Focus on Your Defense

After resting for an hour, they were already outside, in their house's backyard for their training.

Their mother had given them such a great house and even provided them with their own backyard for their training.

Elenea only wore a loose shirt and sweatpants. She tied her hair into a ponytail as she sat on a tree stump, waiting for her sister to come down before they start with their training.

Leonel wore shorts and a loose shirt. He was tying his shoelaces properly as he also waited for Aranea to arrive.

"Let's go! Let's start!"

At the same moment, Aranea's voice sounded in the backyard.

She arrived, her red hair tied into a ponytail. She wore a pink sports bra and black cycling shorts. She wore her black rubber shoes as well and she did a cartwheel, landing in front of Leonel.

"W-Woah!"

"Hey!"

Aranea lost her balance for a while until Leonel put both of his hands on Aranea's waist, making the girl blink her eyes a few times as Leonel's eyebrows furrowed, slightly worried.

"Are you alright? The footing of the backyard is not even. You did the cartwheel abruptly, that's why you lost balance for a while," he said and when Aranea felt his thumb brush against the skin on her stomach, her body stiffened, making Leonel release her as she felt her discomfort.

"S-sorry," he mumbled, "I was just keeping you in place," he added, making Aranea clear her throat as her sister at the side stifled her laugh.

"No problem," Aranea replied, a grin appearing on her face in an instant. "Shall we start with the training now?"

"Yup." Leonel nodded, "We have to run 10 rounds in the background and then we start with the spar," he said, Elenea already standing up from the tree stump as the three started running in their backyard for 10 rounds.

It had been a long time since Elenea worked out. She had to admit that she immediately grew tired after three rounds, making her regret not taking her morning jog with Aranea back when they were at home.

With that, Elenea slowed down as she stopped in her tracks, both of her hands on her knees as she panted.

Seeing her twin sister this way, Aranea jogged in place as she looked at her sister with concern in her eyes.

"Are you alright? Do you want to stop?"

"I..." Elenea heaved her breaths as she looked at her sister then answered, "I think I would have to take a rest after a few more rounds," she added, still persevering as she started running again, a smile on Aranea's face appearing.

"Okay then! Don't force yourself, alright?"

But still, Elenea wanted to work hard.

She had to admit that she had become confident of her magic skills without even building up her stamina.

Now that they are about to have their specific ordeal in a forest that was said to be dangerous, she knew that she had to make up for the lost time that she wasted not working out.

Even though this is just a small effort, it would have to work.

***

After warming up, the three finally did their stretching.

Aranea didn't even break a sweat compared to Elenea, whose face was already beet red, with sweat trickling down her face.

After stretching, she sat back down on the tree stump as Leonel and Aranea decided to do a friendly spar to test each other's limits.

In this way, they could also see each other's strengths and weaknesses. Once they do, they could use their strengths to their advantage, and they could take their weaknesses in mind and help each other improve.

"Okay... so I let you attack me, Aranea. If I attack back, make sure you do your best to defend. I will keep up with your pace. If I see you improving, I'll take it up a notch and see what we could do," he instructed, making Aranea nod as she did her fighting stance.

"Okay. Got it."

"Alright."

Leonel took a deep breath, then released it. His eyes then turned serious as he locked eyes with Aranea, signaling the start of their spar as he beckoned to her.

"Begin."

"Ha!"

In a blink of an eye, Leonel was quite surprised to see the speed of Aranea.

In just three strides from her run, she had appeared before Leonel, already clenching her right hand into a tight fist as it charged towards his face.

"Quicker, Aranea," he said as he blocked her punch, his left hand holding her fist effortlessly.

"Ya!"

Aranea then did a spin as she lifted her other leg, kicking Leonel's side. He slightly winced as he backed away, a grin appearing on his face as he did a defensive stance, his eyes carefully watching the opponent before him to observe her movements.

"Your speed needs a little improvement, but your strength is passable," he commented, Aranea's expression serious as she waited for the next instruction. "Continue."

"Okay!"

With that, Aranea charged at him again as she did another series of punches and kicks.

As the spar went on and with Leonel successfully blocking all of her blows with ease, Aranea started picking up her pace with each passing second, making the nonchalant expression on Leonel's face change as he furrowed his brows.

'She's picking up... I could surprise her already.'

With that in thought, Leonel's defensive stance changed in an instant when he shifted his body for an offense. With a quick turn, he charged a kick, aiming at Aranea's face.

'What the--'

Aranea put both of her hands in front of her face for protection. The moment Leonel's leg hit her arms, the girl's last-minute change to defend herself had protected her from his attack.

Leonel smiled in approval as he saw how Aranea was able to detect the change in his actions.

"Very good, Aranea," he said, the girl panting as she stood straight, shaking her hands and arms as well.

She felt that Leonel put a little bit of force in the kick, but it was not enough to completely injure her.

"You protected yourself well, but you realized at the last minute. We have to build your sense of urgency as this is going to help you if you did so. We will focus on your defense," he added, Aranea nodded as she listened to him.

"Noted."

With that, Leonel removed his shirt, revealing his perfectly chiseled body before Aranea.

The girl before him widened her eyes as Elenea's mouth was agape, watching the two right before her eyes.

'Leonel... he's too hot!'

"Now..."

Leonel trailed off as he put his shirt on the tree stomp beside him.

With his right palm showing as he extended his arm, his spear appeared, making it spin as he did a stance, telling Aranea the next instruction of the training.

"Go on full defense and block my attacks. I'll be attacking with my spear now."