"Hey!"
"Hex!"
"Times up."
Greg shouted down the slope as he and Vin picked their tools.
Hex didn't hear him. He continued to push himself. Stone after stone. Boulder after boulder.
'The baron is a Transformation Knight.'
Hestia's words echoed through his head.
He was sweating.
He was panting.
His chest hurt like hell.
But he kept going. The boulders were heavy. Without the passive enhancement of his Blessing, there would be no way to pick some of them up.
But none of the boulders felt as heavy as the words Hestia uttered.
"Hey. Hex. Relax man."
Hex felt someone pull his arms. But Hex didn't want to leave. He had to train.
"What the fuck man."
Splash.
The ice cold water stunned his thoughts. The echoes in his head disappeared. Hex looked up.
Greg stood in front of him. Vind held a bucket in his hand. They were both looking at Hex worriedly.
"T-thank you." Hex exhaled. He grabbed the cloth Greg handed him over and wiped his face.
"What happened? You became crazy or what?" Greg patted Hex on the shoulder and asked. Hex could feel his worry.
"Nah. Nothing man. I just thought if we worked hard we could finish this quickly."
Hex smiled apologetically. It wasn't the truth but luckily Greg and Vin just shook their heads and walked to the castle.
Hex trailed behind. 'I need to keep my emotions in check. Yes, the baron is further away than I thought. But, the height of the mountain doesn't matter. All that matters is the patience and will of the climber.'
…
Hex cleaned up and exited the room once again. Before parting with Vin and Greg they had agreed to gather at the castle ground.
Hex was a skilled navigator of mountain paths, so he picked up the routes inside the castle after his first tour. He found the grounds easily.
There were many people gathered on the grounds. Hex noticed that the ground was lined up with tables and chairs.
The pillars around were embedded with moonstones. For some reason they didn't give a glare. They just bathed the area with a soft light.
"Hex. Here."
Hex noticed Greg at a table around the middle. Their table was the longest and housed quite a few people.
'I hope they are only Squires.' He prayed silently and made his way to the table. He didn't want to have any more shocking revelations for the day.
"Everyone. Meet Hex. He is a Squire." Greg shouted loudly. Everyone heard him. But no one reacted strongly. Some ignored him and went back to their discussions. Some nodded at Hex.
"Everyone! This…is…Hex…the baron's Squire." Hex suspected the lukewarm response earlier offended the big guy somehow. He seemed rather pleased now that everyone looked shocked at Hex.
"Thanks for that Greg. Yes, I am the Squire. But please, I am just a Squire. Like you all." Hex greeted the onlookers politely.
He didn't really care if they wanted him or not, but he also didn't wish to step on anyone's toe the first day.
"Are you kidding me? He is the master's Squire? Such an old guy?"
As soon as Hex finished, a young man stood up and shouted. His disbelief couldn't be more apparent.
A few people murmured but no one stood up. They were wise enough not to meddle into the affairs of their employer.
'I am not old,' Hex rolled his eyes at being called old, but he didn't say anything. Thanks to his talk in the afternoon he understood the guy.
Hex looked almost twenty. No Knight would consider him. And the baron was someone far higher than a Knight.
'Although he doesn't know that.'
"Vitor, shut up." Greg growled back. He was already drunk and if it wasn't for Vin holding him back he would have jumped at Vitor.
"Sit down you drunk oaf," Vitor snarled back. He stood in front of Hex and looked down at him.
'Is a human or a mountain gorilla?' Hex was a head shorter and not even half the size of Vitor. But Hex didn't flinch.
"You want to fight?" Hex's direct way caught Vitor by .
The crowd, which was observing silently, roared and slapped at the table. They clearly liked Hex boldness.
"I will break your…"
"Yeah yeah. Let's skip the trash talk."
Hex waved dismissively at Vitor. The big guy was clearly not happy with the interruption.
But that was what Hex hoped for. He knew he was no match for an experienced Blessed. But he knew if he let Vitor go on, the others would target him.
The slums taught him that bullies never understood reason. They were like sharks. Once they smelled blood, they would all follow.
