Lyria and Livy were amazed. It seemed they didn't need to worry or feel guilty about every little thing they spent on.
They quickly nodded with gratitude.
Eric smiled. In truth, he was just terrible when it came to spending money and money-related calculations, and so he wanted to make both Lyria and Livy his accomplices, so they could share his 'burden' in the future.
Eric was so terrible at money-related calculations that in his past life, he was often beaten up by his friends for that. Despite this, he still didn't find any reason to be that cautious when it came to spending money. If he was out of money, then all he had to do was beg on the streets for a few days, and before he knew it, everything worked out somehow.
In fact, more than once, Eric was picked up by some solo-living lady, and in the end, he had to escape after a few days of nightly actions to satisfy them. These events were rare, as he wasn't entirely poor.
"It's time. Go wash your necks and visit me in the training ground. We will be doing warm-ups until Grandma arrives."
Eric returned to his room to change into a new training suit.
After arriving at the training field, they began with their stretching exercises.
After half an hour, Bella Noll arrived.
"Alright, enough warm-ups. Time for the main event!"
All three cute children quickly dashed in front of the newly arrived Bella Noll and waited in line for her to start punishing them.
Bella Noll nodded with satisfaction at Eric, Lyria, and Livy's enthusiasm, then glanced back at the still-open door.
Soon, three workers carried in three broad-looking iron swords with no sharp edges. They were holding those swords with both arms as if they were too heavy even for adults like them.
After they placed the swords where Bella Noll pointed, they swiftly left the training ground.
Bella Noll put her hands behind her back like an elderly expert and smiled at the three cute children, whose expressions were too serious- almost as if they were prepared to go through the third degree of hell. So, Bella Noll decided to be generous and send them all to the sixth degree.
After all, true training is supposed to kill past expectations along with the old body for new possibilities to emerge.
Bella Noll cleared her throat and began explaining their new schedule:
"From today onward, I will personally train you three. I will come by every second evening- this timing may change. I will also give assignments and might not always be present."
She smiled kindly, but then suddenly, her expression twisted into something sinister.
"You don't want to cheat or fail in my assignments. Otherwise, the consequences will be quite... severe."
Three cute children's backs were already drenched in sweat. They gulped quietly and nodded quickly in agreement to the child abuse treatment.
Bella Noll nodded with satisfaction. Then she turned and addressed the girls, "Both of you have your own fighting styles, but don't focus on any such styles at this stage. Do what Eric does- only train on your physical stats improvements. Once a week, you all can spar with each other and adjust yourselves, but those sparring sessions will not be about winning or losing, so don't focus on results. For now, your priority should be on building a stronger foundation. Any questions?"
Watching their stern faces, Bella Noll chuckled and kindly spoke, "This is not military training. Ask any questions freely, or else I will think none of you have any doubts."
Eric, Lyria, and Livy nodded.
After hesitating a little, Lyria asked, "M-Master, will we be learning heavy swords?"
Since childhood, Lyria had always loved all weapons and their designs, but she personally didn't really like to fight with weapons, she preferred bare-handed fighting styles.
Bella Noll waved her off. "Just call me teacher. Also, the answer to that question is no. I will be teaching all sorts of weapons, which even include archery, throwing knives, and so on, single-handed, dual-handed, and even barehanded. What I want you all to master under my tutelage is the basics of everything."
Livy hesitantly raised her hand and asked, "Um… Teacher, I once heard stories of peak weapon-wielding experts. These experts are said to have only picked one weapon at the beginning of their journey and carried it to its peak. They say it's only possible because they fell in love with their weapon and style and didn't get distracted by other weapons."
What Livy said made perfect sense to both Eric and Lyria. But Eric personally wanted to learn all weapons. He might not even use a weapon in the future, and he might simply become a person who slaps people to death, ahem, the idea was very tempting. But for now, he wished to learn all weapons, as he had always wanted to learn such things in his past life but never got the opportunity.
"Not everyone reaches that level of mastery," Bella Noll said, shaking her head. "You've probably never heard of the ninety-nine percent who followed that path and disappeared along the way. I won't judge either of you if you take that decision in the future, but while I'm still around, you all should learn everything. That way, no matter what situation you find yourselves in later, you'll have ways to tackle it. Alright, if there are no other questions, we can begin."
This time, Lyria raised her hand hesitantly. She knew she was asking too much, but she still had to request Bella Noll, especially when there was such a perfect chance. "Teacher, I know I am being presumptuous, but please, if you can..." She took a deep breath and continued, "Can you check why we failed to become Mana Wielders? We have tried very hard and are still trying our best, but we still cannot."
Eric raised an eyebrow and wondered how Bella Noll would tackle this question.
