Outside, Jacob found Rolf standing by the stone stove seemingly getting ready to take out an overly large black skillet. He wore thick gloves on his hands as he reached to grab the handle and slowly pulled out the pan.

Unique in size, it was larger than any skillet Jacob's encountered in his previous world. At least three times the size of your average-sized pan.

Rolf grunted as he slapped the pan on top of the stone stove before he quickly took off the pair of thick gloves. Blowing into his palms, he seemed to be in slight pain but soon a smile appeared on his face.

"Rolf!"

Jacob shouted as he walked over to the large man to see what he was cooking. With the way he was handling the pot, it seemed to be heavy.
Rolf turned and saw the little guy, Jacob.

"Little one, I see you are still here! Heard you have a big heart, very brave but also foolish! Next time you want to get into a fight, make sure you can take the opponent!"

Hearing the tales of Jacob yesterday from the guards, Rolf thought the little guy would be upset at his loss. There was no shame in hiding your face from the public for a few days.

In response to Rolf, Jacob fanned his hand as if to dismiss the words he spoke.

A loss was a loss, but Jacob had room to grow. There was hardly a lesson learned in winning, but there was a ton to learn when you lost.
"Ah, forget it! Once I bulk up I'll go challenge him again."

"That's the spirit! Never let yourself waver."

An unyielding spirit, that's what every brave man needed. The heart to challenge a mountain with only a sword. It might seem impossible at first, but so did a lot of things. Who was to say that it was truly impossible unless you've done it yourself?

Rolf had the heart of a warrior, but he's seen enough of the cruelty the world has to offer. Those glory days were behind him, now his dream was to become a master chef. One day he would save up enough to open up his own restaurant.

"Enough about that, I'm more interested in your cooking. That wolf meat you fixed up yesterday was outstanding! Best food hands down."

Although Jacob was praising Rolf he was not lying to him, the meat he prepared yesterday was first-class. Everyone says nothing beats your own mother's cooking, but Jacob began to doubt that after eating Rolf's cooking.

Rolf's white cheeks started to turn red.

No one has told him that his food was that amazing before, usually, they just tell him its good or great. Nothing too out there like Jacob said.

"Ah, stop it little one you are going to make me blush."

Rolf turned to the large skillet on the stone stove that had what looked to be dressings inside of it. It smelled amazing, causing Jacob's stomach to growl.

"This here is my own recipe, I was mixing together a few ingredients a month ago when I stumbled upon this. Turns out to create something great! I still have yet to give it a proper name, but why don't you give it a try?"

Rolf said as he looked down at Jacob to see what sort of expression he had. Needless to say, Jacob eagerly nodded his head.

Rolf took a silver spoon out of his aprons pouch before he dug it into the mix of ingredients in the pan. After he handed it to Jacob.

There was not even a need to say a word, Jacob blew on it a few times letting it cool off before taking a bite.

It was an indescribable taste. After it entered his mouth the juices went on his tongue giving him a feeling of how sweet it was. But soon after he swallowed he felt as if he had eaten a mint. The feeling was weird, but that was the best way he could describe it.

"So, how is it?"

Rolf asked Jacob for his opinion after he saw his dazed look. Clearly not expecting the sensation he was currently feeling.

Jacob smiled with the spoon still in his mouth while giving Rolf two thumbs up.

"Whatever you are doing, keep doing it! I need a plate of this stuff, I'm dying of hunger."

Rubbing his growling stomach, Jacob wanted to eat more.

Rolf quickly grabbed a medium-sized wooden bowl and filled it up with the food before handing it to Jacob.

"Eat up little one, there is plenty more where that came from."

No words were needed, Jacob gobbled up as much as he could. In response, his stomach happily devoured the food.

Watching the way Jacob was eating with no worries caused Rolf to smile. He reached out and rubbed Jacob's brown hair with his hand as a father would his child.

"You remind me of my daughter…"

Rolf started to say something but ceased to finish his sentence as he started to reminisce about something.

Feeling the pain in his voice, Jacob stopped eating and waited for Rolf to finish his thoughts. However, Rolf just took his hand off of Jacob's head without really saying anything else.

Whatever happened to his daughter must not have ended happily.

A few more words were spoken after Jacob finished his meal, but nothing attention-grabbing. With a full stomach and energy to spare, he strolled over to the guard's barracks.

There were two things he had to accomplish, one was to find out who Oswald was and the other was to begin his training.

The barracks today was not the same as it was yesterday. The guards were in pairs of two, with wooden swords in their hand along with a chipped wooden shield. They were beginning combat training that would help keep them on their toes.

Jacob wanted to watch, but he could not waste a second more. He had to get stronger, not watch other people practice.

It was not hard to find the large man with the long black beard as he stood at the front of the others with another man. Both seemed to be partners in this training. Although Jacob hated to interrupt them, it was best to do it now before they began fighting.

"You have a moment?"

Jacob asked as he walked up to the two men.

Seeing Vulcan, the man nodded his head and told his partner he would be back.

He waved his hand, signaling Vulcan to follow him as he walked away giving them some room to talk in private.

"What is it Vulcan?"

The long black-bearded man asked without a second to spare.

"You agreed I could receive proper training in return for me teaching you that stance, now here I am."

"True, I did say that. I feared ya would be in low spirits after your loss yesterday which is why I half-heartedly agreed. Never thought ya would come searching for me so soon after! Still, my word is my bond but ya must remember two things. One, I do not like quitters. If ya quit, ya've lost all the respect I have for ya. Two, my word is the law. No matter what I tell ya, you must do it. As long as ya can remember those two things, we can begin right away."

From the tone in his voice, Jacob could tell that he was cautioning him. Telling him that things would not be easy.

Jacob had to agree if he did not get proper guidance his days were surely numbered.

"Good, then from now on every morning ya report here. Your days will be filled with pain, but in the long run, you'll appreciate what I've done for ya."

Tom who was paired up with Terry, blocked Terry's sword slash that came from his right. His eyes glanced over at Vulcan and the long black-bearded man who was a distance away from him.

"What do you think Oswald is talking to the kid about?"

Tom asked Terry as he swung his wooden sword without putting much power behind it.

"Heck if I know, you are aware that Oswald thinks of things in a bigger picture than us. Maybe the kid has his uses."