Chapter 18: Footwork

— Hey, quit sleeping!

Chuck's voice reached Nor through the fog of sleep.

The next second, a bucket of ice-cold water was dumped over his head.

— AAAAH!

Nor shot up from the ground.

But since he still wasn't used to his own strength, what should have been a normal jump turned into something completely different. His body launched into the air, and a moment later, he found himself at the top of a twenty-meter tree.

Nor quickly wrapped both arms around the trunk.

— What… Why would you do that?! — he shouted, looking down at Chuck, who was still holding the empty bucket.

— Why not? — Chuck shouted back, not the least bit surprised by Nor's jump. — Come down. It's time to start training.

— No! I'm not coming down! — Nor snapped from above.

— I hate heights…

He clung to the tree even tighter.

Chuck looked at him for a few seconds.

— Oh, really? — he said quietly.

Then he calmly walked over to the tree trunk.

— Hey… What are you about to—

Crack!

Before Nor could finish, a loud cracking sound echoed through the forest.

The tree he was holding onto slowly began to fall.

— Not again…

That was the only thought that managed to flash through Nor's mind before the tree crashed to the ground with him still clinging to it.

Even after the fall, Nor still didn't let go of the trunk.

For a few seconds, there was only silence.

— Nor.

— Yes?..

— Let go of the tree, — Chuck said with a faint smile that didn't feel like a smile at all.

— Yes…

Nor finally released the trunk, got to his feet, and stood in front of Chuck, trying to act as if nothing strange had happened.

Chuck looked at him, then shifted his gaze toward a nearby boulder.

— Good. Now show me what you can do.

Nor didn't answer.

He simply walked up to the stone, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

Then he slowly raised his fist.

Crack.

His punch landed on the surface of the boulder.

But unlike his previous attempts, the stone didn't crack or shatter. When Nor pulled his hand away, only a faint outline of a fist remained on its surface.

Chuck silently stared at the mark for a few seconds.

Then he clapped his hands.

— Bravo.

Nor let out a breath of relief.

— Since you've improved this quickly with your punches, — Chuck continued, — we'll move on to the next part.

— What next part?

— Coordination.

— I think my coordination is pretty good… — Nor began, but immediately stopped.

He noticed Chuck's gaze.

First, Chuck looked at him.

Then he slowly shifted his eyes toward the fallen tree.

Nor looked at the tree too.

For a few seconds, silence hung between them.

— Alright… — Nor finally muttered. — Maybe there is something to work on.

— We'll start with the basics. Your feet, — Chuck said.

— My feet?

— Exactly. In battle, your feet are both your greatest defense and your greatest weapon. No matter how sharp a sword is, or how powerful a spell may be, if it can't reach you, it's useless.

Chuck took a few steps back and calmly looked at Nor.

— For example, try attacking me.

Nor blinked.

— Me? Attack you?

— Yes. Go ahead. Do whatever you want. If you can so much as touch my clothes, consider it your win.

— Hah, alright… — Nor said confidently, a smirk appearing on his face as he stretched his neck.

At the same time, in a long corridor of Aladen Academy, a man and a young woman walked side by side.

The man was quietly whistling, lazily flipping through the papers in his hands.

The woman gave him a suspicious look.

— Strange. You seem to be in a good mood today.

— Well, the school year is about to begin. There will be plenty of interesting things to see, — the man replied, still smiling.

— No, that's not it.

She narrowed her eyes slightly.

— You look like you're looking forward to something much more serious, Director.

The man fell silent for a moment.

Then his smile widened just a little.

— Hm… I suppose you're right. This year really will be unusual.

The image of the strange boy he had met in Ravenport flashed through his mind.

— Because of him.

— Because of him? — the girl repeated. — Who are you talking about?

— That is—

He didn't have time to finish.

In the next moment, every light along the corridor walls flashed red.

The man stopped.

Then an almost bloodthirsty smile appeared on his face.

— Oh… What a wonderful day.

After those words, he disappeared.

The girl silently stared at the spot where he had just been standing for several seconds.

Then she let out a heavy sigh.

— A-a-ah… I feel like my workload is about to triple.

She tiredly rubbed her face with one hand.

— Why did I ever agree to become the vice director…

After that, the girl slowly continued down the corridor.

Bang!

Nor's body flew across the ground again and only stopped after leaving a long trail through the mud.

For several seconds, he lay motionless, face-first in the dirt.

Chuck calmly walked closer and looked down at him.

— So? — he asked.

Nor slowly raised his head.

Mud dripped down his face.

— I don't understand… how you do that…

Chuck smiled faintly.

— See? That's exactly what we'll focus on.

Nor rolled onto his back and stared up at the sky.