Before the end of that day, Thaedric broke one rib and he had to be carried away by Urlk after he collapsed. As promised, Malak didn’t punch him in the face but every other part of his body was fair play.

He lost consciousness and only regained it when Urlk lay him on the mat in their room. His eyes are blurred with the pain that is radiating throughout his body. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Thaedric had never felt such pain before. Every part of his body apart from his face was tender with pain. Throbbing.

"This is not training, this is just a pound down. You should stop."

Thaedric stopped himself from closing his eyes and he swallowed the blood that collected in his mouth. The reason he asked for no punching in the face was because he didn’t want to bleed there since it was easier to bleed from the nose. "No. I have to train for the tournament."

Urlk’s eyes flashed and his voice was threaded with anger. "I don’t know why you are so eager to please Oros. I thought you had pride, th...."

"Hush," Thaedric couldn’t find the strength to be angry, instead he felt weariness. "Oros is the last person I want to please. You should know and I promise you revenge. I just need to get to the palace." He didn’t like sharing but he knew he had to say something.

Urlk relaxed but the anger was still in his eyes.

Thaedric drifted to sleep soon after, cradled by his regeneration that warmed his body as the technique drew mana from his core.

The next morning Thaedric was up early to meditate and fill up his core. Then he did some stretching while he mentally went through yesterday’s training.

To others, it might seem like a beat down but Thaedric gained a lot. First, by the end of the training, he was sure he was getting used to Malak’s speed. Not so much that he could dodge them but at least he knew where they were coming from.

This type of training is where you stretch the limit of what the body can do to achieve what it couldn’t before. And Malak was right, he had been training like a weakling.

But what made him go through this journey his his body’s natural regeneration technique.

He sighed as he finished his stretching exercises. Then he spoke aloud. "And Malak, can you not hold back today? I see you held back from using the full strength of tier three."

Malak laughed then he came out of the shadow, his eyes glowing as if he was hunting something. Thaedric repressed a shudder.

"I don’t want to break you, little toy. I don’t know tier-three strength that accurately. I’m tier four, you know."

Thaedric shook his head. "You won’t hold back on me now, will you?"

Malak laughed softly. "As you wish Master."

Thaedric nodded and then continued his meditation. He was analyzing the technique given to him. His two techniques. When he finally came out he realized it was properly morning and Malak and Urlk had just finished eating while an annoyed guard waited nearby.

Immediately the guard saw Thaedric open his eyes, he shot him a glare. "I’ve been waiting since! These two won’t let me wake you!"

"I wasn’t sleeping." He said absently as his stomach rumbled his eyes went to the cover tray on the table. His food.

Malak growled and the guard jumped. "You can’t wake someone from meditation. Do you want to disrupt the flow of the mind?"

Urlk snorted and Thaedric rolled his eyes. "Stop messing with the guard, Malak. And you, what do you want?"

The guard sneered, no doubt not liking the way Thaedric was talking to him but a quick look from Malak and he started talking. "Orso wants me to tell you to stop your ’training’ he said you should not hurt yourself before the matches."

Thaedric drew closer to the food and opened it, his mouth salivating at the smell of meat and sauce. "Hummmm." He nearly groaned as took a bite.

The guard waited, hands clenched until Thaedric was done eating a big chunk out of his food. He would have retreated if Oros had not ordered him to hear his response.

Thaedric sighed when he finished drinking water. He could feel it in his stomach. The beast killed was very rich in mana and it was already working, strengthening him. He turned to the guard. "Tell Oros I won’t stop training. Tell me not to bother with me, I’ll be fit for the matches. Just tell him to send more potions over."

The guard gritted his teeth as Thaedric made a shooing motion with his hand. His hand went to his waist and touched his sword. A mistake.

Thaedric’s head snapped up and the guard flinched, his hand falling away from his sword. He stammered. "Il...I’ll tell Oros your reply! But h..he wants you to stop wounding yourself with training!"

Thaedric said nothing more, his eyes were fixed flatly on the guard. "A wise choice you made. Not drawing your sword." Then he smiled.

The guard flinched again and hurried out, he could not believe he was just scared by a greenhorn. Orso’s representative or not! But he had flinched when those eyes glared at him. It was as if something else was looking at him. Something that made him want to...bow his head. He shuddered again and hurried down the hallway.

"See who’s scaring the guard now," Malak said.

Thaedric shrugged. "He made himself a threat by touching his sword. I think the guards here forget that most of their prisoners are tier two like them. But then again, the collar keeps them docile." He touched his neck.

"You have no collar. You can do something bad to them." Malak said.

"So can you," Thaedric said and continued eating. He tore into the rest of his food, today was going to be a long day. He better fill his belly.