Continued Training

Chapter: 11

A few more days passed, and I had finally recovered and started more intensive training. Yuuri and I changed our training ground to a forest, a 30-minute drive away. We got out of her car and walked into the forest, finding a clearing.

"Alright, in light of the fight last week, we're going to start two things. First, I'm going to teach you more spells and techniques. Second, we're going to have a spar at the start of every week," Yuuri said, holding up two fingers.

"Understood. So, what are we doing first?" I asked.

Yuuri thought about the question for a bit before responding. "The spar first. It gives me a good basis to understand what I need to teach you," she explained.

"Okay, so how are we doing this?" I asked, getting into a combat stance, though it was a sloppy one.

"Come at me with the intent to kill," she said off-handedly.

"What?" I asked, Yuuri's comment throwing me for a loop.

"You heard me. Now come at me," she said seriously.

"Oh, okay," I conceded.

I took a breath to calm myself. "Okay, ready."

"Good. Begin."

I channeled mana into my body to strengthen myself and rushed toward Yuuri. When I got close, I threw a left hook that was easily parried. I followed up with a right hook, but Yuuri intercepted the strike with an attack of her own. I tried to block the strike with my left hand, but the force of the blow pushed me back.

Shaking off the pain in my left hand, I rushed back toward Yuuri, throwing a jab at her shoulder. She blocked the jab, grabbing my arm and twisting it. I winced and tried to pull away, but she used the momentum to throw me over her shoulder.

"You call that a punch? I've seen grandmothers hit harder," she teased, a smirk on her face.

"Yeah? Well, I've seen grandmothers that look less scary," I retorted, getting back on my feet.

I focused mana into my legs and dashed forward, aiming a kick at her midsection. Yuuri sidestepped effortlessly, grabbing my leg and sweeping my other foot out from under me. I hit the ground hard, the wind knocked out of me.

"Not bad. You're getting faster," she remarked, offering me a hand to help me up.

I grabbed her hand and, instead of standing, I pulled her down, attempting to surprise her. Yuuri stumbled slightly but recovered quickly, pinning me to the ground with her knee on my chest.

"Nice try, but you'll have to do better than that," she said, a twinkle of amusement in her eyes.

"Guess I need to up my game," I panted, trying to catch my breath.

She let me up, and I readied myself again. This time, I decided to mix things up with some elemental magic. I summoned a small whirlwind of water around my fists and charged at her. I threw a series of punches, each accompanied by splashes of water. Yuuri dodged and weaved through my attacks, her movements fluid and precise.

"Water punches? Now that's a new one," she quipped, ducking under a particularly wild swing.

"Just trying to keep things interesting," I replied, focusing on my next move.

I feinted a punch and then sent a jet of water at her feet, hoping to unbalance her. Yuuri jumped, avoiding the water, and came down with a swift kick that I barely managed to block. The impact sent me skidding back, my arms stinging from the force.

"You're improving, but you need to work on your hand-to-hand combat. Magic is great, but you can't rely on it all the time," she advised, her tone more serious.

"I am aware," I said, as I formed the water around my left hand into a sword.

Yuuri raised an eyebrow. "A water sword? Interesting choice."

I lunged at her, swinging the water sword. Yuuri dodged to the side, but I followed up with a horizontal slash. She parried with her forearm, using her mana to deflect the blow. I spun around, aiming a kick at her head. She ducked and countered with a punch to my gut, knocking the wind out of me.

"Don't telegraph your moves so much," she chided, stepping back to give me space.

I nodded, trying to catch my breath. I summoned a lightning bolt in my right hand, ready to combine it with the water sword. I charged again, slashing with the water sword and thrusting the lightning bolt forward. Yuuri dodged the sword and caught the lightning bolt with her bare hand, dispersing the energy.

"Impressive. But you need to be faster," she said, her tone encouraging.

"Faster, huh? Alright, let's try this," I said, focusing mana into my legs and hands. I moved in a blur, closing the distance between us in an instant. I unleashed a flurry of strikes, mixing water and lightning with each blow.

Yuuri matched my speed, blocking and countering with ease. "Better. Now, keep it up!" she urged.

I kept up the pressure, refusing to let her gain the upper hand. But Yuuri was relentless. She dodged a particularly powerful strike and swept my legs out from under me and struckme in the chest with her palm that was coated in electricity send sending the current through me body. I hit the ground hard, gasping for air.

"Alright Ethen take a 30 minute break while I plan out your training regime." Yuuri said.

I responded with a groan while trying to push myself off the ground.

Chapter 11: End