Way of the Sword (MCSM story)

4. Competition Breeds Camaraderie

If anyone's reading this, just a small question of curiosity... what's your favorite of the armor sets Jesse can wear in Season 1 Episode 4 (and through Episodes 5-7 for that matter)?
Personally, I like Swordbreaker, the Adamantine Impervium, and Star Shield.

...

Jesse woke with a tired groan in his cabin. It had been weeks now since he and Petra first met the Ronin, and the days seemed to simply drag on for him.

The bed felt rather perfect for him, considering the environment of the situation--not very soft and comfortable, but not very bad on his back either. Just in between, so that he could be refreshed for the next day.

Why do I feel like I'm starting to think a lot like Petra now?

Across the room from his bed, Jesse's Swordbreaker armor hung on the lone armor stand. 

To be honest, Jesse found himself rather fond of this simplistic lifestyle, missing those old treehouse days with Axel and Olivia.

Jesse was startled from his thoughts by a series of knocks on the door. Groggily, he sat up on his bed and muttered, "Come in."

It was the Ronin. "You awake?" he asked.

"Will be," replied Jesse.

"Meet me in the arena outside once you're ready," the Ronin said simply. "Do not put on your armor."

Same as the past few days, thought Jesse.

With that the Ronin left, apparently to give Petra a similar message. Jesse simply stood up, already in his casual shirt, jeans, and suspenders, picked out some potatoes to fill his stomach, and headed out.

...

The past few days of training had been him and Petra working on improving their strength and fitness. And it was pretty much similar to the workout he had to do to build his strength for the old EnderCon building competitions.

"For you two to be capable fighters, you need to be strong, fast, and fit," the Ronin had said.

Punching trees, push-ups and sit-ups, running around... yeesh, he thought to himself. It's like the Ronin knew what I did in preparation for the EnderCon building competition, and just made me and Petra do it more.

Throughout each day, the Ronin challenged the both of them to grueling sessions of push-ups and sit-ups, often leaving both of them exhausted, out of breath, sweating, and strained afterward.

What Jesse had begun to notice was that it had started to build a competitive side in both him and Petra, often leading to them challenging each other to how long they would last before either of them tired out from push-ups, sit-ups, or running around the makeshift training ring in continuous laps, even while under the Ronin's supervision.

He also couldn't help but notice how the Ronin seemed to encourage the competitions between the two of them. He hoped it didn't go too far between him and his friend...

However, those past few days did help to make Jesse slightly more fit. After grueling exercises after grueling exercises, Jesse felt stronger. Punching wood was a lot faster than it had been when he prepared for that last building competition.

Heh, if only Reuben could see me now...

And when the Ronin did return to sword-fighting with both of them, Jesse found it a lot easier to strike with his sword and parry most of the Ronin's blows. And Petra was showing plenty of improvement on her own--she was able to add her own graceful movements to her fighting style.