Veldrey carried the heavy sack as reached the end of the river.
The sack was full of wood and twigs that he collected throughout the peak of the river. Among the trees, a hole can be seen where it is possible for a human or an animal to fit in. He directly stepped in until he reaches the exit of the forest. Seeing out in the field, he noticed his son throwing a couple of punches in the air with a nefarious expression.
Veldrey smiles when he saw him trying hard while moving forward. He squirmed his arms in order to drag the sack upward to avoid spilling what he had gathered from the river.
The airy impact that Huck created slowly dissipated into thin air. Noticing that his father was walking across him, he made a call.
"Old man!" Veldrey stopped in his tracks and looks at him.
"Yeah? You need something?" He asked.
"No, not really. Are you okay out there? That bag seems to be pretty heavy." Huck approached his father.
"Heh, nothing is heavy for blacksmiths like me. This amount of stuff doesn't even equate with the tools that I have carried a long time ago." He giggled. Huck made an indistinguishable face, realizing that Veldrey is trying to be pretentious.
"Nevermind that, what do you need?" He asked. Huck bent his knees for a little, breathing calmly as he can to stabilize his core.
"I have a favor to ask, can you spar with me for a little bit?"
"..."
His eyes are not twitching at all and despite the muscular body he has, he seems to back off whenever he is in the presence of his father.
"Spar with you? No no no no, look, I may be strong at carrying these kinds of stuff, but I don't have any more energy to fight, let alone train with you. And why are you even asking me in the first place?" Veldrey raised his eyebrows. He lay down the sack on the grass as he gazed at Huck.
"No actually uh, I don't mean to 'fight' like exchanging fists or something. I want you to guide or help me with something." Raising both of his arms in the mid-air as he made it clear.
"Huh? What do you want me to do?"
"I want you to throw some heavy rocks on me." Huck requested.
"Wait, throw some rocks to you? Why? What are you planning to do with the rocks?"
"Well, I have been thinking about myself ever since I fought Aran. The reason why I lost to him is that I think I have a problem with my own agility and reflexes. I solely rely too much on my power but I never really improved my speed. That's why even after I beat him up, he still managed to outplay me when it comes to an open field close combat." As he explained his realization, Huck loses the confident tone he has earlier.
Veldrey looked at him for a couple of seconds without any means of disdain. He closed his eyes and sighed.
"Alright, I see your point. But 'how' are we actually doing it?" He raised another question for the specific part.
"It is pretty simple, you just need to throw these rocks in any direction you want and then I will go in that direction and try to punch or break it with my fists. In this way, I'll be able to move my legs as well as my arms in order to train them with a balance. What do you think?"
Veldrey walked past him while examining the wide field.
"Hmm, that is indeed a nice idea but there is no way you can improve your agility just by breaking the rocks that I will throw at you."
"Is there any other way I can do?" His question was full of curiosity, filled with hope but at the same time, it was influenced by other factors.
"Well, it is similar to what you have said but instead of just dashing in random places, I want you to run and never stop while I'm throwing rocks at you." Veldrey proposed his other plan.
"Wait, so you want me to run and run? Isn't that pretty tiring?"
"Your prior objective is to improve your agility and stamina, and you're not going anywhere near that if you're just going to step back and forth while destroying a stone. In order for your body to fully adapt and improve its physical agility, you need to have drill by running while also breaking the rocks. Reflexes will be trained in this kind of training as well since you're not allowed to rest your mind." Veldrey answered his concerns.
"I see, that's right! Old man, you're pretty awesome." Commended by Huck, Veldrey quickly chuckled.
"Well, I am a former practitioner when I was young before I became a blacksmith so I know a little about health and anatomy. Physical Education is pretty bland these days and it is uncommon." Veldrey replied.
"All right then! I'm in your care!" After bowing, Huck dashed right into the center. He stretched his arms and legs for a little bit in order to prepare for their fatherly training.
--
Meanwhile, Lisa was concentrating on her swings just a couple of distance from the river.
She made an endless swing with her sword back and forth while trying to balance her body.
"Two hundred ninety-seven, two hundred ninety-eight, two hundred ninety-nine, three hundred." Ending her counts, she slowly sheathed her katana and rubbed her face with a towel to drain her sweat.
She bent her knees and leaned closer to the water. Using her hands she splashed herself with an ample amount of water to her face and rubbed it in.
As she felt relieved and fresh, Lisa stood up and made her way to the tree to stay away from the scorching sun.
(Is this really enough? I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere just by swinging this.) She thought.
Lisa suddenly remembered something that her Grandfather said during their training sessions.
