The second day of Ravian’s training began with hiding intent.
"A good fighter doesn’t just see the enemy’s body." Lian said, pointing at Ravian’s eyes.
"He reads the mind." Then he pointed at the spear.
"You need to make sure there’s nothing to read." This was one of the most important principles of combat, especially against professionals.
Professional fighters, with the help of experience and body language, can easily tell where average or novice fighters are going to attack.
Even some monsters with high intelligence and awareness can easily figure out attack patterns.
He taught Ravian to start a strike and change it in the middle.
The spear’s tip first went toward the throat, but halfway there, the wrist turned and the strike changed to the side.
Then he learned to threaten with the spear’s tip, but use the butt of the shaft at close range.
Lian broke the attack rhythm. Two quick strikes, a pause, and a third strike.
At first, Ravian gave himself away during the pause many times, but gradually he understood that the silence between strikes was also part of the attack.
He learned to separate his gaze from the real target, looking at Lian’s left shoulder but moving the spear’s tip toward the right leg.
He failed many times.
He fell on the ground many times.
But at the end of the second day, for the first time, the tip of his spear came close to Lian’s clothes, and Lian was forced to move half a step.
"Did you see?" Ravian asked excitedly.
"I saw."
The next moment, the end of Lian’s wooden spear hit Ravian’s stomach, and he fell on the ground.
"But then you died." Lian continued. He did not intend to kill this boy’s excitement, but he didn’t want him to delude himself either.
"Did you really have to do that?" Ravian said with difficulty while enduring the pain.
His instructor was truly a sadist!
The third day was about decision-making. Lian chose three young warriors from the tribe.
Ravian had to fight all three in a row. In the first attempt, he tried to quickly defeat one.
The other two surrounded him from both sides. Less than a minute later, he was on the ground. In the second attempt, he maintained distance better.
He targeted one’s leg with the spear’s tip, then pushed the second one back with the butt of the shaft and managed to defeat one.
But against the remaining two, he ran out of breath.
In the third attempt, his movements had changed. He no longer attacked directly. He didn’t view retreat as defeat.
He forced one of the warriors to move ahead of the other two, locked his weapon with the spear’s body, and knocked him to the ground with a strike to the shin.
The second one attacked from the side. Ravian aimed the spear’s tip at his chest, but at the last moment, he changed the move and struck his jaw with the butt of the shaft.
The third one tried to circle around him.
Ravian stayed on Rooted Step, turned, kept the distance, struck three short strikes, two to deflect the defense and a third to hit the shoulder.
The third warrior also left the field.
At the end, Ravian fell on one knee, his entire body trembling from exhaustion, but all three of his opponents were on the ground.
The surrounding warriors looked at him in surprise. Only three days ago, his movements were straightforward, raw, and predictable.
Now he was still not a master, not even close, but a real foundation had formed in him.
Lian knew Ravian’s body and experience were still limited.
But the foundation that the Vorhelm clan built over years in their students had now been planted in him, although he still had a long way to go to reach a significant level.
On the evening of the third day, Hive Link reacted in Lian’s mind.
One had detected the presence of two people near the tribe. Lian turned his head toward the gate.
A few minutes later, Seris and Sera entered.
Sera was tired, her clothes were covered with dark mud, part of her sleeve was torn, and the edge of her armor had traces of poison burns.
But Seris looked almost the same as when she had left. Her silver hair was still neatly falling over her shoulders, her dark armor had only a few small bloodstains.
And that was not her own blood.
Ravian, upon seeing the difference between the two, understood their journey had not been easy.
Sera went straight to her family, and Seris approached Lian.
Without introduction, she moved her hand forward. Two pieces of the map were on her palm. One was cleaner, belonging to the Varkesh, and the other was darker, damp, and smelling of swamp plants.
"I got them."
"Was there trouble?" Lian looked at Sera, with just one look, he could tell the journey had not been peaceful.
Although for the young Pendragon, it was probably just a short amusement, but there had definitely been conflicts.
"For me, yes." Sera answered before Seris.
"Not much." And the silver-haired girl said calmly.
Sera looked at her in disbelief, but then decided not to argue.
Everyone went to the library.
Averian brought out the first piece from the chest, and Seris placed the other two pieces on the table.
When the edges of the three sections came together, the magical threads inside the map lit up.
The three pieces slowly moved, the edges were pulled toward each other, and silver light flowed through the cracks.
The separated fabrics locked together, the incomplete lines were completed, and the symbols lit up one after another.
For the first time in generations, the map became whole. The complete path of the Giants’ Graveyard was revealed.
The valley connecting to Glassthorn was marked. A side path to Emberroot could be seen. Several ruins with strange symbols were recorded.
Red areas with unknown warnings were in several sections.
And in the distant center of the map, a large symbol resembling a tree with three roots could be seen.
Probably the Forgotten Tree.
But more importantly, around the path between Glassthorn and Emberroot, a specific symbol lit up. A shape between a gate, an eye, and a heart inside a giant’s skull.
"This symbol wasn’t on our piece before." Averian came forward upon seeing it.
"Could it be what the map’s creator was looking for?" Seris looked at the symbol.
Lian examined it for a few moments. The symbol was exactly in the section connecting to Glassthorn.
"Maybe. It’s inside Glassthorn. When we get there, we can check it." Lian kept his hand on the complete map.
Three days before, they only had rumors about an exit path. Now the full path was in front of them.
The Giants’ Graveyard.
Ravian, with a battered body but curious eyes, was standing next to the table. He would also have liked to go on such adventures... but he knew he didn’t have the ability.
"You said three days. When are we leaving?" Seris looked at Lian and asked.
"Three days are over." Then he placed his finger on the Giants’ Graveyard path.
"We leave in the morning."