A short time later, in the courtyard.
"Come on Rei, don't be so mad at Rada, after all I don't think it was intentional" tried to mediate the Elder.
"Umpf!"
Rei's face was still red with embarrassment, she wasn't particularly angry with Rada, however at the same time she felt very frustrated, this had never happened to her before.
"Hey hey, if we really want to talk, I'm the victim!" exclaimed the poor unfortunate. Rei's five fingers were still pulsing on her face.
"Victim, my ass! You had plenty of time to..."
Rei shouted at him like an angry tiger, but stopped himself soon after, unable to complete the sentence under the doubtful looks of those present.
"Alright alright, let's wrap it up here," framed the Elder.
"Let's talk about the training program for Rada. In the morning he will train with Rei in combat, in the afternoon he will study with Cody in the library and in the evening I will give him some notions myself."
The young pupil was very lacking in the basics, so he pressed himself to set aside time for explanations.
After finishing breakfast, they each headed off to their own tasks.
Rei and Rada, along with the Elder, made their way to a larger area of the courtyard, while Cody made his way to the library.
"Well son, every morning you and Rei will come here to train, Rei will teach you the basics of hunting and everything you need to know about survival" explained the Elder.
"Okay," nodded Rada.
"Plus you'll also have to fight each other, after all, there might be situations where you'll have to fight against the other participants" continued the Old Master.
He wasn't really in the mood to fight a girl, but he certainly couldn't back down. If he then voiced his thoughts, he was certain of the fact that the girl would skin him alive.
"However, I think you are not very lacking on this point, am I right?"
he said, smiling at the student. He remembered well the strange movements in the brawl with Alcas, he was very curious to see them again.
"Let's say yes, I learned something about fighting at home," replied Rada with much humility.
"Show me what you can do then, Rei!" the Elder quickly called the girl's attention.
"You will trade blows, no special powers are allowed."
"Fine," she replied. There was still anticipation in her eyes, she finally had a way to vent all her frustration.
Looking at the girl's expression, Rada understood her intentions, but knowing that no special powers were allowed, she remained silent and prepared herself.
(I should be able to land a blow, right?) she thought.
From the small fight against Alcas, he imagined that their way of fighting was quite rough and obvious. However, he didn't dare to underestimate the girl and still remained focused.
The two boys found themselves against each other. Rada assumed her fighting stance. She stretched her arms forward softly in front of her chest, with one more advanced than the other, while one foot stepped back diagonally to the other.
The position formed almost a triangle, he rotated his advanced foot slightly inward.
Both the Elder and Rei looked on curiously, they had never seen such a position before.
The Elder especially, noticed that the position Rada assumed did not leave the slightest space for openings, in this case in the center of her body.
"Interesting position," he whispered as he watched the kids.
All the while, Rei's gaze became more and more serious.
Thinking back to the moment when Rada knocked Alcas out and seeing now the strange position he assumed, he realized that it was not a beginner he had in front of him.
"Well, let's start dancing then!" said the Elder in a firm tone.
It was really curious, although Rada seemed to know a lot more than he was letting on, Rei was no different. Physically she wasn't as strong as Alcas, however she relied heavily on her agility of movement.
The two began to scrutinize each other, Rei contrary to Alcas who was a real hothead, decided not to attack immediately.
Rada observed every little movement of the girl.
Her fighting stance seemed quite rudimentary, however you could tell she was used to combat.
Seeing that Rada didn't seem to want to attack, Rei decided to advance with a sudden burst, taking his opponent by surprise for a moment.
Rada lost Rei for a moment, however he perceived a sort of green trail that flowed towards him at great speed.
He remained focused and didn't panic, he immediately stepped back to take space and waited for the moment of impact.
PAH!
Rei's fist, coming at great speed, was intercepted, the exact same movement done in the fight with Alcas.
Rei saw her body rotate outwards at great speed, she felt her energy flowing against herself, without her being able to oppose.
Still thinking about what happened against Alcas, she tried to guess the next move. She expected the same kind of counterattack and prepared herself to receive it.
But Rada, decided to adopt a different tactic than the one used before.
Standing next to the girl, she slid her arm in front of the girl's neck, while her other hand pushed her pelvis forward, placing one leg between those of the girl. He created a lever, causing her to lose her balance.
As she did so, in the blink of an eye, Rei fell with her back to the ground.
Rada accompanied the girl, controlling her fall, and let the hand that was on the girl's neck slide back towards him.
Instead, the other hand moved forward at great speed, stopping his fist in front of the girl's delicate nose, which remained open-eyed.
The Elder was astonished, he could see an action completed with extreme care, he was almost enchanted by those sinuous movements.
Clap, clap!
The two boys continued to watch each other for a few moments, when at one point, the elder's applause interrupted them.
"Ohohoh not bad, really not bad!" said the Elder with excitement in his eyes.
"Rei is not as physically strong as Alcas, however his fighting skills are no less. But you, you managed to land her on the ground like a beginner, with such elegance to boot, really incredible!" continued the Elder.
In the meantime Rada stretched out his hand towards the girl to help her get up.
She looked at him for a moment, while they were fighting his eyes were icy, like those of a ferocious beast waiting for its victim. The fight was over before it even began for him. Shortly after the end instead, he saw that kind expression in her eyes again.
"Thank you..." she said almost spellbound.
"You seem to know more than just 'something' boy, does this fighting style of yours have a name?" the Elder interrupted the strange atmosphere that was created
"Mm? Ah yes, Jkd!" replied Rada.
"J... Kd?" the old man repeated lamely. He had never heard anything like it in his life.
"Yes, in my country it means The Way of the Intercepting Fist."