"Haha! You will become my personal disciple starting tomorrow. "Who would have thought I'd meet another true genius in my lifetime?" patting my back and pushing me forward.
"Thank you, instructor, for the praise," even though the slap on the back stung like hell.
"I would like to know where you learnt this skill."
"I learnt this from my late neighbour. He was like a grandfather to me and an excellent blacksmith. He also showed me how to use a katana,"
Marina nervously spoke forward, "Instructor, what was so unique about that attack? He just shattered the wooden katana, but I managed to puncture the dummy—even though there was already a dent."
"You wouldn't understand yet; you're too inexperienced, let me explain it to you."
Marina looked perplexed but did not pursue more as she has seen the consequences of it, while the other students spoke among themselves, attempting to make sense of what had just occurred. The instructor's statements held a weight that none of them could fully comprehend, yet they knew better than to confront him openly.
"Alright, settle down!" The instructor's voice echoed across the room, bringing everyone back to attention. He then approached the dummy, turning it around.
"Huh!" The audience gasped in unison. It was a logical reaction, given that the whole rear of the armour was riddled with fractures. It appeared so frail that a single touch could shatter it—which is exactly what occurred when the teacher laid his palm on it.
"Now, can you see? Even though he utilised a rudimentary sword technique, it's apparent he has some katana skills, most likely at level one. When employed on opponents, this method would completely destroy their internal organs in seconds, leading them to perish from internal haemorrhage. It's a strong technique that can only be mastered with consistent practice."
He was correct about it. I'd been training every day for the last few days and had progressed to level 2, which was a significant success for me. I could now employ the katana thrust that I had been practicing for the past few weeks.
After reading through the book, I realized that I would need to experiment with various combinations of the herbs I know. The challenge lies in the fact that different parts of the same plant can have varying effects. This complicates matters, as I only remember the herbs and their percentages, not the specific parts that should be used.
Without the ability to determine the properties just by looking at them like an expert, I'll need to manually test each combination. For instance, does the blue tip of the yellow grass need to be included, or is it unnecessary? Are the seeds of bloodhive berries essential, or should they be discarded? These are the questions I'll have to answer through trial and error.
But I can't just test these on myself. I'll need a test subject. There's a slum on the outskirts of the city that could provide what I need, but it takes two to three hours to get there and the same amount of time to return. I could try to go there once a month, making excuses to cover my trips, but it will still be difficult. "Hey, God, please help me out and give me a test subject to try my alchemy on," I muttered to myself.
Returning the book to my mother, who was in her newly established alchemy room, I handed it to her. "Mom, here's your book."
She glanced at me curiously as she took it. "What happened? You returned the book after just a few hours."
"I didn't really understand what it was saying, so I got bored with it," I replied. In truth, I'm a fast reader, and reading a 450-page book in three to four hours isn't a big deal for me.
"Oh, don't worry. You'll understand it soon enough. I want to teach you, but I've got a lot of work to do over the next few days before opening my alchemy shop, so I can't teach you today. But starting next week, I'll make time," she reassured me. With the renovation of Father's shop complete, he added a few extra small stores within the shop itself, renting them out. Mother decided to open her own shop rather than leasing it to a middleman, hoping to increase profits.
"Yes, Mother," I said, before heading toward Luna's room to check on her. As I approached, I heard sounds of a scuffle and rushed in, slamming the door open.
"BAAM!" The door banged against the wall, and I found Seraphina and Luna in the middle of what could only be described as a catfight. They stopped abruptly at the sound of the door, both turning to look at me.
"Both of you, why are you fighting?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.
"Dajit, she practicing. I help. No argument," Seraphina said in her broken English.
"Yes, Dajit, she's right. Don't worry," Luna chimed in. But their efforts at training were far from effective—neither of them knew any professional fighting techniques.
"Okay, but at least take a day's rest. You just got injured today. If you want to learn how to fight, just ask me or use the book I gave you. What you're doing now isn't very effective," I told her as I walked further into the room.
"But brother, you're already so busy. After school, you're still taking alchemy classes from Mother, so I thought I wouldn't disturb you. Besides, the book you gave me is just about self-defense—I can't learn how to attack from it," Luna explained.
"Don't change the topic. You're injured, and you need to rest first. But don't worry—I have enough time to help both of my sisters. If you want to practice fighting, I'll teach you every evening or afternoon after class. And if there's anything else you want to learn or talk about, just tell me," I reassured her. I can manage a few hours in my schedule to teach them.
