The Rise Of Third Rate Villain-Chapter 10 - Training With Leon [IV]

Ah, my second home.

No, seriously. By this time, the training room could just as easily be my real bedroom.

The scent of sweat and steel lingered in the air, the walls scuffed and scratched from countless hours of sword drills, footwork practice, and, let's be honest, me eating dirt more often than not.

I stood in the middle of the training ground, my wooden sword in hand, practicing the forms Leon drilled into me day after day. My movements were fluid now, my strikes precise. The old me? He'd probably keel over in shock seeing this version of Valerian Thorne.

The sword sliced through the air with a satisfying whoosh as I executed a perfect slash, following up with a smooth parry and counterattack.

"Not bad," I muttered to myself, grinning. "Still not Grandmaster material, but hey, one step at a—.

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"Young Master."

I recoiled at the sound of Leon's voice and turned to find him casually leaning against a wall with arms crossed, his grin ever present plastered all over his face.

"Leon, don't sneak up on me like that! I scowled, pointing the wooden sword at him.

"You should've sensed me," he replied, his tone teasing. "Guess you still have a long way to go."

I grumbled under my breath, lowering the sword.

Leon straightened, brushing some imaginary dust off his shoulder. "We haven't had a duel in ages young master don't you think?"

I blinked. "What the hell are you talking about? We spar every day."

"Wrong." He grinned, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "Until now, I've just been teaching you. I've never fought you for real."

My jaw dropped. "Wait. WHAT?"

"You heard me." Leon's voice was calm, but there was an edge to it. "I think it's time. You've already learned everything I can teach you. Your progress... it's monstrous. There's nothing left for me to drill into you. Now it's time to see how far you've come."

I stared at him, trying to process his words.

"You're serious?"

"As serious as your awful villain laugh."

"Ouch, I muttered, though I couldn't argue with that one.

Leon advanced, drawing his training sword, a thin, slightly weighted hardwood blade which he rarely carried. "Let's see if you're ready."

All right, I replied by rolling my shoulders and bracing. "Let's do this."

We moved to opposite ends of the training ground. The air felt heavier as we took our stances. Leon's body was poise and accurate, his gaze steady and alert.

Me? I was sweating buckets already.

"Begin," Leon said simply.

And then he vanished.

I blinked.

"What the—?!"

A blur of motion caught my eye, and suddenly, Leon was behind me. I knew instinctively and turned around immediately to catch his blow.

The impact sent shockwaves through my arms, and before I could even process what happened, the force of his blow sent me flying across the training ground.

My back slammed into the wall with a resounding thud.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME? ! I screamed, coughing as I staggered to my feet. My sword arm shook from the sheer power of that one strike.

"Is this the difference between us? I growled, narrowing my eyes at him."

Leon leaned sideways, a barely perceptible smile crept on his face. 'This is the difference between teaching and fighting, young master.'

"Oh, great. That's comforting," I muttered, gripping my sword tighter.

He came at me again, faster than before. I barely had time to react, parrying his strike at the last second. Sparks sparkled as our wooden blades met, the noise of wood being shattered by wood resounding throughout the room.

Our swords collided again and again, each strike harder than the last. Leon's movements were impossibly fast, his attacks relentless.

But I wasn't the same as before.

I squeezed my jaw trying to concentrate on his patterns, his tempo. Every time our swords met, I adjusted. Adapted.

"Not bad," Leon remarked in his even voice as he delivered another combination of strikes. "You've come a long way, Young Master."

"Thanks," I panted, deflecting another blow. "But maybe save the compliments for after you're done trying to kill me."

Leon laughed, effortlessly dodging my counterattack. "You're sharper than I expected. A month ago, you weren't even good for ten seconds against me."

"Yeah, well, a month ago, I didn't know I'd be fighting a monster disguised as a knight commander," I shot back, lunging forward.

Our blades clashed and touched for the first time when I looked in his eyes.

His smirk widened. "Good. Show me more."

Swaggering upon his wrist, he wrenched free the lock and turned, and with sword held high, swung in a wide arc about me. I dodged and the blade scraped close, then came back swinging for a full arc, ultralight upwards slash.

He easily blocked it but his eyes sparkled with approval.

For what seemed like days (if not seconds), we unloaded on each other. My arms burned, my legs ached, and my breath came in ragged gasps. But I didn't stop.

Not until—

CRACK.

I took a step backwards, hypnotized by the broken fragments of my sword.

Well. That's not good.

Leon lowered his blade, his breathing steady. He stared at me sprawled on the floor, my destroyed weapon still in hand and he chuckled negligently and shook his head.

"You're amazing, young master, he said, his voice warm with genuine admiration. The amount of strength you just demonstrated.it's hard to believe. You handled attacks at my full strength. That's something even seasoned knights struggle with."

I sighed, flat on the floor like a browned biscuit. "Great. Can you write that on my gravestone? 'Here lies Valerian Thorne, who didn't die but wishes he did.'.

Leon laughed. "You're already at the peak of the Advanced level. If you keep this up, you'll surpass me in two or three years."

I blinked up at him, and the words slowly filtered in. "Wait... really?"

"Really."

Although heavy with fatigue, I couldn't stop the smile blooming across my face.

Leon extended a hand, pulling me to my feet. "Young master, to the date, your training is finished now. You've learned everything I can teach you."

I fixed my eyes on him, satisfaction and incredulity intertwined inside me.

"...Thanks for everything, Leon. No—Leon-sensei."

He smiled, bowing his head slightly. "It was my pleasure, young master."

And then, as soon as I thought I was doing well—.

"Oh, and one more thing," Leon added casually. "My lord asked me to tell you to take a bath and change into formal attire. He wants to have dinner with you tonight."

I froze.

My stomach dropped.

"What?"

Leon's smirk returned. "You heard me."

"WHAT? !" I shrieked internally. "What the hell do I do now?! I knew this day would come eventually, but why now?! WHY? !"

_____________________________

[System Notice]

Mission Complete: Training with Leon.

Reward: Valerian Thorne's memories unlocked.

_____________________________

My jaw dropped.

"Oh, my sugar daddy System, you beautiful, glorious thing! THANK YOU SO MUCH!"

And just like that, the dilemma of dinner with dad was put on hold.