"What do you mean you won't be running today?" said Aeron disbelieving his ears. His grandfather giving him a day off? Absolutely impossible!

What will he make me do that I have not done already? This is not good, definitely not good! What can he do worse than what he already does?

He might make me dig  my way underground then heading for the city! No more likely is that he will say:"Your leg muscles have improved enough! From now on you will walk with your hands!"

In all actuality he found that a very likely possibility... If the one who was undergoing this training was not himself they definitely would have gone mad by now.

Harsh training began with running in the day, fighting in the night, By now he actually could not tell how long it has been since he began his training. He felt like it has been months, if not years.

It was surprising how flexible one can be. By now he had gotten used to it. Like getting used to cold weather or hot weather.

"There is no better practice than combat. Although you have very rich combat experience you are still an amateur who cannot achieve the body-mind union." said Xander who began to walk with his index finger raised.

"All that you have fought up until now were beasts, - beasts that could be called lowest of the low, in fact - you should also have experience of fighting against a human being."

" So I will be your opponent, this fight should help you gain more understanding. There is no way to learn better than battle with a senior master." said Xander nodding to himself.

"Now come at me! I will only use my index finger! HAHAHAHAH!" said Xander as he made a beckoning gesture and then laughed.

"Really? You will only use your index finger? No matter what?" asked Aeron who was very suspicious. But if this was true...

"Of course! I do not have any need to lie! Why would I even lie to you? I only fight you now because you have now progressed enough to actually be able to take one blow from my finger!" said Xander putting his chest out with pride.

Aeron smiled. Pride was good. Pride would make someone lower his guard. Xander was only human even though he was much stronger and it was not like one finger was an unstoppable force.

Very well... I will try my best to repay you for all the training  you have put me under! I will break your finger then you won't be able to attack!

"Ho ho! You look happy." said Xander with a smirk. He knew Aeron was feeling frustrated and was very angry at him. But harsher the teacher better the young warrior's odds of survival! He sighed in his heart.

I still teach him too weakly, I have to teach him more fiercely for him to grow. But  as expected I am quite soft towards my grandchildren. My heart is just so filled with love...

If Aeron had heard these thoughts then he would be speechless. He would either faint or cough to death then and there.

"Oorah!" screamed Aeron with a wide smile as he jumped and swooped on Xander like an eagle. Xander looked at him grinning this time.

Aeron immediately swooped down like an eagle with a knee attack, looking like an eagle about to catch its prey. Xander just stood there, grinning and took the hit.

"OOUHMP!" came a voice of pain, not from Xander but from Aeron. He felt like he just had crashed knee first into a nuclear bunker's door or something.

What ridiculous defense! Are you a turtle or a man? What tough skin! Do you have a hide like an elephant?

If I cannot hurt him with direct attacks then I will have to use other methods. Smashing my knee was like throwing a pebble at a boulder. I should use joint locks and holds because they do not really care how tough one's body is.

Aeron ignoring pain of his knee grabbed Xanders shoulder with one hand and with the other he grabbed his throat.

Both of his hands were like a talon, and one held the collarbone jabbing it with the thumb and forcing it to the ground. Other hand was holding Xander's throat and squeezing his two arteries.

Aeron then applied all of the weight of his body to collarbone and gave a good yank to Xander's throat.

Xander opened his eyes in surprise. First surprise was that the knee was more powerful than what it seemed like making him feel it a little bit. Not that it hurt, at most it was like a little ant's bite, merely distracting.

But what followed it made him even more surprised! Aeron was using his entire weight to force his collarbone to break with his talon like hand.

Other talon grabbed his throat and squeezed his arteries, then gave him a good yank. If it was not him whom he was fighting but someone equal to him he already would be dead!

If his collarbone broke he would not be able to move his left arm, and then what followed would be rather simple, Aeron would break the other one!

Then he would be at the mercy of the one who held his throat unable to fight. There was also another aspect of this. Pain! Pain that made someone fall on his knees.

But what was more dangerous was his right hand that grabbed his throat, it was trying to sever the neck from the skull dislocating it, which was fatal.

