Over the next week, time seemed to fly by for Leo and Dumpy as Leo firmly established his dominance in the little one's mind.
Regular hunting trips into the wild became opportunities for Leo to dazzle Dumpy with his prowess, as he showcased himself effortlessly eliminating multiple opponents at once.
With a level gap of over 400, these enemies posed no real challenge to Leo, and he made sure Dumpy understood that.
Fortunately, Leo's efforts had the desired effect on Dumpy, as by now, Dumpy had firmly recognized Leo as the superior warrior, holding him in the highest regard.
It was clear in Dumpy's behavior that Leo had become his ideal, the figure he aspired to emulate.
As from the way he talked to the way he walked, Dumpy eagerly absorbed everything Leo did, mimicking his actions like a sponge soaking up water.
He would now fold his hands while watching a battle unfold just like Leo did, and had learnt how to attack only the neck and heart of the opponent like Leo did with his dagger strikes.
For Dumpy, it wasn't a deliberate effort; he mimicked Leo instinctively, driven purely by the depth of his admiration. His actions weren't fueled by conscious intent, but rather by the sheer respect and awe he felt for Leo.
If Leo admonished him once for walking too loud, he immediately began learning ways to reduce the sound of his footsteps as he walked, to the point where it became an unconscious obsession.
If Leo mocked him once for missing his target with an attack, he would continuously practice that strike again and again, just to make sure this mistake did not repeat itself, resulting in him disappointing the 'Lord Father' again.
Meanwhile, Leo began to secretly learn the skill [Full Counter] on his time off, as although the beast masters manual said that he needed to train a new skill alongside his familiar, Leo decided to get a headstart on Dumpy before mastering it, just to make sure that he did not make a fool of himself by having Dumpy achieve mastery of it first.
Over the past few days, Dumpy's ability to defeat monsters twice his level without breaking a sweat and the potency of his poison when used, made Leo secretly sweat buckets.
Although he did not show it, Leo was beyond impressed with Dumpy's talent and felt frightened at his absurd rate of growth.
Infact, Dumpy's rate of growth scared him to the point where he had to cheat his way into secretly learn [Full Counter] as it was only when he believed himself to be on the cusp of (Basic) mastery of the skill, that he invited Dumpy to join him for the same.
***********
"Okay Dumpy…. Today we are going to learn your first skill.
It's called [Full Counter] and if you master it, you will be able to return any attack whether physical or magical, back to its caster at twice the power.
It's a very powerful and practical skill to learn and is almost impossible to obtain in this world.
It's a slightly difficult skill to master and hence, both of us will begin learning it at the same time.
Your goal is to just learn the technique as fast as you can.
Do not worry if your progress lacks behind me, for I am 'TheBoss'. It's only natural that my learning speed surpasses yours" Leo said, as he rolled out the skill scroll before Dumpy and began reading all the instructions written within, pointing out all the nuances of the technique to the frog, who looked on with interest.
Dumpy blinked, his large eyes focused intently on the scroll as Leo read through the intricate details of [Full Counter].
Leo took his time, making sure to explain each key point, though in truth, Dumpy had already begun to memorize the instructions.
Despite understanding everything, Dumpy remained still, trying to absorb as much as he could while watching Leo demonstrate the motions required to execute the skill.
"See, it's all about timing," Leo continued, stepping back to create some distance. "You have to wait until the last possible second when the attack is about to hit. Then, using your mana, you need to redirect it. The tricky part is gauging the power and focusing on doubling it before it goes back."
Dumpy croaked softly, as if signaling his understanding, as although there was a flicker of uncertainty in his wide eyes, it kept a positive attitude towards learning something new.
"According to this manual, you will know when you have achieved basic mastery of the skill when your weapon of choice starts to make blue mana covered arcs when wielded, so that's your ultimate goal.
Understood?" Leo asked as Dumpy croaked in response.
"Very well, I will go to that corner of the garden and begin practicing, while you start practicing here.
Let's both master this technique as fast as we can" Leo said, as he slapped Dumpy on his back before moving away from his training spot.
*Ribbit*
Narrowing his eyes, Dumpy began following the same motions as he had memorized from the skill manual, as he put power into his hips and turned them while blasting mana into his sword.
*Shua*
The blade sliced through the wind clean, however, no blue light appeared, as Dumpy realized that he had failed to perform the move.
*Ribbit*
Croaking with determination, he repeated the process again, and again, however, even after the first 20 minutes of training he failed at materializing the move.
"Ribbit?" it croaked in frustration, as it glanced over to look towards Leo, whose dagger was already blazing with a vibrant blue color.
"RIBBIT!" Dumpy croaked excitedly as he once again showered in the brilliance of Lord Father.
While he had failed to manifest the move once in the past 20 minutes, Leo performed it repeatedly and with ease, as the difference between their comprehension became clear.
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/// A/N - Chapter 1 of 4 for the day, please thank patron Art for this day 4 of mass release. ///