Maniac

Nightfall.

In the room, Maya and Elena were sleeping on the only bed in the house. Outside, Austin and Heinz slumbered as the fire quietly burnt away in the darkness.

...

"Mommy! Daddy! Look what I found!"

"Oh dear, why are your clothes all dirty again..." 

"Hahaha! Let papa see what's in your hands."

...

"Really Mother!?"

She was wearing a happy smile that immediately transferred to him.

"You're going to be having a sister, are you happy?"

"Yes!"

...

"Dale, I'm worried about our children. The bandits in this area are increasing..."

"Sigh, I know... but it is hard for us to move to the Nations. They are accepting fewer non-Magicians these days. I will try my best to do something about it..."

...

A baby was wailing in the background.

"Mother, where did father go?  Why hasn't he come back?"

"...Go and take care of your sister. Your father..."

He couldn't remember the last time she smiled.

...

Unfamiliar men started coming into their house from that day on. They hid under the floor panels. He had to put a hand over his sister's mouth to make sure she would not make any noise. He sat in silence, watching all the things they were doing to his Mother.

...

"Mother..."

She looked at him with lifeless eyes that no longer had any love. 

The sharp steel shined near her neck in the dim room, "sorry son..."  

!

Heinz's eyes shot open.

Cold sweat formed on the back of his neck as he quickly stood up.

"Hu..."

After closing and opening his eyes, the mist it contained was replaced by clearness.

He glanced over to one side of the room with a deadly pierce, maintaining his gaze for a while. After contemplating for a few minutes, total silence carried him out.

A second after the door closed, another pair of eyes opened.

...

"So that's what it was..." Austin muttered under his breath. 

The moonlight radiantly reflected on the pond's clear surface, illuminating the area with a deep blue hue. Next to it, was the figure of Heinz, his cries were washed out by the roaring waterfall.

In the midst of night, they returned back to the place where Austin and Elena had arrived. 

Austin was parched onto a tree, having trailed behind Heinz as he left the house, following him through the twists and turns of the forest.

His slumber was broken the instant he felt killing intent directed at him, and Austin quickly realized who it was. He kept his eyes closed, hoping Heinz would not take action in the house where Maya and Elena were still sleeping. Fortunately, he felt Heinz's deadly pierce finally leave his body after laying in patient wait. Austin sought after him when he left the house, taking the opportunity for a confrontation.

For Heinz to leave at this hour, Austin first wanted to see what he was up to.

Just like that, Austin was dumbfounded to see Heinz suddenly pull out a sword and start training. It wasn't any kind of children's play sword but a real killing sword that eluded coldness as it slashed through the air. His movements and techniques were not a beginner's either, they were refined as if he had already been practising for years. 

Austin sat there and watched Heinz practise the same move no less than a thousand times. Each slice was made with the same seriousness as the previous, he could have been mistaken for a master swordsman.

The sharpness of his eyes and energy he put into every move from head to toe never wavered.

This child in front of him who was only older by a year or two was putting his entire being into the sword. 

After around one hundred repetitions, large amounts of sweat was already dripping from his body to the ground. Yet, he did not take any time to rest and continued the same movement over and over again, nine hundred more times. It wasn't just this, but the interval between each move was always constant. 

First, raising his sword above the shoulder, then slashing it down diagonally with all his concentrated energy. It was the most basic move a swordsman could train, but one that undoubtedly required total focus.

Heinz did not slack. 

At the end of each move, he would follow through with the strike, stay completely still for two seconds, then slowly raise his sword and repeat the action again. Each of his slashes could easily cut a normal person's body in half.

The discipline was unreal.

After each repetition, Heinz would close his eyes to remember the feeling. After doing this one simple move for an innumerable amount of times, it would ingrain itself into his bones. Austin understood clearly, this was the perfect form one must practise to build a strong foundation. 

When he was done with the sword, Heinz did not stop there but removed his shirt. The breeze of the night was chilly but Austin could practically feel the heat radiating off his body from where he was.

Austin was stunned once again because his entire body was covered in scars. Most were old, some were new, some were deep and some were small. It looked like he had been through a grinder and back.  Austin couldn't imagine just how many people Heinz has fought to acquire such wounds. For a child to possess so many was an utterly wild concept.

Heinz took but a short moment to recover before undergoing what can only be described as torture. If his training with the sword was refined, then what he was doing now was simply barbaric, but they were both performed with all his diligence.

He began exercising every part of his body, pushing his bones and muscles to their breaking point every time. He had no mercy for himself, it didn't look like he'd stop until he was killed. Using his Magical Eyes, Austin could see the mana inside him churning wildly. 

A Warrior would get stronger by performing physical exercise and using the mana of the world to temper their body. This was what Heinz was doing, except it was on the most extreme of levels, to a point where an ordinary Warrior could not imagine. Sure, the improvements compared to them would be unfathomable, but he was killing himself in the process.

To continue training for months, years, or a lifetime in such a fashion required more insanity than desire. Insanity that was driving him to accomplish whatever desire he had.

Back in the house, Austin activated his Magical Eyes to see if Heinz had started practising the path of Magic, It wouldn't have surprised him considering the sharp senses he displayed. However, rather than essence that represented the mana in a Mage's body, the mana in Heinz was distinctly different. This was unusual because Maya had a rare affinity to Dual Attributes whereas he didn't have any although they were blood-related.

Heinz's mana was not of any colour of the six attributes, yet it was still many times thicker and greater in amount than a non-Magician's.

Because he had never seen the mana in Warriors before, It was only now Austin realized this was the type of mana that belonged in their bodies.

...

Heinz dropped to the ground with a large thump.  His body denied him from doing anything more. He was unable to move a hand or even a finger. The only part of him that could move was the continuous heaving of his chest as his heart struggled to gasp for air.

Most of his new wounds had opened up after that torturous training and blood started leaking out. There were ghastly calluses all over his hands from wielding the sword earlier but the pain didn't seem to affect him in any way. His hair proliferated all over his sweat-drenched face, making this small child look like a devil.

And yet, the sharpness in his eyes never blunted once from beginning to end.

"Haha...to think I met another one of these maniacs." Austin laughed to himself inside. The name 'Dominic' came to mind. But there was a newfound respect and empathy Austin did not have before. To push a person to this point, only the most horrific cruelty of the world could do so. To fight against this cruelty, only the most stronghearted was capable. But Heinz was far from this stage, he was going in the wrong direction.

A light landing noise was made with a serene voice that prickled Heinz's ears.

"Enjoying the night view?"