If his collar bone broke he would be crippled, but if his neck was dislocated he would die. Two attacks at once all of them aiming for weak spot.

Every strike meant to kill or cripple! His hands and feet were like talons. His fighting style resembled that of vultures and eagles. His utterly merciless fighting style was beast like as well. It was truly a fitting mindset

Xander thought truly the saying that went:"He who lies with dogs, wakes up with fleas." was very true. He had absotbed fierce and feral nature of the beasts as well as their moves.

Aeron furrowed his brows, this had done nothing, he expected there would at least be some pain. He then attacked with a kick propelling himself backwards escaping from Xander's range.

"Hahahah! Unexpectedly you have stolen quite a lot of moves from your enemies! But now is my turn!" said Xander smiling and rushed with his finger.

Aeron looked at the finger. That kind of strike, if I dare take it it will open a hole in my body, no most likely I myself will become a hole instead!

Aeron swiftly rolled to the side. One weak point of charging attacks was that when changing directions force would lose most of its momentum!

When Xander appeared where he previously stood he stepped forth with a punch then swiftly stepped back. He was like a jackal, striking and stepping back, hitting then running away.

All martial arts were born of imitation. Imitation of animals, imitation of natural aspects of the world, imitation of supernatural aspects of the world...

For him who could not use his own techniques because they were too high level, this was the only solution. He could only steal techniques of others to fight better.

*****

"I cannot even touch the hem of your clothes! This is BULLSHIT!" said Aeron who threw himself into the sands, not caring sand would dirty his hair. In all actuality, he himself felt rather uncomfortable.

Back on Earth he would have a bath either every day or - if he was absorbed in gaming - every few days. Right now he was stinking to high heaven. He did not have a single bath in who knows how long.

He really would have liked some hot water. Now he understood why  hobbits sang of water "Water hot is a noble thing."

As for his duel, he lost of course. It was not even a fight. Xander went easy on him still, he was using some few percent of his real power. He ended up not being able to even touch him.

He struck more and more until his pale skin turned black and blue. Everywhere it was aching.

"Hahahah! You have grown better! But of course you still have quite a ways to go. Now come!" said Xander beckoning him in the moonlight.

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"But grandfather it has already been three days and two nights!" said Aeron who was - thanks to everything he had eaten - was perfectly alright in body, even his bruises were recovering and would be gone within a few minutes.

Rather than his body or mind, he himself was fatigued. He had to fight Xander continuously for three days and two nights, without sleep to boot!

He was beaten black and blue every single time, but he had grown a lot more familiar with his body and soon would be able to learn basic techniques he had back on Earth.

Xander had with him all kinds of magic beast cores. He always wondered if he himself collected them from the desert or bought them and somehow brought them with him.

All in all his training was not really a training but torture. He was aware that the knowledge he had to learn was like a ridiculously long and hard summer homework. Everyone had done it except for him.

He was like the student who played during the summer and now had to do them all in one day. That was the reason for this beyond hellish training.

Even though he understood all that, he could not help holding a grudge. But right now he really had no energy.

"When did you begin to care about that? You won't get strong if all you care about is days and nights! You have made great progress today!" said Xander excitedly and tried to move tired Aeron. Aeron just could not move any more.

"The faster you progress the faster we can get to the Granite bay! Then you can have some days off and rest plenty!" said Xander smiling and sighing. Aeron still could not move.

"Okay... Let me tell you what I really think, you made faster progress than anyone I have ever taught. You even got better at manipulating mana and fighting." said Xander now rubbing Aeron's head. Trying praising him.

Xander truly thought Aeron was a genius. But also he learned one thing, Aeron's most lacking point was his manipulation of mana. During the training he had definitely improved in it and gained enough combat experience.

Now was the time to push this one step further! Birds had to throw themselves off trees to try to learn flying. What he must do was same! Trying again and again!

Even if he saw an attack coming he still replied a bit sluggishly. Aeron was ready bodily, but he still did not achieve familiarity with his body.

This familiarity would normally be developed over the years as one fought, but Aeron did not have years.

