Chapter 11: The Beginning
Astara and Daylan continued training, honing his skills until he could at least hold his own against her. "You lack battle instincts. You're afraid to hurt me," she often remarked.
Despite his progress, she kept pushing him, beating him senselessly, forcing him to confront the brutal reality of combat.
Daylan never relied entirely on Astara. He spent much of his time training alone, pushing himself further each day. He repeated his previous penalties, learning to endure the pain, and before long, he was able to double his reps in push-ups, squats, and shadowboxing.
Though Daylan immersed himself in training, his mind couldn't escape Slater's death and how his parents would react. But soon, his biggest fear became a reality.
Slater's family visited the monastery, demanding answers. They questioned Daylan, attempting to force the blame onto him, but Lieutenant Bruce stood firm, asserting that there was no evidence to support their accusations. Frustrated, the family gave the Honor Chivalry a week to find the killer, warning that if they failed, they would take matters into their own hands.
Daylan had expected their actions and claims to lead to some change within the monastery—perhaps the arrival of individuals with abilities that could counter his or exclusive investigators assigned to the case. But to his knowledge, nothing had changed.
He couldn't afford to dwell on it, not with the tournament just three days away and his status as a Chivalry still unconfirmed.
A few hours into the evening, Astara invited Lieutenant Bruce to observe their training. Daylan and Astara faced off, the task clear: if Daylan could hold his own against Astara, and if Lieutenant Bruce was impressed, his status would be reconsidered.
Daylan braced himself, raising his guard. He knew this was his last chance, and failure wasn't an option. Taking a deep breath, he glanced at Lieutenant Bruce, who stood by with his arms folded across his chest, watching intently.
In an instant, Astara dashed toward Daylan and struck. He dodged, quickly landing four strikes to her chest, forcing her to slide backward on her feet.
Astara glanced at Lieutenant Bruce. His expression spoke volumes, clearly showing that he believed she was intentionally losing ground to Daylan.