For the past week, I had been getting up as early as I could. Waking up early was difficult without an alarm clock.
There was a bell tower, but it had no clock, only a bell. It was used only to notify the commoners by ringing. Time was measured with sundials in the morning and marked candles at night.
It would have been so cool if I were an engineer and knew how to make a clock. I knew it ran on springs and gears, but I did not know their dimensions or how to arrange them.
Anyway, I began spending six hours practicing my magic, continuing into the afternoon.
I used it to do all sorts of different things. For example, I tried using other elements. I could use water, fire, and wind. They were all amazing. When I used water magic, I could create a droplet, while wind was the strongest. I could create a gust of wind. I could produce stronger gusts with the spell than I could by blowing with my mouth. Even after so much magical training, my magic was still weak, which was unfortunate.
I ate lunch and then usually played with Robb. We usually played hide-and-seek or wrestled. It was a little annoying, but it was good for my future. Being the future lord's childhood friend was a good thing.
Afterward, I rested, or meditated, as Robb called it, to replenish my mana. By dinnertime, my mana would be full.
Then I used it all up again, trying to establish a soul contract with a bird I had bought. I still did not have enough mana to bind it, but I could feel progress.
It was slight, but it was there. As I thought about what spell to cast, I heard someone shout and knock on the door. "Aermir, are you there?"
I opened the door and saw a stable boy standing there. I did not remember his name.
"The lord is looking for you." I hurriedly got up and ran into the courtyard.
When I went outside, I saw Lord Stark, Robb, and his other son, Jon. I did not like calling him a bastard or an illegitimate son.
"My lord, I'm here," I said.
"Ah, little Aermir, come with me. The rest of you, wait here." I followed him, and we walked over to a table near the training yard. He sat down and told me to sit as well. "You know I owe your father my life, don't you?"
"Yes, my lord. I've heard that from others. That's why I don't have to work, and I can play with Ro... the young lord."
"You're a clever boy. You know you shouldn't call him Robb when others are present. Do you know why I called you here?"
"No, my lord, I don't."
"Since you know you shouldn't call Robb by his name when others are present, can I assume you know what nobles and commoners are?"
"Yes, my lord. You're a noble, and I'm a commoner."
"Yes. As a commoner, you need to work, but thanks to your father, I've given you more opportunities to grow. I don't know whether I'm doing the right thing or not. I hope you'll have a profession when you grow up. Is there anything you want to do or enjoy doing?"
This was an excellent opportunity. I could test his limits, because he had watched me grow up, and even if I asked something I should not, he would not take offense.
As far as I knew, becoming a knight was very difficult for a commoner. My father had been a nobleman's bastard.
However, it had taken him many years to become a squire. He had first become a soldier at Winterfell, then been made a squire at twenty-two for showing bravery and valor in a battle. Just before he died, he had become a knight.
I began acting shy and said, "Can I become a knight?"
He was a little surprised by my question. He stared into my eyes and fell silent for a moment.
"Why do you want to become a knight?"
"I want to be like my father."
"As a commoner, becoming a knight is very difficult. Even if you become one, noble-born knights will look down on you. Do you know what that means?"
I nodded and said, "They won't like me."
"Yes, that's more or less it. You might not be able to become a knight. Do you have what it takes?"
I rose from my chair, held my head high, puffed out my chest, and thumped it. "I can do it."
"Hahaha, good... good. A man should have some courage. All right, I'll let you practice swordsmanship. Everything else is up to you."
"Rodrik."
"Yes, my lord."
"From now on, you'll be responsible for training Robb, Jon, and Aermir in swordsmanship and combat."
"Yes, my lord."
I bowed and said, "Thank you, my lord. I won't disappoint you."
"I hope so." He got up and left.
I turned around, bowed to Rodrik Cassel, and said, "Thank you for your instruction, Master Cassel."
He was a man of around forty with a slight belly, but he was tall and muscular, and he was Winterfell's master-at-arms.
"Haha, we'll see whether you're thanking me or begging when the time comes. All three of you are to come here every afternoon. We start tomorrow." With that, he followed Lord Stark.
"Great, we're going to learn swordsmanship!" Robb picked up a branch from the ground and began swinging it.
I looked at Jon. He was happy, but he did not show it. He was a little introverted. He did not talk much, and he usually did not want to play with Robb, because every time Lady Catelyn saw us playing together, she always sent Jon off to do some arduous chores.
As time passed, Smalljon Umber began to understand that he was only assigned chores when he played with us, so he began to distance himself from us a little.
