And thus began their ten days of waiting. Ivan watched on as Yue directed Shea towards the deeper end of woods, apparently Shea had asked of her volition to be trained in using her mana. That was something he was quite impressed about, a rabbitman going against their pacifistic nature to get stronger for the sake of her family. It wasn't long until the rest of her family followed suit in her ideals.
So that left him with a group of forty something rabbitmen in his hands. The problem was that the traits they received from their race was something Ivan could not teach them of, at least not using personal methods. Rabbitmen have a great sense of hearing thanks to those large ears on their heads. Their inborn proficiency in stealth was also something not to scoff at. Sure they might be weak individually but if they worked together it shouldn't be a hassle to kill even stronger enemies.
While he couldn't teach them how to be stealthy besides telling the stuff he's seen from movies and read, he did teach them some basics of a sword or dagger. Simply put he thought it'd be more efficient for them to stab their enemies rather than slash. As a slash would just tire them out and the possibility of their enemy having a strong defense would make the attack useless.
To him stabbing seemed like the best option, it was indeed something he used often in the labyrinth on the early floors. Less energy expended compared to swinging, you won't leave your arm exposed, and all it takes is to pierce through your target a couple inches and they'll likely die.
It was easier to see someone swinging towards you than poking in his personal opinion.
Now laid the problem of putting that knowledge to actual test. Ivan extracted an assortment of blades and knives from his 'Treasure Trove' and directed the Haulia to pick them up. From then on it would be hours of stabbing in a single direction without rest. He adjusted their stance all along the way and made sure they all had their legs spaced out and bent. Children and elderly were allowed an hour of rest should they decide they need it, men and women on the other hand had no such luxury.
Ivan lamented as he only had ten days to teach them. Sure he could stay around till after the fog clears but after that the chance that the Empire has an army standing outside is very likely. And rather than get caught up in all that he'd rather set up his base down in Fuhren. He watched the Haulia as they trained, he was glad they all found the drive to change themselves. As he was sure they'd be killed the moment he left.
He closed his eyes and listened to the sound of explosions and whirling behind him, laughing contently as he imagined the scene of Shea desperately dodging Yue's onslaught. He got up from his seated position and walked up to the Haulia, Shea was giving it her best, and who was he to not reciprocate those efforts.
The Rabbitmen trembled nervously as Ivan directed them on their next step, slaying monsters. During this course he would simply throw them at a somewhat weak monster and see how they fare. They followed in his steps as he led them deeper into the woods.
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Two days went by and Ivan spotted numerous improvements. In their battles against monsters they displayed brilliant teamwork and coordination. And while they successfully dispatched every mob he asked for, there were times they suffered some injuries. Though those injuries would immediately be healed by Ivan who followed them around with herbs he found in the area. Sure they made for crude salves but Ivan wanted the Haulia to get used to the pain. His stronger poisons would only make them not care for the risks.
He did laugh wryly at the sight of them jumping around randomly as if to avoid a car. Which he later found out was because they saw it more important to protect the lives of the insects and flora rather than their own. There was a lot of work to be done on their mentality to say the very least.
And though it might destroy the family loving nature he admired, he knew he had no choice but to harden them up. That brings us to the next step, hide and go seek. It was exactly as it sounded, Ivan was the seeker and the Rabbitmen were the hiders. Surely it'd be easy to detect he who has no abilities of stealth far long before he'd find them right? Especially seeing as how detection is their specialty.
However, what's the point of being able to detect things if you can't react in time to avoid them? This was a lesson the Haulia engraved deeply into their minds as Ivan's fists collided with their faces.
For five days now they spent most of their days running and hiding from Ivan. Of course they began to improve over time, becoming more creative with their spots or even using distractions to lure Ivan away from them. It was a change that brought much joy to him.
Another discovery was also made during those five days, that being a large uninhabited lake near where they set up base. Seeing the opportunity, how could Ivan refuse such a grand training area. He watched with a grin on his face as the Haulia shivered in the cold water. In any case swimming in it for at least an hour should provide great exercise for them, not that learning how to swim wasn't essential in itself.
He made sure they would adapt this to their training regimen even when he was gone, no matter who it was they were to learn how to swim. Ivan laughed to the side for the first two days of swimming, seeing the group scramble to prepare their weapons as a monster who wanted a sip of the water came near. But the next three days became much more boring as the group, combined with the hide and seek training, were now collected in their movements.
That left three days to go. Every once and a while he would get a report from Yue about Shea's improvements. How she was proficient in using a hammer and casting body strengthening magic. It seemed she truly deserved the title of 'oddity,' her improvements were just that terrifying. Ivan had no idea if it was natural talent or her drive to protect her family pushing her but he praised her nonetheless.
In these brief ten days he made it a point that Shea wouldn't be able to see her family at all, to him it was important she reveled in the uncomfortable atmosphere and adapted. Of course Yue was always by her side to keep that rule in check.