Bella Noll calmly listened to Lyria without interrupting and answered in a similarly calm tone, "Both of you are no longer in your past home, nor are you members of your past family anymore. They no longer have any expectations of either of you that you desperately need to fulfill to please them. So, what are you so impatient for?"
Both Lyria and Livy looked down, depressed by the fact that they no longer had any background or family.
But suddenly, their eyes slowly grew wider with realization.
That's right. They no longer needed to be desperate to prove their worth to someone or fulfill anyone's expectations. So why were they still desperate?
Out of nowhere, both Lyria and Livy felt a strange freedom- a freedom of being a 'nobody' in the world, and at the same time, a freedom to be 'anything'.
No expectations. They were left alone, forgotten, abandoned- but now entirely free to walk their path at their own pace and desire. They no longer needed to desperately prove something to someone.
They could finally smile without hidden meanings, no more scheming, and no more hidden agendas!
From now on, their future would be in their own hands, and it would no longer be someone else's imposed fate upon them!
Although nothing had changed for either Lyria or Livy, and they would probably still worry about not becoming Mana Wielders in the future, but right now, they suddenly found complete peace within themselves. It was as if the huge mountain they had always carried on their small backs had suddenly been removed, and for the first time, they felt the freedom of having no family.
Lyria and Livy, one after another, raised their heads. The expressions that had always masked their desperation and depression completely disappeared.
They might still worry about their future, but from this moment onward, they had completely walked out of the shadows of their past. They no longer felt shackled by anything in their hearts.
Both Lyria and Livy smiled at Bella Noll.
Glancing at Lyria and Livy's weird-looking smile, which may not have been the prettiest but was truly a childlike expression of joy, both Eric and Riya were dazed.
Riya sighed. "I guess with age and experience, people's observations operate on entirely different levels."
Eric silently agreed with her words.
Seeing the liberated smiles on Lyria and Livy's faces, Bella Noll smiled back.
That was the truth- both girls had been granted equal freedom the moment they were abandoned. They had simply lived inside a cage since birth, forgetting what freedom looked like.
Bella Noll decided to clarify a few things so they could focus on their training.
"You girls don't need to be desperate about becoming Mana Wielders at such an early age. It's not too late to become one after you reach adulthood. Fifteen years old is still young. The reason noble families try to make their children become Mana Wielders as early as eight or so is simply their fear of losing their higher status compared to commoners. They are always fearful and desperate to remain above others so their descendants can continue to outrank normal Mana Wielders of the same age. Most importantly, they don't want to waste even the tiniest bit of resources on someone who cannot be of any use to them."
Lyria and Livy couldn't fully grasp what Bella Noll was trying to convey, but they understood her point.
Bella Noll smiled. She decided to add a small remark in case they developed misconceptions.
"Not all nobles or wealthy people are that heartless. I personally know many nobles who are neither cruel to common people nor to their own."
"Alright, it is time to begin."
Bella Noll's demeanor shifted back to that of a strict child abuser.
She pointed at the three swords. "Pick one of those broadswords."
Lyria and Livy nodded. They now held considerable respect and admiration for Bella Noll.
Eric also now understood that Bella Noll was truly old, ahem, very experienced!
Just as all three of them picked up one of the long, broadswords, they nearly dropped them.
Heavy!
Eric and Lyria could still pick the swords up entirely with both their hands, but Livy was forced to put the top of her sword onto the ground to give some relief to her wrists.
Eric roughly guessed the sword weighed around 25 kg, or 55 lbs!
The weight wasn't the scariest part, the mass was! It was not only long but also very broad, making it very difficult to wield casually.
Bella Noll didn't mind the children's struggle and said, "These are the swords I specifically modified for you. As you can see, I've blunted the sharp edges." In truth, all three were made to train Eric, and there were more things she had already prepared since last year.
All three noticed the swords' sharp edges were indeed blunt, but if they swung them at anyone, even if the swords didn't cleave through flesh, they would certainly crush bones.
Bella Noll continued, "Today, you three will practice simple swinging motions with those swords. It can be any thrust you know or imagine. Don't worry about proper stances, just make sure that when I say 'start,' no matter what, you don't let those swords touch the ground. They must stay in your hands at all times, and most importantly, they shouldn't stay in one position for long. So, keep swinging them however you like." She smiled generously, as if granting them freedom by not enforcing a single thrust or motion.
Eric and Lyria also lowered the tips of their swords to the ground like Livy. If Bella Noll hadn't even said 'start' yet, they didn't know how long it would be before she said 'stop.' They needed to conserve their strength as much as possible.
After resting the weight on the ground, Eric and Lyria began taking deep breaths.
It was truly not easy!
A sword or any long, weighted object was far different from a simple dumbbell or something with less mass.
Eric himself could easily lift a 250-lb person straight up, but this heavy sword was very difficult to keep upright in the air. Thankfully, they could at least move it around.