System's POV
chapter-458-1

"Zion, why am I wearing gloves again?" Diana asked with great curiosity.

"Because I will teach you boxing," Thirteen replied.

"…I'm a Crusader, you know?"

"I know, and a very lousy one, in fact, who takes every hit the enemy dishes and wears herself out a lot. I've been observing you for a day, and I'm confident that you're not a masochist… are you?"

Diana frowned. "Of course, I'm not a masochist."

"Good." Thirteen nodded. "Now, let's learn how to box first. Which one is your dominant arm?"

"My right hand," Diana replied.

"Then you should always put your left foot forward, and your right at the back like this," Thirteen said as he demonstrated the fighting stance. "You should be able to do this subconsciously whenever you block the enemy with your shield. Your left foot will let you gain a foothold, and your right foot will support your balance to tank the blow.

"Since you're already familiar with it, let's focus on your footwork. First, I will teach you how to block punches. If you are using a shield, simply put it in front of you. But in a situation when you're going to get mobbed, you need to know how to block properly."

Thirteen then threw a hook slowly and told Diana how to block it.

"Good. It's just like moving your shield to block, yes?" Thirteen asked after Diana realized that the teenage boy was right.

She used the same movement to block attacks coming from the side as boxing.

"Now, when I throw a straight punch, don't block it," Thirteen added. "Instead, dodge it. Your sense of defense is already wired into your system. Because of this, you will automatically block if you see an attack headed your way, so we will now practice dodging.

"Boxing doesn't only require you to punch faster and hit harder. Good boxers are also nimble with their feet. In fact, someone who has trained this art to the limit can dodge punches even with their hands tied behind their back.

"Remember this, Diana. There will come a time when you will have to fight without your party. You have experienced that when you were first Spirited Away, so you understand what I'm talking about.

"Fighting with your team is situational and gives you the highest means of survival. But when you are fighting alone, you can't just block your enemy's attacks all the time. You need to dodge, and counterattack as well."

Diana nodded in understanding.

When she was first sent to Solterra, it had been a very hard and difficult time for her.

Although she had been trained by her family since she was young, training and being in the field were two different things.

She could still remember how panicked she was when she encountered her first Monster.

Her body froze, her breathing grew ragged, and her mind was in disarray.

Fortunately, when she was first sent to Solterra, there were two other Wanderers who appeared beside her. Three of them were all trained, so they were able to overcome the Rank 1 Monster who attacked them.

Since then, Diana had leaned more on blocking attacks instead of dealing damage. She would fight as a part of a group, focusing only on defense and leaving the attacking to everyone else.

With her current strength, Diana should be able to fight Rank 1 Monsters easily. However, she also understood that she had been too used to defending against attacks instead of dodging and counter-attacking them.

"They say that offense is the best defense," Thirteen stated. "However, the best defense can be a good offense too when done by the right person. But before I teach you that, you need to learn how to move your body first. So, let's return to dodging and blocking."

Thirteen then focused on attacking Diana with fast, swift, and unpredictable attacks, making the latter have a hard time. However, she had been a Crusader for many years after all, so she was able to block Thirteen's attacks, albeit barely.

"You're still blocking my straight punches," Thirteen said. "When I punch straight, you dodge."

Diana felt as if both of her left and right feet weren't getting along with each other. A part of her wanted to block, and the other was forcing her to dodge, which made Thirteen's punches land lightly on her shoulders and head.

Roland, Joshua, and Mildred looked at the two and couldn't help but wonder why Thirteen was forcing Diana to learn boxing.

But since the teenage boy had given them their own training regimens, which they also found inexplicable, they decided to just simply think that the teenage boy was making fun of them.

Two hours later, Shana used her healing magic to heal the beaten and battered Diana who had been hit several times by the teenage boy who, in the end, stopped pulling back his punches.

The only saving grace was that Thirteen only aimed for her shoulders, deliberately sparing her face and chest during their boxing lesson.

But his punches still hurt a lot, which made Diana return to her usual strategy of blocking instead of dodging.

Thirteen didn't say anything and simply asked her to move around, using her feet every second.

It didn't matter if she blocked or dodged.

The teenage boy knew that Diana wouldn't get proficient in a day, so he just focused on letting her get used to the feeling of moving her feet and body.

The next day…

Thirteen no longer said anything and just proceeded to punch her repeatedly, making her understand that if she didn't dodge his attacks, she would only get hurt.

The second day ended with Diana's body feeling more sore and battered than it had been yesterday.

Even so, she was surprised that the thirteen-year-old was able to keep his energy levels at a decent level as he trained her other party members.

The only ones whom Thirteen didn't give actual hands-on training were Roland and Joshua.

Thirteen only gave the Hero one mission and one mission alone.

Defeat the Three-Horned Minotaur on his own using any means necessary.

Of course, Roland ended up dying many times, making him feel like quitting.

However, his pride wouldn't allow him to do that, especially after Thirteen fought not one, but two Minotaurs, with Rianna.

Although some can argue that Thirteen had Rianna with her, it didn't really matter in the bigger picture.

Roland had a feeling that even if Rianna wasn't there, the teenage boy could have still defeated the Three-Horned Minotaur if he was given enough time.

With this in mind, he refused to give up. He wanted to squash the gradually growing feeling of inferiority toward the teenage boy who was four years younger than him.

As for Joshua, Thirteen told him to purchase debuff spells and practice hitting Pocopocos with them.

While the Sage of the Hero Party didn't suffer any physical harm, given that there was no way he'd die from fighting against a Pocopoco, he felt dead inside because the bastard birds were very notorious for their foul mouths.

Diana, who had just finished her training, couldn't help but cover her lips, and chuckle silently as he looked at the TV Screen in the Training Room.

"What's wrong? Can't hit me with your small d*ck?" the Pocopoco said in disdain as it nimbly dodged Joshua's umpteenth attempt to hit it with a paralyzing spell. "Then again, maybe you don't have one because you are a p*ssy!"

"Shut up, you damn bird!" Joshua shouted as he unleashed a barrage of spells at the Bird who casually evaded it as if it was second nature to it.

"I'm sorry, are you talking about my Aunt?" the Pocopoco replied in a teasing tone. "But then again, she's not as dumb as your mother for giving birth to a loser like you."

"Damn your father, mother, and sister!" Joshua growled hatefully.

"You forgot my brother, punk," the Pocopoco flew low and spat on Joshua's face. "Nobody forgets my bro!"

Even Derek broke out in laughter as he watched Joshua's training routine.

It was the most entertaining thing that he had watched since he started his training with Thirteen.

The sound of the prim, proper, and serious Sage shouting and screaming out of anger and frustration as he hurled one spell after the other was music to his ears.

Even Roland, who died multiple times a day against a Three-Horned Minotaur, would rather fight the Rank 5 Overlord than be on the receiving end of the Pocopoco's insults.

But for some reason, Roland couldn't shake the feeling that Zion was purposely making things difficult for him and Joshua compared to the others.

However, since he didn't have any proof of his theory, he couldn't really speak up about the uncertainty that was now creeping at the back of his head.