"Lisa, the Twelve Sunflower Sword Art is something that our progenitor have passed for a very long time. Magic and physical skills are very important in executing our art. In order for you to gain that power, you need to be compatible with our style. And by doing that, you will enable the sealed techniques that our ancestors have originally created in order to fight." Master Himawari concluded.
"But Grandpa, how can I make myself compatible? What am I going to do?" Lisa asked as she stepped forward with her guard stalled in front of her.
"There are a lot of ways to become compatible with your art. First, know your worth and reflect. Asking questions like for what reason did you wield and raised your sword? What is your objective? And what value do you have in yourself?" Master Himawari answered then suddenly made a dash in the front.
Both of them have clashed their swords multiple times. Disintegrating a lot of sparks as it landed on the blade.
Lisa seems to be struggling as Master Himawari quickly began to thrust his sword in some unpredictable motion.
"Make your resolve! Unleash your capabilities! For what reason you are fighting?! Until you find the right answer to that, you won't be able to use the full techniques that I have taught you. However, you can still use their second source but they are going to be far from the original!"
"Tsk!" Lisa moved to the other side to dodge but she was quickly locked in and Master Himawari hit her belly.
"There's no point in hard work if you are going to remain superficial of your own growth. Reflect on what you are to yourself, Lisa. Our technique, the Alliere's pride should enable you to fight any hurdles that you must encounter. And in order to achieve that, you must first believe in yourself." Master Himawari kept on attacking her.
Ending the memory that she had remembered, Lisa stood up once again while looking at the river. Her blank stares are inevitable. Confusion rose and she cannot help but feel frustrated by the fact she doesn't really know the real meaning behind getting compatible with her Art.
"This won't do anything well, I'll just keep on moving forward..." After making her declaration, she immediately unsheathed her katana once again and started swinging it with a much intense force than usual.
"One, two, three, four, five" She counted again.
--
On the other side of the field, Aran and William are having their training session on the open. With William's superhuman speed, he easily hit Aran on his back using his right leg, flinching and breaking the stone as Aran landed on the rubble.
He stood up very quickly and dragged his body to the left in order to roll and to avoid the next hit that William is going to connect.
With each attack, Aran can't help but lose his concentration, unable to track himself towards the main goal of their training. Instead of using perceptiveness, he relies too much on timing and visuals which ends the purpose of their training.
But he cannot keep up with it, even with his sharp senses.
With one final connect, William thrusts his right leg on Aran's stomach and knocked him down on the ground. Writhing in pain, Aran positioned his body in a fold and dropped his knife on the other side. William stopped his connection and slowly approached him.
"What's wrong? You are not using the technique that I have told you about earlier. At this point, you won't be able to sharpen your senses deeper than what you currently have." William crouched as he gazed at Aran. He glared at him with gritted teeth as he slowly picked himself up.
"You say that, but how am I supposed to concentrate fast if you're hitting me everywhere. I lose my focus every time you hit me." Aran complained.
"No, that's not the problem, Aran. How can you actually hone your perceptiveness skills if you are not going to let your body experience a quick reaction? The light energy molecules that surround your vision are going to be your guide. You've actually managed to sense my position earlier so I think you should be fine." William answered as he walked away.
"Now, let's try this again shall we?" He made a stance.
As Aran finally stood on his own, he brushed off the dush that is covering his face while getting ready for another round of sharpening his perception. He slowly raised his hand with the knife bent inwards.
"Alright, be ready..." William warned him.
Aran sighed once more. He closed his eyes and started to focus on his mind. Seeing himself in the void once again, accumulating many light energy particles, he noticed that William's position has changed. He followed the movement of the particles without any visual cue and after three seconds, he sensed the roaring presence of William that is about to punch him.
(There!) Immediately after sensing it, Aran dashed forward to avoid the punch. His concentrations are becoming fuzzy as he moved, but the light energy particles are still displayed. William took a step back and realized that Aran is becoming sharper as he launched an attack.
(This kid, we have been only doing this for like an hour and he can already sense my light energy? That little speech I made earlier is already in effect, I suppose) He thought.
"Again, here I come!" William slides his left foot backward and leaned his body forwards, preparing for another launch of the attack.
(Focus! You've dodged his attack, keep this up and you will be able to dodge the other one as well. Calm your mind, do not feel the pain that is ruling your nerve. Remember what William taught you.)
A second passed. William ran in the field sideways. Doing this method distracted Aran's concentration because the light energy particles are dispersing throughout the void. This made it difficult for Aran to pinpoint the cluster of energy that serves to be the sign when something is moving.
(Damn it! I lost him!) Aran failed to sense William's presence and he got kicked in the belly.
As he rotated his body, he used his right leg to add some friction and to lessen the impact that William induced.
