Calm Wanderer
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(AKJ)Chapter 35 - The training resumes
🕑 Added 2024-01-12 19:36:34 +0000 UTCDamovotsk, Molkovia, Earth.
Demian's P.O.V.
Once there, Sera moved naturally toward one of the treadmills she always used, before turning it on and starting to run confidently. As for Demian, he sat cross-legged close by and began to meditate instead of working out because of his injuries. And thus, two days passed by quickly with the young man's meditation session only interrupted by meals and a few hours in the day dedicated to learning Mandarin and the guitar.
Two days later, Adeliya finally declared him apt for light training before adding those words. “Your healing rate is truly incredible. Even Bryn, whose physiology is already out of the norm, is behind you in that regard.” That brought an unconscious smile on his face as he replied. “I'm glad I can finally beat her in something.” When Bryn heard his words, she rolled her eyes and replied. “Wait till you can beat me in combat and THEN you can be proud about it.” Demian then retorted with fake helplessness. “Why can't you let me have at least one victory?...” The three women chuckled at his question with the tall redhead responding. “I told you before. I don't want you to become arrogant.” Gazing at her face, which seemed to hide some true concern, for a few seconds, he claimed. “Fine. Since my doctor gave me permission, why don't we go for some training right now?” “You really want to beat me, don't you?” The woman asked, with some mixed emotions hidden in her voice.
Shaking his head, however, the young man replied in a firm tone. “It's not about beating you Big Sis, it's about not letting you deal with everything yourself.” That answer seemed to touch something inside the young woman who silently stared at him in a daze for a moment. She however woke up from that state as soon as Adeliya's voice resounded in the room. “I told you: Light exercises! You're not allowed any real sparring!” Turning her gaze toward her, Bryn declared with her usual indifferent facial expression. “Don't worry, Mom. We'll just work on his technique. I'm not planning on hurting him.”
That last sentence made the other two women smile, as they all knew that the word 'spar' was merely used to spare the young man's feelings. It was actually more of a 'beating the knowledge into him' kind of training. And Demian was also aware of that but never commented on it. Not because he cared about his reputation that much, but it was mostly due to respecting their kindness. 'That's definitely the reason why!' He thought firmly despite not believing a single word of what he said...
“By the way, sweetie. I received a message from the driving school earlier and they informed me that your test would take place in five days. It should've been in two days, but from what they've told me, someone paid a lot more and took your spot.” Shaking his head, he retorted. “It's not a big deal. Be it two days or five days is the same to me.” The mature redhead nodded before adding. “You should've mostly recovered from your wounds by that time. At least if the rate at which your body's been healing so far is any indication.” Nodding his head, Demian declared. “It'll also be time to implement the first part of our plan.” “Finding an information broker, right?” Sera asked from his side.
Grunting in approval, the family of four fell silent for a moment, all of them pondering on what the future would bring them. Shaking her head slightly, Adeliya instructed while clapping her hands once. “Alright! We'll cross that bridge when we get there. For now, Bryn, you should go train Demian. I'll do a light session myself. After all, I can't become a burden to the three of you.”
Despite the seemingly light tone his Aunt used, the young man noticed the worries hidden behind it. While letting out a helpless sigh, he thought about how to help her. Unfortunately, there was no easy solution to the problem. Maybe as he grew stronger, he would be able to find a way? 'One step at a time...' He repeated to himself while following the other three to the gym.
As soon as they reached the expansive training room, they each went to do their own thing, with Bryn and Demian starting to train together. Although it was mostly the tall redhead instructing the younger man on technique. From punches to kicks, while not forgetting the uses of knees and elbows, she explained herself thoroughly, demonstrating the proper technique on the heavy sandbag placed in a corner of the room, close to the empty square they used to spar before he was shot.
She had already taught him most of what she was currently explaining. But since she had been doing the same thing every day for a month, he was used to it. After all, it was not as if it was useless to him. As someone who just started training to fight, he still made mistakes in his techniques' execution. Fortunately, the number and degree of those errors decreased with the number of times he practiced and she corrected him. “Those mistakes are your weak spots. With your current level, a newbie may not notice them but to experienced fighters, they're like giant neon lights forming the words 'Hit here'.” She explained when he claimed that it was not as bad as she made it out to be. “In a normal situation, you'd never face experienced Elite or Master Rank. But we're not facing a normal situation, are we?” She continued while cocking her eyebrow.
Her words made him further realize that he was again on a countdown. How much he grew would define their chance at surviving and even thriving after the people threatening their lives were dealt with. After pondering on all of that, he nodded and declared with a firm tone. “I get it. I'll work hard.” Nodding back to his words, she retorted. “You don't have to be too tense about it though. With your physical perk, I'm sure you'll improve a lot quicker than me when I was an Elite Rank.” Pausing for a second, she added. “The reason I'm using high-intensity and high-content training is also because of that reason.”
