Rick nodded, a glint of approval in his eyes. Though he thought, ’You’re already plenty strong as you are now,’ he said, "Good. Let’s see what you’ve got." He tossed a wooden sword to Klaus, who caught it skillfully.
"What for?" Klaus asked, inspecting the sword for any imperfections.
Rick turned around, scanning the area. Just a mont ago, Nicholas had been right behind him, but now he was nowhere to be found.
’What the... Where did that Davoss kid go? I didn’t even sense him move.’ Rick thought, a look of astonishnt crossing his face. Nicholas had vanished without a trace, a feat impressive enough to unsettle even a seasoned swordsman like Rick.
Klaus watched Rick’s distraction with growing impatience. ’What is he looking for?’ he wondered. ’I’m sure he will ask to spar with . Ah!’ Klaus thought desperately. ’My body still feels very sore; I’m not sure that I will be able to move perfectly, and I just wanted to hit the gym to try to get rid of all the soreness,’ Klaus mused.
{Why don’t you use magic to get rid of all the soreness?} Greed asked, exasperated.
’Don’t you think I tried? But no matter how many tis I tried, nothing changed,’ Klaus replied with obvious frustration.
’’’ And now, since the Four Eye is about to open soon, I can’t use magic as I used or I’ll delay the opening, so my best bet is not to use magic for the ti being,’ Klaus thought.
{Hmmm, it’s probably due to all the arcane energy in your mana circuits,} Greed suggested.
’Isn’t that supposed to be a good thing? Having arcane energy flow through it?’ Klaus asked, puzzled.
{I think you really misunderstood sothing,} Greed said. {Arcane energy is ant for destruction. Although it is safe to conserve inside an arcane core, inside a mana circuit it’s a different matter. But in your case, it seems as if your mana circuit fused with it. That’s probably why you can’t do anything about it since arcane energy can negate magic,} Greed continued.
’Interesting, so I’m feeling like this because I probably overused arcane energy.’
Discover stories with empire
{Indeed.}
Rick finally looked back at Klaus, his expression a mix of confusion and determination. "I wanted you to spar with another trainee, but since he disappeared, you’ll have to contend with ," he said, swinging the wooden sword in his hand left and right.
"Ah! My body still feels sore from yesterday’s events. I’m not really in a state to spar, especially not against soone of your caliber," Klaus protested, trying to call off the sparring session.
"Since you left before everyone, I didn’t have ti to give you one," Rick said, pulling a magic potion from his dinsional ring and tossing it to Klaus.
Klaus caught it and quickly downed the potion, but to his surprise, its effects were absorbed by the realm where the Eyes Of The Eyes Mantra resided, instead of his body.
’’’Damn, I can’t even absorb potions now,’’’ he thought, frustrated.
"And don’t worry, I’ll only use my left arm, and neither of us will use aura. This is just a light spar for to assess your swordsmanship level, so don’t worry too much and co at when you’re ready," Rick said.
’My body is too sore; I won’t be able to move freely,’ Klaus thought, taking deep breaths and relaxing his muscles. ’I guess I’ll have to manage sohow.’ He planted his right foot firmly and dashed toward Rick, swinging the wooden sword in a diagonal arc.
Rick t the swing with one hand, effortlessly absorbing the impact without even stepping back. ’Not bad! He’s quite strong for a brat,’ Rick thought, pushing Klaus back.
He then dashed forward, his sword flashing in a series of intricate patterns. Klaus parried each strike, but the force behind Rick’s blows pushed him back with every clash. Each collision felt like striking solid rock, and Klaus’s sore body struggled to keep up.
After a dozen exchanges, Klaus was already out of breath, his muscles straining under the pressure. ’Why is he already exhausted? I thought he had monstrous stamina. And the way he’s holding his sword, it’s clear he’s been practicing for less than a year. How did he manage to defeat Ygriss with this level of swordsmanship?’ Rick wondered, increasing the intensity of his attacks.
PACK! PACK! PACK!
The sound of their swords colliding echoed through the Lionhart Youth Training ground. Even without aura, the force behind their strikes made the air shimr.
’Damn, I can’t even use my strength properly, and my hands are all sweaty. I can barely hold my sword,’ Klaus thought, struggling to maintain his grip.
Rick misinterpreted Klaus’s condition as inexperience. ’He’s rough around the edges, but I can polish him into a proper swordsman in no ti,’ Rick thought, doubling the speed of his strikes.
PACK! PACK! PACK!
{ARGH! You’re embarrassing ! How dare you show such pitiful swordsmanship! I didn’t teach you to hold a sword like this!} Greed roared, oblivious to Klaus’s condition. He assud the potion had relieved most of Klaus’s soreness.
’Tsk! Calm down, the potion didn’t have much effect on my body,’ Klaus replied.
{Tsk, it was probably a cheap potion. What a stingy guy!} Greed said, cursing Rick, mistaking the high-grade potion for a cheap one.
{grit your teeth, hold your sword properly, and use the back of your feet to apply pressure on your leg instead of your toe.} Greed instructed. Klaus followed the advice, his movents improving noticeably.
Rick was perplexed by Klaus’s sudden improvent. ’What the? How did he get better so quickly?’ he thought.
’I need to end this spar; my body can’t hold up any longer,’ Klaus thought, changing his stance.
{Eh? What are you doing? Don’t you dare use that,} Greed shouted, but it was too late. Klaus was already in motion.
Sword Ink Of Destruction ~ Modified Move ~ Dark Cot.
With his body still sore, Klaus modified the swordsmanship Greed had taught him to suit his current condition. Although he didn’t use aura, the air around Klaus’s sword darkened, and his strike violently descended toward Rick.
’What kind of technique is that? I guess I’ll have to use this if I don’t want to embarrass myself against a trainee,’ Rick thought.
Lionhart Style Swordsmanship ~ 12th Crown - Luminous Slash.
Klaus and Rick executed their moves at breakneck speed, the collision of their swords sounding more like an explosion than a clash.
BAAANG!!
Both wooden swords shattered into dust from the impact.
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