12 Starting Aurel's Training
After everyone was finished eating breakfast, Aurel, Aurora and her daughters walked throughout the castle, making their way to the Training Grounds.
They arrived at the Training Grounds in 10 minutes from the throne room.
Upon entering, Aurel saw the huge, open-spaced arena. It was practically a gladiator arena, but training equipment could be seen against a wall to the left.
"Follow me" Aurora said to Aurel, as she walked to the training equipment.
Aurel nodded and followed her.
Ariya, Alyssia, Aliza, and Emilia went towards the stands and sat down.
Usually, a maid would stand next to their masters rather than sitting, but Emilia was different. Aurora treated Emilia no different from her daughters.
Aurora was very kind to Emilia. Why was she so affectionate towards Emilia? That's a story for another time...
Although sitting in the stands, they could still see and hear as if they were standing next to them. That was due to their heightened senses as noble vampires. Plebian vampires wouldn't be able to hear from the distance they were sitting.
....
"Alright, pick a smaller weapon and we'll start your training" Aurora said to Aurel while pointing at the weapon racks filled with numerous weapons.
"...Any weapon?" Aurel asked, there were just so many weapons ranging from very big to small.
"Yes. You'll eventually master every single weapon here. Although this is just the tip of your training. You'll learn more about it later"
"Alright..." Aurel said while walking towards a short-sword. He remembered the quest had from earlier. He had to swing a sword, of any type, 1,000 times. So this was a no-brainer on what weapon to pick.
Aurel grabbed the sword and tightly gripped it in his hands. He swung it a few times to get a feel for it.
"Good, now we'll start. I want you to start swinging your sword until I say "stop", understood?" Aurora asked.
"Yes, Master" Aurel accepted with no hesitation. He knew that Aurora was very strong and feared so he didn't question her training method. Plus, he'll be able to complete the quest faster this way.
Aurel began swinging his sword, up and down, left and right. He do so for 30 minutes until he became tired.
"...Alright and...stop" Aurora stopped.
Aurel started panting from being out of breath.
"Hah...Hah...hah"
"You make many unnecessary movements and use too much energy in your swings. You need to be quick, precise, and strong...
'What do you expect? I'm just a kid and this is my first time handling a sword' Aurel scoffed.
"...But this is to be expected. This is clearly your first time using a sword while being young and inexperienced. You're actually quite good for your first time" Aurora finished.
'Did she read my mind or something?' Aurel thought.
"Alright, start again" Aurora said in a serious tone.
'Sigh, no pain no game' Aurel reluctantly started again.
'He needs to suffer to grow stronger, being easy on him would only hurt him later' Aurora sighed as her heart clenched.
After 15 minutes of swinging his sword, Aurel received a notification from the system.
....
{You've completed your [Daily Quest #3: Swing a sword of any type 1,000 times (1,000/1,000)]}
[You've been rewarded [(Beginner) - Basic Swordsmanship (1/10)]
[You've been rewarded +3 Strength & Dexterity]
....
As soon as the message appeared, Aurel's swings became sharper, fiercer. He's now making fewer unnecessary movements while using less energy.
'What the hell happened? Although it's very little, there was a drastic change from how he was a few seconds ago' Aurora asked herself.
Aurel kept swinging but now his attacks feel less tiring. He's able to swing his sword longer than before and the attacks feel less awkward.
'So this is the power of the swordsmanship skill, huh?' Aurel laughed as he noticed the difference from earlier.
The feeling of getting stronger was an addictive feeling, much one Aurel liked very well.
Aurel kept swinging longer and was leveling up his proficiency while he was at it.
....
[You've leveled up your proficiency to level 2]
[You've leveled up your proficiency to level 3]
....
Aurora would've stopped him if she didn't see his drastic improvement. She wanted to see where his limit was, but it looked like it would take a little longer.
....
In the stands in the arena, Ariya, Alyssia, Aliza, and Emilia could be seen watching Aurel train with Aurora.
They were all shocked by Aurel's performance, especially Emilia and Alyssia.
"He's improving so fast..." Ariya gasped
"I thought that kid was stupid, guess he was a genius after all" Aliza said as she was eating something that looked like red crystalized popcorn.
"Young Master..." Emilia said as her tone decreased.
"Hot..." Alyssia said with a big grin on her face.
They all stopped talking and looked at Alyssia with a confused expression.
"What? I mean what I said. He'll be a good sparring partner when he grows up, plus, he'll be more handsome. You all know what I mean, don't act like I'm the only one" Alyssia said with a straight face.
They all slowly looked back at Aurel and Aurora. They couldn't refute what she said but it still felt a little weird.
'This princess is waiting for you, better hurry up~' Alyssia thought.
Alyssia is an aloof person as mentioned before, however, she's a battle junkie at heart and she loves fighting. Seeing Aurel improving at this rate made her heart race. She was excited to find someone to fight against in the future.
....
Back in the arena, Aurora told Aurel her thoughts.
"...You still have a lot to improve, and plenty of weapons are waiting for you. However...You did good, I'm impressed" Aurora told Aurel her honest thoughts.
Aurel grinned and bowed "Thank you, Master. It's all thanks to you that I even got this far, thank you"
"Haha~ As long as you know. Let's stop here for now. I have a good understanding of your talent and capabilities" Aurora laughed and put her hand on Aurel's shoulder.
Aurel stood back up and thought, 'But I'm not even tired...' but he agreed with Aurora. Why would a complete amateur know better than the master? That's what Aurel thought.
Aurel nodded and agreed "Yes, Master".
"Alright, let's head to the bath so we can wash the dirt and sweat off our bodies"
Without thinking too much about it, Aurel said "Alright".
Aurel walked with Aurora to an exit that led to the baths.
....
In the arena stands
"Are they going to the bath together?" Ariya asked with a puzzled expression.
"I think so..." Emilia said.
""Let's go then!"" Aliza and Alyssia said in unison as they hurriedly made their way to the bath too.
""!"" Ariya and Emilia finally understood what was going on. They panicked and went after Aliza and Alyssia.
"Wait Up!" Ariya yelled.
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Thank you for reading!
I apologize for the delay in chapters. I wasn't able to upload this weekend, but I'll be able to during the whole weekend. This chapter was a little short, but I think it was a good way to end it, especially for the next chapter *wink* *wink*
If you have any questions let me know in the comments, and I'll reply as best as I can!
If you like this novel, check out my other one -
"Raven Online: Unique Class 'Cultivator/Dual-Cultivator'" - Ongoing
Chapter 12: Starting Aurel's Training
