Otherworldly 4 Monastery Training

"They are the demiG.o.ds that watch over Kalonia." Leo followed Sebastian's curious gaze over the sculptures and seemingly read his thoughts then and there. "It seems that in some of the Forgotten Ones' worlds, they wors.h.i.+p a single ent.i.ty. While it does strike me as odd, but here in Kalonia we have the watchful eyes of the demiG.o.ds as they aid us in our everyday activities."

"Where I come from, we also wors.h.i.+ped a single ent.i.ty, but it lead to multiple wars and strife across different believing factions. I for one, wasn't a very religious person because of that aspect. I mainly believed that I should aid people using my own hands with my own free will." Sebastian was speaking in a low tone, as he quietly remembered the horrors of the wars that he witnessed in the front line makes.h.i.+ft hospitals during his nursing career. With every step he took in the monastery corridor, Sebastian was slowly drifting away as he looked back on the things he had witnessed during his nursing nostalgia trip.

"Well you're here now so this is definitely another good reason why you should be here in this monastery." Leo said with a clap of his hands as if to bring the focus back to the present and as if to come to a definite decision by himself. Whatever the reason was for the clap, it worked as Sebastian was jerked from his nostalgia trip back to the corridor of the monastery.

As soon as they walked into the inner cloister of the monastery, they were both greeted by a beastkin man and an elf woman. They both appeared middle-aged while giving off the aura of a well-experienced person having lived through various experiences. Both wore simple robes that appeared to facilitate ease in movement more than protection.

"Is this the Forgotten One that you have taken under your wing Leo?" The beastkin man walked forward while sizing Sebastian up with his fierce gaze. He was being sized up with a smile, but Sebastian could feel the gaze that seemingly pierced through his flesh and bones. He unconsciously tensed up while holding his hands in fists.

Leo noticed Sebastian's tension and took a step forward - as if to protect him from the beastkin's gaze. "Yes, he is the one I told you about. Now stop being too imposing and ease off. There will be plenty of chances for you to a.s.sess his skills." As soon as Leo said his line, the beastkin's face returned to his middle-aged man's smile and shyly placed his hand at the back of his head.

"Sorry about that. You're a very interesting specimen. It simply evokes curiosity just by looking at you. My name is Elias Toma, you can call me Elias. I mainly handle the physical lessons here in the monastery. Fighting and maintaining various weapons, using different types of armour, and using them effectively will be taught by me. Be prepared." He said the last part very solemnly, causing Sebastian to shudder a bit as he started to expect something sinister for the training regimen.

The elf beside Elias slightly shook her head and stepped forward as she curtsied. "My name is Riveka Ohmsreen, I'll be in charge of teaching you about mana, our society, and proper etiquette here." She said as she maintained her smile, all the while looking intently at Sebastian. Her smile seemingly masked her intensity, throwing Sebastian off guard. He automatically bowed politely back when Riveka did her curtsy.

Her smile widened as she happily exclaimed, "I see that you know how to respond to this action, I am immensely pleased." She had a mature aura about her, exuding elegance and formality while creating an undeniable air of attraction. She definitely had her mature woman charms, and she knew how to accentuate them.

"I've actually never seen someone curtsy in front of me, but I've read it in books and seen it in movies so I know the response." Sebastian was at a loss at what to do next, so he stood in attention with his hands at his sides. He actually looked more awkward than when Elias intimidated him a few moments ago.

"Movies?" It was Riveka's turn to be surprised as she tilted her head at an angle, with widened eyes and a blank stare. "I was taught by the previous Forgotten One that we should do this as a polite greeting. The curtsy is done by the woman while the man bows slightly. That's what I learned."

Leo couldn't handle the awkwardness and the confusion anymore as he also stepped forward to catch everybody's attention. With his hand covering his face, he sighed as he explained in a tone that didn't mask his irk. "Rivie here met previous Forgotten Ones. She has learned a lot about their cultures and practices as you might have guessed. She is morbidly curious about these things so she has learned them by heart. However she doesn't seem to remember that each Forgotten One may come from different timelines or worlds."

At the end of his berating, Rivie looked very flushed and started to fidget with her hands. Sensing this, Sebastian finally got a grasp of what had happened. Rivie was probably told that women curtsied when meeting other people, but this information was from the previous Forgotten One's time which was obviously different to Sebastian's.

"In my timeline and world, we don't do them anymore. We used to do them centuries ago or when you come from specific backgrounds. I'm not from either of those so I only shake hands. That would be enough." Sebastian rea.s.suringly smiled to Rivie as he stretched his hand out to her.

