"But was this really all you had in store?" a dubious Romuald said.

The kid didn't answer, his body dangling powerlessly, making for quite the pathetic sight.

"Hmph. somehow I expected more" Romuald said in a shrug, he was definitely not convinced. His senses were telling him something was off even now. He went ahead of the brat

He took the stick he had from his hands, loaded it like a spear and threw it in the center of the rope with pinpoint accuracy.

Swish

The stick passed through like butter, and with such force that it split the cable in two, dropping his terrified student to the ground.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa," He yelled as he was falling, having a hard time repositioning.

Romuald looked at him and with a sigh jumped in the air and caught him.

"There, there, princess," he said as he craddled him to the ground.

"Heyyy! Drop me," The kid yelled.

"You still haven’t learned?" Romuald said.

SMASH

Twice the charm.

#

"I really should have shut myself up", I said to myself as I slowly stood up rubbing my side. My eyes locked on Romuald. I had no one to blame but my own big mouth, but still...

It didn't help that Romuald was looking at me, a punchable smile plastered on his face.

"Ouch alright, I lose," I said. Lifting my hands in the air.

This was obviously a bluff.

In my head I was calculating the outcomes for part two, and how likely it was to work.

I tried to act as dejected as I could, but in my head I was sighing. I could only hope I had made him lower his guard. With step 1 over, I'd have to engage step 2.

The moment of truth is now.

##

This was but the first trap. Was thinking a still Helmet.

He had planted many traps among the field, using both the little material he had, such as the thread he had gathered from Albert's robe, and natural elements such as rocks, rocks, rocks, and vines.

Still, while he had placed multiple traps along the way, they were mostly for the sake of annoying Romuald and throwing him off his game. This "long game approach" also applied to this relatively high effort trap that had been seen through.

He knew Romuald well, or at least enough to have figured that behind the pretense of childishness he was extremely smart. This was why no matter how elaborate the first trap was it would have likely never worked, after all Romuald would have noticed that something was off, and even if he hadn't his ability to tell when someone was pretending to sleep, would have gave him away. This as well as all the traps that he had placed along the way were just for the sake of pissing Romuald off, and make him lower his guard.

After all, smart as he was, ego was still an exploitable vice.

In the area between the poles and the rocks he had dug many holes making the terrain irregular. They were not traps perse, but they would prevent Romuald from dashing as he had done before, unless he wanted a sprain ankle.

In the area of the posts he had dug many holes too, and joined many threads together with threads at different height. He had memorized their placements so they wouldn't be a problem for him, but for Romuald, their small size making them almost invisible would make them a huge hassle. That would certainly tick him off even more, after all no one liked being forced to hold back, especially one as prideful as Romuald.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

The goal was to push Romuald into a challenge were the odds were tipped in his favor. Something that in any normal situations he would win with his eyes closed, and hands behind his back; before dangling the win just out of reach.

All this in order to throw him off his game, and make him miss the big picture. To destabilize him just enough that he falls into the second real trap, the trap that would seal this kid's victory, the trap that used elements Romuald had seen every time he had come to this area, and that would not arouse his suspicions.

His ace in the hole.

But to reel the fish, he had to throw a bait.

The brat advanced with a smug face, not fitting for one who had just been humiliated. After a deep inhale, he pointed at his master and roared.

"I challenge you to a duel"

"Uh?"

###

We were in the forest, close to the training posts still a few meters away from the tree to which I had hung the night before, and right next to the new tree I had just been freed from. The disconnect between this humiliating situation and my overconfident attitude was exactly what I was going for, and it seemed to work.

"Did you hit your head?" a puzzled Romuald asked more amused than angry.

"No, no, I didn't, thanks for worrying," I said still nonchalant.

"Then?" He said less amused and more bemused.

"Eh." I shrugged. "I figured that since it's the last day I'd teach you a lesson"

I was terrified. I had set the stage in order to shift the odds of victory in my favor, but even then I had only about 50% chance of winning and riling him now, would make sure he wouldn't hold back.

He heavily sighed, and then looked at the sky before breaking into a thunderous laugh.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA, you teach me a lesson?"

"Looks like you suddenly grew some balls tonight." He wiped away his tears.

"Still, since I have some things to teach you just go, you don't need to be humbled just yet." He said walking away, hurried to leave this place.

"Hahahahahahaha," I exploded in a laugh, mirroring him. His walk immediately stopped, and he looked back at me with cold eyes. Not concerned, or amused, but discerning. As if he was wondering, 'what the hell I was trying to do.'

"Are you perhaps.."

"Scared?"

Blink

I didn't even have time to open my eyes, that a dart like stick had flown right past me, and nicking my right cheek open in the process.

"Mission accomplished, and I am an idiot," I thought.

"Hahaha... are you mocking me?" He said looking at me, his big figure seeming bigger than ever.

"This is the second time I tell you that right." Killing intent rising as he spoke. His cold eyes from earlier now frigid.

"Unless you are willing to put your life on the line, never call someone a 'coward'"

Gulp

I quickly backed down, now that he was ruffled, it was time to comfort him and let him have this win, pushing his buttons any further would have no benefits. Thinking back to the pain of snapping bones was the only wake up call I needed.

I quickly brought my hands in front of me and apologized.

"S-s-sorry!" I said, bowing at the same time.

Immediately the killing intent subsided. I knew that I had pushed my luck.

"It's just that" I said, while chancing a look.

"I wanted to try to defeat you with everything I have."

It was obvious that Romuald after seeing this trap, and noticing the state of the training field would get the idea.

At this moment the plan was to soften him a bit. Considering what had happened two days ago, he was likely to be more lenient. And by being seemingly honest about it, I could potentially hide my ace in plain sight. By revealing everything I had done until now, except for that detail I appeared both driven and thoughtful, while also seeming pitiable, after all this plan was pretty paltry.

I was totally taking advantage of my child like appearance. Even if he thought of me as a smart kid, he wasn't likely to expect any more than that given the time I had, in fact even that was too much.

I explained my thinking behind the snare trap made with ropes and rocks, how long it had taken me to dig the holes throughout the field, how heavy the rock was to lift, etc etc. There was only one slight discrepancy, that even to me felt miraculous, how did I have time to do all that? I gave the credit to the weird dance I had accidentally practiced.

After that, Romuald laughed of his characteristic jovial laugh. "Hahahahahaha, alright alright I get it."

Yessir!

"Since you really want a beating, let's do it," He said stretching his body.

He looked at me with eyes, that seemed to tell 'what else are you hiding?'. He wasn't fooled. But I ignored them, choosing to trust in the rest of the plan.

Here goes nothing. I took a deep breath, and exchanged looks with Romuald. Then from under a big rock, I picked up 1 bola I had confectioned the night before.

“History of Battle Arts and Weapons, Vol 2”, the Bola. A throwable weapon used mainly as an hunting tool for the sake of immobilizing a fleeing prey. This one was made of three rocks and vines.

Romuald chuckled.

I didn't.

I attached the bola, to my waist planning to use it in last resort.

I then took a deep breath. I eyed for my destination.

I braced, and only then did I leap forward.

"START," I said as I rushed him.

I feinted a strike, he blocked it but it was exactly what I wanted. I dashed in his blind spot, running deeper in the forest.

"You twerp!" He shouted, seeming more amused and expectant than angry.

It was clear that Romuald wouldn't use his full speed, and that even if he wanted to, the trees would prevent it.

This was the start of step 3.