The First Morning in the Capital

The following day, Ian woke up early. The sun was still rising on the horizon and most people were still sleeping.

Even though he was free from his punishment back in the village, Ian had gotten used to it. Not only that, but he also liked the results he was getting from the intense training his father made him go through. Because of this, Ian decided to continue doing the workouts until he had a breakthrough.

He hadn't seen the entire campus yet so while he went on his morning run, trying to do the equivalent of what he did in the village, Ian also looked around at some of the other buildings and locations.

Partway through his run, Ian came across a track. He stopped running to take a closer look.

It was a running track. It had freshly painted lines separating each lane. Ten lanes in total were on the track. Scattered around the track were many bleachers. Ian wasn't sure but if he had to guess, there was probably enough space to fit around 2000 people.

In the center field of the track, the grass was maintained perfectly. The only thing that stood out was a stone platform at the center of the field. It was a squared stone platform that seemed a bit damaged. Upon closer look, Ian thought it looked like a small arena. The damage on the surface of it appeared like it was created by people fighting.

While Ian was inspecting the arena, he suddenly got the feeling someone was approaching him. He turned around and saw an old man walking up to him. He was wearing what appeared to be a maintenance worker outfit. His hair was white with a few gray streaks still visible. To go along with his hair, the old man had a matching white beard.

The man walked up to Ian. "Good morning young man. It's rare to see students up this early in the morning. What brings you to the training grounds this early?"

Ian didn't know what to say. He was surprised to see someone else at this hour. He looked at the old man and awkwardly said, "I was just having a look around since I'm new here."

"Oh, so you're a new student at Zen Academy? I see. May I ask why you decided to have a look around the campus grounds this early in the morning?"

Ian still looked awkward and said, "I was going to do some training until I came across the training grounds. I saw them at a distance while on my run and chose to check it out."

The old man looked surprised. He gave Ian an observing look before whispering, "There's always one like you every few years."

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Ian wasn't sure what the old man said.

"Don't mind me. I'm just thinking out loud."

The old man kept looking Ian up and down, observing his physique. He then turned to Ian and asked, "What's your name, young man?"

"My name's Ian… Ian Crest."

The old man had another surprised look on his face. He turned to face Ian and said, "Crest? As in Erik Crest?"

"You know my dad?" Ian was surprised someone knew Erik's name. Even though information about Erik and how he was connected to him spread across the academy, Ian still didn't know the whole story.

"If we're talking about the same Erik with red hair, an overly joyful personality, and a kind smile, then yes," the old man said.

Ian thought about it for a moment and said, "Maybe we're not talking about the same person. My dad does have red hair and is fairly nice, but his smile isn't always kind."

"Nope, that's definitely him. I can never forget a student like that." The old man seemed lost in thought.

"You said you were doing some training, correct? If I had to guess, you haven't seen the whole campus and were just going to do as you pleased for your training. I would prefer it if you used the training grounds instead of anywhere else for your training," the old man said.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't know we weren't allowed to train anywhere else besides the training grounds. I didn't even know about the training grounds until now." Ian looked embarrassed.

The old man gave Ian a thankful smile before saying, "It's not that you're not allowed to train anywhere else. It's that it would be better if you train in the designated training grounds. That way I have less work to clean up. I am the groundskeeper after all."

"I had a feeling you were some kind of maintenance worker or something, but I wasn't sure. Where are the other workers?" Ian asked.

"There are no other workers. I am the sole groundskeeper. I've been doing this job for 40 years now." The old man looked proud as he spoke.

"40 years? And you've never had any help?" Ian was amazed.

"No. There were others but I am the last one now. I've been keeping this place looking perfect for 10 years on my own. Not once have I regretted my decision." The old man looked like he was smiling but he wasn't.

"I'm amazed that one person can do so much on their own. I'll respect your wishes and only train on the training grounds. It's the least I can do for someone such as yourself." Ian didn't sound nervous anymore. His voice was filled with respect.

"No need for such a tone with me. I'm not some war hero or anything like that. I'm just a simple groundskeeper. But I do appreciate it." The old man turned to face the sun-rising. After a moment he turned back to Ian and said, "My name is Tim, by the way. I can't wait to see what type of person you'll become."

