Aaron guided us to his house. Since it was supposedly a Holy Knights house, I thought that it would be a grand mansion or something along those lines, but I was sorely mistaken. It was just a plain cottage made of bricks.

[Hahahaha, I dare to bet, that you were expecting a grander house]

[To be honest, yes I did]

[Being honest is fine. But, I wonder if its alright for the young lady here?]

At Aarons question, Myne simply replied by shaking her head.

[Oya, she seems to be in a bad mood]

[Dont let that bother you. Myne is always like that]

[I see]

Aaron opened the door with a slightly downcast look on his face, then invited us to enter.

Its not like Myne completely doesnt give a damn about others. When were still travelling, I saw her actively spoke to others too. I can partially understand her as I too am the holder of similar kind of skill. Like me, Myne is a solitary warrior who only believe in her own strength. I guess she also has her own battle to fight.

After we entered Aarons house, I realized that it was nothing more than a room. Aaron said while laughing.

[This house was built by the villagers. Originally, there was no village at all here. After seeing me slayed monsters again and again, people who had lost their home due to monster attacks, gathered together around me, and build a village. Then, it became my, the village chief, responsibility to protect the village tirelessly]

Although it seemed troublesome, I guess it wasnt that bad. Its a good way to spend time, rather than just waiting here to die.

Aaron kept talking while serving us some tea.

[I told the villagers that since Im old already, I wont be able to protect them for too long. However, I would still linger here as long as I can since I have nowhere else to go]

[These villagers, are they planning to die alongside Aaron-sama? ]

[No need for the honorifics. Simply Aaron will do. That is what has been troubling me lately. After I die, these people wont survive for long against monsters attacking.]

Aaron couldnt do anything about it, and he had given up on trying to persuade them..

[Could it be that, you want me to replace you in guarding this village? ]

[Hahaha, fanciful thought. How could I ask you, someone who only came here by chance?]

[Then, why are you training me? ]

I doubt that hell train someone unknown like me without any ulterior motives. Especially after hearing that backstory.

Aaron then looked at me with a serious face.

[It is just my selfish wish. I just wanted to leave behind my legacy through you. Can you at least fulfill this old mans wish?]

[A legacy]

As I said that, I looked around the room, and noticed a picture on the shelf next to the bed. It was a picture of a family. The father was probably Aaron when he was younger. And next to him was a beautiful, black haired wife.

There was a boy in between the both of them, sporting a triumphant smile. A holy sword toy replica in his hand.

[Thatthat picture is? ]

[That was my family. Back then, when I still worked for the kingdom, I often couldnt go home due to my duties. But unfortunately, they were killed during a monster invasion while I was away at Gallia. Now all I can do is wait for my day to come while looking at their picture on the bedside in remorse. Its such a laughable story]

[No, it wasntIm sorry to hear that]

The boy in the picture resembled me somewhat. Perhaps, Aaron was subtituting me for his son? I may have think too farWas he trying to atone his sins and remorse by doing so?

When I looked at Aarons gloomy expression, I guessed that it was very likely.

=====

The next day, Myne was yawning relaxingly under the shade of a tree. That seemed nice. But I couldnt do the same.

Because there are only two days left, Aaron had been training me since early in the morning.

Guhaa I got hit three times in my gut, Im done for.

[You cannot afford to look away.]

[Hold on, why cant we take it a little slower? We are going way too fast, I wont be able to grasp anything unless we go a little slower.]

[Ho, but the way I see it, you are managing]

Ara, did I push the wrong button? Although fighting bare-handed was the best way to control our stats, one wrong move could still cause serious injury.

According to Aaron, simulating a tense situation would improve the training quality. But well, stuffing 3 years worth of training into 3 days seemed to be a little overkill.

Thats why he used the practical method rather than teaching me orally.

But I suppose it really worked in a way. Since my body was forced to react without giving me a chance to think, it autonomously controlled the stats usage accordingly to meet the demands.

The training went on till the sun was above our head..

