Overall, this book was very interesting! It's a shame I can't read anything beyond what I've read. Oh well, I have a couple more untouched books on my shelf. I hope they'll be just as wonderful.
Every evening, the fox brought me more and more different berries, and I brewed them each time. But for me, rosehip tea was the most delicious; I want to try even more tea in the future!
And I also don't like that I'm so weak! There was a time when the fox stayed home longer than usual, and I had to find my own firewood for the stove. It's good that I could see through the window where the fox was going. And following her cold trail, I found the firewood. I took all three pieces, and it was incredibly heavy, even though they were as long as my arm, but still.
I had to work really hard to get back into the house with those three pieces of wood. My body ached with fatigue, and my throat felt prickly. I need to be careful with such cold air outside. I read that in a wonderful book, too.
After catching my breath in the warm air, I carried the firewood to the already dying stove. It should last for a while.
Because of my weakness, it was hard for me to hold a sword and cut with it, let alone carry a load and make point a to b. I needed to train and become incredibly strong! Heh...
But how could I become strong? I didn't know, and I couldn't ask the fox because of her obvious language barrier.
So, feeling a little frustrated by my helplessness, I turned to the books. I read the title of the first book.
-"Carpentry". Hmm...
Picking up another book, I first examined it for informative drawings. Well, this one had a multitude of animals and other scary creatures drawn on it. As if they had escaped from someone's nightmare. Goosebumps ran down my spine at the sight of all this creatures, and I read the title.
-"Variety of Animals and Monsters for Dummies". Perhaps this will come in handy a little later. I doubt all the animals will be as kind to me as my fox.
It had a huge axe drawn on it. It didn't look like a regular axe, as there was another bayonet above the main blade. I saw regular axes in our house and I can confidently say that this was clearly some kind of combat axe. This axe was turned with the blade toward my right hand, and under the blade itself was a title. On the back, a clear sky was visible, and for such an old book, it was remarkably well-preserved, seemingly unfaded. And the title of this book was...
-"Heaven's Halberd". Sounds really... cool. I wish I knew what it means... I think the word "halberd" refers to the weapon itself, and I have no idea what the first word is.
After turning this book over a couple more times, I decided to settle on this one. After all, it was the best-preserved one, and besides, in my opinion, the halberd was quite close to a sword in terms of technique. The same slashing and thrusting blows, after all. At least, that's what I think. Another advantage of this particular book was that she taught me how to handle an axe, which weighed much less than a sword. Which gave me the opportunity to train many times more.
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I opened the book and, like the last one, saw the table of contents. There were only three. To my surprise, so few. The handwriting in which the chapters were written was simply amazing. The incredibly neat and fine font simply made my eyes rejoice. The chapters were titled: "The Bare Minimum," "Handling an Axe," and "Connection with the Higher." It sounded very confident. But the essence, as usual, eluded me a little.
I turned the first page and was immediately greeted by numerous drawings of people in various poses, from standing to lying down. This piqued my interest, and I began to absorb every word.
Even when the fox returned home, she brought me new berries as usual, but I didn't pay attention and simply drowned in endless information about the human body and how to become stronger.
In short, these first pages were about what the human body is and what each muscle is responsible for. There were also numerous notes written next to the muscle groups most needed for skillful axe wielding. These included all parts of the legs, the back, the abdominal muscles, and the arms themselves. A considerable basic minimum, however. It turns out that to be able to use an axe, all these muscles were needed. Amazing.
The following pages contained numerous exercises using your own bodyweight, or using improvised means, or even the axe itself.
I thought it was simply divine reading. I wanted to try all of these exercises. Basically, all the exercises shown here were needed to wield an axe, so it was perfect for me.
After finishing the last page of the chapter, I read about the importance of breathing correctly. I was surprised how ordinary breathing can have such an impact on our body, but I wouldn't dare distrust such a textbook. After reading the instructions on how to breathe correctly, I started practicing. Luckily, the pictures clearly illustrated everything. The most important thing was:
1. Breathe deeply and exhale calmly, without rushing.
2. Breathe in unison with the exercise, or as the example given here in battle. That is, try to breathe in rhythm with the movements.
3. Don't overdo the amount of oxygen your body receives.
I don't think this is a particularly difficult breathing technique. I decided to start my incredible workout!
The first thing in the book was a warm-up. It literally stretched every joint, and every bone in my body crunched painfully. After finishing my warm-up, I looked at my first exercise—crunches with added weight. Unable to find a better additional weight than the book I'd already read, I placed it on my chest and lay down.
After completing the first rep, my body was already tense, and I felt my abs for the first time. After two more hesitant reps, I fell exhausted, hitting my head on the floor.
-Is this book that heavy? Am I weak? Or is THIS exercise that hard?
I simply lay there, trying to catch my breath from such a strain. I'd long since forgotten about breathing technique. I threw the book off with a loud thud and stood up sluggishly. I decided it would be best to rest well before the next set.
I sat down on the bed and began breathing loudly and deeply, calming my heart.
A couple of minutes later, I was back in action. Doing the exercise again, but this time without weight, I managed eight reps. And just like last time, I simply collapsed. My abs were burning terribly, and my throat was dry. My body begged to stop, but I was determined to finish... at least these and the next two exercises, which were marked as the main ones.
Of course, in reality, there were more than three main exercises, but at the moment, I was struggling even with the number I'd selected.
After finishing the third set, I simply lay on the floor, aimlessly staring at the ceiling.
-Why are my arm and leg muscles so tired... I don't understand, I didn't even use them...
The next two exercises were squats with added weight and push-ups, also with added weight. I immediately realized that it would be best for me to remove the added weight and just do them without anything.
While the squats were more or less tolerable, the only thing I couldn't figure out was the proper technique. It was as if I couldn't find the perfect position to do them.
But the push-ups were pure hell. Even one rep was like electricity running through my entire body. My legs, my torso, my arms, even my head were shaking; I had nothing to compare it to. After barely managing two reps, I collapsed exhausted and simply fell asleep.
I couldn't see anything. Even the emptiness of Eternity now seemed colorful and beautiful to me.