(Again!) repeating what he did, the sideway running eventually struck into Aran's perceptiveness. This made him get used to it.
(The light energy is swarming on the center, I cannot pinpoint the exact direction of where William is trying to attack. My best bet is to contradict him by avoiding the swarming particles. It won't give me a much better accuracy but I think it will work well when it comes to avoiding.)
The light energy particles continued to swim all around the void without any pattern. Realizing that it is dispersing, Aran didn't stay in one position but instead, he moved his body along with the swarming of the particles. William noticed this and widened his eyes, he jumped in the sky and combined his arms together preparing to smack Aran.
(I see now, you're going from above, well then, I'll move–)
"Argh!" Aran shrieked in pain as he accepted the blow on his face. He flew straightly right into the big tree and smashed his back on the trunk. His body slowly panned downwards until he reached the grass.
"Damn it!" furious, he didn't get to avoid the blow from William.
"That was magnificent. At some point, you were able to dodge three out of one hundred five attacks." With a teasing tone, William walked towards Aran while clapping his hand.
"No, there was no way in hell that is magnificent. I've literally pinpointed your location but I still lost. My speed is decreasing with my thoughts being used in the process." Aran blamed himself for the insufficient performance.
"Mmm, either way, you have proven yourself to be worthy of inheriting Jzerein's Art." Noticing that Aran feels unpleased with his skills, William lightened the mood by motivating him.
"Huh?"
"I don't think you need that much evaluation before you can use his technique. The overall factor is already in your core and that makes you the perfect candidate for it." He continued.
"But that's not what I meant, I want to be able to perfect perceptiveness. You said that it was an important factor right? How can I unleash Jzerein's art if the first basic step is already failing? I'm so pathetic that I can't even handle it." Aran averted his gaze from William as he continued to sulk in his position.
"Aran, you don't need to devalue yourself that much. You're not a perfectionist, you are a Slayer candidate. Everything has a process and every single lesson you learn takes a lot of time to master. You're not supposed to perfect them in such a short time, you're supposed to perfect them as you continue to train." William contradicted what Aran has said for himself.
"You're right... Rushing won't do any difference. I'm really sorry." He apologized.
"No, you don't have to apologize. It is normal for someone like you to have these kinds of lingering feelings that you cannot brush. But that's the point of this training, to get rid of those hard feelings and to fully understand what you are capable of after you improved." William extended his hand and Aran grabbed it. He stands up slowly until he is able to control his legs again.
"Thank you so much, William. Let's continue!" Aran did a forwards stance and so did William.
"Listen well, the secret in becoming quick with sensing light energy particles is not overthinking and overanalyzing. The reason why you are unable to move your body on par with your own thoughts is that they are heavily focused on your brain in one sector only. This makes no space for the body to quickly move. You might be able to move them fast in one attempt after your brain has perceived it, but when it comes to consecutive executions, you need to balance them all together." William gave a piece of advice as he ran across the field once again.
"Yes!"
"Do not think about my position, you need to feel it!"
His field of vision suddenly became dark. Closing and encasing himself with the void as he focuses on the energy particles.
(Do not overthink... Do not overthink...)
By calming his mind even more than usual, Aran achieved a steady pace of enlightenment and peacefulness.
The light energy particles that have been moving erratically transitioned to slow pacing. All of the molecules are intact and it is now easier for Aran to point out the location even if William is moving pretty fast on a sideways turn.
(I can see it... It is very clear and slow)
The moment that the particles were enclosed to his surroundings, Aran moved periodically in a swift manner. Slowly panning out from the molecules, William made a spin kick and before it even land on his head, Aran suddenly countered him with a punch.
The movement may be subtle but instead of dodging, he finally landed a clean hit to William.
Resulting in an intense hit, William quickly elevated himself from the grass to hold in his balance.
(Ow! That was a clean hit!)
He landed on the top of the flat stone after tumbling.
Aran opened his eyes, seeing William enduring the pain by placing his hand on his face
"I did it! I didn't dodge! I hit you!" Overwhelmed with joy, Aran curled his frown into a sudden smile.
"Yeah, great job. You finally reached the second level of perceptiveness. Though, I didn't expect you to hit me. I admit that it hurts a little." William replied as walked down from the flat stone.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't really mean to..." Aran bowed.
"No, that's okay, I think the sudden deep state you're in enabled your fighting senses in a way that makes you attack in reflex rather than dodging it. It is called 'Eclipse Counter'."
"Eclipse... Counter?" Aran questioned the term.
"It is also part of Jzerein's sword art. Eclipse counter is when you are able to counter what your opponent is trying to do in the sense that you are faster than them. There's a lot of specification and methods when using Eclipse Counter. But speed and mobility are some of the most effective kinds of the counter. You use your speed rather than the denotative key of sense." William explained.
