Training Is Like Farming - Solo

It had been quite some time since Remus had been allowed to leave the guilds whereabouts. The reason for this being due to the fact that the boy had seemingly lost his dragon slaying abilities, the sudden disappearance had sparked questions from all sides of the guild. Some saying that Remus was never really a true dragon slayer as they had never heard of such power being stripped away from someone, the others wondered why they were just taken from him. Even young Remus never knew, in fact the day he tried to do his 'Ice Dragon's Roar' and nothing came out he was distraught, Mitsumaki tried her best to cheer up the young mage but it wouldn't work the lad felt defeated and useless. Not to mention the glares he got back home and the whispers about him, this had all sent him over the rails. So much so he stuck to the confines of his cabin for months on end.

Remus had thought that his life as a wizard was over, his life as part of the Black Sails crew over. He thought he would be branded as an outcast and eventually be made to leave the island. So many things to go wrong and his magic to just up and leave had to be one of them. But what made the situation even more peculiar was the fact that somehow, someway Remus' void magic had made it's way back into his system. At the time he was the only one that knew that this had happened due to the conversation he and Mitsumaki had when discussing where his magic had gone, and she had said any previous magics learnt will still be in your blood you only have to manifest them. And lo and behold here it was. The feeling of darkness bubbled around him as a hue of purple lay across his body, the emptiness of the void was once again instilled within the mage. Lurching his way to the mirror in his cabin he stared at himself and noticed something different about himself and slowly shook his head. Turning for the door he grimaced then grunted heading downstairs with one goal in mind.

The creaks of the wooden stairs sounded into the Siren's Song alerting the it's inhabitants that someone was on their way into the establishment, eyes wide and mouths a large all the guild mates gawped at Remus approaching the center of the bar, purple wisps floated around him and blackness seemingly seeped off of his body. The boy made his way through the mass of bar stools and stained flooring to the large oak board which held up the job offers and such, completely ignoring the whispers and shuffling behind him he snatched one of the missions and went about his way not even giving them a second glance. Perhaps he was meant for more than to be a pirate, maybe he needed something evil. To really get himself out there to get going.

Shortly after his travel of leaving the island by boat Remus had to take another mode of transport to finally reach his long awaited destination which was: Beanstalk Village. Picking up the shriveled piece of parchment he took another glance at it and skimmed through the contents to see what it was he was supposed to be doing. It had seemed that he was simply to train under a few old retired knights, but seeing the words old Remus was disinterested as he despised dealing with old people partially due to the fact that they were normally stubborn and ignorant and partially because they smelled weird. The boat swayed into the small abandoned dock of the village nearly buckling under the weight of Aquila as he got out, taking a well deserved stretch her ran on into the center of the cobbled village, which possessed stalks growing in and out of the area and an incredibly large one in the middle of the town.
Cracking his knuckles and placing them behind his head the boy was hesitant to delve any further into the almost vacant place before spotting an elderly woman coming his way, he sighed then hurried to her. "Excuse me ma'am but are you able to direct me in the way of the rune knights?" He asked looking into her eyes to which she replied "Rune knights? You know you remind me of my son, Radegast. He was a rune knight." The lady smiled at him with her eyes closed causing Remus to yet again sigh. "I'm talking of the retired ones of this village grandma" She coughed slightly and nodded pointing her walking stick in the direction of the smaller houses on the mountain range. What a way that was. Remus waved goodbye and thanked her before going on his way looking back to see that she had disappeared. Strange.


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WC : 815

The boy kept up the pace towards the mountains as he still pondered as to where the ancient lady had seemingly disappeared to. In all honestly this village was starting to weird him out, the beanstalks moved as if they were sentient and the houses were all smaller than normal better suited for older folk which Remus guessed were all that were in this dying village. Eventually he made his way into a lush green patch of land that spread out as far as the eye could see, birds tweeting, sunlight beating giving energy to the grassy field below. Things were starting to look up.

