The First Legendary Beast Master novel Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Situational Awareness

After two hours and a dozen opponents, Rita finally stopped calling more people to the ring.

"Alright, I have the combat data that I need. It looks like Karl here has a pretty good memory and instinct for someone who has clearly never won a fight before in his life. That's good enough for us to get started on the next round of instruction." She announced.

"The next round? What exactly are we going to have to do next? I'm already struggling to win a fight here unarmed, I'm not sure that throwing more knowledge at me is going to help." Karl asked.

Rita laughed at Karl's concern. "No, we're not going to force you to learn even more in the next few days. Instead, what we will be doing is tying everything that you have learned into one practical lesson and then grinding it into your brain until it is impossible for you to forget it.

You need to be able to block attacks while fighting, and work with Hawk at the same time. Like a Mage that has been tasked with both offence and defence, you'll be working overtime, and you need to build your situational awareness."

Karl nodded like he understood, but Rita saw right through his subterfuge.

"What I mean is that you must be aware of where all threats are at all times, or either you or Hawk could get yourselves into a lot of trouble. You're not indestructible, and enemies will try to lay traps for you.

That means you can't let the Hawk act freely on instinct, they will know what to expect from that. You have to guide him while also protecting yourself and maintaining a solid offence so that you can fight your way out of trouble if it finds you." Rita explained.

"Well, that sounds like a lot of work, so it must be important. How am I going to do that?" Karl asked.

"Practical skills training class. You will have accuracy and speed training with the mages in the morning, martial arts training in the afternoon, and then an entire day of practical skills training every week.

Now, tomorrow is normally the odd day for most students, where they take their elective subjects instead of their core training. For you, that means practical skills. Then the day after is an off day, so catch up on rest and healing, and you'll be back with the mages on Monday morning."

At least there was still an off day.

"Now, you can call it an early day and go get something to eat. Tomorrow will be a long one, and the first time is always the hardest. But trust me, this class will be important for you, especially if you start collecting more Monsters on your side." Rita added, then walked away.