My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 118: The Basics

Kace could not deny his judgement. It was true that Dao had overwhelmed him with speed alone. As a matter of fact, he wholeheartedly believed that the vampire had even held back on his punches. He believed this because he had no doubts in his mind that he would have ended up in the same state as Sophia if he had not.

Kace grimaced as he stared at his instructor. He understood how much he lacked when it came to proper forms and techniques. After witnessing Dao's skills, he was looking forward to learning under him. 'I have to give this my all.' Kace thought solemnly.

"Please! Instruct me!" Kace put his hands together as if in prayer and bowed to Dao in a gesture of respect. It was the only thing he could think of at that moment to show his sincerity to try his best.

Dao could not help but smile when he saw this. There was nothing he liked more than a respectful student who was willing to learn. Unlike Sophia, who only thought of trying to brute force her way through. 'That reminds me, I have to make sure to be even tougher in her next session.'

So far, Kace had left a favourable impression on him. He could not help himself from appraising the young monster and his actions. 'Looks like accepting this position has paid off more than I thought it would. I never would have imagined it would be this simple to meet him.' 

Dao was stilling regretting taking action so soon after the meeting with the others. He had led a small group to try and infiltrate the castle in an attempt to make contact with Kace. Unfortunately, it had ended up in failure. He was the only member of the group that had not been exposed and executed.

Dao's mind wandered to the faces of his comrades that he had failed. If he had just been a little more patient, their loss could have been avoided. Of course, he could never have known that the queen would have sent their target to him for instruction in the first place. He had assumed like Kace, that as her disciple that she would have overseen his entire training herself.

"I'll do my best to forge a proper warrior out of you." Dao eventually replied as he returned Kace's gesture. "I hope you have plenty of energy left!"

"Of course, I do!" Kace replied enthusiastically.

As the hours ticked by Dao instructed him on the most basic of forms for self-defence. Including where to watch on the opponent's body to recognise where they would telegraph the attack trajectories. Kace felt enlightened as he worked through the forms that Dao had shown him.

Whenever he got a movement wrong, Kace would receive a swift blow. Dao truly intended to beat the knowledge into him if he had to. When Dao was eventually happy that Kace had grasped these simple moves well enough, they began to spar. Putting his new knowledge to the test.

Dao would only use the basics as well and at a slow speed to allow Kace to keep up. He did this with the intention in mind of building Kace's muscle memory of the forms. He would not achieve it in a single day's lesson, but it was a start. As Kace began to grow more confident with his motions, Dao would increase the speed slowly. Giving Kace the time to adjust his reaction speeds. 

Kace had to admit that he was impressed with these simple techniques and Dao's diligence. The vampire never seemed to become frustrated if Kace took a bit longer to adjust to the higher speeds or if he even made a slight mistake. Instead, whenever something like that happened at the end of the spar, Dao would accurately point out what he did wrong.

If his form was perfect, then Dao would advise him on what he could have done differently to gain the upper hand at any given moment. Essentially Kace was leeching off of the vampires centuries of experience. He would be hard-pressed to find another teacher as perfect as Dao. Eventually, as the spars continued, Kace managed to land a light blow on him.

"Well done!" Dao exclaimed while beaming. "You're not perfect, far from it in fact. However, this has been an excellent first lesson."

Kace was bewildered by the vampire's words. 'Why is he saying it like class is dismissed for the day?' The answer to his internal question soon arrived. The door to the hall was wildly swung open as Sonja marched in. 'Surely the whole day has not passed already?' Kace watched her approaching with a confused look. Seeing as Sonja had arrived to pick him up personally then, he really must have gotten caught up in his lesson.

He immediately felt exhausted as his mind and body relaxed. No longer needing to maintain themselves in a state of being at the ready for anything. 'I feel like I could sleep for a week.' He thought as he turned to face Dao again.

"I'm looking forward to the next lesson." Kace smiled as he bowed to Dao again.

Sonja watched their exchange with a warm expression. She had been expecting to be picking up a broken body. At least, that was usually how Dao greeted new students. 'I guess they actually hit it off.' She was happy with this result. It would mean Kace would not have to waste time recovering from his 'lessons'.

As Sonja led Kace back to the castle, Dao began to consider how their next sessions should go. After all, he had to earn Kace's trust. After that, would be the hard part. Convincing his young student to stand beside them and help them to achieve their goals. There was always the risk that he would refuse. If he did refuse then, Dao would have exposed himself for nothing. 'Don't make me do anything that I'll regret.' He sighed...