“If you had to spell out the question?”

  “Why go through this training.”

  Barry tilted his head. “Why is it important to get stronger?”

  “So I can keep the [Knight Protector] perk and the Protectorate. And before you ask why that’s important—it’s to keep our home safe, to defend my friends and family.”

  “I believe the ‘why’ determines the ‘how’ and the ‘how much.’ Does that make sense?”

  Ben slowly nodded.

  “If that’s true, then it’s critical to understand your ‘why.’ It’ll decide how far you’re willing to go, how hard you’ll push when it matters. How you’ll react when Tracy asks for one more rep and you’re exhausted.

  For some people, being the strongest on the planet is a great ‘why.’ For others, it’s not even enough to get them off the couch. Think about your why.

  You have a huge advantage—you already found your ‘why’ once. It helped you come back from the accident. Use that experience.”

  Ben swallowed. Memories from the hospital and the months after surfaced. Not pleasant, but helpful. He could see Barry’s point.

  “Second question.” Barry brought him back to the present.

  “I think it’s fair to say I’m fully functioning again. Maybe even better than before…”

  Barry raised an eyebrow. “Would it be fair to say that for months you focused on getting back to where you were before the accident?”

  Ben nodded.

  “That mindset helped you get here, but it will limit you now. What’s the average Body attribute for a human?”

  “Ten, I think.”

  “What’s yours?”

  Ben hesitated—he had never told anyone. “Eighteen.”

  Barry grinned. “Let’s assume the average man is 1.80 meters tall. If you’re 80% above average, you’d be more than three meters tall.

  Now, attributes probably aren’t linear, but still—if there’s a bell curve distribution, you’re at the extreme end. Maybe even beyond what pre-Energy humans could ever reach.

  You might be as fast as the fastest man alive two weeks ago. Or stronger than an Olympic weightlifter.

  Before the internet went down, people ran some tests. It looked like the attributes didn’t just describe us—they remade us. How else could we cast magic?

  Don’t let your old mindset define your limits. Think about it. Experiment.”

  Ben’s mind racing was racing. In some fights, he’d pushed his limits—but what if his limits weren’t what he thought?

  He unconsciously flexed his bicep and looked at it. Barry snorted, and Ben flushed, then nodded. “It’ll be exciting to figure that out.”

  “Third question.” Barry continued.

  “My axe is a tool.”

  “Mhh. How many trees do you think you could cut with that thing?” Barry nodded toward the battle axe lying in the grass.

  Ben didn’t answer directly. “What’s your point?”

  “Is there a difference between a weapon and a tool?”

  Ben thought about it. “A weapon is just a tool for a different purpose.”

  “And that purpose being?”

  “Fighting. Winning.”

  “Would it be different if it were a spear?”

  “I don’t see how.”

  “Okay. Is there a difference between a saw and an axe?”

  “Sure. The saw’s easier to handle, usually, needs less strength. An axe can be faster if you know what you’re doing.”

  “So there are differences between tools, even when the purpose is largely the same?”

  “I’m still not sure what you’re getting at.”

  Barry laughed. “Isn’t it great? I’m not saying anything—just asking questions.

  But seriously—fighting with an axe is very different from fighting with a spear, bow, or sword. Understanding those differences will help you use your weapon better. And that will make the rest of our lessons easier.

  There is a saying ‘first the weapon is a tool. Then it becomes an extension of your body. Then it disappears’.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  But before it can ‘disappear’ you need to have understood it.”

  They ended the session shortly after—it was time for Ben’s watch rotation.

  Ben was looking over the palisade, across the clearing, and into the dark forest that surrounded them.

  He knew that for some people the gloom might look scary. For him, it was as much a part of his home as the lodges behind him. Anne, who was on watch duty with him, was currently stationed on the other side of the settlement, allowing them to cover more angles simultaneously.

  At the start of his shift, Sarah showed up and now stood beside him. She had also participated in the morning fitness session.

  "Don’t you have school right now?"

  "Nope, I only have a few hours in the morning. Also, theoretically, our summer break should start right about now."

  "So you decided to spend your valuable free time on watch? Isn’t this boring?"

  "Not at all. Mom and Dad are both very worried about finding ways to contribute to the Protectorate, so I thought about what I could do. This seems like a good start. I might not be able to fight, but another pair of eyes won’t hurt, right?" She looked at him, chewing her lip.

  Ben nodded seriously. "Definitely. Maybe inform my mother so she can plan with your presence for specific shifts, okay?"

  She beamed. "I will! Right after this shift."

  Ben chuckled and let his thoughts wander back to his conversation with Barry. Why? Why do all of this? Why not go into the city? Wasn’t there strength in numbers? Was he so egotistical that he thought only he could provide safety for his family — and family included everybody from their original team in his mind?

