"Sin, I'm so sorry. A lot of stuff happened yesterday," I tried to comfort Sin, who was still scowling at me, even though he was chewing the grilled meat I'd brought him with obvious enjoyment.
"Hey, let me ask you something - how exactly did you get lost? Seriously," I tried to make conversation to break the silence. "You've got Knight here. Shouldn't he be able to sniff out the way back?"
After I finished asking, Sin swallowed his last bite and sighed softly before answering in a flat tone.
"Knight... he's a dog with not-so-great memory."
"Even though he's good at smelling things, he forgets which direction the scent came from pretty quickly."
"So he could never find a way out of this forest. Just keeps walking in circles like this."
"Really..." I gaped slightly. "So that's how it is." I shook my head lightly. I thought Shadow-type Soul users would be amazing at everything, but seeing them in person... they're quite the headache.
Should I get to the point now... Alright! Better hurry and take Sin to meet old man Vex. If we delay too long, we might get lost again for sure.
"Sin..." When I turned to call him, he suddenly stood up to his full height, drawing his twin swords from... somewhere again. Seeing those twin swords reminded me of old man Vex using twin hammers... so the twin sword school Sin mentioned must really exist. And it doesn't have to be swords either. Hammers work too. Pretty badass.
"We'll start training now. You can draw your sword," Sin said seriously, his eyes turning sharp. But wait... training right away?
"But I want to take you to meet someone first..." I tried to change the subject.
Sin turned to look at me with a stern expression, no playfulness left. "Five hours," he declared firmly. "I just need five hours. I'll teach you the basics of short sword techniques myself."
Five hours, huh... Hmm, should be enough time since it's still early morning. Let's give it a try. I really want to train Soul Power more, but after hearing that Soul Either's warning... I don't really want to use it right now.
I swallowed hard before drawing the short sword Sin had given me, holding it firmly.
"Got it," I took a deep breath, trying to focus.
[Intensive basic training begins]
Sin in teacher mode was completely different from the Sin I knew. He was serious and decisive in every move. Starting from teaching me how to properly grip a short sword securely, foot positioning, body movement that coordinated with sword use.
I had to practice swinging the sword over and over until my left arm was nearly exhausted. Each strike had to be precise and powerful. Sin would carefully correct my posture, showing no mercy whatsoever.
The sounds of shouting, clashing swords, and my heavy breathing echoed throughout the area. Sweat poured down my body, clothes soaked through, but I gritted my teeth and fought on.
The training was much more grueling than I'd imagined. Many times I messed up and nearly fell over, but Sin's determined gaze made me get back up and keep fighting.
I learned several basic striking patterns - straight cuts, diagonal slashes, thrusts, plus basic defense. Sin emphasized concentration and reading your opponent's rhythm.
Five hours passed by incredibly fast. My body was so exhausted I could barely stand, but I felt something changing inside me. The sword in my hand felt much more familiar than before.
After the grueling training ended...
Phew... thought I was gonna die. Why would he teach so intensively! This guy... at first I thought he was the laid-back type, but when he got into serious teaching mode, he was like a different person. Scary as hell!
"Sin," I decided to get straight to the point. I didn't want to waste any more time, because tomorrow... is the day I'm going to get my revenge on them!
"I have someone I want you to meet." Sin, who was thirstily gulping water from a canteen, quickly turned to look at me with interest.
"Who?" His voice went back to being the Sin I was familiar with. What a relief.
"He's in Rusty town. Should we go now?" Even though I said let's go now, I honestly wanted to just collapse and sleep. But my time was limited.
"Knight..." Sin turned to speak to his wolf companion. "Finally!" His eyes started tearing up. "We're gonna get out of this damn forest!"
Then Sin just started bawling! Crying and wailing like a little kid. What a weird guy. I could only stand there scratching my head in confusion before deciding to start walking ahead.
"If you just keep crying, you might not be able to keep up."
"W-wait! Hold on!" Sin quickly wiped his snot and tears and shouted after me.
The heavy footsteps of Knight followed closely behind me.
"Come on! Get on! Having Knight carry us would be much faster," Sin pointed to Knight's back. Ride the dog? And it's still as huge as when I first fought it. But having to ride the back of a dog that once bit off my arm... feels pretty weird.
"Fine, I'm too lazy to walk anyway." In the end, I reluctantly climbed onto its back.
"Show me the way too, or we'll get lost again," Sin said while jumping up to sit behind me.
"Alright! Let's go!" As soon as I spoke, Knight shot forward like an arrow!
"Whoaaaa! Why's it running so fast! Hey! Not that way! Turn left!" I shouted, trying to balance on Knight's back as it ran so fast the wind was roaring in my face.
It braked suddenly, nearly making me face-plant, before turning in the direction I indicated. And then our dizzyingly chaotic journey began. Finally we reached Rusty town quickly (but it left me nearly exhausted).
"We're here, right Rift?" Sin asked after Knight slowed down. "Rift? Hey! You okay?"
Yeah, I was about ready to puke my guts out. Face pale, lips trembling, but at least we finally made it...
I tried to gather what consciousness I had left, shakily pointing toward the blacksmith shop sign not far away.
"Go... over there..."
Sin looked where I was pointing and went quiet for a moment. His expression immediately turned serious, like he knew something... of course he would. That's his father's shop.
Knight slowly walked calmly toward the shop front before gradually shrinking down to normal wolf size. Sin nimbly jumped down from its back and walked straight to the shop door.
I watched his back, feeling some kind of tension radiating from Sin.
Then he pushed the door open...
"Daddddd!" Sin's shout rang out from inside the shop, sounding like a mix of joy and guilt.
"Sinnnn! You ungrateful brat!" Old man Vex's familiar scolding voice immediately responded, but despite the loud scolding, I could still catch the relief and happiness in that tone.
And then... these two polar opposites who seemed like they could never get along... father and son... finally met again.