It's been three days since the wolf incident. Sun and Smoke walked around town, searching for more books to read. They asked the goblins if they could look around their homes for any books. Most agreed to their request since they see Sun and his brothers as heroes. But others, particularly supporters of Cala and Sum, gave the two cold shoulders. Cala's followers despised the brothers for challenging Cala, and Sum's supporters believe the brothers are ungrateful to the true hero, Sum.
Rock and Stick were at the meadow, training, and learning about new weapons from Cloud, who was there to supervise the brothers. He was surprised to see Rock and Stick have such a strong brotherly bond. Most goblins who were strong belittled their weaker peers. Cloud knows from experience that the brothers' relationship is unique.
Rock and Stick ran in place as part of their training routine. Cloud was mesmerized by the brothers' intense workout. He wondered how the brothers beat Tama's men, and now he got his answer, but now he has a new question occupying his mind. "Could I get stronger too?" He whispered to himself.
Suddenly, a hand slapped Cloud's shoulder. Due to Cloud's thick, heavy coat, he nearly rolled away. Cloud stopped himself just in time. He looked at the goblin that appeared next to him; it was Salacity and his brother Cancer. "How these halflings doing? Get stronger. Good, yes?" Salacity rubbed his chin.
"They're doing fine. I just don't understand some of these so-called training they're doing. Hard to believe they got stronger because of it."
"Maybe brother train with halflings grow stronger." Cancer said with a mischievous tone.
"Shut up!" Salacity smacked the back of Cancer's head. "Well, I and Cancer go tend with slaves. So many women want sex with the man slave. Bye, Cloud." Salacity and Cancer left waving at Stick and Rock.
Just as they leave, Sun and Smoke returned after searching for books. The two only managed to get three. One of them was a catalog showcasing varying types of items, the second one seemed like a collection of religious scriptures, and the last one and the most valuable one for the brothers was a guide book in swordsmanship.
Books like these are only owned by the wealthy. Sun could not believe they found such an important book among the broken-down buildings. "Rock! Stick! We got something to show you."
Sun presented the book to his brothers. He held high up in the air, blocking the sun and casting a shadow over his brothers. "This book is our bible. With this, we will,"
"What's a bible?" Rock interrupted.
Sun looked at him in disbelief, "Look, that's not important." He shook his head and waved his hand, "What's important is the contents of this book. Here guys, take a look." Sun opened the book and showed it to his brothers. The first thing they noticed was not the words but the images accompanying it.
The pages had illustrations of humanoid silhouettes holding various swords in different fighting stances. Next to the pictures were the paragraphs detailing the use of the stand. Some of the images were easy to understand, while others felt more like a joke rather than actual fighting techniques. One page showed how to parry over the shoulder attacks while another page told the reader 'to end your opponent rightly, you have to throw the pommel at them.' The book also had strange pictures of green knights fighting snails. Sun read books like these from his past life; they are written and drawn by monks to spread Christianity across the world. They had similarly bizarre images as this book.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
The brothers asked Cloud if there were any wooden swords used for training. Unfortunately, the tribe had none. The brothers made do with sticks that were near twice the length of their arms.
They started the exercise drills found inside the book with an even stance. They cut with the sticks vertically while maintaining a constant speed around the shoulder axis. Next, they straightened their arms in front of them and the height of their shoulders and began cutting straight with some slight diagonal swings. Cloud eventually left during the brother's training because Cala called for him.
They continued to follow the exercise drill until sunset. Then the brothers packed up their belongings and made their way to the town square to get their rations. While waiting on line, the brothers talked about the book and the training they did for the day. "I mean, I understand that learning to use a sword is great, but I honestly love to use my fist more." Rock held his fist high. "That peek a boo strategy you showed me looked awesome. I want to learn more ways to box since I already learned to peek a boo."
"But how exactly are you going to use boxing against a fully armed goblin? You couldn't even handle a goat." Smoke commented
"Hey, goats are way tougher than you think."
"Rock is right. A goat's skull has a weird property. The head absorbs and then dispel the damage. It allows the goat to headbutt its target with force greater than what its size should permit. Which means you can't judge a goat based on its size, because it will hit you with more strength than you can anticipate." Smoke said
"Exactly,"
"But," Sun abruptly said with a short pause, "Smoke has a point. Spending your time exclusively for boxing will only harm you in the long run. It's called a sunk cost fallacy, the desire to pursue one narrow path just because you already walked that path. It's ok to change your fighting style, learn new techniques, and experience new things as long as those things promote your growth. It will lead to your benefit to learn a few sword techniques than solely focusing on boxing because in a far distant future, you could be fighting a swordsman, but because you don't know any sword technique, you won't know how to counter them."
"Now that I think about it," Stick scratched the back of his ear and glanced at the sky then to his brothers. "If I learned how to use an ax, I might not be in this situation. The sickle I was practicing with for days just got sliced in half, and that was the only weapon I could use well. Now look at me!" Stick opened his buttoned coat and pointed at his scar.
"Bro, that's barely bigger than my finger." Rock said unamused.
"Well, not everyone here has muscles as hard as a rock."
Sun giggled at the two. The two reminded him of his past. Recently, Sun's dreams started to get more precise. Although names and dates are still a blur, scenes in his dream no longer jump in and out and mix with other memories. His past life was a strange and different world. But it was also similar to his new life. He once had to fight in the street, just like how he has to fight a goblin. And there was a foolish goal his past self had when he was a child, a goal that is quite similar to his current one. He wanted to rule the country and make his mother the queen of everything.
Time passed by as the brothers continued to chat. At the front of the line, goblins under the watchful eyes of Olhos passed out the rations from today's hunt. As the brothers got closer, Rock got on his tiptoes, looking for Dawn. She was always at the front of the line, but ever since Sum arrived, Rock could barely find the time to talk to Dawn. Sum had the qualities Rock had and much more. He was strong, but instead of using brute force, he plans out his attack to ensure a victory. All Rock could do was hit back harder. And Rock doubts learning about the sword could help him.
Finally, the brothers reached the red house, and Olho's goblins handed them their ration. Rock continued to look around for Dawn. The setting sun made it darker to find her, and he ultimately gave up.
It was a cold night. The brothers headed to the slave quarters before going back to their cottage. Once there, Sun handed his mom the books he found for today. His mother now had a collection of seven books. The two other books the brothers found yesterday were a collection of short fairytales. Before leaving, the brothers said their goodbyes and goodnights and went home. The tribe of Lev regained its peaceful days, but this peace is tenuous.