Chapter 7: Advancement and New Master

It was a few days after the goblin hunt with the knights.

With the news that Leonel was going to be my proctor for my Advanced Rank test for Water God, my anticipation was at an all-time high waiting, to the point of making the next few days purely ensuring my skills were as sharp as possible. I hardly left the dojo while awaiting the day, one where Leonel would be free from his duties with our uncle to even be able to do it.

It was all sorts of things eating up Leonel's time now. Sitting in on meetings for business agreements involving trade with the Fittoa region, or various clandestine meet ups with other nobles and such. He rarely told me all the details, probably taking my age into account and wanting to spare me it for a while longer so I could focus on my own thing.

Though I always got the sense Leonel was bothered by something. A thought, just picking at the back of his mind. And with his coming-of-age ceremony only a couple of years off by now, I suppose the stress must have been mounting as the day he'd do more than sit in and take notes came.

And the day of, while waiting for Leonel to arrive, I was sparring with Luke as a warmup for both of us. A rarer thing since Luke's new duties as one of Ariel's bodyguards meant he was at the palace most of the time… impressive enough for a kid like me really, though he had graduated a bit early from the Royal Academy like Ariel for a reason.

Granted there was a bit of an issue with our sparring.

Luke, despite having been at the dojo longer than myself, had already lagged behind me, at least when it came to skill with the Water God Style. We were currently about even in Sword God Style at Intermediate Rank. But Water God? I was here preparing to be tested for Advanced Rank, where Luke was still stuck at Beginner Rank.

"You need to watch your feet more, Luke!" So here I was, also giving Luke some advice as we sparred, trying to help walk him through some of the Intermediate movements he was working on. "You need to plant yourself firmly, opposite of Sword God!"

"Which one do you think I'm used to?!" Luke growled as he failed to deflect my next swing, thrown off balance as his practice sword was sent snapping upwards. His retaliatory swing was unmistakably Sword God, which I caught with a smooth motion of my sword, the practice blades locking together as I let Luke's slide forward. "How is it we're even with Sword God but you took so much more naturally to Water God than I have?"

"I guess Leonel and I just got a talent for it," I chuckled as I broke the lock, twirling around Luke as he stumbled forward. "I'm also aiming to reach Advanced in Sword and North God as well. I want to build a well-rounded fighting style."

"How ambitious are you?" Luke sighed as he returned to a neutral stance, and I just chuckled. "An Advanced Attack Mage and Advanced Swordsmen? One person being that talented is just unfair."

"I'm more of a generalist than anything. There's always going to be stronger mages and stronger swordsmen out there," putting my left arm behind my back, I lifted the practice sword up into a fencer's hold. "So, I'm better off not getting cocky just because I can say a few Advanced Spells or can hit Advanced Water God when I'm so young. And you're better off not losing confidence. We're both still kids, we've plenty of time to get stronger and refine our skills. You won't be stuck at Beginner forever, I'm sure of it."

"Haha, well said!" Before Luke and I could resume, Clive approached with Leonel by his. "Always more mature than you look. Aegir's right, Luke. Rising in the ranks is more than just talent. Work hard enough and even what seems impossible becomes easier with time. I didn't become a Water Saint that easily you know?"

"I mean look at me," Leonel chuckled. "I made Advanced years ago and I've been stuck since. We all hit a rough patch in progress at some point."

"So you both say…" Luke sighed, setting the tip of his practice sword to the mat. "So, it's time huh?"

"Haha, sorry to steal your sparring partner from you," Leonel chuckled as he put his arms behind his back, then looking at me. "All warmed up, Aegir?"

"You know it! Luke, we'll practice more once the test is done!"

Luke waved me off as Clive got to barking at everyone in the dojo to round up and clear the space. Just like when Leonel had been tested years ago, it was just us on the central practice area, a crowd of all the knights and students forming around the edge as we took positions. Clive then stepped to the center, looking between my brother and me.

