The old man’s hideout was as uninviting as ever. Nestled deep in the underbelly of the city, the place slled like damp stone, burnt wood, and old books—a combination that might’ve been nostalgic if it weren’t for the constant feeling that I was going to get my ass kicked with another one of his ridiculous lessons. I couldn’t help but wonder why soone of such skill would tuck himself away in the slums, but I paid him to not ask questions and it would be hypocritical of to ask questions of him.
Ronan and I stepped into the dimly lit chamber, the flickering torchlight barely doing anything to cut through the oppressive gloom. The old man sat at his usual place, hunched over a worn wooden table littered with parchnt and half-lted candles. His gnarled fingers traced the spine of so ancient to, a scene I had observed almost every single ti I arrived here.
He didn’t look up when he spoke. "Took you long enough."
"I know, I know, I’ve been extrely busy saving the world and what have you." I mocked playfully.
The old man’s head tilted slightly, just enough for to catch the gleam of his tired, yet sharp eyes beneath his hood. "You still talk too much."
"Seriously, did you not hear the part where I was saving the entire world?" This guy was impossible.
He finally closed his book with a soft thud and looked between and Ronan. "You’re here because you’ve finally realized you’re weak."
"I an... Yes, but, the world! Co on old man!" I pleaded on deaf ears. He wasn’t going to put up with my bullshit, and in a way, that was refreshing.
The old man gestured toward the center of the room, where a crude training area had been set up—a wide-open space marked by deep grooves in the stone from past battles. "Show ."
I sighed and stepped forward, rolling my shoulders. "What do you want to—"
"Use Shadow Dance. Attack ."
I blinked. "Just like that?"
"Just like that."
Ronan and I exchanged glances. The old man wasn’t exactly known for his generosity when it ca to training. If he was asking to attack him outright, that ant he was planning to humiliate before the lesson even began.
I took a breath, letting my magic stir to life as I activated Shadow Dance.
[Shadow Dance Activated]
[Mana: 80/100]
The world blurred at the edges as I sank into the shadows, moving with a speed and grace that I had grown accustod to. I made significant advancents with the ability, to the point that few managed to react to my movents. I flickered behind the old man in an instant, daggers poised to strike—
And then I was on my ass.
Pain flared through my ribs where his elbow had struck, knocking the wind out of before I even registered what had happened. My vision refocused just in ti to see him standing over , shaking his head.
"Predictable," he muttered.
I coughed and forced myself up. "Care to elaborate?"
"You rely on Shadow Dance like a crutch," the old man said, turning away as if I wasn’t worth his attention. "You use it to teleport behind your enemy and strike. But what happens when they expect it?"
I winced. "I get knocked on my ass?"
"Exactly."
Ronan tilted his head. "This outco was foreseeable."
"Not helping," I muttered.
The old man sighed, rubbing his temples like he was dealing with an especially inept student. Which, to be fair, I probably was. "Shadow magic is not just for vanishing. It is an extension of yourself. You don’t use it to ’appear’ behind your enemy. You use it to move, to flow, to beco sothing that cannot be tracked."
I frowned. "That sounds... difficult."
"If it were easy, you wouldn’t be here."
Fair enough.
The old man gestured toward the training area again. "Again. This ti, don’t just rely on teleporting behind . Use your surroundings. Keep moving. Make yourself unpredictable."
I clenched my jaw and took position again, reading for another bout of pain as he inevitably beat into submission.
[Shadow Dance: Activated]
[Mana: 50/100]
This ti, I didn’t teleport straight behind him. Instead, I shifted between the shadows in an erratic pattern, flickering to the left, then right, then feinting forward before vanishing again. I could feel the magic pulling at my limbs, urging to move faster, to use it as sothing other than a parlor trick/
The old man finally moved, his footwork highly deceptively agile as he shifted his stance, tracking despite every effort I put into my ambush. His eyes weren’t darting around wildly—he wasn’t looking for . He was feeling for .
I launched forward, aiming for his exposed side, and pain exploded in my shoulder as he twisted at the last second, grabbing my wrist and slamming into the stone floor.
I groaned. "Are you kidding ?"
