Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 436 - 4 Anxious Catherine_1

Chapter 436: Chapter 4 Anxious Catherine_1

"Ha!" "Humph!" Making their way around the side garden of the mansion to the yard at the back, one could hear continuous shouts emanating from behind the yard. Accompanied by those were the swooshing sounds of weapons being swung. "Vacuum Slash." "Shield Bash." "Leopard Rush." The continuous battle cries represented the action being undertaken by the owner of the voice. With every shout, a plume of dust would occasionally rise from the small training field at the back of the mansion.

At the corner of the mansion, Pannis was hidden in the shadows, his face devoid of any expression. His arms crossed over his chest, he silently watched Catherine in the training field, swinging her sword devotedly, strike after strike.

"Not enough, still not enough." Catherine was not wearing her usual scale armor, instead, she was clad in a heavier, full-body armor. In this sweltering summer, the intense heat within the armor made her perspire profusely, turning into white mist that rose from the crevices. Her helmet was not worn, instead sweat trickled down her face, following the smooth curve of her cheeks to collect on her round chin, before dropping onto her chest. Her black shawl hung wet and cold against Catherine’s face. Drenched to the point where it was practically dripping, yet she had no intentions of stopping. Biting down hard on her teeth and gazing intently at the training dummy in front of her, she launched her attacks again and again, she thought, "I must go faster, be stronger. I can clearly see it, I can do it. My power is not enough, it needs to be stronger. I must persevere, I have to persevere."

"Why can’t I unleash that kind of power, why can’t I find that kind of angle?" Catherine swung her sword furiously, strike after strike. The more ferocious she attacked, the more she sweated, "If I can’t find it after ten thousand times, then I’ll try a hundred thousand times. If a hundred thousand times doesn’t work, then I’ll try one million times. Hold on, hang in there."

From the shadows, Pannis’s pupils contracted. He almost moved forward but then retreated. A few minutes later, when he returned to the corner carrying a basin of water, Catherine was no longer slashing about but was instead circling training dummies at high speed, her shield continuously bashing the faces of the dummies. The collision of the metals created a loud deafening noise. Catherine’s focus was intense to the point where she didn’t even notice Pannis approaching from behind.

"Take a break." Having stood behind Catherine for a few minutes, Pannis said softly, "Wash your face, sit down and rest for a bit. Then you can continue."

"There’s no need, I’m fine." Hearing Pannis’s voice, Catherine paused momentarily in her movements, but then quickly continued, "My current intensity isn’t enough. I can still maintain."

"It’s pointless." Pannis’s voice sounded calm, devoid of any emotion. "Your persistence now is meaningless. Do you know why? Your movements have started to distort. The angle, strength, and control have all gone awry. Even if you persist now for a thousand, ten thousand more times, it won’t do any good for your strength. It’s better to take a break now, recover some strength, then continue. It’s much better than pushing yourself now."

"Phew, I see." Catherine paused her movements once again. She slowly unclenched her hands from the sword and shield, put them to one side, and wobbled over to the shaded canopy next to the training field. Dropping down casually, she leant her back against a stone table and closed her eyes taking in shallow breaths. Pannis followed in after, handing her a warm, wet towel. Catherine quietly accepted and proceeded to wipe her face, not uttering a word. Pannis, however, took unexpected action. Just as Catherine was deeply absorbed in wiping her face with the towel, Pannis lifted the basin and dumped the warm water over Catherine’s head.

A splashing sound was heard as the water came in direct contact. Catherine jerked slightly but had no other reaction. As if nothing had happened, she finished wiping her face, handed the towel back to Pannis, and looked straight at him, "Alright, I’ve sat now, are you satisfied? If you’re satisfied, then I’ll continue."

"Sure, you can continue." Pannis gave a small smile, then added, "As long as you can still move."

Catherine’s gaze hardened, she clenched her teeth trying to stand up. The heavy armor clang against itself as she half knelt on the ground in silence. After a while, Catherine seemed to have gathered enough strength to stand. She staggered forwards a couple of steps, yet before she could reach her weapon and bend down to pick it up, she started feeling dizzy. Unable to support the weight of the armor, she fell backwards onto the ground with a loud thud.

Pannis didn’t speak, neither did Catherine. An awkward silence ensued. After a while, Pannis kneeled next to Catherine, gazing up at the sky, his hand gently caressing Catherine’s soaking wet hair. Sensing Pannis’s unusual tenderness, Catherine endured the intense aching all over her body, pressing her fist against her mouth as large tears rolled out from her eyes, tracing the sun-kissed skin of her face, and she began to cry silently.

Pannis let out a soft sigh, patted Catherine’s shoulder through her armor, his movement as gentle as lulling a child to sleep. Catherine struggled to roll onto her side, her head pressed against the ground. With dirt mixed with sweat and tears smearing her face, she wept so quietly that she shivered all over.