"We're here today for Acolyte Aegir's Advanced Rank test!" Clive's voice carried across the hall loudly and clearly. "His proctor will be Acolyte Leonel, himself an Advanced Rank practitioner and thus qualified to deliver this examination! Leonel, it is agreed there will be no bias based on your relation? Your will test Aegir's abilities as you would any fellow student, and not as your brother?"

"No, sir!" Leonel gave a curt, direct reply. I wouldn't prefer any alternative anyway.

"And you, Aegir. Pass or fail, you will hold no grudge against your brother for his judgment of your skill?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Then this test may begin when you are ready! May this fight be fair!"

Clive stepped back with the declaration, Leonel and I raising our swords into similar stances, just as we preferred. Any muttering from those on the side was totally shut out as I focused. The only thing I wanted to concern myself with was the duel, nothing else. Just focus on Leonel and nothing more. Anyone else was just a distraction in this moment.

Leonel took the first step, and the next moment, his sword was sliding across mine as I deflected the chop with a use of Flow.

And from there, it all cascaded out into a whirl of blades. Techniques I'd spent the past few years memorizing down to my very bones flowed out with ease as I remained planted in place under Leonel's assault of strikes.

Water God's defensiveness meant taking the initiative was often ill advised. But, since Leonel and I also knew Sword God techniques, it offset that weakness almost entirely. But this wasn't a test in Sword God Style.

The test here would surely be different. Where Leonel's test with Clive was one where Leonel's loss was likely, and thus Clive was seeing if he qualified, this duel could go either way for us.

Simple as, I'd qualify if I could beat Leonel… well, at least that was the condition I'd set for myself. Even if Leonel approved of where my skills were at. I needed to show I'd reached the point to where being Advanced mattered, and that was willingly controlling the output of my Touki while showing my mastery of the fundamentals of Water God, even if I blended in other techniques.

As it went, consciously controlling your touki wasn't really something you were taught so much as naturally came into as you grew more skilled and came to understand how the energies of your body flowed. As a mage, this was of course something I'd long since figured out, but for touki it was different.

It was more spontaneous, almost explosive. The test here was to see if I could willingly draw that burst of power out from my own will. Leonel had accomplished that a few years ago with his Longsword of Silence, and I was sure that even the parries he'd accomplished were the same means.

And I could feel it behind Leonel's own strikes as I defended from them. The way they suddenly accelerated, the weight of the impacts. Senses long trained to sense the flow of magic for spells were firing at max, spotting the moments when there was a sudden shift in the flow around Leonel as he struck, trying to break through my defense or using that flow to let my own blows slide past him.

Just a couple of seconds… I only need a couple of seconds of difference. If I can hold the burst longer than Leonel can, I can break through!

That warmth of magic I was so used to rushed along my arms and legs as I focused. The same process, the same method. But rather than let it leave my body, to form into an element and be released, I kept it inside. Let it flood my limbs and spread throughout them, tap into the power even my small body is capable of even if only for a few seconds.

Flurries of blows, wood slamming so hard the blades were starting to crack with each exchange of strike and parry. Pushing on, and on… until I felt something. A slack to Leonel's blow, a slip in his own strength while mine didn't falter. A small, almost impossible to spot shift in the way his arms moved.

There!

My sword shifted with a use of Flow, smoothly sliding Leonel's blade away from my own as I stepped past him. And as Leonel brought the wooden sword back to block, I was already swinging again. Without a sound, Leonel was sent skidding backwards, the only noise being a thwack as the wooden blades connected again.

"Hehehe… looks like you got it," Leonel chuckled as he held his stance, but a second after, the wooden blade in his hand split, the upper part of the blade dropping to the mat. With another chuckle, Leonel held the remaining half of the sword aloft. "You all see that?! Sir Clive, by my examination, I believe Aegir is worth being promoted to the Advanced Rank within the Water God style. Not only has he shown ability in channeling Touki at will, but as you all see, he was able to soundly defeat me in an even exchange!"

"Aye!" Clive approached the both of us, and I was still feeling my senses widen back out as he took my free hand and raised it high. "Acolyte Aegir has joined those of you who have attained Advanced Rank!"