This familiarity allowed one to use their body to its entire potential. Seeing the attack and replying to the attack would be done in an instant. Control over body would improve, you could control every single muscle!

"But there is one point in that you are lacking. You can see an attack but your body is not fast enough to respond! You are getting better! Soon you will definitely be able to see the attack and reply at the same time! Now get up!" said Xander smiling, trying encouraging method.

"This is one of the most important skills to learn, everyone in the Blazing Sun Academy knows it, if you do not how can you enter it? Even if you do enter then you would not be able to be strong enough to become a general!!" said Xander with a serious expression.

"If you cannot do this, then let us go back to Ebonguard right now! You cannot become a general if you cannot do something of this level!" said Xander now trying riling him up.

"Hmph! Who did you say cannot do it! If generals can do training like this, then I can do training thrice that! For every kilometer they run I can run three times more!" said Aeron with fires blazing in his eyes, got up that instant.

I fought the Sovereign in MAO! It was a difficult battle that I needed a week of constant battle to win! It was like torture to get through it with 100% immersion! Compared to that this is nothing!

"OORAAAAH!" screamed Aeron and attacked with ferocity renewed. Leaping and trying to deliver two claws to Xander's collarbones!

Then Xander struck with a palm, a simple push that pushed him back, sending him flying five meters. but he fell on four feet and got up without any damage at all.

Nowadays his already strong animal senses and instincts were growing more and more sharper because of him fighting with animals and consuming their flesh and blood as well as their cores.

So long as one stared at the abyss, the abyss also stared back. For a hunter tracking skills and escaping skills were a necessity.

Hunter was predator and prey thus had to train in both their skills. To hunt animals more successfully one needed to be like an animal.

Because he originally had very strong bestial instincts and was like a selfish, merciless wolf, he had grown a lot more wild and ferocious.

Aeron let out another "OORAH" again, striking with a dropkick. Xander immediately caught one of his ankles and bent it, which would sen him flying.

Aeron went with the flow using his other feet to kick Xander in the face with his heel and then he captured the neck and using the force Xander originally had give him he tried to throw him, but failed in doing so.

It still felt like kicking and trying to lift a thousand year old tree but still, he touched his face. Aeron congratulated himself while flying again.

Xander smiled, improvement was rapid! From not even being able to react at all to being able to reply in a manner of instants! Even geniuses would have to train for one or two months!

But that was only for common people, for Aeron who could recover any and all kinds of damage within minutes of course his training speed was faster.

If one needed thousand serious battles to understand something, No matter how much they tried they would need months to complete those thousand battles.

Aeron could complete thousand battles in a week! This was his main advantage. He could be reckless with his body because of his superior vitality and ability to heal that far surpassed that of a human being.

Also Aeron could split himself in two and had Sophia. He naturally would understand something even faster. Two was always better than one and with Sophia's aid.

He could watch every aspect of battle and have Sophia analyze it, while he was having his two selves try to sense every aspect of his body.

A normal person would need to turn his head two times to look at right and left. He could look at right and left at the same time. As such his speed was even faster.

Also he could pay for improvement with his CP, but right now he had to level up enough to go to the Blazing Sun Academy, thus he could only grit his teeth and work hard.

But he did not regard this as something to be proud of. These few things he learned over this training were things that were completely elementary, things children at the age of seven would know!

That was the extent that he was lacking. He could not rest a single moment because of this. Though It really fatigued him greatly he had to continue!

So what if I am tired beyond words? What if I am too battered and bruised? What if it is too hard? what if it is like torture? I am a man!

He imagined great experts who dared to touch his family. He imagined them being killed. As he was what could he do? Nothing!

Fury once again was lit in his eyes, tears came out of his eyes. His anger was so great that he could not keep it in his heart, it overflowed from his eyes!

Aeron who hit the ground gritted his teeth and got up again, though his ankle was strained and he could barely stand on it. He again yelled a battle cry as he rushed forth once more crying with great fury and attacking with reckless abandon.

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As always thank you again for your encouragement!