Chapter 75 - Sparring

While Zelos worked and trained, nothing came to mind. In the end, one week passed in the blink of an eye and Zelos realized that he needed to think of something. Time passes rather fast when nothing is happening.

The perception of time passing faster when nothing happens and slower when a lot of things happen is rooted in many things. When we are engaged in activities or experiencing new things, our brains are actively processing information. This increased mental activity creates a sense of time passing slower, where it feels like time is passing more slowly because we are aware of more details and events.

On the other hand, when we are bored or not actively engaged, our brains enter a state of monotony. Without new stimuli to process, our brains don’t have as much to work with, leading to a decreased sense of time passing. This is why time can seem to fly by when we’re bored or doing something monotonous.

At the same time, our perception of time is influenced by our memories. When we look back on a period of time with lots of events, our memories are filled with details, making it feel like that time lasted longer. At the same time, when we look back on a period with few events, our memories are less detailed, making it feel like that time passed quickly.

“Well, if I can’t think of something knew, I guess I will have to improve what I already can do,” 

Training with the sword and his charging technique was something that he already did every day. The only thing that Zelos didn’t train that much was his throwing skills with the iron balls. 

His main problem was the difficulty to throw a lot of them, but it wasn’t like he used them to dispose of small fries, so perhaps speed wasn’t the real problem.

“I guess I need to throw them faster, to throw a single one faster and with more power in order to decrease the chances of the enemy reacting to it.”

Zelos didn’t have to think a lot to find a way to do that. He decided to improve the throwing speed of the iron balls by punching them. That seemed insane since they were hard and heavy, but that was the best way to surprise the enemies and also lose some extra health faster. Regeneration was taking its time to improve lately and since he felt that he needed to improve his defenses, that would be a good idea for Zelos.

Health: 1540/1540

Magic: 560/560

Stamina: 1420/1420

Strength:  80

Vigor: 74

Precision: 68

Wisdom: 20

Willpower: 36

Traits: Regeneration Lv 87

“Slowly, I am starting to need more time to rest to recover all of my health… that means that I need to take more damage to be taken down, and that is a good thing, but…”

Keeping things balanced was starting to get hard and Zelos wondered if it was worth the hassle to insist on it. Zelos had been struggling with practicing that particular technique, finding himself constantly getting injured in the process. Each attempt seemed to result in bruises and sore muscles, leaving him frustrated and annoyed.

While the amulet was meant for support, Zelos noticed that it also seemed to have an unexpected side effect, it made him less annoyed by the pain during his training sessions. With the amulet around his neck, Zelos found that he could push himself harder and longer than before. His muscles still ached, and he still made mistakes, but he no longer felt as exhausted as he once did. 

“What the heck are you doing now?” 

A wild Irlan appeared out of nowhere and then he saw Zelos punching the Iron balls and trying to hit a boulder close to the river. The boulder had already some marks on it, so Irlan confirmed that this crazy idea was taking place for a while.

“Just learning a new trick,”

“Your new tricks are always out of the norm… why don’t you just try to master the sword by actually using both hands?” 

“That would be too easy to read by the enemies, I would rather try to surprise them whenever possible. Anyway, why did you come this time around?”

“I was just bored and came here to kill time, I thought that I would enjoy some long vacations, but it seems that I was wrong. The timing was wrong this time…”

It seemed that he wanted to hear Zelos ask why, but Zelos knew better than to entertain him, so he just focused on his training. Little by little, Zelos began to punch the iron balls harder and his fingers began to get swollen. He could hit anything in a ten meters radius now, so precision wasn’t a problem, but it will take a while until Zelos can punch them seriously and hope that his fingers won’t break when that happens.

“My sister joined the cadets this time… she is being trained by Heirina.”

Zelos sighed, he didn’t ask, but he was still forced to hear it… that was really troublesome. Zelos didn’t know anything about her, her name was Irlene. Still, it was hard to imagine that she should be less skilled than Irlan and since she was more serious than him, perhaps she had more potential even though Irlan inherited his father’s experience.

