Chapter 63: Learning The Second Trick
I opened my eyes slowly, fearing I would lose control over my spear, which actually happened.
The spear fell off my grip when I just glanced at it, as I felt how heavy and long it was, I thought how hard it was for me to keep such a thing balanced over my palm, to suddenly lose my control over it.
I watched it fall on the ground, bouncing a couple of times with lost eyes, as I was dejected by this failure.
"This doesn't count as a failure, my child, you just don't have enough practice to do it with fully open eyes. In the future, you will be able to do it even in the midst of a huge battle. Now, it's not the time for you to practice on this trick alone, as I want you to watch closely and try to do what I will do."
I stood still in my place watching him as he held his spear, looked towards a far training doll, and threw the spear towards it. The spear moved calmly first, then it created a tempest of air that resembled a small tornado to add more momentum to this spear, which penetrated the doll, penetrating the wall.
Just as it was about to disappear in the distance, this master made a catching motion with his fist.
The spear, which was hundreds of meters away, appeared miraculously in his hand in the next moment as if it didn't leave him in the first place. I stood in my place shocked by what I saw, and my mind failed to notice where this trick came from, or what caused it.
"It seems you didn't get the trick here, right?"
I nodded my head in veneration towards this supreme master. I hoped he wasn't disappointed in me, as I longed to have such a master to guide me here. gaining the help of one expert was always more powerful than gaining the aid of a whole army, that what I learned back in my kingdom.
"You still hold your old habits with you, let me ask you something. When you witnessed my move, did you look at the spear? My hand? Or what?"
I gathered my courage up as I replied:
"I focused on the spear."
"See? This is your bad habit. Let me guess, you were a wizard, right?"
This master kept impressing me the more he spoke, I nodded in approval while he added:
"Your past class holds you back, as a wizard you tend to launch spells and watch them if they hit the target or not. You had the habit of observing the effect of your spell on the target; did it manage to kill him? Injure him? Cripple him? Or did he evade your attack and got out completely unscathed? Do you know why I call this a bad habit?"
I was captivated with his words that I didn't want to interrupt him at all, so I just shook my head to express my ignorance of his reason, so he continued to elaborate:
"Wizards carry the burden of doubt inside them, this filthy seed is what makes their habits wrong for us, spearmen. We don't deal with doubt; if we have doubt then we have a disease. Doubt is very lethal to any spearman, so you need to get rid of it.
Have faith in your spear that whenever it leaves your hand, he will hit its target for sure. Doubting the success of your attack is a doubt towards your spear. Trust yourself, trust your spear. Now, I want you to watch carefully and forget about the spear, as it will hit its mark."
I felt these master wise words seeping slowly soundlessly into my mind and changing it. my master is right, I always fear that my attack wouldn't hit the target or didn't cause the desirable effect, which seemed a wrong way to deal with things here.
I looked up towards the master who held his spear tightly with his fist, he then threw it towards the far training doll. This time, I kept all my senses focused over his fist, totally neglecting the spear, to find some strange things happening.
My master didn't just throw the spear like I thought, as he first let the spear loose from his grip while it was above his head. Strangely, the spear didn't fall but followed the moves of the master's hand to head straight towards its target.
I felt like this spear had a soul and was a living thing, it could move and take decisions, it could oppose the common natural laws of the world. My mind was chaotic but my focus was still on my master.
After I heard the sound of the spear hitting the distant dummy and then the wall, my master made a gripping motion with his fist this time, I saw threads like extensions appeared momentarily from the tips of his fingers before it vanished in the next moment, accompanied by the reappearance of the spear again in his hand.
I looked with doubt and question towards my master who just smiled faintly as he praised me:
"You are really good; you managed to get a glimpse of my trick here. Tell me, how deep did you manage to see?"
"I saw fine strange threads coming out from your fingertips."
"Oh, you saw this deep, then you have to start your practice then."
I nodded as I was about to use my spear like him when he added:
"This trick is very hard to grasp, but when you learn it, you acquire a very good trick that might save your life countless times as it did with me. So, don't expect to learn it soon.
I will leave you here for today and I will come back tomorrow. You can stay here tonight if you want to, but if anyone else comes to ask about me, just tell them to come here tomorrow at noon."
His words were simple, but they held great meaning, as this way I was like his apprentice officially, or that what I hoped for. I bowed my head in respect to his teaching and said:
"Thanks for your guidance, master, I won't disappoint you."
"I'm sure you won't, at least you won't bully the newcomers like that liar."
He then moved rapidly at a speed I couldn't notice, which reminded me of his appearance. How did he come here in the first place? I smiled as this master seemed more powerful than I originally thought when I came here.
I recalled my secret class and felt regret, I should have asked him about it as I was sure he could help me out. I didn't feel deep regret as he would come back tomorrow, at least when he came and found my improvements, I could have the guts to ask him for his help.
This idea gave me more power and pushed my excitement forward, so I started my training with high spirit with one goal in my mind, I needed to completely master this trick for the sake of my secret class.