A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor

Chapter 68  The Colour Red - Part 9

He saw a weak boy, for sure. He saw someone without experience. What was he looking for? He was looking for a chance to exploit Beam's hyper-focus and hit him from the back, in a lesson that had been going on for a week, one intent on making him more aware of his surroundings.

Beam smiled as an idea began to form and he darted in a circle around Dominus.

There was a stick that Dominus had tossed up a few moments before, spinning to the back of Beam's head like a boomerang. Dominus was even more focused on that stick than Beam was, likely.

Beam stepped in front of the path of the boomeranging stick, pretending he hadn't seen it, and then he began his assault on Dominus, starting with an attempt at a calf kick.

Of course, the old knight dodged easily, with the barest of movements, just as he always did. But Beam didn't let up. He lunged forward into a front kick, then spun into a back fist. Then, just before the boomeranging stick hit him, Beam ducked, shifting his weight to prepare an uppercut. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Dominus' eyes twitched in momentary surprise, as the boomerang came spinning towards him and Beam prepared to launch himself forward at the same time.

Beam bounded off his back foot, aiming to get behind Dominus as he let the stick take care of the front. He threatened the knight from two different angles, pushing him further than he had before.

The aura of darkness about him grew, if only for a moment.

But with a single sweeping kick, Dominus knocked both the spinning stick out of the air and he sent Beam sprawling against a tree.

Beam sat there for a moment, temporarily winded, but smiled. Dominus helped him back to his feet with a nod.

"That's your best attempt yet. That's the sort of misdirection that will prove effective even against humans. You're starting to notice your surroundings more, without letting it affect your one-on-one ability. There's more flow there, good. I think it's definitely time you take up another monster-hunting quest and test for yourself just how far you've progressed," Dominus told him.

"Yes!" Beam grinned. He'd been looking forward to this for a while. Finally, it was time to get revenge on the Goblins. It was only then that he remembered his promise to Nila. "Ah… But I have to help get firewood in the morning. Will I still be able to manage to do it in the afternoon, even with training?"

Dominus shrugged. "I suppose that depends on how fast you are… For now, hurry up and finish off your work on stones."

Beam nodded. In between his stone lifts, he'd asked to spar Dominus, so he could let his muscles rest slightly, whilst also getting in some more training. That was how his brain was working as of late – he wanted to spend every second of free time that he had practising and getting better. He didn't want to leave things to chance. He wanted to pass these tests weeks in advance if he could – they were too important to leave until just before the deadline.

And now, he was lifting the fourth stone, for the first time ever.

It had been a week and a half since he had started training with Dominus, and back then, he'd only been able to lift the third stone once. Today, he'd managed it twenty times, and he still wasn't convinced that he was tired. He could feel all the momentum of the universe behind him and he wanted to make use of it.

Over the past week, his strength had fallen several times, to the point that he'd begun worrying about it. On one day, he couldn't even manage the third stone for one lift. It was beyond frustrating.

Yet over the past three days, the momentum had been incredible. With each day, he lifted the stone for more, and with each day he ran even faster too.

This was the fourth day of that unGodly progress, and it was only now that he was finally rolling the fourth stone out. He'd run earlier, and he'd run faster than he ever had – so much so that he felt like an entirely different animal, even if the difference to everyone else wasn't that dramatic.

This was his chance to end the day well, after doing well in both his martial training and his speed. There was a nervous knot in the pit of his stomach as he ran his hands around the cold stone.

It felt so big even before he began to lift it. He could hardly get his hands round it. This one was only a little less than the weight of a man, and it had the size to back it.

He sucked in a deep breath and lifted it up as fast as he was able.

Shockingly, to him, it made it to his knees with hardly any effort at all. And then to his chest with the same amount of inhuman ease.

He shared an excited look with his master, who gave him the nod that it was fine to drop it.

Then, after that. Beam lifted it again and again and again. By the ninth lift, his legs were shaking and his face was bright red, with his eyes looking as though they were fit to burst from his skull. But he didn't want to stop so close to ten.

He summoned the last of his effort and, in a valiant attempt, he somehow managed to scrape the stone up his shins and onto his thighs to complete the first step. And then, with one final push, he lifted it up to his chest and held it until Dominus gave the nod.

"Gods!" Beam gasped as he collapsed to the floor. "I've gotten so strong! At this rate, I'll pass the strength test before the end of next week! This is crazy!"

Dominus nodded with a smile. "You've done well," he said, but his look darkened for a moment. "I have learned to fear moments of growth so rapid," he said quietly. "And there's that smell in the air from recent days too… You had best be careful, boy. What the Goddess of progress gives with one hand, she snatches away with the other."