CHAPTER 42
"... You might be wondering why we are starting with kicks. Well, it's simple. Not all the times will our fists reach our targets. But our legs have the longer range compared to our hands.
So we will learn how to use this effectively."
The Aspirants nodded along with all of the Captain's words without any interruptions.
I mean, who could actually interrupt a Captain?
On the battlefield, these guys were dangerous and they were all now lucky enough to have one of them teaching them?
It was a privilege especially for those who didn't come from a well to do family.
Being in the Aspirant Corps and given a slot was already a blessing. Now having high ranked corps men teaching them was an even greater boon.
And they were all ready to listen attentively and put it to good use. No matter what.
"We have several types of kicks." Jake continued as he paced around the platform he stood on with his hands behind his back.
"I won't delve into details because we don't have much time. We just have one hour thirty minutes left from our time limit of two hours so listen."
Ray who stood in a corner of the hall didn't even dare to zone out like he always did in the homeroom class as he kept his attention rapt.
"... We have different groups of kicks and also their sub divisions. One of these group of kicks is the 'Straight line kick.'"
'Straigh line kick.' Ray repeated in his head storing the memory in his mind as he listened on.
"Under this straight line kick, we have three sub divisions which are the; Front, Push and snap kick."
The Captain paused for a few moments as he let his words hung in the air.
"... And we will focus on these three sub divisions for three days straight. The goal is for you all to be able to perform these kicks and allow them flow seamlessly into one another so as to deal enough damage to your opponent."
Ray was eager and ready to learn as he shuffled forward so as to get the idea properly.
"Now. Pay attention, keep your eyes peeled as I demonstrate the front kick."
Still on the platform, the Captain leaped two metres back suddenly creating space in front of him.
Tapping his watch a few times, the platform two metres in front of him began shifting and splitting apart with steam seeping out as something could be seen rising out of the ground.
Ray was in awe as he leaned forward along with the other Aspirants who were eager to see what was rising from the ground.
Soon enough, the steam settled and the ground closed back up to reveal a humanoid looking… doll?
The doll had the usual proclean looking skin but much more durable standing at around nine feet.
It suddenly hummed softly as its dull looking eyes of earlier suddenly lit up as if being activated by a hidden force.
Then it took a flawless stance as the Captain stared at it with a stoic expression on his face.
"Behold, the front kick!" Jake shouted as he moved forward.
He was careful to hold back his speed so the Aspirants could see what he was aiming to do.
He had already set the doll to not attack but just react to his attack as he swiftly appeared in front of the doll.
With a mini bang, his foot lifted off the ground and smashed into the gut of the doll hard. He swiftly transitioned to hitting its chest then chin in one flawless action lifting the doll off its feet and hurled a few metres away.
But careful enough to not hit the wall as it lay deactivated while Jake placed his leg back to the ground and turned to the students.
They all clapped at the perfect performance which some of them were still unable to follow even though the Captain had cut down on his speed.
Although, Ray actually managed to see everything clearly and perfectly for an unknown reason.
"If it was a human," The Captain spoke aloud causing the claps to halt.
"They would have been reeling on the ground while purging out continuous stream with that front kick. But know this, it all depends on your strength as a person though.
Are you strong enough to deal damage with a kick so basic like that? Or weak enough to make it seem useless like other people would deem it to be. It's up to you."
"....."
The Captain let his words hang in the air for a few moments before tapping on his watch a few times causing several steams to begin seeeping out of the ground all around the Aspirants.
Already seeing this earlier, they didn't panic and quickly made space as the hall was actually big enough to contain about a hundred and fifty people comfortably.
The Aspirants in the hall were no more than fifty hence there were more than enough space to move around and perform whatever techniques they wanted to.
Finally, rising out of the ground were the same type of dolls the Captain had just demonstrated his attack on.
Soon enough, they all whirred awake but weren't charging forward for an attack.
"Now… you may all begin the front kick. I will be moving around to check on you all. Make sure the kick is straight and precisely target the abdomen, chest and chin. It's okay to not be flawless after all, we have three days. So begin!"
With that, all Aspirants gave a few metres of space away from the dolls and began the kicking session.
Ray too was seen practising as he lifted his foot trying to mirror the Captain's attack.
He swung his foot forward slamming it roughly into the doll's abdomen but it didn't even flinch nor did it let out a sound.
His foot had struck awkwardly causing a sharp pain to shoot up his leg making him pull back.
But one thing he was good at was not giving up as he rushed forward again swinging his foot from abdomen to chest to chin aiming to achieve that flawless attack by the captain.
But no matter what he did, he was unable to do the same thing as he kept striking weirdly.
For instance, instead of letting the sole of his feet do the kicking, he would hit with either his toes or the side of his leg causing him to always feel pain.
And he wasn't the only one as almost every single Aspirant there faced the same thing over and over again with sweat trickling down their temples.
The attack had looked simple when displayed by the Captain but now, they realised it was much harder to perfect.
Infact, they had thought the Captain was underestimating them by giving them a whole three days for just a kick but now, they realised he was being generous.
As they all practiced on, the sound of panting, shouts and continuous kick echoed in the air.