The crowd cheered, whooped, and hollered in celebration, and before I knew it, I was being mobbed by congratulatory knights all around, receiving way more than a few hearty slaps on the back in the process as they all said their piece. And yet, Leonel was staying strangely away from the crowd, retreating to the edges of the dojo. No sooner than I was able to weasel my way out of the crowd, I chased after him, finding him waiting just outside.

"Leonel! Why'd you run off like that?" I panted a bit as I stopped, Leonel chuckling.

"Sorry, didn't want to ruin the moment. Besides, I had my moment," Leonel ruffled my hair, though there was no mistaking the suddenly forlorn look in his eyes.

"Something's bothering you. Why did you want to be the one to proctor my test anyway?"

"Because I wanted to do… something," Leonel sighed, folding his arms as he leaned against the wall. "Aegir, you're probably the most talented person I've met. You taught yourself how to use magic when you were still a toddler, and in a way that rarely anyone else can! And now… now you're catching up with me as a swordsman too, and I know you're going to go even further. So… I guess I wanted to at least feel like I could've contributed a bit, done something an older brother should. You really are too independent for your own good, y'know?"

"Guess I'm just a bit more mature than most," I tried to be jovial, but I really couldn't shake the feeling something was up. "Leonel… what's going on? Why did you feel like you had to do this?"

"I'm… hagh, no point hiding it. Uncle James is sending me away for a while," my eyes widened, Leonel fiddling with a bit of his hair. "He says it's to educate me on the business the Boreas get up to when it comes to the other Greyrats. So… I'll be staying with our relatives in the Zephyrus family for a couple of years, until I come of age."

"Zephyrus… that's the Donati region up in the North!"

"And where weapons are manufactured and shipped to adventurers and mercenaries who work in those territories," Leonel nodded.

"But… why? James shouldn't have a reason to send you off! You've been doing great with your lessons and other work."

"This is why," reaching into his jacket's pocket, Leonel produced a folded-up letter. One marked by the Boreas seal. "This is from Father… he got into contact with me through couriers that Grandfather hires for other work. It started from just slipping them in, but recently it's been through official shipments from things produced in Fittoa. And Uncle James found out about it."

"So, because of that he's shipping you off to live with our relatives?!" Being as young as I am, I was still well and away from the politics of nobility. And perhaps throwing myself into being an adventurer for the past half a year has further helped create a distance between myself and that part of my life. "Isn't Father just sending letters to stay in contact, know what we're up to?"

"Uncle James doesn't seem to think so," with a sigh, Leonel pocketed the letter, a put-out smirk coming to his face. "He knows Father still holds a grudge for taking over as head of the family, most of all taking us from him and Mother. We're hostages, remember? He's only sending me to Donati to remind Father of that. Isn't even going to tell them back in Roa, just to make sure they get the point."

"But that's…"

"Just the way we nobles are," Leonel looked upwards, and my hands bunched up. "You'll have to deal with this kind of thing eventually to. Besides, I don't mind getting out of Ars too much to be honest. Can't stand it all, just gets tiresome. And hey, don't worry much, I'll have Grenia with me, so I won't be lonely."

Right, Grenia was that beast girl maid Leonel had been getting friendly with lately.

"So… you wanted to do this before you're gone for the next while?"

"Again, only until I come of age. So… let your big brother make a selfish request," Leonel chuckled, ruffling my hair again. "Make a name for yourself. As Aegir Greyfeather the Adventurer. I want to hear that name leave Ars and starts spreading further. And, if you ever find yourself up in Donati during a job in the next couple of years, you know where to look."

"Then don't go slacking on your swordplay," I brushed Leonel's hand off, and we clasped them in a firm shake. "Because I'm only going to get better, promise! Let's duel again next time we see each other and see how far we've gotten by then!"

"It's a promise," Leonel tightened the handshake, pulling me into a hug next. "Two years. Show me how far you can get in two years, little brother."

