Training

In a clearing flooded with light, surrounded by tall and ancient trees with thick canopies and dense undergrowth, one could perceive the sounds and scents of the forest.

*Kwik-kwik KWEH-kewh*

one could hear the Tofus squabbling, the leaves rustling in the light and pleasant summer breeze, and a small stream adding its gurgling and bubbling to the soundscape.

*Craw CRAW* a crow flew out of a clearing, disturbed by some strange featherless beings.

"Do your stretching exercises first, and then warm up. Today, you will show me your progress in sword fighting," said a somewhat deep male voice in a commanding tone that left no room for objection.

"Wow, is it finally time? Did you hear that, Kai? Finally, I can defeat you and fulfill our agreement so you won't call me Iop-head anymore."

"In your dreams, Percedal, you'll never be able to do that," said a self-assured voice.

"I like your ambitions you two, but it would be better if you saved it for your training. I started training with my father when I was seven Like you two. It was already hard to convince your mother that you were ready."he said as he remembers the discussion they had.

"I don't like this part. Can't we just fight?" Percedal's impatience was clearly audible. He always saw this part as unnecessary.

"But without such training, you'll never be strong enough to defeat your opponents, and you'll never catch up to Dad without it," said Kairos, who was already circling his shoulders.

"Oh, right, I totally forgot," said Percedal with a look on his face as if he had just had an epiphany.

Their father had already explained to them how to do it. They mostly began by rotating their shoulders, then moved on to arm circles, stretching their arms out to the sides and rotating them in small circles to the left and right, warming up the rest of their arms with circular movements as well.

"Remember to always push yourselves to your limits and try to improve," their father said.

Kairos always took this part of the exercise seriously, making sure to stay agile. This had often helped him evade the hunter and dodge attacks in their game of Boowolf.

Kairos continued with stretching exercises, including side stretches, squats, hip rotations, leg raises, lunges, and straddle stretches and other kinds of this kind of exercises. While Kairos had a talent for streching his body, Percedal never took these exercises seriously, despite Kairos's encouragement. However, Percedal made sure to at least stay flexible.

"I see you have finished your exercises, so you can now begin your further warm-ups, do them as usual," said Adam, Percedal's and Kairos's father.

After three years, the two had already established a strong physical foundation, sword swings, running rounds, Push-ups and more, but this time it was Percedal's area of interest and he went all out.

Kairos was less talented at strengthening his body. He always tried to outdo his brother, but for some reason, the body-strengthening technique his father had given him did not work.

After many rounds at the border of the clearing they had run, the father questioned his children.

"How's your training going with the technique I gave you?" With a questioning look, he gazed at his two children. He had given them a technique that was intendet to strengthening the Iop-physics to maximize their potential.

---> flashback <---

*Percedal and Kairos are five*

"Tell me, do you know the advantage of Iop Race?"

"Iops are super strong," Percedal exclaimed.

"And some can't properly use their heads," Kairos murmured quietly.

"That's right, Percedal . Iop fighters are known for their strength in combat, which is why they are always welcome in missions against strong opponents. And Kai, I've heard that, it's not just the Iops."

"Huh? Sorry," Kairos was a little embarrassed, but sometimes he couldn't understand why his brother was the way he was.

"Iop fighters are so strong because they can strengthen the muscles in their bodies to a very high level using Wakfu. It has higher efficiency and fewer costs for us Iops. It also helps to let us endure a harder beating than others"

"What is Wakfu exactly, Dad?" Kairos had heard of it before but didn't had the chance to ask his father about it in detail.

"Wakfu is in every living being, from a blade of grass to a dragon, which is said to have the most Wakfu, but those are just legends and myths."

"Whoa, dragons... I want to fight them someday!" Percedal announced with enthusiasm, standing up with a clenched fist.

"Didn't you listen? There are none!" But Kairos couldn't get through with his words as Percedal already fought powerful dragons in his own imagination.

"Ahem," Adam cleared his throat to regain both their attention.

"Let me continue. Wakfu is produced in certain amounts by all living beings. This power can then be controlled by your will and mentality. Therefore, Wakfu can be controlled and even influenced by emotions. For example, Wakfu can be stronger with a pure heart and the intention of doing good, but it can also be the opposite. Someone with pure evil intentions or the will to destroy things can convert Wakfu energy into Stasis energy, which is the energy of evil."

Kairos listened with directed concentration to his father, but Percedal was also interested.

"Today I will show you how to feel and control your Wakfu, and over the next few days, I will also show you how the technique works. It's not too difficult," , 'although I am worried about you Percy' he added, with a thought.

"Why are you looking at me like that, Dad?" asked Percedal, surprised when his father looked at him with a serious and concerned expression.

"It's nothing, everything is fine... now sit in a comfortable position, close your eyes, concentrate only on yourself, and try to feel a warm pulsating energy within you."

