Today will be the second day of my training. I was not excited as yesterday, all I feel is trepidation as I have a bad feeling that today will be harder than yesterday. I walked the same route, I headed for the training grounds, however, this time I did not have the leisure to look at the other soldiers training. I did not have the time to watch their stances and behavior in sword fighting.
It seems masters' way of thinking and teaching is beyond common sense so learning from the soldiers will only become a hindrance to my current way of learning. I arrived earlier than my master so I decided to sit in a corner and meditate to calm myself.
A couple of minutes passed and my master came, he once again stood in front of me and told me to "Follow him".
We walked for 20 minutes at the same pace as yesterday. We passed by the forest, huge trees and as the familiar sight of the river came into view, I slumped my shoulders knowing what to do next. I removed my outerwear, shirt, and pants before going in the water. I would like to have some dry clothes after everything is over. I did it slowly to catch my breath from all the running I did.
My master did not say anything. he kept looking at the logs as if there were some hidden knowledge that can be seen through. I still did not have the slightest clue on how I will be able to balance myself while running on one log. So like a man, I grabbed hold on a log and got on while trying to stand. I was barefoot this time as I thought it would be more helpful, maybe it will be less slippery. However, my thoughts were incorrect as I still fell on the water countless of times that day.
If I was slow in getting back or my pace on the log did not satisfy my master, my body would receive a sword slash. Maybe this was a profound way to let my body develop immunity to attacks. As my brain stopped working for being too tired, I lost my focus and could not grab on a log. The current once again carried me to the edge of the waterfall and inevitably fell. This time though, I did not faint by some luck.
I was washed away to the shore, and lo and behold I saw my master's foot in front of me.
He nodded his head once and said. "Good, now stand up and go back up to the logs." He walked away while I was trying hard to stand up and follow him. This demon did not even give me a couple of minutes to rest, I thought to myself.
I dragged my tired and aching body towards the river. The sun was shining brightly, and the time barely passed noon. I did not have the excess energy to think of anything else but the logs in front of me. I concentrated on the limit, focusing every fiber of my being just to jump to the next log. I built my momentum by running on the log with all my strength, the burst from my momentum helped my leap up and I could see the log closest to me. I was elated to find that it was possible, however before I could celebrate, the water current suddenly affected the speed of the rotation of the log and my foot slipped while stepping on to the next one.
I could not control my body anymore because of my staggering position and went head first on the log. With a thump and bump, my head hit the log heavily and I was seeing stars. I was bobbing my head out of the water. I tried to grab hold of any floating wood. However, I lost some precious time when I was dizzy from hitting my head and all the wood planks are too far away from me. The inevitable came again and I was swept by the river current once more, onto the edge and then the waterfall.
I had more time to think now as this was my third time. I wondered how high this waterfall was, I thought to myself as there seem to be some seconds more before I hit the bottom. I was not as scared as the other times as I knew that I could survive the fall. The more frightening thing was the demon waiting at the bottom of the waterfalls.
He does not let me rest, the second day and there is no food for lunch. Given that I fainted the first time, but this time I am wide awake and the food was not even offered. My body is growing and I need the nutrients. Ah, the fall is taking too long as random thoughts keep popping in my head.
With a boom and a splash I fell to the bottom, I did not struggle this time and let the current take me to the shore. I did not have the excess energy to paddle my way to the shore. I knew how to float so that was enough. As I slowly arrived to the shore like a floating dead animal, I saw the same foot in front of my face. I was too tired to look up this time so I kept lying there pretending to be dead.
"Stand up." Master commanded me.
My body felt like it was electrocuted and I suddenly had the energy to stand up. He walked away, back to the trails to go back to the river up ahead. I could only drag my battered and bruised body to follow my demon master.
The day only ended when I fainted with another fall.
I woke up the same as yesterday, on my bed with a body which was battered, bruised and aching.
I really need to practice a healing magic that can help me with my suffering. I sighed as I was thinking of ways to overcome my training.
