Strength and Rivalry 1.112

All the members of the Hera family had retired, and in the training dome only Viggo, Odysseus, and Kain remained. The three sitting on the concrete floor in a lotus position forming the three tips of a triangle.

-What did you come to, master?- asked Odysseus in a respectful tone.

Kain curved his lips forming a small smile and said -to see how they were training my son. I left them more than two months ago and the only thing I can see is that the amount of mana produced by his body increased-

-I'm sorry- Odysseus said -it's hard to teach another-

-Quiet, I know. I don't come to interrupt your class, even if that was the case. I just come to give you some tips-

Odysseus nodded, and Kain smiled at seeing him so serious. Ever since he was a child, Odysseus was always like this. That made him inflexible, but diligent at the same time. Kain denied remembering the boy who came to Orario carrying an old sword and smiled.

-You see, Odysseus: as I told you at the beginning, in martial arts many base their techniques on the elements. Either Stone (which could be earth), Water, wind, and sky (which the latter is the combination of the three elements mentioned above). The fact is, form a mental image of what you want to do. In this case, if you were to use a sword, the stone is hard and still; you could assimilate it to a firm posture of consecutive and inflexible cuts. While the water posture could be of wide movements imitating the waves of the sea. Now why am I telling you this? So, you have an idea of how to explain to Viggo to manipulate his touki-

Odysseus nodded and pressed his lips with a full-focused expression.

-On the other hand- Kain continued -from now on, let no one come to look at Viggo's practices. Knowledge can be shared, but important things must be earned-

-I will keep it in mind, master- Odysseus replied

Kain nodded and stood up from the ground.

-Are you leaving yet?-

-Yes, I would come to see Hera and she tell me that you were training. I wanted to come to see and ended up hogging your time. Sorry-

-I don't know, I needed some inspiration-

Kain smiled, put his left palm on his right palm, and pulled a long golden bracelet from his ring. Then he looked at Viggo and threw it at him. Viggo shortcut the long bracelet and stared at Kain.

-And this?- asked Viggo.

-The shield that Kiara ordered me- Kain replied -I was talking to the Xiao and he gave me some good ideas. Put on your bracelet-

Viggo put the gold bracelet on his left forearm. The long piece of metal covered almost his entire forearm. On the outside it had a long piece of metal like a long hand of a watch two centimeters thick. Viggo looked at him like an ornament and asked his father with his gaze.

Kain smiled and said -Inject your mana-

To which Viggo nodded, he channelled his mana into his arm and the bracelet absorbed the energy. From the hand came two pieces of metal that extended towards them and unfolded metal triangles as if they were a fan until they formed a large shield.

Viggo and Odysseus looked on in total surprise.

-You?- said Viggo in a voice full of surprise -did you copy my master's shield?-

-It wasn't easy, it was a pretty smart and funny thing- Kain replied with a look full of satisfaction -However, once you understand the trick behind it, it's easy to modify it. So, I added my own variant-

-Is that?-

-Look at the shield in front and see the whitish aura-

Viggo retracted his arm and advanced his face to look at the front of the shield. It was as his father said, he had a kind of whitish aura all over the surface of the shield. Viggo noticed that instead of the shield having the symbol of Sparta like that of his master, it had the diabolical emblem of his father. More than a sign, it looked like a horned demon.

-Dissatisfied?- asked Kain jokingly without ever losing his smile.

Viggo denied and said -even though I don't like it, I'm still a Dragonroad-

-Hey, my symbol doesn't mean anything bad. It is the emblem of balance; it combines very well with your red hair-

-If father says so-

-Well, when you want to learn the family business, you build yourself a shield with your own emblem-

Kain let out a sigh and turned around to walk to the door.

-What does the aura do?-

-It's a mana-fed spell, it's called the "Great Magic Barrier"- Kain said as his voice reverberated through the dome -right now it could withstand a blow from Odysseus with all his might, but it would drain all your mana instantly. Be cautious, it's a good shield, but it doesn't make you invincible-

-You would have done something more practical- Viggo said angrily. Thinking of his father's explanation, it means that the more he occupies the shield, the more mana he will consume. He didn't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

At the same time, Odysseus looked at Viggo as if he were an idiot who is not even able to realize how lucky he is. A shield capable of withstanding the blow of a level 9 with all its strength is a legendary artifact. It may even be unique in the world and has never done something so crazy in the entire history of mankind-

Kain stopped about twenty meters from them and turned around -your mother also made an arc for you. Stop by the house in the afternoon. The other day she was crying that her son forgot about her and changed her for other women-

-Okay, Father, and thank you for the shield-

-I thought you didn't like it?-

-A little, but anyway thank you-

Kain snapped his tongue and let out a chuckle. Then he turned around and left the dome leaving Viggo and Odysseus. They watched them disappear behind the door.