He heaved himself through the fine field breathing in the amazing crisp air up here and stood for a moment just to take it all in, hell he'd have some stories to tell his comrades about their misinformed views on the settlement. In a burst of flames beside him out appeared his companion Mitsumaki dressed in her usual colorful garments that always alerted their enemies to her presence. "Hi-lo Remus, how goes it?" She said floating next to her master staring at the brilliant scenery in a daze. "Afternoon Mitsu, how was your sleep? But yes, It goes swimmingly I'm just taking it all in it's so different to the island you know. Well obviously but the whole atmosphere here just screams perfection." He admitted folding his arms and sitting on the grass to lie down. He was truly at peace. "Well well well, didn't I tell you before you left that the village would be beautiful. And yes I did enjoy my sleep in fact if it wasn't for your emotions wavering I would've still been slumbering, anyways why are we here I get that you picked up a job and all but this is the village of elders. What business could you really have with them?" She inquired rubbing her chin thinking of a hundred different ideas as to why her tutor was doing the most. The wind began to pick up slightly silencing the singing birds and removing leaves off of the trees in the surrounding area, blades of grass danced with it swaying from side to side enchanting the wildlife to nestle in. Remus scoffed at her indication that she was the one who provided him with any insight into the village. "Whatever you say Mitsu yes the place is splendid. My emotions? I've been fine since I've been here albeit for the weird magician granny back there but nonetheless fine. And in regards to your other question we have to be mentored by one of the old Rune Knights who are spending their years here" He stated waving his hand through the grass staring up at the levitating figure of the flame princess. "I see, interesting, to say the least. But wait a minute there are Rune Knights here? Then why the hell are we here!" Mitsumaki was about to scold the young wizard before he raised his hands in defense. "Woah woah woah! Calm down Mitsu, they're retired and have no intention of turning us into the hands of the council. All I've been asked to do is be tutored by one of them so he or she can improve my fighting capabilities." Remus let out a sigh and chuckle as he noticed Mitsu cool down after raising her nose in the air and flying off. "Well if that's the case hurry up so we can get this over with, Alisha still owes me a taste of her newly made Moonsbru beverage" The fiery princess and the void prince both left the humbling area before them and towards the five houses on the hill not too far away, something told the boy that they'd be back however.

Four doors.

Remus huffed and turned his attention to Mitsumaki who sat upon a metal railing a few ways away from the houses, she shooed him in with her hands and shouted that he better get a move on or they'd be hell to pay. For such a small girl she had the brawn of three hundred ox give or take. Putting his big boy boots on he knocked on the first door in front of him, a nice oak laden door with a brass handle and with screws across the top and bottom. Nothing too out of the ordinary so he was glad. Nothing. He knocked again and still nothing, turning back around to Mitsumaki she had seemingly disappeared probably gone back to the Void Realm to rest. Lazy girl.
In the short time he had Remus knocked on the other two doors around him and still got no answer which was really surprising considering it must've been they who were looking for an apprentice, a taste of the outside world and an exchange from their boring home-bound lives. So with that Remus walked up to the last door and was gobsmacked by the amazing detail of it. One large keyhole that had a ruby hexagonal pattern to it, the door was birch wood which was of course lighter than the rest and didn't break as easily. The handle was encircled with branches and had small writing on it that Remus couldn't see even if he tried and the metal where the screws were, were in fact colored a dazzling gold. Whom ever lived here liked the finer things in life that's for sure. Taking a closer step the mage double tapped on the door and within moments a face appeared opening the hatch for him.


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W/C : 926

Give me Sheila :3

The member 'Shazam!' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

His eyes were wide at the opening to see who his new mentor would be and lo and behold here she was. Remus was looking at a tall, slim elderly woman who looked to be about in her early seventies maybe late sixties, nevertheless it seemed like she was still in great shape. The woman was clad in the old generation of Rune Knights garments which consisted of loose brow trousers with a matching long sleeved shirt, metal bracers on both arms which had outlines of gold running across it. The upper body wear was similar to the bracers in terms of material and colour scheme, aside from the collar having a much darker tint to it as well as there being lines going around in circles from the waist up. A decorative addition most probably. Her legs were again more or less the same but because of the bagginess of her trousers they spilled out of the greaves. The word Tyrant was etched onto one of her breastplates and of course, that too was detailed in gold.

As Remus entered the woman's abode he noted that as glorious as the outside was, it showed on the inside. The living room was incredibly clean, not a hair was out of place. The books on the shelves were all alphabetically labelled and color-coded, which seemed impossible but hey she'd done it, a polar bear rug lay nicely on the wooden tiles below and somehow she had fitted in a gleaming chandelier up above. Remus was reminded of that show he had watched a few days back about a doctor and his telephone box that was larger on the inside, and if anyone could see what he was witnessing now then they'd surely give the same response. The two ventured deeper without so much as a 'Hi, how are you?"  and waded through some double doors reaching downwards into the basement.

"Okay, now we are far out of earshot of those boring old pessimistic fools. I apologise for the wait dear mage, I am the one known as Sheila The Black Beast" She flexed her muscles in her perfectly set armor and grinned, now Remus actually began to realize just how much of a behemoth Sheila was. She had to have at least been 6'8 maybe even taller. "Old fools? Sure way to speak on your friends, I'm called Remus" He chuckled crossing his arms together with a small smile, the air wasn't as cold and quiet as before when they were moving about the house. "You don't know those three, being stuck on this godforsaken rock with those idiots will definitely bring down your spirit grandson" Sheila said rolling her eyes and stepping into an almost perfect white circle a few metres or so away from them.