Hex and Vitor stood opposite to each other, in the middle of the ground. The others had quickly cleaned up the tables.
The crowd formed a circle and waited for them to start.
Vitor smiled viciously. "You are going down, I…"
Once again Hex didn't wait for Vitor to finish. He rushed to Vitor, who was still talking.
Bam!
Hex's muscles were sore from working the whole afternoon, but he didn't pull his punch.
The full strength of his punch hit Vitor squarely in the face.
Crack!
Hex heard Vitor's nose crack under his punch. It even cut his upper lip. Blood flew on the floor.
But Hex wasn't pleased. Vitor was barely pushed back. The man turned his head towards Hex, blood smeared over his face.
"You!"
Vitor ran towards Hex. His face contorted in anger.
Hex dodged. He sprang to the side. From there he kicked Vitor's side.
Bang.
Hex felt as if he hit a rock.
'He is truly a beast.'
Hex grinned, feeling the thrill of the fight. His opponent was difficult. But it made things interesting.
He felt his heartbeat accelerate.
For a while Vitor and he punched and dodged each other.
Vitor saw Hex in front of a pillar and pounced. He was ready to move if Hex went to either side.
His right hand glowed. He had activated his mark.
Bang!
His punch smashed the pillar into two. But he missed Hex once again. Hex had jumped up.
Hex landed behind Vitor. His eyes lit up. It was the best chance to hit Vitor.
The crowd even paused their cheering. They thought it was over.
But Hex didn't move. He couldn't. 'Shit.'
Bam!
"Urghh."
Hex spat blood out as he flew back. He crashed onto the floor. He felt his consciousness slip.
The crowd looked stunned. They had thought it was over.
"Muscle soreness." Vin whispered to Greg. He had observed the fight all along.
Hex groaned in pain. But he still tried to stand. But his muscles were to soar. He couldn't control them. He felt no strength in his limbs.
Bang!
Vitor didn't relent. He walked towards Hex and kicked him. He seemed to enjoy himself. His hand glowed red.
'Fuck. Argh.' Hex fell on his back and coughed. Warm blood spurted out.
His vision was blurry. But right then his gaze fell on the balcony. The darkness hid the figure, but Hex would recognize him anywhere.
'M-master.'
"Stand up, boy." Vitor grabbed Hex and pulled him up. He laughed viciously.
"Not so hot anymore, huh?"
Hex felt the punch break his ribs. He gasped for breath. His heart was thumping loudly.
But Hex wasn't looking at Vitor. A voice screamed inside him.
'Push yourself moron. If you fall here, how will you beat that man?' Hex gaze searched for the baron, but he didn't see anyone.
'He left,' the voice said. 'He thinks you are a failure. An outsider who isn't worth his resources.'
Vitor threw Hex away. He landed on the floor. But Hex didn't lose consciousness. He put his palms on the floor. He didn't want to give up.
'You. Bear. Come, awaken.' He saw the mark on the back of his hand.
Vitor pulled him up once again. Hex saw him raise his hand with red light swirling around it.
Hex focussed on his own mark. Everything else disappeared from his senses.
He didn't see anything.
He didn't feel anything.
He didn't think anything.
'Punch!'
Boom!
Hex fell to the ground. On his feet. He had managed to raise his arms.
He had punched against the incoming fist. The shockwave caused by the clash, pushed both back.
Once again the crowd was stunned into silence.
Hex's vision returned. Looking down he saw red light twirling around his arm too. The faint outline of a bear floated around his shoulder.
"I will kill you." Vitor felt humiliated. He ran towards Hex. The light around his arm intensified. He was going all out.
"Essence of a bear."
Hex's focus was on the bear. He remembered the baron's words.
The memory of the bear in the mountain entered his mind.
Hex lost himself in trance. He lowered his knees and squatted a bit. His right hand raised up high.
The floating bear melted and wrapped around his entire arm.
Vitor's punch was inches away.
A faint outline of a bear's arm appeared around Hex's arm. He lowered it.
Boom!
Crack!
Hex felt his arm pass through. He heard bones crack. His vision blurred.
Thud.
He slumped on the floor.
Hex lost consciousness.