Even though it was relatively easy to fly in a straight line, the difficulty increased once any special maneuvers were involved. Number One and the girls still had to attend the flight lesson to learn everything properly. It wasn't hard to guess that most battles between high-ranked experts took place in the air.
The most exciting were naturally the offensive capabilities of their new Soul Wings which turned out to be more fun than Number One expected. Each wing consisted of at least a hundred small blades which he could launch at his enemies.
"I wish we could control the blades' trajectory. It's impossible to hit them all while flying at the same time," Luna commented with a sigh as she saw most of her blades missed the target. "How can you aim so well?"
Number One was already a step ahead of her and instead of aiming at a single motionless board, he was already striking multiple moving puppets. To make it even more amazing, all of them were hit and he didn't even have a single miss.
"I was forced to learn how to aim since a single miss equaled death in most cases," Number One explained as he landed right next to Luna. "I only had one shot to kill every Soul Beast or else they would eat me."
Luna gazed at him speechlessly and collapsed into his chest. "All I did was train my Swords Arts this whole time. I'm not the best at throwing things…"
"Aren't those blades like swords? Just imagine you are throwing your own Soul Sword at the enemy," Number One suggested while patting her back. "Treat your wings as additional arms and the blades as throwing knives. What will you do if you can't approach your enemy? You need to attack from a long range before you enter close combat."
"I know, I'm just not used to doing this poorly when you both are doing so well right away," Luna muttered while leaning on Number One's shoulder and then looked up in the sky.
Nami wasn't any worse than Number One and only needed a few hours of practice before she displayed her advanced skills. She flew around in the dark while spinning mid-air and then shot at her targets from every angle possible. It was clear that their quick progress was getting to Luna who always found it easy to train.
"I think I know what's your problem," Number One commented as he grasped her face. "You are treating your training too seriously and in turn you lose focus when you are not performing up to your expectations. Stop it. Can't you see how much Nami is enjoying herself? Just have fun. This is not a competition and we only just started to practice. There is no one else here but us so you don't need to worry when you fail either."
ƥαṇdα- ηθνε|·ƈθm It was already night and they were the only ones still in the Training Grounds while everyone else went to attend the farewell party. Drinking and dancing wasn't for Number One knowing he could die at any point after being deemed ready by Rose.
Luna blushed after Number One discovered her feelings and pouted, "I just want to do well so that you praise me…"
If someone were to tell him that Luna would act like a baby in front of him, Number One would bet any amount of money against it. She changed her attitude completely and her feelings were affecting her performance.
"Listen, stop overthinking it all. It doesn't matter to me if you are first or last. I only focus on the end goal so don't let your failures distract you. If I told you how many times I have failed to reach this level you would definitely be proud of your progress," Number One said in a soft approach and then rubbed her cheeks with a smile. "It has only been a few hours and you can already hit a target from twenty meters away. How amazing is that?"
Number One cringed internally but his words seemed to work as Luna brightened. "Is it really? I can barely hit one-fifth of my blades and the target is not even moving."
"That's because you are overreaching. Who told you to jump steps before you finished with the basics?" Number One questioned with a knowing gaze and exposed her, "I gave you instructions but instead of practicing and building your muscle memory, you kept challenging yourself further. You wanted to quickly catch up with us and that caused you to fail more. The frustration only lowered your performance further and now we are here."
"I…" Luna muttered speechlessly but she couldn't reply as Number One grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the target. They didn't stop until they were only five meters away and he finally stopped while positioning himself behind her.
"Do it again. Focus on the center of the board and try to hit it five times," Number One instructed while holding onto Luna's waist. "Don't worry if you miss the center. I will be here until you succeed."
"Okay," Luna didn't question his methods and her Red Soul Energy burst out from her back. Each wing was bigger than her while her blades were crisp and sharp.
It was clear that she had the skills so it must have been something else that stopped her from performing. Number One didn't believe it was her talent so it could only be her mentality. He watched her focus on the target before she finally fired.
Swoosh!
The first blade flew straight at the target but it missed the center by a few inches. She immediately followed with another two and the third one completely missed the target. It only took three tries for her body to tense and Number One understood it was all him that affected her. She wanted to impress him but that only hindered her progress.
"Keep going, you are doing well. I am here no matter how long you need," Number One assured while caressing her waist. "Take a breath every time you shoot. Calm your mind and feel the rhythm. We have time. I am not going anywhere."
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