*Tak* *Tak*
The clattering sound of wood clashing with each other rang out in the training area while the smell of sweat was drifting through the air, showing the intensity of the training the people underwent in the area.
The young boy and the gorgeous lady suddenly came to a halt. The woman seemed to analyze the boy with interest, before opening her mouth with a faint delight glimmering in her eyes.
"Flynn, that's an impressive amount of skill you possess, considering your age. Tell me the truth, is this your first time sparring?"
Flynn was holding his knee, trying to get a bearing on his breathing. Hearing Lilliana's kinda excited voice, he slowly started raising his head. His long, red hair fluttered making him look quite girly as his face hasn't matured yet. There was a faint delight in his eyes, and his cheeky smile made him look really cute, melting the heart of anyone gazing at his face.
"Huff..huff. I wasn't slacking off while you were gone, dear Stepmother. I trained hard these past 2 months."
"Oh? Did we have a genius among us and we didn't notice?"
Lilliana seemed to be delighted, as she had a trading smile on her face, unlike her usual stoic self. Though people can't be sure whether that's her real self or just a mask, after all, she obviously does not act coldly with her daughter, on the contrary, she acts clingy.
Though Flynn can only wonder which is her real self, as there was no such information on the game. The information about Lilliana was lacking, to the point where one can wonder if she was alive or not.
"Stop teasing me…."
Flynn's cheeks turned scarlet, and he appeared embarrassed as he scratched the back of his head as it dipped. Flynn wasn't used to receiving praise. He wasn't praised much in his previous life either, which made him even more unaccustomed to such situations.
Lilliana seemed satisfied by his reaction, as she replaced her teasing expression with a serious one as she gracefully opened her mouth,
You are undoubtedly doing well, especially considering that you did not have an instructor, but there are several areas where I believe you can still make progress. You can't choose your fighting style before your mana awakens, but you can still improve your fundamental fighting abilities. For example, if you concentrate too much on your adversary's movements, being cautious is important, but your moves will be rigid and predictable. Instead of watching the enemy, try to forecast his next moves; however, I suppose you need more experience to be able to accomplish that. Haha"
Lilliana spoke with passion as she spoke, and she seemed to be happy that Flynn was listening to her as she cracked a joke despite her character at the end, though that joke was terrible. Understandably so.
"I understand, so shall we go back to sparring?"
Lilliana put a smile on her face after listening to my grumbling.
"Oh my, you seem to be really eager. Okay, let's go and don't worry I will hold back properly."
Lilliana adjusted herself briefly after finishing her sentence before leaping to her feet and lunging fiercely at Flynn. She really had to hold back because of how powerful she was. She is so strong that she can even defeat a knight captain while keeping herself at bay, displaying the best qualities of a Vice-General.
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Mc Pov:
"I have two more steps to do before I complete the first task." Do I, however, parry or dodge? What should I accomplish first? Lilliana finished adjusting herself and kicked off the ground, closing in on me at an unbelievable rate of speed as I considered my next move.
There was no way I would be able to block that attack, so I should dodge, but how?
As I was thinking about how to dodge, Lilliana's range of attack reached me. She held her spear with only one hand, leaving the other hanging in the air relaxedly. The spearhead was aimed at my stomach, as that is a common place to get hit and it's less painful.
It's fast, but I can still dodg-
"Argh!!"
Suddenly I was flying through the air and a pain-filled groan leaked out of my mouth. I was thrown 5 to 6 meters away from where I was standing, before falling to the ground.
'What just happened??'
I was about to dodge the spear by turning my body to the side, but the speed of the spear suddenly increased rapidly. I can feel the part where the attack landed ache, my breathing is getting rougher as pain-filled groans kept leaking out of my mouth.
"Flynn, are you okay!?"
Lilliana rushed to me with a face filled with concern and guilt. She seemed to have gotten too excited and forgot to hold back.
'Damn…it…..it hur-ts…..'
I was not used to getting hurt, as I lived in a peaceful environment so this amplified the amount of pain I felt considering the lack of pain resistance I possess.
But, that doesn't mean I can give up.
I may get hurt worse than this in the future, what do I do then? I have to get used to this pain.
And besides, I still have to finish that task…let's get up…
"Ugh…..!!"
Getting up was hard, but Lilliana helped by casting healing magic on me, which helped as the pain subsided, only by a bit though.
"Flynn, how about go and get some rest?"
As I was getting a bearing of my breathing, Lilliana suggested with a concerned tone.
In response to her suggestion, a determined glint appeared on my face.
"No, let's continue to spar, and put in as much strength as you last time."
"Ehh? No, but you just got hurt, there's no need for you to further hurt yourself."
"I will get hurt in the future anyways, it's better to get used to it from a young age, right?"
Lilliana had a really conflicted expression on her face. On one hand, she knew that I was right, on the other hand, she was thinking of my well-being as I was too young to start such training. Normally students get used to pain from real-life battle experiences. But, my determined expression seemed to have convinced her.
"Sigh….fine."
I got an earful afterwards, before resuming training.
'But, how the hell did Big Sis sleep through this?? Or rather when did she fall asleep!?'
*Sigh*
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