"Who knows, I might be a Saint of some kind next time we see each other," I pat Leonel on the back with a chuckle, my brother snickering.

"I'll hold you to that," pulling away, we finished off the exchange with a fist bump. "Alright! Let's have some fun while we still have the time! No parting on a dour note, yeah?"

"Hehehe, not at all. Let's make the most of it!"

It was only a couple of days later that the day of Leonel's departure to Donati came. It wasn't much of a ceremony really, just me and a few of the other servants who had a good connection to Leonel wishing him and Grenia well as they loaded up in the carriage and headed off. There was no worries about their safety, since it was assured Leonel could handle himself on the road for the days long journey to the north.

And while they didn't bother even approaching, James' wife and Romeo were watching from the manor entrance.

I stayed and watched as the carriage left the manor grounds, waving it off until it was out of sight and the staff had already headed back into the manor.

It was as I turned to leave to something stopped me. James, standing between me and the manor, arms folded behind his back. When I tried to walk past, a firm hand to my shoulder stopped me, the man's eyes barely shifting to look my way.

"What do you want?" My tone was low as I looked towards James, the man maintaining his firm look forward.

"To remind you of your place here," James' hand tightened on my shoulder. "Leonel isn't simply being sent to Donati for a lesson, I'm sure you've realized that. It would be one thing if your father was merely in contact with you two… but I know my brother well enough. Philip is a schemer and planner at heart, and our father has no doubt told him about your progress from his trips here to Asura."

"Grandfather's been here?!" I snapped around, James turning to me fully as I stepped away. "He's been here and you never told us?!"

"He only comes to Asura in his duties as Fittoa's feudal lord, just as I have my duties as Cabinet Minister," James folded his arms behind his back. "Though I'm sure some in the palace like to say things. You and Princess Ariel were rather friendly towards each other after all, and Luke likely has things to say as well."

"Are you saying I stand out too much for your liking?" I put my hands at my hips, James scoffing. "What, not being a good little hostage who's sitting quietly and doing what you say so I can be a decent bargaining chip?"

"Why do you think I sent Leonel off?" I flinched as James' stare became downright boring, like he was trying to drill right through me. "I sent him off because in two years, when he comes of age and returns to Ars, me and the head of the Zephyrus will be announcing his marriage to the Zephyrus house's daughter. Leonel will no longer be a Boreas, but a Zephyrus."

"I get it… knock Leonel out of the succession race by handing him off to another family before he gets too notable," I shot a smirk towards the man. "I mean I only get it. Leonel is an Advanced Swordsman! He's got talent and can probably become way more charismatic as he gets older. He's a threat to your plans to keep your line in power. Nipping that bud before it blooms is the best move you could make. Talk about trite."

Smack

Next I knew, a stinging pain was running across my cheek, James glaring at me as he withdrew his hand. Slowly looking back towards him, I met his glare with my own.

"You will learn your place!" James knelt, grabbing my hair by the ponytail and yanking, hard. "I care not that you're a mage or swordsman. So long as you bear the Boreas name and live under this manor, you will act appropriately and do as you are told. I've tolerated your fancies because you're only a child and would be loathe to not see use in your talents. Or, if you insist on being rebellious, can run and be like that disgrace Paul."

"Oh please, you and I both know you need me around," James scowled as I grabbed his arm. "Know my place? The only thing you need me to do is be around so Philip and Sauros don't get any smart ideas. Besides, isn't it more beneficial to you if I'm out of sight like I am?"

"Don't get smart, boy," wrenching his arm around, James got free and grabbed me in turn. "True, you don't need to do anything. But that's the problem. You are doing something. You may be using another name to play at being an adventurer, but the Knights all know who you are, and word spreads quickly in this city. Not a noble in Ars doesn't know of the Boreas child who, at ten years old, has attained Advanced status as both a mage and swordsman when he's barely graduated from the royal academy."

"Then isn't it better I want nothing to do with all these dumb politics?!" It was frustrating I couldn't easily free myself despite trying. At the end of the day, I was only as strong as this ten-year-old body would allow me to be even with the training I'd undergone.

