Let's See Who's Stronger

"Not bad you guys. Anna, I'm impressed you were able to figure out something new. That's a good direction towards developing your own movement technique, though you have loads to learn. You were also hesitant in a few places. Vick, you are struggling due to lack of positioning and the knowledge of your opponent. It's not the strength that's stopping you, but your own skills. That's what you should focus on. Lana, you are too full of yourself. If you and Anna dealt with the black bear together, this could've been over much quicker. Your skills and movement techniques are alright, it's your teamwork that needs improving", father said.

Vick accepted the criticism with a lowered head, but Lana argued she wasn't full of herself. "A good leader is able to instruct their team efficiently, so that they don't struggle. That is something you didn't do. To tell you the truth, Anna is stronger than you. Some of her skills might not be as refined as yours, but you'd lose in a duel", father replied. "That's something no one knows, until we actually duel, right?", Lana argued.

"You think I'm saying this because she's my daughter? Why don't you give it a try then?", father asked. Lana's pride must've been hurt again, because she turned towards me with a serious look. "Mira told me you'd challenge me, yet the challenge never came. I'd like to see how strong you are as well", I said. "Now that both of you agreed, Vick let's give them some space", father added. Vick welcomed such entertainment, he and father gave us some space and awaited the show.

We stood about ten metres apart from each other. Lana was the first to make a move. She used that movement technique of hers, which was fast indeed. Thanks to my improved senses though, I was able to block her initial attack. Father was right, she was weaker than me, at least when it came to strength. "Cling! Clang! Clang…", we exchanged one strike after the other. Due to my strength, her balance was beginning to shift.

"Cling!", our swords clashed once more, but this time it was different. Lana lost her balance, which gave me a chance to close in. 'Hmm?', a sudden thought appeared in my mind. Lana faked her loss of balance, at least to a degree. I saw that just in time to jump backwards. "Swoosh!", her sword missed me by a small margin. "Aren't you taking this a…", before letting me finish, she rushed at me once more. Lana was seriously trying to wound me.

"Cling! Clang!...", her attacks became more ferocious, she was starting to take risks. "Swooosh… Claaaang!... What's gotten…Ungh", she cut me off by kicking me in the stomach. This made me stumbled backwards a few steps, but Lana wasn't done. Her attitude was beginning to anger me. This was only a bout, not a life or death battle. She closed in with a piercing attack, but got deflected. Lana was relentless though. She spun around, trying to kick me once again. "Pak! Un", the pommel of my sword hit her leg. I was fed up with her constant intention of really hurting me.

With her balance truly lost, I used the flat side of my sword to slam her hand. "Pam! Arg!", she cried out while dropping her sword. I didn't stop there. Mustering all my strength, I punched her stomach with my free hand, "Bam!... Argh… Cough...Cough". She became a mess. Her stance was all over the place, while her movement technique was gone. Yet, something told me to continue. I raised my leg up high, intending to slam her head. "That's enough, Anna. Wipe that grin off your face too, we don't need any serious injuries here", father appeared in front of me, stopping my attack.

I finally realised what was going on, and quickly stopped myself. "Lana, do you see what I mean now? Anna might've reached Outer Limits stage not that long ago, but her strength is comparable to someone at the Half Step. She can't control her anger very well either. If this continued, you'd lose your life", father explained. Lana picked herself up silently, then turned around to walk away. "Lana, why do you act like that? You are not weak, it's the attitude and arrogance that makes you become weak. Confidence and arrogance are two different things", father asked.

Lana didn't reply, she simply walked towards the location of Savala Town. Father told me and Vick to wait a bit, while he followed Lana. "Anna, you are evil… That grin at the end was really scary. Though I must admit, you defeated her like nothing", Vick said. "This was supposed to be a bout, like we did in the past. She insisted on trying to actually wound me… I got a bit angry and my emotions took over", I explained. "Yea, she's a bit too arrogant. Although, she wasn't like that before reaching the Outer Limits stage. I don't know, maybe this messed her up. I'm going to be the same Vick as I'm now. You are also kind and fun to hang out with, even though you reached the Outer Limits stage", Vick said.

