It was truly ugly. Generally speaking, one would only see such ugly swordsmanship from those trainees who failed their exams to become official hunters...
Caly seemed to be seeing his past self.
Dead memories were reviving, constantly attacking him.
A mysterious phantom pain appeared on his forehead, as if his instructor were still knocking on his head.
Asterion didn't care about any of that. Although the development of events was different from what he had anticipated, as long as he could learn something from the Sword Master, it was fine.
To be honest, before the Sword Master bluntly pointed out the problems existing in his current "swordsmanship," Asterion hadn't realized he was actually trash to this degree—this level of trash wasn't even related to the physiological differences between humans and wyverns; it was just pure lack of skill.
To take the simplest example: before the Sword Master pointed it out with his wealth of experience, Asterion hadn't even realized that he couldn't slash the exact same spot twice in rapid succession. This had nothing to do with whether he could infuse life energy into the weapon; it was simply that he couldn't aim.
His control wasn't good enough.
Asterion tried continuously. Amidst various movements of spinning his body, twisting his hips, and swinging his blade, he tried to slash his sword-tail toward the same spot on the hillside. Yet, even after slashing dozens of times, he couldn't do it—this simply wasn't a problem that could be corrected immediately just by becoming aware of it.
This was an instinct during the swing, an invisible habit.
To put it more simply, that kind of precise control could only be possessed after countless practice swings; it was not a technique that could be mastered quickly in a short time.
There was no other way but for the hand to become familiar with it.
And so, maintaining a subtle coexistence with the hunters, Asterion began his studies following the Sword Master.
It was subtle in the sense that, apart from the Sword Master, other hunters wouldn't appear in large numbers before Asterion or get too close, and Asterion wouldn't approach the hunter's base either, only appearing on the hillside.
Through Asterion's behavior, the Commander seemed to have guessed his thoughts. Thus, the contact between the two sides was limited to the Sword Master, and only the Sword Master.
To tell the truth, even Asterion himself didn't know how his quiet attempt to "steal skills" had inexplicably turned into the Sword Master chasing after him every day to make him learn—this guy was sitting on the hillside waiting before dawn, even more proactive than the dragon who was supposed to be the one stealing the techniques.
But truthfully, the Sword Master was genuinely interested in the matter of teaching a Glavenus swordsmanship. In his words, it was already very difficult for him to make further progress in the way of the sword. Aside from accepting hunting quests, his only hobby now was sharing his swordsmanship.
So usually, whenever a hunter came to ask him for advice, the Sword Master would generously impart his techniques without hiding or holding anything back.
Because swordsmanship is something that requires exchange to become stronger.
However, after guiding so many hunters, the Sword Master had never had the experience of guiding a monster in sword practice. This filled him with a rare sense of drive and curiosity from head to toe.
—Can a monster really learn my swordsmanship?
That was pretty much the thought.
Just curiosity.
Pure curiosity.
It was similar to the situation of, "Bro, don't go out! There's a sniper at the door!" followed the next second by, "A sniper? Let me see what's going on."
It had to be said that the vast majority of humans in this world were quite simple and honest. Regarding the fact that an old acquaintance of a dragon had come to the outskirts of the base, and that the Sword Master was actually teaching this dragon swordsmanship, there were indeed a few hunters worried about whether this Glavenus would become unmanageable after learning swordsmanship, or what to do if it attacked hunters.
But even more people felt that this Glavenus had lived in peace with the hunters for so long, and they would even greet each other when they met in the Wildspire Waste, so it was different from other monsters—besides, didn't the Commander and the others trust this Glavenus too? So it surely wouldn't be a problem.
Mhm, and then the situation turned into curious hunters coming to the hillside far from the base every day to watch how a Glavenus learned swordsmanship. More enthusiastic hunters would even shout out, sharing their own past learning experiences with Asterion.
There were even many Palicoes who had followed hunters to the New World tagging along. Compared to the Grimalkynes, these Palicoes were much bolder.
