Chapter 10 The Last Lesson
The next morning tasted like endings.
Even the air felt different thin, sharp, almost brittle. Mist clung low to the ground, curling around my ankles like it didn't want me to leave. For once, even the birds seemed hesitant to sing.
Aeren stood outside, facing east. The sky was painted in dull pinks and golds, the kind of sunrise that looked too pretty for a farewell.
He didn't turn when I stepped out of the cabin, pack slung over one shoulder and sword in hand.
"Pack light," he said without greeting.
"I did."
He gave a short nod, still not looking at me. "Four days' walk to the nearest trail. Two more to the city."
I frowned. "I thought the Academy letter said I had two weeks?"
"You've got ten days. You'll need the extra four to rest." He turned slightly. "I'm not walking you all the way. You'll go alone."
So that was it.
He was cutting the cord no long goodbyes, no escort, no hand-holding.
I wasn't surprised.
But it still stung.
---
Breakfast was a quiet affair. Dried meat, leftover stew, and barley porridge that had the consistency of mud but the taste of... also mud.
We sat across from each other in silence.
I couldn't meet his eyes. I didn't want to make this harder than it already was.
He reached into a drawer and slid a leather pouch across the table.
Inside were a handful of silver coins, a small compass, and an old, tarnished silver pendant etched with faint runes I couldn't recognize.
"What's this?"
"Money for food and a roof once you reach the city," he said, sipping tea. "Compass for the road."
I rolled the pendant in my palm. "And this?"
"Something to trade if you're desperate." His tone was careful neutral, but there was weight behind the words.
"It looks... valuable."
"It is."
"Are you sure?"
A pause.
"If you're not desperate, don't use it."
That was all he said. I didn't press.
---
We left the cabin after eating. I expected him to lead me to the clearing where we usually trained but instead, we took a different path. One I hadn't walked before. It spiraled deeper into the forest, where the canopy thickened and the light turned green and dappled. Birds took flight ahead of us, disturbed by our passage.
We walked in silence for a long while.
The farther we went, the more surreal it felt like we were walking through memory lane, not a real place.
Finally, we reached a glade hidden among ancient trees. Their roots coiled out of the ground like the ribs of a buried beast. The air smelled of moss and metal.
Aeren stopped at the center, turned, and faced me.
"Draw."
I blinked. "Wait, what?"
"This is your final lesson," he said, unsheathing his blade. The faint ring of steel echoed like a bell. "No holding back. No practice swords."
"You serious?"
He raised his sword into a low guard. "Very."
I hesitated. "You're going to use real steel on me?"
"You think the world will use anything less?"
...Fair.
I exhaled, drew my own blade, and dropped into stance.
He came at me like a wave.
No warning. No warm-up.
Just steel and fury.
---
The first clash rattled my arms so badly I thought I'd drop the sword.
He didn't slow.
Slash. Feint. Kick.
I dodged one strike and caught the next with my shoulder. Pain flared. I stumbled back, barely keeping my feet.
He gave no quarter.
He moved like water over stone fast, fluid, and merciless.
I blocked a strike and pivoted, trying to follow up with a counter, only for him to sweep my legs out from under me.
I hit the dirt hard.
He didn't wait for me to get up.
Another slash.
I rolled.
Mud smeared my cheek. My ribs screamed.
"Too slow," he muttered. "Predictable."
I growled and pushed up, ignoring the pain.
---
Minutes blurred into one another.
It was like trying to dance with a thunderstorm.
I'd thought I'd grown strong thought I was ready.
But Aeren was on another level entirely.
Not just in power. In presence.
He fought like he was the forest. Like every root and shadow moved with him.
And me?
I was just a stray breeze, trying not to be snuffed out.
But something shifted mid-fight.
It wasn't strength. It wasn't speed.
It was focus.
I stopped trying to win. Stopped reacting.
I started reading him.
The way his foot angled before a lunge.
