The next few days were mostly the same, without any major change other than my improvement. The training were less exhausting than the first days and I could feel myself get stronger. On the fourth day of training, we moved on to something more complicated.
"Until now, you have only been practicing individual strikes without any combination in mind," Grald said.
"From now on we will use combos to feint your opponent and mask your powerful strike. You are missing an entire arm so your choices are more limited," he added.
"Watch what I do and follow along," he said before dropping into his guard.
He showed me a plethora of combinations while excluding the use of his left arm. Little by little, he explained the ideas behind the combos and why he was doing certain things. Additionally, he showed me how to feint an opponent. I tried to do the same with a bit of difficulty. The rays of light was illuminating the entire clearing, giving it an ethereal vibe.
"This will feel new to you, but once you get the hang of it, it will be as easy as walking."
I executed the techniques while he was correcting my timing and positioning. With each of my strike, I performed a sharp exhale to tighten my core.
"Move your head off of the center line when you're combining strikes. That will make your opponents miss their attack. The best defense is evasion. Only when you know that you cannot dodge should you block a strike," he said.
Little by little, I added more fluidity to my movements and everything felt more natural. After a while, he stood in front of me and asked me to strike.
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Do you think that a child would land a strike on me?" he replied.
"I guess not," I said as I lunged forward.
My fist flashed through the air, aiming for his head. With a slight movement of the body, he evaded my punch. I twisted my body and followed straight after with a kick. Grald took a step forward and just pushed my torso with his fingertip. I was not able to maintain my balance and fell on my butt which produced an echoing thud. A cloud of dust flew up and covered my body.
"Let's go again," I yelled.
"Bring it on," he replied.
I got swept, pushed, punched, kicked and yet, I was not close to hitting him. Everything looked easy for him. Even with his eyes closed, he could dodge my strikes. A loud yawn reverberated throughout the forest.
"Are you done? Can we go home?" he asked.
"No one last time!"
I dropped into my stance and was face to face with him once again. I realized my mistakes. All of my strikes were telegraph and even my combinations were obvious. He is way faster than me so I should switch it up.
I darted towards him and threw a punch. As expected he dodged it with ease. I chambered my knee to kick him. He moved towards me at lightning speed to push me off-balance once again. Instead of extending my leg to kick, I swiveled my thigh and brought my knee to the front and kneed him with all of my might. A loud thump was produced as a large grin crept up my lips.
My knee was against the palm of his hand. Instead of evading, he had to block my attack. His face wore an expression of astonishment.
"So you had to block it. Does that mean that you're weak?" I said sarcastically.
His leg circled around, tripping me up and causing me to fall.
"You're a sore loser you know."
"The day that you beat me is the day that I can be a sore loser."
"But looking at you, I may need to be old and crippled for you to be able to do that," he added sarcastically.
"I will return now. I need to go see my father. You stay here and continue practicing," he said.
"Don't I get a reward for beating your ass?" I asked.
"Okay sure! Tomorrow your training will be doubled," he said before leaving.
For almost an hour, the sounds of my inhales and exhales spread around the dense vegetation until it was time to go back home. I was breathing heavily and my mouth was parched. Halfway through my journey, I stopped dead in my tracks. The noise of leaves crackling came from the right. A lot of twigs were snapping, something large was approaching. Initially, I was under the assumption that it might have been an orc, but that was quickly dismissed when a loud roar deafened me. My ears were constantly buzzing and I felt my equilibrium being affected.
Without missing a beat, I raised my guard and bladed my stance. My eyes were narrowed and focused on the moving leaves in front of me. I had a guess but I could not believe what emerged from the darkness. It was a lion! With only one look at me, it decided that I was a prey. But I was not going to die here, I still had to take my revenge. The lions eyes were jet black and it exuded a dark aura.
"Shit! Do I have to fight this thing? I thought they said that regular animals do not approach the tribe."
Without giving me time to think, the lion rushed in my direction with its paw aiming straight for my face. I dodged to the right, but because of the speed of the beast, one of its claws grazed my face, leaving a streak of crimson blood along with a sharp pain. I was in front of a savage animal who only wanted to kill me.
In my crouched position, I immediately countered with an uppercut to its neck with landed flush. The beast growled but it did not seem that bothered by my attack. Before the lion could initiate an onslaught, I retreated and prepared for a counterattack! The lion lowered itself, preparing to spring towards me.