After exiting the building, I was greeted by Jasper's beaming face. The streets were illuminated by the glimmering moon; water splashed around with each footstep while rain droplets dripped down my body.
"Let's go home quickly before you catch a cold."
"Yeah let's do that," I replied.
I was shivering as the cold gusts of wind hit me; smoke escaped my mouth with each breath I took. Jasper, noticing how frigid the air was, lifted me off of the ground and held me in his arms. Even though I wanted to complain about being cradled, the warmth emanating from his body was comforting. My breathing slowed down and he carried me until we reached the cottage. After setting me down, we shook the water off of us and walked into the cozy house.
"That's much better," I said as I heaved a sigh of relief.
"How was the pork?" Jasper asked as he tried to muffle his laughter.
"You- You knew that I was going to choose that dish!"
"I had my suspicions," he replied.
"How were your friends?" the orc asked.
"They were nice, but I'll still keep my guard up."
"That's great to hear. Better be safe than sorry."
After our short conversation, I couldn't bear with the fatigue anymore and dozed off in the sleeping area, holding on to my snuggly blanket for warmth. A week raced by and the eve of the school trip was already upon us; even though I was ecstatic for the excursion, I did not let that affect my training progress. Hunting was still an indispensable part of my regime as it was a way to improve my martial arts while increasing my fighting experience; moreover, I had become fairly desensitized to violence and was able to kill without second-guessing myself.
[Five days before the trip]
"You've gotten the basics down, but you cannot string together the movements."
"The techniques need to flow together and match your rhythm. You'll feel that something's wrong if the movements are not cohesive. You should also think about the rotation of your torse; there's a reason that a cross is easier to throw after a jab. The jab loads up your hips to rotate into the cross," Jasper added.
I was assimilating every nugget of knowledge Jasper threw at me; I was all ears and did not defy him once. After all, even though he had only understood two and a quarter chapters, his battle strength was far greater than your run of the mill fighter of that level. The amount of experience he had hunting everyday was extraordinary and it was a shame that he wasn't more talented as he would for make an exceptional leader.
"How do you want me to combine those steps?" I asked.
"Let's spar."
"Haven't we already done that to train the way of wind? I was only beaten senseless," I replied.
"No, that was simply me attacking you. This time, you won't be blindfolded and I'll bring down the speed and intensity to a level slightly above yours and you'll have to go on the offensive as well."
"I've already been fighting during the hunts," I said.
"Your opponents have been stupid animals who don't have any tactics," he replied
"Ah, so that's the difference! You're a stupid animal, but you have good strategies," I jokingly said.
"You little- Fighting against orcs requires more thinking and planning."
This was exhilarating as I wanted to get back at Jasper for last time! A great opportunity had finally presented itself to smash his head in.
"When do we begin?" I asked impatiently.
"Oh look who's in a hurry to get beaten," the orc said.
"Get ready," he added.
I got into my staggered stance and pounced forwards as fast as possible to surprise him; as soon as he was in front of me, I extended my fist. The orc stepped forwards at an angle, making me miss his head completely while placing him in an advantageous position to strike from. The beast threw a thudding hook to the body that pushed me back several meters; I could feel my organs squeezing in pain as I struggled to stay on my feet. My legs were trembling and I was feeling breathless; he had perfectly targeted my liver!
"Oh come on, that was so easy. At this point, I'm wondering if your victory over Arthur was just a fluke."
His words visibly enraged me and made my blood boil. I put my guard up and approached more carefully this time; as soon as I was in range, I feinted with my left hand and threw a cross. He successfully parried the punch but a flurry of attacks to the head ensued, causing Jasper's guard to raise and thus exposing his abdomen. My torso swiveled as my fist struck the side of his body, after which he immediately backed off.
Thankfully, he was keeping his promise and was only using the same level of strength and speed as I possessed or else I would not have been able to do anything.
"What do you have to say now you old fool," I yelled.
"Impressive, but you'll have to do much better if you want to stand a chance in the competition!" he replied as he lunged towards me.
The training session was long and debilitating as I was left on the ground huffing and puffing afterwards. My body was severely bruised and there were even some traces of blood. Even though he hit me nearly fifty times, I was only able to strike him ten times.
"Disappointment is written all over your face Jett. Well it's written over the swelling," Jasper jokingly said.
"It's just that I did not perform as well as I thought I would."
The orc burst out in hysterical laughter but I could not seem to wrap my head around the reason for his reaction.
"You're such an idiot. I've been fighting for decades now while you've only begun training a couple of weeks ago. Did you expect us to be in the same realm?"
After Jasper broke it down, it was as clear as day that my expectations were unrealistic and that I still had a long way to go.