Free Web NovelChapter 129: Training Dummy
"I’ll show you how it’s done, boy," Victor said as he walked over to the stand where the wooden swords were.
Bel clenched the sword in his fist, annoyed. "I want to see what you’ve got, old man."
The hunter kept his confident smile, which only made Bel angrier. It was clear that the young man was not used to being challenged or mocked, especially in such a direct and dismissive manner. Bel was a member of the respected Selvarum family, and his father, Bel Selvarum the First, had been a great warrior in the Triad War thirty years ago, so it was normal that no one would mess with him.
However, Victor saw these characteristics as an opportunity to create a certain dynamic between them from the beginning. He wasn’t just there to be a fencing instructor; he was there to be a mentor, someone who could shape not only Bel’s skills but also his character.
Still, Victor was afraid. He had never trained anyone with a strong personality. In fact, he had only trained his daughter, Wanda, who had a simple, gentle, and sweet personality. Bel was the exact opposite of Wanda, so it was a new challenge.
’It was a direct request from Luísa. I couldn’t refuse her without trying.’ Victor thought and threw the coat he was wearing over one fence.
Victor chose a wooden sword similar to Bel’s, then tested its weight and swing. When he was satisfied, he slowly walked over to the training dummy, feeling Bel’s eyes on him.
Bel had his sword on the ground and was watching Victor without blinking. Obviously, he already knew the news of what Victor had done, but he wasn’t convinced that a man as old as Victor could really defeat the Devourer of Ships on his own.
"Let’s see if all this is really true." Bel muttered.
As he walked and looked at the puppet, Victor thought:
’If I use a level one blow and destroy the doll, Bel will say that the doll was already too exhausted from his attacks and that I was just lucky. If I use a level five blow, I’ll damage the entire structure of this field. So I’ll use a level three to keep some balance.’
When he was one and a half meters away from the dummy, Victor took a deep breath and let the cold, early morning air fill his lungs.
The training arena, a large space, had a dirt floor that was covered with a thin layer of snow and marked by many footprints.
Birdsong and the whisper of the wind in the leaves of the surrounding trees created a peaceful atmosphere that contrasted with the palpable tension between Victor and Bel. The atmosphere was that of a peaceful winter morning, or at least it should be.
Victor gripped the wooden sword, feeling the weight and balance of the weapon in his hands. He looked at Bel out of the corner of his eye and said:
"Pay attention to what I’m about to say, kid. Sword techniques are not just about brute strength, but also about control, precision and technique. Watch and learn."
Victor then turned to the training dummy, closing his eyes for a moment as he concentrated his energy. He could feel the stream of Den flowing around him and used 10% of it. However, the absorption of this 10% of Den was enough to make the surrounding air begin to change, becoming denser.
Bel felt a shiver run down his spine, as if an invisible hand had touched his skin. The change in Victor’s aura was clear. Suddenly, this old man was emanating an aura of incredible strength.
Victor opened his eyes, fixing them on the training dummy. With a smooth movement, he raised the wooden sword above his head. The wind around him began to swirl, kicking up dust and snow from the ground.
Bel had never seen anything like it. Victor suddenly looked like a giant, an imposing figure whose presence dominated the whole area.
"Lets go..." said Victor calmly.
In one swift, powerful movement, Victor brought his sword down in an arc perfectly drawn in the air. The blow was so fast that it seemed as if time had stopped for a moment for Bel.
The air around Victor exploded in a gust of wind, blowing away all the surrounding snow. For a moment, the snow obstructed Bel’s vision and the violent gale caused him to fall backwards.
When the air calmed down, Bel saw the result of Victor’s blow.
The wooden training dummy had been cut into three pieces, resembling the marks of a giant monster’s claw.
Victor lowered the wooden sword, taking a deep breath as the energy around him slowly dissipated. He turned to Bel with a calm, confident and affronted look. freewёbnoνel.com
"That, Bel, is a kind of power that you will never achieve if you continue down this path from now on."
Then the three parts that made up the doll fell to the ground with a lumbering sound, and three of the pine trees that stood at the edge of the field were also cut down as they swayed for a moment before falling, hitting the ground with a loud thud.
Bel stood motionless, with his eyes wide and his mouth slightly open in shock. He couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed.
Victor’s blow had not only destroyed the training dummy, but had also cut three entire trees in half.
Bel swallowed, his hands trembling slightly as he gripped the wooden sword tighter. He felt a new sense of respect for Victor grow inside him. The man in front of him was not just an old hunter, but a true master of the sword.
Victor walked over to Bel and held out a hand to help Bel up off the ground. "Do you want to learn how to do what I did?"
With a dry throat and still at a loss for words, Bel looked at Victor and nodded without thinking twice.
What neither Victor nor Bel knew was that Gracela Selvarum was watching her second cousin practice and saw what Victor did. Her eyes went wide for various reasons, but her racing heart and trembling hands shared one reason.
Quickly, Gracela moved away from the window where she was watching the scene, turned around and started walking quickly out of the room, but when she passed the doorframe of the room she was in, Luísa was standing outside, waiting for her.
"Looks like you’ve finally discovered who Victor really is, cousin." Luísa said to Gracela with a serious look on her face.