The old man released and stepped back. "Better. But still sloppy."
I rolled onto my back, catching my breath. "I don’t suppose you have an easier way of teaching ?"
He snorted. "Do you wish to remain weak?"
I’ve never hated and respected soone as much as this old coot.
Ronan lood over , his expression unreadable. "Perhaps you should adjust your approach."
I scowled. "You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?"
Ronan blinked slowly. "I do not experience enjoynt."
Lies! Blatant, ridiculous, disgusting lies!
The old man crossed his arms. "Again. This ti, use your daggers properly. Don’t just swing them like a desperate child. Use them to guide your movents."
I sat up with a groan, rubbing my aching shoulder. "Yeah, sure. Let just pop my ribs back into place first."
The old man ignored . "Again."
I dragged myself up, gripping my daggers tightly. I knew better than to argue.
I tried to focus on what he said, despite the absurdity of it all. He really offered little instruction, it was more about abusing until I eventually figured out the lesson on my own. I let the shadows carry . Every step was more fluid, every movent a little sharper than the last. I already knew how to use my daggers, but I tried to take in his words, tried to have them guide .
[Shadow Dance Activated]
[Mana: 30/100]
When I reappeared this ti, the old man almost didn’t counter in ti... Almost.
He twisted away from my strike, narrowly avoiding my blade as I flickered past him. For a fraction of a second, I saw sothing in his expression—was it approval? That feeling of pride disappeared almost imdiately as he swept my legs out from under , and I hit the ground for the third ti.
I groaned into the stone floor, not speaking any words in particular, but letting the floor absorb my discontent.
Ronan peered down at again. "Your progress is increasing."
"Is it now?" I coughed up a little blood as my body reflexively curled into a ball.
The old man sighed. "Get up. We’re just getting started."
I cursed under my breath and forced myself to my feet.
"You’re going to need to give a mont, or I’ll be spewing my guts from mana sickness in a few short minutes.
The old man tossed a minor mana potion and beckoned to rise. I downed the potion, despite his previous reservations of avoiding such things. I took this as a sign that I was earning his approval.
I was starting to suspect the old man was trying to kill . Maybe he was having too much fun to give it up soon, and that’s why he gave a quick way to refresh my mana?
It had been hours since we started, and my body was already screaming in protest. My muscles burned, my ribs ached from repeated impacts, and I was fairly certain I’d swallowed enough dust from the stone floor to start developing a taste for it. I also figured I had spat up enough blood for the floor to develop a taste for it.
Ronan, anwhile, remained as pristine as ever, standing at the edge of the training area like so sort of grim reaper observing his next victim. Which, unfortunately, was .
The old man gave a look that suggested he was unimpressed with my ability to remain conscious. "On your feet."
I groaned, pushing myself up for what felt like the hundredth ti. "This is excessive."
"This is necessary," he corrected. "You learn best when you suffer."
"I’d like to debate that."
"You’d lose."
I hated that he was right.
I rolled my shoulders, trying to shake off the exhaustion. My mana reserves were running low, but the old man didn’t care. He wanted to keep going, to push past my limits.
I took a steadying breath and activated Shadow Dance again.
[Shadow Dance: Activated]
[Mana: 40/100]
I was running out of ideas. I tried a variety of random-ass movents. I flickered behind him, in front of him, to the sides, sotis even avoiding his strikes only to co at him from another direction.
The old man watched with sharp eyes. He moved as well, adjusting his stance to match mine.
I feinted left—then flickered right, my dagger flashing toward his exposed neck. At this point, I wondered if I would actually kill the old man if I managed to break through his defenses. I had spent so much ti trying to attack him with killing intent, that I wasn’t sure what would happen if I actually succeeded.
The old man deflected it just in ti, his hand striking my wrist with pinpoint accuracy. But instead of letting him knock aside again, I twisted with the montum, flipping over him and bringing my second dagger down toward his shoulder.
It was close—closer than I had gotten all night, except the old bastard vanished into thin air.
Not physically, but his presence simply disappeared, and before I could react, sothing slamd into my gut.
The impact sent flying backward. I barely managed to land on my feet, but the force still knocked the air out of my lungs.
