His blade came from an unexpected angle, and Jack instinctively used Abyssal Steps to create distance. He appeared five meters away, breathing heavily.

"Good," Kyren said. "Master used the skill defensively instead of offensively. This is progress."

They continued for hours. Kyren never tired, never slowed, never showed mercy. His blade found openings Jack didn't know existed.

His footwork made Jack's attempts to flank him pointless. His timing made Jack's attacks feel clumsy and obvious.

But slowly, painfully slowly, Jack began to learn.

He learned that Abyssal Steps worked best when he didn't immediately attack after teleporting.

Sometimes appearing behind an enemy and simply standing there, forcing them to turn and expose their back to a follow-up strike, was more effective than a predictable teleport-slash combo.

He learned that his Demonhand wasn't just for slashing. The claws could catch blades, could pin weapons, could create openings through grappling rather than cutting.

He learned that retreating wasn't cowardice, it was strategy.

Creating distance to reassess, to breathe, to set up the next exchange.

By the end of the first day, Jack collapsed by the fire, his body screaming in protest.

He'd taken no serious damage, Kyren always pulled his strikes at the last moment, but the mental exhaustion was overwhelming.

"Master did well," Kyren said, his blade dismissing as his demeanor shifted back to that quiet, emotionless servant. "Tomorrow will be harder."

Jack groaned. "Of course it will."

S laughed from his position against Fluffy, already on his third tangerine of the evening. "I told you it would be entertaining."

---

The days blurred together.

Each morning, Jack would wake with muscles aching from the previous day's training. He'd eat demon meat for breakfast, mentally prepare himself, then face Kyren again.

And each day, Kyren was merciless.

Day two, Kyren introduced feints, attacks that looked real but were designed to bait reactions.

Jack fell for them repeatedly, leaving himself open to counters that would have been lethal in real combat.

Day three, Kyren began moving unpredictably, forcing Jack to adapt to changing patterns rather than memorizing sequences.

Day four, Kyren started using the environment, tree trunks as cover, roots as obstacles, the uneven forest floor as a weapon against Jack's footing.

Day five, Jack finally managed to land a solid hit. His Demonhand caught Kyren's blade, and instead of trying to overpower it, Jack used Abyssal Steps to teleport to Kyren's exposed side and struck with his normal left hand, a punch that would have broken ribs if Kyren hadn't shifted at the last second.

"Excellent," Kyren said, and Jack could have sworn there was approval in that hollow voice. "Master is learning."

By day six, Jack had begun to internalize the lessons.

His Abyssal Steps became less predictable. Sometimes he'd teleport and attack. Sometimes he'd teleport and wait.

Sometimes he'd fake the teleport animation, shifting his weight as if about to use the skill and attack normally when his opponent prepared for a blink.

Kyren adapted immediately, of course, but the fact that Jack was forcing him to adapt at all was progress.

Day seven arrived with overcast skies or what passed for weather in the bioluminescent forest. Jack had woken feeling different.

More centered. His body moved with a fluidity it hadn't possessed a week ago.

"Final lesson," Kyren said as they faced each other in the clearing.

His blade was drawn, that intense focus radiating from his hollow eyes. "Master has learned to use Demonhand for slashing. For blocking. For grappling. Now master must learn its true purpose."

He settled into his stance, blade held in a high guard. "Master's Demonhand is not a claw. It is a spear."

Jack's transformed hand flexed instinctively, the ten-inch claws gleaming in the blue-green light. "A spear?"

"Yes." Kyren demonstrated by making a thrusting motion with his own hand, fingers extended. "A spear strikes with the point. It penetrates defenses. It finds the gap between armor plates, between ribs, between certainty and death."

He pointed at Jack's demon hand with his blade. "Master's claws are the point. Master's arm is the shaft. Master's entire body is the force behind the thrust. When master strikes, master does not slash. Master pierces."

Kyren's stance shifted into something more aggressive. "And every strike must be a killing blow. Not wounding. Not testing. Killing."

His hollow eyes fixed on Jack with unnerving intensity. "In real combat, master will face enemies stronger than master. Faster than master. More experienced than master. Master cannot afford to wound such enemies. Master must kill them before they kill master."

He raised his blade. "Now. Attack this one. And mean it. Every strike aimed at a vital point. Heart, throat, eyes, brain. No testing strikes. No probing attacks. Only killing intent."

Something shifted in Jack's chest. This was different from the past six days. This wasn't about learning patterns or improving footwork. This was about committing fully to violence, about embracing what it meant to meet a warrior in battle.

He activated Demonhand, watching the familiar transformation. But this time, he looked at it differently. Not as a claw for slashing. As a spear for piercing.

Jack lunged forward, his arm extending like a thrust rather than a slash.

His claws aimed for Kyren's throat, five points of penetration instead of four lines of cutting.

Kyren's blade intercepted, but the angle was different this time. The thrust was harder to deflect than a slash. Jack felt Kyren actually have to give ground, stepping back to redirect the force.

"Better," Kyren acknowledged. "Again."

Jack pressed forward, combining what he'd learned over the past week with this new approach. Thrust, retreat, Abyssal Steps to a new angle, thrust again. Each strike aimed to kill. Each movement committed to the intent.

Kyren's blade worked overtime to keep up, parrying thrusts that came from unpredictable angles, defending vital points that Jack targeted with increasing precision.

Then Jack saw his opening.

Kyren's blade was high, defending against a thrust aimed at his eyes. Jack's Demonhand was extended, seemingly committed to that line of attack. But at the last moment, Jack activated Abyssal Steps.

He appeared not behind Kyren, but beside him, specifically on the side where Kyren's blade was poorly positioned to defend.

And instead of immediately attacking, Jack waited for the half-second it took Kyren to begin turning.

His Demonhand drove forward like a spear, all five claws converging on a single point. directly where Kyren's heart would be.

The strike had everything, positioning from Abyssal Steps, timing from patience, and killing intent from understanding that this was how real combat worked.

Kyren's blade moved to intercept, but a fraction too late. The flat of the weapon caught Jack's wrist, deflecting the strike by inches so that the claws passed harmlessly beside Kyren's torso instead of through it.

But for the first time in seven days, Kyren had been forced into a reactive defensive position. For a brief moment, Jack had been the one in control.

They stood there, frozen in that position, Jack's claws extended past Kyren's side, Kyren's blade pressed against Jack's wrist, both of them understanding what had just happened.

"Master has learned," Kyren said quietly, his blade dismissing. The intensity faded from his hollow eyes, and he returned to that quiet, emotionless demeanor. "This one is satisfied with master's progress."

Jack deactivated Demonhand, his chest heaving from exertion. Seven days of brutal training, and he'd finally earned Kyren's approval.

"One more week," Jack said, looking out at the bioluminescent forest. "One more week of real hunting to level my class and test what I've learned. Then we continue toward Pho."

Kyren nodded once. "Master will be ready."

S, who had been watching the entire exchange with interest, smiled slightly.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.