[This sounds a fantastic deal. Koss will teach you how to fight and help you temper your body. That Force Shock attack looked quite destructive.] -That is an attack move I desperately need. This world has many strong people, and I need the power to compete with them.- "I will take you on that offer, teacher Koss." Vincent agreed in a heartbeat. His heart excitedly raced at the imagination of learning fighting techniques unique to this world. "Haha, well said, my boy. We will start in the evening, so rest while you can." Koss suddenly ended the sentence with a sly and bothersome smirk. What awaited Vincent in the evening training didn't appear it was going to be a walk in the park. The possibility of more intense training being booked for the evening felt very high. After accepting to begin training for the next stage, the group of nine left the river path. Vincent became like a waiter whenever they took a break. He would summon cups, water, and food. Chairs and a table were the only things missing for their break time to be carefree. As if they weren't casually taking a break in the dangerous Aero Forest. The night began creeping, and the darkness of the night starting to appear slowly. Koss asked to camp early, worrying Vincent by a bit. 'It's not going to be a pleasant evening after all.' Vincent thought with a frown. It meant Vincent was about to start training CQC in the next few minutes. He started feeling nervous because the smirk Koss displayed in the morning haunted his mind for the entire day. The two of them walked a bit further than the others to lessen the distractions. Training requires focus, Koss believed. "Let's start with the basics. Please copy this form and copy my breathing. You need to move and breathe in synergy." "You might think it's impossible to control the blood circulation inside our body, by with this training, it can become possible when a speck of blood in your body becomes pure." "So repeat after me with the same movements and breathing. As everyone says, breathing is the first thing you learn." "Throw punches like this, and this, and this. Then finish with a deadly elbow. Just to be sure, throw an uppercut straight at the chin." Koss hissed with every move. Then he stopped the performance and laughed, but his usual laughing felt sinister while saying, "We don't want our opponent to stay alive, don't we? Haha." Vincent suddenly felt he was getting trained to become a brutal killer instead of picking up a move or two while tempering his body. [No wonder they call soldiers brutes if they train to fight like this. But it's also understandable to survive in a fight.] Koss turned his head and noticed the new recruits glancing at them from behind a tree. He raised a sneer and said, "Don't mind the weaklings. They are stuck at the third push up in the two months they were assigned to me, heh..." "This is also something I thought to a few new recruits. Heh... the boys assigned to me didn't have the balls to complete twenty push-ups in a year and later become veteran trainees. Many left to find different instructors as I was called "a brutal army instructor." [No wonder.] 'You don't say...' Vincent thought along with Kazumi's words. "Completing ten push-ups in a few days is more than a genius or talented level. I have the gut feeling of greatness in you, my boy." Koss stated facts surprising both Vincent and Kazumi. Vincent learned at an astonishing rate from experiencing the terror of death. He was also possibly helped by other factors he didn't know about. However, one thing is for sure. He doesn't want to lose such a great opportunity. Vincent copied the same fighting stance and threw the first punch, but Koss shook his head. He made a mistake; it seemed. [I guess you also need to copy his breathing. Let me help.] Vincent soon completed the combo without an error on his fifth try. Both movement and breathing were similar to Koss, which surprised him. Kazumi helped to instruct perfection, and she felt proud of this fact. "Easy, right? Now let's start the training. I will be switching between Murderous and Intimidation gaze while you constantly repeat this combo." Koss crossed his arms, lowered his brows, and gazed at Vincent intensely, almost forming a glare. "Remember, breathing is key while under any kind of pressure. It will prove beneficial in a life or death fight." Koss added. He had a hunch Vincent possessed many experiences for his killing intent to be this potent. Koss wanted to see if making Vincent his first-ever student was the right choice. However, only a face full of resolve could be seen on the determined Vincent before him. 