'Wretched Fate!'
Nico cursed in his mind. Once he had worn the strap-on weights, he had immediately felt a difference. He had to exert more effort to achieve what was previously a simple move like moving his arms.
The training session continued, uncaring of the trainees' agony. William had a bright smile on his face throughout. He thoroughly enjoyed witnessing the trainees suffer.
Eventually, much to his dismay, the white-haired instructor had to end the drills after seeing the sorry state of his students. Most of them looked on the verge of throwing up, with a particular few hunched over, gasping for air as if experiencing a panic attack.
'Tch, weak fools.' the instructor thought to himself poignantly.
He straightened his back and then clapped his hands to gain the trainees' attention, "Alright, that will be all for today. I know many of you are cursing me in your hearts but trust me this is for your own good. Besides, it's not like I would have never stopped the session…" William trailed off noticing the extreme doubt and scorn in the eyes of the young teenagers.
The scarred male continued to speak, after clearing his throat and glaring at his students, "Anyway, now that we're done, I will give you some time to rest before we all split up for Weapons Training."
After their instructor finally stopped droning on, the inexperienced novices sagged to the ground. They desperately attempted to preoccupy their minds with something other than the pain of their exhausted bodies.
"Blasted Fate! Man, I really, really hate instructor William right now!" Henry growled tiredly to his two roommates.
Nico and Leon who were to the farmer's left and right respectively, each nodded wearily. They too felt like punching the devil in the face for the misery he had put them through.
Time continued to tick by as they kept resting. After what seemed to be a quarter of an hour, most of the trainees could move again, albeit with some discomfort.
William then made them split up and head over to their weapons instructors.
Nico dragged his tired legs to the front gate. They ached, and he still felt a shallow burn permeate their insides with every step he took.
The brown-haired boy sighed and gazed at his surroundings, watching the leaves rustle and sway which created a soft and lulling melody.
He met Phantom at the entrance. The instructor and student duo made their way through the East Leaf Wilderness to their usual training spot. During their brief passage through the woods, Nico couldn't help but feel a sense of unease.
Strangely, the forest seemed to be suspended in a state of tense silence. The birds had stopped chirping and only rarely had Nico heard something rustle in the bush.
It was as if something major was playing out behind the scenes.
Nico shook his head and shrugged the matter to the back of his mind. He would just assume that a dangerous predator had arrived in this area.
Otherwise, if he thought about it any deeper, the brown-haired boy felt like fear would encompass his whole being and prevent him from taking another step forward.
'It's probably a trivial matter. Nothing to worry about…'
After gazing at Phantom's unhurried steps and relaxed stance, Nico mumbled under his breath and focused on keeping up with his dark-haired instructor. Eventually, they reached the wide clearing, with the azure lake located a few arrow shots to the side.
Like every other training session he had with Phantom, Nico began warming up and unleashing a flurry of strikes, aiming to increase his familiarity with the sleek weapon. The man with the eyepatch merely sat to the side and painted, all the while secretly observing his student.
With his warm-up completed, Nico turned his focus toward the Reaper of Shadows Art. Now that he had some experience executing it in a high-pressure situation, he had gained some insight on how to smoothen not only the activation of the strike but also how to make sure it impacted against his enemy with maximum power.
Repetition after repetition followed as the boy's muscles twinged from the constant strain. Armed with the experience of continuous training in the two weeks prior, Nico made sure he did not overwork himself. He still wanted to try out a few movements with his spear.
Something he could not do if his legs refused to obey his command.
In one period of rest, Nico sat beside his instructor and asked, "So far I feel like I can execute the first form pretty well, when can I move on to the second form?"
Phantom scratched his chin as he replied absentmindedly, "Nothing's stopping you from moving on to the second form. If you feel you are ready, then go for it. If you're stuck, you can always ask me."
The brown-haired boy hummed in response, acknowledge his instructor's words. He hesitated, then said a moment later, "Sir, what do you think is the underlying essence of the Spear?"
Having studied some of the theoretical knowledge related to Weapon Mastery when he was younger, Nico saw the term mentioned a few times. Based on his own understanding, it was a deeper realm of mastery that allowed a warrior or combatant to become closer to achieving the 'One with Self' level.
"Mostly, a person's insight into the spear differs from person to person, because of factors such as their innate Element, level of talent and affinity for the weapon… That said, there is a common consensus agreed upon by most, if not all Spear users.
"That is that one of the main essences of the spear is Sharpness. If your will and weapon are not sharp, then you won't be able to unleash the true might of the Spear. Only when your weapons possess a serrated edge, both tangible and intangible, will you able to call yourself a true Spear user."
Nico pondered on the information for a few seconds, before asking, "How can you tell if someone has achieved the 'serrated edge'?"
Phantom gazed at his student from the corner of his good eye and replied softly, "You can tell by them having a piercing aura around their figure. Take me for example, you felt a razor-sharp air around me, when we first met?"
'I was too preoccupied with your weird, perverted nature when we first met, to notice.' Nico mused in his mind, but outwardly responded with a serious expression, "Yes, I did."
The brown-haired boy was not lying.
Even though he indeed was caught off-guard by the man's unique personality, over the course of the many sessions they had had he had noticed a piercing aura constantly surrounding his instructor.
Such that Nico thought it had even cut the wind in two.
"Well… that is the proof of an experienced Spear user. Depending on how strong and sharp the aura is, it will tell you just how long they have spent honing their skills. It should also give you enough of an indication to know that you'd be going up against a fully fledged Spear master. If that is the case, then you must run."
Nico nodded solemnly, accepting Phantom's advice and partial insights. He knew Phantom had long reached the status of a 'Spear Master' and possibly may have even attained a higher rank than that.
The man with the eyepatch suddenly sighed and stared at his painting that depicted the copse of trees at the far shore, "Tell you what, how about we have a little spar?"
Nico's eyes widened and he couldn't help but blurt out with a question of his own, "Why?"
Phantom's icy blue eye twinkled, "Let's just say I liked what I saw in the duels."