The blade of the Odachi and sword collided for the first. The sound of a sharp, high-pitched clang rang throughout the surroundings.
'It hurts! Damn it!'
Caleb swallowed a mouthful of breath as felt the force of the collision transmitted from the hilt to his already beaten hand. He could literally feel the thumping of his swelling hands for some reason.
He made a step back and withdrew his sword. He knew that he has to reduce their collision of swords as much as possible to reduce the suffering of his damned hands.
Gritting his teeth, he saw Rina step forward and swung her arms. In just a blink of an eye, the sword was already coming on his way, aimed at his head. 'Fuck! Is this girl trying to kill me!?'
Using his specialty, Caleb felt more focused than ever before. He couldn't see the twitching of Rina's muscles due to the cover of her silver armor. However, he can still see the trajectory of the sword, calculate, and anticipate in advance. He could parry it to easily resolve it. However, just the feeling of pain in his hand made him hesitant for another clash of swords.
Worse than that, by the smirk from Rina's face. Caleb knew that she knew it and she was taking advantage of this. What a devil! Still, he knew that he had signed up for this. She was just going all out. In real battle, his enemy would surely take advantage of any weakness and they wouldn't care if his hands were bruising.
'Curses! I can only use it.'
With a side-step, Caleb managed to dodge the sword. Yet, Rina followed by another cut at a tricky angle that he knew he wouldn't be able to dodge. Nevertheless, Caleb didn't shy away from it. He clenched the sword in both of his hands, engaged the muscles in his back, and stabilized his core.
Just like that, a clash of steel rang out as the sword and Odachi met. Caleb's face visibly paled, and he saw a red liquid gushed out from his hands. Yes, it was blood. His hands were bleeding, at it couldn't take the beating any longer.
His grip on the hilt of the sword loosened and Rina skillfully disarmed him, wresting the sword from his grip.
"Well, I give up." Caleb smiled wryly and raised both of his hands in the air in surrender. He also felt the cold steel of the sword pressed against his neck, sending a shiver down his spine as he became acutely aware of its razor-sharp edge.
Seeing this, Rina brought her sword down and smiled.
"Well, you performed better than I thought, even though you are at a disadvantage. You learn fast. Although your posture was still unsightly. You can finally do a decent slash. Not to mention, I like your will. You have a naturally high tolerance to pain, which is admirable for seventeen years old."
Hearing the genuine praise, Caleb scratched his head with embarrassment. What natural high-pain tolerance? He is not... He has developed it through experience after tasting various methods of torturous deaths!
Still, Caleb sighed. He was defeated just now in the hands of a girl? Does he feel bitter? Absolutely not! He doesn't have a useless ego like other protagonists. When it comes to fighting, he always held a learning attitude. It doesn't mean it was a girl or a kid. If he lost. It just means that his opponent was better than him! No need for excuses. Everything can be a learning experience. Mistakes or defeats, it depend on how people look at them. So Caleb always seeks for improvement!
Yes, the result of the fight might have been different if he used his taboo energy. But what's the use of it? What's the purpose? He sparred with Rina to improve not to win. He wants to defeat her without relying on his taboo energy. And eventually, the time will come. He knew it... He will overcome her sooner!
A fiery flame suddenly ignited in Caleb's heart at this current moment, unknown to him.
Rina suddenly felt a chill all over her body for some reason. With a puzzled expression, she thought. 'Huh? Is Dunn cursing me? Why do I feel cold suddenly?'
...
After the end of the training session. With nothing to do, Caleb began to explore the place. He even went as far as to observe the exit of the Death Forest and saw an Octavian Bear and what seemed to be an Ape. It has a green fur and a set of teeth. What really caught his attention, though, was its pointy tail that managed to penetrate a nearby tree on their fighting site. The battle goes on for six minutes, with Caleb observing from afar.
Even the sturdy acacia trees with a height of ten meters fell one after another once a punch from the two was accidentally hit by one of them. It was a sight that made Caleb realize that the rule of the jungle in this world was firmly followed... Figuratively and literally.
After that, Caleb also took his time to familiarize himself with the eerie forest above the cliff. And you know what? He lost his direction ten times due to the fog. He didn't know how much time he spent, but after he found his way out. It was already dark... He didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the experience. So he swore to himself that he wouldn't go alone to the damned forest again.
Finally, he came back to their temporary base and saw the others back. In the white sand on their foot. There were five two two-meter tigers, one Octavian bear, and a three-meter hawk. The members of the hunting party themselves have varying degrees of injuries except for Tamasai and Fushigiro, who only have light scratches on their upper garments.
'It seems this bald guy was really hiding himself deeply. Does he also have a primary like a captain or what?' With a pensive expression, Caleb made his way to their sides.
"Johan, where the hell did you go?" Rina was the first one to greet him.
A wry smile replaced Caleb's pensive expression. "Me? I did just some exploring and, unluckily, lost my direction."