Focus

Avic sat quietly with sweat peeking from his forehead. His eyes were shut tight and a few veins webbed across the side of his head. His face was slightly swollen and his nose was bleeding moderately. He outstretched his right arm which glowed bright red with Hemo Energy as he did his best to maintain his concentration.

Before him, stood one of the humanoid figures made of Hemo Energy that Amon had summoned. Avic's goal was to control and absorb the humanoid mass of Hemo Energy by connecting his Hemo Energy to it. However, this was proving to be quite difficult.

Every time Avic lost focus, the mass of Hemo Energy would attack him. He had already taken a total of twenty-five punches which was starting to make the feeling in his face go numb. He had suffered ten punches for falling asleep, five for lack of control, and another ten for losing focus.

Eliisabet and Custos were also undergoing similar training. They had each been given a mass of Hemo Energy to control as well. However, unlike Avic, they were having a much better experience. Custos was basically a prodigy as he had controlled and absorbed the mass of Hemo Energy on his first try which came as a surprise to everyone.

Eliisabet was not as gifted as Custos but unlike Avic, the mass of Hemo Energy hadn't hit her a single time. She was even beginning to slowly absorb it which meant that she would attain the control needed to create a proper Bloodline Art very soon.

"Avic, how haven't you even started absorbing the mass of Hemo Energy yet?" Sighed Amon. "Even Eliisabet is starting to get the hang of it. Not to mention that it's been over five hours now..."

"I'll make progress soon!" He answered loudly. "Just give me a few more minutes and I'll have this down!"

"I expected you to be the best of the three since you already had enough control to create one Bloodline Art already. But instead, you seem to be the worst..."

"Look, Old Man, I don't know what's up with Eliisabet and Custos but they're obviously monsters-"

Avic was interrupted as a solid punch slammed into the side of his face, sending him smashing into the wall with a painful crash. He had lost focus resulting in the mass of Hemo Energy attacking him. Amon facepalmed and gave a bothered sigh as soon as he saw this.

"Avic, are you okay?!" Squealed Eliisabet.

"Maybe you should focus so you don't get punched as well," warned Custos.

"Don't worry! I'm finished absorbing mine now, see?"

"Oh wow... Not bad!"

Amon then walked over to Avic before slightly kicking him in the side.

"Avic, wake up and stop pretending to be unconscious! Even Eliisabet is finished with hers and you're still hanging behind them like a pair of shriveled old balls!"

Avic sighed, picking himself up, "Man, this is a major pain in the ass... Why is life so unfair? I just can't do it! I think the mass of Hemo Energy doesn't like me!"

"Since Avic is so bad at controlling Hemo Energy, isn't there another way he could try to get better at controlling it?" Asked Custos.

"When it comes to learning how to create Bloodline Arts, this is the easiest method out there. Mastering this method gives you the minimal control required to create a decent attack. Besides, it's not that Avic is bad at controlling Hemo Energy. If that were the case then he wouldn't have been able to use that Bloodline Art against that Sicarius he fought. It's just that he has terrible focus."

Amon then snapped his fingers causing Avic's mass of Hemo Energy to disperse. Avic immediately threw himself up after seeing this.

"Wait! What are you doing?! Why did you disperse the Hemo Energy? You aren't failing me are you?!!"

"Sigh... I could threaten to fail you and see if that gives you more motivation to take this more seriously but I don't have time for that. We need to move onto the next step for now."

"The next step?" Inquired Eliisabet.

"Yes. Fortunately, this next step doesn't require Hemo Energy so we don't have to worry about Avic slowing us down... hopefully... But it's as simple as choosing a weapon that matches your battle style and physique."

"And how do we go about choosing a weapon?" Asked Avic.

"Simply by choosing a random weapon then testing how compatible you are with it."

"You're making no sense, Old Geezer... Can't anyone become compatible with any weapon with enough training?"

"Yes, but not exactly. While one can surely train themselves with a specific weapon, it might take longer compared to other weapons. The reason for this is compatibility. Let's take Eliisabet, for example. Based on her physique, it's easy to say that training her with a small sword would be easier than training her with a larger heavier sword. Choosing the correct weapon to battle with is extremely important. If you force yourself to use a weapon that isn't compatible with you then you're bound to be a lot less efficient in a fight. It is vital to use weapons that suit you."

Amon then turned around before walking over to a pile of weapons stacked together in a small box. He then tossed weighty iron swords to both Avic and Custos and a small dagger to Eliisabet.

Avic struggled to hold the sword properly. It was much heavier than the wooden sword he had been using previously. On the other hand, Custos seemed quite adept with his. He swung it from side to side with a single hand as if he was waving a small piece of wood. In short, he looked quite adept with it as if he was already accustomed to using swords.

"Wow, Custos! You look like a natural!" Beamed Eliisabet with joy.

"Damn it! Life is too unfair! I can barely hold mine with both hands! Why is Custos handling himself so easily?! It's just not fair!!" Argued Avic.

"Stop your complaining, Avic. We're about to do the next test so prepare yourself," warned Amon.

"The next test? What will it be this time?"

A devious smirk then wiped itself across Amon's lips before answering.

"Well, to see how compatible you are with a weapon, you first have to test it out. You'll be dueling amongst yourselves..!"