Chapter 21 part 2 Chopping Woods

"you're doing it wrong, lad." Old man said, looking at my messy work.

"Sorry, Old man"I scratched my head, feeling embarrassed destroying so much woods.

"You are using too much of your strength, lad..Hmmm...How should I explain this.... can you give me the axe first, I'll give you a demonstration" Old man stretched out his hand, asking for the axe. I quickly handed it over to him in response.

"The secret in chopping woods is the posture. You need to stand with your feet placed evenly, shoulder-width apart. If you find it more comfortable, you can stand with one foot slightly in front of the other. Don't exaggerate it, though, because it'll prevent you from using your hips to add power to the swing, which is the secret to effective, low-effort wood splitting." Old man executed all the things he said in a way without any excess movement. It felt like every moves were performed in an accurate manner. 

"handling the axe is also important,  your dominant hand should be just beneath the axe head and your other hand is in the base of the handle" he demonstrated, firmly holding the axe with both of his hands. I copied every move the old man did, using a stick I found nearby.

"Then raise the axe above your head and let it drop!"

Pak! 

Two evenly cut piece of wood fell down from the each side. 

"No need to use strength trying to execute a huge swing. when the axe drops, your dominant should slide down and meet your other hand at the base of the axe handle and bend your knees and pull your hips back so that your butt sticks out. This will add energy to your swing"

While watching the old man repeat a slow swinging movement of the axe, I finally realized my mistakes. The way he handled the axe was not ordinary, there was a different feeling. I already felt it before, the air around him was very familiar.  It was like a veteran, someone who used a weapon not in wood cutting but in battle,  just like old man Ornn.

"and make sure to aim for a point midway between the edge of the round and the center. Trying to split it in the center will be more difficult because of the way wood fibers hold the whole thing together. The edges are weaker and easier to split. Once you've split a round once, it'll be easier to split it further into smaller pieces" old man Arnold split another log in two equal halves. 

"okay, try it"

"yes" I stretched out my right hand and grabbed the handle of the wooden axe which old man Arnold held out.

"Let's do this!" I took a deep breath. This time I tried to concentrate not to be concerned about the force. I kept focusing on the movement and posture of my entire body in my consciousness while I raised the axe up above my head. I drew power from bending my knees and pulling my hips back which was added into the falling momentum of my arms and flowed through my hand towards the axe. I let the axe fall by itself, remembering to slide my dominant hand.

"Hiyaaah!"

Pak! 

What I hit was not between the edge of the round and the center but the center of the wood. I felt a great resistance, the axe dug itself halfway in the wood.

"Not bad,  Lad, But make sure hit it in the edge not in the center. Another one, make sure to remember the feeling!"

"Y-yes"

The next one was no good too. But after that, Old Man Arnold kept watching me, Giving advice here and there as I continued chopping the woods, I forgot how many times it was before I finally cut the wood into two perfect halves. 

"At last!" I collapse myself on the  patch of grass, panting heavily. It felt like I've done aerobics exercise.  There were so much steps included for just cutting woods.

"That's good one kid!  remember the exact feeling when you did that one....What are you lying there,  It's not even finish yet" Old man Arnold looked at me cross arms. 

"Hahah,  Just a moment, old man. Let me rest for a bit" I chuckled, feeling the cold breeze of the morning air.

"By the way, Old man,  Is there any way to earn money fast? "

"Hmmm. Money huh?  Well, There are a lot of ways, Business and such, but It depends on what you want?" Old man Arlold answered.

"Is there anything where I can earn while travelling? "

"hmmmmmmm, travelling while earning money, Being an adventurer is a wise choice since you are a soldier,  there is also the caravan which travels while selling merchandises" Old man suggested.

'Being an adventurer huh, I'm kinda interested in being one. Caravan is kinda hard, I didn't even know what will I sell if I decided that route you will also need a lot of money' I inwardly thought.

"Old man, can you tell me more about being an adventurer?  If my prediction is correct, you're an ex-adventurer right?" I already realized that old man Arnold was an adventurer. Well, there's no way a man like that will be a normal person.

"Hoh,  You can tell? "

"Well,  there was this air in you that tells me that you are a veteran in fighting,  just the thing you taught me was not simple at all, it will take many experience to master that but you easily did it. I think the way you do those moves can also be use in a real battle, I just don't know how"