Good Instincts 1.17 - ING. VERSIÓN

A month after Viggo was injured, he was standing in the middle of the forest, in the backyard of Kratos' house. The latter was standing 1.5 meters from Viggo, holding two long sticks, the size of a sword. At that moment the sun was high in the sky, the wind was running moving the branches of the trees and the birds could be heard singing in the distance.

-Start- Kratos said in his thick, powerful voice. He reached out the stick in his right hand and threw a diagonal hit. Viggo moved forward by sliding his left foot, crooked over the stick and was near Kratos' torso. He punched him in the ribs, which felt like hitting an iron wall and backed away.

-Well- Kratos said as if Viggo's punch was as insignificant as an insect bite -in order for a warrior to endure in combat, he must know how to dodge as many hits as possible. You do not get anything out of being the strongest if you receive so many hits that all your strength goes to hold your shield. There are times when you must be persevering and cling to your shield, but if possible, dodge. Now, try to make the dodge as close as possible, to be close to your opponent and that your blows do not have to go looking for him-

Viggo nodded and Kratos raised the stick he was holding in his left hand. He threw a diagonal hit and Viggo slid his right foot, while crombing and passing under the stick. He stood in front of Kratos' ribs and punched him again, which once again, felt like hitting an iron wall. Then he backed up and returned to his starting position.

-Keep going, I'll start moving much faster at every opportunity- Kratos said -I won't stop, even if I hit you hard. So you better stay focused-

Viggo nodded and Kratos began his attack with his right hand. Viggo dodge, passed under the stick and gave it a powerful punch, then slid and returned to his position. Kratos continued with his left hand. Viggo dodged, struck, and returned to his starting position. At first it seemed like a simple exercise, but as the attempts passed, Kratos was increasing the speed and Viggo was feeling that each time the blows passed closer to his head. Until, in one attempt, he felt a hit to the right edge of his head. The hi was just a rub, but still indicated that he was falling short in his response time and dodging.

-Come on, boy- Kratos roared and began to move faster and attack harder, until Viggo found it impossible to dodge an attack and received a stick on the right side of his face. The hit sent him to the ground, with a line-shaped bruise that marked the trajectory of the stick on his face.

At that time, Viggo had a short breath and was full of sweat all over his body. He fell with his hands in front and a terrible burning in his face. Once he leaned on the ground, he brought his right hand to his face and turned his face to look at his master.

On the other hand, Kratos was with his arms at the sides of his body, still holding the sticks.

-Stand up- Kratos said.

Viggo took his hands to the ground and leaned on, then got up. He raised his face and looked at Kratos in the eyes. The iris of the eye looked gray, with an intimidating glow.

-Concentrate- Kratos said.

-I do- replied Viggo.

-It's not enough- Kratos said in a biting tone -a sword with the force of that hit would have cut your head in half. Excuses won't save you on the battlefield-

-I understand, I'll be better-

-I hope so, now be on guard-

Viggo nodded, stood on guard, but just at that moment an old man came out from behind the trees, to the right of Kratos and left of Viggo. He walked forward wearing a strange red and black outfit. His gray hair was arranged in a high bun, and he wore the sideburns long to the jaw. His mouth formed a gentle smile, and his aura emanated wisdom.

-Mm, mm, mm- said old Xiao in a playful tone as he went along, as if he was approving something -I see that you are still progressing-

-More or less- Viggo said with an uncomfortable smile.

-Okay- he replied -everyone has their good days and their bad days. The important thing is to have enough intelligence and skill to be able to recover from those bad days-

Viggo nodded leaving his posture, Kratos narrowed his eyes, but took a deep breath and ended the training.

-What are youcoming to old man?- asked Kratos.

-To see Viggo and ask you if he is ready for his test- replied old Xiao, passing his gaze from young Viggo to the burly giant.

Kratos narrowed his eyes, looking at the elderly-looking primordial and said -he is not ready-

-Considering what?-

-he, is, not ready-

Old Xiao put his hand to his face and squeezed the septum of his nose -let's talk- he said. Kratos let out a growl and pointed with the stick in his left hand at the logs behind his house. Viggo stood where he was, while Xiao and Kratos left him behind.

Kratos said without looking at Viggo –keeps training-

Viggo nodded and began to practice boxing, fighting the imaginary shadow of the terrible warrior who was his master. Imagine one of those monstrous hot was coming at a great speed. He slid his right foot, dodged forward, and threw a powerful punch to the ribs while also launching a furious scream.

Kratos kept moving and looking forward but made a brief smile full of satisfaction.

-I don't remember when it was the last time you smiled- old Xiao said in a joking tone.

Kratos put his grumpy face back on. Ignore the comment and walk to the logs. Once he gets to the logs, wait for old Xiao to sit down first, and then he sat down. Both were 1 meters from the other.

