"Mhm, that's right. As long as you train persistently, it won't take long before you feel the changes in yourself."
Raiden Ei stood not far from Janice, watching her swing the wooden sword with some form. She occasionally spoke a word or two to encourage her, hoping Janice would have a little more confidence in herself.
Janice swung a wooden sword, sweat constantly oozing from her body. Large drops of sweat formed on her forehead, streaming down her cheeks, gathering at her chin, and dripping onto the cloud path.
Finally, she couldn't hold on any longer. She planted the wooden sword on the ground and gasped for breath.
After panting heavily a few times, she said to Raiden Ei, "I can't anymore, I'm going to die of exhaustion. Do I really have to keep practicing for it to be effective?"
Seeing Janice put down the wooden sword, Raiden Ei walked over to her side and said, "It's just your stamina that's lacking. You actually have quite a bit of Talent for swordsmanship. If you can become stronger, why wouldn't you train?"
Janice rested for a while before standing up straight again, taking the wooden sword in her hand. She asked Raiden Ei somewhat curiously, "Ei, you're so strong, did you train like this too?"
Raiden Ei felt that her strength level was hard to explain. Should she tell Janice that she was cheating, going from an ordinary person to someone who could fight an Admiral in less than two months? Wouldn't that crush her spirit? Therefore, this question could only be glossed over. It was a white lie, perhaps!
"Yes! Otherwise, I wouldn't know so much."
"Ei, you really are amazing!" Janice first praised Raiden Ei, then said, "I don't know if I can keep going, but I will do my best."
Raiden Ei patted Janice's shoulder and said, "Just doing your best is enough. Leave the rest to time; you will become stronger as time passes.
Let's continue training now! You've only practiced the sword-swinging motion less than 20 times. If you feel any movement is awkward, you can practice that single move hundreds of times."
Janice exclaimed in surprise, "Ah! But it's already noon. Aren't you hungry?"
Hearing Janice, Raiden Ei glanced at the sky. All she could see were white clouds; the rising and setting of the sun couldn't be seen here, as everything was covered by the 'White White Sea' located tens of thousands of meters high.
She could only silently calculate the time in her mind. Indeed, several hours had passed. However, she often didn't eat at regular times, only eating a little when she felt hungry.
Since Janice, a Sky Island resident, said it was noon, she wouldn't insist: "Fine! We can practice later."
Janice let out a sigh of relief and said, "Ei, let's go back then! I'll make the Coconut Stir-fried Cloud Crab I promised you in a bit, how about that?"
What could Raiden Ei say? She could only agree: "Sure. Do you need any help?"
Janice picked up her sword and led Raiden Ei toward her home, saying in a relaxed tone, "No need, no need. You just wait to eat. Don't worry! I won't disappoint you."
"Then I'll have to trouble you.", Raiden Ei sighed in relief. She had some self-awareness regarding her current cooking skills and didn't hold any hope that it might succeed.
...After Janice led Raiden Ei back to her home, she immediately went into the kitchen to get busy.
Raiden Ei didn't leisurely wander around either. Instead, she found a few sheets of paper and started writing and drawing on them, planning to write a secret manual for Janice on the spot.
She had just realized that for Janice, who had absolutely no foundation, it would probably take a very long time to become a swordsman through self-training. Moreover, she couldn't stay here to teach her forever.
So, she drew down some basic moves and added some points of caution. This way, Janice could practice slowly by following the manual later, and Raiden Ei wouldn't have to worry about being unable to leave.
Her hand speed was extremely fast, and the hand holding the pen was very steady. Even if she hadn't known how to draw before, relying on her current control over her body, she managed to draw the moves in her mind onto the paper with decent form.
She then added annotations on the side. Just like that, a basic sword technique secret manual was completed! Although it was only a few pages of content, it was packed with valuable information.
Raiden Ei picked up the few sheets of paper covered in her writing and carefully checked them over. She didn't find any problems and decided to give them to Janice later.
However, Raiden Ei didn't have to wait long before Janice came out of the kitchen and said to her, "Ei, lunch is ready." Then, she brought several plates of food out of the kitchen and placed them on the nearby dining table.
Raiden Ei took the basic sword manual she had just finished writing and handed it to Janice: "This is the introduction to basic swordsmanship I just wrote. You can train according to what's written here in the future and strive to reach the realm of a swordsman soon."
Janice's mouth opened wide in surprise. She took the papers Raiden Ei handed her and flipped through them, then said in a slightly dejected tone, "Ah! Ei, are you giving me this because you're leaving?"
Raiden Ei nodded and said seriously, "I plan to leave shortly, but don't worry, I will definitely come to find you here if I visit the Sky Island in the future."
Janice was only downcast for a moment before returning to her usual optimistic demeanor, saying to Raiden Ei, "Okay! It's settled then, I agree."
"Now, come taste the food I made!" Janice put the manual away and gestured for her to try the dishes placed on the side. She introduced, "This is my specialty. You definitely haven't eaten this dish before, come try it."
"Okay," Raiden Ei nodded, picked up the chopsticks Janice handed her, took a piece of the dish she recommended, and put it in her mouth to taste.
She only took one bite. It was soft, smooth, tender, and incomparably delicious, leaving a sweet aftertaste in her mouth. She praised, "This is very good, the flavor is exquisite. Is this the Coconut Stir-fried Cloud Crab you mentioned?"
Janice stared intently at Raiden Ei, as if afraid her brow would furrow if she didn't like it. Hearing her words, she finally relaxed.
She laughed happily, "Hee hee! That's right! I don't make this often either. Usually, I only make it with my parents on holidays."
"Mhm! It tastes very good. What about your parents? Why haven't I seen them?" Raiden Ei asked curiously.
Janice also walked to the table and sat down, handing Raiden Ei a piece of bread before saying, "They went to work! I'm the only one home."
Raiden Ei took the bread and didn't press further about her family matters. Her hands didn't stop tearing off a piece of bread as she changed the subject, "Oh! Is bread the staple food on the Sky Island?"
Janice had a piece of bread in her mouth and couldn't easily speak, so she could only nod to Raiden Ei to indicate yes.
Raiden Ei and Janice chatted while they ate.
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