章 12: Testing you

After a few minutes of walking inside the mansion, Nathalia and Luke finally reached their final destination.

There was a huge hall with three training dolls, which varied in size. There was a dummy that was only five feet tall, another that was six feet tall, and lastly, one that was two and a half feet tall.

"What will this so-called test be like?" Luke questioned as he entered the hall, which seemed to be specifically for sword training. He could deduce this because there was a shelf with various types of swords.

There were curved swords like the one he got as a gift from Ynosuke, and also large blades like Claymores and other types.

"Simple fencing, how about it?" The half-wolf didn't hide the confused expression he had gotten, and Nathalia realizing this, began to explain: "The goal is to touch the opponent with the saber. Every time you are touched or that you touch me, a point will be scored. Is that clear?"

"I believe I will understand it better in practice," Luke said and dropped his luggage bag on the floor beside the door.

Nathalia smiled and walked over to the vase where some wooden swords stood. They both didn't understand the difference between saber and sword back then.

"Take that!" The young woman warned as she threw a wooden sword at the half-wolf. The boy caught it with ease. "Let's make it the best of three."

Although he was a little nervous, Luke felt he would be fine if provoked. Since he felt that Nathalia wasn't the kind of woman who usually did that, he became more relaxed.

Nathalia moved to one side of the room, and Luke walked to the other. It was still early, so not much light was coming in through the enormous panes of glass in the room; however, they could feel the cold wind entering.

"Do you need a count?" The young lady asked.

"No. You can come."

— At the same time, in the twisting alleys of Oukiwa. —

Zeld, an eleven-year-old teenager, who had joined the Revengers Thief Gang less than a year ago, arrived in desperation at a busy tavern. As he was only a child, he was received courteously by the young nobles in the place.

That day, legends about 'The Beast' of the Oukiwa Woods began to spread like a plague through the city.

"Ah, how can you be so quick?" Nathalia, frustrated, asked Luke. She could barely make the attack movement before she felt the quick touch of the sword tip.

"You had said it was best of three, and it's already five to zero. I don't know what it's like here in Vasconcelos, but where I come from, things don't work that way." Luke teased her.

Nathalia smiled and reinvested against the boy. The half-wolf made all the girl's attempts fail disastrously with minimal movements.

He didn't want to humiliate her. He was just enjoying the moment to have some fun too, because the girl was not bad at all.

Although the young lady looked very pretty with a ponytail, nothing could take the half-wolf's attention away from her feet, which moments before denounced where she would attack. The half-wolf made the same mistakes as a teenager, he thought about giving some hints about this. And was surprised that the Class-B instructor did not point out these mistakes of the girl.

With quick blows, Luke aimed to hit the girl's shoulder like the other times. However, Nathalia wasn't an idiot who would be caught without realizing her own mistakes. The young girl changed the support of her left foot for the right one at the last second, which made her manage to dodge. But only dodging and not attacking.

Since both teens were too fast, the shock was inevitable. Nathalia's head hit the half-wolf's rigid abdomen. The wooden swords flew into the air and made a noise hitting the ground. Tock! Tock! Luke couldn't support the girl's weight with only one foot on the ground, which caused them both to fall to the ground as well.

Now they were both on the ground, and Luke felt something firm and, at the same time, fluffy in his hand. When he opened his eyes, he saw the embarrassed expression of the girl, who didn't know how to react.

Looking down a little, Luke could see the girl's huge breasts pressed against his body. When he realized he hadn't accidentally grabbed her breasts, the boy almost sighed with relief.

'So, where's my hand?' The half-wolf thought and continued to squeeze.

Because they were so close to each other's faces, the girl didn't even have to ask very loudly. "Guard, can you take your hand out of my butt, please? This way, I can't get off." Luke quickly removed his hand from that soft spot and felt like he was about to pass out. "Thank you." She thanked him with a flushed face.

They stood up, and the mood was still awkward. The half-wolf's ears were almost purple with embarrassment.

"Sorry about that. Would you like to continue the test?"

"Just one more time, please." She said, still with a little embarrassing red face.

They pulled away once more and focused on the duel. However, the girl's psychology had been so affected by the groping Luke had given her that she forgot to dodge the half-beast's attack when the test resumed. At the moment she remembered, she moved as fast as she could.

The movement of the wooden sword was so fast that it hit her breasts even with the deflection. Luke Lange perceived this and tried to correct the attack too. They both stopped the duel, and she saw some of the fabric of her shirt fall off, which allowed Luke to see, for a brief second, that the bra Nathalia was wearing was red.

"Lady, your shirt."

Without hesitation, she turned her back to him. "I think this was... productive. You're approved. Do you have any tips for me to be better? I feel like I'm making some mistakes that I don't realize."

"Yes, but I think it's better to talk another time, right?"

"N-no... you can tell me now. No problem…"

"Your feet..." He pointed at the girl's feet.

"What's wrong with my feet?"

"N-nothing. I just meant that your stride is giving away your attacks. With monsters, there is no problem, they are dumb as animals so they can't realize it, however, I also know that monsters are not the only dangers inside Dungeons."

"What do you mean?" Nathalia asked as she turned back curiously.

Many years ago, Luke got aware of how dungeons were dangerous, without having to step inside one.

"Forget about that for now... Come here, I'll show you your mistakes."

From that moment on, Luke began to give Nathalia tips on improving points that the girl's instructor never noticed. Soon after, Martha called him to show him the rest of the house and introduce the staff.

However, on this tour, Luke found a ghost from his past, someone he never expected to see again.

______

Discord for illustrations of the characters:

https://discord.gg/qz2vDAn7Kb