-Why do you want to send it to a test?- asked Kratos -he is not ready yet-

Old Xiao took a deep breath and said –so that he won't be obfuscated, here he is just a weakling, an average warrior, but elsewhere he would be a champion-

-I am training the boy so that he can face everything in front of him-

-Your thinking is too extreme; do you think that everyone and in all worlds, there are monsters like the ones here? Hopefully, they have an ogre or a troll as the ultimate mythical creature-

-He has only been training with me for a little more than half a year. Leave him half a year more and I will give you the opportunity to take him to play wherever you want. However, you must provide me with all kinds of things. You will need a doru(spear), an aspis(Spartan shield) and a xifos (sword). In addition, powerful medicine and many bandages-

-Do you plan to kill him?-

Kratos narrowed his eyes and let out a growl —no, I'm just going to speed up his training- he said.

Old Xiao took a deep breath and nodded repeatedly –ok, we will do it as you want–

Then, they both looked at the red-haired young man, standing ten meters away from them. Moving as if his body was as light as a feather and throwing powerful punches into the air. He smiled with the impetus of youth and the excitement of a new challenge.

-I think I'll leave something more advanced about medicine, I think he's going to need it- said old Xiao, as if he would anticipate that Viggo was going to get into big trouble.

Kratos nodded and said a brief -mm- in a sign of approval.

Viggo continued to train and throw punches into the air until Atreus came to tell him that the food would be ready soon. Kratos listened to him and told him to go and bathe and then eat. So did Viggo, meanwhile, Kratos and Xiao kept chatting for a couple of hours and planned the next stage of the training. This would be brutal and for Kratos to "let go" of Viggo, the latter would have to defeat twenty draug warriors on his own.

-There are no more in the mountains or fortifications- Kratos said.

-Mm, leave it to me, I can do something with my power- replied old Xiao

-I want half of them to be elite, with hammers and axes of war-

-I asked you before, but do you want to kill him?-

-I already told you, no- Kratos roared furiously -this is training and you must be prepared for all kinds of enemies-

-Ok, ok, understand, understand- said old Xiao, raising his hands and making his body back in a defensive gesture, he just said-I just hope you remember that the boy does not have his divine energy or his mana-

-You underestimate it, old man-

-Whatever you say- Xiao said as he let out a sigh.

After lunch, Viggo returned to the backyard and only found his master holding with his left hand a large and round shield, with a sign like an "A" but without the horizontal line. And with his right hand, holding a spear. The shield was ahead, only letting the eyes be seen, while the spear was mounted on the shield, as if it was prepared to launch a powerful lunge.

Kratos took a resting posture and Viggo approached until he was 2 meters away.

-Are we going to train with that?- asks Viggo, looking Kratos in the eye. For some reason, Kratos' eyes looked calmer and full of melancholy.

-That's right- said Kratos, pointing with the tip of the spear to his right, where the illusion of the rock wall was, where the entrance to the cave of Viggo should be. Point to a set of weapons that was standing on the side –go get an aspis and a doru- Viggo raised his left eyebrow in confusion and Kratos narrowed his eyes –a shield and a spear-

-Aaaaaa!- said Viggo, raising his right fist and tapping his left palm, as if he finally understood what he meant. Kratos let out a growl, and Viggo let out a silly giggle. Then he turned around and ran to get what he had been asked for.

Once he returned with the shield and spear, he stood uncomfortable in front of Kratos. The spear was somewhat uncomfortable because of its length of two meters long, but because of the weight, it was manageable. However, the shield was something beyond salvation. It should weigh between 12 and 15 kgs.

-Stand next to me, boy- Kratos said, raising the shield and bending down a little so that his height would match Viggo's. He put his left foot in front and his right foot behind. Support the spear above the shield and look forward as if there was an opponent. Viggo walk until stand on the right side and take the same posture. However, it was one thing to carry the shield and another thing to hold it up.

-You must attach your shield to mine, taking care that my right flank is not exposed. On the other hand, your shield should protect most of your body and the only thing that should be seen should be your eyes- Kratos said.

Viggo attached his shield to that of Kratos and this last frowned in a sign of disagreement.

-Your shield must be behind my shield, as if they were the scales of a snake-

-I understand- replied Viggo and moved the shield, feeling heavier at every moment.

-You lack strength, boy- Kratos said -you're going to have to train much harder if you want to keep going"

-I will be better-

-I hope so, now throw a lunge with the spear while holding the shield up without losing control. Then return it to its original position, always keeping the shield up-

Viggo threw the lunge, and the posture of his shield opened a little forward. He then returned the spear to its original position and regained control over the shield.

-Again- Kratos said, this time throwing the same lunge. For some reason, this old exercise made him smile for a moment. Viggo threw the lunge, feeling the shield getting heavier and heavier, and returned the spear to its original position.

-Again, Spartan, and with more determination- Roared Kratos.

Viggo felt a terrible pressure in Kratos' voice and frowned, forcing himself to hold the shield and throw another lunge. This time with more strength and speed.

At the same time, Faye and Atreus left the house and went to look at what they were doing. Kratos sounded different from his usual grumpiness. This time he sounded more passionate and less annoyed than usual, as if enjoying the training he was doing.

Arriving in the backyard, they saw Viggo and Kratos performing a small phalanx of two people. Advancing with their shields in front and throwing a lunge at every meter they advanced, as if they were a mobile parapet. Even little Atreus, who is usually afraid of his father, was excited to just see him so alive and excited.