I looked up, panting. "What the hell was that?"
The old man tilted his head slightly. "That was proper shadow movent."
I scowled. "And you didn’t think to teach that earlier?"
"You weren’t ready."
Ronan, ever the emotionless spectator, spoke. "You are still not ready."
I glared at him. "Ronan, I swear to God, I will leave you at ho next ti."
"But I am learning so much," he countered, leaving without a response, but frustration still radiating from my core.
The old man sighed, rubbing his temples. "You’re improving. Barely. But if you want to stand a chance against the cult, you need more than just improvent. You need to be better than them."
I wiped the sweat from my forehead. "You know about the cult?"
"Do not mock , boy, I know a lot more than you dare to assu."
"Geez, sorry, I wasn’t trying to mock you, I just assud you ignored when I said I Was saving the world. So, what do I need to do?"
The old man gestured toward Ronan. "You fight him."
I blinked. Then I looked at Ronan.
Ronan looked at .
"...You want to fight him?"
The old man nodded.
I exhaled sharply, dragging a hand down my face. "Are you sure?"
Ronan, of course, took it completely seriously. He stepped forward, tilting his head. "Am I to use lethal force?"
The old man smirked. "If you don’t, he won’t learn."
Ronan nodded once, and that was it.
He lunged.
Fucking hell Ronan!
I barely had ti to react before his hand shot out toward my throat. I ducked just in ti, twisting away as he followed up with an eerily fluid kick.
He was fast, so much faster than I had ever seen him move before. Usually, this tin man would just blast magical death at any threat, but to see him move like this made seriously reconsider what he was capable of.
[Shadow Dance Activated]
[Mana: 20/100]
With that I flickered away—but Ronan anticipated it. The second I reappeared, he was already turning, a fist directed straight at my nose.
I twisted, trying to block with my limbs, but the impact sent vibrations up my arm. He was stronger than , so very much stronger than .
Instead of standing my ground, I let myself fall backward, rolling into the shadows. Ronan’s attack cut through empty air, and before he could turn, I activated shadow dance again, slashing for his back.
He dodged effortlessly and countered like a deadly snake, catching my wrist mid-strike. I barely had ti to register the movent before he ripped forward and drove his knee into my gut.
Pain exploded in my ribs. I choked out a breath and staggered back, vision blurring for a second.
Ronan didn’t hesitate. He pressed forward, giving no room to breathe. His attacks were relentless, and precise. Every strike was aid to incapacitate, to kill.
I was barely keeping up. I needed an opening, sothing to turn the tide.
Then it hit , I didn’t have to beat Ronan, I just had to cheat. It was the rogue way after all.
As he swung again, I activated Shadow Dance—but this ti, instead of flickering behind him, I reappeared above him.
[Shadow Dance Activated]
[Mana: 0/100. Further casts will cause severe Mana Sickness.]
His attack whiffed entirely as I dropped from the air, kicking him square in the back.
It wasn’t enough to hurt him,but it was enough to surprise him which was all I needed.
I followed up imdiately, slashing at his side, forcing him to pivot. Then I reactivated Shadow Dance, hitting from another angle, keeping him guessing.
For the first ti since the fight began, Ronan hesitated.
The old man humd in approval. "Finally."
Ronan adjusted, his movents shifting, the bastard was adapting already. Unfortunately for him, so was I. I was on a roll at this point.
The fight lasted another minute—longer than I thought I’d last. But eventually, Ronan landed a hit I couldn’t dodge, knocking flat on my back.
I groaned. "Alright. I get it."
The old man stepped forward, crossing his arms. "Do you?"
I exhaled. "I need to use everything. Not just teleporting behind people. Not just sneaking up on them. I need to move."
The old man nodded. "Now you’re starting to understand."
Ronan tilted his head. "You require more training."
I shot him a glare. "I’m going to kick your ass, Ronan. Expect a dozen more duels between us–this isn’t over."
The old man smirked. "Then get up. We’re not done yet."
I wanted to cry, but I needed to beat Ronan. A new parasite shouldn’t be able to beat . It’s true he had my mories, it’s true he had observed all of my actions–but I was the original, and I had to show my superiority.
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