My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 131: Joint Training

Kace grunted as Dao's fist sunk into his stomach for the fifth time in a row. 'Why do I feel like I'm being punished?' He thought as he glanced at his instructor. Kace could tell that he was slowly improving, but it seemed like Dao had kicked the difficult up by several notches. 

Dao waited until Kace had caught his breath and got into a ready stance to defend himself. Without showing any mercy, he closed the distance and let out a flurry of blows. This time he was making sure not to have a set pattern for Kace to learn from. 'I don't know why the queen insisted about this, but I'd rather not lose my head over it. I'm sorry, Kace.'

Sophia, who was sat on the sidelines patiently waiting for her turn, was watching the show with amusement. 'He's showing some improvement. But he still has a long way to go!' Even though her curiosity about last nights events had been quenched somewhat, she was still enjoying the punishment that Kace was receiving. It made up somewhat for him making her worry.

Kace did his best to block the assault that Dao was throwing at him. Carefully choosing which blows he would allow to land, while deflecting the more serious ones. He was carefully observing Dao for a chance to counter-attack and break his rhythm. Unfortunately, his efforts were rewarded with a jab to his jaw as he fell for a feint.

With his defence in disarray due to the unexpected attack, Dao took the opportunity to bring the beating home. His unrelenting combo struck Kace over and over again, leaving him to feel as though he were just a punching bag. Kace's body buckled under the onslaught, causing him to fall to his knees. Even though his health was still above the halfway mark, his body was feeling tired.

"That will do for today," Dao announced as he took stock of Kace's current condition. "I suggest you think less and allow your instincts to take over. Although it can be a good thing, in a life-threatening scenario, the rapid reactions of pure instinct can save your life."

Kace could only silently absorb this piece of advice. As he was in no state to argue right now. 'I guess he just wanted to make sure I knew there would be others out there that could make me look like a joke.' Kace took the beatdown at face value. That it was simply to drill a lesson into him. If only he knew that it was actually done on the queen's orders

He silently praised Dao's skills and caring for his pupils as he took a seat on the sidelines. He was rather interested to see what the fight between Sophia and Dao would look like. Even though judging by Sophia's state last time Dao would be the undisputed winner. It could still provide him with some valuable insight, though.

Dao kept his sights fixed on Sophia as she prepared herself for battle. 'Hmm? She's learned slightly from my fight with Kace. No matter how hard I tried to beat it into her, she always abandoned the need for defence.' Dao was pleased as he cast a glance over the tight fighting stance that Sophia adopted. To him, it meant she finally taking his instruction in all seriousness.

'I wonder if it's his influence?' Dao wondered as he cast a sidelong glance at Kace. He even began to think about how beneficial it could become to always have the two together for training. Until now, Sophia's training had always been a one to one session.

'It could do wonders for their growth.' Dao mused as he rubbed his bald head. His eyes suddenly caught a fast figure approaching. 'Still impatient, I see.' He could not help but sigh as he noticed that Sophia thought he was distracted enough to take advantage of him.

With a smile on her face, Sophia lashed out with her hand and nails forming a blade-like attack. 'I've got you this time baldy!' In all of their training sessions, Dao had always kept level at a high enough point to prevent her from ever landing a blow. The constant defeats without any sign of progress had made her short-tempered when dealing with him.

Kace, on the other hand, gasped. From her position, Sophia could not possibly see what he could. What she was currently attacking was nothing more than an afterimage. Dao had already appeared behind her and was launching a kick towards her exposed ribs.

'That fucker has really been going easy on me!' Kace was slightly angry at being treated as though he weren't worth putting much effort into to defeat. On the other hand, he began to sweat bullets when he considered how he could possibly deal with such an attack if it were him. 'I wouldn't stand a chance...' Kace could only watch the match unfold with displeasure at his own skills. Vowing that he would learn all that he could during his stay here.

Sophia grimaced as she felt her ribs snap for the second time in as many days. Luckily, consuming blood would allow them to recover overnight. The downside to this, though was the fact that she would most likely have to suffer the same pain the following day.

She quickly relocated Dao's position as her feet slid across the floor. She was not some rookie who would take her eyes off the prize mid-fight. Having found her target, she decided to go all out. She did not think that she could learn much from this method of fighting. Instead, she would use the Vampires unique way.

Kace narrowed his eyes as he watched Sophia take on her mist form, soon followed by Dao. The pair of them appeared to dance around each other at high speed. Briefly taking on their solid forms to launch attacks at each other. As he watched them clash over and over, he began to have a thought. 'So there must be a way to have them in that form, otherwise, why would they bother to defend against each other?'

It was certainly worth investigating in case the knowledge was ever needed in the future...