The Stonehearted Knight

"This equipment will help you measure your strength and efficiency."

Hex looked at the equipment in awe. It was large, more than a head bigger than him. The many bars and handles were connected with fine threads. On the side he noticed a vertical placed staff, embedded with crystals. 

Hestia noticed his gaze and grinned. "Punch here as hard as you can."

Hex nodded and took his place in front of the equipment. The place he was supposed to punch was in the center. A round padded plate was placed, indicating where to punch. 

Hex took a deep breath, tightened his fist and stared at the center. Feeling each muscle, he swung his fist.

Bang!

The equipment shook. A beam of white light shot out from the bottom of the staff and traveled upward. It stopped only when the third crystal from the bottom was lit. 

Clap. Clap.

"Nice," Hestia chuckled, "three lit crystals means you have the strength equal to three adult men. White indicates that you compare to humans. If the light had been red, it would mean Blessed humans at the rank of Squires."

Hex looked amazed at the equipment. This would help him a lot. This way he could gouge his growth over time. 

"Now. Activate your mark and punch." 

Hex nodded and took his stance. He focused on the mark. Having activated it once on his own, he noticed that he could sense the mark quicker now. 

Red light flowed out the mark, wrapping around his arm. But he didn't stop there. He tried to regain the stance from last night. He had felt far more power flowing through him at that time. 

It took a while, but slowly the bear phantom disappeared and a faint outline of a bear's paw appeared around his hand. 

'Now!'

Boom!

The impact caused the equipment to tremble very hard. It almost pried the equipment from the floor. 

This time a beam of red light flew out of the bottom. The light stopped when the second crystal lit up. 

"You are twice as strong compared to an average Blessed Squire."

'Only twice?' Hex felt a bit dejected at the result. Wasn't the glyph supposed to elevate him to the level of a triple Blessed? 

Hestia saw his expression and laughed. 

"Are you seriously disappointed by this? Do you know that it takes a new Squire at least a year to double his power? And I am not even taking the amount of resources they have to consume into consideration."

Hex looked up in shock. He didn't think about his lack of formal training. And apparently there were other resources required.

"What resources and what do they do"

"Seriously, how little do you know about the Blessed world? Why do you think Squires and Knights work? Because we like to?" Hestia shook her head at him. "No dummy, we need thousands of coins just on food and pills. Thousands for the most basic techniques. And don't get me started on the cost of gears, mounts and crystals."

Hex looked strangely at Hestia. Her eyes shone with a strange gleam. She almost looked mad. 

"Hestia?" He grabbed her arm and called firmly. Only then did she pause and look up.

"Hehe," she chuckled awkwardly. "You have no idea how stressful getting coins can be. Everytime you think you have enough, you realize you need more." 

"Look kiddo," Hestia said, straightening herself, "Try to gain an initial mastery of this technique. You have a lot of potential. This is just your starting point. I suspect you are not even using half of your maximum strength. You need to gain better control over your exertion."

Hex agreed with her. He needed training.

Hestia nodded seeing his calmness. She pointed at a weapon rack behind the equipment. 

"This technique helps to improve your strength output. It gives you better control over your muscles. But it requires a sword. Take it from there. Only when you can light up three crystals and manage to not break the sword, will you have gained initial mastery. Understood?"

'So basically put more strength into it, but not so much that I break the sword.' Hex gave it a thought and nodded. 

"Train here. And Hex, if you manage to achieve this before the end of this week, I will take you on your first mission." 

Hex's eyes widened. He nodded excitedly. Missions. That was what every Blessed wanted and needed. It would earn him coins and fame. He nearly drooled at the prospect of it. 

Hex hadn't known why the Blessed required coins, but he knew missions were the life and blood of Blessed. He had dreamt about them. It was his highest wish. Until, he gained a new one. To defeat the baron in a duel. 

Hestia slapped him playfully on the shoulders, pulling him out his thoughts. 

"Good luck," she wished him, before leaving the training room. Hex turned to the weapon rack.

'Okay. Let's see what kind of swords are here.' 

The weapon rack was filled with spears, axes and swords. The swords were of different shapes and lengths. Hex tried a few. It took a while, but he found one that suited his taste. 

He stood once again in front of the equipment. He held the hilt of the sword firmly. His hands didn't tremble. He was steady. Eyes on the center. He swung the sword against it. 

Ting!

He slashed the sword against the center. The impact caused a loud clear noise. White light appeared, but stopped at the second crystal. 

'Wait, does this mean I am not using my sword to full strength?' It was normal to lose some power by using a weapon, but people often didn't notice.

After all, even with lesser power, the sword would have cut someone. It was after all a weapon meant to cut and pierce. 

'Let's see what happens when I use my mark.'

He activated his mark once more. This time, he needed longer to get the right pose. The weapon made him lose focus. 

It took a while, but he somehow managed it. Hex feared that waiting would cause him to lose focus, so he slashed as soon he got the right stance. 

Ding!

Crack!

A red light appeared. And it even went to the second crystal. But to Hex shock, the sword broke in two. 

'This is harder than I thought.'

Hex gathered the broken pieces and put them on the table. The book was right there.

'Let's see how this senior handles his bear-like strength.'