"That's right, put your weight onto your right foot. En, then stretch your left foot back as far as it can go while still keeping it flat on the ground. Good, now, reach up with both hands…"
Lucas carefully guided Eris in the new exercises that had suddenly popped into his head. Even though he couldn't recall ever doing these stretches and movements himself, they seemed so ingrained in his mind that he just naturally knew what they were for and how to do them.
It was almost as if he had repeated such exercises hundreds, no, thousands of times every day for many years, to the point where he knew them so well he could even teach them to others without any difficulty.
Eris was just happy that her little brother was feeling better and that she got to play with him, so she went along with whatever Lucas was teaching her. At first, the young girl who had recently turned 12 didn't think much of the exercises she was performing, other than feeling they were a bit slow and boring; however, after executing a few of them in the sequence Lucas was directing her to, she began to realize that these 'simple' movements were actually much more difficult than they seemed.
Fortunately, Lucas would explain not only the purpose of each movement, but also how she should balance herself and which parts of her body she should feel relaxing or tensing.
His grasp of these exercises was honestly quite mesmerising for the young girl and it gave her a sense of awe at how good her little brother had suddenly become at teaching. She even felt that this 'lesson' was better than the ones her Teacher, Lucas' mother, usually gave her.
For his part, Lucas had become so immersed in executing the different forms while teaching them to Eris that he all but lost track of everything else. Performing these exercises almost seemed hypnotic to him, allowing him to empty his mind while relieving the stiffness and fatigue in his body.
The two children were genuinely having fun. It wasn't like their usual frolicking and playing, but Lucas was enjoying the new sensation of teaching something to his big sister.
Eris was similarly enjoying being taught these simple but profound exercises. What's more, for some reason she couldn't quite understand, she felt a bit warm and happy inside seeing her little brother being so attentive to her.
While Lucas always followed Eris around, even when she was getting into trouble, that didn't change the fact that she always felt she had to protect and look out for him as she was the big sister. In the current situation though, it was like the roles were reversed and she could depend on him to guide and teach her.
On top of that, Eris preferred moving her body to studying, so anything that involved physical activity was fun for her.
As the young ones were immersed in their own world, however, the two adults who were watching from nearby had much more solemn looks on their faces.
Turning to her friend, Sasha asked in a hushed but serious tone, "Anna, where did Lucas learn those forms and exercises?"
"I have no idea," Anna shook her head slowly, just as lost as her friend was.
Anna was in the Seventh Step Vein Opening Realm, while Sasha was slightly behind her in the Sixth Step. In the Rockwell Kingdom, given their ages, the two of them couldn't be considered anything special, but at least in terms of the Newton Barony, the lands governed by Sasha's husband, they were two of the strongest masters around.
Still, neither of them could recognize the exercises Lucas was currently teaching Eris, a fact which greatly surprised and confused them; after all, Lucas had just turned nine years old, so basically everything he knew, he learned from his parents.
"That series of movements, they're much more complex and comprehensive than anything I've ever seen before," Sasha commented with a fair degree of shock. Although she now resided in a small and remote place like Redwood Town, she came from a much, much bigger background; as such, she had been exposed to a broader world and had much higher vision.
In fact, Sasha Balfour would likely be far stronger than she currently was, despite her lacklustre Innate Cultivation Talent, if it weren't for certain choices she had made earlier on in life.
"That's not all, those movements don't seem to be just for conditioning and strengthening one's body. There are also elements of Martial Arts used for hand-to-hand combat included if I'm not mistaken," Anna followed up, in just as much disbelief as Sasha was.
Working as the Guard Captain for Redwood Town, Anna naturally had her fair share of experience both in training others and actual combat. It was because of her skill in battle and level-headed command abilities that Charles Newton appointed her to such an important position and asked her to instruct his beloved daughter Eris in Sword Arts.
She may not have had much formal training, but with her keen fighting insight, there was no way Anna couldn't recognize that although the movements her son and niece were now performing seemed slow and simple, they were actually brilliantly designed to build one's foundation and train their body for more than just physical fitness.
Normally, if the two mothers had seen their children trying out an unknown set of stretches and forms they had never heard of before, they would have immediately stopped them.
Half-baked exercises which were executed improperly could do more harm than good; however, listening to Lucas' diligently explain how to execute each movement one by one, as well as what their purpose was, they couldn't help feeling mesmerized and enlightened instead of concerned.
