Chapter 116 The Training Gym (Part 2)
Chapter 116 The Training Gym (Part 2)
Livia Strogueher smiled, put her hand on the shoulder of one of the men, who was chubby and gave it a firm squeeze. "I'm not angry. Just stay calm and get back to work. I have to take care of some things here..."
The short, white-haired Elf mostly kept a snobbish smile at the corner of her mouth, almost as if she underestimated everything and everyone.
As they left the gym, the two cooks sighed with relief that they had not been punished. Livia has a bad reputation among the staff for being very demanding.
The other people who were following Nathalia, Luke, and Alexis' training from the edge of the square were surprised when they saw Livia enter the gym.
"Is that Miss Livia?"
"Is she back from her trip already? I heard she was on vacation in the Parato Islands."
"On vacation? I thought she was on a mission for the Guild.
"You never can tell where she is...she rarely stays here on the estate."
In Oukiwa, quests are unlike any other town, so it is not uncommon for Adventurers to need to travel. Unlike Vasconcelos, where quests usually vary between just collecting items, aid, rescues, escorts, and investigations.
However, in Oukiwa there is no Tower Dungeons, meaning that Dungeons cannot be divided into levels by Sense Mages. What does this mean? Basically, the chance that a miner is digging a vein of gold and a monster much stronger than him shows up to kill him is much higher.
For this and other reasons, in Oukiwa the biggest Quests are given to Clans that will be able to fulfill them and so it is almost impossible to rise in Rank without being in a Clan.
"On a mission for the Guild? Nah! She knows it's suicide to enter a Dungeon alone! she would never travel alone on a diplomatic mission either."
"Why doesn't she join some famous Clan then? I know nobles aren't allowed to have Clans of their own, but she could still join one."
"I don't know..."
While some off-shift guards were theorizing about Livia Strogueher, she didn't even seem to care. From the moment she entered the gym, she propped herself up on a wall and just watched the practice.
Within minutes, Livia began to be completely shocked by what she was watching. She had heard about her new cousin and her bodyguard, but she had never imagined that they were so good.
Nathalia was practicing new attack positions, while Luke practiced his art of dodging. The half-wolf's goal was to copy the way he had seen Kyor Amakusa dodge his opponents' blows in the 'Luck or Fight' tournament held in Vasconcelos. Even though he had beaten him, Luke knew that Kyor didn't use everything he knew and it was still bitter to his taste.
Nathalia attacked with the wooden sword, and just as Alexis instructed him to do, Luke did not focus on the movement of the sword as he normally did, but on the body of his opponent.
Nathalia's movements were much more polished now, so it would not be so easy to predict where she would strike, but that was not the intention either.
Kyor didn't predict attacks, he actually reacted with an enhanced reflex to almost supernatural levels and this combined with his superhuman speed, guaranteed him victories without burning too much energy.
Nathalia's sword-wielding was swift and came very close to hitting Luke's face, but he ducked in time and rolled backward.
Nathalia breathed in and out at this moment, renewing the oxygen inside her lung, which didn't let her lose her breath. Before Luke could stand, Nathalia firmly gripped the hilt of his sword and struck out with the point of the sword.
Luke had expected such a simple move, so it would be enough for him to move inches to the side to be able to deflect.
However, Nathalia was in a monstrous constant evolution. During the movement, she stopped holding the sword with both hands. In moments, Luke saw Nathalia's left hand slide down the wooden blade and change the already set trajectory of the sword.
The blade lightly struck the half-wolf's abdomen, creating a sharp sound. Tock!
"I hit it!?" Nathalia asked to confirm. Although she felt and heard that the sword did indeed hit something, she still couldn't believe that her maneuver had worked.
Luke lifted his shirt a little and showed his abdomen. Slowly you could see a vermilion forming. The Elf's eyes shone, and she had to move a little closer to get a better look. Alexis also moved closer to check if the red mark was a result of Nathalia's attack or if it was from another of their training.
"It is... I think it is from now... Luke wouldn't lie about that." Alexis said, gently smoothing the bruise that was on the half-wolf's abdomen
"So, did I really get it right?! Why didn't you react on the spot, Luke?" Nathalia asked, suspicious, also closely analyzing the region he struck.
Luke lifted his shirt a bit more and reminded Nathalia that he already had huge battle scars, so he was also already more resistant to pain.
"Khumm!" A throat clearing caught the trio's attention.
They looked back and saw a recognizable young girl with white hair. Her hair was short and did not reach shoulder height, but it was voluminous enough to cover her pointed ears. Her eyes were frosted blue, with a shade similar to the blue of a pond.
"Can we help you with something?" Luke inquired after lowering his shirt. He was already aware of Livia's presence, he just didn't think she would come to greet them, after all, many Strogueher passed by to see them and none greeted them.
"Actually, I came to meet my cousin. Nathalia, Jilly has told me very well about you. It's a pleasure to meet you." Soon after, Livia extended her right hand in Nathalia's direction.
Nathalia reciprocated the greeting. "The pleasure is all mine. You must be Jilly's twin sister."
At that moment, Luke was surprised. Except for their white hair and blue eyes, Jilly and Livia bore no resemblance in faces.
"Sorry...you said she and Jilly are twins!!!?" Alexis exclaimed, externalizing the sense of confusion that the half-wolf also felt.
"Yeah... My sister is a pretty complicated person. I completely understand your fuss. If she had my humble and wonderful personality, she would surely be more accepted by others. And I've already told her that, but she just doesn't listen to me."
"Really? I didn't feel you like that." Luke said, without measuring his words.
? Jilly is the kind of tense, anxious person who is always thinking about the future and what might happen. This is certainly a personality problem, but Livia seemed to be the complete opposite of this in Luke's eyes, which was an even bigger problem.
With her snub chin and unassuming dress, Livia practically advertised her petulant personality and this was confirmed when she spoke:
"Forget my sister. I've been watching your training, and I'm here to join your team. You need people to have a chance for the tournament, don't you? I'm the perfect candidate."