"I see, so if I am quick to dismantle them, then that means I'm using Eclipse Counter." Aran positioned himself.
"That's right." William agreed.
"Now then Aran, I think it is time for us to level up our training."
"What do you mean by that?" Aran asked with a confused look on his face.
"I'm going to teach you the first Penumbral Sword Technique: Moon Strike." With a smirk on his face, William finally revealed the first-ever sword technique under Jzerein's sword art.
"Wait, are you sure it is okay to learn about it already? I haven't really mastered the first basic steps, you know?" He asked.
"This first technique is not something that you would connect to our previous exchange. The reason why I wanted you to learn that first is that I want you to be able to grasp the concept between magic and physical ability. There is a lot of variation when it comes to the physical enhancement and forming equations for magic."
"You mean there are more levels to it?"
"Something like that, yes. You see here, Jzerein's Shadow Blade Art doesn't stem from physical ability and magic alone."
"He has a different source of power?" Aran asked.
"Correct. It is called Spiritual Energy."
--
As they progressed, Huck and Veldrey have started their plan to improve his physical agility.
"Right, once I started throwing rocks, I want you to run and try to break them without stopping once. The key here is the timing, if you are too fast or late you won't be able to break the stone in time and you will be forced to stop, thus it won't make you strengthen your agility." Veldrey made the instructions clear to Huck.
"Yes!" He responded.
Huck did a forward stance, preparing his body to launch itself.
Veldrey, with the use of his full power embedded on the swing, threw the rock at a high velocity arching itself near Huck's field.
"Go!" He signaled him.
As he saw the rock in the sky, Huck ran away to catch it. His speed is accelerating to a normal pace, while the rock is decelerating its speed as it goes downward.
(I see it!)
Huck raised his arm backward preparing to punch the rock and after a few seconds, he missed the rock by in an inch. This caused him to stop in his tracks and realized that he failed to break it.
"Again!" He shouted as he returned to his position.
Once again, Veldrey threw another rock arching itself on his position. This time, the speed of the rock is pretty fast and Huck needs to go where it is supposed to land in order to catch it. He started dashing forward at a high speed as possible, trying to clean his remark to achieve great accuracy. However, looking at the sky actually hurts his eyes because of the sunlight.
By the time he reached the position where the rocks were supposed to land, he didn't manage to hit it because of the pain.
"Hey, are you okay?" Veldrey approached him with a concerned look.
"Yeah, I'm fine, the sunrays are just blinding me pretty bad," Huck replied.
"This is not good, the fact that the sun is going to be a hindrance to your vision, it would be pretty difficult to assess the accuracy rate of where you are going to catch the stone. What if I just throw it straight ahead?" Veldrey suggested.
"Well, you can do that, but I won't be running anymore if you do it. Straight ahead throwing will counter my ability to run because I'll be just standing without chasing it." Huck said.
"Yeah, this one is problematic." Veldrey agreed.
"No, it will not be problematic. This is the point of training, if I won't be able to counter the sunlight then there will be no progress at all. If I am improving my agility then I must improve my vision and senses as well. That is pretty important if you ask me." Huck said as he walked away.
"But you're going to damage your eyes..." Veldrey tried to stop him.
"It will, but it is better to receive pain to achieve a greater outcome, isn't it? I will try again until I managed to hit the rock. Sunlight or not, there's nothing that can stop me." Huck made his resolve, determined and eager to proceed as he stand again to his position. Veldrey couldn't help but give the argument to him because of his determination to improve.
"Alright, if that is what you want then I shall do my best to support you. We're both a man so it is pretty natural to feel like this." Veldrey replied as he smiled, returning back to his position earlier.
"I'm ready! Please throw a rock again!" Huck stepped again.
Prior to this, Veldrey finally threw another rock and this time it is a bit closer to Huck's position, he is trying to avoid the sunlight in order for Huck to get it.
(I see it...) Again, he leaped in front and started running at a normal pace. With his left arm, he tried to pinpoint the exact location of the rock.
(With this timing, I can do it!)
Finally, the rock landed on Huck's fist, breaking into pieces without stopping in his tracks. The smile on his face began to erupt.
"Good job! Now let's try it again!" Veldrey threw another rock and this time it is far from Huck. Without stopping on the tracks, he reached the center where the stone is about to fall. Though Huck didn't manage to hit because he is too fast.
"Argh!" He screamed.
"Keep on running!" Veldrey with another rock being thrown mid-air.
"Yeah!" Huck enabled himself to leap again, the pressure on his legs began swelling as soon he started running.
"AAAAA!"
Entering the phase of adrenaline, he finally smashed the stone into pieces.