Swordmaster, My Ass!(Under Revision)

Survived long enough to witness the old man teaching (2)

'Listening to you always leaves me hanging by a thread between life and death!'

Thwack!

Jin fell to the ground, Babo sitting on his back. Jin scoffed and spat out the dirt in his mouth.

"Get off! You're crushing me!"

Babo sighed heavily.

"I'll make myself lighter."

"What?! I said, get off!"

"No."

With a flick of his fingers, Jin's heavy burden lessened. Jin slowly pushed himself, his arms trembling, sweat streaming down his face.

Babo scoffed, watching Jin as he sat on him. "This is pathetic work, Jin."

"I'm seven!" Jin huffed in response, struggling to keep pushing and lowering Babo's weight.

Babo clicked his tongue and lightly hit Jin's head. "No excuses. I swear, all of you, children are always finding ways to find an excuse." He crossed his arms. "Back in my day, everyone was always training their asses off. Now, everyone has gotten so dull and sensitive."

"Old man," Jin gritted out between breaths, "maybe... just maybe... you could try... being a little nicer... for once?"

Babo snorted, tapping Jin's head lightly again. "Being nice won't make you stronger. Keep going. One day, you'll thank me for this."

"That'll come when I survive this..." Jin sighed, but a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he continued his push-ups.

After a while, Jin sat beside a tree, his clothes drenched in sweat, panting heavily under the sunny skies.

"That old man is going to kill me..."

He glanced at his limp arms, lying seamlessly on the ground below.

"I can hear that."

Jin turned to the voice with eyes that had been soaked in sweat. He blinked to clear his vision and saw Babo standing, glaring at him.

"You can still use your legs, right?" Babo asked.

Jin nodded.

"Yeah, why-"

"..."

A realization washed him. He stood up and pointed at Babo. "You're not going t-"

"Yes... Yes, I am."

Jin gasped and he took a step back.

"A poor child like me would die! I refuse! Let me rest for a bit, at least!"

Babo glanced at the sun and back at Jin. "We still need to eat lunch. So let's wrap this up quickly."

Jin gasped once again, covering his mouth. "This is beyond abuse!"

Babo rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Abuse? This is called toughening you up. If you can't handle a little exercise, how will you face the real challenges out there?"

Jin glared at Babo, still catching his breath. "A little exercise?! You've got to be kidding me! I feel like my arms are about to fall off, and now you want me to use my legs? What kind of monster are you?"

Dash!

Without a second thought, Babo lunged toward Jin who was still whining. He appeared instantly in front of Jin and grabbed his shoulders, preventing him from escaping.

He smirked mischievously, trying to hide it with a smile.

"Don't worry. You'll survive this one."

Jin's eyes widened as he tried to pull away, but Babo's grip was firm. "Old man, you've got to be kidding me!"