Martial Arts

Roy's home terrace had become the place where he practiced martial arts.

However, even when those fluid martial arts movements were broken down into a series of simple actions, they were still extremely difficult for Roy...

Under the afterglow of the setting sun, Roy practiced the broken-down movements alone on the terrace, panting heavily. Even when he slowed every movement down several times, they were still incredibly stiff.

Before long, sweat from his forehead had soaked his golden hair, leaving it limp and stuck to his forehead in an uncomfortable mess.

Roy ran downstairs to get a towel and wipe away his sweat. When he returned to the terrace, he was surprised to find Moira standing on the neighboring terrace.

She rarely wore such tight-fitting clothes. The ties at her sides had not even been made into neat bows, but that did nothing to diminish the quiet beauty unique to a Dark Moon Elf.

She had even tied her hair into a ponytail...

Moira copied Roy's broken-down movements and completed them with ease.

When she noticed Roy peeking over from his terrace, she leaned on the railing with both hands and said with a grin, "Is this how you do it? I saw how intently you were practicing and couldn't help watching a little longer..."

"That's right. You did it very well. I just can't manage it. My movements always end up going wrong halfway through."

Roy felt rather foolish. Moira had learned it after watching a few times, yet he had practiced for an entire day and was still no good at it.

"Don't lose heart. We can practice together, and that way we can correct each other's mistakes..."

Moira spoke to Roy across the terraces. Perhaps because of the exercise, her cheeks had turned rosy.

"Sure!"

Roy suddenly felt that this dull practice no longer seemed quite so exhausting.

Moira stood on the opposite terrace and began trying to learn Roy's less-than-standard broken-down movements.

The process was naturally quite pleasant. However, when Sabrina returned from Elf Academy and came up to the terrace, she frowned upon seeing Moira's movements. After hesitating briefly, she said nothing and went back downstairs.

Sabrina took a shower downstairs, changed into a looser dress, and returned to the terrace.

With her arms crossed, she leaned against the terrace doorway and said to Moira:

"Moira, not one of those broken-down movements of yours is standard. I suggest you stop and correct them."

"Is it wrong?" Moira glanced at Sabrina and humbly asked, "Sis, where exactly did I go wrong... Can you point it out for me?"

With Sabrina's guidance, Roy suddenly remembered that several parts really were slightly off.

However, those were basically positions his arms and thighs could not reach.

In order to complete those movements, Roy had lowered the standards, which caused the movements to lose their proper form.

With Sabrina's guidance, Moira quickly corrected those movements, but Roy simply could not manage them no matter what.

Sabrina could not help mocking Roy from the neighboring terrace. "Your arms and thighs are far too stiff. Didn't Instructor Nora tell you that a body like yours isn't suited to learning Elf Body Arts?"

Roy stood awkwardly on the terrace and bent his somewhat stiff arms, but it was still no use.

After watching for a moment, Sabrina bluntly said to Roy:

"Your ligaments haven't been fully stretched out yet, which is why your movements aren't standard."

"Once these broken-down movements aren't done properly, there'll be obvious stiffness when you connect them into a continuous sequence. It becomes harder and harder to adjust later on, and in the end, your form will be severely distorted."

"You really aren't suited to practicing martial arts. Since you haven't truly begun yet, you'd better give up early."

Roy did not respond to Sabrina's words and continued clumsily practicing those broken-down movements.

"Sis..." Moira protested softly.

Sabrina glared at her and prepared to turn around and go downstairs, but Moira grabbed hold of her skirt.

She turned back and stared at Moira...

"Sis..."

Moira pleaded once more.

"I don't have that much time. I'll only help him this once!"

Sabrina said it to Moira, though it sounded as if she were saying it to herself as well.

Roy was still trying his best to straighten his arm when a pale, soft hand suddenly grabbed his wrist. Her fingers were cold...

Only when Roy turned his head did he realize that Sabrina had somehow already stepped onto his terrace and was standing silently behind him.

Although the two terraces were adjacent, there was still a gap of at least five meters between them.

Roy instinctively glanced at her long legs, failing to notice that Sabrina's face had reddened slightly.

Sabrina was not gentle with him. She fiercely bent Roy's arm backward, and the forceful stretching of his ligaments hurt badly enough that he could not help crying out.

"Don't move. Hold it..."

Sabrina personally guided Roy through those broken-down movements, while Moira leaned over the terrace railing and watched the show.

