Damian sighed in relief, then checked the time on his phone, crouched down, took the bracelet and put it on his wrist, then poured the sand into the pan.
Everyone who was watching seemed to know what Damian was about to do, but they still didn't understand the purpose of the wooden board he was standing on.
In the next moment, Damian grabbed the pan with one hand as he stepped onto the wooden board.
After letting out a sigh of relief when he found his balance, Damian's eyes sharpened, as if everything around him no longer existed. Then, he began to swing the pan as if he were cooking.
"The purpose of that board was..." Roland murmured.
"Balance. No matter how he swings the pan, his movements don't change at all. Damian Gray always practiced like that?"
Rindō also muttered in disbelief, "Erm... Momo, Damian wanted that pan and the sand just to practice the balance of the pan?"
"I didn't expect that either... But how long does Damian usually practice?"
"Normally, it should take about twenty minutes..."
"Hmm."
The five of them kept watching Damian's training—twenty minutes, thirty minutes, forty minutes, fifty minutes...
The more time passed, the more shocked they became.
Damian was like a robot, repeating the exact same movements the entire time.
Even though he had to keep his balance on the board, his motions remained completely consistent.
Even with the added strain on his muscles, Damian never once stopped to rest. The height of the pan didn't change at all.
"More than 60 minutes have passed, but Damian's posture and movements haven't changed at all—not even his speed. He's been swinging the pan nonstop like a machine." Roland swallowed hard.
"Amazing..." Senzaemon murmured.
---
"It's been an hour and he's still going?" Rindō whispered.
Momo hugged Bucchi and murmured, "I knew he was this determined..."
An hour and a half later, Damian finally stopped. But just when everyone thought he was done, he moved the bracelet to his other wrist under everyone's disbelieving gaze and continued swinging the pan with his opposite hand.
Even with the sand shifting inside the pan, Damian never changed his rhythm, never complained, held the pan with his bracelet-wrapped wrist, never dropped it, and always maintained the same speed, height, and posture, just swinging the pan mechanically.
Damian's vest was completely soaked in sweat as he swung the pan without pause.
Under the moonlight, in a clearing deep in the forest where no one usually went, a beautiful and striking young man training tirelessly might easily be mistaken for a complete fool.
Rindō swallowed. She had already known this, but Damian... somehow seemed even more attractive now—not because of his appearance, but something else. Her heart skipped a beat for a moment when she saw the fierce determination in his eyes.
Another hour and a half passed. Damian finally stopped the motion of his hands and, after placing the pan on the ground, sighed in relief.
His arms were slightly red by now, but he didn't care at all. He casually took off his vest and wiped the sweat from his face with a cloth he had brought.
His heartbeat was still elevated from the exercise, and under the moonlight, his abdominal muscles were clearly visible at a glance.
It's not just men who like admiring beautiful women—women also admire beautiful, attractive men. And the same goes the other way around.
"Damn... still a long way to go... But I have to keep training, or my speed will drop... Ahh... Who's been watching me this whole time? Forget it, it doesn't matter…"
In the forest, where only the sound of the wind rustling the leaves and the chirping of insects could be heard, none of the spectators could clearly make out what Damian said due to the distance, but anyone could tell from his expression that he wasn't satisfied.
Was it still not good enough in his eyes? Just how strict was Damian with himself?
They didn't know either. Although Damian had no idea who exactly was watching him, he had been aware of their presence from the moment he arrived at the clearing.
Just when everyone thought it was truly over, Damian began stretching, showing a level of flexibility that would be nearly impossible for most people to achieve.
After 10 minutes of proper stretching, Damian walked over to a tree and began to fluidly move his body—his final posture resembling that of a mantis.
"That stance..." Senzaemon's eyes widened as he noticed a certain similarity between Damian's pose and that of an old friend.
"What is it?" Roland asked, curious about what Senzaemon had just said.
"It's nothing. I must've been mistaken," he replied.
Damian took a few deep breaths and began to strike the tree.
His movements seemed to channel powerful, flowing energy through his body as marks from his blows began to appear on the tree bark.
"So cool..." Rindō whispered, mesmerized by Damian.
"Yeah..." Momo agreed.
A few minutes later, once the tree trunk was weakened enough, Damian struck it again with all his might.
**Bang!**
A deep hole in the shape of his fist appeared in the tree trunk.
At the same time, several pine needles began to fall from the branches.
> [A/N: I just realized I forgot to mention this was a pine tree.]
"This is a good opportunity to use this," Damian murmured.
"Camp of the Water Stream..." he whispered.
Camp of the Water Stream—one of the first techniques his grandfather had taught him—created an area where his fists would destroy anything that entered, protecting what was inside.
It was a purely defensive technique.
After finishing, Damian continued his training, moving through several exercises. He practiced his knife handling, speed, sense of smell, and more.
Just over two hours later, he finally finished his training and left.
However, he did not expect that this would stir unexpected feelings in those who had watched him—especially in the hearts of Momo and Rindō.
(End of Chapter)
Give me some power stones there you go~😉