I was a child, James was an adult… well, a child who could use Touki that is. All it took was one thought, and my struggle turned into wrenching myself free, James stumbling as I stepped a few feet away in one move. There was a difference maker, something I had experience in I could use.

"You dare…" James paused when I held up a hand.

"Let me make an offer. I don't have an interest in getting involved in politics, and you want Romeo to take over after you," James, understandably, looked rather confused. "And if you're planning to marry Leonel off to another family, then how about this? I won't get involved. At all."

"What?"

"I said I won't get involved. I just want to be an adventurer and see more of the world. To get better at magic and swordplay to my heart's desire. I don't even really care about being a noble at all. So, for the next two years, until Leonel returns, and you do whatever you've gotta do, you won't have to see me beyond coming and going from this manor. I'll tell my party I can take jobs further out than Ars. I'll be gone for weeks or even months at a time. Hell, I'll even use nothing but my pay from the Guilds to fund myself. And if it keeps the traditions as they are, I won't even send letters to Philip or Sauros."

"D-Do you even comprehend what you're saying?!" I raised a brow at James' reaction. He seemed outright taken aback I was offering him carte blanche to just ignore my very presence. "Even if you don't take over the family, a Greyrat still holds prestige within Asura! You're telling me you don't care at all about that influence, that power that even a branch holds as a feudal lord? With your talents you could…"

"I don't care about any of that," again, James looked all too shocked by my response. "I'd have the same desires I do now even if I'd been born a peasant out in the countryside. If anything, being a noble has just made things expedient…"

"There must be more to this!" James snapped, and I could only give him a baffled look. "Running off to play adventurer… you're just looking for an excuse to return to Roa! Philip must have gotten into contact with you as well! What is he scheming? What the hell is my rat of a brother planning?"

"Philip hasn't sent me any letters. The first I heard about it was when Leonel told me the other day," and again, James retreated to an utterly confused state. "There's no catch, no secret motive. I really do just want to be an adventurer who goes my own way. Why is it so hard to believe I want nothing to do with all this nobility stuff?"

"Because you…" James let out a dragging sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. It seemed he at least realized I wasn't going to budge on this point one bit. "He's just like that disgrace Paul…"

"What?"

"Never mind, fine, do as you wish," James waved his hand off, but he didn't seem quite done yet. "But, I have one condition to this."

"Fine."

"You are not to make any contact with Philip or Sauros when outside of Ars," James' tone was firm, being sure to loom over me. "If you somehow find yourself in Roa, you stay clear of the lord's manor. Understood? I want absolute assurance you're not plotting anything."

"I can roll with that."

"We shake on it," James put a hand forward. "You at least understand enough to know your clan honor matters even between us, right?"

"That I do," Knowing the situation, I shook James' hand in turn.

Two years. I'd nabbed myself two years of effective freedom with this deal. Was it entirely ideal? Not really. And while the Roa clause was a bit annoying it's not like it was troublesome. Besides he only said avoid the lord's manor, nothing about heading there because a job required it.

Now as for other things…

"Annnd that's about the situation. Not really leaving the Boreas House, just putting myself out of the public eye for a while."

Clive let out a long, dragging sigh as his response to my recounting of recent events. Silence followed as the Knight Captain kept his head on his tented hands. By the time I was finally starting to feel more than a bit awkward about it all, he looked up, a single piercing eye looking at me over his hands.

"You have a bad habit of getting wrapped up in awkward situations. First you decide to take on a fake name to be an adventurer, and now you tell me you've all but officially estranged yourself from your family?"

"To be fair it's not like James was planning to let me do much anyway. Odds are he'd either pawn me off to act as a royal guard like Luke or marry me off to some other noble family once I was a bit older. At least this way I'm doing what I want!"

"You're astonishing… and that's not quite a complement," Clive stood, folding his arms and sighing at my clear lack of guilt over any of this. "But in another way it does make things easier."