'My choice to teach was correct.' Koss thought [I wish you good luck.] Kazumi said before deciding to relax on the emerald grass and look at the endless empty dark sky. It became her normal thing to rest on the soft crystal-like grass when there was nothing to do, imagining what other stuff could appear in the Soul Domain one day. Vincent gulped, mustering his courage, and nodded to begin the training. The feeling of dread suddenly enveloped him. It felt less potent than the Demonic Beast's bloodlust filled glare, yet the difference gradually made him think otherwise. The Demonic Beast didn't keep the intent focused on one person as it constantly switched targets. Unlike the previous fights, Koss kept sending a steady stream of killing intent directed solely on Vincent and no one else. As if only the two of them existed in the area. It felt similar to the difference between hearing a loud, terrifying voice only once or hearing scary sounds constantly without allowing the frightened person a moment of rest. Vincent started to find it difficult as he repeated the combos accurately and breathe. His arms trembled from time to time. As the intensity increased, his legs trembled, and he later felt a chill rushing down his spine, causing his entire body to tremble. Vincent seemed out of breath, and cold sweat appeared on his forehead. Anyone watching Vincent would think he was training while suffering serious symptoms of fever. Kazumi wanted to help but quickly decided against it. She wanted Vincent to surpass and climb this wall with his own two hands. The feeling of fear suddenly subsided an hour later. Vincent thought the training was over since Koss appeared tired from constantly using the Murderous gaze. Unfortunately, Vincent was wrong. Koss decided to go all out and ignore his tired body. He intended to raise the next generation of a talented young man possessing a Blood Tempered Body with his own two hands. Vincent suddenly started feeling his body gradually becoming heavy. He could understand without the need to ask that the Intimidation gaze training started without warning. Koss donned a gaze filled with ruthless contempt. The pair of brown eyes sent intimidation as the next full course meal of the training routine. Vincent slowly started to feel a bit relaxed as the minutes trickled away. He felt like the difficulty didn't spike but lessened instead. One thought remained in his mind; he was getting used to this intent. As Vincent made push-ups and walked under the Intimidation gaze constant pressure, his body started building resistance. As time passed and Vincent experienced the types of intent caused by emotions, he started to make sense of the words Koss tried to express. Vincent felt overwhelmed with the various explanations about how the mana can affect how a person feels. There was nothing like this on Earth, so it felt confusing. Vincent could relate to a few stories about cultivation in this situation. To build a newer, stronger body felt a bit similar to him. As the second hour started, Vincent started to find it easier to understand by experiencing the two types of pressures, one after the other. The intention to awaken a Blood Tempered Body became clear to him. Blood Tempered Body gives the ability to build blood that is adapted to mana depending on the user's will. It surprisingly makes the blood differentiate if the mana is harmful or not. However, only by using a technique, people call Energy Flow can the users control the blood's movement. The power to attract or repel mana to certain parts of the body would become possible. In other words, Vincent needs first to awaken the Trait before he can use Energy Flow and control what happens to the mana surrounding his body. This theory also meant the possibility of magic resistance similar to Ester if anyone reaches stage ten. Vincent stopped finding it bothersome and the wish for the training to stop vanished. He wanted to continue suffering this pressure instead. The will to become stronger made him want to endure. On the other hand, Koss became surprised at how Vincent kept his determined gaze. Vincent resisted the increasing body weight. It was a feeling that makes the recipient of the powerful Intimidation intent feel like an ant standing in front of a giant. Koss raised a delighted smile and said, "We will stop when you want to. Don't worry about this old body. It's the least I can do for my daughter's savior." Vincent nodded. He repeated the same combo over and over again, ignoring his tried body. Only one thing kept him from making mistakes. It was to focus on breathing and repeating the strikes entirely. *Thud Three hours of intense training later, for a total of four hours total since the start, Vincent fainted, and Koss quickly fell on his fatigued knees, panting from exhaustion. "Daddy!" Tula checked on her father from time to time as she became worried if he was bullying Vincent. However, Ester reassured her mind that Vincent was training to become very strong like her father. Tula nodded and kept a watchful eye. Tula rushed over to her father with a pair of eyes ready to rain as the thoughts of her uncle Kass's recent passing resurfaced. Ester and Lupa rushed to Vincent's side with a worried frown. "Don't worry, Lupa. He hardheadedly trained to the point of exhaustion like last time. Why does he like to make me worried?... " Ester sighed after checking Vincent's condition. Then she continued with a frown, "Why are you pushing your body this much?" "Do all human men do things like this?" Lupa asked with a curious gaze. "No... I don't think so. Vincent might be a special case." Ester couldn't possibly respond as the only two men she knew were her busy father and the drunk Trek. "Lupa knows, hehe. Vincent wants to protect us as the leader of our pack." Lupa turned her gaze at Vincent and raised a warm smile. She gently caressed his cheek while her tail slightly swayed. "... " Ester stared at Lupa with no idea of what to say.