The breeze of the afternoon shuttled, lifting the green leaves from the ground and conveying them somewhere in the distance. The bare trees moved back and forth, forcing the scattered birds to fly absently, their gazes dissatisfied.
Amidst those myriads of trees, a medium-sized house could be seen, bathed in the rays of sunlight.
"Del, your father has returned!!!" a beautiful woman with soft dark hair falling on her shoulders said excitedly.
"Dad?!" a little boy with brown hair and average features rushed out of the room, barefoot. With each step, a low rumble echoed through the house, "Where!?" After stopping right next to his mother, his gaze wandered around the vicinity.
"Look over there," Margaret pointed her finger at the window on the side, which Del immediately glanced over to. A dark figure in a black robe could be seen walking slowly toward the house, pausing occasionally, apparently distracted by something they couldn't perceive.
"Let's go! It's been three days since we last saw him!" without another thought, Del stormed through the door, while his mother followed from behind, trying to catch up with the speed of the energetic youth.
"DAD!!!" Del rushed towards the dark figure at top speed, a smile flashing across his face. The figure couldn't even react in time as Del jumped into his embrace, squeezing tightly around the man's broad waist.
"Long time no see Del. Did you spend the time productively while I was gone?" the person asked as he patted Del on the back of the head.
"Yes! I've been training with the sword like you told me to!" Del replied.
"Well done son, we will have to do some sparring to make sure you are not lying. Now go back to your room and bring the sword," the man said as Del immediately fled the embrace and hurried back into the house.
"Cale," Margaret said, her voice full of warmth, "How was the hunt?"
"Bad. The wild beasts seem to be going extinct in the area as well" Cale replied. With a wave of his hand, Cale pushed the dark hood away, revealing his rugged appearance. Cale's entire face was covered in deep scars, while his nose was turned slightly to the side, making him look somewhat ugly.
However, the deep blue eyes and soft brown hair that fell into his forehead would make him stand out from the crowd.
"Extinct...Does that mean the Lulah Kingdom is already trying to occupy this territory?" Margaret's eyes suddenly sharpened as she looked around warily.
"Don't worry, although the frontlines are getting more intense with each passing day, this area should be quiet for some time," Cale said.
"How much is this 'some time'?" Margaret asked, still anxious.
"Considering that the Corsia Kingdom is entering the battle from the north, it should take about a month for this area to be involved," Cale continued, "But if the Mongia Kingdom decides to enter the war...then they'll probably attack from the east and we'd be encircled with no way out."
"Tch...We can't take such a risk, we have to leave immediately," Margaret declared, her expression slowly deteriorating.
"Dad! I took the sword, let's go practice!" a youthful voice suddenly rang in the duo's ears as they both turned around with a smile, trying to hide their true feelings deep inside.
"Let's head out in the morning," Cale whispered in Margaret's ear as he placed the large brown bag on the ground, creating a loud thud. Inside the sack, a medium-sized creature with dark scales covering every part of its skin lay, its eyes closed. If looked closely, one could see the huge scar across its stomach, seemingly left by a sword.
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"Don't be too hard on Del," Margaret muttered before grasping the edge of the sack and pulling it towards the hut. Though the weight and size of the beast inside could cause trouble for even the strongest of men, that didn't seem to be much of a problem for Margaret.
"Follow me, Del. We shouldn't distract Mother while she's cooking or you know what can happen," Cale said. Upon hearing his father's words, sweat formed underneath the son's silk T-shirt, apparently recalling some unpleasant memories.
"Hey, wait a minute," Del mumbled, seeing the moving figure of his father, who didn't even bother to stop for a second. However, once he noticed his father's completely exposed back, the temptation of sneak attacking overwhelmed him.
Del grabbed the hilt of the wooden sword and lunged forward, striking directly at his own father's neck. To Del's surprise, at the moment when the sword was about to land on Cale's manly body, he suddenly disappeared.
"When you sneak attack, be sure to keep your presence hidden and movement shift" Cale spoke from behind, causing his son to turn 180 degrees, alarmed, "If this was a real battlefield, you'd already be dead."
Bang!
Cale landed a punch right to his son's stomach, sending him flying a few feet away. After a few constant spins, Del came to a stop as he vehemently lost his breath.
"Remember this pain as a lesson to never try to sneak attack someone much stronger than you. Unless you have a perfect plan, such an action will only result in death," Cale said as he picked up the wooden sword from the ground and tossed it to his son, "Now let's start training properly. Let me see how much you've improved in the last three days."
"Tch...I'll show you!" Del clutched the handle of the sword as he charged forward in frustration. Although his entire heart was filled with controversial emotions, Del still managed to keep his breathing steady and his technique firm, just like his father had always told him.
'Hmm... not bad,' Cale thought, continuing to dodge the boy's desperate attacks. Though none of the attacks came anywhere near Cale's body, the progress was still visible.
-
Several minutes passed since the fight began, with the same outcome ensuing every time Del tried to attack. The force behind the strikes had already been severely lessened while Del's eyes were slowly getting blurry.
'I should stop training for now, or Margaret will kill me if Del passes out again,' Cale thought before saying, "That's enough for today"
Del, as if immobilized by his father's words, dropped dead to the ground.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
After exhaling a few times in exhaustion, his vision returned to normal and he sighed, "Father, no matter how much I train, I'll never be able to become as strong as you. Even after practicing for so long, I haven't even managed to land a strike on your body."
"Don't worry about that, kid. I was weaker than you at your age. Once you start practicing Qi..." Cale paused mid-sentence, realizing he had said something he shouldn't have.
"Qi?" Del stuck his ear out curiously, "What's Qi?"
'Damn...I'm definitely going to get killed by that gal today,' Cale cursed inwardly before saying, "I'll tell you if you promise that you won't mention anything about it to your mom."
Del nodded in response as he tilted his head forward, hoping to hear some useful information that might finally expose some progress in his constant training.
"Puff...well, I should start from the beginning," Cale sighed as he moved towards Del. Immediately, the whole area tensed as Del realized he was being beset by unfamiliar energy.
He tried to straighten up but failed. After a few seconds, Del was already twisted deep into the ground with no way to escape.
"That's Qi, an energy that can be used by every living thing in this world," Cale eased up the oppression, letting Del finally breathe, "Qi can be used in a variety of ways, but mostly it lets people enchant their physical strength."
"However," Cale reached his hand up, as strange white energy formed on the edge of his finger, "With enough practice, you would even be able to do something like this"
As the words befell on the still struggling Del, he tilted his head slightly, only to see a strange white sphere being sent into the air by his father.
Del's mouth widened at the sight of that orb flying even further into the air until it finally collided with the clouds. Although that energy could no longer be seen, the hole in the clouds easily explained how terrifying that power was.
"Dad! Teach me how to do this!" Del bowed respectfully, his eyes still shaken.
"Ahh..." Cale placed his hand on the forehead. "Although your mother would kill me if she found out, we can do some secret practice later. However, the process will be painful, are you sure you can handle it?"
"Yes!" Without even thinking for a second, Del replied.
"Hmm...Alright then, let's go back home now. Don't tell your mother anything about Qi."
"I won't." the boy promised with an earsplitting grin.