A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor

"Ten miles? Jeez. That might be pushing it," Beam said.

But Dominus shrugged. "I offered earlier to let you skip over these tests, in light of your recent achievement – it was you who said you'd finish them. So I supposed you must be feeling quite fit. Or are you going back on your word?"

Beam frowned. "No… I'll do it. But it seems to me this battle with the corpse soldier is going to have to be plenty quick if I'm to make it back in time."

Dominus laughed at that. "A few minutes at most is how long normal people can afford to spend in mortal combat. I think you've skewed your own perspective by getting into a fight so long."

Beam thought back to the battle. Most of it was a mere haze in his mind. There were specific instances that he remembered – like the hobgoblin's transformation and its death, but between those things, everything else blurred together in one big ball of suffering.

"Speaking of which, I'd be interested to hear exactly what happened in that battle," Dominus said.

"How do you mean, you were watching from the start, weren't you?" Beam said.

"Well, indeed I watched. But I meant from your perspective. Rarely in this long life of mine have I ever seen a victory won by allowing the enemy to turn its blade against itself. And then there was that instance in the middle of it all too – where you perched atop its sword.

I'm aware that you've grown a little faster and stronger since then – but such feats should still be beyond you," Dominus said, his eyes narrowed with interest.

"Ah… That. Well, just kind of after a bit, its movements got more obvious, you know? Did it not seem like that to you? 'Cos of how primitive they are in their thinking, it seems easy to predict what they're about to do next," Beam said.

"Not to that degree and not at the level you're at. Indeed, it was still true for you for the majority of the fight, that whilst you were learning to read it, you didn't have such an absolute understanding of it until the very end, until after it had evolved and grown faster. The point at which, for many, its movements would grow harder to read," Dominus told him.

"Well, towards the end, it was because it was already showing fear before it had transformed, from then it was just over," Beam said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

But Dominus frowned at that. "Fear is likely to make an opponent even more erratic and harder to read. I've never heard anyone claim that it helped them see through the enemy."

Beam shrugged. "But it did, though. I dunno why. 'Cos of how many times it had battered me around, it made everything blurry and that, combined with it showing fear, made it easy to see through. It was basically just doing what it was told."

"How interesting…" Dominus murmured. "Well, it would seem therein lies your own evolution. There's likely a great power in there, if you follow it and develop it. Though as it stands at the moment, without you truly understanding it, it isn't as useful as it could be.

It might be that for you to get such an understanding of your enemy – enough to see through them, that you'd need to do battle for hours every time. Or it might be that you're never able to activate it again."

"Guh. That would suck… Especially after I put all that effort in," Beam said.

"Whatever it is, it exists beyond my understanding, it is undoubtedly a skill that is exclusively yours. Tomorrow – when you fight the corpse soldier – will be an opportunity for you to understand it more and see how freely you are able to wield it. Aside from that, it seems to have nourished your physical attributes somewhat.

Such rapid improvements borne over the course of a few hours – those would not be possible by normal means, by the normal flow of progression."

"Did I really get that much stronger? Aside from seeing through its movements towards the end, it felt like me and the hobgoblin were evenly matched," Beam said.

"In that lies another peculiarity. A hobgoblin capable of growth like that is a rarity approaching an abomination. When you have passed these tests and rested yourself fully, it would be wise for you to look into the origins of this increased monster activity," Dominus said.

Beam smiled, noting that from the way Dominus was speaking, it was as though the old knight assumed he would pass the tests already.

"Have you not already been looking into them, master?" Beam asked instead, hiding his delight.

"I have, and I have my own theories about what is going on… But it would serve your growth better to pursue it. I suppose I can set it to you as an assignment, once you pass these tests and I acknowledge you as my apprentice," he mused. "For now, though, I suppose you may as well rest."

"I should probably go and see Nila too," Beam said. "And I'd like to test my running out a bit before I attempt that test tomorrow."

"Mm. You're better off waiting for tomorrow to see Nila," Dominus told him. "She's been rather busy since your fight. It seems the change you ignited in her was genuine and she's set on pursuing different things. You'll have to go and see Greeves as well, to confirm the completion of your quests."

"She is? Hm…" Beam listened to the news with some curiosity, but he decided to take his master's advice anyway. "Then I suppose I'll just go and run the ravine a few times to loosen myself up and then rest in the afternoon."

Dominus nodded in agreement. "A fine plan," he said.

…

…

The next day, before the light of dawn broke and before the start of Beam's test of speed, he lined up in front of the stones once more, with Dominus watching, sipping from a cup filled with tea.