Training

As I stepped into the mansion's training hall, the atmosphere immediately caught my attention. It wasn't just a space, it was a living proof to the countless duels that had unfolded within it. You could almost feel the echoes of clashes and the determination lingering in the air - thousands of hours poured into breaking limits, honing skills, and striving for mastery. My gaze shifted towards the center where I saw three likely magical puppets. I don't remember seeing them in my memory, so I guessed George had them prepared beforehand. What further seized my interest were vast weapons placed on the table located on the left side of the training grounds. I saw swords, daggers, battle axes, bows and so much more. It seems like any weapon that exists out there would be in this stand. As I was thinking about whether to pick a sword or a dagger, George has pulled me back to earth.

"Young master it really seems like you are eager to train. However, as you are still recovering I think you shouldn't strain your body. That's why just today we will practise throwing the knives. As you awakened, it won't be as simple as throwing a piece of metal towards a puppet. I posses a shadow element that is similar to the darkness in most aspects so I will be teaching you how to imbue your element into the weapon. Observe me carefully." George then pulled out of his sleeve 2 throwing knives and closed his eyes. After a second I could see some kind of dark energy surrounding the blade and after it reached the tip of the knife George threw it so quickly that I couldn't even register it. I looked towards one of the puppets just so see it was pierced by the knife which later bounced off the training hall's wall.

"What happened to the knife when you threw it, were you so fast that I couldn't even see it?" I was curious about a lot of things, however I asked this as I think his shadow element was somehow related to it.

"Impressive, I didn't think Young master would notice it so early. What you think is indeed correct. I threw the knife with a big speed, however I restrained myself, so normally you would still be able to see it. What made the knife... let's say invisible for the eye, was the shadow element. It essentially concealed the knife within its shadow. Another question you might have is - "Isn't it deadly then?". No, unless you are way stronger than your opponent usually this technique is effective against unawakened humans. The piercing strength or making it less visible is useless against awakeners who can simply reinforce their body with an element and if they do it with their eyes such a little trick won't work at all." George seemed to guess all my unasked questions and answered them all. This gave me a lot of insight and thinking about future possibilities that affinity gives to a person motivated me a lot to train.

"Can I try? And don't explain the process to me yet, I want to try on my own." I said to George to not explain the imbuing to me as I wanted to see If I could do it myself.

"Of course young master, here, a throwing knife" He passed me another knife and gave some space to let me focus.

I closed my eyes and imagined the darkness within my core flowing through my veins and transferring onto the blade I held. At the beginning nothing happened, but then I felt darkness moving inside me. I opened my eyes and it seems that I was currently imbuing the weapon. I looked at George who quickly hid his surprise and nodded at me.

<What a monstrous talent> George thought.

Having fully infused the knife with darkness and unable to share it any longer, I threw the knife. It was the first time I did it in this new body, so it went a little off but I still hit the target, which was the left puppet. It didn't pierce it, but it was expected since I had neither strength or a well developed core.

"Congratulations Young master on imbuing the weapon on your first try. Not only that, but without any help from me. I'm looking forward to see your talent. Since you did it really well and you only need to work a bit on your aim I guess we won't bother with throwing knives anymore. Just practise a little when you have time. Anyway, I guess I will be going back on my word to the Lady and will train a sword with you today." As George concluded his words he went to the weapon stand and took two wooden swords. He gave me one, stood next to me and instructed on watching him.

"Young master, I'm sure you know the basics of the sword now, as your father would try to train you sometimes. So I will skip explaining to you the stab, slash, pierce and other basics. Let me show you another simple usage of the affinity that you have. The best affinities for that are darkness and fire, however shadow still does its job at it. I'm about to show you the "Affinitial weapon extension", which is a type of imbuement that can extend the range of your weapon. Contrary to the earlier technique that I've shown you, this one doesn't focus on improving or changing the properties of the weapon, its purely to use your affinity energy in an offensive way. Watch the sword."

I observed the sword he was holding, and I noticed the shadow materializing at the tip, gradually solidifying. If now this shadow could bring harm, then it would be indeed really useful. Now the question is for how long it could stay like this and by how much the reach could increase.

"This is the technique, however that's all I can do with my affinity. In case of shadow, even though I could show it to you, it's only because of my high control of it. The affinitial weapon extension in my case won't be able to harm anyone at all and is purely cosmetical. The difference with the first technique, which was "Weapon property imbuement" was that I changed the shadow of the weapon itself, making it sharper. In case of range, it's not the weapon that slashes anymore, but the shadow, so I can't do nothing with it." George slowly explained both techniques to me and I understood that he wanted me to realise that the technique's effectiveness depends on mastery of the user over his core and of the technique, but the more important fact is that not every affinity is fit for everything.

"Thank you, I know what you mean. I now realise the possible limits that an affinity can have." It seemed that he was waiting whether I get it, so I simply thanked him. I wondered if George was a simple buttler, with his intelligence and skill I believed that he must be strong.

"I will let you practise on your own now, since I have a very important matter to attend to, please excuse me young master. Since you are still recupering I wouldn't be able to go too hard on you anyway. So please just take it light today and don't overdo it." As he said it he disappeared in the shadows and silently left the hall.

I grabbed the sword tighter and tried to imagine the darkness expanding through my sword. To my disappointment it only went a little bit out of the sword, maybe by about 5 centimeters. Compared to George, who increased the reach by 80, I was once again amazed by him. Besides, it must've been really hard to show it with the shadow.

I realised that I overthink and so I emptied my mind and started fully focusing on training. That went for 4 hours untill I was informed by Vanessa that my family is awaing me at the dinner hall. As I was drenched in sweat I quickly put the sword aside and went to take a bath.