"You also do this where you come from?" She was more shocked that he knew how to shake hands, seemingly thinking that it was only exclusive to Kalonia. "My nickname is Rivie by the way, please call me that." Her smile came back as she shook his hand in earnest before standing back in her place beside Elias. Her hand felt warm to touch but Sebastian didn't want to appear focused on the fact that he touched a female elf for the first time in his life, so he simply smiled and nodded.

"With the clumsy introductions finished, let us then continue with the training regimen we have prepared for you." Leo brought everybody's attention back to him as he confidently closed the introductions of the two instructors. "They normally train the fledgling adventurers but for the next few days they will be focused on you. We've made extraordinary changes in our schedules to accommodate this so please be grateful and do your best." He appeared to become more strict as he said each sentence.

"And you told me to back off from being intense!" Elias loudly exclaimed as he laughed. He then turned to Sebastian, "your schedule for the next few days will be to wake up early morning and then come here for training from the both of us. Mornings will be physical training with me, followed by lunch. Then afternoons will be mana lessons or social etiquette by Rivie. If you finish your lessons early you may have free time for yourself. That's all that we expect from you."

Sebastian raised his hand out of habit as a student as he started his queries. "A few questions though - how do you tell time here? Is there a clock that can tell you what time of the day it is? I can't seem to find anything like that." Noticing that he raised his hand up for a question as if he was in a cla.s.sroom, he belatedly put his hand down with a flushed face.

Rivie nodded as she slowly answered his question. She appeared to think about each word carefully before responding to him. "We don't have specific units of time within a day. What you call a 'clock' has also been proposed by other Forgotten Ones. However in this world, our days, weeks, months, and years are very stable. It doesn't have any changing factors so we don't need to measure 'minutes' or 'hours'. We can simply use the position of the sun to tell us what time of the day we are in and if a day has gone by. If the sun is just starting to rise then we need you to be awake by then. When the sun is at it's highest point, then we can have lunch. When the sun is starting to set, then people will be preparing for the night. It's that simple - we are not tied to specific measurements and restrictions regarding our schedule in that regard." Rivie caught a glance from Leo seemingly to tell her to slow down with her information dispensing. She gave a slight nod as she looked at Sebastian, waiting for his response.

"I see. While it does make sense. I'm just worried that I won't be able to wake up in time and it might take a while for me to adjust to this." Sebastian folded his hands as he started to think in earnest if there was a way to make a clock or if anything could be done using mana.

"A lot of Forgotten Ones have tried to create clocks or time-measuring devices. While some of them were successful, the maintenance was far more c.u.mbersome than creating it. Also, by the time they were able to successfully create it, their bodies already adjusted to our day and night cycle here." Rivie casually mentioned, while maintaining her rea.s.suring smile. Sebastian wondered if she read his mind, or if that was what most Forgotten Ones thought of first when they came to Kalonia.

With a sigh Sebastian said shyly, "then I'll be under your care. I'll also need to bother the inn's proprietress to wake me up for the next few days it seems." He wasn't sure whether he could still ask her to do it for her after what happened that morning.

"Whatever you do, just don't be late for training that Elias will have to fetch you. He will make you regret it." Leo mentioned in a very serious tone that Sebastian looked at him. It seemed like a very serious warning with life and death consequences.

"Since we have time left in the morning, we can start with physical training or a.s.sessment. This will serve as my guide to your abilities and work from there what we need to focus on." Elias was talking casually as he led Sebastian towards a yard inside the monastery. There were a few big rooms strewn inside the building, each with different yards. The place he specifically chose was a bit secluded from the rest of the grounds to ensure privacy.

"I'm not that fit but I'll definitely do my best." Sebastian's confidence in his physical ability was not misplaced, since he did basic calisthenic exercises back in Earth. However he knew that their a.s.sessment would be quite different considering their activities of daily living were quite different here. He wasn't also sure if much of his physical prowess was carried over in this body when he transmigrated over.

"We'll see about that. We'll start first with basic exercises, then move on to unarmed combat, then finally armed combat." Elias then a.s.sumed a low stance, as if he was about to pounce on Sebastian. "Your first objective is to run away from me while staying in this yard. If I catch you, I will make you wear heavy armor when we practice. There will be no negotiations."

"What are you saying, I thought this was an a.s.sessme-" Sebastian couldn't finish his words as Elias already darted towards him and swooped!