The Ranch

Miscalculation 2x (1)

Silence permeates the room. Tih, no longer tired, also leaves the apartment to explore. His silhouette flickers as he heads east, bypassing the market and ending up at the Training Grounds. Tih walks past the first two colosseums and heads into the last structure. It was an area he didn't get to explore because the argument with Axel took so much time.

Walking into the beautifully constructed colosseum, his eyes gaze upon a flat landscape without any arenas like the other two structures hold. Instead, it's filled with training equipment. Cutting targets for swords, targets for bows, punching dummies, weights, pull-up bars, tall wooden poles with flat surfaces, ropes suspended in the air, and other interesting equipment.

There were still many people training, loud shouts and grunts were interspersed throughout the entire colosseum, but the massive size of the structure made it seem fairly deserted.

Tih walks through the colosseum, observing the training of the soldiers, the sweat running down their faces, and their expression that made it look like they were constipated.

Tih does not move to use any of the equipment, continuing to stand out and openly observing others. The soldiers notice his odd behavior and disposition. One of them calls out," Hey newbie, don't just stare at people. It's weird." The surrounding soldier were at least vaguely familiar with everyone that trained at this time. The child in front of them was not one. Putting one and one together, they came to the conclusion that he was a new recruit.

"Hey, don't be rude to the newbie, you might scare him off." Someone else reprimands.

"If he's that much of a wimp, he shouldn't come here in the first place!" The soldier argues.

"Hey, to come to this colosseum on the third day of arrival, he has some guts."

"Or he's stupid and wandered in here without knowing what this place was." The men laugh.

"What are you guys laughing at?" The laughing pulls a familiar voice over.

The soldiers freeze,"Ah, I-Instructor Kane. Good to see you sir. We were just talking to a newbie that wandered in."

"A newbie?" The instructor looks towards the direction the solder is pointing a finger in and sees a familiar face. "Tih! Good to see you kid. Since you're here, wanna spar with me?" The laid-back expression on the man's face lights up. His chill attitude becomes more forceful as he gets excited.

Tih looks at the familiar man. He wonders what "spar" meant. Tih tilts his head with an expressionless face.

Instructor Kane thinks he's declining," No? Then let's train together. I won't take no for an answer." A suave smile spreads on his lips as he drags Tih away.

The instructor bring Tih to a weird structure with many poles. If Kai we're here, he would explain," These are like the cubed jungle gyms in japan but on a grander scale. Each bar has a length of three feet, with the bars themselves being very thin. It's not all cubes either, the bars bend into weird shapes, creating its own sort of maze. The structure is  about as tall as a three story build, having more height than width or length. The jungle gym is like an actual jungle...without all the foliage."

Tih stares at the weird structure while Instructor Kane explains,"We use this to train flexibility, grip strength, nimbleness, dexterity,coordination, and visualization. It's also a good way to test one's agility."

Instructor Kane looks at the top of the forty-five foot structure," See that flag at the top? Let's see who can grab it first." He wants to test his hypothesis.

Tih looks at the thin metal bars that resemble sticks from the trees he would climb at the orphanage. He bends his neck to see a tiny billowing flag in front of the starry night sky.

To others, the flag would looks like a speck in the far distance, but Tih can clearly see the dark green flag. So, Instructor Kane wants Tih to take the flag. Tih recalls a game called "capture the flag", that the other children would often play. When he was smaller, he was also roped into playing, but after he continuously took the flag seconds after the game started, no one asked him to join anymore.

Instructor Kane looks towards Tih," So do you want to try?"

Tih nods. If the instructor wants him to play, he'll play.

"Great. Then on the count of three. One...two...three!" They both dash up the bars. It has to be mentioned, Instructor Kane is fairly relaxed and isn't putting all his effort into it. If he truly tries to beat Tih, he's confident he could. Although Tih was able to surprise him, at the end of the day, it was a surprise attack. He has a weird lack of presence, which is why he couldn't detect Tih. He also notices Tih's speed, which is what he wants to test right now. This obstacle course relies not only on speed, but controlled movement, the ability to plan ahead, and composure. If you rush to the flag without a plan, you will be entangled and trapped in the maze of metal bars, or you might even lose your balance or slip, as you often have to maneuver while climbing sideways or upside down.

The instructor just wanted to test out Tih's abilities and talent. If it reaches a certain level, he's even thinking about taking him in as an apprentice.

As he scaled the one-third mark, he looks down to find Tih, but can't spot him anywhere. It seems he underestimated the kid. He looks across from him but still sees nothing.

The idea of searching above him was inconceivable before this moment. Not because the instructor is arrogant, but because of his ability. It should be known, Instructor Kane has a silver star in martial arts and sword fighting. He ranks in the top one-hundred strongest people on the island, or at least the known strongest. Some people like to hide their abilities.