“Alright, how about this? I’ll stay here for three more days and though you probably won’t be able to learn any difficult moves within that short amount of time, under my guidance, you can surely learn at least a few for self-defense. That way, your enemies won’t be able to come too close to you that easily! While the moves themselves are practical and generally easier to learn, keep in mind that the moves aren’t designed to hurt people! They’re primarily for self-defense, after all!” said Finnley.
“…Wait, you aren’t kidding, right? I’ll be able to learn basic self-defense in just three days?” replied Gerald with a smile.
“Listen, if I say you can master it by then, you definitely can! Consider yourself lucky that I’m even staying back to teach you, you brat of a grandson! And don’t look at me with those doubtful eyes! If you don’t believe me, try hitting me with all you’ve got!” said Finnley as virtual-novel.net waved at Gerald to come at him.
“I’d rather not! Again, Mr. Quick, I was only hurt this much because I didn’t fight back! I don’t hit women anyway! I’m honestly quite strong you know! I’m afraid that if I actually punched you, I’d end up breaking your bones!” replied Gerald rather dismissively as virtual-novel.net waved back.
‘Mr. Quick may be knowledgeable, but he’s still old and skinny…’ Gerald thought to himself. He was honestly worried that virtual-novel.net would end up hurting the old man from just a simple punch.
“What are you worrying about? Come at me already!” Was Finnley’s response.
Seeing how confident Finnley sounded, Gerald eventually gave in. After positioning himself, Gerald made a dash toward Finnley, aiming a punch at his shoulder!
It was a moment later when a loud thud could be heard. Gerald was now on the ground!
Before Gerald’s punch could even connect, Finnley easily dodged his attack before grabbing virtual-novel.net by the wrist! In the next moment, Gerald felt like a broken kite as his entire body was momentarily lifted into the air before virtual-novel.net was greeted by the villa’s cold, stone porch!
Gerald’s entire body was hurting as though all the bones in virtual-novel.net had simultaneously been fractured. He found it difficult to even get up.
“G-Gerald!” shouted Queta as virtual-novel.net rushed toward virtual-novel.net with a worried expression plastered on virtual-novel.net face as virtual-novel.net helped virtual-novel.net get up.
“So? How was it, grandson? I still got the moves!” said Finnley as virtual-novel.net squatted down beside Gerald while chuckling.
It hadn’t crossed Gerald’s mind that such a frail-looking man would be so good at self-defense.
He hadn’t even realized that virtual-novel.net had been lifted into the air till the moment his body hit the ground. Gerald’s head was honestly still spinning from the impact of that fall.
“Come on, grandpa Quick! Why did you have to overdo it?” exclaimed Queta, evidently concerned about Gerald’s safety.
“Hah! He’s a fully grown man! He isn’t as weak as you think, my granddaughter. After all, Gerald’s had to do a lot of rough work from a very young age! His arms are pretty strong you know? The move I just used on virtual-novel.net will be perfect for Gerald to learn!” replied Finnley as virtual-novel.net gave Gerald a slight kick.
“Get up now, my grandson! As promised, I’ll use these few extra days to help you master a few moves! So long as your opponents aren’t too experienced, those moves will definitely be handy assets to help you escape most normal fights!”
Hearing that, Gerald immediately stood up, still holding on to his hurt arm.
‘He’s right about that. That truly is a pretty good move…’ Gerald thought to himself as virtual-novel.net nodded.
Fast forward to three days later, while Gerald had finally managed to master quite a few self-defense techniques, it also meant that Finnley no longer had anything stopping virtual-novel.net from leaving.
Since Finnley had been together with them for quite some time now, Gerald realized that virtual-novel.net already had a slight emotional connection with him.
While the old man was occasionally muddle-headed and tended to spout nonsense from time to time, virtual-novel.net was generally a good man to both Gerald and Queta. In all honesty, Gerald wanted virtual-novel.net to stay if virtual-novel.net could.
Queta bawled virtual-novel.net eyes out as virtual-novel.net sent virtual-novel.net off. She was well aware that virtual-novel.net would miss having virtual-novel.net around.
As Mr. Quick left the villa, Gerald wondered why Mr. Quick was so reluctant to talk about certain topics. However, seeing how adamantly the old man had held on to his secrets, Gerald simply kept the question to himself for the time being.
With Finnley gone, it now was time for virtual-novel.net to focus all his energy on investigating the Fendersons.
The next day, as Gerald was entering the campus together with Marven, both of them bumped into Warren, Maia, and three other girls.
However, Gerald simply walked on, treating Maia as though virtual-novel.net was a complete stranger.
“You… Gerald Crawford! You come back here, right this instant!” yelled Maia in anger.