Marjun felt proud when he noticed how his actions riled Alex up. Krystal grunted a little and stirred in her sleep before snoring loudly. Alex's face broke into a smirk. His heart had been troubled by what would happen if Krystal had woken up. Thankfully, she hadn't woken up at all. He chuckled dryly.
"What?" Marjun whispered. "How is she not awake?"
Alex snorted at him. "You're not brave enough. The dragon can detect bravery and cowardice." He mocked.
Marjun scowled at him.
Why was he sleeping in the dragon's cave?
Did he not have a house?
"Why do you sleep here anyway? Don't you have a house?" Marjun asked angrily.
Turning around, he appeared ready to depart, but Marjun was assessing the area. He took notice of the bed that Alex had crafted and considered raising it higher to ensure his safety in case the dragon became agitated and went on a rampage.
"I could ask the same, Marjun," Alex replied wittily. "If you have a house, why do you like to come down and stare at the dragon? Didn't you call her a mindless beast before the king? You called her a monster that wasn't afraid of killing any human. So, why do you show up here now and then?"
Marjun bit his tongue.
How clever was Alex as an individual?
Marjun frowned and turned to go finally. Alex sighed and shook his head as he watched Marjun leave the place.
"Coward." He muttered, making Marjun snicker at him.
"You haven't left?"
"I'm not afraid of you, Alex," Marjun retorted, "Even if you've dyed your hair with blood, it doesn't make you scary." With that, Marjun left. Alex brushed off Marjun's remark and went back to sleep, feeling fatigued. Soon enough, he drifted off into his bed which swayed softly from side to side, lulling him into a deep slumber.
By the time Alex woke up, it was late evening. He yawned sleepily before he got out of his bed. Instinctively his eyes searched for Krystal, who was folded into a child pose as she slept peacefully.
He patted his stomach and remembered the plant he was growing in the cave. Alex wasn't shocked to see fruits already sprouting, thanks to the dragon feces he has been using. He took care of the plant and left the cave to find still sleeping Krystal. With the results of the plants, he felt energized and decided to venture outside. Climbing to the top of the cave, he surveyed the celestial village. Thoughts of his upcoming duel with Marjun crossed his mind, and he sighed with worry.
How could he not be?
Alex had never wielded a sword before or fought with swords. The sword he carried was just a showpiece for his potential enemies, and another means to attract women.
With his sword in hand, he lifted it high and balanced on his left leg. He swung it down to point ahead, then stood tall before shaking his head. This stance felt right to him.
Alex spread his legs slightly apart and took out his sword, raising it high again. He moved his left leg forward as he brought the sword down. Balancing his body on his leg, he pointed the sword ahead.
These were the poses he saw in the sword fights that were held in his village. Never did he expect that he would be practicing those moves.
"Nah, It seems a little better now." He said. "Let me try again."
He repeated the process.
"Cool!! Now let's work with time!" He murmured to himself, with a boost of confidence after his little achievement.
Alex kept repeating the process of taking his sword out from its sheath, trying to beat the technique time. After repeating the process almost ten times, he realized was faster than before.
Alex took out a small pocket watch hat he had stolen on one of his rendezvous events, he monitored the time of his sword technique.
"Four seconds?" Alex asked himself in surprise. "That is so fast! Huh, how can I learn something so easily and still manage to do it so quickly?"
He shrugged since he didn't have an answer to the question. Instead, he began to add more steps to his training.
Or maybe he was born to learn things easily. Ufff... He, Alex can do anything if he puts his mind to it. He felt proud of himself and started training vigorously.
He squatted down a bit before jumping back onto his right leg and turning around to put his right leg forward. He carefully swung his sword around, making sure not to harm himself before the duel.
Alex kept on adding small details to his sword-wielding training which made him comfortable and his blows heavier, while they improved his speed. He continued until the sun rose high in the sky. He stopped only at the dawn of the sun.
When he returned to the cave, he found Krystal was still fast asleep, making him sigh before he left. Alex went around the hillside that led him into the deep forest that belonged to no village. Wasting no time, he resumed his training under the shades of the trees.
Alex was not worried about making noise or hitting anything, he can train peacefully. He stopped only when he realized he slashed something or... someone?
His blood ran cold at the sight he saw. Taking his pulse, Alex concluded that his chance of survival was very low. Warning bells started ringing in his head.
He took a few steps back, looking around to see if anyone saw what he had accidentally done. Feeling scared, he started to walk faster, then broke into a run. He ran back to the cave as fast as he could.
Once he reached it, he walked into the inner cave and soaked his clothes to wash with the small water stream which was present.
Entering the water, he soaked as he rested on the rock. Once his nerves calmed down, he emerged dripping water from his body. His eyes held the serene clarity and confidence that he usually has.
Alex cleaned his body with a towel before putting on a pair of short trousers along with an old shirt.
The moment he got out of the cave, an arrow wooshed passed his eyes. No matter how quick he was to react, Alex was still slow. He waited for the pain.