...

...

---> flashback end <---

"I don't know how to move my energy from my center to all my body parts at once, it's too much," just thinking about it made young Percedal's head spin.

"It only works with one arm or one leg so far," he said, dismayed and somewhat desperate at the thought of not being able to defeat strong opponents quickly enough.

Kairos, on the other hand, had an even harder time. He could barely feel his Wakfu; it was as if it wasn't there at all. However, he could already move the little Wakfu he possessed, but it wasn't enough for effective use to strengthen his muscles.

"..ai, Kai!!" Percedal waved his hand in front of his face and called his name, successfully pulling him out of his thoughts. Only now did he realize how both of them were looking at him and how deeply he was lost in his thoughts about the past.

"So... umm... it's progressing...but very slowly, Dad," said Kairos, somewhat embarrassed, with a slight head scratch. He could feel his father's disappointment; he was weak, weaker than Percedal.

He had taken on the goal of fighting with his other strength... his mind, or more precisely, his intelligence. It had always been easy for him to learn and remember new things.

"Are you ready? I am going to throw this stone up," Adam said, showing them the medium-sized stone in his palm.

"When this stone hits the ground, the fight begins. Let's go." He threw the stone up, and it disappeared into the bright light of the sun.

However, Percedal and Kairos were not focused on how high the stone flew, but rather on when it would hit the ground. Both looked at each other with a focused and serious expression, gripping their swords with a double-handed grip. They faced each other.

*Thud*

"HaaaAA!" Percedal charged towards Kairos with a fierce battle cry, his sword held tightly in both hands.

Kairos, aware of his physical weakness, remained calm and focused. He knew that his technique was his only chance at winning this fight.

Percedal moved his sword to the left side and charged forward, gaining momentum and power from his hip movement. With a quick duck, Kairos avoided the horizontal strike and aimed for Percedal's now-open left side.

"argh"

He hit Percedal in the hip with his sword in the right hand, causing Percedal to wince in pain.

Percedal quickly retaliated with a powerful vertical strike that hit Kairos's already raised sword. Kairos was taken aback by Percedal's strength and found himself in a bad position. He had no choice but to block the attack. The swords clashed, and it was clear that Kairos was no match for Percedal's raw strength. He was eventually pushed back a few steps away and fell on his back. As Percedal attempted a jumping attack with a vertical strike, Kairos rolled to the side just in time to avoid the blow.

Kairos quickly got back up and kicked Percedal with his foot, causing him to fall to the ground. But instead of attacking, Kairos backed off to catch his breath and gather his strength. Percedal got up as well, and they resumed fighting. As the fight continued, Kairos realized how weak he was compared to Percedal. He caught a glimpse of his father watching the fight, analyzing their weaknesses and mistakes.

Percedal struck Kairos with a heavy blow on his shoulder, throwing him a few meters away. Determined to prove himself, Kairos gritted his teeth and used his Wakfu to sprint towards Percedal. With incredible speed, Kairos evaded Percedal's horizontal sword strike, slid one foot forward, and performed a handstand. Using his Wakfu, he strengthened his legs and abdominal muscles, and kicked Percedal in the chin from below.

Percedal found himself in the air, feeling disoriented and in pain. He landed roughly on the hard forest floor head first,and Adam, shocked by the turn of events, could only watch. Kairos had successfully used the body-strengthening technique that he had taught them, and a proud and relieved grin appeared on his face.

"Hey Percy, huh...are you okay?" Kairos asked with heavy breathing.

Percedal, still confused, asked, "What happened?"

Kairos replied with a smile, "I...huh...defeated you."

"Oh."

Kairos helped his brother up, and before they could continue their conversation, their father came over and ruffled their orange hair.

"That was a great performance from both of you in your fight," he praised them, and pride was also evident in his voice.

Both Percedal and Kairos had happy expressions on their faces as their father praised them from the bottom of his heart.

Back at home.

"Huh? Look at these two. You call that a first training fight?"

Percedal had a bump on his head and his chin, while Kairos had a lot of dirt on his face and clothes.

"Ouch," the father exclaimed as he received a punch on the head from his wife.

"How was I supposed to know it would end like this? But look on the bright side, Kairos finally got the technique down."

"Really?" her anger dissipating as she looked at Kairos, who had a big smile on his face and nodded vigorously.

With a smile, she hugged both of them. "Promise me one thing, if you fight each other, don't use anything that can hurt the other too much. You are brothers, not opponents. We all are family."

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Hi, I'm sorry that the chapter is only coming now. I had a few ideas about how to continue the story and had to do some research, which is why the chapter is only coming out today. I hope you like it, if something is not right, let me know in the comments.

Two chapters will be coming out over the weekend if nothing goes wrong, and I will have more time next week, which means I can deliver more chapters. Bye.