To Do Whatever You Tell Me, Drill Sergeant

  “Faster. You’ll never fight like a Drake if you don’t have the endurance to last.” Drake yelled at the boy while sending another small bolt of lightning at him. The boy continued running around the courtyard, jumping over obstacles, and failing to avoid bolts of lightning.

  “Taking it a little hard on the boy aren’t you, Drake?” King Anthony asked as he walked over. Some of the guards had been concerned about Drake's morning routine, so he had come over to see how it was going. As the boy passed, he wasn’t concerned. He was angry. He had worked with Drake for years. Never had he known the man to be this ruthless. The boy was covered in burns. “Drake, there is no excuse for this.”

  “Oh…just watch for a bit.” Drake said as he came over. “Do you know why Drakes are so resistant to magical attacks?”

  “The scales?”

  “Yes, the scales help, but what do you think makes the scales so tough? It’s not all natural resistance. Have you seen a nest of young Drakes? What’s the first thing they do after hatching?”

  “They usually display their affinity and release their breath.”

  “Yes. Up to 20 little drakes releasing their breath every 10 minutes inside of a packed nest. Don’t you think they might accidentally hit one another occasionally? That is where the majority of their resistance comes from. The young are much more efficient at developing resistances. I think it is the system’s way to ensure that there can be life in the high affinity essence zones.”

  “Are you out of lightning already old man?” John asked as he ran past. “This resistance isn’t going to train itself. Maybe I should go find some of the real drakes.”

  Drake looked at the King and raised his eyebrows as if to say, “Told you.” He then released a much larger bolt at the boy who was completely incinerated and turned to dust.

  “Drake…” the king started but was interrupted by the boy reappearing in the corner and looking as good as new.

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  “Heck yeah, Drake. That was a good one. Got 2% from it and now my stamina is charged back up, bet you can’t hit me again.” John called out as he took off running again.

  The king was speechless. The boy was crazy. Drake just sent another bolt straight at the boy while conjuring another one above and behind him. John dove and rolled away from the first bolt and looked like he was about to taunt Drake again when the other bolt slammed into him.

  “How much resistance has he gained?” the king asked.

  “21% last time I asked, so probably around 25%. With John’s … unique … ability we can drain one of his resources, hit him really hard one time, and he’s ready to go again.” Drake explained.

  The king seemed to think about it for a few seconds, then he stepped away and said, “Hit me with it once. I want to see how much I gain.”

  Drake seemed to think about it for a second, then shrugged and let a small bolt fly. The king barely remained standing. “How the hells? That hurts. .01%. The boy is insane. Sorry John! But gods…that is crazy. You do this every morning?”

  Drake nodded and pulled a small but heavy metal staff out and threw it into the middle of the courtyard. He then pulled a normal staff out and walked at an angle between John and the staff. John smiled, dodged in towards the staff then dove right. When Drake adjusted his swing to hit the rolling John, the boy planted his feet and jumped in a backwards flip over Drake’s weapon and seized his prize. “My turn.” The boy said with a smile as he turned toward Drake.

  The king was surprised the boy could even lift the staff. Drake easily blocked the attacks as he explained to the king, “It appears that humans as well as beasts respond well to early physical training. Well, at least John does.”

  The boy kept doing his best to hit Drake with the weighted staff. When his swings slowed, Drake zapped him with a large bolt of lightning and the boy reappeared ready to go in the corner. The king walked away shaking his head. He didn’t know if he should be jealous of the boy or feel sorry for the insane little smart alek.

  John’s FIrst Integration

  Drake and the king stood on a balcony overlooking the training area John was training in. The boy had grown a few inches and was starting to fill out with muscle. He was currently engaged in combat against 3 guards with dulled weapons. John was more than holding his own.

  “It’s a shame. If we had 20 years, I think the boy could hold them off by himself.” Drake said. “Are you sure you want to stay?”

  “Yes. This kingdom has been in my family for 15 generations. I’m not going to be the one to give it up and just leave. We’ll take to the hills. I don’t think the sect will bother to hunt us down once they have access to the essence vein. The essence will come back eventually. Until then, the drakes and my people will survive. Next time, we’ll prepare ourselves and maybe we’ll hold on. We leave tomorrow and we’ll collapse the tunnels behind us.”

  “I’ll take the boy out when he’s done training. We’ll do a little extra work on his field skills. The integration is in 12 days.”

  “You’re going with him?” the king asked.

  “Yes. I feel my fate is tied to his for a while.” Drake replied.

  “When the two of you take over a planet, come find us. Maybe we’ll join you.” The king said as he tapped Drake on the shoulder and walked back inside.

  “I’m sure he will.” Drake said to himself as he let out a sigh.