Chapter 35 – The Spar

"Hic… S-son, please forgive this unfilial mother for she cannot even take care of you," tears trickled down her resplendent cheeks like tides as she tried to endure the unfairness of the world.

Her husband had died protecting her and their child… and yet now, she cannot even savor the happiness of giving birth to her own child...

*Cough*

She coughed out golden blood, the aftereffect of the overuse of her divinity. That's right the divinity of a god… for she was the mana goddess!

And yet this goddess was kneeling before a human, a beautiful sleeping human who would birth and nurture her child, until…

She didn't know for how long… She didn't know if this woman would be able to take care of her child… Yet she couldn't do anything.

She had already done everything she could. She had used up every last ounce of her energy. She didn't even know how many years of her life she had sacrificed. But it was worth it if it means her child can live…

At this point, she could only believe in fate and hope that everything will go well with her child… And believe in this kind woman before her…

The same kind woman who Jack knew, the one who makes his heart stir with her affection. If only Jack was here he would have been utterly flabbergasted to know the truth…

But he wasn't, for he was yet to be born…

…

*Clang* *Clang* *Clang*

Metal clashing sounds resounded on the ground of the orphanage. Andrew delivered a few basic blows which were leisurely blocked by Jack. Andrew wasn't serious yet, and Jack knew.

Yet his lips had curled up into a smile. With each passing minute, the match was getting exciting. For the amateurish him, Andrew's movements seemed cool. He seemed to be drawing strength from his whole body judging from his stance, body movements, and weight distribution.

A human's observation skill is one of the fundamental skills that make him intelligent. The keener it is, the more profound knowledge can be obtained through it.

And that's what Jack had honed in the Dark Woods. He had learned vigilance and survival skills from herbivorous beasts, combat from hunter beasts, tree movement techniques from wind monkeys and other beasts specialized in movement and running, and so on.

Now he was keenly observing Andrew's swordsmanship as he tried mimicking his posture and movements.

For the next 10 minutes, Andrew only delivered basic blows from all the sides and retreated a few steps back after his blows were blocked by Jack. And with each blow, he could sense Jack's movements getting better.

"I see you are having fun there, brother hero!?" Andrew said as he stopped his movements as he saw Jack's smile, while the spectators watched in silence.

"Hehe! This is amazing! Come, use your full strength, I want to experience this to the fullest!" Jack said in a tone so cheerful that Andrew became stupefied. The calm and quiet hero that he knew wasn't in front of him. It seemed like Jack had become a little kid who had acquired a new toy to play with.

Toy, huh? Andrew smiled wryly as he dashed towards Jack not holding anything back.

*Woosh*

*Clang!*

His vertical slash was blocked again by Jack. But it was followed by Andrew's kick towards his guts, which he dodged by taking a step back.

And just as Jack was paying attention to Andrew's body movements, Andrew was also doing the same. By now, he had shown a basic set of sword techniques which became predictable for Jack.

Jack sensed a horizontal slash coming and his hands moved to block, just to receive a diagonal one. Though, thanks to his reflexes, he was able to block. Andrew again feigned a vertical slash to deliver a diagonal one.

*Clang* *Clang* *Clang*

His movements and slashes were becoming unpredictable with each move. Jack had gotten used to his fighting style until now, so Andrew had taken advantage of it.

Though, it wasn't a problem for Jack, as he was able to block or dodge all of them. He didn't parry, which would have been an easy thing for him, to drag the battle longer.

The battle continued as Jack's smile widened with excitement and thrill rising within. It felt a bit nostalgic and a chuckle leaked out his mouth while his sword danced to the rhythm of Andrew.

The children could only see their blurred movements while some adventurers could successfully trace them. They also became excited and started cheering.

He dragged it for another 20 minutes and saw Andrew showing signs of exhaustion as beads of sweat adorned his face. He also got bored with his repetitive movements, so he decided to end it here. Nevertheless, it was enjoyable.

Jack finally parried Andrew's next slash which threw him off balance and broke his stance. And before he could regain it, Jack's huge sword was already at his neck.

"I'm defeated!" he raised his hands and said with a smile.

Jack retreated his sword while saying, "You were good," and just as happiness was trying to greet Andrew, his next words made him speechless.

"Just like that boxing gorilla!" Jack said sincerely. Andrew did not understand the boxing part, but the gorilla part made him unsure of whether to laugh or cry.

The audience cheered loudly, not for the outcome, but for the spectacle they got to see.

Though Ruu wasn't satisfied with the outcome as Andrew hadn't used his element. If only he had used that, she was sure that he would have won. But she didn't know that Andrew had deliberately not used it, just to let her and the children like her think like that.

If he had used his full strength, he would have been utterly defeated in front of them, leaving their hearts devastated.

…

Jack noticed Lord Hardy and Albert who had joined the audience halfway. So both of them approached the figures while the other adventurers received orders to line the children for testing.

"That was an amazing battle, Mr. Jack. You are indeed befitting the title of hero," a feminine voice came from the side.

Jack's sight moved towards it to see a good looking mature woman appearing to be in her forties. Her smile seemed kind and gentle while she gave a few stern vibes.

Her tight brown dress showed her mature curves and it also gave a glimpse of the cleavage of her ample breasts.

And although she appeared to be in her forties, Jack knew that she was a lot older in age, probably in her 70s, by this world's standards.

"I am Melissa, the director of this orphanage. Nice to meet you," she said and extended her hand for a handshake.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Melissa. And please drop that 'Mr.' part, haha…" Jack found her gaze a bit piercing.

"Natalia had told me a lot about you. You indeed fit her evaluation…" she said mischievously.

Jack smiled wryly, "I wonder what she told you…" They exchanged some pleasantries and talked about some trivial things. Natalia also joined the conversation.

The children were lined up in the next few minutes, ready to be tested. So Albert gave the previous bone knife to Jack who then began moving in the rows while holding it.

It took him two hours as he had to move slowly because of Lord Hardy's instructions, as according to him, it would seem more believable for everyone.

Those who had belonged to the orphanage previously were also called and tested. And again, he couldn't sense that demonic energy from anyone.

…

After the testing was finished, Lord Hardy gave similar instructions like the previous day. Natalia then pointed out Jack's issue to Melissa who agreed to teach him whatever he wanted from tomorrow as she would be a bit busy today.

So he then bid farewell to those he knew, not before asking Andrew to teach him swordsmanship who just laughed awkwardly.

"Brother hero, why do you even want to learn it?" he couldn't understand as he knew with Jack's strength and speed, he wouldn't be able to learn anything from someone as weak as him.

"Because it is cool!" Jack said with a smile.

"...Uh… good answer, I guess… and how am I supposed to teach a monster? I can't even have a proper spar with you that would help you in learning…" He knew, if Jack wanted, he could have defeated him in a single blow. How was he going to teach him?

"Just teach me some basic moves and stances that I can practice on my own…" Jack proposed.

"Just that? That's not a problem for me… I can even teach you that right now!"

And so, another half an hour passed as he learned basic sword stances.

While he was at it, he asked him a few basic things which he had forgotten to ask Natalia and came to know that the next rank after an 'A'-rank is not 'S' but 'AA' followed by 'AAA'. While the 'S' is considered supreme.