As the cheers and applause rang out throughout the hall, Noah sat there overjoyed. A large smile plastered his face. His face matched everyone else's, except his smirk was not one of religious fervor it was a smile of a person who was overjoyed. The fact that the escapee was able to elude the church's guards and was able to make it to the city in two days was a good thing.
This also gave Noah more information about the outside world. Since he was not allowed to leave the church and they kept strict restrictions on information about the outside world, Noah was not all that familiar with the geography of the land. But now he knew that the city of the sun god was a good two days away from their position. So the city would be sending an army at the, within three to four days.
Noah was elated at this. But also kind of fearful. The fact that this place was going to be a giant warzone in a few days did not slip his mind so he had to prepare as much as possible. He was also concerned that the army would be arriving after the communion so Noah had to mentally prepare for whatever he was going to see that day.
Leaving the chambers he strolled through the hall. His training session with Garth was put to an end earlier than expected by the announcement, so it wasn't quite time for dinner yet. With almost nothing left to do in his day he started to explore different segments of the great cathedral.
For the first time he was actively looking around the cathedral but to his chagrin he found almost nothing of use. if there was a room with important items or even real weapons it was probably blocked by an armed guard or two. The only clue he had on what was in the rooms being guarded was the nameplate on the front of the door. Most said Weapons or Storage. But one did catch his eye.
One door in particular was guarded by 6 guards. But these defenders had stronger armor as if they were an elite unit in the church. Noah walked past the door and heard a faint 'thump''thump'' thump'.
Noah thought to himself" that sounded like a heartbeat, what the hell is behind that door" he started to sweat, nervous that his panic would be seen by the guards. Noah turned his head to the opposite side of the door and stared in that direction while walking off.
As he turned the corner out of sight of the guards Noah picked up his walking pace not wanting to be anywhere near that door. Speed walking away Noah vowed that he would never walk through that door ever again little did he know that he would have to break this promise in the very near future.
As Noah walked he eventually found his way back to the cafeteria. He waited in line as usual then started on his way to one of the tables. Hearing his name being shouted out he looks to his left to see the familiar sight of Troy,Austin and Henry all sitting at the table.
Noah looked over at them then started walking towards them sitting down next to Henry and across from Troy and Austin. Once he sat down troy immediately started talking
" hey where you they're for the speech, it crazy that someone would want to destroy this place right"
Noah lying thought his teeth said" yeah this place is amazing I don't see a reason why someone would hate it.".
Smiling Austin said " yeah I mean they do everything here they give food they teach how to fight the also help so many people here why wouldn't you want to live here "
Noah replied " yeah it pretty great "
The conversation stagnated no one really knowing what to say until Austin said" i see you have been training with "what's his name" in the corner of the training field, not gonna lie i'm kind of jealous, that guy has turned down many people include us"
Noah looked at Austin perplexed " really garth is pretty relaxed all things considered he just ask for a favor in the future"
Austin replied" a favor what type"
"Don't know he just assured me it was nothing weird" said Noah
Austin replied "What a weird thing to ask as compensation" All Noah could do was nod because he thought it was a weird thing to ask for. After this conversation Noah started to eat. They had conversion about light topics till Noah was done eating.
When Noah's plate was empty he got up, exhausted and in pain Noah walked towards his dorm with full intentions of going to sleep.
The next day for Noah was very similar to the day before. He got up, stretched, walked to the cafeteria, ate , and instantly went to the training area. Getting there at the regular time he saw Garth sitting there just waiting for Noah to show up.
Noah walked up to him with a smile and said" hello sir I'm ready for another day"
Garth looked up from the ground and made eye contact " good, you remember what I said we will be learning today"
Noah respond " yeah you said we will be learning how to dodge"
"Good and your first order of business is to warm up"
Noah nodded and went towards the dummy. He stretched all his limbs again and started to do some practice punches in the air to warm up his joints. Sufficiently warmed up he started to strike the dummy. His arm used to the punishment brought by swinging his arm felt light. In rapid succession hit the spot marked red. This much was simple since the target was not moving or defending.
