Chapter 629: A Friendly Spar
(Planet Juxta, Leo’s POV)
*Crack*
*Crack*
Once Su Yang had left the planet, Leo began stretching and warming up his muscles, as he felt an irresistible itch to test out his new Transcendent tier strength.
"Tell Veyr to come and find me in the training grounds, I’ll be there sparring against Dumpy." Leo informed a soldier, before making his way towards the training grounds, where he knew Dumpy would be training.
—---------
"Come at me, you inferior contraptions! I will show you what real speed is!"
Leo faintly heard a voice as he walked into the training arena, as an involuntary chuckle escaped his mouth.
Inside, Dumpy seemed to be working on reflex and agility training, as the poor frog dodged attacks from a dozen contraptions at once.
*Woosh*
*Swoosh*
*Zap*
He twisted, turned, and jumped, his larger, human-sized frame weaving nimbly between swinging poles, stabbing rods, and crackling mana bolts that shot out at random intervals.
*Jiggle*
*Wobble*
His soft belly fat jiggled as he made sharp movements, yet his mass seemed to have no bearing on his nimbleness.
Despite the high difficulty, he managed to dodge 98% of the attacks coming his way, only being grazed or bruised by an unexpected attack, every now and then.
’He looks so much more stable on his footing now. This training has definitely reduced his beastly instincts and groomed him into a proper thinking fighter—’
Leo thought, as he crossed his arms and continued to observe Dumpy train in silence.
However, only a few seconds after he had arrived, Dumpy suddenly froze mid-roll, his nostrils flaring as he turned in Leo’s direction, recognition forming across his eyes.
*Sniff* *Sniff*
"Lord Father!" he shouted, his voice carrying across the yard as he abandoned the training field altogether, springing forward with reckless speed.
*Thump* *Thump* *Leap*
He launched himself straight onto Leo’s face, as he shrank to his original size of a tiny frog, and stuck straight to his nose.
"Lord Father, have you come to free me from this gruelling training?" He asked, as he nuzzled against him as though he were a tiny child facing separation anxiety from his mother.
Leo sighed softly, his hand instinctively pulling Dumpy away from his face, and placing him onto his shoulders.
"You’ll crush me one of these days if you keep greeting me like that," he said, though the warmth in his tone betrayed the fondness he felt.
*Sniff* *Sniff*
Dumpy buried his snout into Leo’s collar, inhaling sharply, his belly jiggling as his expression turned puzzled.
"Wait... Lord Father, you smell different."
He said, as Leo raised an eyebrow.
"Different?"
"Yes," Dumpy said slowly, his eyes narrowing as though he were analyzing a puzzle. "Stronger... sharper... almost more manly than before."
Leo chuckled faintly, brushing a hand over his slimy head. "That’s because I’ve ascended, Dumpy. I’m a Transcendent just like you now."
Leo revealed, as Dumpy blinked before sniffing him again.
"Does this mean you can beat the smoking man now? Lord Father?
Will you punish him for all the crimes he’s committed against me?" He asked hopefully, as Leo chuckled and shook his head.
"I don’t know Dumpy.... I don’t know how strong I am, but I was hoping to find that out, by holding a spar against you—" Leo said, as he gestured for Dumpy to get off his shoulders.
*Jump*
Jumping off Leo’s shoulder, Dumpy landed in front and grew to the size of a full human, as he unsheathed the two swords he carried on his back.
"I will fight you to the best of my abilities, Lord Father!" Dumpy said with a fiery spirit, as Leo chuckled and retrieved a dagger of his own.
"I know you will.... And I expect nothing less.
Show me what you got, Dumpy." He encouraged, as they both moved towards one another at once.
[Parallel Processing]
Almost immediately, Leo activated Parallel Processing, as the world slowed down around him, his senses sharpening to a crystalline edge where every shift of muscle, every twitch of tendon in Dumpy’s body revealed themselves in absolute clarity.
Through aura mastery, he could already see the red trajectory line of Dumpy’s intent as the frog warrior lunged forward with both blades in a clean overhead arc, yet alongside that single line, three glowing markers of weakness illuminated themselves in his vision:
Dumpy’s left knee, too heavily bent to spring away fast enough, his right elbow, overextended from the force of the swing, and the exposed underside of his throat, left unguarded in the rush of momentum.
As a Grandmaster, Leo did not have the necessary speed to attack these openings without defending against Dumpy’s incoming blow first, however, now as a Transcendent, his body simply flowed with the decision faster than conscious thought.
*SWOOSH*
He slipped beneath the sweeping blades with the ease of water curving around stone, his figure blurring as his dagger came up in a single seamless motion, stopping less than a hair’s breadth from Dumpy’s throat.
"It’s over—"
He muttered, as from the moment Dumpy’s strike had begun to the instant he ended the spar with his dagger poised for a killing blow, less than half a second had passed.
*Tap*
Dumpy’s eyes widened, his pupils dilating with disbelief as his brain tried to reconcile the impossible.
Just how had his Lord Father moved so quickly?
He had no clue, but he was glad for it regardless.
"Lord Father, you’re the strongest!" He said, as Leo threw his head back and chuckled, the sound of his laughter rich and hearty, as his chest swelled with exhilaration.
"Hah! Incredible!" Leo exclaimed, his gray eyes gleaming with excitement. "This body... it’s faster, sharper, more alive than anything I’ve experienced before. It’s like I’m capable of moving on pure instinct now."
He said, as Dumpy jumped with joy.
"Again! I must give you a more worthy challenge."
Dumpy said, as Leo patted him on the head and reset his battle stance.
"Come on! Let’s go for another round—"
Leo instructed, as they started all over again.