After all, they entered the Research Commission as partners to hunters and official Felyne Hunters. Unlike the common civilian Felynes engaged in production activities, they could play a crucial role even in battles against large monsters.
They had a lot of nerve.
When facing Asterion, besides curiosity, they were also cautious. To show friendliness, they brought many large, perfectly cooked steaks as gifts—this suited Asterion's appetite perfectly, and he ate them right up.
However, Asterion only accepted the gifts sent by the Palicoes, while rejecting the roasted meat sent by hunters who tried to copy the Palicoes after seeing their success.
Cats are different!
All in all, the people of the Research Commission were still very enthusiastic about a monster that rarely didn't attack them on sight. It was just that Asterion found it hard to use the experience they shared.
It was difficult. The Long Sword techniques summarized and passed down by generations of hunters were exceptionally hard for Asterion to learn systematically.
Because Asterion's blade and the blades held in hunters' hands were completely different. As a Fanged Beast species (primate-like), the structure of hunters' arms and palm joints was simply too convenient, too ingenious, and too flexible.
Not only could they easily grasp and throw, but they could also manipulate the object in their hands freely according to their will—hunters could rotate the Long Sword in their hands or change its direction through the movement of their fingers, but Asterion couldn't do that.
When hunters swung their blades to attack, their eyes could stay fixed on the target for positioning. But Asterion... for every slash he made, he had to turn his body sideways. If he wanted to increase the power, he had to turn around and spin, or even jump entirely.
And during this process of turning around, Asterion lost the positioning of the enemy's location and the attack's landing point.
Blind swordsmanship, purely blind swordsmanship, relying entirely on feeling for positioning.
According to the normal growth process of a Glavenus, Asterion should have been kicked out by his mother one year after hatching, beginning a life of fighting against heaven, earth, and various dragons. Then, as long as he didn't die in such intense combat, sooner or later, he would be able to swing his sword-tail precisely through combat instinct and experience.
By then, even hitting the same spot consecutively wouldn't be a problem—it was just a pity that Asterion didn't want to wait that long, nor did he want to master a technique that could obviously be mastered earlier through training only after wasting so much time.
Given the richness of the Sword Master's experience, he naturally couldn't fail to understand the differences in body structure between humans and a Glavenus. Therefore, in the first week Asterion started learning, the Sword Master didn't give Asterion too much guidance, but instead had him continuously practice the most basic swings.
Finding a spot near a cliff face, the Sword Master drew a mark on the stone wall that wasn't very large relative to a Glavenus's size. He then instructed Asterion to continuously attack that mark using his most habitual and commonly used method, getting as close to the center of the mark as possible.
This way, it would allow Asterion to grasp the feeling of landing slashes on the same spot through repetitive training, and it also allowed the Sword Master to observe Asterion's attack habits, thereby creating a set of swordsmanship most suitable for him.
"Huff, huff."
Another sunset. Asterion had finally finished today's training. At this moment, he was panting heavily with exhaustion. The air above the radiator shell on his back was slightly distorting; a massive amount of heat was being expelled through it. If one were to crack an egg on it, it would probably be cooked in seconds.
To make the training have the best effect, Asterion naturally had to mobilize all the muscles in his body, swinging his blade with the intent to kill the stone wall in front of him completely. It was no different from actual combat.
Honestly, for a large wyvern, Asterion's amount of exercise during this period was a bit excessive. He was completely unlike other dragons who would find a place to rest after feeding, trying to avoid unnecessary combat or movement to waste their stamina.
He was actually a bit like a Deviljho, remaining in a state of combat and hunting constantly to fill his stomach, unable to stay idle.
Except unlike a Deviljho, he hadn't actually eaten anything.
Asterion was already very hungry. He just wanted to go find two Apceros to eat right now, and rest properly after eating. For this, he had even lost his insistence on cooked food. Anyway, for him, once it was eaten, it was all the same; he didn't need to consider absorption efficiency issues.
The Grimalkyne kitchen staff had been idle for six days. If the old clan leader hadn't comforted them, these little guys in the kitchen brigade would have thought their cooking was so bad it scared away the Glavenus boss, nearly bursting into tears one by one.
