"Wait, what?! No- I'm not asking you to commit a crime!" I say, also panicking while she kowtows to the ground. She doesn't dare to get her head up and only adds more pressure to keep her head down the ground.
Thus, with my frustration, I try to say some words to appease her, imitating how Rosalina talks when she wants to state a verdict. "Stand up, this is an order,"
She awkwardly stands up, looking at me sheepishly, but still not believing I'm asking her for anything harmless. "Master...please behead me right here and now...I would rather die than betray the madam," She bows again, but this time it's only a 90-degree bow...and not on the damned floor.
Well...at least it's some improvement.
I nod satisfactorily, as panic would only cause more skepticism. "Stand up, I didn't come to commit adultery...I wanted a person who could help me train," I say, and she looks up at me immediately, mirth clearly expressed in her eyes.
"M-master wants to train?" She says, looking at the spear in my hands and back at the determined look on my face. She didn't seem too convinced though...as her expression lingers too much on my hands.
Perhaps I did something wrong? Was it the way I was gripping or holding the spear?
I try to say something to bring her out of her thoughts, but she nods affirmatively. "I see..." She says, composing herself, and looking behind her again.
She seemed to send a signal with her hands, but I have no idea what it means...I wonder who that's for?
"Let's go up the mountain," She composes and walks to the stairs. Following her, I nod and smile happily that she finally understood my intent.
I look back to see what happens to her empty position, only feel shocked that I see another guard already on standby...
So there was another guard behind her? Is that why she was making some sort of hand gesture? But how come I never saw her? Is it perhaps...a skill?
...minutes later, we finally reach the top of the mountain. It seemed like I was 5 minutes faster than the times I'd walked up the mountain, but maybe that was because I was catching up with the guard's speed. I can tell that she intentionally slowed down her pace for the sake of my comfort.
I then walk to the path of the pagoda, but she only stiffens and shakes her head. "I'm sorry, master...but that place is only exclusive to the madam," She says, turning the gears in my head. No wonder why no guard was situated inside the pagoda.
"Let's go to the public training hall instead," She offers, and I follow her to the east...admiring the scenery of what's on the mountain. I only ever came here out of necessity rather than admiration, so I might as well take my time to enjoy the scenery while I walk.
Thus, after moments of sightseeing, we finally reach the public training hall...which is technically a training hall that catered to all the subordinates of Rosalina. Come to think of it, is this whole place her sect?
I mean...first, they're wearing those hanfus, and I suppose, the slight variation in some of them could indicate the ranking of the soldiers.
Second, although they don't call her 'sect master' or 'great elder', they call her by a formal title.
Third, this mountain is exclusive only to subordinates of Rosalina...
The guard then finds a rather private space for the both of us, just to ensure that we don't disturb the others who are training. "Show me what you can do with your spear first," She says, smirking pridefully as she waits for me on the opposite side.
Hold on, she's smirking? What? Is this a slip of her real personality?That's...definitely something.
"Alright," I say as I set the bag with my egg down somewhere safe. Afterward, I then stretched my muscles slightly and showed her the things I could do with my spear.
Except, well...there's only one thing I can do...thrust.
Her eyes look at my form and movement with scrutiny, as if not pleased. "Is that all you can do, sir?" She says, her tone coming out as blunt and possibly rude...however, I know for sure that it's not done on purpose since she looks and asks like it's just a genuine question.
"Yes..." I respond, and she sighs. I wait for her to give her comments, already expecting lots of negative insights.
"From your demonstration...I can say for sure that the way you thrust is right...to a beginner's standard. Your form is alright, but it's something that I can say for certainty that you only practiced for the first time," She says, making me sigh inwardly.
I have a long way to go.
"And...hmm...you don't even know the basics of spearmanship...like holding your spear, maintaining the center line, and even other forms of attack like slashing," She continues.
Yep. I have a very long way to go.
"Oh, and did I mention your footwork? It's barely existential..."
Yep. Never mind, I have a really long way to go.
I nod, keeping a mental note of all she's said. So those were the things I had to learn...
"Good to see that you're not fazed," She smiles at me arrogantly, feeling comfortable with my presence...or maybe it's just that she feels safe in this training hall.
Unlike...below, wherein she had to keep a strict face to prevent random players from entering.
I wonder why she's acting like this all of a sudden...it's like a different side of the strict unapproachable guard I met on the surface.
"I hope to learn from you," I nod gracefully to her, and she only laughs merrily.
"You don't need to do that, you're the madam's partner," She smiles widely, as she positions herself close to a practice dummy. "But oh well, I suppose it's nice to take in trainees like the old times," She comments vaguely, making me worried again. Her voice is sentimental, laced with a sense of pride.
Sometimes, these "NPCs" are too lifelike and real...to the point that when they say something close to sentimental, I end up worrying about what happened to their past.
"Watch me closely, I'll show you how to use a spear," She proudly claims, as she holds her spear tightly. She makes sure to keep her hand on the middle of the spear.
"First of all, when you hold your spear, always point its end above, not at the middle, and certainly not below. You don't want to lose your reach and mobility." She says, demonstrating how she holds it. One hand was at the other end of the spear, and the other one was there in the middle. "And no, this position isn't just for show, it's to attack with precision," She smirks, seeing the shocked expression on my face.
I look at her baffled...what the hell? That's the correct way to hold a spear?
So that's why I kept losing my spear when I fought that guy in the guild hall Because I was holding the spear differently? No wonder why I thought the spear was an average weapon...especially when I've been pointing it at the middle rather than at the top.
Oh my goodness...if I knew that this kind of posture would make such a huge difference in fighting, then I should have trained first...
"Now, look at how I thrust the spear," She nods to herself, grinning widely as she points her spear to the top and swiftly hits the training dummy's head. It leaves a small pierce but quickly recovers back to pristine condition. I suppose that's a function this training dummy has...
"That was an accurate and lethal hit to the head, but I don't like using my spear without flair," Light travels from her hands and to her spear, enveloping her spear with some sort of aura covered in red. She then hits the training dummy's head again, but this time, it deals devastating damage that explodes the dummy's head completely...
"Behold! A powerful aura attack from the Savage of the Lianths! It's a monicker that was given to me when I exploded heads on the battlefield using these attacks~" She smiles crazily, quickly concealing her madness as she looks at me.
"I hope that didn't scare you though sir, I'm rather different when I'm battling and when I'm on duty," She reassures, giving me a smile of formality.
I look at her blankly and gaze at the training dummy that was slowly healing back to perfect condition.
Scared? Me?
Yeah, of course I am!
I don't want my head to explode into pieces like that! I can't even imagine the horrors of a player who disrespected her from the surface!
And besides! If this woman is just a mere guard...how much stronger is Rosalina?...
"I-i'm not scared," I stutter a bit, struggling to compose myself again. "...I was just surprised," I mutter, faking a cough and relaxing myself. "It helps if I have a strong teacher, doesn't it?"
Her professional face then contorts to one of a madwoman. "Hah...it surely does. Us Lianths always prefer to learn things through our own ways- all to hone our battle senses." She says, pointing her spear at me. "Well then, if you're going to be under my tutelage, show me what you learned from me,"
...I'm definitely f*cked.
On the bright side, I don't just get hit, but I get to learn from this lesson right?
...right?