Chapter 458: The Best Defense Is A Good Offense [Part 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.

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.

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"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!"

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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.