[Fumu, your form has improved a little. Its much earlier than I expected. You did good.]

[Did I? I feel like Im about to die now]

I was able to train so feverishly thanks to auto recovery skill, but the accumulated strain was getting back to me now.

Che, at times like this. Ever since back then, Ive been continuing with the practice to suppress the urge from being in starving state. But when my focus is slipping away, the urge kicked back in full force.

This familiar feeling, my right eye mustve been already dyed in red. I have to cover it up. No, I cant afford to do that when Im up against Aaron. One eye alone wont be enough to keep up with his assault. It cant be helped.

[Nn? What is this? Strangeyour eye turned red. Similar to Mynes]

[My eye color changes when I get excited]

[But that means, Myne is perpetually excited]

Upon hearing that, Myne started to toy around with her black axe. Did I accidentally excite her in a wrong way? Shes glaring at me now.

Aaaaa. I just cant lie properly at all. With a troubled look on my face, I gestured to Aaron to continue.

[Now, please continue.]

[Its good if you are motivated. Then, here I go]

This it feels like Im seeing Aarons movement in advance. The semi-starving state seems to make me be even more perceptive than ever. Did it somehow synergize with the effect of the training?

[What is this, your movement has gotten a bit better]

[Its because of Aarons teachings. Alright then, here I come]

The important thing in a fight against human is observing their footwork. I can predict their next move by looking at the movement of lower body. This is something that Aaron had taught me. If the step is deep, then its an actual blow. On the contrary, if the step is shallow, then its just a feint. My eyes were accustomed to only see the arms that are coming to attack before. But turns out that footwork is also something important to take note.

I saw that, here!

[Oooyou got me there]

I blocked Aarons fist, dashed in, and stopped when my punch is only inch away from his nose.

Well. that was made possible by the semi-starving state. Normally, I couldnt reach this level yet. But thanks to semi-starving state boosting my physical abilities, I was able to pull off some ridiculous move there..with this I should be able to fight human opponent.

[When your eye turned red, your movement became sharper as if youve changed into someone else. Was that really your strength? But at the same time, I sensed that it place a burden on your heartis it some form of training? ]

[Pretty much]

Smiling a bitter smile, I became curious of Aarons stats

The other party also used one to investigate me before. So why shouldnt I?

I activated Appraisal.

Aaron Barbatos Lv 180

Durability: 3244000

Strength: 3856000

Magic: 3948000

Spirit: 3874000

Agility: 4098000

Ability:

My. All of his stats are over 3 millions. Hes much stronger than I am!

The ability mightve been rendered invisible due to a certain skill.

Regardless, those are the stats of a top Holy knight.

While I was amazed at Aarons stats, he threw another advice at me.

[Never attempt to use appraisal skill directly from the front. That skill causes distinct eye movement, making your opponent aware that you are trying to investigate them]

[I see]

[Well, its natural for you to have no idea about it. Even if you observe me carefully, you wouldnt be able to tell]

A top level warrior can even detect the usage of appraisal skill? Later on, Ill try to look at the mirror to see how my eyes move when I use appraisal skill.

Aaron then proceed to teach me another useful tip.

[There is a way to temporarily obstruct appraisal skill]

[Id really want to know about that]

Ill be thankful to have such a technique since my stats differ exponentially if compared to normal people. I also dont want to have my informations be known during battle.

[Try it, use the appraisal skill on me]

As told, I used Appraisal skill.

Wa!? My eyes was suddenly blinded for a short while. What on earth have he done?

[When you used the appraisal skill on me, I unleashed my magic power inside my body. With proper timing, it will disable appraisal skill and also blind the observers eyes temporarily. Not a lot of people know about this little trick nowadays, But it still has its use. You should remember this]

[Thank you very much]

[Alright, lets go have a lunch break]

[Yes]

I learned various things. Greed did teach me how to fight, but he never told me anything about foundation and whatnots.

Thats why I truly understood the importance of Aarons training. Surely it would someday prove useful in the right situation.