"Haa"

Ryn came to a halt, out of breath, and sat in a meditative position under the tree in the backyard of their home.

He has been continuously repeating the same move until he was no longer able to breathe.

So he took a breather in the shades of the tree, though the sun was no longer at its zenith and a light breeze was blowing.

"One more time and it shall be mine." a small smile creeping into his mouth Ryn uttered those words, unbeknownst to him.

It didn't take him long before he was finally done recuperating and his body felt fresh again.

Unbeknownst to Ryn in his meditative state, his body was enveloped in a subtle green hue, which shimmered and faintly glimmered, its luminosity barely perceptible to the naked eye.

'that's strange, i thought it will take longer'

He thought he won't be able to do it again today since he pushed his body till he was out of breath.

But he didn't feel any fatigue. On the contrary, he felt refreshed, just like when he did his morning training routine with his father.

"That means i don't have to wait until tomorrow then."

Ryn seized two sticks from their proximity, poised to execute the same motion once more.

This time, he held two wooden sticks, their weight and texture resembling what Ryn imagined daggers would feel like.

Feeling nothing was holding him anymore, he gave it his all, and would only stop until that move became his, from footwork to the execution of delivery.

After what felt like a while,

"Finally, this belongs to me now Hahaha." Ryn's hysterical laughter echoed in the backyard.

Laying on the grass, after he finished mastering the move, Ryn was overwhelmed by the satisfaction of his achievement that it made him laugh like a mad boy unlike how he usually is.

But unbeknownst to Ryn, that laughter also reached the ears of two passersby, which caught their attention.

"Hm! Where is that coming from?"

"I think it is some child laughing."

"That's strange. Why would a child laugh like that?"

"What do you mean, children should laugh and play a lot."

"Marlo, are you a fool? How can there be only one laughter if there's a punch of them?"

"What! Between the two of us, you're the dimwit Zarko. You don't know what it feels like to be called "Dad", "Father" it's heavenly, I am telling you."

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"Stop talking like you know anything about it. You don't even have a wife."

"Ehem, i would have if i wasn't a friend with a grumpy man like you" Marlo mattered.

"What, did you say!?" Zarko questioned in an angry tone, he knew the tall farmer friend of his wasn't saying anything good about him.

"Nothing. So what was it you were saying earlier, something being strange?"

Earlier today at around after lunch, Zarko and Marlo were on their usual route to the fields and while on the way they noticed Ryn on their way back.

The path they were on was one that went by the backyard of those houses which joined to another bigger one that led towards the gates, and for Zarko and Marlo it was a short route for them.

The fences of the house could hide someone as told as Ryn, but due to the distance they were from the house, Zarko and marlo were able to see what Ryn was doing, and it wasn't anything strange according to what Zarko could see but Marlo thought different.

"See, i told you something was strange about him back then."

"He was just playing and probably stretching after lunch. Heheheh"

"Stretching after lunch? You dimwit that's not what kids his age do."

By now they could see who was laughing after they got closer to Dastarn's house.

"And playing!? Ever seen a kid play like that on his own!?."

"Why don't you have kids and find out then!? Hehehhehe"

"I think he was training! Hmm."

"Now you have lost it Zarko! Why would a kid train? Hehehhe"

"I don't know why, but I am sure of it. He is training for something!"

"Before you completely go bonkers, why don't you leave behind some descendants, my friend? Heheheh"

"WOULD YOU STOP LAUGHING ALREADY!?" Zarko exclaimed loudly.

Only then did they realize their blunder and they both suddenly crouched.

In the middle of the path.

Although they weren't they felt like they were almost caught, even if they were not that close either to the fence or to Ryn specifically.

Because if they approached closer to his location, even as they passed by the house along the path, they would be unable to spot him unless they ventured nearer to the fence, tilted their heads above it, and peered in a disconcerting manner.

Such behavior would likely earn them the reputation of being either creepy perverts or mere peeping creeps, known for their intrusive gaze upon private dwellings.

"What's with you man!? Why are you raging?"

"Why are you laughing like some witless buffoon?"

"Ah, that? It is just contagious, I couldn't help it. Hehe"

"What is contagious?"

"His laughter earlier." Marlo uttured, smiling.

"Let's just leave before anyone sees us and spreads rumors."

"Yeah, we should."

Luckily, no one saw them. Two grown men arguing while crouching in the middle of the path would be a strange sight for anyone to see. And they would have been new gossip.

Ryn didn't notice anything. Although it would have been the same, even if he tried to look at anything beyond the fence, it wouldn't have been easy to spot crouching men over the fence, anyway.

"Son, did you finish your training?"

Dastarn said, approaching where Ryn was laying under the tree.

"Ah, yes, father." Ryn only noticed then that his father had just exited the backdoor.

"I see you have been working hard."

"I was just stretching a bit."

"Good. Be diligent on your hard work son, diligence never deceives."

"Thank you, Father. I will heed your words."

"Now I know I said I would create a new training routine for you, but I have decided against it, instead you will do twice the amount. Ok."

"Ok, father."

"Don't be sulky, son, your father here will teach you something else." Dastarn said jokingly.

"But I am not sulking."

"It is ok, your father also brought you a gift."

"A gift?"

"Tada!" Dastarn revealed his hands, which had been concealed behind his back all this time.

To Ryn's surprise, Dastarn was holding two wooden short swords in his hands.

"Ah!" Ryn exclaimed. He had been in need of a training weapon, and it turned out his father had bought them.

All this time, Ryn had merely assumed that his father was keeping his hands behind his back for no particular reason.

"Here" Dastarn handed them to him. And asked to check them out.

"It is perfect. Thanks, father."

"Don't forget to thank Gideon as well, he is the one who made them."

'I should pay my gratitude with ingredients as well, he would probably prefer that.'

Dastarn thought that Gideon would probably prefer materials he could work with instead of just words.

"Ok, I will do that."

'So these are from Ahjussi.'

That would've been the obvious thing if those were real weapons, since Gideon was the only blacksmith in the whole village who made weapons.

"Oh!" Ryn exclaimed. Examining the wooden swords.

The fact that his father had acquired training wooden swords didn't surprise him, as many experienced hunters in the village carved such swords for their children or the youngsters in the community.

However, the ones Ryn held in his hands were distinctly different, they possessed intricate details and a superior balance compared to the typical training swords found in the village. And they arrived just in time.

After lunch, some tea, and small talk, Gideon decided to leave, and Dastarn accompanied him as a sign of respect. He also intended to put in a request a pair of training swords for Ryn.

To his surprise, Gideon already had a set of swords ready, retrieved from old storage.

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Ahjussi: 'Uncle', 'Mister', or just 'Oldman' (informally) in Korean and usually used to address an older middle-aged man.