The half-breath pause before a strike.
And I moved with it.
Not perfectly. Not cleanly.
But enough.
I grazed his side once.
He responded with a strike that left a shallow cut above my eye.
I tasted blood.
He stepped back. Lowered his blade.
"That's enough."
I dropped to my knees, panting. Sweat dripped off my chin. My chest felt like it had caved in.
He stood over me, expressionless.
Then he smirked. Just barely.
"Not bad."
I laughed between gasps. "You call... that not bad?"
"Better than you were yesterday."
---
We walked back slowly. My legs barely held together, but I didn't complain. That wasn't how this worked.
Back at the cabin, he tossed me a cloth and ointment for the cut.
I didn't speak.
Neither did he.
That night, he made something better than usual smoked fish with wild herbs, steamed greens, and actual flavor.
A parting gift in the form of food.
We ate by the fire.
After a long stretch of silence, he finally spoke.
"You're not strong enough to stand out."
I glanced up. "Thanks for the encouragement."
"But you're stubborn. Careful. You think before you swing. That will keep you alive."
I paused. "Is that your way of saying you'll miss me?"
"No. It's my way of saying don't die stupid."
I grinned. "Noted."
He looked into the flames, eyes distant. "You'll meet monsters. Not all of them will look like monsters. Some will wear uniforms. Some will smile."
"People?"
He nodded slowly. "The worst ones always are."
I leaned back. Let the fire warm my face.
Then he said something that made me sit up.
"I never gave you a name."
I froze.
He'd never explained it. I never asked. It just... never came up.
"You noticed?"
"Yeah," I said. "I figured you had your reasons."
"I did."
He didn't say anything for a long time.
Then—
"Names bind things. They make them real. Make them... vulnerable. I didn't name you because I didn't want to keep you."
I stared at him.
"That was the plan?" I asked quietly. "Train me, then throw me into the world?"
"Yes." His voice was firm. "But I failed."
He looked at me then, really looked at me. For the first time in days, maybe weeks.
"You became real anyway."
I didn't know what to say.
He stood and walked to the far shelf. Took down a rolled parchment and tossed it at me.
I caught it.
"Map," he said. "Marked safe spots along the way. Avoid the river pass. Too many beasts."
I nodded.
He crossed his arms. "Pick a name."
"What, right now?"
"If you're going to survive out there, you need something more than 'kid' or 'boy.'"
I hesitated.
Something simple. Something solid.
Then, without knowing why, I said, "Kael."
He gave a small nod. "Good. You can keep it. Or burn it. Either way, it's yours."
And somehow, that mattered.
---
The next morning, I left.
Backpack tight. Sword strapped. Compass tucked in my coat.
Aeren stood by the path, arms folded.
He handed me a bundle of extra rations, spare boots, and a few strips of dried meat tied with cord.
"Don't die."
"Likewise."
He hesitated. "Don't trust anyone too easily."
"I won't."
"And don't skip the basic."
"I definitely won't."
I wanted to say more.
So many things.
But the words stuck in my throat.
So I just stepped forward and hugged him.
He didn't return it.
But he didn't pull away either.
When I let go, I saw something in his eyes. Something glassy. Gone in a blink.
I turned before he could say anything.
---
The road ahead was long, winding through hills and thick woodland. The forest I knew faded behind me, replaced by terrain I barely remembered from blurry system maps.
At the first ridge, I looked back.
The cabin was out of sight.
So was Aeren.
Only smoke from the chimney marked that he'd ever been there at all.
---
Ding.
[Quest Update – Journey to the Academy]
Progress: 1/14 Days Passed
Current Location: Western Outlands Trail
Status: Traveling Alone
Warning: Beast Territory Ahead – Caution Recommended
---
I adjusted the straps on my bag. Tightened the grip on my sword.
The forest ahead looked unfamiliar.
Dark.
Unforgiving.
Perfect.
I took a breath and kept walking.
---