The sparring left Cassian sore, but it was beneficial for him, especially in completing his daily tasks.
[Daily Training Tasks Completed]
[Deflect 40 Moves: 40/40
Parry 20 Moves: 20/20
Dodge and Follow 30 Attacks: 30/30
Perform 15 Feint Attacks: 15/15]
The daily tasks had become more advanced, moving beyond simple slashes and exercises to focus on combining those basic attacks into fundamental sword movements, footwork, and more challenging stances. Cassian found this progression enjoyable, as he was growing tired of just performing the same basic moves every day.
That said, he still dedicated time to practicing and doing physical training daily; it was crucial for maintaining his health and reinforcing the fundamentals. Now that he had finished cleaning up, he checked his status. Normally, there weren't many changes, but today was different.
[Name : Trainee Cassian ven dyke
Warrior level : Trainee
[System function : Training field (available)
Sword mastery : Novice Lv5
Lower Body Massage Mastery. : Lv1(403/500) ]
His sword mastery skill had jumped from level one to level five. Cassian didn't quite understand why, but it might be related to his growing understanding of the principles of sword techniques, along with a newfound comprehension of them.
"So, my skill doesn't grow just because I'm getting physically stronger…" Cassian thought, feeling a bit foolish. He had assumed his sword skill would level up when he developed a domain, but it wasn't about domain mastery; it was about mastering swords.
Now, he wondered what else he could do to increase his mastery. "I can focus more on understanding the principles and train using one or two at a time…" he muttered to himself. That seemed like a good plan. He also considered perfecting his basic moves down to finer details and then combining them into a seamless flow. He had tried this before but still made mistakes, revealing flaws in his technique.
If he could eliminate those errors, his sword skill would surely level up.
"But that's going to take time… maybe learning a sword technique will help speed things up," Cassian mused as he took a bite of his apple. He had asked Robert about it, and the response was promising—there were some solid sword techniques available, even a few based on the principle of precision.
As he glanced out the window toward the building across the way, his eyes widened in surprise. He caught a glimpse of a very revealing piece of clothing hanging out to dry—a set of women's undergarments, delicate blue lace, barely more than thin strings. "These are even more erotic than what lady Katherine wears..." Cassian muttered to himself as he finished his apple.
He couldn't help but remember Katherine's shapely curves in her lace panties—they were beautiful and alluring. But these ones... he found himself wishing he could see Katherine in them, or perhaps the woman they belonged to. Yet, it didn't seem like anyone was home.
Cassian made a mental note to check out who the owner might be whenever he got the chance. Just then, Robert walked into the room and remarked, "What are you staring at? Trying to make us late?"
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to..." Cassian replied, quickly pulling on his shirt.
"Relax, man. So what if we're a bit late? It's not like we had anything important to do there anyway," Robert said with a grin, casually grabbing a few grapes from Cassian's fruit bowl.
Cassian looked surprised at Robert's response and, while slowly buttoning up his shirt, asked, "And here I thought you were all about being a real law enforcer, wanting to catch criminals and all that..."
"Oh, I definitely want to catch criminals, no doubt about that," Robert replied, sounding a bit annoyed. "But not this pointless busywork—taking notes, running errands. They even have us buy food when they could just have it delivered."
Cassian couldn't help but nod in agreement.
"And why wouldn't I want to catch criminals? There's a lot of merit to be earned catching some of them, if not all," Robert continued, getting up. "But alas, we won't get the chance unless we stumble across one by luck..."
Cassian felt a wave of frustration. As constables, they had limited power—they could only arrest people they caught in the act or those they were specifically ordered to pursue. Beyond that, they were basically just errand boys.
He still couldn't understand why Katherine thought joining the department was a good idea for him. Sure, learning from Julius had its benefits, but wouldn't it have been better if he had a higher position than just running errands? It would allow him to earn more merits, and he had a feeling that Lady Katherine might have known that too.
'Why didn't she tell me?' he wondered, unsure why she would keep that from him. It didn't seem like there was any good reason to hide it. The uncertainty, along with everything else, only added to his frustration.
"At least I'm paired with Detective Julius and Alix. They're both good at their jobs, even if Detective Alix is a bit of a taskmaster..." Robert said, then added with a sympathetic look, "But as for you, Sergeant Dallas is practically a slave driver, and I just hope Detective Cassandra isn't the same."
Cassian glanced down, thinking about the women in his life. There hadn't been many, but the ones he'd known had always been quite forceful, pushing him into things he didn't necessarily want to do. Some of those things he'd ended up enjoying, but he wished he could have chosen to do them on his own terms.
Now, it seemed he'd be getting pushed around again, and while it wasn't really about the gender, for him it had always been, "Always women..." he muttered aloud, a weary expression on his face.
Robert looked surprised, his tone turning excited as he asked, "You seem to be having some lady troubles, if I'm not mistaken..." as they headed out.
"Yeah, some..." Cassian admitted, hesitating for a moment before adding, "Well, to be exact, it's not just one... it's a few of them…"
'Well, well... I didn't realize he was a player,' Robert thought with a mix of surprise and amusement. But as he took in Cassian's features, he considered, 'He's got the looks and charm, so I guess it makes sense.' With a curious smile, he pressed further, "And what might those troubles be?"
"They force me..." Cassian said with a frustrated tone, which only seemed to amuse Robert more. "Force you? How?" he asked, clearly intrigued.
"They make me do things I don't want to..." Cassian replied, looking even more irritated.
Robert's grin widened as he pressed on, "Can I ask what those things are?"
"You can ask, but I can't tell you. It's... personal," Cassian responded, looking a bit troubled.
"Fair enough. But if you want, I can give you some advice on how to keep those women from pushing you around," Robert offered with a smirk, throwing an arm around Cassian's shoulders as he prepared to share his so-called wisdom with a mischievous grin.