“Oh man... How does she expect us to train by ourselves if she keeps working us to the bone like this!” Simon complained to Arthur about their sergeant.
It had been three days since Layla told them to train in teams. In the morning, they would have physical training, and then after lunch, they would have time to train with their team.
“That's part of physical training; it's supposed to push your limits and make you stronger, so stop whining,” Tamara chimed in as she overheard their talk. From Arthur’s perspective, Tamara seemed to be the only one who enjoyed the physical training Layla prepared for them.
He himself was not a fan of physical training, but the results spoke for themselves. Arthur started to gain some muscle in just a few days. He was still on the lean side, but being an animal cultivator, Arthur could grow faster than a normal human.
Some of his growth also attributed to Riley growing stronger and bigger. In the last three days, not only did they get training, but their bond as well. ‘To think there are so many things I did not know even about the basics of animal cultivation...’ Arthur thought as he remembered what he had learned in the last three days.
One of the most important things he learned was that the bond not only enhanced an animal cultivator’s strength and speed, but almost every aspect of their body. Of course, not everything translated at the same rate. A 50% increase only applied when counting strength and speed. For example, when a bond had a hard shell or scale that could defend against damage, only a fraction of it enhanced human skin since they didn't have scales.
‘Then I think my Talent is actually not bad!’ Animal cultivators' first talent is always about their bond. It enhances the bond while feeding back to the cultivator. Rat got its intelligence and ability to learn enhanced, which in return Arthur got a fraction of the benefit through their bond. This helped him significantly when learning about sword fighting!
“Simon, do you think you can teach me about parrying attacks?” Arthur asked the spear user.
“Didn’t Athena teach you about it already? I saw you train with her all the time,” Simon asked curiously.
“She did, but she only taught me the basics. When you were fighting Kale, you were so good that you could parry each of his attacks. I just think maybe you can teach me,” Arthur explained.
The last three days of training, Arthur already got a good grasp of the basics; he only needed more repetition to cement it. He noticed that he was most compatible with deflecting attacks rather than dodging or blocking them.
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‘My hand moves faster, but my strength is not that great compared to the others. With my Trait, adjusting my sword to deflect an attack is the best option when I can't dodge it completely.’
Simon nodded, “Leave it to this big brother! Even if I specialize in spears, I can give you some tips. Here, let me show you!”
Arthur followed him to the yard, letting Simon demonstrate how to deflect and parry incoming attacks.
“The most important thing is adjusting angles and applying enough force to redirect incoming attacks, but you need to time it just right. If you miss your timing, you will risk getting hit instead. Now try to attack me a few times,” Simon told Arthur.
Arthur picked up his sword and started to attack with a horizontal slash. Simon easily deflected the blow with his spear but did not try to counter, allowing Arthur to turn his blade to deliver a vertical strike, which Simon deflected to the side from where it previously came with the tip of his spear.
After a few exchanges, Simon let Arthur try deflecting some blows before giving a few more tips.
“I think that's enough. Tomorrow I will use this against Athena,” he smiled.
“Now that you mention her, aren’t you getting close with her? Before, she only talked with Tamara, but it seems you start talking to her outside of training as well,” Simon got nosy.
“I can’t call us close; she barely says a sentence to me every time,” Arthur laughed.
‘Well, it's progress, I guess.’
“Oh right, I did not see her in the dorm. Do you know where she went? It's dark already,” Simon asked.
“Huh? Is that so? I thought she is with Tamara on her side. How do you know?”
Tamara ended up putting a partition in the dorm, giving the girls some privacy.
“Hahaha. Who do you think your big brother is? Of course, I know!” Simon boasted, which made Arthur suspicious.
“You peep on their side, didn't you?” he accused, to which Simon only laughed.
“Well, just wait for me to tell Tamara. I think she would love to give you another beating,” Arthur lightly said before walking away.
“Hey Arthur, just keep it between us, alright? There is no need to tell Tamara!” Simon pleaded.
“Alright, alright, I was just joking. But in exchange, can you cover for me tonight?”
“Huh? Where are you going?” Simon looked at him as he walked away from the dorm.
“I got something to do; just get back and cover for me. If nothing happens, I will return soon,” he dismissed the shorter guy.
Arthur was going to look for Athena. Going out at night seemed suspicious in his eyes. There might be the spy and currently gathering information.
‘I should probably bring my katana and use my bracer, but if I return to the dorm, it will be hard to explain to the others,’ he thought as he only brought his training sword with him.
Luckily, Riley followed him when he went out since it seemed interested in what he might learn from Simon.
‘Maybe I can get some weapon for Riley too when I have the money; it should be useful.’
With only the two of them, Arthur went toward the barrack. If there was anywhere a spy might go, it would be the Barrack.
‘Let’s just hope I’m wrong, and she is not the spy,’ Arthur bit his lips.
Despite being silent, Arthur learned that Athena is actually someone who likes to talk. She just closed herself off from people. It might be because of her past, but he did not know for sure.
‘Even if the current me can't beat her, at least I should be able to hold her!’