Chapter 57 - Jonas's Training Regime
"Where are we going, Mr. Jonas?" asked Bryn, setting Akusashi on the back of his waist.
"As I said, your friends are at the mountain range, but you don't have nearly enough level or experience. We are going to the forests."
The two left the village in the direction Michelle had taken Bryn hunting. Jonas kept going deeper into the forest instead of heading toward Michelle's training spot.
Bryn recognized some of the places as they kept going deeper and deeper. Strangely, they found no animals on their walk. Jonas also kept silent most of the way.
This man is different from Gabriel. He cared for me in that fight, but I'm sure he was much more intense than Gabriel. Why are there no rabbits, boars, or elks here? When I came with Michelle, there was always possible prey for us to hunt—thought Bryn as they traveled.
"Where are we going?" Bryn asked.
Jonas simply kept walking, ignoring Bryn completely.
After hours of walking, they arrived, where the forest got denser. It was strange to imagine, but the flora started to change with each step they took. The simple pike trees became more diverse. More giant trees, different types of flowers, and bushes also became common. Moss now covered everything, and sunlight became scarce. There was no snow; the canopies stopped any from falling to the ground.
"We are here." said Jonas.
"Where are we, Mr. Jonas?"
"We are on the edge of the forest. Where you'll train for the next couple of days."
"But we have been walking in the forest for several hours."
"In a way, you are right. But the forest only starts after this line for higher-level people. From here onward, you'll find magical beasts, mystical plants, and other dangers."
Jonas placed a chair from his spatial ring on the ground.
"Shall we start?" He asked, sitting comfortably on the wooden chair.
Bryn looked around, trying to locate anything for him to hunt, but finding nothing. He filled his lungs, calming his nerves. "Yes, I'm ready."
"First things first, show me what you've got regarding magic." said Jonas.
Bryn started performing his magical skills, concentrating on impressing Jonas with his development.
If Gabriel were happy with it, Jonas would be amazed. He thought.
The boredom on Jonas's face was evident after showing the three types of magic bullets he had developed. Bryn then decided to take Akusashi out of his waist, and using mana into his body, he performed different movements and attacks. The speed and power from the mana had improved a bit from his training, making him smile as the demonstration finished. Bryn sheathed Akusashi as he sat down. Before asking for feedback, he closed his eyes and started using his breathing technique.
As air started to pour in, Jonas finally moved from his seat. Bryn used his technique to replenish some of the mana around his body and impede most of the mana from coming out of his core. Jonas understood in a single glance why Gabriel treated the matter so seriously.
"Your magic output, control, and efficiency need a lot of improvement. Let's see how you hunt." Said Jonas, throwing the used bow and arrows Bryn had used for the past few days. Glaring at Bryn, he realized the faun was smiling at his words.
"Did I say something funny?"
"No, Mr. Jonas."
As expected, we got a brutal ass teacher. Bryn thought, looking at the man.
The initial task became finding and killing a boar. Excitement easily evaded Bryn. The hours of walking and the previous use of magic had consumed most of his energy, but Jonas didn't care.
The search for the boar continued until no natural light came from above. As the night started, some plants shone in the dark, presenting a magnificent sight Bryn had never seen. Leaves edges lit up in shades of blue and purple, while others had yellow and lime green tones.
"We'll rest for today. Tomorrow, we start with the sun." Said Jonas, taking out a tent from the spatial ring and entering it.
"Mr. Jonas?" Asked Bryn.
Nothing came out of the tent, not sound or person.
So that's how it is…
That night, Bryn slept over the root of a nearby tree. He held Akusashi, one hand on the hilt and the other in the sheath near his chest. The stimulating environment made it hard to fall asleep, but after extended comparisons with the forest from Earth, Bryn woke up with Jonas's voice.
"Are you going to sleep until noon? The sun is up. Time for you to hunt." He said.
The entire following day, Bryn searched for clues and boar tracks. Still, following them was futile. The tracks ended, but no creatures were ever found. Bryn's muscles twitched occasionally as the tracks kept appearing, but the animals never did.
At one point, he snapped.
"What's happening?! Where are these damn boars!!" Said Bryn as his neck tensed, veins appearing on both sides.
"Took you longer than expected to show frustration, but anxiety signs appeared much sooner…"
"You did this?!" Said Bryn, with fire in his eyes.
"Yes, I did. Now for the last part, let's see your fighting." Before Bryn could process the situation.
"What the fu…" Screamed Bryn. He dashed backward, pulled an arrow from his quiver, and shot where he had previously stood.
In his place passed a boar that grunted in pain from the hit. It wasn't big, a small creature that ran into the forest. As Bryn stood there, looking at the traces of blood where the animal ran to.
"Well, aren't you going to hunt it?" Asked Jonas.
Striking Bryn's mind, Jonas's words woke him from the strange situation. His eyes focused on the boar's path as he instantly moved after it.
