Chereads / Condemned Hymn: Avatar of Sin / Chapter 19 - Chapter 19: Newbie Training (1)

Chapter 19 - Chapter 19: Newbie Training (1)

"Remember, Caspian. I won't go easy on you," Sean said as he looked at Caspian with a grin. "A good shooter needs good aim to be called that, but he doesn't only rely on his shooting skills. He also has great fighting capabilities using hand-to-hand combat. Do you get what I'm saying?"

Caspian nodded his head as he said, "If there's one thing I excel at, it's hand-to-hand combat."

"Good! But remember, against a supernatural who attacks and defends instinctively while having stronger physical capabilities than humans, your techniques will only be useless unless you can incorporate your supernatural abilities into it. But! Before that, we will test your shooting capabilities."

Sean then flicked his finger, and multiple targets rose from the ground all around the big arena. "Let's see what you've got!"

Suddenly, Sean faded from sight, which made Caspian mind boggled. After all, he was still not used to people using supernatural abilities, and all of it was shocking to him. Caspian dispelled that out of his mind as he held his rifle tightly while looking at the moving targets.

He then started shooting them sharply. Gunshots resounded throughout the entire area as Caspian hit his targets. Unfortunately, he missed some of them, and most of his shots were body shots rather than hitting the head. After all, he was not some monster that could take out people so far away from him without using an optic sight.

*Bang* *Bang* *Bang*

After a few minutes, all the targets were down, and the first test soon ended. Caspian wiped his sweat as he looked at Sean, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Sean then said, "Not bad for a new awakened. If I have to rate you, your score out of ten would be 5.7."

Caspian smiled wryly as he heard that. Sean simply laughed as he said, "Normally, I conduct the tests for those who want to join our unit, and the average score from them would be four out of ten, and they're true supernaturals."

"Next would be testing your hand-to-hand combat. I'll be your opponent, but I won't use any abilities. Let's see your skills, Caspian!" Sean said as he removed the coat her wore. He then readied his stance, and so did Caspian as they started to clash.

Sean stayed still, waiting for Caspian to launch an attack, but he saw that Caspian didn't move an inch and just stared at him. "Hoho, your observational skills are excellent. Well, let me make the first move then."

Sean then launched himself and sent out a jab. Caspian then weaved out of the way and prepared for a counterattack, but Sean immediately went for a low kick. Caspian immediately tried to dodge, but he was not fast enough, and he was knocked to the ground.

"Stand up; we're not done yet," Sean said as he extended his arm. Seeing this, Caspian grinned as he sweep-kicked, which Sean jumped over. Caspian immediately stood up as he sent out a jab, but Sean simply swatted his hand away and immediately launched his fist toward Caspian's chest.

Noticing this, Caspian pulled his arms back as fast as he could to block the attack, and he managed to successfully block it. Unfortunately, he was sent back a couple of steps as Sean didn't stop and started sending out multiple jabs and hooks.

Caspian started weaving and weaving, trying to analyze what Sean's next move would be. He then looked into Sean's eyes. Just as he gazed at him, Caspian saw that Sean's eyes were staring at his calf, so he immediately knew it was a low kick. Caspian then countered by sidestepping and sending a low kick of his own.

But his strength was not enough to knock Sean down. He instead felt pain on his shin, causing him to grit his teeth as he did a spinning back kick to push Sean back. Fortunately, he was successful this time, as Sean had to step back a little bit.

Of course, Caspian didn't let the opportunity pass as he sent a roundhouse kick at Sean. However, Sean simply dodged it as he sent his counterattack: a strong sidekick. Due to the kick's speed, Caspian immediately tried to block it, but he couldn't, and he felt pain in his chest.

While gritting his teeth, he sent out a punch, but Sean grabbed the inner part of his arm and threw him to the ground. As he landed, he immediately rolled because he managed to land on his shoulder and immediately stood up.

