"Okay, now that I've gauged your general capabilities, we can start training your knight training. But before we start with that, I'm curious as to what you think of what Knights truly are." Decus crossed his arms, his long dark hair fluttering along the cold sea breeze.
"Hm..." Spes paused, realising that he didn't have much knowledge on Knights.
"Um... I think Knights are really strong people who wield swords." He answered honestly, smiling wryly, scratching his head in embarrassment.
"Well, normally, Knighthood training starts with theory sessions, in which history, strategy, and the human physiology are studied, but since we don't have time for all that, I'll only give you what's essential for the moment." Decus smiled as he laid his buttocks to rest on the wooden planks below him, pointing his palm forward.
Spes quickly sat down face to face with the vice captain, curious to what would go on next.
"I'll start with the origins of the very first knights. Back in the Dark Ages, back when demons reigned our lands, we humans were nothing but cattle to them. There was nothing we could do as the demons' flesh were not only impenetrable to us, but they were also gifted with great feats of strength."
"But then, against all odds, a single man discovered the secrets of the human body, laying a path for all humanity to fight against their oppressors."
"That man would singlehandedly bring humanity together and chase demons away from the continent, declaring himself King as he founded the Great Kingdom."
"I didn't know King Orsus was the very first Knight."
"There's a lot that the Kingdom keeps away from commonfolk. Being a Knight, especially one part of the Inquisition, brings all kinds of secrets to the ear." Decus chuckled bitterly.
"Well, you better keep those secrets to yourself." Spes said, anxiously caressing his neck.
Decus laughed in response. "Ha... It's always fun being with you." He said, patting the young man's shoulders.
"Back to your lessons now..." Decus sighed, focus returning back to his eyes.
"So the King, he laid out a path to strengthen us, one that has been refined over the past 800 years. Now listen carefully. Inside every living thing, be it animate or not, there is a force within that constantly burns like a fire. Were you to die, so will that fire within. The King called that fire: Ki."
Spes nodded seriously, a vague term he knows of would finally be clear to him soon.
"After the King discovered the existence of Ki, he would experiment, discovering that through a deep state of concentration, he could steal the surrounding Ki, incorporating it to his own. He called that state Meditation. He gathered and gathered Ki and soon met a bottleneck: no matter how much more Ki he absorbed, the excess Ki would just sip out. He would then realise that Ki was limited to the vessel it was contained in, like water inside a gourd. If the gourd was full, the water would just spill added more water."
"Of course, the King didn't give up." Decus smiled.
"If he couldn't add more water, why not change the gourd? So the King experimented on his body, only finding success when his strength had reached a higher level of degree. He concluded then that the amount of Ki one could store was proportional with one's fleshly body. That's why everyone you see, knights are always training." Decus smiled, turning his head to the Inquisition Knights who were personally drilled by the captain on the side.
"Isn't there a limit to human strength?" Spes asked curiously.
"You're completely right. The King too met his limit, another bottleneck, one that was impassable. He hated it, but his own humanity, it shackled him. We don't know how long it took him, but somehow, he managed to decipher the human body, revealing its secrets."
"Humans upon birth bear 3 shackles binding the Flesh, the Mind, and the Soul. He was currently at the limits of breaking through his Flesh Shackles. With another unknown power within him, he successfully tore through the chains, becoming a new man. He called that power that aided him in his breakthrough: Physique."
Spes's eyes widened upon hearing Physiques mentioned. Since he only vaguely knew how to cultivate his LifeStream Physique, any new information on physiques proved to be valuable.
"And whoever managed to break through the Flesh Shackles as he did, he called them Knights. That is the origin of us Knights. We are but normal humans who accumulate Ki, cultivate their Physique, and train their body to its utmost limits." Decus smiled, finally finishing his sermon.
"Okay! Enough with the lessons! Let's get to the exciting part!" Decus yawned, as he stood up, stretching his back.
"What do we do now then?" Spes asked, as he followed suit.
"We gotta see what physique you have to see your limitations."
"The Medicus already diagnosed me." Spes scratched his head.
"Oh really? That saves us a lot of hustle then. What Physique do you have?" Decus laughed, his eyes brimming with curiosity.
"It's called LifeStream Physique. It's a Mortal Physique."
"I-Is anything wrong?" Spes asked, seeing how Decus seemed slightly surprised after his Physique's reveal.
"No, no! It's nothing... It's just... I thought your physique would be an Awakened one... With how you've been performing all this time, I was completely sure on the thought..." Decus smiled apologetically, forgetting to hide his surprise.
"I was just lucky..." Spes smiled wryly, wondering if he should mention how his Physique was different. It followed the Mortal Tier convention instead of the usual one. The usual convention would limit a Physique to its type. The Physique would either be Mortal, Awakened, or Ascended.
But since his LifeStream Physique followed the Mortal Tier convention, his Physique had no limits, capable of jumpier tiers: Mortal >> Evolved Mortal >> Transcendent Mortal >> Immortal.
He decided to keep the information from Decus, thinking on how complex things might get if Decus discovered his different Physique cultivation path, possibly stopping his training due to the undocumented Physique.
"I'll be brutally honest with you, Spes. With a Mortal Physique, you'll be able to break through the Flesh Shackles, becoming a knight, but... you won't be able to reach higher levels of Knighthood: Knight >> Great Knight >> Grand Knight."
"I don't mind." Spes smiled, completely unaffected by the news.
"What do you think, Liber?" Spes asked in his head, wanting a second opinion.
"Hm, the Mortal Stage of your Physique and the conventional Mortal Tier Physique's cultivation are very similar. Reaching Knight shouldn't be a problem, but we'll need more data for analysis of the breakthrough to higher Knighthood titles." Liber casually answered, confirming Spes's suspicions. His path ahead was truly uncertain. At least for now, until he could reach the title of a Knight, his path was known.