"Thank you, brother. Why don't we try it now?" Luna suggested.
"Me too!" Seraphina added enthusiastically.
"Sure, you can join us too, Seraphina," I said as we headed out to the garden, stopping by the tree. "Strength, flexibility, and technique are all necessary if you want to be good at hand-to-hand combat," I began, facing them.
"Yes, brother, I know that. I've read the book before practising," Luna replied.
"So, the first thing I'm going to teach you is precision," I said.
"Huh?" they both responded in unison.
"As your strength is limited right now, and learning technique will take time, I'll start by teaching you precision—how to target weak points with accuracy."
"Are you underestimating us? We'll show you how strong we are, don't you agree, Seraphina?" Luna said, puffing up with determination.
"Uh-huh, yes, yes," Seraphina agreed, though she still seemed a bit clueless.
"Both of you can come at me together," I said, knowing this was going to be child's play for me.
Luna charged at me from the front while Seraphina tried to flank me from behind. Luna aimed for my face, while Seraphina attempted to punch my back. I dodged easily, stepping back and sweeping Luna's ankle with my right leg, causing her to lose balance and fall. Then, I bent forward to avoid Seraphina's punch, grabbed her wrist, and flipped her over, sending her into the ground with a soft thud.
"See? I told you, without precision, teamwork, or skill, you won't get far. We'll start from the basics."
"That hurt! Don't you know I'm injured? How could you trip over a blind girl?" Luna complained, her voice filled with frustration as she lay on the ground.
"You said I was no good, didn't you? If you really want to learn, stop crying and get up," I said, offering her a hand to help her up.
She took my hand and stood, though she was still clearly upset. "Alright, fine. But what now?"
"For the basics, you'll start with the tree," I instructed. "When the leaves fall, you should be able to detect them and catch as many as you can before they hit the ground. After that, attack the tree trunk to build strength. Get ready; I'll hit the tree, and your task is to attack as many falling leaves as possible."
Both Luna and Seraphina nodded and positioned themselves. I struck the tree, sending leaves cascading down. They tried to catch the falling leaves, but their attempts were weak and inconsistent. After a few hours of practice, it was clear they needed more training to improve their precision and strength.
As the sun began to set, we headed back to the house for dinner. Sitting around the table, Father announced, "We'll be having an inauguration ceremony for Mother's new alchemy shop and renovation of our shop on Sunday, which is three days from tomorrow."
With the day's training behind us and the upcoming ceremony to look forward to, we finished our meal and called it a night.
The next day, as I entered the school, I noticed Instructor Rostan standing near the gate. The moment he saw me, he came rushing over, grabbed me by the back, and, without a word, bolted toward the principal's office.
He slammed the door open, startling Principal Astoria, who was busy checking some documents.
"Astoria, I'm taking him as my personal disciple—no conditions. And send that other kid you mentioned; I'll see if he's worth my time," Instructor Rostan declared, still holding me awkwardly by the back of my uniform.
"At least put me down!" I shouted, my voice muffled by his grip.
"Oh, right. You can stand here, but you're not allowed to go anywhere," he replied, setting me down but keeping a firm hand on my shoulder.
Principal Astoria sighed, setting her papers aside. "Yes and no, Rostan. Yes, this is the boy named Dajit who you're supposed to accept as a disciple. But no, you can't take him as your personal disciple. We're hiring another instructor to teach him katana. He'll be learning both katana and close combat."
Rostan frowned, his grip on my shoulder tightening. "Now that's no fun. Just leave him to me as my personal disciple—I'll handle the rest. If he studies with me for a few years, he might even surpass me. And I mean that."
"I know your capabilities, Rostan, but no means no," Principal Astoria replied firmly. "He's already decided that he wants to learn both, and I'm not going to change that."
Rostan's eyes narrowed as he considered her words. "So, if he says he only wants to learn close combat, you'll accept it?"
"Yes, but only if you don't pressure him into it," she responded, her tone leaving no room for argument.
"Heh, don't worry. I'll just make him realize he can't master both. Close combat is far more practical than that needle," he said with a sly grin.
Standing there, a thought crossed my mind, and I couldn't resist asking, "Principal, do you know which teacher harmed Luna? My sister—she's blind and has black eyes."
