"Sh*t!"
The rolled mat in Nardar's hand hit right in the center of Jack's shield.
Jack tried to push back, but the force was too much for him. The attack pushed his hand against his chest before throwing his body into the air like a rag doll.
"Argh…!" Jack screamed.
The strength of an A-rank adventurer manages to toss his body for a few meters before rolling a few times toward the periphery of the arena.
Cough… Cough...
'Fu*k! He broke my hand.'
Jack felt a throbbing pain in his left hand and chest area. But when he tried to move it, his left hand was surprisingly alright, which made him quite surprised.
'Did the blow hit my shield's center and distributed evenly into my body?!'
Even though he knew Nardar's intention, Jack was still angry about it. 'Sh*t. you should have told me that before attacking.'
After cursing, Jack stood up and assumed a defensive position.
'You want to tell me that in a real battle, your enemy will not wait for you to be ready before attacking, eh. Haha. I knew it. I can read your mind like an open book, you prick!
'Come on! Let's continue.'
Jack was banging his shield with the wooden sword to taunt Nardar, but the man wasn't affected at all. He only swung his weapon a few times without moving an inch before suddenly nodded.
A second later, Nardar's figure disappeared again, but this time, Jack was already prepared.
He raised his shield near the chest area so he could adjust its position according to the direction of Nardar's attack. Jack learned this technique from a fantasy novel a long time ago, but this is the first time he had the chance to try it for real.
For a fantasy action and adventure enthusiast like him, imagination is his best weapon. He could think of an effective way to attack his opponent while exploiting their stance or react to enemy attack after seeing its trajectory.
The only thing he needs to do is to turn that imagination into reality.
At least, Jack thinks so.
But the reality is often disappointing. To be able to implement imagination in a real battle effort alone is not enough. Or at least it will take a very long time to do it.
He needs a mentor, a good mentor who could train him the correct way.
When the rolled mat was coming for him from the left side, Jack moved his shield to intercept it.
Bam!
The blow hit in the unexpected area and shifted his shield toward the front, leaving the left side of his body unguarded. Fortunately, Nardar didn't attack him again after that and just stood there like a statue.
'Did he reduce his strength?! So the first one just to gauge my strength, eh.' Jack was a bit surprised.
'You really are a real man, sir. You always talk with your fist.' He silently praises him in a sarcastic way.
When Jack puts up his battle stance again, Nardar begins to attack again.
A similar process repeated like the same old story played over and over again. Even the ending is not that much different, just Jack being beaten up over and over until he couldn't stand up anymore.
The beaten-up Jack lay his back on the stone-cold arena floor. For a couple of minutes, all he could see is a gray ceiling that has become familiar to him in the past two hours.
Suddenly, a muscular bronze hand appeared in front of his eyes as if it wanted to help him stand.
Jack smiled while silently commented. 'Heh. This guy is not that heartless, after all.'
But when Jack's hand was about to reach it, Nardar said, "One silver."
"Eh?!" The smile on Jack's face slipped as he cursed inwardly. 'Fu*k! I take back what I said earlier.'
After receiving the silver coin, Nardar left Jack alone inside the indoor arena without saying another word. Because most of his students usually give up after a single training season, he is already accustomed to treat the first silver he gets as a reward from winning a duel.
To him, it's just another day in the adventurer's guild training area.
Besides, he believes that the weak fellow he just trained will never return, just like everyone else who only wants to learn his family's technique.
Nardar Ironsong is the youngest of three children in the Ironsong family. An old aristocratic family from the Arkadian kingdom before it was taken over by the Thunderbird family.
Today, the Ironsong family has become a relic of the past, leaving only about five people who carry its bloodline, including Nardar.
Nardar's parents are no longer in this world since he was three years old. And since then, the three of them were adopted by a relative and live in a small village near Alexandrium called Thornbell.
Their childhood was far from luxurious because, after the fall of the Arkadian kingdom, their family was constantly pressured by the Thunderbird family. They can only be humble and live while hiding their family name.
That's why Nardar chose to join the adventurer guild. With the presence of Tigreal Pendragon, the Avantheim kingdom wouldn't dare to recklessly put him down without a good reason.
But joining is not his primary objective because, in the end, all that matters is power.
His eldest brother mysteriously disappeared when he was twenty. The family only could bite their lips while doing nothing, believing that this incident was initiated by the government after they noticed his talent in material arts.
His older sister, on the other hand, is still alive and well. She opened a restaurant in Catania city and has lived there for a decade. Nardar even visited her frequently when he had missions in the city.
Of course, they acted as if they didn't know each other even when they actually met.
After Nardar left. Jack was sprawling alone while pondering about the "lovely" time he spent with Nardar.
"Sh*t! That blockhead really knows how to beat people up. (Jack nicknamed Nardar as blockhead) Every piece of my body is hurt, especially my hands and legs.
"Did he deliberately aim at that spot to train my body? Is he actually a genius?
"Heh. I won't realize it if not because I have read hundreds of material arts novels. A hidden expert like him will only pass down his secret technique to a worthy person who could patiently take humiliation like this.
"You think I will stop coming, eh? No! I will show up here every day to train with you. Whatever it takes.
"Hehe. Besides, I want to prove something.
"They say. The thing that didn't kill you will only make you stronger.
"Let's put it into a test, shall we."