Ian was taken aback by this. He wasn't sure what Tim meant. "What do you mean?" Ian said in confusion.

"Don't worry about it. Just focus on yourself and work hard. I'll be cheering you on from the sidelines." Tim then started to walk away from Ian, heading to the arena. He paused for one last moment and said, "You can find me here every morning. If you need someone to talk to, I'll be here." Tim then continued walking.

As soon as Tim reached the arena, he raised his left hand, and with a flick of his wrist, he fixed the arena. All of the cracks and holes on it were gone. It looked like new.

Ian was shocked by this. He didn't expect Tim to instantly fix the arena. That was not something someone normal could do.

Ian wanted to say something but he chose not to disturb Tim. Tim was on the clock so it would be better not to get in his way. Ian, instead, decided to walk onto the track.

Since he promised Tim that he wouldn't train anywhere else besides the training grounds, he was going to get started. Ian looked at the track and wondered how big it was. It was definitely smaller than the perimeter of his home village, but it still looked fairly long.

As Ian thought to himself, he heard Tim yell out from a distance, "The track is one mile long from the outermost lane."

Upon hearing this, Ian started to think about adjusting his workouts. After thinking for a while, he was able to scale his workouts and figure out a training plan. Now, in the future, he had his training regimen planned out. With that out of the way, he placed himself at the starting line on the track and began his training. 

After two hours, Ian had finished doing what he could and decided to stop for now. He needed to save his energy for later so he stopped before the halfway mark.

Ian gathered himself and started walking back to his dorm room. As he left, he walked by Tim and said, "It was nice meeting you, Tim."

"It was nice meeting you too, Ian." Tim waved at Ian before continuing to trim some shrubs.

Around the same time Ian was going back to his room, Liam was making his way down the still fairly empty streets. He had a cup of coffee in one hand, taking sips from it every once in a while.

After walking for a while, he reached a massive gate with two guards standing in front of it. Beyond that gate was the palace, home to the royal family.

When he stepped closer to the gate, the two guards crossed their spears, preventing him from going further. The two guards didn't even say anything to Liam, they just stared at him.

Liam didn't look bothered by this. He looked at the guards and reached into his shirt, pulling out a necklace with a golden sigil on it. The sigil had a ruby in the shape of a teardrop at the center of it.

Upon seeing this sigil, the two guards moved their spears and allowed Liam to enter. Liam happily took a sip of his coffee and walked past the guards.

As Liam continued walking into the palace grounds, more guards and what appeared to be servants made way for him. They all saw the necklace he had and knew not to stop him.

Liam stopped one of the servant women he was walking by and said, "Excuse me, do you know where the king is? I must talk with him as soon as possible."

"He should be in his study at this hour," the servant woman said.

Liam thanked her and proceeded through the palace. After a few minutes of walking, Liam found himself standing before a familiar wooden door. He raised his hand and knocked on the door.

From within the room, a tired and sad voice was heard, "Come in."

Liam didn't waste any time and opened the door. As he entered, he put on a different, more respectful voice, and said, "I'm sorry to interrupt you, my liege, but I have some more documents for you to take a look at."

In the room, sitting behind a luxurious wooden desk was a fairly handsome middle-aged man with dirty blonde hair. He wore crimson expensive-looking royal clothing. He was surrounded by paperwork and didn't even look up to see who entered.

When the King heard what Liam said, he let out an annoyed sigh and said, "Just place them with the others."

"Yes sir." Liam stepped in front of the desk and looked down at the king, not saying a word. He gently placed his cup of coffee down on the desk before saying in his normal voice, "And I thought I was overworked."

Upon hearing this, the king's eyes opened wide and he quickly turned to face Liam. When he saw Liam's face he surprisingly said, "Liam?"

"Hello, your majesty. It's nice to see you again." Liam's voice was full of sarcasm.

The king slowly stood up, walking over to Liam to hug him. Almost as fast as he hugged him, the king pulled back, holding Liam by his shoulders with a big smile, and said, "Welcome back old friend. What brings you back to the capital?"

Liam removed the king's hands off his shoulders and said, "Not much, I just had a few things to talk to you about."