Two fleeting shadows were running in the forests with speeds as fast as lightning. One person was huge and bulky while the other was tall and lean. The one in front was using the terrain to his advantage while the other was right behind his tail, even with the bulky figures fast speed the tall and lean person was able to follow his movements. Like a shadow, the tall and lean man was just behind the huge and bulky figure.
The huge and bulky figure is the gorilla monkey while the tall and lean man is Max. Four years had passed since he has started his training. He is now 14 years old, his body has developed and his muscles have been lean. His body was not bulky in any way but each muscle and fiber of his body is packed with power from all the training he has been doing since his childhood. He continued running on the training fields in the morning until he was able to carry weights. He added more and more as time passed by. Even without the assist of aura, he is able to outrun master swordsmen. This goes to show how much his body's power is against aura wielding people. He can run circles against normal grandmaster swordsmen.
His agility, speed, and perception have reached a realm that normal human beings cannot compare to. He learned how to mimic the movements of the gorilla monkey, its actions, and habits, he studied them all. Max was able to integrate the movements of the gorilla monkey and improve it using his own understanding. He made a set of footwork that works best for him and his body. He can now react to the slightest changes from his opponent or even the environment, using his senses to the limit by using the aura in his body as support.
He can now dodge any sudden attacks made by the gorilla monkey that comes his way. He continued dodging left and right, as they were running on top of the trees, Max grabbed a vine and used the periphery of the ancient trees as cover to covertly move his body in an angle that will be hard for the gorilla monkey to predict his next actions. He maintained his breathing and actions for a split second and he was able to hide his presence as if becoming one with nature. Max has seen his master do this while he was training. His master seemed to be standing in front of him yet feeling non-existent at the same time. It took him years to be able to understand and execute the same feat. To the gorilla monkey's surprise, the sudden appearance of Max at his blind spot has given him a second of hesitation that caused his body to halt.
Max was able to wrap around the vine on the body of gorilla monkey, the gorilla monkey struggled and was outraged at the sudden entanglement of his body. He tried moving and resisting the vines to get out but it only caused the vines to tighten. Max was elated by the fact that he was able to capture his target at long last. Before Max could celebrate a loud growl was heard by Max. He looked at the gorilla monkey in surprise at its continuous struggle. The golden crown on its head shined and its body was now covered in a golden light. The sudden explosion of power from the gorilla monkey was terrifying as Max was swept away by the explosion from the golden light that surrounded its monkey.
The gorilla monkey followed suit to the flying Max in the air and was about to use his golden covered fists when his master took Max in one hand and stopped the incoming fist at the other. You can see the aura spreading out of Master's hand enveloping the golden lights of the monkey till it subsided. The gorilla monkey finally calmed down as it saw its master appearing out of nowhere. The golden lights shimmered down and the shiny crown on its head dimmed down at once. The gorilla monkey was shrinking.
Max was surprised as this was the first time he saw something like this. The gorilla monkey was now the size of a regular monkey as it climbed its way on his Master's shoulders. It embraced master's arms in content while happily swinging its body. The golden crown on its head was more prominent as it changed its size.
"Come," Master said to me as he walked and found a boulder to sit on.
"Sit." He said as he pointed at the spot beside him.
I sat beside Master without uttering a word.
"Your grandfather told me to train you as per your grandmother's request. I am your grandfather's friend and companion a long time ago as we adventured the continents." His Master was looking at the horizon as if remembering the past.
"Your grandmother, Milana told me that you are a light magician and said that her only requirement is for you to be able to survive against magic and aura users. However, light magic is a non-fighting attribute." Master looked at me while he said this.
"So I let you focus on mana manipulation from beginning to end. You need to master aura manipulation better than others as your attribute will not help you in any way when it comes to fighting. Now you have the agility, speed, and perception to anticipate any physical attacks. The logs the waterfall has helped you with that, you now have the advantage in using the terrain as you see fit by assimilating yourself to the minute changes of the environment and the surrounding. As you train more, you can now use the state of being one with nature. It is what most grandmaster swordsmen hope to achieve in their life." Master looked at me seriously.
"However, you are not considered a grandmaster swordsman in any way." Master saw the doubt in my eyes as I kept listening to his words.
"Your grandmother said that I only give you a way to survive so I did what I was told." Master put his hand over his ring and with that, a dagger appeared in his hand. He held it out and said, "Your grandmother wanted you to have this." He then placed the dagger on my hand.
"What is this?" I asked as I gently removed it from its sheath. There was no shine to it as it was the color of midnight black and it was about 12 inches. It looked like a normal dagger, however, the hilt's design had a weird pattern that encircled the hilt of the dagger. The only distinguishing trait was the patterns and at the center, there seemed to be a core embedded.
