Chapter 4: Training

"Daemon woke up refreshed. He had spent the night thinking about his new life and what he was going to do. He had no attachments in his previous life; few friends or important people. What he would miss was technology: the internet, television, movies, and modern food.

He got up and went to the bathroom. Yesterday he hadn't even thought about looking in the mirror. He approached and observed his features. His eyes were pale blue, his hair blond, his skin white and smooth. Standing approximately 6'1", with an athletic build from training, he was extremely attractive, someone girls in his previous life would have swooned over.

He dressed and went out for breakfast. He found Lyana, his teacher, already eating. She greeted him and he returned the greeting.

"How are you?" Lyana asked.

"Fine," Daemon replied. He knew his teacher had noticed his change in behavior, but honestly, she didn't care. He grabbed a piece of bread, added cheese, and ate in silence.

"Today we'll change the training routine," Lyana said, a smile sending a chill down Daemon's spine. "We'll see if what you said yesterday about taking training seriously is true."

Daemon nodded, though with some nervousness. They finished breakfast and returned to their training spot on the outskirts of town, near the forest. Daemon began stretching his muscles.

"Well," Lyana began, "starting today your training will be more rigorous." Daemon recalled attempting training like this before and failing, as the previous Daemon lacked determination. But now, he was not the same Daemon anymore. He smiled and replied, "Good."

Lyana handed him a wooden sword. "Come, attack me with everything you've got. It's been a while since you and I sparred. I've only been teaching you stances and exercises. Today that changes."

Daemon took his stance. They locked eyes and in the blink of an eye, he attacked. He moved with a speed that would have been impossible in his previous life. He attacked without hesitation and was surprised by his own speed. His eyes widened, as did his teacher's, who didn't expect such speed. It seemed she thought Daemon would either give up or be afraid.

For a moment, Daemon feared hurting his teacher, but in an instant, she dodged with tremendous ease. Daemon continued attacking, attempting to strike his teacher with the wooden sword. Lyana evaded each attack with agility and precision, her body moving with a grace Daemon could only admire.

Finally, with one swift, precise movement, Lyana disarmed Daemon. The wooden sword flew from his hands and landed on the ground a few meters away. Daemon lay on the ground, staring up at the blue sky. He never imagined there would be such a difference between them. It seemed as if his teacher was simply toying with him.

"You've improved, Daemon. But you still have much to learn," Lyana said.

Daemon got up, sighed, and said, "I know. Thank you, teacher."

"Well," Lyana continued, "I've noticed your movements are fast but imprecise. It seems you attack without measuring your moves, you don't assess your opponent's stance, you don't feint. You just attack. An enemy would have killed you easily."

Lyana continued, "You must learn to observe your opponent, anticipate their moves. Use feints to deceive them, change the rhythm of your attacks to keep them off balance. The sword is not just a weapon, it's an extension of your body. I've told you this many times."

Daemon listened attentively, absorbing every word. He knew this knowledge would be crucial and that the previous Daemon had never paid attention.

"Tomorrow I'm going to a meeting with my old adventuring companions," Lyana continued. "I won't be able to train you, but that doesn't mean you should stop learning. I'll leave you a book on techniques and stances to read and memorize. I'll be gone for three days. I expect you'll have learned new things when I return. I'll be evaluating you."

"Okay," Daemon said, nodding.

They arrived back at the mansion and Lyana headed to her room. Meanwhile, Daemon decided to go out and explore the town. He wanted to get to know this place and familiarize himself with his surroundings. Just as he was about to leave, he heard someone calling him.

"Daemon!"

There was a boy his age, short, about 5'5", with dark skin, black hair, and eyes. Daemon remembered this boy's name was Damian, the son of a quite strong adventurer.

"Hello, Daemon," Damian greeted him enthusiastically.

"Hi," Daemon replied, his tone distant.

Damian didn't seem to notice the change in Daemon's attitude and kept talking. "How have you been?"

"Fine," Daemon replied, not very interested.

Damian looked at him for a moment and then asked, "How are things with Lumia? I heard she's enrolling in the Valeria Academy."

Daemon kept his composure and replied, "I don't know and I don't care. Please don't mention Lumia to me."

Damian looked surprised and for a moment didn't know what to say. He finally touched his forehead and asked, "Hey, are you okay?"

Daemon jerked away abruptly. "What do you think you're doing?"

Damian laughed. "I just wanted to make sure you didn't have a fever or something. You suddenly got so serious!"

Daemon rolled his eyes, visibly annoyed. "I'm fine, Damian. I just... I've decided to focus on other things."

Damian looked at him curiously. "Well, if you say so. I was just worried about you. You've always been so... obsessed with Lumia."

Daemon sighed. "Yeah, I know. But things change. And so do I."

"Wow, I never thought this day would come, but I'm glad you finally made that decision, buddy," Damian said with a smile.

Daemon thought about the Valeria Academy. It was an academy in the city of Valeria, two days away. They focused on teaching swordsmanship and magic, and it was one of the most renowned academies on the continent. Later he was going to read a book about geography; He had forgotten many things and it was very important to have that information.

"Hey, hey," Damian said, interrupting his thoughts.

"What?" Daemon replied, seeming not to have heard him.

"It seems like you're not listening to me," Damian said.

"Oh, sorry," Daemon replied.

"Well," Damian continued, "come with me to see my sister. Today she has training with Dad."

"Oh," Daemon said, interested. Damian's father was a Gold rank adventurer. There were five ranks in total, and Gold was the third highest. Damian's father, Priest, was a skilled swordsman and mage, which meant he could fight on both fronts. Daemon got a little excited; he hadn't seen magic yet and wasn't going to miss it.

"Alright," Daemon said, and they both headed off to watch the training.