Chapter 59: The Mountain and the Furnace

Chapter 59: The Mountain and the Furnace

Aegon Logcheville stood on the unforgiving concrete of the Vanguard training hall. Across from him stood Bram Stoneheart.

Bram was seven feet tall and built like a literal mountain.

Usually, the giant carried a massive tower shield. Today, he fought completely barehanded.

Bram offered a gentle, polite smile. His personality was genuinely good, contrasting sharply with his terrifying physical mass.

"I hope we have a good match, Aegon," Bram said respectfully. "Try not to break your hands on me."

It was a subtle provocation masked behind a friendly greeting.

Aegon smirked and rolled his shoulders.

"Do not worry about my hands, giant," Aegon replied. "Worry about your knees. Watch your steps."

"Begin!" Instructor Stonehelm roared across the hall.

Bram’s gentle demeanor vanished instantly. He lowered his stance and raised his thick arms, transforming into a terrifying, immovable wall.

Aegon exploded forward. He utilized his natural agility because he knew he was significantly faster than Bram.

SWISH!

Aegon blurred past Bram’s heavy, reaching grapple. He twisted his hips and drove a brutal, heavy hook directly into Bram’s ribs.

BAM!

The impact echoed loudly across the training hall.

Aegon’s eyes widened in sheer shock. It was incredibly hard to land a punch on the giant in the first place, but even after connecting perfectly, Bram was completely unaffected by the strike.

The giant’s innate defense stats were simply too high.

Bram countered with a massive, sweeping backhand.

WHOOSH!

Aegon barely ducked in time. The wind pressure from the giant’s arm ruffled his dark hair.

Aegon gritted his teeth. His Logcheville pride flared in deep frustration.

Out of pure, ingrained habit, his body tried to compensate for the massive physical gap. A faint spark of blood-red fire flickered across his knuckles.

He accidentally tried to summon his Asura flames.

Before Aegon could even swing his burning fist, a heavy, armored boot slammed into the back of his knee.

CRACK!

Aegon collapsed to the concrete with a sharp gasp.

Instructor Stonehelm stood over him. The veteran Hunter had crossed the room in a fraction of a second. Stonehelm delivered a brutal, punishing kick to Aegon’s ribs.

THUD!

"Gah!" Aegon coughed, clutching his side.

"I said no magic!" Stonehelm growled. He punished Aegon without a single shred of hesitation.

Stonehelm glared down at the gasping prodigy. He did not care about Aegon’s elite rank or his newfound fame in the Bastion.

"This is exactly your weakness, Logcheville," Stonehelm explained coldly. "You rely on your talent a bit too much."

Stonehelm pointed a scarred finger at the giant standing nearby.

"Against a wall like Bram, your fire is a crutch. If you cannot break him with your bare hands, you will die when your mana runs dry. Stand up and fight properly."

On the edge of the training mat, Draven Mordis watched the entire exchange in silence.

His pitch-black eyes analyzed Aegon’s sloppy, frustrated footwork. He opened his system interface briefly to confirm the sheer physical gap.

[Target Identified: Bram Stoneheart]

[Attribute: Vitality (VIT) - Abnormal Density]

Draven did not step in to help. He did not shout advice, and he did not use his Vector Manipulation to subtly tip Bram’s balance.

He purposefully left his meat shield to suffer the beating.

’It is time for Aegon to grow himself without relying on me too much,’

Draven reasoned internally.

’If he cannot adapt to a simple physical disadvantage, he will be completely useless for my future plans. I am sure he will find a way to get out of this situation. He was a future Villain after all. Even without the power of the Evil God, his potential is far brighter like this.’

Aegon forced himself back to his feet. His ribs ached terribly from Stonehelm’s punishing kick.

Bram waited patiently. The giant did not press the attack while Aegon was recovering.

Aegon wiped a bead of sweat from his chin. He took a deep breath and calmed his racing heart. He stopped trying to summon his flames and looked at Bram’s massive, tree-trunk legs.

A buried memory slowly surfaced in Aegon’s mind. It was a strict lesson taught to him by his mother, Lady Logcheville, back in their private courtyard.

’Haha! You fell for it once again, Aegon,’

his mother’s cold voice echoed in his head.

’I may be bigger than you, but it not impossible to defeat a bigger person. I have defeated so many monsters bigger than me. When you are dealing with someone bigger than yourselves, they are slow most of the times. You need to be agile and versatile in your moves.’

Her smiled reflected in his mind.

’Analyze the situation while avoiding him. Wait for the right time and aim for their weak point and blind spots.’

Aegon opened his eyes. The crimson intensity returned, but the blind, arrogant rage was completely gone.

He charged again.

Bram braced himself for another heavy impact, raising his arms to form the immovable wall.

Aegon did not aim for the ribs or the jaw this time.

SWISH!

Aegon dropped into a low, sliding crouch. He used his superior agility to completely bypass Bram’s line of sight.

’I have already analyzed your movements while taking you on. Your blind spots are right in front of me.’

He slipped directly behind the giant, stepping perfectly into Bram’s blind spot.

Aegon pivoted sharply on his heel. He drove his boot with explosive, focused kinetic force directly into the back of Bram’s knee joint.

CRACK!

It was the ultimate weak point.

Bram’s massive leg instantly buckled under his own immense weight. The giant lost his balance completely and tipped backward.

THUD!

Bram crashed heavily onto the concrete floor. The entire training hall shook from the sheer impact of his fall.

Aegon stood over the fallen giant. He was panting heavily, but a victorious smirk spread across his face.

He did not need his flames. He did not need his spear.

Stonehelm watched from the side. The scarred instructor gave a slow, approving nod.

"Match over," Stonehelm announced.