"Again."
"Graaaagh!" Lucius swung at his father. A year ago, he would attack wildly and recklessly. However, nowadays, he learned to conserve his energy between attacks, so he always had stamina left to block, parry, or...run.
In fact, that is most of what his father has been teaching him and training him with. Every single day he was tasked with starting training by running ten miles and then another ten miles after training.
Most of the time, Lucius passed out or vomited from the effort before being able to finish after training. When that happened, Wayne would simply carry him back home and put him to bed to recover before dinner.
However, after a year, Lucius started to be able to finish the running portion of his training. He was in his second week of completing the run after training without issue, in fact.
Due to the training style's focus on running, dodging, and parrying attacks, Lucius started to develop light musculature at a young age.
At this point, his body was not too different from that of some athletes who competed in the games at the capital. Lucius was worried that his frame did not resemble a warrior like his father's and felt concerned that this would hinder his future ability with the sword.
"Do not worry about it, son. You have no Compatibility with the sword. I am teaching you enough to survive and flee. Not survive and fight. If I teach you too much now, it might ruin the training you need with any weapons you might have Compatibility for in the future."
"Yes, Father..."
He knew that his father was right. He only needed the basics of the sword to run away. Even if he were a master, an entry-level Novice Sword Arts user would be able to kill him easily in a full-on fight.
Unfortunately, Lucius could not find out if he had any Weapon Arts Compatibilities since none of his father's men had been willing to train with him.
Lucius could not figure out on his own without someone to guide him, and there were so many different kinds of Weapon Arts that it would be impossible to simply discover them. You typically found out such things with weapons through training or a life-or-death scenario.
Sometimes, these Compatibilities and knowledge of them are gifted by the many gods that govern in the heavenly realm above, Celestia. However, that does not happen frequently.
Lucius also knew that if he claimed any sudden 'revelations from the gods' came to him, then he would be executed on the spot. Marked Ones were not allowed to hear the 'blessed word' of the gods, so the only other alternative was the whisper of the devils of the Abyss.
"Father..." Lucius began with a measured tone. "Do you think I actually have a chance?"
Wayne paused momentarily. "As you are now? Maybe."
"And if I keep working at my current pace?"
"It...is...no...matter..." She answered between ragged breaths.
Another figure approached them from the stairway on the opposite side of the room. It was another of the Petra family, a young boy with red-orange hair and green eyes. He was a year or two older than the young lady.
Beside him was his father, the young lady's uncle. He shared the family traits of the Petra family, but unlike her own father, her uncle was much skinnier and leaner.
"Lady Rena von Petra, I, Simon von Petra, greet you." The boy grinned. "I see you have been unable to find your Art. That is unfortunate. Maybe you instead possess skills in magic."
"Maybe so, Simon," Rena said coldly. "Where is your brother Thomas?"
"Training, of course. He cannot very well fail to pass his trial next year after I passed mine." Simon laughed.
Rena scowled. It was no secret among the family that some members of their branches had secretly taught their children magic before partaking in the trial. Rena viewed this behavior as cowardly.
It was a long tradition that even those who only possessed Compatibility for magic had to survive without it during the trial. As such, Rena's father forbade her from learning magic so that they may follow tradition.
"Coward..." Rena mumbled.
Simon, who did not hear her, continued to chuckle as he turned to leave. "I apologize, but we must take our leave. I simply wanted to take the time to see if you had any luck with your last chance...but alas, it seems not. I do hope that the main branch does not lose its only heir in next year's trial."
Rena's grip tightened to the point her nails began to draw blood. Her cousins infuriated her. They picked on her her entire childhood simply because she was smaller than them and a girl.
Many branch families believed that because Rena was a girl, she would make a poor heir to the Petra domain. It was difficult to convince reputable noble families to allow their sons to marry into a family and take their name after the woman's side.
As such, they believed that this weakened the family's position in the kingdom's political future. Rena's father held no such opinion. For him, the strong led the family, and there was no exception to that.
Rena had no doubt that he would require some great task outside of surviving the trial for her cousins to inherit the domain since he also knew they were cheating in the trials. Her father had no time to give those who were weak.
This was why Rena was so adamant about trying every possible Weapon Art, at least among the accepted ones. She set her training schedule and ordered various guards to assist in her training.
All of the guards were happy to comply, hoping that their Arts would match Rena's. If they were to become her personal tutor, then they would be set for life both in money and honor. One guard, however, declined her invitation.
This was none other than their strongest warrior, Wayne. He was a Master Rank Swordsman with Sword Arts and Shield Arts for weapon and defensive skills. He declined saying he was busy teaching his own son how to survive. Rena thought about asking her father to force Wayne's compliance, but he would never have listened to her because Rena was being tested long before the actual trial began.