Asterion was serious about becoming stronger; for this, he could even give up the pleasures of the palate.
"You are still swinging the blade relying on instinct," the Sword Master said in a deep voice, standing with his arms crossed in a spot where Asterion's attacks wouldn't reach. "I can understand that in the past, you defeated other monsters relying precisely on this instinct. But if you want to learn our hunter techniques, then you must overcome this instinct."
"From instinctive, disorderly swinging to swinging with rhythm and method—in this process, you will inevitably become weaker, because you need to fight against your own instincts. You must consciously control every blade you swing out, ensuring it cuts exactly where you want it to cut."
"Only when you can achieve this with every swing do you need to turn this deliberate swinging into your new instinct—you understand, right?"
After rattling off a long string of words, the Sword Master suddenly remembered he wasn't talking to another hunter, but to a Glavenus.
"...Roar!" Asterion responded somewhat wearily.
The Sword Master could still understand the action of nodding.
"And it is very strange, why can you not activate the Spirit Blade?" The Sword Master knocked on his helmet in distress. "Normally speaking, when your attacks hit consecutively, even if your slash is off-center, as long as it hits successfully, you can use the feedback force from the impact to mobilize your own internal energy."
"When the energy accumulates to a certain degree, you can infuse the energy into the weapon, making the weapon harder, sharper, until you release the energy accumulated on the weapon with a special slashing method."
The Sword Master's helmet was ringing from his knocking. He really didn't understand why it was like this; after all, he wasn't a scholar.
"Could it be because you don't have hands? That shouldn't be it... Although your tail was broken, the remaining part is also made of mineral ore. This is no different from our Ore Tree weapons... I don't get it."
Even the few scholars in the base couldn't give an answer to this kind of question. They were scholars who specialized in studying monsters; they had no expertise in the aspect of hunter combat techniques.
Asterion also wouldn't agree to let the Research Commission's scholars conduct detailed research on him. The Sword Master had mentioned asking scholars to help with research before, but it was rejected by his roar.
"Anyway, let's continue practicing first," the Sword Master shook his head and said. "If you can't infuse energy into the weapon, I'm afraid I can't teach you more things... But regardless, practicing these basics well is still very useful. You should be able to feel it too, right?"
"Roar!" (That's right.)
Taking a breath, Asterion responded with a roar.
At least if the current him were to perform a wake-up hit on that Jyuratodus again, Asterion dared to swear that his slash definitely wouldn't miss again, but would directly disembowel the Jyuratodus.
Progress was enough.
"Note it down. Indeed, it has a double-layer shell, completely different from the Old World Glavenus. Suspected to be a special New World species."
While the hunters had gotten slightly used to the rhythm of a Glavenus appearing regularly at the gate of the base every day, and while Asterion was constantly trying to improve his swordsmanship under the Sword Master's guidance, on another cliff, several scholars were constantly observing Asterion through binoculars.
"It's also possible that this is the only one, which would make it even more special."
"It's not impossible. Let's continue observing... It's a pity we can't get a sample of its shell. I believe this shell covered with mineral crystals is the biggest difference between it and the Old World Glavenus. If the Old World Glavenus merely wields a sharp blade, then this Glavenus wields a sharp blade while also wearing armor."
A scholar who was writing non-stop in a notebook without looking up said.
"Just thinking about it is terrifying. If it suddenly goes mad and starts attacking us, how can hunters inflict effective damage?"
"Don't say such scary things," another scholar couldn't help but say. "By the way, you all saw it, right? This Glavenus can actually understand the Sword Master's words, and can even nod or shake its head in response to the Sword Master's questions—do you not understand what this actually implies?"
"It implies that he can engage in higher-level thinking! Instead of being like other dragons, who seem smart but only use their wisdom for predation and combat!"
"Who knows, maybe one day we'll see this Glavenus establish his own kingdom, populated by all sorts of large monsters—and he will be the Monster King!"
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