Lukas started to run. But shortly after tripped and fell due to the pain of his wounds.
Bene caught him not long after and brought Lukas back to the cabin. Instructing him to do the course again. After making sure he was well.
This cycle continued for the rest of the day. With Lukas only getting a break when it was needed. Such as eating, drinking, or when Bene treated any wounds he may have acquired.
Due to how the routine was set up, Lukas never once completed his task. The furthest he got, however, was a little over a kilometre in. But Bene silently caught him a few metres later.
When the moon was high, Lukas was finally allowed to sleep. The weight of his future dawned on him while he was lying in bed. He would have to do something of this difficulty every day for... who knows how long.
Not to mention... winter was only mere weeks away. Soon, it was bound to become a lot harder.
As the week continued to pass by, Lukas had got better at rationing his endurance to make it as far as possible.
One time, on the third day, Lukas even successfully made it to the return point, which was one kilometre at the time. Only then, however, did he realise how truly cruel this test was though.
Lukas had to make it back to the cabin by travelling in the direction of where Bene was. Instead of evading him, he had to confront him.
To top it off, he couldn't even run if he wanted to. Well, he could. But it was painful, quickly exhausting, noisy, and short-lived. He was more likely to get caught after performing such a sprint than he was before doing so.
Instead, he would use his limited rush as a short burst to dash through the most precarious sections. This did result in him gaining a handful of bruises and cuts. However, it was one of the main reasons he managed to make it to the return point in the first place.
This trained him in an odd way. Instead of increasing his overall endurance, it taught him to conserve what he had and know when to, or not to, use the limited tools he was given.
Sure, in the future, he would increase his stamina and endurance. But for now, he couldn't. So he was forced to look at what he had right here, right now.
As the week came to an end, however, Bene told him something interesting after he finished his last day of endurance training for the week.
"I hope that you have a good grasp on this. Because come winter, it will be much harder. Come winter, I will not only attempt to catch you. But freeze you."