Astoria blinked, taken aback by the question. "It wasn't a teacher, Dajit. It was a fight between children, if I remember correctly. Why? What's brought this up? I checked on her, and it wasn't a deep wound."
Her words hit me like a bolt of lightning. So that's why Luna wanted to learn offensive close combat. And Seraphina... she must have known about this and kept it hidden from everyone. It also explained why Luna was so quiet yesterday—she was trying to hide it from me.
"Then why didn't you stop it? You promised something..." I muttered, trying to keep the contract hidden from Rostan.
"What do you expect me to do, Dajit? Beat up an eight-year-old because they fought your sister? Rostan, take him back to where you found him," Principal Astoria ordered, her patience clearly waning.
"But—" I started to protest, but Rostan didn't give me a chance to finish. He picked me up once again and carried me back to the front gate, dropping me off before sprinting away, leaving me to stew in my thoughts.
After reading through the book, I realized that I would need to experiment with various combinations of the herbs I know. The challenge lies in the fact that different parts of the same plant can have varying effects. This complicates matters, as I only remember the herbs and their percentages, not the specific parts that should be used.
Without the ability to determine the properties just by looking at them like an expert, I'll need to manually test each combination. For instance, does the blue tip of the yellow grass need to be included, or is it unnecessary? Are the seeds of bloodhive berries essential, or should they be discarded? These are the questions I'll have to answer through trial and error.
But I can't just test these on myself. I'll need a test subject. There's a slum on the outskirts of the city that could provide what I need, but it takes two to three hours to get there and the same amount of time to return. I could try to go there once a month, making excuses to cover my trips, but it will still be difficult. "Hey, God, please help me out and give me a test subject to try my alchemy on," I muttered to myself.
Returning the book to my mother, who was in her newly established alchemy room, I handed it to her. "Mom, here's your book."
She glanced at me curiously as she took it. "What happened? You returned the book after just a few hours."
"I didn't really understand what it was saying, so I got bored with it," I replied. In truth, I'm a fast reader, and reading a 450-page book in three to four hours isn't a big deal for me.
"Oh, don't worry. You'll understand it soon enough. I want to teach you, but I've got a lot of work to do over the next few days before opening my alchemy shop, so I can't teach you today. But starting next week, I'll make time," she reassured me. With the renovation of Father's shop complete, he added a few extra small stores within the shop itself, renting them out. Mother decided to open her own shop rather than leasing it to a middleman, hoping to increase profits.
"Yes, Mother," I said, before heading toward Luna's room to check on her. As I approached, I heard sounds of a scuffle and rushed in, slamming the door open.
"BAAM!" The door banged against the wall, and I found Seraphina and Luna in the middle of what could only be described as a catfight. They stopped abruptly at the sound of the door, both turning to look at me.
"Both of you, why are you fighting?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.
"Dajit, she practicing. I help. No argument," Seraphina said in her broken English.
"Yes, Dajit, she's right. Don't worry," Luna chimed in. But their efforts at training were far from effective—neither of them knew any professional fighting techniques.
"Okay, but at least take a day's rest. You just got injured today. If you want to learn how to fight, just ask me or use the book I gave you. What you're doing now isn't very effective," I told her as I walked further into the room.
"But brother, you're already so busy. After school, you're still taking alchemy classes from Mother, so I thought I wouldn't disturb you. Besides, the book you gave me is just about self-defense—I can't learn how to attack from it," Luna explained.
"Don't change the topic. You're injured, and you need to rest first. But don't worry—I have enough time to help both of my sisters. If you want to practice fighting, I'll teach you every evening or afternoon after class. And if there's anything else you want to learn or talk about, just tell me," I reassured her. I can manage a few hours in my schedule to teach them.
"Thank you, brother. Why don't we try it now?" Luna suggested.
"Me too!" Seraphina added enthusiastically.
"Sure, you can join us too, Seraphina," I said as we headed out to the garden, stopping by the tree. "Strength, flexibility, and technique are all necessary if you want to be good at hand-to-hand combat," I began, facing them.
"Yes, brother, I know that. I've read the book before practising," Luna replied.
"So, the first thing I'm going to teach you is precision," I said.
"Huh?" they both responded in unison.
"As your strength is limited right now, and learning technique will take time, I'll start by teaching you precision—how to target weak points with accuracy."
"Are you underestimating us? We'll show you how strong we are, don't you agree, Seraphina?" Luna said, puffing up with determination.
