The next morning, Ren woke early. He didn't know how he managed it since this body was used to waking late but he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.
This was, after all, a world of magic and fantasy. Some things just wouldn't make sense and he was okay with it.
He yawned as he sat up. The plan had come up with last night was already bouncing in his head, and now it was time to execute it.
He took his bath from the water basin that Margaret had already set down the night before and changed into his outfit for the day.
He made his way through the halls of the Ross castle, praying to all the gods out there as he walked to his father's study.
When he got there, the door was open and Lord Abram Ross was already seated behind his heavy wooden desk, reviewing reports with his usual stern expression.
Ren took a deep breath and stepped forward. "Good morning, father. I have a request."
Lord Ross barely looked up from what he was doing. "Speak."
Ren instinctively straightened his posture at the man's cold words. "I want to go with you on your next trip to the border."
Lord Ross blinked, the only sign of surprise coming from the man. There was a moment of silence before he placed his quill down and looked sternly at Ren.
"The border is no place for a child." He said coldly. "You have no business there."
"I want to understand our land and our soldiers better. I want to prove myself." Ren said boldly.
He already knew that appealing to sentimentality would do nothing. His father was the kind of man who valued strength and competence above everything else. He only needed to show the man that he could have those qualities too.
"If you doubt me, father, then assign me a task." He said. "If I can complete it, take me with you."
Lord Ross leaned back in his chair and studied him, his expression not changing a bit. Then, after a pause, he nodded. "Fine. You will take on the knight's training regimen. Complete it without complaint, and I will consider your request."
Ren blinked. While he'd expected the task his father would give him to be hard, he hadn't expected something . Was his father trying to kill him?!
The knights trained rigorously, their daily regimen designed to mold seasoned warriors. For a ten-year-old boy, it would be nothing short of grueling.
But this wasn't the time to back out. "I accept." He nodded decisively.
His father waved him away dismissively. "Report to Sir Robert. If you fail, I don't want to hear another word about this."
Ren bowed slightly before leaving the study.
His father had probably set him up to fail but he had a weapon of his own. While he now had the body of a ten year old boy, he still had the mind of a twenty year old college student.
He had no intention of failing.
Sir Robert was the only knight remaining at the castle while the rest were stationed at the border. A grizzled veteran, he had seen many battles and bore the scars to prove it.
When Ren found him in the training yard, the knight raised an eyebrow at him. Everybody knew Lord Terence Ross avoided the training yard like a plague.
"Here to watch, lad?" Sir Robert asked, wiping his brow with the back of his hand. He had a full dark beard and his hair was tied back into a ponytail.
"No." Ren replied. "I'm here to train. Father ordered me to complete the knight's regimen."
Sir Robert's expression shifted from curiosity to amusement as he stared at Ren.
"Did he now?" He chuckled. "Well, I won't go easy on you. The regimen isn't just for show. You'll be expected to do everything a knight-in-training does."
Sir Robert nodded. "Very well. Let's begin."
The training was brutal. To the full grown knights, it was routine, but for Ren, it was like a free trial to hell.
Running laps in full gear, lifting weighted logs, sparring, and relentless drills.
His small body was already screaming at him to stop after just one hour, but he refused to stop.
He'd underestimated just how painful it was and he just wanted it to end. But any time he felt like giving up, he remembered what he was fighting for.
A divine gift meant he had a higher chance to live well into his old age. And this wasn't just any divine gift. It was Unfettered Enhancement. It basically guaranteed infinite potential in anything he did.
He pushed on, dragging his body by sheer fucking will.
By midday, his legs felt like lead, his arms trembling from exhaustion. Every movement was a battle, but he pushed through.
By that time, his brothers, Darius and Felix, had come to the training yard to keep up with their own training. That was where they heard about the challenge he'd received from his father and had stayed to watch.
They kept trading jokes, laughing as he struggled.
"Look at him!" Darius sneered, crossing his beefy arms over his large chest. He looked like a tree trunk in human form.
"Struggling already?" He laughed. "What did you expect, little brother? You should've stuck to reading books."
Felix smirked, looking impeccably dressed as always. He was the fashionista of the family, always obsessed with his looks.
"Father is wasting his time humoring you." he called out to Ren. "Give up, Ren. You don't belong here."
Ren clenched his fists, but he didn't respond. He simply gritted his teeth and forced his legs to move. He would not give them the satisfaction of seeing him give up.
His brothers kept laughing but unfortunately for them, Sir Robert wasn't as amused. "If you two have time to jeer, you have time to train. Pick up those logs and join him."
Their smirks vanished immediately. "What? We're not the ones—"
"Now." Sir Robert said, his voice lashing out like a whip.
Grumbling, Darius and Felix obeyed, and soon, they too were hauling logs across the yard. Ren didn't even acknowledge them. He just kept going.
After strength training, they moved to sparring drills, where Ren faced off against wooden dummies before Sir Robert decided to test him.
The wooden sword felt like stone in his hand but he didn't stop. As they sparred, the knight started with light blows at first, but as time went on, he began striking harder, testing his endurance.
Sweat dripped down Ren's back, his breath coming in ragged gasps, but he adapted. He learned. Pain became an afterthought, and his world narrowed to just focusing on Sir Robert's instructions.
By the time the training was over, he felt like he'd just endured hours of beatings.
His muscles burned and his hands blistered, but he had completed every task given to him. He staggered slightly but remained standing, his chest rising and falling with heavy breaths.
Sir Robert observed him, nodding approvingly. "You did well, lad. Most would've given up."
Ren forced a smile on his face. "Does this mean I pass?"
A voice interrupted before Sir Robert could respond.
"Yes." Lord Ross's deep voice carried across the yard. He had been watching. He stepped forward with an unreadable expression on his face. "You showed resilience. I will take you to the border."
Ren straightened despite the pain wracking his body, a surge of joy passing through him. He'd done it! "Thank you, father."
Lord Ross turned. "You will be under strict supervision. This is not a game, Terence. If you cause any trouble, I will send you back immediately."
Ren watched as the man walked away. When his father was finally out of sight, he took a step forward. "Finally! Let me—"
His words were cut short as exhaustion washed over him and he collapsed into unconsciousness.