-Well, now that we have an idea, let's get back to training- Odysseus said.

Viggo nodded, took off his bracelet, and left it on the side of the arena. Then he returned to Odysseus and took his boxing posture. Odysseus told him some of his appreciations regarding what Kain said and mixed it with his personal experiences. However, Viggo's times remained, lasting 35 seconds without retaining the touki and five minutes when he controlled it. In each case, the result was uneven. With 35 seconds Viggo could exert the strength of a level 7 of rank H. On the other hand, when Viggo controlled the touki he endured five minutes, but his strength only reached level 6 and his whole body ended up sore.

At the end of the day, Viggo asked Sakura and Ana to go home without him, as he was staying training for a couple more hours. After that he continued to train with Odysseus, but when the night came, Odysseus told him that it would be counterproductive to continue training, so he told him to go home. Odysseus went to his room in the Hera family mansion and Viggo was left alone.

The dome was in complete silence and the only light there was the one that illuminated the center of the arena, where Viggo was standing. Outside of that, everything was in darkness.

Viggo stood still in the center of the arena and looked at the darkness as if wanting to find the answer to his discomfort. Odysseus had told him that he did not need to be taught beyond helping him hone his combat skills. Which in itself discouraged Viggo, since he understood that he had no room for improvement. In that respect, although his master was a sullen guy, he was a hundred times better than Odysseus.

At that moment when Viggo was elevating Kratos' position as a master, the dome door opened, and a long dark silhouette came in. He was moving in his direction and by the way he walked, Viggo knew it was his father.

-Did I think you were gone yet?- Viggo asked

Kain's footsteps reverberated in the silent dome as the large silhouette grew larger, until he reached the circle of light that illuminated the arena. White hair and elven appearance, it was his father.

-If I come back without you, your mother will kill me- Kain said with a smile on his lips.

-It may seem like that, but I get the impression that she would like to take Sakura and Ana as daughters instead of me-

-Is the great Viggo jealous of his wives?-

Viggo blushed and looked away. Kain let out a chuckle and walked over until he was one meter away from Viggo.

-What's wrong? no breakthrough?- Kain asked

Viggo shook his head as he looked at the ground.

Kain patted him on the shoulder and ask -What about that face? It's not the end of the world. Come on, your old man will give you some of those philosophical tips that you like so much-

Viggo made an uncomfortable smile and looked at his face thinking that Kain was telling him a joke as usual. However, Kain's face was serene, with his blue eyes focused on him as he analysed his attitude with his gaze.

-You know I'm not good at those philosophical things- Viggo said with a smile.

-I know, boy, I'm your father- Kain said, reaching out in the direction of the ground and inviting him to sit down. Once the two were seated, Kain took out a few glasses and a bottle of Estus. Viggo seeing the bottle, licked his lips.

-Father, what is this? Nothing I've tried taste like it. It is, it is so, I would not know how to describe it, but I feel happy when I try it-

-It's called Estus- Kain said -it's a combination of herbs and some bloods and bones of special animals-

Viggo frowned and thought he better not have asked. Kain let out a chuckle at the sight of his face, poured two glasses, and held one to Viggo. He took his, Kain offered a toast, and the two glasses collided.

After drinking a long sip, Kain said -Odysseus told me they didn't have any progress even though they were training all day-

Viggo frowned and told him -he told me that we better leave it here, that to keep trying in a state of tiredness would be counterproductive-

-What else?-

Viggo looked him in the eye and looked down -he said I only lacked combat experience and polishing my skills. That I could only hone my skills and increase my combat experience-

-Aha- Kain replied, nodding.

-Aren't you going to say anything?- Viggo asked angrily.

-Well, what can I tell you? In part, Odysseus is right. Continuing to insist on something when you are too tired will be counterproductive. You need to break the rhythm by doing something different and come back later with a renewed mind.

-I don't understand-

Kain let out a sigh and continued -on the other hand, Odysseus is learning to train someone else. It is different to give instructions than to teach someone to fight. In the first case only the result matters regardless of whether the person understood what he was doing. Instead, teaching a person becomes a failure if the person being taught doesn't understand what they're doing. Even a monkey could learn to play cards, but only a warrior can think, improve, and keep progressing. However, to achieve such a breakthrough, you need to know where you are going wrong. Can you perceive where you are going wrong?-

Viggo denied as he squeezed his lips, took another sip of his cup, and looked at the ground, as if there was the answer. Kain stretched out his hand and took his chin and looked up at him.

-Do not look at the ground, there are no answers. Think about what you always do and look for the pattern-

-I don't understand, father-

-Don't give up so soon- said Kain, releasing his chin -think about how you did it before. You told me that your master praised you for your skills-

Viggo nodded and said -he told me I had good instincts- and just hearing those words, took Viggo to a moment of contemplation where all his experiences went through his head.