My father took his time, therefore Vick proposed to take care of the meat in the meantime. Quarter of an hour later, he finally returned with Lana following quietly behind him. Father didn't say anything, but Lana approached me before extending her hand. "...I shouldn't have acted that way… I hope you can forgive me", she apologised. This made me a bit surprised, since Lana acted all cold and arrogant most of the time. 'I'm not sure what father told her, but it seems to have worked', I figured then hugged her.

"We are family, right? Besides, you were never annoying like that Arche. I'm also sorry for going a bit too far… I'm learning to control myself, but that doesn't always work", I said. Lana stood there frozen for a while, but then hugged me back. "How sweet, you two should get best friends bracelets or something", Vick teased. "Shut up Vick. You are still a kid in my eyes. Grow up like Anna, and I might be nicer to you too", Lana replied, annoyed. "Let's get this thing over with. We have to hunt a bit more, since the whole town will be there", father said.

After wrapping up everything, we left that area in search of more animals. That day, we fought a few more groups of animals, collecting quite a bit of meat. "Shouldn't that be enough? We must have a few hundred kilograms of meat", I asked. "I guess we could stop here, but let's camp inside the forest. That's gonna be our little adventure", father replied. There was no point going back to town night, even if nothing could've happened with father around. We decided to camp, while my father took care of making a camp for us.

"You seem awfully good at this. I mean, don't you carry around any tents or something?", I asked, a bit confused. "That's something your mother does. I always travelled with basic supplies. Inside the forest, you only need tools to survive… Well, besides the strength", father explained. "Wouldn't that be annoying? You'd have to build your camp every night, so long you move someplace else", Vick asked. "I never looked at it like that. I just made a shelter, and that was that. Sometimes we would make a long term shelter, due to staying in one area for a longer period of time. Moreover, you get really good at making them with time", father replied.

He made the shelter from branches, small trees and vines. He didn't even need any tools. The trees were cut with his own hands, while everything else was collected from around the area. 'Dad even made beds and side walls, besides the roof of course… How many times did he do it, to actually make such a camp this quickly?', I asked myself.

Though the beds were not that comfortable, they would be enough for one night. "Uncle, can you tell us some of your stories?", Vick asked. Father agreed, and told us about the time he travelled around with a turtle companion. Turtle was an animal with a hard shell, four legs and a small tail. Father explained that turtles were usually slow and easy going. His turtle was different though. Father called the turtle Shelly, because of its shell. He told us that Shelly was very intelligent. That turtle could understand Human speech, and even draw to communicate with my father. Shelly was strong, fast and always hungry. Hungrier than most of Humans, sometimes even combined.

I could tell that Vick and Lana didn't believe my father completely. They knew turtles, and how they behaved. From what father said, his turtle was indeed very different. I had no reason to doubt my father's words, since he gained nothing from lying to us. The story took a more sad twist at the end, where father mentioned that Shelly died for his sake. "I miss Shelly a lot. I was too weak back then, and couldn't protect my friend. Actually, I didn't want to accept Frosty at first. Frosty is different from Shelly. He wouldn't gladly sacrifice his life for mine… That's just one example", he said.

Father's right arm began glowing suddenly. "Haha, you would? I'm so happy", father said seemingly to himself. I knew Frosty lived in my father's arm, but Vick and Lana didn't. "This does look like he lost it, right? He didn't, there is a creature living in his arm. That's why it looks like this", I explained. "Hey, Frosty. Wanna show yourself?", father asked, but Frosty didn't appear. This made Lana and Vick even more convinced that father was delusional. Father didn't care, but this indeed looked like a crazy person talking to himself. "Anyway, it's getting late. I think we should get some rest now", Lana broke the awkward silence. We all agreed to retire for the night.