"You have been here before, haven't you?"
Seeing Vaan looking around with a curious look on his face, Orion questioned.
"Of course I have. I came here with Mother." Vaan replied, still looking around.
He was in that same white room he had come before with Astra.
Astra's personnel Magic Training Room.
"Though I do think the color could have been better. The white color is just depressing."
Vaan was honest.
"Hahaha~ I agree with that." Orion laughed.
"But she says it helps her focus. Whatever suits the owner, eh?"
"Indeed Indeed." Vaan nodded, "Anyways, why did you bring me here, Father?" He questioned.
"You said you liked punching your opponents, didn't you?
So I decided I should teach you a little.
Your performance back when you fought those mages was simply terrible."
"Huh? My performance?" Vaan was confused.
This was the first time someone said his fight was terrible. Heck, even the best mage he knew, his mother said it was a great fight.
Yet here he was, being bashed by his father.
"Of course, I do not know much about Magic but judging from your mother's reaction, you did great.
However, the way you approached your opponents and punched them,
Oh god, were those punches terrible.
I have never seen punches any weaker than those."
"…"
Vaan turned silent.
Was this man making fun of his fighting technique?
His fighting technique?
This time, Vaan was even more taken aback.
If it was his Magic Performance, he wouldn't have cared that much, he was still new to all this after all. Not to mention the opponents he fought weren't very strong either.
Anyway, the point was, Vaan knew his Magic would only improve from this point onwards, so some people finding fault with his Magic Performance wasn't that surprising.
But his fighting style?
That wasn't something Vaan could simply ignore.
The Fighting technique belonged to Christopher.
Although Christopher didn't train in any specific martial arts, however, just from his experience, he had sharpened his technique to a level where he was confident that if it was a one-on-one fistfight, he could even defeat a martial arts master.
But to think this man just called him out on his technique, even if he was his father, Christopher wasn't willing to take this lying down.
Yes, Christopher, not Vaan.
Seeing his technique being made fun of, Vaan's inner Christopher had appeared again.
And seeing his son's expression, Orion couldn't help but smile.
"Hehe, I know those eyes. You don't agree with what I just said."
"It is not like that, Father. It was just that my opponents were too weak, so I didn't feel the need to show my actual technique and was simply punching them." Vaan replied.
"Heh, I know a bad technique when I see one, kid.
Martial Arts aren't some sort of spells you 'activate', it is engraved into your body, let alone a punch, the way you stand, walk, and even breathe, gives away your martial art mastery.
And you, my child, are impressively bad."
Orion spoke.
Vaan narrowed his eyes.
Seeing that his son still did not believe him, Orion sighed and then started stretching his body.
"Alright, let's do this.
Come fight me."
"What?" Vaan frowned.
"What? Scared?"
"You want me to fight you?" Vaan raised his eyebrow.
"What's with that expression? You don't think I am weak just because I don't show off like you mages, right?"
Orion questioned.
Vaan, of course, quickly shook his head.
Weak? This Man?
Orion was often overshadowed by Astra's brilliance, however, the man standing in front of him was a strong swordsman.
Vaan knew Orion was strong, however, a fistfight with him…
Orion was a swordsman, not a fist fighter. Not to mention Vaan was not really the fairest of the fighters there were.
Targeting eyes, attacking under the waist, using nails, pulling hair or ears, there was nothing Vaan didn't do as long as it ensured his victory.
On the other hand, Orion was a proud and honorary swordsman.
He was too much of a 'fair' fighter to fight against Vaan, who used dirty methods to win.
Vaan was worried that he might accidentally hurt his father in the heat of the battle, but then,
"Don't worry, Kid. I will hold back and even if you do get hurt, we have the best Medics who will take care of you and you will be back to normal in no time.
You have nothing to be afraid of."
Orion chuckled and hearing those words, Vaan's mouth twitched.
"Alright, Father."
With a fake smile on his face, Vaan glanced at his father as he took his battle stance.
"Just tell me when to stop and I will," Vaan spoke.
"I doubt you would be the one deciding that." Orion smiled as he simply placed his right hand behind his back.
Vaan was obviously offended by this action, it was clear that his father was looking down on him. What his father didn't know, however, was that he wasn't the pussy Vaan, he was Christopher.
A man who fought and defeated countless people, even if he was not the same as when he was at his peak since he was in a different body which was much weaker than his previous body, the techniques and experiences he had were still ingrained in his mind.
This man who was looking down on him, Vaan would make sure to change that,
Even if he had to play a little dirty for that.
With unwavering self-assurance, Vaan lunged at Orion, launching a flurry of punches, his approach was clear, wanting to hit his opponents till they were down, that was the simplest and the most dominant way to win a fight. Orion, however, remained calm, blocking and parrying each strike as if it were the simplest thing to do.
Vaan continued punching and seeing that his father still looked down on him and had no intention of hitting him back, his confidence soared. His punches became even more erratic, and Orion seized the opportunity to finally reveal the stark gap in their skills.
With a fluid motion, he sidestepped Vaan's attack and delivered a powerful roundhouse kick.
*Bam*
The Kick was so powerful that the impact sent Vaan crashing into the white wall.
"Khawwcckk!"
Vaan coughed, his eyes opened wide in disbelief. Orion movements weren't fast, rather, they were extremely slow, it was as if Vaan was watching a video that was slowed down. Even the kick that sent him flying, it was extremely slow, and what surprised Vaan was that even though he could see that kick from start to end, there was nothing he could do to defend it.
That slow kick… the timing behind it was so accurate that Vaan couldn't move to defend and felt like he was trapped in his own body.
Vaan finally realized.
This might not be as simple as he thought it would be.
Vaan started looking around, trying to think of a way to turn the tables.
Orion approached his fallen son, his voice gentle but firm. "Do you understand what I was talking about before? Do you understand what I was talking about before? You much, you put every ounce of power you have into those punches, however, there is no substance in your punches.
You won against those mages because, well, they were weak and intimidated.
Mages often tend to get nervous and panic whenever they see an opponent getting close to them. However, if you face a real warrior and get close to him like you did with others, with that nonexistent technique of yours, it will not end well."
Orion lectured.
Vaan struggled to his feet, his pride wounded. He knew his father was right, but he couldn't let go of his resentment. Not like this, he still hadn't shown everything he had. He couldn't lose like this!
With a fierce growl, he charged at Orion once more.
Orion sighed inwardly, preparing to defend himself once again. Vaan's attacks came faster and more ferociously this time, but they were still no match for his father's superior skill. Orion deflected each strike effortlessly, his movements precise and economical. Honestly, for him, it looked like he was simply walking in a park.
Despite his exhaustion, Vaan refused to back down. He continued to press forward, determined to prove himself, but then suddenly,
"Aaaagghhhhhhh!!"
Vaan screamed in agony as he grabbed his right leg.
Orion frowned in confusion, pausing his movements, he approached Vaan and questioned.
"What happened?"
"I-I don't know, it's the same place where Roland attacked me." Vaan's entire body was trembling.
Orion's expression changed, "Didn't the Medics say you were completely fine? Did they make a mistake?"
Orion's face suddenly turned cold.
Was this a scheme? Was someone targeting his son?
Soon, a few names started appearing in Orion's head, people who wanted to target Vaan and had enough power to do in inside the Vesta Family…
Orion then shook his head, it was not the time for this.
"Let me check."
Orion spoke as he moved towards his son with a concerned look on his face.
