CHAPTER - 116

  [Training in the arena, nearly two hours later]

  Dav: (Breathing heavily and fatigued) How many have you done so far?

  Selene: (Taking deep breaths, sweating) Damn... I feel like I'm dying... I must have done nearly two thousand...

  Dav: (Smiling amused) Ah, I see. After all, you're still a beginner.

  Selene: (Irritated, with a grimace) What do you mean!? Come on, tell me! How many have you done, then?!

  Dav: (Proud look) 7,453... and there's still half an hour left. Ahaha! You'll have to work harder, my dear student.

  Selene: (Thinking, exhausted) Damn... Barely two thousand, and he's already over seven thousand...

  I need to be faster, otherwise, I won't be able to complete the training before the other exercises.

  [Dav sits on the ground, watching Selene]

  Dav: (Stretching) Rest. Tomorrow you'll do more.

  And if you're not too tired... we can go to the mall.

  Selene: (Still catching her breath) This... only if everyone passes the exam, right?

  Dav: (Chuckling) If those brats fail, we'll go with the other professors and Iris, ahah.

  [Selene grips the hilt of her sword firmly, staring at her hands]

  Selene: (Breathing deeply) No. I'll continue for another half hour.

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  Then I'll stop.

  Dav: (Standing up) Perfect. (Getting into position) In that case... I'll reach 10,000 in these thirty minutes.

  Narrator: Dav's thrusts were so fast that Selene's eyes could no longer distinguish the first from the last.

  He seemed like a crazed vegetable slicer:

  his blade vibrated in slow motion, yet it was faster than the human eye could follow.

  Selene tried to speed up.

  Her arm felt like lead.

  The sword seemed to grow denser, more alive.

  Yet she continued.

  With only one question in her mind:

  "How many thrusts has Dav done in his life to reach this level...?"

  30 minutes later

  [Dav sits on the ground, drinking fresh water, watching Selene with a serious expression. Then he pats the ground, inviting her to sit beside him.]

  Dav: (With a small smile) Sele, come here.

  (Meeting her gaze) What's wrong? You seem down.

  Selene: (Sitting, in a low voice) In these thirty minutes... I've only done 2,756 in total...

  I don't even deserve to be your student at this pace.

  (A tear falls) I'm so sorry.

  [Dav takes her hand, squeezing it. Selene blushes, hiding her face between her knees.]

  Dav: I want to reveal a secret to you, Selene.

  No one knows. You'll be the first.

  Selene: (Softly) A secret...?

  Dav: (Closing his eyes) When I was eleven...

  I had no powers, no special abilities. I was sad.

  But every day, I would go up to the attic and do a thousand thrusts.

  With bleeding hands.

  With calluses.

  Every single day.

  (Opens his eyes, serious) And then... I was in a coma practicing thrusts for ten years.

  Selene: (Lifting her face, surprised) Coma? But... that doesn't make sense.

  You couldn't even move...

  Dav: (Looking at his hands) My body was in a coma, yes.

  But my mind... was awake.

  I was trapped in a dark, deep place.

  A crushing gravity pressed down on me every second.

  I only had my sword with me... and I decided to train.

  To keep from being crushed.

  Every second.

  For ten years.

  Selene: (Shocked, shouting) Wait, what?! How many thrusts did you do then?!

  Dav: (Looking at her with a half-smile) If we count from when I was eleven, those ten years...

  plus the seven months at the Academy... I'd say...

  485,929,000 thrusts in total.

  Narrator: Selene turned pale. Her mouth open.

  Her gaze empty.

  She looked at Dav's hands, marked, alive, destroyed.

  And she trembled.

  Selene: (Thinking) I... I complained about two thousand thrusts...

  Only two training sessions...

  He did nearly half a billion... I feel like I... insulted him.

  [Dav gently touches her head.]

  Dav: At this rate, those 2,700 will become many more. I'm sure of it, Sele.

  Selene: (Embarrassed, with a small smile) Thank you... I'll keep it all to myself.

  I promise.

  (Thinking) With him... I can become strong.

  I can have fun.

  I can... not worry about anything.

  It's a shame I met him only after his coma.

  We could have been great companions... already for some time.

  Dav: (Standing up) Go clean yourself up. At 4:00 PM, we're going to the mall.

  (Smiling) I'll buy you a nice ice cream for your achievement today.

  Narrator: Selene stood up.

  Then, blushing, she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

  Dav remained still, impassive, but with a half-smile full of pride.

  END OF CHAPTER - 116