Warlock of War: My Ares System

"Oh~ you're fast," Lu Bu smiled, hopping back just a few steps while licking the blood dripping from his left cheek.

A chilling sensation shot through my body as the man took a taller stance, signaling he was going to kick me, so I prepared myself for a big flash of power.

"You've already lost your cool. If you can't see your opponent, still try to look for hints as to where they are… don't just stupidly brace for an attack," The man chuckled, flicking the back of my head as I opened up my squinted eyes.

"You're gonna kill me if you hit me with full power,"

"Then don't die," The heavenly general smiled.

…

After the first day, I had to be carried back home since he hit me multiple times with probably, I would say, about three-quarters of his power.

I thought my bones were going to shatter upon every punch that he sent slinging my way as each and every strike of his was reinforced through a lightning bolt practically attached to his muscles.

His attacks were not only explosive but extremely powerful, allowing him to blow past every single guard of mine without even trying much.

It was almost pitiful how I was a punching bag to him, and to be honest, I was siked for the next day of training.

"When will we be able to learn more with weapons? Today you just beat me up with your fists… I didn't learn much,"

"Then maybe learn how to deflect better. You are very skilled and powerful, but when there is something too fast or too powerful for you to see, you just brace for it and let yourself be hit. What if there is some kind of curse attached to it?"

"So, you want me to deflect your fast-ass attacks? That's practically asking to tear something. I don't know what I would tear, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was all the muscles in my body,"

"Then tear your muscles and get used to it. I don't care what you do, just learn how to do that, and then I'll help you more with your weapon,"

As I rode on the back of his horse, my own horse followed his clicking, which he occasionally made with his mouth, directing the animal towards himself.

I understand what he's saying, and what he's trying to teach me as the basis of his weapon arts is probably redirection and deflection… but still, that's almost impossible to learn if he doesn't dial his power and speed down.

"So, you injured at all or just a couple of bruises?"

"What do you think?" I groaned, looking at my arms which were bruised very unnaturally due to my pulling practically every single muscle in them.

On top of giving up on blocking with the halberd, eventually moving to block with my forearms… which I deeply regret now.

To be honest, blocking with the halberd would have saved me less damage, but I was more prone to cleaner hits as he usually could just wind around the handle or blade that I was using to block.

"What a beautiful sunset…." The man muttered, breathing in the fresh, breezy air and fluttering his long hair into my face.

Why do I even bother…

As soon as we arrived back in the town, we greeted a few guards and passed through the long line of inspection as the traders might be loyal to the previous people in this town.

If so, we will need their information, so if they do anything stupid, we can quickly get rid of them… of course, many didn't have this idea, but it's better to stay safe than sorry.

As we moved into the inner walls, the man took his massive horse all the way to an infirmary which wasn't just a tent now but an actual building with even better nurses.

"Give way. Give way," Lu Bu muttered, eventually helping me off of his horse and guiding my staggering body to the upper floor, where I was immediately attended to.

The wounds almost made it look like a father was beating his child while the child attempted to block the hits, so the nurse was a bit suspicious, but after assuring her of a few things, she finally got to it and ground up some paste.

It was soothing on the bruises and stinging skin, but I soon discovered just how powerful these medicines were able to be.

She gave me something to ingest, and when I swallowed, I felt a wave of pleasure but also anxiety flood through me.

The pain in my forearms was completely gone, but now if I felt like walking or running, I would have just tumbled to the ground.

"What… is this?" I asked, the world around me spinning.

"Opium. Just lay there… you may feel woozy, but it will run out in a few hours. Also, do not ask for more… it's for your own sake," The nurse smiled, and as she left, I soon noticed the flying general had completely disappeared.

It was like he had faded out of existence, leaving me utterly bored in this empty and bland infirmary room.

[Level: 55/55] (200/200) XP Needed

"Goddammit… this is so annoying," I muttered, rolling on my side, redirecting my eyes from my status to the small charm that I held in my hand.

The shiny stone was slowly fading into what seemed to be an orb as layers on top of it began to break away, eventually revealing its proper form.

"Jade, huh? It's not even cloudy… it's almost like glass," I chuckled, expecting it even further. "Small town, my ass… if she's from a small town, she must be the goddamn god of that place."

As I looked at the jade even furhter, I noticed tiny bits of blue mana floating inside of it, causing my eyes to widen.

"I was wondering how mana was getting into this world… I guess it's through… no, that just doesn't make sense," I shook my head before getting some rest as I would need it tomorrow.