I looked out my window.
The night sky was thick with dark clouds, slowly pacing across it at a snail's pace.
The obscured moon peeked through the clouds at times, brightening the land underneath for a brief expanse before vanishing away.
Nodding to myself, I donned a loose cloak over my form and hid a book underneath it.
Slowly opening the door with the least sound I could manage, I peeked into the corridor.
Silence reigned over this part of the floor as I went out and locked the door behind me.
Earlier when I had gone for the key to the room, the guard who had it in his possession praised me for my combat skills during my promotion exam.
Imagine the chills I felt when I understood I needed combat skills for the exam.
I mean have you ever heard of someone who needed to be adapt at fighting when they went for the promotion exams? And that too for a pist of vice principal? I certainly haven't heard of one.
And by the sounds of it, Henry Mordant was an exceptional fighter. Probably a master in stealth and surprise attacks if the system was anything to go by.
And as such, here I was on my way to the training grounds. For training the heck out of me.
After a while I reached the grounds. It was completely empty at this hour.
I stepped into the section with wooden dummies.
At a casual glance, it would have looked like normal puppets kept in rows and columns.
But I have watched the session during afternoon where the students had rained down spells one after the other on it.
And yet the dummies had held. Not even a scratch on them.
"Time to practice..." My breath came out in puffs of mists as I walked towards a row filled with wooden weapons of different styles.
I tried to pick up a heavy wooden sword but soon after dropped it back. It was too heavy.
I picked up several others, trying their grip in my hands. After few minutes of exploring, I settled for a wooden katana.
Walking up to a dummy, I took out the book from inside the cloak.
I crouched on the ground as I read through the book under the faint moonlight. The descriptions were short and crisp. And on top of that, diagrams were sketched for a better understanding.
I skimmed through the pages for basic movements and techniques. I have already read it once but still revised it now.
After doing all that, I stood up.
The book broke down the basics into six simple steap- stance, grip, cutting techniques, breathing, focus and footwork.
Following the book, I spread apart my feet in a range of shoulder breadth, held my katana in front of me and bent my knees slightly.
My back was straight and I kept my focus on the dummy in front.
I was ready.
Taking a step forward, I cleaved down the weapon on the wooden surface.
The strike was norhing like I had expected. My hands trembled from the rigorous vibrations that swept up my arms as I nearly dropped the katana.
As a result my body stiffened slightly and my knees were no longer bent.
My posture had turned messy. A failure.
"Well there goes my first try." I sighed as I replayed it in my head.
Maybe my strike carried a bit too much force than intended.
Sighing, I picked up my sword and focused again.
The second time, the katana connected with the head and almost slipped off the dummy.
I tried again. And met another failure.
But I smiled. With every single try, I felt my focus increasing as I started picking out my mistakes.
I tried again.
And again.
And again.
And met with a failure.
And another.
And another failure.
But somehow along the training, I found joy. The same one I would find after days of failure in academics.
I wasn't talented. But I always put efforts and watched my hard work pay off.
*Chuck*
It should pay off now as well.
*Chuck*
For my life isn't mine alone.
*Chuck*
It's for the happiness of my loved ones.
*Chuck*
And if...possible, for myself.
Sweat dripped down my entire body as my arms ached and my breath became heavy, husky.
But...
Strangely, I felt my movements getting sharper and more flexible. My strikes were now more controlled as my hits started landing on accurate positions over the wooden surface of the wooden dummy.
"That huhh huhh shouldn't be possible. A normal body can't huh be improving huh huh so quickly."
I slumped on the ground catching my breath. At that moment, a thought struck me.
Unbending Baron.
The more I suffered, the more I would grow.
"Ahh I see. I am suffering right now afterall. I didn't feel any improvement in light training but the moment I started trained more on my willpower, this improvement arrived.
Maybe it's not that bad of a power..."
I suddenly got an idea and I looked at the dummy.
Standing up, I dusted my clothes and stood at an arm's length from the dummy.
"Let's try this out..." I gathered all the strength I could muster in my clenched first.
Yanking my elbow behind me, I hurled it on the wooden surface.
With a thwack, the punch connected.
For a moment, nothing happened.
"Ugh!!" I quickly stepped back as I clutched my bruised fist in my other palm. It hurt a lot and felt like my soul was being drenched out of my physical form.
It really hurts...
A minute later, I felt the pain subside. I let my wrist relax as I stretched them.
And I was pleasantly surprised. I felt...stronger.
An increase in raw strength. It was subtle but present to my utter delight.
I turned a bit too giddy as I quickly stood up and went for a second punch.
However the moment the punch connected, I felt my body completely relax. It didn't respond to my commands.
Just turned off. I slumped awkwardly to the ground, watching the sun slowly rise up the horizon.
It was already dawn.
[Mana Meter: ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛]
The moment the notification appeared before me, I almost facepalmed myself. Almost. Given I couldn't move my limbs either.
How could I forget that Unbending Baron was an active skill...and it must definitely be using mana for its usage.
Ugh how foolish of me, I thought but couldn't even speak them out.
After what felt like an eternity, my control returned.
I turned towards my room. On my way I saw one servant hurrying down the stairs.
I quickly turned to the corridor leading to my room, not wanting someone to see me at this hour. All bloody and sweaty.
"This Unbending Baron might be overpowered afterall..." I had to admit it, even though it bruised my already non-existing pride.