The leaves of the tree swayed with the wind. Some of the leaves were carried by it to the clear sky.
Mary had already noticed his presence even before he walked up the hill.
She was standing between the red lilies, wearing a white dress that matched her snow-white hair that swayed with the breeze.
She looked like a white stain on a sea of red flowers
I approached her and greeted "Good afternoon, Grandma."
"Hello there, little Vlad," Mary replied as she turned her head and her pitch black eyes locked on him.
"I was looking for your grandma in the mansion, but could not find so I concluded that I might find you here again."
"I want you to please teach me how to use the katana," I asked as I bowed
"Hehehe, very well, and you don't need to bow to me, I'm your grandma," she said as she cupped my cheeks with her hands.
" It will be my pleasure; I haven't had any students in decades. You are my first student in a while, plus you are my grandson, it makes me very happy," Mary said as she giggled.
I smiled and nodded, "Thank you, Grandma."
"You are very welcome, but do not thank me yet because we have not started."
"So what do you know about the katana?"
"I do not know much, but I know that it is used for cutting and stabbing in close-quarters combat," I answered honestly.
"Good, you already have a general idea."
A katana inside a black sheath appeared on her waist out of nowhere. The hilt of the katana was black.
The same or the ray skin of the handle of the katana was white.
At the top of the pommel, the face of a lion was engraved.
Her index finger rested on it, and then she drew the katana.
Swish—
I did not even see the katana being drawn; it was too fast and clean.
The blade of the katana shone in the sunlight. It was a breathtaking sight.
"Its curved blade is designed for swift, precise strikes, Vlad," Mary said as she swung the katana in the air.
"You saw how you did not see the katana being withdrawn from its sheath, but only when I stopped the katana. If I were your enemy, your head would have been rolling on the ground without you knowing what killed you," she smiled.
I gulped. She is right, I did not see that.
Mary continued
"First things first, this is how you hold a katana. I must teach you that first before we move on to the first lesson."
"The correct grip for a katana is a relaxed, diagonal grip where the last three fingers provide primary hold." She moved her pinky, ring, and middle finger on the handle.
"While the index finger and thumb offer light support, and then you must position the sword so its bone structure aligns with the forearm, maintaining a space between the hand and the guard to prevent chafing."
She aligned the sword with the forearms and kept a space between the hand and the guard.
I attentively observed her movements, trying not to miss a single thing and imprint it in my memory.
"This stance ensures the pommel is in your palm, maximizing control and enabling fluid movements for effective cutting and defense," she said
"Now do what I just did," she instructed
I took a stance and tried to do the same thing as she did, and failed miserably at first, but later started getting the gist of it.
Later on, I was able to almost replicate the same grip she did.
"You really are suited for this, my child. It is not perfect, but really good. Hehe, I guess my genes went to you," She said while she giggled, covering her mouth with one of her hands.
She continued
"Katana is used for fast execution, you need to draw the katana faster than your enemy, without them knowing what even hit them."
"Because if you master it, grandson, and combine it with your rare affinities, you will be feared on the battlefield." She said with a serious expression
'I guess I did a good thing picking the katana as well,'
"Yes, you have chosen well," She replied with a smile as if she read my mind.
'What the, can she read thoughts?'
"No, I can not. It is all on your face, and I have known you since you were a baby—well, you are still my baby, but you get it."
I just shook my head in agreement with a wide smile on my face. I really love my family.
I wonder what my first lesson is going to be...
"Alright!" she clapped her hands together.
"Your first lesson is going to be drawing your katana as fast as you can without messing up and being slow, and sheathing it back in for 11 thousand times," Mary said with a happy face.
My jaw dropped at hearing that number.
"E-eleven thousand??"
"I think I misheard the number of times I should do it, Grandma, please say it again." I shook my head in denial
"You must draw your katana eleven thousand times," She confirmed
"I'm going to die."
"No, you won't."
"It is too much!"
"You complain one more time, and I will increase it to twenty thousand."
I shut my mouth.
"Do not worry, you will not be doing it all at once. You will do 1 thousand every single day starting from now on, which is a Monday. You should be able to complete it in 3 weeks.
"Besides, this is barely a step if you want to become as strong as me."
"If you follow all my instructions, I might teach you a technique."
My eyes lit up at the mention of a technique. If I do everything she says correctly, I might learn one.
"Okay, now it does not seem so bad, it is motivating now," I said,
"hehehe, of course. You are going to learn your first technique from your awesome and favorite grandmother after all," she laughed triumphantly.
"We will meet here at the same time in the afternoon, at 3 p.m., after lunch, since you have training in the morning with little Jian."
It sounded weird to me when she called Uncle Jian like that, but she is their mother after all. No matter how much they grow, they will still be children for her.
"Now you can start. I will be sitting under the tree watching over you. If you mess up, you must start again from zero."
She walked away and sat under the tree, and waved at me. "You can start, grandson!"
I clicked my tongue and smiled warmly.
That sounded like a pain to me.
I sheathed the katana and took a stance.
Her instruction flowed in my head, and I drew the katana.
It was sloppy.
"Try again and remember no use of mana allowed!" Mary screamed from afar
I tried many times and failed.
Sometimes it was slow, sometimes the grip on the katana loosened, making it slip from my hand.
"C'mon, Vlad, do not discourage yourself," I muttered to myself
And then I heard Grandma's voice again, cheering at me:
"You can do it! We have the whole afternoon and night, you can even skip dinner."
Hell no, I am not skipping dinner. Let's get these thousands over with. I thought.
As I continued drawing and sheathing, I started getting better at it—I could feel it.
After 2 hours, I was already able to draw the katana smoothly.
The sound of drawing and sheathing filled the quiet surroundings of the hill.
SSHIIING!
When I drew—
and—
Click!
When I sheathed.
Even though I was able to draw and sheathe the katana smoothly now, there was only one issue—
Stamina and endurance.
I was not sure if I would be able to complete the thousand draws before my arms stopped moving from exhaustion.
I was not allowed to use man, so it was much, much harder.
But fuck it, I'm not gonna miss dinner or else the food will miss me.
Mary watched with a smile as he kept drawing the katana for hours.
990..991..992...993...994...995....996...997...998...999" I counted the numbers with heavy breaths.
My arms trembled with ache.
Come on, one...last draw to a thousand!
I used my remaining strength on the last draw.
I roared.
"A thouuuusand!!!" I screamed
My katana unsheathed with speed, faster than the other draws.
SSHIIING!—
The moment I drew the katana.
A gust of air formed from the draw. Making the red lilies sway in reaction to it.
Some of their leaves flew up in the air towards the moon.
CLICK!—
I sheathed my katana and collapsed on my back because of exhaustion.
The red lilies surrounded me.
The chest moved up and down.
I looked up and saw the red leaves flying in the air, being carried by the wind.
The moonlight shone bright on them, making them look lovely.
"Beautiful..." I muttered
"Aren't they?" Mary replied as she stood next to him and looked at them as well.