After half-an-hour, Anna finally couldn't hold herself back anymore and walked up to her son, squatted down in front of him so she could meet his eyes, and asked in the most serious tone she could, "Lucas, where did you learn these exercises? Who taught them to you, and when did you start practicing them?"
Still focused on what he was doing, Lucas turned to meet his mother's gaze and responded in a completely natural way, "I learned them in the army."
It was only after the words left his mouth that Lucas realized just what he had said, and how ridiculously his answer had been. Scrunching his face up deeply, the young boy would have looked quite cute if he didn't seem so lost and confused.
Eris, who was standing next to him, was the first one to react as she asked in an innocent voice, "The army? You've never met anyone from the army, have you?"
It was an obvious question with an obvious answer.
There was no military garrison in Redwood Town, and since Lucas had never left Redwood Town, there was no way he could have learned anything from anyone in the kingdom's army. On top of that, there was someone present who was very familiar with members of the Rockwell Kingdom's military and instantly refuted, "Those exercises aren't taught in the army."
Three heads turned to look at the one who made the comment, silently asking for further clarification.
Seeing these looks, Sasha scratched her head slightly and answered, "It's traditional for all core members of the Balfour Family to serve in the army, and my grandmother, the current Matriarch and Marquess, is one of the Rockwell Kingdom's Generals."
Both Eris and Lucas had their jaws drop when they heard this. They may not know much about the outside world, but even they had heard that there were 10 Armies in the Rockwell Kingdom, each led by one General.
That meant that Eris, who ran around playing in the mud with the town's children, and Sasha, who when harvest season came would go out into the fields to help the local farmers, were actually related to one of the strongest and most powerful individuals in the entire kingdom.
Lucas was naturally stunned, but Eris was thoroughly flabbergasted because even she had never heard anything about this from her mother.
Anna, who was already in the know and was simply surprised Sasha had chosen this moment to reveal this tidbit of knowledge, couldn't help laughing at the whole situation before explaining, "Eris, your mother doesn't like talking about her family because she left home quite young. Apparently, she thought all their traditions were stuffy and didn't want to be tied down by them."
"Anna!" Sasha, now blushing furiously, hurriedly interjected to stop her friend from leaking any more of her secrets to her daughter, earning her a cheeky wink from the former.
Frustrated and desperate to change the topic, Sasha coughed and hurriedly continued, "Ahem, I was too young to formally join the army when I left home, but I'm quite familiar with their standard training program and can say with certainty I've never seen these exercises before."
Having said as much, Sasha knit her brow again and turned to Lucas, "Why did you say you learned these forms from the army?"
"I…" Lucas started to speak, but then stopped, unsure of what to say next.
He clearly knew how to do these exercises, and when his mother asked him where he learned them, he just blurted out the answer that came to mind, but how was he supposed to explain that?
After a while, the young boy eventually muttered under his breath, "I don't know."
Naturally Anna and Sasha weren't satisfied with this answer and wanted to press the issue further, but Eris quickly jumped in and declared, "Why does it matter where Lucas learned them? They're fun, and I like them!"
The two mothers gawked for a moment before shaking their heads. It was true that finding out where Lucas obtained these exercises was important, but the two of them interrogating him in this manner really wasn't appropriate.
Quickly, Anna and Sasha silently came to an agreement before the former spoke up, "Alright. We won't ask about how you learned these exercises for now, but in exchange, Lucas, you'll have to teach Mother all about them so I can determine if they're safe to practice or not, okay?"
"Eris, until your aunt and I make sure there aren't any problems with these movements, you're not to use them again, am I clear?" Sasha followed up with her daughter.
Lucas and Eris exchanged a glance before they reluctantly nodded, knowing that this was as far as their mothers would indulge them.
Just at that moment, Drake came out from the house and called to the group of four, "It's a bit late for it, but I don't think any of us have eaten yet, so how about you all come inside and we have our mid-day meal?"
"En, we should get something to eat first before continuing," Anna agreed with her husband, instantly bringing back the bright smiles to the children's faces.
Anna hadn't decided to drop this matter, not by a long shot, but putting it aside for a short time wouldn't be a problem.
For now, the thought of food was enough to distract the children, and this break would also give Anna a chance to speak with Drake about if he knew where Lucas' newfound knowledge had come from.
Since her husband's smithy was located behind their house, he was often home together with Lucas during the day when she was off at work, so he might have some clues to this mystery, though she doubted Drake would keep something this important from her.
In any case, she could get to the bottom of things after they filled their bellies.