Sean had a wide grin on his face as he thoroughly enjoyed the battle. He then sent out a hook, but Caspian caught it with his forearm, and he instantly sent a strike to Sean's torso. However, Sean also caught his attack. Caspian wasted no time as he kicked Sean's calf, and this time, he managed to take him down.

Of course, Sean immediately stood up and started sending out wide swings. Caspian easily dodged all the attacks as they were slow, but as soon as Sean was close enough, he sent a one-inch punch at Caspian, knocking the wind out of Caspian as he coughed loudly.

"That's enough. You're really good, Caspian! Even Abby was not that good at close combat before! You have very sharp eyes, which contributes to your observational skills. You even knew I was planning to attack you when I extended my arm! Not only that, your recovery is great as well. You are a legend in the making. You scored eight out of ten."

Caspian was still breathing heavily as he stood up. He then nodded and forced a smile as he sat down with exhaustion. Sean then offered him water, and as Caspian grabbed the bottle, he immediately started gulping down all its contents. After drinking it all, he wiped his mouth and breathed heavily.

After a few minutes, Sean then said, "Alright, that's enough resting! We have more work to do in training your aim!"

Caspian simply nodded as he stood up. Sean smiled as he flicked his finger again. "Do you see that target over there? It's about six hundred to eight hundred meters away from your position. It's gonna be constantly moving, but I want you to hit that without missing any shots! Absolutely no optical sights, okay?"

"Can I even hit that…?" Caspian couldn't help but ask. Sean simply laughed as he said, "Don't worry, lad, you will. This is also training your supernatural eyesight. After all, vampires probably have the greatest eyesight aside from me!"

Caspian chuckled at what he said as he started to aim properly. Sean smiled as Caspian started tracking the moving target, barely keeping up with it. Seeing this, he couldn't help but say, "How fast is that thing?"

"It's moving at maybe about eighty to a hundred kilometers per hour," Sean said, stunning Caspian. He absolutely had no confidence that he'd be able to hit such a target, albeit having no factors that would displace the bullet's trajectory.

He then started shooting, and eventually, he emptied his mag. Sean then looked intently at the target while saying, "Out of the thirty bullets you shot, you hit it one… no, two times. Not bad, but we really have to work on that aim."

"Well, try and shoot it a couple more times."

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About an hour later, Caspian emptied about fifty magazines as beads of sweat fell from his forehead. Sean then rubbed his chin as he said, "You average about two hits out of thirty bullets. Pretty good."

He then looked at his watch as he said, "Oh, I have to leave."

"Wait, is that all the training?" Caspian asked.

Sean simply laughed as he said, "No, your mom is personally gonna teach you how to use your abilities since you're a vampire like her and all that. It was fun teaching you, Caspian. Well, gotta go see my wife."

Sean happily straddled away as Caspian sat on the ground. Suddenly, the door opened, causing him to turn his head. He saw Grace approaching him with a smile. He couldn't help but smile back as he stood up, "Hey, mom."

Caspian then spread his arms wide open as he wanted to hug Grace. Grace simply returned the hug as he pinched his cheek while saying, "You reek of sweat! So, how was the combat training?"

"Really good. I enjoyed learning a lot about my weaknesses," Caspian said with a smile.

Graced nodded while saying, "Good."

She then walked in front of Caspian and said, "This time, we're gonna do something a bit different. I'm gonna help you learn how to activate your supernatural abilities and what type of abilities other types of supernatural beings have."

"Every type of supernatural has different skillsets, perception, and even appearance. Every supernatural can control their powers naturally, but changing their appearance to that similar to a human is difficult. Some manage to control their appearance and blend in with the human world, while others cannot. The control of your abilities is solely based on how much you know about yourself, which means knowing your limitations and breaking through them."

Grace then turned around and slid her hands into her pockets. She then turned around in a daze and instantly lunged at Caspian. Caspian was confused, but he felt terrifying bloodlust hover over him.

"But sometimes, you must be in a life or death situation before you realize your limitations."