"You," Nyx walked toward Vince, "you must have a gift you're not telling me about."
Vince's forehead creased.
"I don't have any gifts. Hell, I wish I did."
"Then how did you do that?"
"Do what?"
They were now standing face to face.
"Feel the temperature of nature's energy."
"Ahh, that…" Vince smiled cockily and shrugged. "I don't know. It just came out of the blue. I felt it like I had known it all along, and I trusted what I felt. That's how I found out. My knowledge about shadows also helped. I read a lot, you see."
Nyx didn't say anything. He just stared at Vince, as if he were a puzzle he couldn't solve.
"By the way, where's my pet? The white cat with black bat wings."
"I kept her somewhere else. I don't want distractions while training you."
Vince nodded. No doubt, Fiona's creepy red eyes are distracting. Especially when she stares at Nyx like an obsessed psycho. Dracula must have felt it too. That's why he kept the sassy cat away.
'Poor kitty, getting cast aside by her crush. Haha!'
"Okay, since you passed my test, I'll teach you as promised," Nyx said coldly.
Vince smiled because finally, Dracula acknowledged him as someone worth teaching. He wasn't fond of the man, but he knew that Nyx could help him improve in many ways.
And in his current state, he couldn't afford to be picky about the help he received.
He needed all the help he could get. The city guardian's entry exam was less than a month away.
"And you'll stop discouraging me, yes?"
Nyx stared blankly at him, and Vince was reminded of a zombie from The Walking Dead. The man literally looked like the undead.
For the next few hours, Nyx taught Vince basic combat training.
He introduced the vital points of the body, along with basic strikes and defensive moves.
"Your stance is the core of your fighting technique. It provides balance, power, and the ability to move quickly."
They started without weapons—just pure hand-to-hand combat.
"Keep your weight centered, and remember, you're not just standing still. You're preparing to move."
Having been trained to move quickly in water, Vince had a good grasp of speed and agility.
But he could see that wasn't enough. He could barely keep up with Nyx's simple moves.
"Always stay alert. Never let your guard down, because the moment you lose focus, you give your enemy the chance to kill you with one strike."
For every ten attempts Vince made to strike Nyx, Nyx struck once and it always landed.
After hours of training, Vince still hadn't hit him once.
Nyx didn't use his full strength on his strikes, and Vince was aware of it. If he had, Vince would've been dead. Nyx's thin and sickly appearance was deceiving. He was incredibly strong and fast.
"You haven't hit me yet, but I know why your strike lacks force. It's not because you are a dormant, but because when you hit with your hand, you are only using the strength of your arm. That's wrong. You need to use the strength of your whole body. The same goes for kicking."
The sun was slowly setting, but Vince hadn't hit Nyx even once.
He was exhausted when he returned to Raine's manor that evening and ate heartily during dinner. Raine joined him, just as she promised, and mentioned that Nyx would continue training him in the coming days.
Vince didn't complain. Nyx's subtle jabs hurt, and he wanted to keep training until he was good enough to hit Nyx back.
Revenge sounded silly, but he saw it as keeping his competitive spirit alive.
Besides, if Raine had been training him, he wouldn't have had the motivation to hit her back, so he realized it was better that Nyx was his combat trainer.
The next few days drained Vince of energy.
He had his fair share of complaints, but in the end, he always showed up during training sessions.
Fiona always accompanied him and Nyx but kept her distance, promising Nyx she wouldn't interrupt or make any sound.
Vince also convinced Nyx to let the cat stay around, as Fiona was useful for fetching fruit for snacks. She could be handy with other things too.
Their training grounds changed every few days. They always went to places where nature's energy was strong and undisturbed: forests, mountains, near the sea and bodies of water, even during rain and thunderstorms.
It was all to help Vince sense nature's energy while training.
The more he sensed it, the sooner he would learn to draw energy from nature.
"Remember to integrate your footwork more seamlessly. Movement and positioning are just as important as striking. Also, work on reading your opponent's intentions. Anticipating their moves will give you a strategic advantage."
Vince pinned every word, every piece of advice from Nyx, into his mind.
He needed to learn every crucial piece of knowledge he could use in combat.
Nyx also brought him to a place filled with all sorts of weapons.
"Some city guardians use weapons, while others rely solely on their gifts and magic. Since you have neither, it's best to familiarize yourself with various weapons. When you awaken, you can choose one that complements your magic affinity, if you would have any."