“I don’t think that the captain will use the recruits so soon, but if a massive battle happens… I don’t think that she is ready for that.”

“Sucks to be you, you aren’t respected enough for her to follow your orders. In any case, if something happens, you will be close enough to keep an eye on her.”

Things weren’t so simple and while the recruitment happens every year, Irlan still felt that it was a sign that another big battle was fast approaching. Looking after oneself is hard enough… Looking after another in a battlefield is a lot more difficult.

“If she is weak or inexperienced, you at least can do something to make her improve in those aspects. Do that, and she might listen to you more.”

“If I do that, she will end up going to the battlefield even earlier.”

“Then do anything and just wait for something to happen that will make you regret doing nothing. You should know that trying to change her decision is a waste of time by now. So there is no point in delaying the inevitable.”

Irlan understood that what Zelos said was logical. After all, he recognized the importance of having allies by his side, especially on the battlefield. But understanding and liking were two different things.

As the man of the house, Irlan felt a powerful sense of responsibility to protect his mother and sister. He took this duty seriously, and it weighed heavily on his shoulders. He knew that his father died thinking that he could rely on him to keep them safe, and he wanted to fulfill that duty to the best of his ability.

Even when his sister expressed her desire to go and help them on the battlefield, Irlan couldn’t shake the feeling of unease. It wasn’t that he doubted her abilities or her bravery, it was simply the instinctual need to keep her out of harm’s way. The thought of his sister risking her life on the battlefield filled Irlan with a sense of dread. He couldn’t bear the idea of anything happening to her, and he wanted to protect her at all costs.

“I guess there is no other option, it is time to do what you said and just do what I can and hope that it will be enough. Can you help me train her a bit now and then? I believe that your fighting style will give her more insights on how chaotic a real large-scale battle can be.”

“Sure, no problem.”

Zelos wanted to avoid trouble as much as possible, but he had to keep his instincts sharp as well, just training wasn’t enough for that. Although Zelos said that he didn’t mind giving a hand now and then, Irlan showed up the next day with his sister. She looked the same as usual, quite serious and a bit full of herself.

“Now I understand why you said that fighting him would be a good experience. For someone of his age, he is quite strong physically. Our trait probably isn’t a good mix against him.”

“Do you mind, Zelos? She just wants to confirm things, we won’t come every day to bother you.”

“... Alright,”

Zelos always had his sword with him, so he was ready to fight at any moment. Irlene also had her real spear, so they could spar without worrying about weapons breaking. Still, there was this sense of danger of using real weapons even when it comes to sparring.

Without wasting time, they assumed their fighting stances and then Irlan gave them the sign to start. Without wasting time, Zelos charged and then swung his sword horizontally… Irlene had the chance to see the movement of the sword completely.

Irlene only took a single step backward and waved her body to the side in order to parry the attack and then counter, but when her spear felt the impact, she felt her whole body shaking with the weight of the attack… in the end, she was pushed backward by just a fraction of the power of the attack.

“Ugh,”

Irlene’s elbows and shoulders began to hurt quite a bit. It felt like her defense made her absorb a lot of the power of the impact. Before long, Zelos tried once more and then Irlene tried to do things right this time, but when Zelos was about to attack, she ended up jumping backward with all her might to avoid any damage.

Irlene couldn’t help but feel exasperated as she faced Zelos’s relentless attacks. She dodged one strike after another, her movements graceful and precise, but frustration came at her. She knew she was skilled enough to avoid the hits, yet the pressure of Zelos’s attacks was the real deal.

In one particularly close call, she narrowly avoided a strike, but in doing so, she found herself retreating with all her might. It wounded her pride to retreat from an attack, even if it was just a training session. Yet, Zelos’s relentless assault left her with little choice.

As she continued to defend against his strikes, Irlene felt a sense of determination rising within her. She refused to let Zelos’s attacks overwhelm her, even if it meant enduring his relentless assault. With each dodge, she pushed herself to improve, knowing that the pressure he exerted was making her stronger.