๐๐ค๐ ๐ค๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก'๐ ๐๐๐ค...
That two-week training was hell for Fate as he and Caeruleus trained intensely - to the point that they would almost kill each other. Both of them also trained nonstop as Caeruleus never lets a day pass without him training Fate. Overall, that two-week pressure cooker was worth it, nonetheless. Fate could already feel his significant amount of improvement. Caeruleus was a very big help for Fate.
He and Caeruleus stopped 3 days of training, just to take a break. The two talked about each other's lives, and Fate was enlightened that Sir Caeruleus had a tremendous amount of perseverance during his childhood.
"So, we're already on the third week, right?" Caeruleus asked Fate as he opens a chest at the back of the tent. He took out something resembling that of a ninja star, a shuriken to be exact. Fate never thought he had that one.
"Yes, sir," Fate briefly replied.
"Finish your breakfast and meet me at the tree just to the north of this tent, we will have another training session this week," Caeruleus told Fate.
"Sure s-sir, I will-"
Caeruleus was gone before Fate had the chance to reply, but he really don't mind. Fate could already hear his stomach growling so he ate his breakfast before it gets cold. He had seared mutton and fried rice as his breakfast. Fate noticed that he could easily finish half of the breakfast prepared by Caeruleus easily, perhaps it was because of the intense training both of them had. Fate thinks, "I never saw him eat anything, to be honest. I'm getting concerned but I don't mind, he's a fit, muscular guy after all."
Fate headed towards the tree Caeruleus' telling him about earlier once Fate have finished his breakfast. Fate made sure he took the pairs of sickles along with him. He could feel that the other sickle got heavier, but thinking about the two-week intensive training, he could barely feel it. It's better than nothing. Sir Caeruleus modified it anyway, thanks to him Fate has a weapon to use.
"I have finished my food, sir," Fate told Caeruleus, trying to get his attention.
"I'm glad you're here already, I never thought you'd easily finish your breakfast," he told Fate as he throws a ninja star up in the air. He then catches it and throws it up in the air again, repeating the cycle over and over again. "How are you feeling?" he added.
"My body is fully recovered, sir. I believe I took enough rest," Fate abruptly answered as he lean on his back towards the tree.
"Kid," Caeruleus looks at Fate, "do you think you could catch this ninja-star when I threw it?"
"That depends on where you'd throw it, sir."
"Let me demonstrate what I'm trying to say."
Caeruleus threw one of his ninja-stars forward. Fate never saw where that ninja-star went knowing its size. A strong wind blew from his right, and it turns out, Caeruleus leaped forward where he threw his ninja-star. Fate could not believe his eyes when Caeruleus caught them without even breaking a sweat.
"Do you see what I mean, kid?" he asked Fate as he shows his ninja-star he just threw.
Fate never gave any response as he is still shocked by what just happened, trying to process everything. He just nodded his head as his response.
"I see..." Caeruleus said as he closely examines his ninja-star. After some seconds, Caeruleus looked at Fate's location and threw the ninja-star before Fate could react. It barely missed him as the ninja-star was already beside his left ear. Fate was frozen in shock and never moved as his heart rate pumped up. Fate's heart could jump out of his chest any moment now.
"I could've killed you just now, kid," Caeruleus said. "Let's do it another time."
Fate suddenly tightened his grasp on his sickles as Caeruleus gives that look again into his eyes. Predicting what Caeruleus' about to do, Fate tried to perform a blocking stance.
"Let's play baseball, kid," Caeruleus sarcastically said as he threw another of his ninja-star.
Fate swung his sickle, attempting to ricochet his ninja-star. It was very futile. He is playing with a ninja-star, it feels like he's a humongous giant trying to swat a quick, little fly.
"We could do this all day, Fate," Caeruleus told Fate as he continue to throw his remaining ninja-stars.
As Fate tries to divert his ninja-stars Caeruleus throws, more of Fate's bodies get scratched and wounded. He could just avoid it, but that's not what Caeruleus want.
"We won't move on to the next phase if you didn't hit this one," Caeruleus coldly said to Fate as he gave Fate a spine-chilling stare before throwing his last ninja-star.
Fate took a deep breath and relaxed every single muscle of his body. He thought to himself, maybe he is doing it wrong. As Caeruleus threw his last ninja-star, Fate closed his eyes and his body felt light. It was as if Fate is a paper.
