Chapter 38: Get ready for the next battle

This kid, pointing a weapon at someone who gave him a place to sleep in the dead of night, needs his manners corrected.

Overconfidence in one’s abilities and treating others recklessly can lead to major trouble later on.

Still, it’s fortunate that I’m the opponent; someone like Riven would have grabbed her broken sword and swung it the moment Kayn entered the room.

I really didn’t want to use drastic measures, but this type of kid is likely to continue acting this way unless their arrogance is knocked down a peg.

Everything I’m about to do to Kayn now is entirely for his own good.

His master, Zed, couldn’t possibly have been unaware that Kayn would act like this, so I can interpret it as tacit approval of my actions.

In the pitch-black darkness where nothing ahead was visible, I took Kayn to the yard where I train every morning.

Perhaps because I’m Vastayan, my night vision is good, and I can see to some extent.

As for Kayn, having learned shadow techniques, this darkness must be like his own home.

Since we could both fight without light, we immediately started sparring without any special preparations.

Kayn unwrapped the bandages covering the weapon he carried, revealing its form.

As he gripped the weapon, his right side began to be covered as if infected by something.

It felt like he was unleashing the Black Flame Dragon in his right hand, making me think Kayn’s affliction was truly serious.

I extended my claws, assuming a ready stance to block Kayn, who looked ready to attack at any moment.

There was no starting bell or announcement like in a mock listening test.

We eyed each other, deciding whether to strike first or choose defense.

The first clash between Kayn and me would mark the beginning of this fight.

Since neither of us had information about the other, it naturally led to a probing battle.

Therefore, I planned to defend against Kayn’s attacks, whose mobility would be good in this darkness, and learn his attack patterns.

Sure enough, Kayn charged at me with great speed, spinning 360 degrees and swinging his scythe.

I kicked off the ground, instantly retreating backward quickly.

Next, he attacked by lifting the ground with his scythe.

Since it was an attack with a long forward reach, I kicked off the ground again, this time dodging slightly to the side.

There’s a slight opening before he can attack again with the scythe, so I aimed for that gap and closed in on Kayn.

Startled by my sudden appearance before him, Kayn tried to back away, and I tripped the defenseless Kayn.

I pinned Kayn, who was trying to get up again, by stabbing the ground on both sides of his neck with my claws and threw a punch towards his stomach.

However, my claws struck bare earth, not Kayn’s stomach.

It seemed he had passed through something to escape, just like when he entered my room without opening the door.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t catch Kayn again.

If Kayn could maintain that ability constantly, he surely would have emerged from a blind spot like the floor or behind me to launch a surprise attack when approaching me.

The fact that he didn’t means the duration of that ability is short, or it requires some kind of medium, so he can’t use it indiscriminately.

Having nearly taken a hit from me once, Kayn didn’t attack readily and was just watching for an opportunity.

It seems he too now realized his lack of information about me and was wary of my next move.

In that case, I also decided to unveil one of the hidden cards I had obtained through honing my skills.

I kicked off the ground again quickly, approaching Kayn.

Once, twice, three times.

With each step, the distance between Kayn and me grew shorter.

Kayn also anticipated my attack and raised his scythe, preparing to counter.

‘I need to end this fight with this one attack.’

‘Dragging this fight out any longer would turn it into mere venting, not teaching.’

As soon as I entered his attack range, Kayn charged again, raising his scythe.

An enemy coming in mindlessly like that, entrusting their body to emotion, is an exceptionally good prey from the opponent’s perspective.

I ducked low, dodging the wide horizontal swing of the scythe, and then slipped into Kayn’s guard.

This was an opportunity brought about by Kayn’s carelessness.

I drew upon the natural mana, gathered it in my right arm, and unleashed a punch.

The moment the fist struck Kayn squarely, I released the mana collected in my arm, letting it flow into and spread through his body.

Kayn couldn’t control his body due to the mana suddenly flowing into him and collapsed.

I approached Kayn, who was bowing his head, unable to comprehend the situation, grabbed his neck, and lifted him up.

“Weak! Weak! Did you really think you could stand against me even slightly with such an attack? Not a chance! Hmph!”

“Cough, hack!”

I threw Kayn, who couldn’t breathe with his neck caught, far away and went back inside the house to sleep again.

At this rate, I might oversleep and wake up late in the morning.

After getting beaten up like that, he should have come to his senses by now.

If not, I’ll just have to teach him an even harsher lesson than now.

A brat who doesn’t know the value of having a place to sleep deserves to sleep outside.

I won’t go easy this time either.

A brat who thinks they’re superior to others just because they’re slightly better needs that mindset fixed and turned into a proper person.

It’s always those types who suck up to anyone stronger than them.

Still, Kayn is a disciple chosen directly by Zed, so he probably wouldn’t go that far.

Acting out due to youthful vigor is something everyone experiences once, so I awakened him in a somewhat gentle(?) manner.

I wonder if he’ll be kneeling at my door tomorrow morning, bowing deeply and apologizing when I wake up.

Of course, with his pride, that’s unlikely to happen.

“I was wrong! Please forgive me!!!”

The next day, I woke up to the sound of knocking on the door, and when I checked, it was Kayn.

Politely kneeling and bowing deeply, no less.

Huh?