Shiela took off her bracer and shoes and done a few weird stretches which gained her odd looks from her new protegee. She turned her attention back to the boy and got into a low stance with her legs outstretched and hands one in front of the other were shaped like claws, they had a curl to them instead of a normal clenched fist. "If you are to be my student I will take no slacking, nor will I take disinterest. But before we begin which guild is it that sent you my way?"
She inquired cocking her head to the side. The boy walked closer to her and got into his own stance akin to that of muay thai and replied "A guild by a name is who sent me" Remus claimed proudly carefully not revealing whom sent the young magus. Such sarcasm. "Ah, quite the jester aren't you. With that said..." She hushed her voice and leaped at him crossing her claws in an 'X' formation bent on inflicting some damage to his torso, but the boy was fast and wasn't any ordinary battle mage. Back-stepping the claws Remus lifted his right foot to give an axe-kick, Sheila expected this and blocked the kick with her left hand delivering a hefty slash to the caught leg causing her opponent to drop to the cold cobblestone floor. "You are too easily anticipated, be much...much more spontaneous grandson" She smiled as she crowed above him, thrusting his right fist into her rib cage the woman recoiled backwards and back into her stance. Weighing up his options Remus sighed and went on a full assault consisting of a flurry of kicks and punches which were subsequently dodged or blocked by his mentor. Both parties were yelling out battle cries and taking hits as well as dodging them, as the fighting ensued Mitsumaki observed from the ceiling silently praying that [i]her[/] mentor would be the victor here.

It had been approximately four hours before the warriors decided to finally take a seat at the far ends of the basement, buckets of ice and cups of water had been dished out to the two by Mitsumaki on Sheila's orders. Remus placed his head on the wood behind him and huffed out of deep exasperation and hoped that his opponent had the worse stamina. "Oy! Remus! You've done well so far, in actuality...better than expected. I--I assume your stamina has been kicked into overdrive and the blood is rushing faster and faster through your veins. I can honestly say I'm proud haha! To think someone would want to tutor under me and be trained by the best fighter in Fiore! It's a shame people grow old you know, one minute you're leading the Rune Knights third division and next your sitting in your basement torturing a kid with tour boring war stories" She guffawed and slapped her knees in the burst of laughter. Remus looked upon his new friend slash tutor with a smirk and a shake of his head, it was Mitsumaki whom first noticed this hearty change in Remus and saw the hungry spark in his eyes as well as the nod of acknowledgement from the other in front of them.

"I do have a question Sheila. What is it? Your technique I mean, I've never seen something so...odd. The stance is unexpected" The boy slowly rose from his earlier position and looked around the cold basement some more awaiting an answer. "Ah...I was waiting for you to ask actually, it is one of the legendary animal arts. Black Tiger Style." The air was quiet. Remus had heard of the legendary animal arts: Black Tiger, White Crane, Leopard Fist, Fanged Snake and the Southern Dragon. Research had shown that the last user of the White Crane as well as the Leopard Fist were in the dark guild Savage Skull, the Southern Dragon was apparently dead and no more of it's practitioners left to teach the world of it's superb power. Nothing on the Fanged Snake was anywhere which led the young wizard to believe that it's bearer was a ghost, not a literal one but one whom not many knew. To now find out that one of the animal beasts were alive and kicking was a true dream come true for this one. "Oh wow...I--I always hoped I'd meet som--someone such as you!" Remus danced for a while which received a groan from Mitsumaki and another booming laugh from the grey haired bombshell. "Calm down Remus calm down haha! You know those old cockroaches up there were scared of me because they knew about the legends." She began to look somewhat sad "It's a joke really. We were supposed allies yet there were still concerns and wariness too, but for good reason! I could kill anyone one of them if I had wanted and their magic would've been pointless, as would their weapons. See Remus..." Sheila stood up as well and walked to Remus signalling for him to follow her up and out of the gloomy groggy basement and into the world above, the two arrived back in her lovely home and outside into the moonlit arena. Up and beyond the stars twinkled and the wind whistled a calming tune as it passed through the homes on the mountain, Remus looked at Mitsumaki who had appeared yet again in a burst of flames and sat upon the well's roof in the center, awestruck. "Remus, you see the Black Tiger Style is no game, it is something you will have to take on and train under vigorously until it becomes second nature when you enter a battle. This will help you in the long run do you understand? You have to completely devote yourself to the art, to let go of the pointless emotions and focus only on your rage. Focus on tearing your enemy in half, splitting their very being with your power and strikes. Do you understand me? Are you ready?" The elder spoke out to the sky as she continued still having the boy entranced by her powerful words. "The technique was modeled after the demeanor and fighting strategy of an attacking tiger. The striking movements are lightning fast, agile and powerful. Ripping, tearing, clawing and grasping are most common alongside the low and wide stances we have, use of your kicks will serve you well. But what use will that be if your balance is off. If you so choose to take this on then our regime will be harsh and will most definitely wear you out both physically and mentally. You will not be the same person you was once you came, so I ask once more are you ready!?" Her words were precise and filled with conviction, she meant every word and spoke to the wizard as if he was her child. Remus took off his headband and bowed his head taking a knee at her feet and spoke only one word.