Now for these three last days came Ivan's favorite part of the training, hand to hand combat. Finally, something he was at least a little proficient in. He stood in front of ten or so Haulia as he directed them to attack. Knowing how to fight with just your bare hands, this was vital in Ivan's opinion. Odds were there wasn't always going to be a weapon lying around for them to use, which is why they must become weapons themselves.
The ten Rabbbitmen had no qualms in attacking as they moved forward without hesitation, an action their former selves would've never done before. With proper coordination they surrounded Ivan in less than three seconds, ensuring he wouldn't have anywhere to escape to. As per the rules of this training Ivan was not allowed to use anything other than his fists, so him transmutating was not a worry they had.
Ivan watched on in silences as the circle of Rabbitmen closed in one him, nodding in satisfaction as they all kept their stance even when moving forward. He was most impressed by the discipline of the two children and single elderly folk that partook in this round.
WHOOOOSH!
His foot swept up the ground with enough force to kick up the dirt into the air. Some Haulia closed their eyes out of instinct and the others took that movement as a sign to launch their own attack.
Fists flew through the dirt as the attacking Rabbitmen expected to have hit their target, instead greeted by nothing as they stood at a pause.
"H-Help…" A whimper emanated from their side as they turned to look at the source of the noise. There stood a figure, still adorning his signature helmet, with his hand clenched in front of him, as if holding something in it. It didn't take long for the rest of the group to notice what the figure held was their own comrade.
Rather than scream aloud or yell they silently launched their next attack as they saw the victim as a good distraction for their target. Three rabbitmen propelled themselves into the air as the rest surrounded him once more.
However, looking at the flying rabbits Ivan only held out his right arm in front of him as he grabbed the leg of the rabbitman closest to his right, then as if dragging him across the air he pulled the rabbitman into his fellow airborne comrades.
CRASH
The six remaining rabbitmen paid no attention to the three that had been sent flying with a single toss. All that they needed to know is that it was they who remained. A fist was sent flying towards Ivan's face as he made a movement to block it, however the moment it was right in front of him that clenched hand opened up and launched sand into his eyes.
The helmet was enough to block most of it but in the end it only took a few grains to sneak past the metal slits. He leaped back, not minding the rabbitman he collided with. Right now he had no time to take off the helmet and defend unless he ran away from the battlefield, a luxury he was sure the rabbitmen wouldn't afford him.
He has no choice but to wait out the discomfort and hope his eyelashes do all the work. A rabbitman was taken out as the moment he made a collision with his body he banged his head on the ground before he could even expect it.
With five remaining, Ivan dodged the flurry of kicks and punches as he backed up. Before he noticed it a rabbitman had appeared behind him and restrained his arms with his whole body.
"Cam, do it now!" The rabbitman screamed out.
Ivan used his legs to turn around, making the rabbitman who had attached himself to his back take the full brunt of the attack.
"Gah!" The rabbitman let go of his hold as he arched his back forward, a second later he fell to the ground in a daze.
Ivan grabbed the stunned Cam by the face before slamming him into the ground.
That left three. Ivan looked around the area, not noticing another soul in sight. At least not anyone besides the spectating Haulia. Right now thee battleground was a clear patch of dirt surrounded by a circle of trees. Which means the three had no choice but to ascend if they were going to hide.
He didn't bother following them up there, instead opting to take a lap slowly under each tree. Enticing the attackers to show themselves.
WHOOOSH!
That's when two twigs were thrown at him like throwing knives, one for his head the other his neck. Though the first one wouldn't penetrate his helmet the other would take advantage of the distraction to pierce the exposed area on his neck the moment he looked up to seek the cause of the attacks.
DINK!
Against all expectations Ivan looked down instead of up. The two children hiding in the trees were dumbfounded as the head tilted back up to look at them.
Next thing they knew they found themselves on the ground in the middle of the circle.
That left the old man. Ivan turned to the crowd of Haulia spectators. They stood in silence for a second before a figure pushed himself forward through. Revealing the old man who stood with a smile on his face.
"Ohohoho~ You got me there. I concede." It seemed, knowing that he wouldn't be able to do anything meaningful alone, the old man decided to give up.
And that wrapped up their first day of hand to hand. For the next three days this scene repeated itself. Each time with different groups and environments. Day in and day out they fought without rest. That added onto the exhausting swimming made their lives hell for the following days. But with their beastmen constitution they should recover quickly.
Then, the promised day arrived.
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Timeskip, complete. Moving on to the dungeon!
.....Hehe
I really need to use the bathroom badly so imma end this note on a short one. Thank you again for taking the time out of your day to read this, I hope this was of some entertainment to you. Have a great day and night. See you soon!
PS: SORRY IM LATE I WAS PLAYING ELDEN RING
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