After his warm up had ended Noah turned back to Garth" ok sir how do I dodge"
Garth responded " dodging is a very complicated process. Dodging swords is much easier than dodging fist. Swords are much bigger so they have larger tells. That is not saying fighting a sword is easier , with the range difference it can be difficult. But dodging a sword from a human is much different from dodging a punch. Each has a different tell. So what i'm trying to get at is what do you want to learned to dodge first"
Noah weighed his option: he is going to be fighting humans very soon and he is guessing based on what he has seen from everyone around here that most people will be using swords but then again after this nightmare is over he will probably be fighting monsters in his winter solstice so it might be prudent to learn both.
" is it possible to learn two different types of dodges in one day"
Garth responded " it is possible but you probably won't get the full understanding of both styles unless the style are similar enough to be able to connect the concepts"
Noah asked "Ok so I don't suppose dodging creatures and swords are pretty similar?"
Garth looked at him and said" surprisingly yes both are of the mind set of (not getting hit is the best option). Rather than minimizing damage to inflict more damage on you enemy like dodging punches would be"
" great so when do we start"
Garth smiled a little at the enthusiasm Noah showed then said " ok first step to learning to dodge is distance-judging and sword path. Those are pretty self explanatory. The next is what movement you're gonna use. You can move forward to cut off their swing with your punch, you can side step to avoid a slash or you can back up and avoid the blow. The most important thing about dodge is that it not easily defined I can teach you moves but sometime you must improvise you defences"
Noah nodded and Garth continued " dodging is not something I can teach you. You must learn to dodge from experience so I got a guy to help you"
Garth stopped and yelled a name " Yevin get over here!"
A guy around my height came running from his seat. He arrived with a wooden sword and stopped right next to Garth" this will be you sparring partner for the day say hi"
Noah said "Hi" the greeting was reciprocated then Garth said" alright this is going to be your first taste of active combat remember this is mainly about dodging but if you see an opportunity go for a strike. I already told him to be wary of a few punches coming from you so don't worry about hitting him."
Excited to get his first taste of combat Noah got into position in front of Yevin. Yevin in turn pointed the tip of his wooden sword towards Noah. Once both were ready , Garth told them to start. Noah, a little trigger happy with his first fight, rushed in only to be hit by the sword instantly. Falling over from the sudden strike Noah starred up into the sky slightly embarrassed that his overzealousness got him hit a few seconds into the match. Recovering from his embarrassment he got up again and started another round.
Throughout the training session Noah tried to put Garth's teachings into practice but whenever he tried to think about his next move he would not be able to react to the attack in time and get hit. After an hour of getting his ass handed to him he started to get justifiably angry. His blood started to boil in anger but as if by magic he felt his body become stronger. His punches became sharper and his movement quickened. Feeling this rush he ran in dodging one sword slash then the other. Finally he went within striking distance and blasted a jab towards Yevins face.
The jab landed and 'boy' did it feel good, but as this feeling of joy rushed through his head he felt the rush of power he had before fade. without being able to disengage was struck by the sword.
By the end of the fight Noah was not able to get it down; so he tried again and again hit after hit fall after fall he worked himself to the bone and finally it clicked. Instead of thinking about which way you have to dodge you just have to notice where the attack is coming from. Once he did that he could quickly tell his body which way to move.
By the end of the day Noah was back in his room. For the entire day he was trying to recreate that rush. That feeling of power that ran through his body enabled him to get a clean hit on Yevin. Noah tried to find a reason for his unexplained strength. Then remembering somthing he opened his runes it read:
Name : Noah
True name: —-
Rank :aspirant
Soul core: dormant
Memories: —-
Echo:—-
Aspect rank: awaken
Aspect name : blasphemies worshiper
Attributes: (Adyr's blood) (counter)
Description:(Adyr's blood)
Your blood flows with a false gods bloodline. As your rage increases so does your strength. (Be careful lest the rage consume you whole)
Description: (counter)
All attacks that land while your opponent is attacking or stunned by a parry will have a larger impact.
Aspect description: an abhorrent being whose only reason to live is to devote its life to its false god.
Reading through his runes he came to one of his attributes" O that why I felt stronger my attribute activated. Ah what a rush, hopefully I can activate it again soon" a smile spread across his face as he said these last words. Then he was reminded that tomorrow was the fateful day of the great communion . He had to steal himself for what he was about to see.
Closing his eyes he drifted off into sleep thinking he was ready for the day ahead of him.