“Right. I can feel myself improving physically very quickly. I wish I could be faster though...” The last words were delivered in a low tone of voice. Bryn, who clearly heard him, replied in a frustrated tone. “You're kidding me, right? You've taken a month to reach the Elite Rank, which took me a year back then. And not only is your technical competency increasing at incredible speed, but your comprehension is clearly growing at the same pace. You’re clearly cheating and you still have the nerves to complain? Goddamnit I really want to punch some sense into your thick head!”
Whether it be her words or the frustrated tone she used, it was clear to him how she felt about his current attitude! After all, the main reason for his constant and massive improvements was not his ‘original’ talent, but instead his physical perk, which was basically a cheat. Of course, his hard work could not be discounted, but how many people worked hard and received nothing in return?
Scratching his chin, he replied in an embarrassed tone to the fuming beauty. “You're right. I shouldn't complain. I get that I'm doing more than fine, but it's just that I get impatient when I think about those people and the danger we’re all in. It's like... Like I can feel them breathing down my neck. That if I don't do more, it won't be enough...” Lowering down his head to hide the strong emotions filling his eyes, he added. “I know how lucky I am, but...” His words were cut off as the tall redhead let out a tired sigh and awkwardly hugged him. Her unusual action made him freeze for a second after which a warm smile appeared on his face as he felt the somewhat stiff pats on his back. “Don't... Don't worry too much. We'll... We'll all get through it in one piece. I only ask you to remember how lucky you are.”
Closing his eyes to bask in her warm embrace, he muttered. “I'll listen to you, Big Sis.” She made a small noise of approval but stopped patting his back. The two stayed like that for a while before they finally let go of each other, despite Demian feeling some reluctance. However, he did not show anything on his face besides the previous warm smile. He instead stated. “Thank you, Sis. I needed that. I'd been feeling a bit strained lately.”
Smiling back at him, the woman retorted. “You're welcome. As long as you're fine now.” Pausing for a second, she asked. “Should we continue the training?” Nodding his head, he declared with a confident smile. “Of course! I need to at least keep my current progression rate.” After those words, the two resumed the practice, with the woman's voice resounding every time he made a move against the sandbag. 'You're hitting too high', 'Watch your wrist's position', 'Look at your feet' and many other criticisms could be heard throughout the few hours that the training lasted.
Unlike the two cousins, Sera and Adeliya did not continue their own training for too long because of their lack of stamina, although the former did last longer than her mother. Demian did not pay too much attention to them though, as his whole focus was directed toward making sure that his technique was perfect. Once they reached a standard that satisfied the woman, she volunteered to be his 'opponent'. Of course, just like previously, they would keep their attacks light and relatively slow to avoid aggravating the young man's wounds. It was simply to help him learn the correct way to respond to different attacks and different angles of attacks.
After the morning was over, the two stopped, and, unlike during his first training, his exhaustion was minimal. Having gone easy and with a stronger body, it was not really surprising. To be fair, he could have gone on with the training, but it was time for lunch, and his Aunt declared that he had enough practice for the day. Since she was the one in charge of his 'treatment', he decided to heed her instruction. 'It's not like I can't improve by doing other stuff anyway.' He thought while going to the living room. After a nutritious meal, the young man went toward his bedroom and started his language learning.
The result of the last month started to show, especially after he reached the Elite Rank. He quickly felt that both his memories and cognitive process improved a lot, especially when he compared them to a month ago. If had to qualify the change, he would say that he went from being an average human to an average genius during this month.
And it did not only translate into language learning. He also felt the difference when he learned the guitar. It was hard to compare his exact progress with others since none of the girls played it. However, because of his curiosity, he checked on the internet to have a broad idea. What he discovered delighted him since he found himself having reached the beginner level, which normally happened on average after 10 months of practice, making him a genius in the field. Of course, genius is a vague term that could not really be quantified, but he was not interested in the particular too much. He was improving at a faster and faster speed, and knowing that was enough for him.
After he finished his language and guitar learning, it was already time for dinner. Stretching lazily, Demian muttered. “Although I enjoy the fact that I can clearly feel my progression, it still is a bit dull...” Shaking his head to remove the dangerously tempting thought asking him to take a break in this somewhat monotonous routine, he then went to join the girls at the table.
'In five days, I'll pass the driving test. Once that's done I'll bring Sera on a date. The two of us haven't even had the time to go anywhere. I'll also be completely healed...' Those last words brought a happy smile filled with anticipation on his face.
