Bound and Broken: An Isekai Adventure Dark Fantasy (Melas Book 1) V.A. Lewis (feel good books to read .TXT) 📖

Karna just leaned back slightly, letting the dagger narrowly miss him once again. Then he headbutted me.

"Ouch!" I yelped as I fell on my knees. "That hurts!"

"That’s the point," he said. "You made another mistake."

"Really? I thought I was doing so well this time. Especially towards the end."

"Redirecting your momentum and switching grips to quickly attack me when I went behind you was indeed commendable. However, it should not have been necessary. Your mistake came just before that. You got annoyed that you couldn’t hit me, and you overstepped. You put too much weight into your swing, allowing me to get past your guard and into a blind spot."

I frowned. "But that’s just one mistake!"

"And one mistake could cost you your life, Melas," Karna replied instantly. "You want to be able to defend yourself, don’t you?"

"But— I mean…" I sighed, because I knew he was telling the truth. "Yeah, you’re right. I do."

The Goblin eyed my disheartened expression uneasily. He took a deep breath, then continued. "However, it’s been an hour. I am sure your exhaustion from doing this— and from last night— probably factored into your sloppiness."

"S-sloppy?! Come on, I’m not that bad at this... am I?"

"You are… not bad." I brightened up briefly, before being shut down by what he said next. "I think."

"You think? What does that mean?!"

Karna shrugged. "For a Goblin at your age, you’re absolutely terrible. However, you’re a Human child. I assume what you’ve shown me is considered good for one of those."

I stared at him aghast. "So if someone attacks me, and I’m forced to fight them off with what I’ve shown you, what happens then?"

"They’ll kill you, of course," he answered honestly. "Any trained fighter— or maybe even an untrained fighter— would be able to take you on without a problem. You’re too slow. Too physically weak to put up a fight."

"Then what was the point of doing all this?" I groaned.

The Goblin’s forehead creased at the comment, and he folded his arms. "Are you saying this was pointless?"

"W-well, no. I’m just saying that if I’m too weak and slow to do anything, how can this help me?"

"It helps for later. For when you grow up. Just because you’re a child now, does not mean you’ll forever be one. You’ll grow stronger one day. Learning this now just prepares you for then. And even if you’re— for some reason— physically incapable as an adult, there’s always body enhancement magic."

I took a second to register what he said. "You mean Shamanism?"

"That is not the only school of magic that focuses on that. But yes. Shamanism is one such example."

I stirred at that. I am good at magic— the best in the world, even!

"So if I learn this type of magic, I can make myself stronger?" I asked excitedly.

"Yes. And it is in fact far more beneficial for you, at your age. Making yourself as strong as an adult as a child is much easier than making yourself stronger than one once you’re an adult. Doing both may alter your body so you can exceed your limit, but the spell required to do the former is much simpler than the latter."

I eagerly roused to my feet. "Wait, so there’s this Dark Acolyte coming who can heal me—"

"Jasmin the Voodoo."

"Yeah, that person," I nodded excitedly. "If they’re here, can I also ask them to help make me stronger, faster, and whatever? Since it’s easy."

Karna scratched his head in thought. "If she is willing to come all the way to us just to heal you, then probably yes."

I felt my lips curling up into a smile. If I can protect myself, I don’t have to worry so much anymore! The happy thought crossed my mind, but was interrupted by a shout.

"Yo, Karna. Melas. We’re leaving soon. Come on, stop standing around."

Ihsan was yelling at us from the side. Most of the camp was cleared out, and everyone was getting ready to leave.

"Coming!" I called back to him.

Karna was already walking towards the rest of the camp. I stepped up right next to him and we walked in silence for a bit.

After a minute, I finally broke the silence. "Thanks. For teaching me."

He continued facing forward as he replied. "It’s nothing. I simply owed you."

"Well, not really. You already paid me back by not being a jerk anymore. That’s what I told you, remember?"

The Goblin gave me a grunt, which I was not really sure how to interpret; I remained silent, before he finally spoke up.

"...if you want, I can continue training you."

I raised my eyebrows. "Really?"

"Yes." He turned to me slightly. "It won’t help you much right now, but it will still help you a little bit. Although I do believe it would be better for you to learn some sort of defensive magic— like a barrier spell— to protect you if anyone gets close. You should only ever have to pull out your dagger as a last resort."

Karna continued talking, as I slowly trailed behind him. I looked heavenward— at the blue sky overhead and at the white clouds that partially obscured the sun for that briefest of moments.

Things are finally starting to get better. I smiled.

Hopefully it stayed that way.

Chapter 34: Choices, Choices, Choices

For the next few days, I spent most of my time studying magic and training with Karna. Not only did he teach me how to fight with a dagger in close-quarters combat, he also gave me practical tips on casting spells in a combat situation.

The scenarios would vary, but he typically would have me use every tool in my disposal to fend him off and escape his attacks. He