Occasionally, he still played with us, but whenever he saw Lady Catelyn, he stopped and ran off.
Leaving Robb and Jon, I returned to my room and continued my magical training.
With every passing day, my perception of mana grew sharper. I could feel my mana increasing, but I did not know by how much. It was hard to judge whether I had enough mana to cast another spell, so I always kept some in reserve. If I did not have enough, I might faint or worse. There was no reason to take that risk.
Trying to guess how much mana I had left was like guessing how much water was in a cup. I could only go by feel. But there had to be a better way.
If I had a mana number like in a computer game, and spells had a cost number as well, it would be much easier. Anyway, I needed to concentrate. Just as I began casting a spell, an idea suddenly occurred to me.
I'm such an idiot. The answer is Identification.
The Order God had said it could identify anything if I had the knowledge, and I did have the relevant knowledge.
This was just a simple math problem. Suppose I assigned a value of one to my least costly spell. Then I kept casting it until I exhausted my mana. I could assign a numerical value to every spell I could cast. It took twenty-one uses of Identification to exhaust my mana. So that meant I had twenty-one mana points.
Those three months were both interesting and boring.
They were interesting because my magical training and my basic magic spells grew stronger every day. After three months of effort, I now had twenty-four mana points, and my Elemental Ball spell had reached six centimeters in diameter.
They were boring because of the sword training. Most of the time, my mind wandered while I swung my sword, and the 5x Experience Skill stopped working. If Rodrik caught me spacing out, I got a slap. But I was beginning to master some basic movements.
The hardest part was what Rodrik called foreplay: two hours of physical conditioning that included running, jumping, and various exercises.
Afterward, he would say, "Let's get to the main event." It was a very disgusting joke to make in front of six-year-olds, but neither Robb nor Jon understood it.
(Rodrik's POV)
The young lord really worked hard. He was the most talented of the lord's sons. Jon worked hard too, but he was not as talented as him.
Three months had passed since my lord ordered me to train them, but Aermir surprised me the most.
I knew his father. He had been like a beast in battle, but I did not mean he was powerful. He literally fought like a dog or a wolf tearing apart its prey. He fought with wild fury. That was how he fought, always attacking relentlessly.
The boy was like his father in that respect, but he had something his father had never possessed: a calm, thinking mind. Oh, of course, he also had an astonishing talent unlike anything I had ever seen. It was as though he had started learning swordsmanship two years ago. Three months ago, he had known nothing about it, but now his stance and movements were already acceptable.
I did not even notice my lord's arrival until he made his presence known. I must have been deep in thought.
"How are the children progressing, Rodrik?" When I heard his voice, I hurriedly turned around and saluted him.
"They're all doing well, my lord. The young lord is truly talented, just like his father." When he heard that, my lord began to smile.
Then he turned toward Jon, but he did not ask how he was doing. He simply watched. So I told him. "It's still too early to say. Jon has a talent for swordsmanship too, but he's not as talented as the young lord."
"What about Aermir?"
"My lord, if you hadn't come here, I would have gone to see you to talk about him."
"Why? Does he have no talent for swordsmanship?"
"No, my lord. He's too talented."
"What do you mean?"
"My lord, if he keeps working this hard, in ten years, the North will have its own Arthur Dayne." I began to smile.
"Is he really that talented?"
"Yes, my lord. He's only been training for three months, and he isn't even that motivated, but he fights like a competent warrior."
My lord stood up, took a wooden sword from the rack, and walked over to Aermir.
(Protagonist's POV)
I really hated training by myself. It was just building muscle memory. At times like this, I was truly grateful for the 5x Experience Skill.
I could not even imagine having to do five times as much training to reach this level. I heard footsteps approaching and thought Rodrik was coming to smack my head. I turned around as quickly as I could and swung my sword.
"I'm concentrating!"
Bang!
The two swords collided, and I saw Lord Stark standing there.
I immediately bowed and apologized. "I'm sorry, my lord. I thought you were Ser Rodrik coming to punish me."
"Rather than an apology, I'd prefer to see whether you've kept your promise to me. Raise your sword and attack."
He was serious. I began settling into my stance, preparing to fight.
I charged at him, and our swords locked for a second, just like in the movies, but we did not stay there. I immediately used my small stature to try to slip beneath his sword by angling mine toward my right shoulder while trying to cut his right arm, but he skillfully stopped the move by guiding my sword aside.
I could not beat an adult in reach or strength, and I did not think I was faster than him. There was only one other way to win.