Mukhalis: Hero of Bentala
8. Exercises

The sound of a carbide weld that holds the two solid objects together is heard in a seedy-looking cubicle. There are scattered hand-shaped machines, looks damaged unbecoming. The man wearing a special helmet that opened after the completion of the activity, Bara looked in detail by lifting the object up illuminated by the cracks of the basin.

"This, Well," the melodious voice came from Sabrina who came carrying a tanned drink. "Sabrina made tea."

"Well right," Bara put the device back on a table filled with mechanical equipment. "Dad of thirst."

The man accepted and simultaneously Sabrina said, "Brother where, Dad? Sabrina didn't see the sister at all."

Bara sipped the drink before exclaiming, "Your brother is pursuing his ideals."

"I mean Dad?" tymbal Sabrina is a mess.

The man put the drink and returned to the machine in front of him. "He trained hard to be accepted into Cenderawasih school."

Sabrina looked at the listening, allowing Bara to continue the explanation. "Your brother asked me to make an artificial hand with a layer of wood. Maybe iron wasn't allowed on the test."

Sabrina tilted her head slightly in confusion. The question that remains unanswered then says, "But Father, where is the brother really?"

"Secret" Bara exclaimed in a joking tone.

"Dad!" Sabrina put her little lips together with a lump while stomping her feet.

But Bara instead chuckles at the response of his son. As things subsided, he said, "Did you know Grandpa Madiarta?"

Sabrina turned to the right and left, a sign of ignorance. While confirming the mechanical device, Bara said, "He is a former mentor at the school. And now, your brother is under his guidance."

"Well, isn't that good?" swap Sabrina with a beaming face. "Surely grandfather was an extraordinary person."

Bara then smiled while nodding. He then turned his head towards Sabrina and said, "Right, he is very outstanding. And I'm sure that your brother will succeed one day."

"Although with that deficiency, the advantages are enormous."

The sound of objects touching was heard seeping in all directions. Impact after impact was deployed by the two wooden-clad hands, banging dolls made of the same material. In the body of the doll there are branches that when touched, other branches will move. So as long as Suluh pounded him, he should always focus on the other branches so as not to be hit by a counterattack.

But at this time, he had received many times the blow from the doll due to lack of concentration. When Suluh hit with the foot, the upper branch turned and almost hit his face if he did not pat with his hands. It happens the opposite. This is what Madiarta calls a sensitivity exercise. As a martial disciple, sensitivity was a thing to master.

"If you are not aware of the situation around you," exclaimed Madiarta who crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Then how powerful your attack is, it's no longer relevant."

"You will always lose if you are only focused on one point when the enemy is not even one," the grandfather said as he stepped little by little closer to the distressed Sulah. "By mastering this, you'll be able to fight them."

"Remember, Suluh," now Madiarta was next to her disciple. "When you attack, there's a weak spot that opens. That's why you need to know how to survive before you do that."

Sweat flowed from the young man's forehead and exclaimed, "Okay, Master!"

"Teacher!" The torch bowed deeply before Madiarta exited and closed the front door which screeched loudly, echoing to all corners of the room.

The place looked spacious with a large mat on the middle floor. Although there seemed to be nothing but tools in front of the torch and sack of samsak, the place was clean of dust. That was because Suluh had cleaned it, not until the heart let this old dojo lie dormant.

Madiarta said, once the place was Padepokan Mawarhitam whose reputation declined, taken over by Cenderawasih. The good name was gradually swallowed by Bentala for almost half a century passed. Because maybe this place is in the middle of the forest with a complicated direction. To the extent that some say that to get to the Padepokan Mawarhitam it is already an entrance test.

Suluh continues to continue the action that is increasingly understanding. The flow of attacks and how to defend little by little began to adapt. They happen in rhythm. Hand and foot movements must be in sync, each attack is connected to the defense. The smile seemed to be present, the more optimistic that he could do the exercises he was given.

Regardless of the technique to deal with more than one enemy, if he could master it, he might not be touched when dueling. Madiarta tells that the exercise makes it difficult for opponents to find a weak point, while the level of attack is not too deadly. So the key lies in resilience, letting them drain a lot of energy and when they start to let their guard down, that's when the opportunity arrives.

After hours passed, Suluh decided to rest while out just looking for fresh air. She greeted him, shaking off his white clothes and black hair. The sweaty body that was initially sultry turned adem ayem, pouring out while taking a deep breath. He had time to circulate his gaze, paying attention to the houses lined up in the courtyard.

The Roseblack Padepokan consists of several buildings. Martial houses, houses of knowledge, information halls, and the homes of mentors. Most of the buildings in the Bentala hemisphere must have four elements of the building. Reed down the small stairs and stepped into the hall in the middle of the spacious courtyard. Just looking. Especially a strange vase overgrown with only one sunflower, stealing the child's allure.

Had not had time to touch the plant in front of him, a sudden hoarse voice made him aghast. He is Madiarta, carrying a rattan bag full of freshwater fish. "How's your training going?"

"Ah, Teacher!" suhut Suluh hurriedly saluted. "I'm starting to be able to keep up with the flow."

"Good," Madiarta approached Suluh but the eye was still focused on the beautiful plants there. "Let's see the results."

"Teacher" said Suluh as Madiarta leaned the bag next to the vase. "Why are there flowers here?"

Madiarta immediately responded, she was silent for a few seconds occasionally turning towards the child. From the two eyes that were in the corners of the snail, Suluh could see there was a sense of sadness from there. Mimik grandfather was immediately turned gloomy, Suluh felt guilty for asking. Madiarta then just smiled knotfully, fumbling the beautiful flower gently.

"This is for a special human who is no longer by my side" the grandfather stroked the weave before him. "Representation as a memory so that I may always remember it."

Madiarta then lifted the container made of wood and watered the sunflower carefully. He continued, "And take care of that memory."

"I'm sorry, Master." Sorrow while looking down.

While the grandfather was now centered on the only disciple he had, approaching Suluh until their existence was only two steps away. "Protect and rejoice those you love before you regret it later."

He listened to the grandfather's words. Suluh's chest felt tight, he was choked as well. The commission penetrated into the heart of Suluh, kept tightly shut and did not let it out safely. The two eyes of the child turned serious, nodding steadily with increased confidence. That was the real ambition he wanted to go to school in Cenderawasih and be strong.

"Then let's look at your training results," Madiarta walked past Suluh to the spacious courtyard.

"Good, Teacher!" quickly the boy trailed Madiarta, proving the effort deployed.

They are now in a stretch overgrown with weeds, giving each other distance along with the design that is being prepared. This time Suluh felt confident, confident in her abilities. He has to show that he can.

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