"Yes"

It had been exactly one-hundred days since the day Remus had been under the proper tutelage of Madame Sheila. He couldn't remember everything he had to do from the first fourteen hour session with her but he knew this, she was right about one thing. He was never going to be the same. The regime constantly made him feel angry, it felt as if the courses or activities were made for someone to fail. To feel only hatred and rage something she promised was going to drip off of the boy. Remus broke three bones in a week after not heeding Sheila telling him to relax and have a day's rest but because he pushed himself she punished him for it and made him sleep out in the rain and be awoken every twenty minutes. Wonder what that could do to a person's spirit. Every night was a struggle, due to the irritatingly unexpected training operations that would be carried out he lost sleep and grew to hate himself for ever going through with it, it only offered pain and harsh inducements.

"Oy! Remus! Clean the floor and use the two pronged attack I told you about!" She chuckled throwing him a flannel and dumping a bucket of water next to him allowing some of it to slosh onto his dirty clothes. "And when your done you need to run down the mountain three times in thirty minutes, after that I want you to rip the tree over there in half with one fell swoop. If tha--" She was cut off by his rapping of the knuckles on her wooden tiled floor. "Is there a problem Re--" Before she could even finish she heard him shout. "YES! THERE'S A PROBLEM YOU'RE GIVING ME DAMN NEAR IMPOSSIBLE TASKS!" That was when the rage finally took hold and seeped into his warm heart, veins on his face more visible now and he was standing up with one fist clenched and the other in the famed 'claw'. "I FEEL BETRAYED ALMOST! DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW LONG IT'S BEEN SINCE I'VE SEEN MY GUILD!" He yelled stepping closer to her eyeing her up and down in his ferocity, Sheila backed up slightly with no emotions being read on her face except her own anger, both of the mages' eyebrows were furrowed and each got into their respective stances and jumped at one another Remus landing the first strike. A claw slash across the face sent her into her neatly lined bookshelves, she flipped up and rushed at him opting for a fast butterfly kick to confuse and ended with hard backflip kick sending the lad through the once beautiful door. He rolled backwards back into his stance after the hit landed and snarled at her whereas she roared slashing at the air, once again the two dashed after each other missing most strikes on each other if not landing all but one. There had been a obviously vast improvement in Remus' ability in hand to hand, before he wouldn't think twice about laying a hand on his master due to his inferiority. But now it seemed as if he was a different wizard. The bellows and blows from the pair caused the other three Rune Knights to hop out of their house armed and ready, but soon spotted that it was their stubborn ally Sheila who was causing the ruckus. "Darn tootin' there that giant goes again." "Yep her she goes again" One man said rubbing his balding hair whilst the other whipped a fire whip lazily in the air. Within moments though Remus was on top of her and struck her blow to the face and a grab by the neck with his clawed hand. Hatred consumed the young man and she could see it in his eyes so oddly enough she began to laugh crazily clapping her hands before seeing the confusion on his mad eyes she double kicked him in the chest regaining her composure. "Remus! Stop now!" She growled with a hand out halting the oncoming powerhouse, the training had run it's full effect. He had won. He had learned the legendary style. "I think you now know that this was all but a test, a test to release your anger and destroy the other petty emotions. And I succeeded. Remus you have finally...completed your training" The elder sauntered over to him with an embrace calming him down from his rage fit, the black sails member melted in her warm arms and went over every pain staking day from one to a hundred recalling all the trauma and troubles he had experienced to get where he was today. "Remus dear, like I always said. Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then is not an act but a habit. You truly are excellent grandson" Sheila smiled and kissed him gently on the forehead and sent him on his way waving him good bye. The two had forged an incredible bond that day. Nothing was ever going to break that. Nothing.


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Notes:: Apologies for it going a teensy bit over the word count but I was getting this set up for something major down the line and needed to find the right way to end the story.

With that said the W/C: 2515