Fate has been doing this for one year of training himself, and it was always effective, although he hasn't mastered the technique since he's teaching himself. Fate opened his eyes and saw the ninja star coming at him, but it feels like everything around him became slower. Fate took the opportunity and deflected it. He swore his body felt like that of paper.
Fate did the impossible, "I-I did it..." he whispered.
"Impressive, that's how you do it," Caeruleus told Fate. "Become a feather, kid. Let your body flow along with the wind. This is the key to agility. Release every tension you have inside your body. You don't have to try hard, it will break the agility. Do not sacrifice agility over power. Take it easy and you will find this training as a piece of cake."
"Can we do another?" Fate asked, "How did you catch that ninja-star earlier?"
"Now, you're talking."
Caeruleus went behind Fate before he could even blink. "Watch out, kid," Caeruleus said.
Fate looked behind him and he saw an incoming ninja star. His body gave him a sudden bolt and caught the ninja star. It was an involuntary move and again, he tried to process what just happened.
Caeruleus looked at Fate, surprised by what he did. "I-it was my body who did it, sir..." he told Caeruleus as he tries to process what happened earlier," Fate gave his reason.
Fate scrutinized the ninja-star he caught and he described it as very lightweight, but a deadly weapon. Despite it being made from a very low-quality metal, it is surprisingly sharp; nevertheless, it is still brittle and easy to break.
Caeruleus pulled out a Very pistol and loaded it with a flare he took from his pocket. "Once I fired this pistol, throw that ninja-star forward as hard as you can," he told Fate as he points the Very pistol in Fate's direction at a fifteen-degree angle, "and once the flare goes down, catch the ninja-star," he added.
"One."
Fate readied his right arm as he performed a throwing stance, looking forward to the horizon where his sight stretched to as far as his eyes could see.
"Two."
Fate tightly grasped onto the ninja-star and made sure he will gain enough momentum before he throw it.
"Three."
He heard a gunshot coming from Caeruleus, and that's when he knew he had to throw the ninja star. Fate threw it as hard as he could and he could see it going with the flare.
He waited until he could see the flare go down. Fate waited, and waited, and waited, until he could notice the flare's angle slowly going down, falling to the ground.
This is where Fate's thoughts got challenged. He has to gain strength to plunge, but that would sacrifice his agility. Fate got carried away by his confidence, he should've known this would be harder to execute than he originally thought.
"But what if I became the cannon and its cannonball?" Fate asks himself. "The cannon has a tremendous amount of strength to fire the cannonball up into the air, while the cannonball goes freely into the air - no, the cannonball becomes the air as it freely goes to its target," he thinks deeply as he thoroughly analyzes what he's about to do.
Using that logic, Fate became a 'cannon', fired himself, leaped with the help of magic, and used the experience he gained from the training two weeks ago. Fate made a significant distance from where he originally was. After that, he became the 'cannonball', free to go to his target, and that target was that ninja-star he just threw.
Fate released every tension from his body after leaping, and he could already realize that the ninja star is already on his reach. He suddenly grabbed it and rolled once he knew he was about to reach the ground.
"Fate..." Caeruleus told Fate. It got his attention and looked at Caeruleus. "You're already improving, aren't you?"
"I-I did it, sir! I caught the ninja star I threw!!" Fate excitedly exclaimed as he show him the ninja star, completely ignoring his question.
The following days, Fate and Caeruleus continued that kind of training, where Fate would block every ninja star Caeruleus would throw at him. Fate also continued throwing ninja stars far away from him and catching them from where he is.
It got harder on the third day. This time, Caeruleus would throw smaller things like darts. Fate only used a thin but tough wooden stick to deflect it, making it even harder. Darts were what he used on that day where he'd throw it away from him and catch it from where he is.
The fifth day was insanity as Caeruleus would point a gun at Fate and fire it. It wasn't a deadly gun, but it packs a punch, and it's harder to deflect with the wooden stick Fate used from the third day since the bullets were hard to predict. Bullets were the thing Fate had to catch on that day, but this time, Caeruleus would fire it as Fate didn't know how to handle a gun. "To be honest, I didn't know guns existed in this kingdom. Perhaps it is only exclusive for Peer's Summons like him," he thinks
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