Chapter 93: The Basics Of Kusarigama
Azriel shook off the lingering trance and stepped forward onto the packed dirt.
The heavy iron weapon felt cold and substantial in his palms. Ten paces away, a line of fresh, reinforced wooden dummies stood like silent sentinels beneath the shimmering silver dome.
"First lesson," Vesperia’s voice echoed with crisp, unyielding clarity.
"How to actually hold the kusarigama."
She took two steps back, raising her own weapon as her golden eyes locked onto his stance with hawk-like precision.
"First, the stance," Vesperia commanded. "Keep your eyes locked onto your target, widen the distance between your feet, and sink slightly at the hips to anchor your center of gravity. Hold the kama, the sickle, firmly in your right hand."
Azriel followed her instructions without hesitation.
Facing her, he spread his feet shoulder-width apart, sank into a stable, low stance against the dynamic gravity, and locked his right hand around the leather-bound grip of the sickle.
"Good," Vesperia noted, taking hold of her own weapon’s iron links.
"Now, the chain. A standard kusarigama carries ten feet of heavy chain. If you let it drag blindly, you’ll trip over it or give your opponent a free handle. To manage the slack, you store it in stacked loops between your fingers."
Demonstrating with effortless fluidity, she grabbed the chain near the base of the handle, created a wide loop, and caught it over her pinky finger.
In rapid succession, she formed four more loops, each slightly smaller than the last, securing them across her remaining fingers up to her index.
Azriel mirrored her actions instantly.
His fingers deftly coiled the heavy links, creating five clean, graduated loops across his open left hand.
"The loops keep the slack contained so it won’t impede your movement," Vesperia explained, nodding in approval.
"And when you need additional reach on the fly, you simply release the loops one by one, starting from your index finger, extending your range precisely as needed."
She held up her left hand, letting the last segment of chain hang freely with the heavy iron fundo dangling near the dirt.
"Now, second lesson, spinning the fundo," Vesperia continued.
"If you need immediate extended reach, leave your index finger free of loops from the start. As you grip the remaining chain, remember, don’t force the rotation with raw arm muscle. Engage your core. Use subtle micro-movements of your hips to drive kinetic energy through your torso, into your shoulder, and snap it through your wrist."
Vesperia’s wrist flicked, setting her fundo into a tight, vertical clockwise spin.
The iron weight whistled sharply and fast, cutting a clean arc over her shoulder and sweeping down past her knees.
Azriel adjusted his footing, driving his heels firmly into the packed dirt.
The dynamic gravity bands hummed against his limbs, but his Physical Prowess held his frame effortlessly rigid.
He flicked his wrist to mirror her motion.
On his first attempt, the heavy iron ball scraped off the dirt in an awkward, clanking arc before flopping uselessly into the dust.
"You’re dragging it," Vesperia corrected instantly, her own fundo never breaking its flawless, whistling orbit. "The fundo has real mass, Azriel. Don’t pull the weight, give it direction and let inertia do the work. Again."
Azriel took a deep breath, inhaling the dry dust of the arena.
As he reset his stance, Warrior’s Instinct surged through his focus.
The spatial geometry, weight distribution, and momentum of the weapon clicked instantly into place.
Pivoting subtly on his rear foot, he drove a micro-pulse of power from his hips straight into his arm.
Swish—!
The heavy iron ball lifted cleanly into a razor-flat vertical arc, whistling past his shoulder and sweeping inches above his knees with lethal precision.
Vesperia’s golden eyes widened ever so slightly.
"Good adjustment. Now maintain the momentum."
Azriel locked his violet eyes onto the spinning blur, the wind whipping dark strands of hair across his forehead as the motion smoothed out into second nature.
"Now, learning to stop it," Vesperia instructed over the hum of the metal.
"Since you’re spinning clockwise, the momentum is carrying the weight forward.
To kill the rotation safely, ease off the wrist drive and give a light, controlled nudge forward, bleeding off the momentum so it drops harmlessly."
She demonstrated with practiced ease, her chain settling smoothly to a dead stop at her side.
She shot him an expectant look.
Azriel nodded. Easing the rotation in his wrist, he gave the chain a subtle forward nudge to kill the arc.
The heavy fundo instantly bled off its forward velocity and whipped straight back toward him like an angry pendulum.
Azriel’s violet eyes widened. Driven by raw, instinctual reflex, he snapped his hips sharply to the left, narrowly dodging the heavy iron ball as it whistled past his knees, and uncomfortably close to his precious family jewels, before slamming violently into the dirt behind him with a dull thud.
A cold sweat broke out across his forehead as he stared at the cratered earth where his lower half had just been standing.
[LIVE CHAT]
[Sadistic69] (Red): HOLY SHIT BRO ALMOST STERILIZED HIMSELF!!
[Nine_Tailed_Vixen] (Cyan): That was too close!! Protect the crown jewels at all costs!!!
[Lusty_Sera] (Golden): My heart literally stopped! Azriel, please be careful with that glorious asset!
[Boundless_Slacker] (Red): Bro dodged a high-speed iron ball aimed at his manhood like a total boss, but that expression was priceless
[Moon_Priestess_99] (Cyan): Don’t hurt the treasure, Azriel! Rosalind would have a heart attack!!!
Vesperia stood watching his near-disaster, her feline ears twitching as a playful, teasing smile spread across her lips.
"Careful there, boy," Vesperia purred, resting the handle of her sickle against her hip.
"We wouldn’t want you breaking the very thing Rosalind loves most about you."
Azriel let out a short, dry exhale, rolling his shoulders as he pulled the heavy chain back into position.
"Alright, listen close," Vesperia continued, her tone turning instructional once more.
"Your goal now is absolute control. You’ll spin the fundo clockwise, bring it to a complete, safe halt, and immediately transition into a counter-clockwise spin, where the ball travels backward. To kill the arc in reverse, you slow the wrist rotation and give a gentle nudge backward so it drops dead without swinging."
She crossed her arms beneath her heavy chest, her golden eyes flashing with high expectations.
"You’re going to repeat that cycle until you can execute both stops flawlessly every single time, without endangering your lineage."
"Now... get to it!"
Azriel’s gaze hardened, he tightened his grip, shifted his weight against the crushing gravity, and started the rotation once more.