  He looked back at the forest. Looked at the individual trees. They had roots that gave them strength, that bound them to a place they called home. And while they did fight for sunlight, they were also part of an ecosystem. They shared nutrients. They shared information. They were a community. The more there were, the stronger they became.

  Safety for his family was his number one priority. But it wasn’t in a vacuum. It was tied to this place. The place might undergo change — maybe old things like their lodges needed to go eventually—but the place itself remained.

  So the 'why' was a combination of people and place. Defending both.

  He looked at Sarah. "Why did you actually want to come here to the Protectorate?"

  She was silent for a moment, then shrugged. "I just thought it was cool."

  Ben laughed. "Mhh, you’re a pretty smart girl. I’m sure there was more to it than just 'cool.'"

  She blushed. "You think I’m smart?"

  "Sure. How else could you have convinced your parents—who are also pretty smart—to move here in a couple of minutes? You’re also smart enough to try to evade answering my question." He laughed again.

  "It usually works with the boys at school…"

  He just raised an eyebrow, waiting.

  "Mom and Dad, especially him, have been frustrated for a long time. We had all this wealth but couldn’t really do anything meaningful with it because of the conditions of the trust my grandma set up. Something with impact, you know? When I saw this place, what you were building, I knew they would love it. And that it would bring happiness to our lives.

  "Also," now it was her turn to laugh, "when I was little, I was in the Girl Scouts. I’ve forgotten most of the stuff, but ‘to help people at all times’ seems like a good motto to live by, doesn’t it?"

  "It does. Maybe we should have made that part of our values," he said with a wink.

  He thought about what Sarah had said. "Impact" resonated with him as well. Positively impacting the community and the world around him seemed meaningful.

  He had loved his job, but if he was honest, it had never been so much about the business side. Taking money from rich people for ‘organic wood’ was fine, but not fulfilling. It had been about the people, carrying on the family business, and keeping the community alive.

  If he could have a positive impact on even more people, that would be great.

  "Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. It helps me crystalize why I’m doing this, too."

  She didn’t respond, but he caught her smiling from the corner of his eye when she thought he wasn’t looking.

  It was the afternoon and the Protectors had come together for the first time as a group on the training field. Barry stood in front of them, Tracy to the side, and Sarah sitting on the grass behind her. Besides Ben, there was his mother and their teammates, Jamal and Michael. Damien had shown up with his longtime friends Petra and Nils. From the recent arrivals, Anne was of course present, but to Ben’s surprise, Deepika had also chosen this path.

  Nine Protectors, ten, if you counted Barry, who would definitely carry his weight in addition to his role as teacher. Ten people who had made it their primary responsibility to defend their community by standing on the front line. He respected those who chose different paths equally, but he was happy to have this group around him.

  Barry looked at each of them, then began to speak. "Before we begin, let me set the context: I’ve coached in local martial arts schools, I’ve taught schoolchildren and very tough men. But in the past, if someone failed my class or didn’t learn everything they could, it wasn’t the end of the world. Disappointing, maybe, but not critical.

  "This is different. What I will teach you is not a hobby, not a nice-to-have, but essential for keeping you and your family alive in this new world.

  "So, failure is not an option. Not for you, not for me. I ask you to give it your all. I promise I will."

  Silence fell as his words sank in. They were all dedicated, and they understood the stakes—especially after Serge’s death—but Barry’s words brought it home. Ben closed his eyes and took a deep breath before returning his attention to their teacher.

  "Five mantras, seven techniques. That’s what we will be working on in these sessions. Let’s get right into it. The mantras are:

  Read your opponent, write your fate

  Power without mastery is emptiness

  Control the fight, control the outcome

  Harmony breeds victory

  Retreating with purpose is strength

  "What does any of this mean, you ask?" He grinned. "Don’t worry, we’ll get to it. But I promise you, once you internalize them, they’ll be the foundation upon which you walk the path to mastery.

  "In preparation for this, I’ve distilled everything I know from the martial arts I’ve studied and everything I could find on fighting with medieval weapons into a simple framework of seven techniques that build on each other:

  Stand

  Breathe

  Strike

  Defend

  Exploit

  Enter

  Flow

  "For every situation in a fight, there is a right stance. If you can’t control your breathing, you can’t control your body. You need to learn how to strike, how to defend—by evading, blocking, or redirecting. You must understand how to create openings and how to enter into close range. And finally, how all of this flows together into one cohesive whole that will make you unstoppable.

  "Enough talking.

  "Feet shoulder-width apart. Hips low. Spine straight. We call this the rooted stance. Come on, faster… I said spine straight, Damien."