Noon had arrived, and the sun hung high in the sky, its rays dimmed by passing clouds. However, that was not the focus of his attention.
He had come to the training grounds, expecting them to be empty. Instead, he saw Alaya, the maid who had saved his life, practicing her swordsmanship on a wooden dummy. The dummy was barely recognizable, covered with slashes and dents from her relentless strikes. Her silver sword gleamed in her hand, its golden hilt engraved with a rune representing her element.
She noticed him and sheathed her sword with a smooth motion. "It was defective, so I had to dispose of it," she said casually, as if destroying a training dummy was an everyday occurrence.
He blinked, trying to hide his surprise. "Oh, I see... No wonder it attacked me with full strength when I entered the training grounds," he said, remembering the occurrence when the training dummy made him struggle.
His eyes widened as he took in her appearance. He had never seen her without her maid outfit before. She looked stunning in her simple white tunic and sleek black pants with long boots and a sheath strapped to her waist. The clothes hugged her curves without restricting her movements. She looked like a warrior princess, not a servant. The clothes she wore were practical and simple instead of what we would think of as the fantasy clothing of a female warrior.
She gestured for him to come closer. "Don't stand there. Come here and observe these strikes and tell me what you think," she said, challenging him to test his observation and knowledge.
He walked towards her, feeling a mix of curiosity and admiration. He wondered how much stronger she had become after the awakening.
"I see, she's going to check my current level before she trains me. Looks like I will also know how deep in the water I am," he thought, sensing that she was testing his ability to observe, analyze, and figure out.
He walked towards the training dummy and inspected it closely from a meter away. He could appreciate the skill and precision of the strikes that had landed on it.
He noticed that most of the strikes followed a vertical direction, but there were slight differences that a beginner would not notice. Some were slashes that went from top to bottom or bottom to top, some were made by the sword's blade touching the dummy, and some were made by the air force generated by the sword's motions.
They were cleverly made to look like they all came from a single type of strike. It was a challenging task for a novice like Axtrav, but Lloyd's knowledge and observation enabled him to distinguish between the slashes and understand their origins.
She glanced at her wristwatch and nudged him gently. "Are you done observing it?" she asked, her voice calm but firm, carrying authority.
She had to put aside her usual affection for him and act as a strict examiner.
His task was to find the subtle differences in sword strikes by observing them closely. She couldn't afford to show him any favoritism or leniency, even though he was her young master. She had to treat him like any other candidate and judge him fairly without showing mercy in her judgment.
He shook his head, still focused on the once fine training dummy in front of him. He could see the faint marks left by different strikes and pressures, but he couldn't identify them. Since he had no idea about them, all he could see was that those were simple upward and downward strikes.
She sighed and reminded him of the rules. "You only have a minute to conclude your observation, so try to find whatever you can in the time limit," she said. She didn't want to rush him, but she had to be fair and treat him equally.
He nodded, understanding.
He scanned the sword marks one last time, hoping to spot something new or different, but he came up empty and found nothing new.
"These are just ordinary slashes made by brute force, not by using Aura or mana since there is no mana and aura to be sensed," he thought.
The cuts were all simple and random, the work of Alaya. He couldn't detect any skill or art behind them.
"Okay, time's up," she announced, clapping her hands.
The minute flew by, and now he had to share his observations.
"Go ahead and share your observation," she said, sternly.
"Okay, I will start now," he said.
"There is only one kind of sword slash on it, and that's straight, although it has many variations like different lengths and depths that depend on the strength used," he said.
"All of these marks are either upward or downward slashes with no connection to any sword skills or sword art. Also, the slashes don't have mana or aura in them, so it's safe to say that these are just basic slashes and nothing more than that," he finished his observation.
Alaya listened to his observation with rapt attention, not letting a single word escape her ears. She had the responsibility of grading his performance, and any mistake on her part could jeopardize Lloyd's growth and the training she had meticulously prepared for him.
When he finished, her expression shifted from indifferent to dissatisfied.
She was not impressed with the observation of the training dummy. Lloyd quickly picked up on her displeasure and wondered if he had overlooked something crucial.
"Is that all?" she asked in a cold tone.
Lloyd nodded without saying anything.
'Looks like I did miss something her expression and her tone make it clear. Her tone got colder,' he thought.
She took a moment to grade his observation and after a few moments, she sighed.
"Your observation, if compared to an average person of your level, is good—better, in fact. However, compared to your peers, it's lacking due to your knowledge and skills," she said.
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Finally training arc!!!! Man, we will go and discover the world now!
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