"Uh-huh, yes, yes," Seraphina agreed, though she still seemed a bit clueless.
"Both of you can come at me together," I said, knowing this was going to be child's play for me.
Luna charged at me from the front while Seraphina tried to flank me from behind. Luna aimed for my face, while Seraphina attempted to punch my back. I dodged easily, stepping back and sweeping Luna's ankle with my right leg, causing her to lose balance and fall. Then, I bent forward to avoid Seraphina's punch, grabbed her wrist, and flipped her over, sending her into the ground with a soft thud.
"See? I told you, without precision, teamwork, or skill, you won't get far. We'll start from the basics."
"That hurt! Don't you know I'm injured? How could you trip over a blind girl?" Luna complained, her voice filled with frustration as she lay on the ground.
"You said I was no good, didn't you? If you really want to learn, stop crying and get up," I said, offering her a hand to help her up.
She took my hand and stood, though she was still clearly upset. "Alright, fine. But what now?"
"For the basics, you'll start with the tree," I instructed. "When the leaves fall, you should be able to detect them and catch as many as you can before they hit the ground. After that, attack the tree trunk to build strength. Get ready; I'll hit the tree, and your task is to attack as many falling leaves as possible."
Both Luna and Seraphina nodded and positioned themselves. I struck the tree, sending leaves cascading down. They tried to catch the falling leaves, but their attempts were weak and inconsistent. After a few hours of practice, it was clear they needed more training to improve their precision and strength.
As the sun began to set, we headed back to the house for dinner. Sitting around the table, Father announced, "We'll be having an inauguration ceremony for Mother's new alchemy shop and renovation of our shop on Sunday, which is three days from tomorrow."
With the day's training behind us and the upcoming ceremony to look forward to, we finished our meal and called it a night.
The next day, as I entered the school, I noticed Instructor Rostan standing near the gate. The moment he saw me, he came rushing over, grabbed me by the back, and, without a word, bolted toward the principal's office.
He slammed the door open, startling Principal Astoria, who was busy checking some documents.
"Astoria, I'm taking him as my personal disciple—no conditions. And send that other kid you mentioned; I'll see if he's worth my time," Instructor Rostan declared, still holding me awkwardly by the back of my uniform.
"At least put me down!" I shouted, my voice muffled by his grip.
"Oh, right. You can stand here, but you're not allowed to go anywhere," he replied, setting me down but keeping a firm hand on my shoulder.
Principal Astoria sighed, setting her papers aside. "Yes and no, Rostan. Yes, this is the boy named Dajit who you're supposed to accept as a disciple. But no, you can't take him as your personal disciple. We're hiring another instructor to teach him katana. He'll be learning both katana and close combat."
Rostan frowned, his grip on my shoulder tightening. "Now that's no fun. Just leave him to me as my personal disciple—I'll handle the rest. If he studies with me for a few years, he might even surpass me. And I mean that."
"I know your capabilities, Rostan, but no means no," Principal Astoria replied firmly. "He's already decided that he wants to learn both, and I'm not going to change that."
Rostan's eyes narrowed as he considered her words. "So, if he says he only wants to learn close combat, you'll accept it?"
"Yes, but only if you don't pressure him into it," she responded, her tone leaving no room for argument.
"Heh, don't worry. I'll just make him realize he can't master both. Close combat is far more practical than that needle," he said with a sly grin.
Standing there, a thought crossed my mind, and I couldn't resist asking, "Principal, do you know which teacher harmed Luna? My sister—she's blind and has black eyes."
Astoria blinked, taken aback by the question. "It wasn't a teacher, Dajit. It was a fight between children, if I remember correctly. Why? What's brought this up? I checked on her, and it wasn't a deep wound."
Her words hit me like a bolt of lightning. So that's why Luna wanted to learn offensive close combat. And Seraphina... she must have known about this and kept it hidden from everyone. It also explained why Luna was so quiet yesterday—she was trying to hide it from me.
"Then why didn't you stop it? You promised something..." I muttered, trying to keep the contract hidden from Rostan.
"What do you expect me to do, Dajit? Beat up an eight-year-old because they fought your sister? Rostan, take him back to where you found him," Principal Astoria ordered, her patience clearly waning.
"But—" I started to protest, but Rostan didn't give me a chance to finish. He picked me up once again and carried me back to the front gate, dropping me off before sprinting away, leaving me to stew in my thoughts.