"I want to try it out! I want to try it out so badly."
A thrill surged through Tyberius as he eyed his newly acquired skill. The anticipation bristled beneath his skin, gnawing at his patience. He wanted to test it, and he wanted to do it now.
"Can't wait to try what out?!"
Ty flinched as Harrison's cold voice snapped through the night air, interrupting his excitement in half like a knife through paper.
Scrambling to his feet from where he'd been lying on the grass, Ty straightened up. The fatigue he'd once felt had all but vanished, replaced by a strange kind of electric eagerness.
"What were you thinking of trying out?" Harrison repeated, his voice sharp with suspicion.
Ty quickly masked his enthusiasm, forcing a calm expression onto his face. "Nothing important. Just talking to myself."
Harrison gave him a long, condescending look, as if trying to read the truth etched into his bones. A pause passed between them before Harrison scoffed, "I left you for a second, and you're already lounging like some pampered noble? This just proves how unserious you are about training."
Ty bit his tongue. He could've defended himself, should've, could have if he wanted to, maybe he should have done so, but arguing felt pointless. Instead, he let the insult roll past him like water off a stone.
"What's that you're carrying?" he asked instead, noticing something large slung over Harrison's shoulder.
"This?" Harrison shifted and walked to a clearer space. "Better equipment for your training."
As he dropped the object onto the ground, the dull thud echoed. Ty's eyes narrowed. Now that the shadows receded, he could make it out more clearly, a thick, freshly cut lumber log, easily towering past Harrison's height of 6 feet 1, while the width is double what Ty amounted to when sized up.
"A log?" Ty blinked. "How is that supposed to help me with training?"
He instinctively stepped aside, giving Harrison space. Still, unease prickled at the edges of his thoughts.
Then, an idea struck him. "Don't tell me…"
"Yes," Harrison cut in with a smirk. "Whatever ridiculous thought you just had, you're right. You, young master, will attempt to carry this log the same way you 'miraculously' lifted that boulder earlier."
Ty stared at him. 'You're mad.'
He wanted to say it aloud. But what was the point? The title suited Harrison too well, it was already certified.
Saying it would be more of a compliment than it would be an insult.
"You do remember I'm the son of the man you serve, right?" Ty began, brows furrowed. "Instructor or not, if I injure myself listening to your idiotic orders, do you think my father will just let you off the hook?"
Harrison didn't flinch. "And yet here you are, threatening me with your noble ass name instead of proving your worth. Typical brat behaviour."
Ty blinked. That jab stung more than he expected. Wasn't he the one being wronged here? Harrison's personal attacks were starting to feel less like training and more like spite.
Still, something else gnawed at Ty's thoughts. Where did Harrison even get the log from?
It wasn't just big, it looked freshly cut, the edges clean and smooth, like it had been sliced down in one stroke.
'Yeah… definitely the work of Harrison and his sword,' Ty thought, then he paused. Harrison didn't bring a sword into the woods, nor did he have one now.
So how did he cut it down? And more importantly… how did he carry it here alone?
He eyed Harrison again. "That's not normal."
"I'd say the same about a four-year-old lifting a boulder," Harrison shot back. "But go on, keep hiding behind excuses if that's what makes you comfortable."
Ty gritted his teeth. 'His demands are ridiculous,' he thought, 'but… I'm curious as to how strong I am on a precise scaling.'
His heart drummed in his chest. He wondered just how far his Indomitable Strength could take him.
Decision made, Ty squared his shoulders and stepped toward the log.
"Where am I even supposed to start?" he muttered.
"From the side," Harrison said, barely hiding a smirk. "Go on. Entertain me."
Ty sighed and straddled the log, planting one foot on either side. He crouched, wrapped his small arms around the thick wood and pulled.
His body strained. Muscles tightened. Nothing happened.
He stopped, breath heavy. Gave it another go.
Still nothing.
Harrison leaned against a tree, arms folded, smugness practically radiating off him. 'Just as I thought, earlier was nothing more than a fluke'.
Call it a spur of nonsensical adrenaline, so he would say.
But he was wrong.
On Ty's third try, something shifted. The log began to move, not by much, but enough to lift it slightly off the ground. A gap formed beneath it.
Ty's legs trembled, his face drenched in sweat, but he kept pulling.
Harrison straightened, his eyes widening.
"No way," he muttered. "You're… actually doing it?"
Ty didn't answer. His focus was locked. Every inch of his body burned, every breath came sharp and ragged, the log moved.
"You haven't even awakened yet," Harrison said, astonishment creeping into his voice. "No mana, no reinforcement, nothing. How the hell are you lifting something that heavy?"
He didn't get an answer. Ty was too consumed with pushing further, raising the log higher than before, testing the very edge of what his body could endure.
"Hey, hey! That's enough now!" Harrison stepped forward, concern piercing his usual cold tone.
Ty's veins bulged. His arms trembled violently. It was a reckless display of strength, one Harrison didn't want to watch spiral into disaster.
Because no matter how strong Tyberius Arkwell had become, at the end of the day, he was still just a child. A four-year-old child defying every natural law Harrison had ever known.
"What's happening here?!"
A voice, deeper and far more authoritative, rang out behind them.
Harrison froze.
Of all the things he expected this night, being caught was not one of them.