After finally learning the broken-down movements, he still had to connect them together, which was even more difficult. Every movement followed a specific trajectory.

There were strict requirements for how force was applied each time, and it required rhythm and timing...

Roy now completely understood what Instructor Abbott. Nora had said during the first lesson. It truly had not been exaggerated at all.

And this was only the continuous sequence for the simplest move...

Roy did not dare think any further.

Fortunately, Sabrina demonstrated the movements for this technique several more times, completing them easily.

She was tall and slender, and when she slowly demonstrated those Elementary Martial Arts movements, it looked as though she were dancing.

Unlike Moira's lightness, Sabrina's movements were full of power. Every action carried an overwhelming sense of pressure.

Roy finally understood that when Sabrina had beaten him up last time, there had not been even the slightest bit of luck involved...

However, Instructor Nora had not yet taught them continuous movements, so even if Roy could not do them now, he still had time to keep practicing.

After that painful practice session ended, Roy lay flat on the terrace floor without a shred of dignity...

"Are those Silver Moon Elves still giving you trouble?"

Sabrina did not leave immediately. Sitting in a chair nearby, she asked Roy.

"Yeah. We even got into a fight today!" Roy said.

Sabrina hesitated before saying, "Elf Academy has a Half-Elf Mutual Aid Society. You can tell them about your situation."

Roy shook his head. "I can handle it myself, in our own way."

Sabrina stood up, then turned back and said to Roy, "Smart people don't refuse the goodwill of others."

With that, she went downstairs. She had no intention of jumping back across from this terrace.

"Thanks for the compliment..."

Roy's voice came from behind her.

Sabrina resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him and quickly left Roy's yard.

Moonlight outside the window made the distant sea surface shimmer.

Roy sat on the single bed in his room, feeling as though every joint in his body ached terribly.

Besides two books, there was also a bottle of Life Potion on the table by the window.

Roy really wanted to drink that bottle of Life Potion and see what it did.

But since the Potion Shop Boss had said that Life Potions were not particularly effective at reducing bruises and swelling, Roy restrained the urge.

Then he thought of Minor Healing, but unfortunately, he had not learned it yet.

If it had not been so late, he might even have run to the temple and asked Jasper to give him a simple treatment.

"Right, haven't I learned the Glimmer Illumination Spell? High Priest Reed said this divine spell also has a tiny bit of healing effect."

Roy slapped his forehead as the thought suddenly came to him.

He hurriedly took several deep breaths to calm himself, recalled how to draw the divine pattern in his mind, and silently recited the lines of prayer.

Once everything was ready, Roy stood in his room, first drawing the curtains and then closing the door.

He silently used Holy Light Power to draw that divine pattern, then recited those lines of Holy Prayer.

The divine pattern formed a rune design woven from holy light. As the final line of prayer ended, the rune pattern floating in midair seemed to activate.

Before Roy's eyes, the holy light condensed into a slightly warm orb that hovered above his left shoulder.

It was an exceptionally gentle ball of light, adding a little brightness to Roy's room.

Roy tried to control the glimmer and make it float upward. To his surprise, it ignored the wooden boards and flew straight into the ceiling.

Ms. Belinda was sleeping upstairs. If he woke her up, it would not simply mean getting scolded. She was a believer of the Moon God Sect...

Roy broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly called the glimmer back.

As it obediently floated before him, Roy extended a finger and tried to touch it. It felt somewhat warm, but his finger passed through the ball of light without any resistance.

Next, Roy tried condensing a tiny bit of holy light onto his fingertip and used that trace of holy light to touch the ball. In an instant, the glimmer swallowed the holy light on his fingertip. Its Light Flame flashed brightly once, then settled down again.

This glimmer could not last long, only about a quarter of an hour.

Roy stopped making other attempts. He controlled the glimmer and brought it close to his arm. Its faint warmth soothing the pain in his joints and ligaments really did lessen the ache somewhat.

Roy immediately lay down on the bed and let the glimmer drift back and forth along his limbs. It felt a little like electric heat therapy...

He did not know when he fell asleep. By the time Roy opened his eyes again, it was already morning.

Roy got out of bed early. Although his entire body still felt sore, at least it no longer affected his movement as badly as it had the night before.

After getting dressed and seeing that there was still plenty of time before school, Roy decided to take a stroll through the Fish Market at the docks. He had not eaten much fish lately.