After finding and killing the small boar, Bryn returned to where they had spent the night. Arriving, Jonas criticized Bryn's actions, that had hindered his efforts in hunting the creature. As Bryn started to take mental notes about the situation, Jonas interrupted his line of thought with a simple.
"Again!"
A larger boar appeared in front of Bryn. One couldn't distinguish which was more confused with the situation. The boar looked at the faun before him, letting out a growl.
Unlike the previous situation, when Jonas spoke something unusual, Bryn instantly sent mana to his entire body. Jonas told him that his first mistake was that his body should always be with as much mana as he could. One never knew when a situation would arise.
As the growl sounded in the forest, Bryn's first arrow flew at one of the creature's front legs. Bryn still had to learn how to create a coating of mana around the arrow and the bow, but the energy did improve both his speed and the weapons. The boar didn't receive a fatal hit, but its initial dash had lost its starting momentum.
Bryn used the time to evade to the side and shoot a volley. Unlike the first arrow, shot by instinct, the following few were sharper in aim. The boar didn't have time to adapt, falling to its death instants after appearing before him.
"Much better, but you should have killed it with the first arrow. You should never lose an opportunity like that. AGAIN!" said Jonas.
Animal after animal showed up near Bryn, creating a different engagement scenario each time. The creatures were smaller than the adults Bryn had hunted with Michelle so Bryn could check his surroundings, create a minimal plan, and attack.
With each wave, Jonas would let Bryn know his mistakes from the previous one. In the beginning, Jonas's advice was generic. He would talk about general things Bryn could improve. After the fifth animal, the tips became more specific. Be it mana flow, strength used on the move, the place where the arrow hit, or even the amount of body rotation on certain maneuvers. Whatever it was, Bryn absorbed it like a sponge—each time making different new mistakes.
"Again"... "Again" … "Again" … "Again" …
Bryn lost the sense of time as the animals kept appearing one after the other. The initial ones were all boars; with time, Jonas would make a rabbit appear, making Bryn change his ways and preparation. After a few more, he used small elks, forcing Bryn to use his bow and Akusashi to end his opponents.
Bryn had no time to realize, but his mana control improved by leaps and bounds. Having to adapt to a new situation and being forced to cease a chance of ending the creature before it could prepare to attack him was fantastic training for a burst of controlled violence. Bryn spends the entire afternoon on this killing frenzy without even noticing. The moment he understood how long they had been going at, it was the time Jonas let out a black rabbit that almost disappeared into the roots and moss on the ground. Bryn thought for a second that the shadows had hidden it, but looking around, there were no shadows anymore. The environment had started to show the signs of fluorescence he had seen the night before.
As Bryn finished finding and hunting the rabbit, he looked at Jonas, who was again reading his weapons.
"That is enough for today. Which of the animals would you like to eat?" said Jonas.
Bryn couldn't believe his ears. He thought the tense muscles all over his body would become set in stone as Jonas's never-ending training continued. Released by the man's words, he collapsed to the floor.
"Good, we'll find your limits and expand them," said Jonas as he held Bryn before he fell to the ground.
It wasn't mana backlash, just plain old exhaustion. The accumulated days had taken a toll on Bryn's mind and body.
The following day, he woke up with Jonas, making them breakfast. Sharing their meal, Jonas started.
"What were your biggest mistakes yesterday?"
"I… I tried to guess your next move instead of making myself ready to react to the situation…" answered Bryn between bites of bread and eggs.
"That is one of them."
"I could have used my weapons better. I used more arrows than I should, making it hard to find the ones that didn't hit their target and reducing my possibilities by the end…"
"That is another, yes…"
Bryn thought about Jonas's answers, trying to find another mistake he had overlooked, but nothing came to mind. All variations of the first two encompassed the comments Jonas had made.
"I give up, Mr. Jonas…"
"Bryn, you are still learning and starting your journey of adventuring and increasing your strength. On lengthy battles such as today, what can help you the most?"
Pondering about his words, Bryn answered. "Endurance and efficiency."
"You are not wrong, kid, but that is not the answer in your situation."
"What?!" Bryn opened his eyes wide. He couldn't make sense of his professor's words. Of course, endurance and efficiency are the most critical things in a sequence of battles. I got tired and lost efficiency at every different wave… He thought as his eyelids lowered near the nose.
"You are a level 10 Bryn. With each level, you gain nearly one-tenth of your strength… How many status points have you distributed during our afternoon?"
Jonas's words hit Bryn as if he was struck by a train. How could I be so stupid?! I'm not on Earth anymore… Here, I not only learn things! I become stronger with every kill…
The young faun's smile answered Jonas's doubt if he should be clearer. As his mind looked through his statuses, he realized the day had given him four levels. He had yet to learn when the leveling occurred but had 32 new status points unassigned.
That would have made things much more manageable, that is for sure… Mana has been helping me supersed my limits, so INT is for sure… As Bryn finished his food and allocated the points, Jonas spoke.
"Good, now that you are aware of your lack of attention… AGAIN."