I have never genuinely felt like my feet and arms were about to fall off.

I was fine with the first six climbs, but the soreness of my arms and legs eventually caught up to me and I found myself significantly slowing down with every climb. I needed to take a few minutes of rest in between climbing up or down, but only until Qimir would look at me judgingly, silently indicating that I was taking too much rest. And every time I would just respond with a grunt and curse under my breath.

I was starting to believe that he was genuinely delusional, because what kind of human being would even be able to climb a thirty foot cliff twenty times??? I haven't even finished ten, but I already felt like I was on the brink of dying. On the other hand, Qimir was just sitting comfortably under the shade of a large rock for the past hour or so, casually peeling and shaping a bunch of logs into stakes with a bolo knife. He did glance at me every now and then, probably making sure I wasn't cheating.

Before going back down from my ninth climb, I took a few deep breaths and shook my arms and legs in an attempt to shake off the fatigue. Despite the pain, I was determined to finish the climb twenty times, even if it would take me a whole day.

I carefully stepped down the rocks, making sure I got my footing right. I held on to the footholds for the dear life of me, constantly fighting against the pain flicking through my nerves every now and then. I was going at a slow but steady pace, and all was good.

Until I was halfway down.

All of a sudden, the protruding rock where I had my right foot placed gave in. And just like a domino of events, the rocks I was holding onto crumbled in my hands at the sudden pressure, causing me to start falling.

Shit.

That was my only thought as I could only hope I wouldn't land at the gnarliest rocky parts.

I tightly shut my eyes, bracing for impact.

All of a sudden, I felt my fall significantly slow down, until I could only feel myself weightlessly hanging in the air. I opened my eyes and realized that I was floating horizontally, just three feet in the air away from some jagged rocks protruding from the sand.

My panicked eyes automatically went to Qimir, and he was already standing up, one hand outstretched towards me. His face was a mix of shock and concentration.

He flung his fingers sideways, and I also flung in the same direction, causing me to safely roll away from the rocks. The fall still hurt, but at least it was not from a fifteen foot drop.

As I stared at the sunny sky to process what just happened, Qimir eventually came into my line of sight as he stood over me to give me a once over, as if checking if I was still in one piece.

"You know, I'd prefer you to not die on your first day." He said casually after confirming that I was indeed, in one piece. I just grunted and rolled my eyes, sitting up and feeling my own body for any injuries.

Well aside from sore arms, legs, and bruised ego, nothing else seemed out of place.

"Stand up, we're done here." He motioned for me to follow as he went back to his spot to collect the wooden stakes he made.

"But I haven't finished twenty--"

"Let's go." He said firmly, giving me a warning stare as if daring me to say otherwise. I pursed my lips and stood up, deciding it was best to do as told.

He suddenly pushed three wooden stakes onto my arm to carry, almost causing me to drop them instantly. I wasn't sure if it was just because my arms were exhausted, but those three logs honestly felt like the weight of two toddlers.

And you could only imagine my disbelief when I saw Qimir carry seven of those effortlessly over one shoulder.

We started heading back to the cave, and since it was a long and quiet way back, I couldn't help but think back at those hit marks I saw on the stones.

"You've had a student before, haven't you?" I called out. I expected that he was going to deny it, so I didn't give him the chance to do so.

"Those hit marks on the stones back there; they're too low to be yours." He slightly glanced at me to give me a half-annoyed half-amused face. He sighed in defeat and turned back around.

"I did," he finally admitted. I gave his back a snarky look. And he just had to give me such a hard time to convince him to teach me, when in fact, he already had a student before. Was he in such high demand that applying as his student was so difficult?

"Was it Elysia?"

He stopped walking and looked at me as if I just grew three heads. I pursed my lips and for a moment, I expected that he would suddenly lose his temper again. I forgot that just the mention of her name often triggered him.

But much to my surprise, he remained calm.

"No, it wasn't her." He continued walking at a slower pace, as if carefully thinking about how to filter his next words. "But you don't need to know who my student was. She already quit."

"Quit?" My eyebrow raised. "Why?"

"She reunited with her long lost family." He briefly explained, and at this point my head was rushing from all the new information I was receiving. This was probably the first time that he was actually willing to give some sort of substantial information about him. He had always been so withdrawn and mysterious. "When she had to choose between her apprenticeship and her family, she chose family."

"Well, good for her..." I mumbled, unable to hide the pang of jealousy in my voice. I wondered if I was in that situation? If a long lost family of mine reappeared in my life? Perhaps, I would throw away everything else as well just to be reunited with them. Nothing else would compare to the loneliness of not having a family- someone you know that will have your back no matter what. Although I had become used to independence, I couldn't deny the fact that it was lonely road.

"So in that case, I am your apprentice now?" I changed the subject to lighten the mood.

"No," he bluntly declined. "I'm just teaching you how to fight. You're nowhere near being an apprentice."

"Is there a difference?" I raised an eyebrow. He looked down at me with an amused look but did not further clarify. I huffed and readjusted my grip on the wooden stakes, frustrated that his moment of openness had ended.

"So what should I call you then? Technically, you're my teacher now, so I think just calling you by your name is disrespectful." I pondered. "What do they call it again? Master?"

He actually rolled his eyes in annoyance and turned to look at me. "You're talking a lot so I think you still have enough energy."

He dropped the wooden stakes he was carrying onto one side of the road, then grabbed the ones on my arms to drop them with the others. Then he went to snap off the thickest branch of a nearby mini-tree, which was about as big as my arm.

"You see that stone?" Using the stick, he pointed at a large rock near the shore. At this point, we were only several meters away from the foot of the cave. Not even waiting for my response, he grabbed my hand to place the stick in it.

"Now hit that stone with this until it breaks."

My brows raised in disbelief.

He wanted me to break a stone? With a stick?

I shook my head and scoffed.

"That's im--"

"Impossible?" He cut me off. He smirked and grabbed back the stick as he headed towards the rock. I followed him in curiosity, and watched as he widened his stance, placing his feet firmly on the ground as he grabbed the stick with two hands.

Although I didn't know anything about fighting yet, I could recognize that his posture looked proper and powerful. It was like he wasn't just wielding a mere stick. It was like he was wielding a... lightsaber.

With one big swing, he struck the stone near the top part, and much to my shock, the top broke off and crumbled as if the stick had sliced through it.

I stared at the stone, then at Qimir, my mouth hung agape. My brain failed to process how it was possible. He flashed me a cocky look as he handed me back the stick.

"You have until sunset," he tapped my shoulder in encouragement as he went back to pick up the wooden stakes.

Meanwhile, I just stared at the broken pieces of the rock, at a loss for words.

I was starting to think Qimir was in fact, not human.

****