บท 10: Caladan's Training
The joking atmosphere seemed to disappear as the door closed behind me leaving only me and Caladan in the private dueling room. He turned to face me and his serious features reflected the tension that was gradually rising in the room.
"Take out your sword," said Caladan as he walked to grab a training blade.
Unsure of what to expect, I followed his command and unsheathed Anne's blade. The duel between Lucifer and Anne got me pumped, but that doesn't mean I'm ready to duel Caladan.
"Would using my real sword be fine?"
"Haha, should I use my bare hands instead then? Is it not enough of an advantage for you?"
"..."
"I'll give you 4 moves, I will only defend. After that, I will attack."
Four moves huh. I tightened my grip on the sword. My speed is my biggest advantage, I need to take advantage of that. I dashed forward at Caladan, but without any time alterations. As I step into swinging range, a faint but stiffening air pressure slowed my advance. My instinct told me to run, but I couldn't back out now.
In an instant, I slowed down time and took the final step into swinging range and swung my sword from above my shoulder aiming for his neck. I willed time to slow down even further as my blade travels through the air increasing its speed, but before my attack landed, all the momentum came to an abrupt stop as Caladan's sword met mine.
Not only did my momentum stop, but my sword was also easily pushed back, and I stumbled backward while Caladan continued to stand unwavering. Even with my time abilities, he was still straight up faster and stronger, my arm was even bit numb from the impact, but I must try again.
This time, I mimicked my previous movement but swinging from a different angle. I tried to alter time the same amount as my last attack, but this time I went for a feint instead. As my blade tore through the air, I stopped it midway as soon as I saw Caladan began to react, and willed time to slow down even further.
I changed directions and used as much strength as I could to aim at his leg instead where it was awkward for him to block. As my sword closed in on the lower part of his leg, I was suddenly met with an invisible force that instantly slowed down my strike. As a result, Caladan easily took a step back and casually avoided my attack.
"So, you were still holding back huh? Well, you made me move so props for that… haha."
This guy… even if I break past his defense, it seemed like there was still something protecting him. What other options do I even have at this point? If I attack him directly, it'll be easy for him to defend with his sword, but if I go for less vital areas, it makes it easier to dodge. Plus, I'm also not sure how the invisible defense works. When I get close, it's almost like the air around him thickens and I must slice through it first in order to reach Caladan. It isn't enough to stop my strikes but it's enough to take away my speed advantage.
'Welp, time to try something dumb.' I was starting to feel the strain from my time powers, but I still feel energized enough for a couple more good attempts. Not wasting any more time, I charged forward going for a frontal jab. As I began to thrust my sword forward, I pushed myself to slow down time once again, but slower than ever before. Caladan's movements were visibly slower, but it wasn't enough. I no longer hold myself back and poured everything I could into the watch on my wrist all while maintaining the same thrusting motion.
As I neared my limit, I used all my strength to dash to his side and swung towards his back, aiming for a blind spot. I was able to breach his invisible defense, my sword slowed down but it was still impossible for him to react. But before my blade reached him, a visible slice of wind shot from his back and deflected my attack.
The strength of the magical attack was nowhere near Caladan's defense with his sword, but it was still enough to barely parry my attack. Time rushed back to its normal rhythm and Caladan turned around with a hint of surprise in his eyes. I fumbled backward from the wind attack but upon regaining my composure, I noticed Caladan's change instance.
"Interesting… well, that was four moves. Prepare yourself." he said as he raised his sword in front of him.
"Wait! That was only three!"
"I count feints too."
"Wha-"
Before I could refute his point, he was already charging at me like the wind. He didn't use any skills, but his pure physique was enough to overwhelm me. Exhausted from my time powers, I held up my sword flimsily to defend, but it was futile. His attack blew past my defense and sent my sword flying to the wall and held the sword near my neck.
"That'll be enough for today, I've seen all I need."
Caladan sheathed his sword and I was finally able to let out a sigh of relief. I examined my hands which were now red and numb from the one-sided bullying.
"What was that air thing? That didn't seem like a spell."
"It's my wind domain. Do you know what domains are?"
I shook my head in response, "I think it's safe to assume I don't know what anything is… I wasn't educated in the arts growing up."
"It's connected to your mana pool. Your pool starts off elementally neutral, but your mana will absorb fragments of the arts as you use them. This is the main reason why magical practitioners typically only learn one element. That way, their mana pool will encompass aspects of their main element and it becomes easier to use arts of that element. After accumulating enough fragments, you can go through an awakening process which permanently turns your mana pool into the elemental form. Individuals who are awakened are able to create a domain from their elemental mana form. It becomes a permanent response spell around your body, which is what you felt when you got close to me."
"That sounds pretty awesome…"
"It is but take that off your mind. A very small portion of the population are able to achieve awakened status, you have a lot more to learn before awakening your domain."
"One can dream, right? Well, what should I focus on then?"
"Your foundation is nonexistent. That's number one priority before anything else. Even if you become a mage in the future, you still need to be at your physical peak. Your first task is to sharpen up your basics, then we can move on to other things."
Well, that's not too surprising since I came from another world. I guess the standard of being fit is largely different given that you must fight for your life on a consistent basis here.
"I'll be teaching you a form, but you can't rely on that alone. I'll be giving you independent training regimens as well as additional books since apparently, you don't know anything. Knowledge is more vital than fighting, keep that in mind. How are you going to win a battle if you don't know what your opponent is capable of?"
"Fair enough… but what are forms? I haven't heard of them before."
"You don't need to," Caladan said as he took out a scroll. It wasn't big; it had the height and width of an open book once the content of the scroll was revealed. "This isn't anything special, just the standard swordsman form. Place your hand on it."
I knelt on the ground and faced the scroll that was opened to me. It had the same unfamiliar markings as the ones in the affinity sphere, but in the center was a circle with a sword symbol inscribed in the middle. I placed my hand on it and I could feel the faint magic coded into the material.
"Input some mana, you don't need a lot. A sudden rush of information will be transferred into your body and it usually takes an hour or so to process. You might need to rest afterward since you're not used to it. Start whenever you're ready."
Following his instructions, I felt and located the warmth in my body. Similarly, to how I will it towards my watch, this time, I willed it towards my palm and into the parchment. The symbols began to emit a faint light and suddenly, the environment around me vanished and a dark shadowy figure appeared in the space of nothingness.
Everything was shadowy but besides his face, I could still make out every tiny detail to the fiber of his clothing. Even the strange markings on his sword were visible. The moves he made were very simplistic, a step forward and a swing. Two more steps and a jab chained into another swing. It was all simple, yet complex. Every move carried so much strength. No extra movements were made either. It was as if this shadowy figure spent his entire life perfecting this sword form.
It was beautiful, almost like a dance. Oddly enough, every time he made a move, I also felt movement in my own body. It was as if I was spectating myself through a bird's eye view. The figure continued. Another step into another swing. I didn't know how much time passed until the figure finally stopped and unsheathed his blade concluding his performance. I'd honestly applaud, but it seemed like my physical body wasn't present in this weird area of nothingness. The figure dissipated, and I'm brought back to reality.
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