Chapter 34: Knockout

Kael said nothing, and Marcus tilted his head as he studied him.

"Tell me, Kael. What happens when a monster eats your wife in front of you? What happens when it reaches for your child while you’re lying on the ground, too weak to stand?"

The words struck Kael harder than any of Marcus’s punches. His mind went blank for a moment as the thought of losing Sera and Noah took hold of him.

He pictured Noah’s face and remembered the little boy sleeping against his chest that morning. He also remembered Sera holding their son and telling Kael to be careful before he left home.

Marcus continued speaking, apparently determined to make his point. "Will you lie there and hope your anger kills the monster for you?"

Kael’s breathing changed as he struggled to control his emotions.

"Don’t talk about them," Kael warned.

Marcus raised an eyebrow. "Why? Because it hurts?"

Kael tightened his grip around the practice dagger. "Shut up."

"Your wife and child are depending on a man who can’t even land a punch on me," Marcus continued. "If you keep training like this, you’ll remain a weakling. And if something happens to them—"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Kael shouted.

A faint warmth spread through Kael’s chest. The pain in his body hadn’t disappeared, but his focus sharpened, and his breathing gradually became steadier. The fear that had been building inside him gave way to a strong desire to protect his family.

The system’s interface appeared before his eyes.

[Familial Presence: D-Rank]

[Emotional Trigger Detected.]

[Family Bond Resonance Activated.]

[Minor enhancement to focus and movement precision.]

Kael lifted his eyes toward Marcus. For the first time since entering the arena, he stopped looking at the instructor as an unbeatable opponent. Instead, he focused on the man standing between him and his family.

Marcus noticed the change immediately. He had seen that same expression on Kael’s face in the lobby, when the five F-rank hunters had insulted his wife and child. Kael’s eyes had taken on a different intensity, his shoulders had stopped trembling, and his stance had changed even though he didn’t seem to realize it.

Marcus smiled. "Good. Now we’re getting somewhere."

Kael moved first. He crossed the distance with the dagger held low, his steps rough but faster than before. Marcus raised his arm to intercept him, but Kael changed direction at the last moment and swung toward his side.

Marcus twisted away, and the blade missed him by inches.

"Better!" Marcus praised.

The instructor immediately drove a knee toward Kael’s stomach. Kael barely managed to turn, taking the impact across his hip instead. The blow still sent him stumbling, but he managed to remain on his feet.

He attacked again, hoping to make use of the brief opening.

This time, Marcus knocked the dagger aside and struck him in the face. Kael’s head snapped backward, and he nearly fell. However, he forced himself to step forward and threw a punch.

Marcus caught his wrist. "Predictable," the instructor remarked.

He twisted Kael’s arm, turned him around, and shoved him onto the floor. Kael landed on his shoulder, sending pain down his arm, while Marcus stepped away and waited for him to get up.

"Get up," Marcus ordered.

Kael’s chest rose and fell rapidly. Every part of his body hurt, and his muscles were beginning to feel exhausted. His body was telling him to stay down, but he pushed himself to his feet again.

Marcus’s smile faded slightly. "You really don’t know when to quit."

"Not yet," Kael replied as he raised the dagger.

He rushed forward again, but Marcus easily avoided the first swing and struck him in the ribs. Kael twisted away from the second punch, only for a third to catch his shoulder. He stumbled toward the edge of the arena while Marcus followed without hurrying.

"You’ve got a little more speed now," Marcus observed. "But you’re still leaving your guard open."

Kael tried to lift his arms into a proper defensive position, but Marcus kicked his leg before he could recover. Kael lost his balance, and another punch caught him across the jaw, forcing him down onto one knee.

The room seemed to tilt around him, and for a moment, he thought he might vomit.

Marcus stood in front of him and looked down at him. "Stay down. This assessment is over."

Kael stared at the floor while trying to steady his breathing. He could hear people talking beyond the arena and the dull sounds of training weapons striking their targets. At the same time, he remembered Noah’s little noises from that morning and Sera telling him to eat before leaving.

He had promised Sera that he would be careful, but he hadn’t promised to give up at the first sign of difficulty.

Kael planted one hand on the floor and slowly pushed himself upright.

Marcus stared at him in disbelief. "You’re still standing?"

Kael wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Unfortunately."

A few hunters watching from the side laughed at his answer, and Marcus shook his head before letting out a tired sigh.

"Fine. One more exchange," Marcus decided. "If you can’t touch me this time, we’re done."

Kael nodded and adjusted his grip on the practice dagger before lowering it slightly. He knew he couldn’t win by trying to move like Marcus. He wasn’t fast enough, and he didn’t have the knowledge or experience needed to match the instructor’s technique. He would have to use what little he had and make the most of any opening he could find.

Marcus stepped forward, and Kael focused on his shoulders.

The first punch came from the right. Kael leaned away, but the fist still grazed his cheek. Marcus immediately followed with a second punch, and Kael raised his forearm to block it. The impact made his arm go numb, but he managed to stay upright.

Marcus moved to Kael’s left, and Kael turned to keep him in front of him. For the first time during the assessment, he managed to follow Marcus’s movement without immediately losing sight of him.

Marcus’s eyes narrowed as he noticed the improvement.

Kael took a short step backward, drawing Marcus forward before lunging toward him. His movement wasn’t a proper dagger technique. His footwork remained messy, and his balance was far from perfect, but his timing was better than before.

His body moved before his mind could talk him out of it.

Marcus saw the punch coming and twisted to evade it. Kael’s fist passed close enough that Marcus felt the air brush against his shirt, forcing the instructor to take the attack seriously.

If the punch had landed cleanly, Marcus knew he wouldn’t have walked away without a serious injury.

Kael’s arm continued forward, and his balance nearly failed him. He stumbled and barely managed to catch himself before falling. Marcus looked at him with new interest.

"So that’s the strength you were hiding," Marcus said.

Kael gasped for air. "I wasn’t hiding anything."

"Then you’ve got a lot to learn," Marcus replied.

He rolled his shoulders, and a faint pressure spread through the training area. The hunters watching from the sidelines gradually fell silent as Marcus’s posture changed. The relaxed instructor who had been knocking Kael around with casual movements seemed to disappear, replaced by someone whose every movement carried a clear purpose.

A system notification flickered at the edge of Kael’s vision, but he was too exhausted to focus on the words.

Marcus exhaled slowly before speaking. "Let’s see whether you can survive one serious strike."

Kael’s eyes widened. "Wait—"

Marcus moved before Kael could finish speaking. Kael barely saw him cross the distance, and he immediately tried to raise his arms, using the last of his focus as the Family Bond Resonance began to flicker.

For an instant, Kael thought he might be able to block the attack. Then Marcus’s fist struck him in the chest.

The impact lifted Kael completely off the ground. His body flew backward across the arena and crashed onto the reinforced floor, while the practice dagger slipped from his hand and skidded away.

Kael tried to breathe, but he couldn’t seem to draw enough air into his lungs. His vision blurred, and the sounds around him became distant as he struggled to understand what had happened.

He could vaguely hear someone shouting for a medic.

Marcus stood where he had thrown the punch, but the amusement had disappeared from his face. He walked toward Kael, who lay motionless on the floor, and crouched beside him.

"Kael?" Marcus called, his voice more serious than before.

Kael tried to answer, but his lips moved without producing a sound. The ceiling lights blurred into white circles above him, and he could no longer make out the faces of the people gathering around the arena.

Then everything went dark.