"Cry it out, let out all the anxiety inside." Pannis whispered, "The road to becoming the strong is always littered with many obstacles. These obstacles can’t be overcome with mere anxiety. Many geniuses can’t get past the final barrier of the Gold Rank, and can’t make a single step further because they don’t see the way out. You’re lucky. You haven’t been against the wall at the end of the road for long. You glimpsed the path through potions and high-risk battles. Though you haven’t quite gotten there yet, at least you’ve found the direction. With a bit more time, you can certainly overcome this hurdle and continue to move forward."

"But it’s too slow." Catherine’s voice was hoarse and frightening. She laid on the ground, her eyes devoid of any energy as she muttered, "On the way back, Vivian had already made a breakthrough. And twenty days ago, Lina also successfully broke through. Only I am stuck at this juncture. I am the elder sister. How can I fall behind them?"

"Are you jealous of them?" Pannis’s voice was extremely gentle. "Is that why you’re so anxious?"

"Of course not." Catherine wiped the tears from her face with her gauntlet-clad hand, flinching at its warmth, "I am a big sister, I am a Guardian Knight. I need to be at the forefront of every battle, taking all the damage for everyone. My power directly determines the strength of our team tasks. Now that they’ve all advanced and I’m still stuck, they have to lower the intensity of their battles to accommodate me, which is not beneficial for their future development."

"So you’ve been training so frenziedly because of that? That’s such a typical Catherine mindset." Pannis laughed, he moved Catherine’s hand from where she was rubbing her tears and dirt off her face, gently wiping them off for her instead, "Ever since Vivian’s been promoted, I’ve noticed you becoming increasingly anxious. You’ve been in a daze every day, just like Vivian, and you live on the training ground, exhausting yourself daily. Everyone sees it, Lina and Vivian are worried about you. Seeing your state is upsetting to them every day, but they have been promoted and have no standing to persuade you. So, they asked me to comfort you, and I think today is the day, so here I am."

"You sound pretty reluctant." After resting for a while, Catherine felt a bit better, she rolled her eyes pretending to be angry, "Is comforting me such a big issue for you?"

"No, no, it’s not an issue. I just fear I might burst out laughing when faced with a fool," Pannis saw Catherine’s eyebrows rise in indignation, her eyes growing increasingly dissatisfied. He shook his head and laughed, "Think about it, have you ever heard of anyone breaking through the legendary realm on the training ground?"

Catherine was taken aback, her lips moving slightly, before she forced a smile, "It seems, there hasn’t been one."

"There’s no need to guess, there absolutely hasn’t been one." said Pannis, "When you touch that wall, it means your accumulation has reached its limit. The only remaining piece is the method of crossing over. At this point, even if you exhaust yourself to death on the training ground, it won’t help."

"But I’m very scared." Catherine sighed bitterly, "The two of them have broken through, and they did so with such ease. How about me? Another twenty days have passed and there’s still no sign of a breakthrough. I’m afraid that I’m squandering this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As I watch time slip by day after day, the possibility of a breakthrough seems to drift further and further away. How can I not be anxious?"

"You’re not the same as them," Pannis said, "Are you a genius?"

"No, I’m not a genius at all." Very aware of her limitations, Catherine shook her head, "So I train hard every day for fear of being left behind."

"But the two of them also work as hard as you, right?" As Pannis straightened out the damp strands on Catherine’s face, he continued, "And, most importantly, Vivian used the raging energy in the crystal to strengthen her mana channel, clearing away a significant portion of the obstacles on the path to becoming a legend. That’s why she was the first to break through. As for Lina, she has the presence of a Demigod Priest inside her. She can easily cross that obstacle because she’s already seen it once through the eyes of the Demigod Priest. You, on the other hand, have nothing. So, it’s normal that you’re a bit behind them. However, you really don’t need to panic or be so anxious. Being a few days late doesn’t mean you’ve lost the opportunity. Even twenty months would still be normal as long as you can see the way."

"Are you lying to me?" Catherine, whose manner was somewhat childishly petulant, asked, "Is it really normal?"

"Of course, I guarantee it." Pannis has wiped Catherine’s face clean, allowing her to semi-recline against him, her head resting on his arm.

"So, what should I do to break through?" Catherine lets Pannis guide her, whispering her question.

"No one can explain it. You must have asked the two of them already, but even they can’t provide you with an answer because it’s something words can’t explain." Pannis chuckled, shaking his head, "But even if I can’t tell you how to break through, I can tell you what you should be doing right now."

"Hm?" Catherine blinked, looking at Pannis’s face, "What should I do?"

"Sleep." Pannis said, "You haven’t had a good night’s sleep for over a month nor have you had a proper rest. So, what you should do now is to sleep, forget about the breakthrough, and have a good rest."

"Alright, I’ll sleep." Catherine slowly closed her eyes, feeling exhaustion engulf her immediately. As she laid her head on Pannis’s arm, she fell into a deep sleep within seconds. The training field was filled with the soft sounds of her gentle snores. (To be continued. If you like this novel, feel free to vote for it on qidian.com. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users can read it on m.qidian.com)