6 6. Start Anew

Fritz was successful in finishing his task. He fired 1000 shots of an arrow and, he has an accuracy of 63 percent. That means he was able to hit the bullseye 630 times. Demiurgus told him that he could not take a break unless he finished what he was told to do. His hands and shoulders were numb. Even his eyes were tired of aiming for the target and he was also very hungry. Demiurgus did not really feed him until he had finished his practice. Nevertheless, Demiurgus served him different delicious foods after Fritz was done practicing with a bow. And all of that was waiting for him. He started chowing openly the dishes served on the floor. He tasted the mouthwatering dishes one by one.

Silently, Demiurgus watched the kid eat until it was fat. But he was wrong to think that Fritz could not eat all of it. the child ate a lot. He still thought that Fritz would not be able to consume all the food he feeds.

"Fwah! I'm full!" Fritz impossibly ate all of the food. The kid loudly burped. He rested his tired body down on the floor. "Thanks for the food. It was hella delicious! Haa... I wish I'm resting on a soft white bed." Practicing the bow really tired him out. It took him less than a minute to fall into his slumber.

Demiurgus picked Fritz up. He used his skill to create a soft bed. He puts Fritz down and lets him have a long rest. He used a teleportation gate and vanished through thin air.

***

Fritz awoke to the luscious scent. It smells like cheese. He immediately jumped out of bed. At first, he didn't notice that he was sleeping on a fluffy bed. Until Demiurgus asked him how was his sleep.

"Wow, you can really create anything you want."

"You should move on to the next weapon. Time's precious, don't waste it."

"I want the sword next. You'll be teaching me, right?"

Demiurgus nodded. "Let's eat first. Here, I cooked some gratin." He gave him a bowl of gratin. He just finished cooking the gratin. "You'll need a lot of energy for your next training."

***

The basic concept behind Japanese Sword Fighting, and indeed, most Japanese martial arts in general, is the principle of one strike - one kill. 

That is to say, no wasted movement, total focus, and perfect timing to deliver a single, fight-ending blow.

Unlike in Hollywood, where there are endless clashes of sword on sword, in real Japanese sword fighting, there is a lot of 'stalking' the opponent, sudden movement, advanced footwork, and body angling, and very little 

the blade on blade action...

The only fighting scene from the acclaimed movie 'Twilight Samurai' is considered to be many a very realistic example of what real Japanese Sword Fighting would have actually looked like...

Why are we talking about Japanese Sword Fighting? It's because the type of swordsmanship Demiurgus taught Fritz was actually Japanese Style. Unlike Western Martial Arts, the Japanese Sword Arts are a living tradition that has been preserved more or less intact from generation to generation and date back to when the mastery of Japanese Sword Fighting techniques was a matter of life and death. He was turning the kid into one strike - one kill assassin. But don't you worry, he'll be teaching him other sword styles. Though he will focus on the Japanese style. He was really turning the kid into an unspecialized being. Demiurgus has no relation to the Japanese whatsoever.

Both were holding a real, sharp sword. The only way to learn the art of the sword was to experience a real sword fight. Where you can get hurt or even lose your life. Using wooden swords was for kids only. That's what Demiurgus said before he started teaching Fritz. But Fritz's a kid, right? The reason was he did not treat him as a kid.

Their weapon was clashing head-on. Both were not saying anything to the other because it was their sword that was doing the talking. Its clang, as the two parried each other's attack, echoes throughout the room. However, Demiurgus was holding himself back. He's exerting effort that amounts to what Fritz could do. With his little, frail body, his movements would be limited, his stamina too.

Fritz would sometimes lose his balance when he was about to attack. He would trip and slip occasionally. Demiurgus can't do anything about it but train his core, strengthen it and have him hit the training dummy 1000 times. He would still practice his bow skills, they stopped sparring. Demiurgus changed Fritz's sword into a wooden one. There's no point in using a real one when he's just hitting a practice dummy.

"So, hitting this practice dummy 100 times will add an additional 1 strength to my stats? And the maximum I could get is 10 strength."

He put up with it. Even though the thought of hitting a target dummy a thousand times was so boring. And he can't eat anything. He needs to finish what he's told to do first. But no matter how boring it sounds for him, he still tried to cheer himself up.

"One, two, three..."

Frequently, he would take a rest, drink water and continue hitting the dummy. He repeated it until he finish hitting it a thousand times. He was allowed to drink water, but he wasn't allowed to eat. Consider food as a reward for his hard work. Fritz wasn't lazy. It must be Esecleus' behavior that was acting up.

***

Three months had passed ever since Demiurgus began teaching Fritz. The kid had improved a lot. For a small kid like him, it's amazing how much he improve. In that short span of time, he practiced and learned all of the weapons Demiurgus presented to him. And he underwent serious training to strengthen his core. For those past three months, Fritz stayed inside the dungeon. He hasn't seen the outside world. It was longer than when he was grinding for levels and stayed inside his room for over a month. 

And now, after a long training inside the dungeon, he will now venture into the outside world where monsters and other creatures exist. Fritz and Demiurgus were on their way to the low-level nest of monsters. Fritz will now test out what he learned.

A small village in the northern part of Gripvine City has been recently invaded by skeletons. They were some of the necromancer's doings. A necromancer brought them back to life and left them be. The village has no reliable fighters. They were normal humans who were just trying to live peaceful life. They have robbed off their lives and home.

The skeletons were told just one thing, that is to 'kill every human' upon their resurrection. They began roaming around the forest of Gripvine. Until they encountered a village. Being irrational, they attacked the village. The skeletons killed every human they spotted. From kids to the elders. Some of the villagers were able to flee. Though most of them died.

Even though there was no one left in the village, the skeletons still lurked around the area. There are about a dozen of them. Equipped with a sword and a shield. The villagers' dead bodies were left lying on the ground. The houses were destroyed and burned down.

The two arrived at the village. Fritz saw some of the resurrected skeletons and the humans they killed. Anger was stirred up inside him. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. Demiurgus sensed his rage and, he smacked Fritz on the back of his head.

"Aww! What's that for?!" He was rubbing his head. Demiurgus was staring intently at him. "Oh, yeah. Always be calm and collected. I get, I get it." 

Demiurgus taught him to always stay calm. Don't let bad things agitate you and control you over.

Fritz, even though he practiced and learned a lot of weapons, he still went for a dagger. He had his Blemish Dagger in his hand. He's been aching to have a go. He was aching to kill every skeleton monster there is.

"I'll watch from above," Demiurgus said dryly. He then jumped onto a tree. High enough to witness what Fritz would do.

Fritz nodded. "I'll leave no one alive." There was a grin on his face. Excitement surged within him. He will now finally use what he learned.

~