FIGHT TRAINING

                                    

                                          
Dominic stared at the long sword in his hand in astonishment. The metal surface reflected the light sharply, while the weight in his grip made him feel the cold reality of the situation. He never imagined that this request for a sword, which had started as a mere joke, would go this far. He lifted his gaze from the sword and turned to Stephen. With a questioning expression in his eyes, he began to speak.
"I think some jokes should remain jokes, my friend. I thought I was going to use a gun."

Stephen smiled lightly, then responded seriously. 

"Actually, your joke made my job easier. I'm not going to send you on field missions. Instead, we'll be doing something different. That's why we'll start with sword training and strengthening your legs."

Dominic was completely taken aback by the response. He had no idea what Stephen meant by "field missions" or "different tasks." But for now, he decided to follow whatever Stephen said, rather than resisting.

Stephen took the sword from Dominic's hand and demonstrated his skill with a few moves. He spun the sword through the air, showcasing his mastery, and then suddenly struck a column. The sword cut through the concrete column as if it were paper, splitting it in half.

Dominic, seeing that the column didn't collapse, was astonished both by Stephen's ability and the column's durability. But his surprise quickly turned into anger.

"What are you doing, man? Do you want to bring the building down on us?"

Stephen shrugged calmly. "Relax, Dom. I just wanted to show you how sharp the sword is. I was sure the column would hold up. We just restored this place. Besides, we won't be here for long."

Dominic furrowed his brow. "We won't be here for long? How long are we staying?"

Stephen looked Dominic in the eye and spoke seriously. "I just want to make you strong enough to defend yourself. You need to realize what you've gotten yourself into. One of us could die at any moment."

Dominic silently listened to his friend's words and nodded in agreement. He understood how dangerous this situation was. During the long hours he spent in the hospital, he had tried to accept the reality of his leg being fully metal. He would live with this truth.

---
Stephen led Dominic to a room on the first floor of the building. In the center of the room, a giant tractor tire sat. Dominic looked around in astonishment, examining the setup. Despite the building's ruined exterior, the interior was modern and functional.

Stephen pointed to the tire. "You'll start by kicking this tire. Strengthening your legs is our priority right now."

After a few test kicks, Dominic quickly focused on the training. He spent the rest of the day working on the tire. His kicks grew stronger with each strike, and as he felt the metal in his legs, he was overtaken by a sense of power.

By evening, Stephen asked him to send a message to his family. Dominic wrote a brief note saying that the training would last about a week. Then, he continued swinging his sword until midnight. The sword fit perfectly in his hand. "It's hard to believe this is made of the metal that came from my legs," he thought.

Around 2 a.m., Dominic went up to the second floor of the building. Walking down the hallway, he reached his room. Before closing his eyes, he wrote one more message to his family.

---
In the morning, Dominic woke to a soft noise from outside and realized he had left his door open. Rubbing his eyes and trying to sit up, he saw a graceful silhouette standing before him. The woman in the middle of the hallway seemed as if she had stepped out of a dream. He rubbed his eyes again, but what he saw was real.

When the woman noticed Dominic had woken up, she turned her face away and quickly shut the door. Dominic heard Stephen's voice in the hallway, speaking sharply. "Who is this woman?" Dominic wondered.

A thought crossed his mind: Stephen had a sister. Though they had been childhood friends, they had only met once. However, he found it hard to believe that she was involved with the mafia.

---
Dominic quickly dressed and left his room. In the hallway, he found Stephen sitting thoughtfully on a radiator, a look of sadness on his face. Dominic approached him and began speaking.

"What's going on, Steph? Who was that woman I just saw? And why do you look so down?"

Stephen remained silent for a moment, staring blankly ahead, as if in another world. After a deep breath, he lifted his head.

"That woman is one of our informants. You won't be learning her name for now. If you rise to a higher rank, then we'll talk. As for your first question, nothing's wrong at the moment. But we need to be careful."

Dominic shrugged and didn't press further. He pulled out his sword and gave it a light swing. He had gotten used to the sword in the past few days and had even started to view using it as something cool.

"I'm ready to learn sword techniques. I worked on it until midnight last night. Now I want to learn something."

Stephen smiled slightly in response. "I understand your eagerness. But you're not ready yet. Our priority is developing your physical techniques. If you lose your weapon, the only way to survive will be through those skills."

Dominic sighed and took the radio from Stephen's hand. Stephen pointed to the radio and spoke.

"Take this. We'll communicate through this in the building. Today, I'll introduce you to some of our members. Also, a trainer will teach you martial arts."

Dominic nodded and they began walking down the hallway together.

---
The two friends walked silently down the hallway, arriving at a large hall on the third floor. The room was enveloped in a heavy silence. When they entered, Dominic saw six people before him. 

They were all large and warrior-like, and the determination in their eyes revealed they were far from ordinary.
Stephen nodded at the people in the room and spoke loudly.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Here's our warrior-in-training, Dominic, who could take down a train!"

With these words echoing in the room, Dominic smiled involuntarily, once again feeling the complexity of his new life.