"Easier how?"

"Come with me. There's somebody I want you to meet. He arrived just this morning."

Well that meant this had to be something important if it meant Clive was going out of his way to bring someone all the way to Ars.

It was back out to the training floor with us, and while when I'd entered it had at first been business as usual. But now the floor was a mess of people surrounding some fighters on the mat. Clive gave a knowing sigh as we approached the group. And with a loud thwack, a training sword went flying through the air to the shock of the onlookers, sailing over their heads and clattering to the ground.

"This wouldn't happen to be that friend of yours, would it?" Looking to Clive, the man slowly nodded.

"I told him to at least wait… that damned fiend is as impatient as ever."

Following Clive as he shouldered his way through the crowd, it was clear rather quickly just who the visitor was.

A tall man covered by a black, fur lined longcoat of a design that rang rather familiar to my memory, the attire beneath the light travel leathers of an adventurer. A rugged face with skin deeply tanned from time on the road, marked by an X shaped scar over his right cheekbone, keeping his dark hair cropped short, done so roughly it could have only been through a hewing by a knife if I had to guess. Perhaps the man's standout feature, however, were his eyes. Narrow, sharp, and a piercingly bright shade of blue that made them look like he was looking right through you.

All and all, he fit the image of a classically intimidating swordsman. A thug, perhaps, if you wanted to be uncharitable.

"Running my men through ringer again, eh Renault?" Clive chuckled as he approached the swordsman, the rugged man regarding Clive with a wry smirk.

"Gotta make sure you capital sorts haven't gotten soft," Renault's voice was a thunderous rumble, and he clasped hands with Clive, the men bumping their forearms together in a friendly gesture. "How long has it been since we last saw each other? Four, five years?"

"Three, actually. It probably only feels longer because of how peaceful things have been."

"Peaceful in Asura maybe. Strife Zone is as much of a mess as always," Renault's eyes then shifted to me, and I couldn't help but flinch. "I assume the Red here is the kid you mentioned?"

"Yep," Clive chuckled as he planted a hand on my head. "Renault, this is Aegir. He just qualified for Advanced Rank in Water God the other day. Aegir, this is an old friend of mine, Renault. He's a Sword Saint from up north in the Holy Sword Land. I asked him to come all this way for…"

"Oi, don't spoil it!" Renault hissed at Clive, the knight raising his hands as he backed off. The northern swordsman knelt, giving me an analytical eye up and down. "What's you're rank with the other two sword styles, Red?"

"I'm Intermediate with Sword God and Beginner with North God. I reached Intermediate with a previous mentor in… another situation, let's say," Figured not talking about my whole nobility status was better here. "When I'm not here at the dojo I also work for the Adventurer and Mage Guilds. I use magic to augment my swordplay."

"You didn't mention the kid's also a bloody mage," Renault eyed Clive, the knight whistling. "Well, least it means we can save the trouble of teaching you the finer methods with touki. By now you've probably got a better grasp at it than even Advanced rankers twice your age."

"I still need more practice and experience. I'm not trying to get ahead of myself."

"Smart. So, how high are you aiming to go then? As a mage and swordsman both."

"My goal right now is Advanced rank in Sword and North God styles too," Taking a pause, something was there in Renault's gaze. "But if I can go higher than I want to reach that point too. I don't know just how far I can go, but I won't know where my limits are if I just get content where I am."

"Clive, you sure he's only ten?" Renault snickered as he leaned on a hand. "Alright, here's the deal. Clive asked me to come all the way down here to teach you. Said you've been looking for someone to get you further in Sword God Style for a while now. But, if I'm going to do that, I need to make sure it'll be worth my time."

"Do you need me to do something?"

"Yes," Renault stood, taking a couple of steps back. "One move. One technique from Sword God any Intermediate ranker worth their salt should be able to use. Longsword of Silence. Show me you can use that, and I'll think about it."

"So even if I do it right you might decide not to?" With a call from someone on the side, I caught a training sword that was thrown my way.

"All depends on how I view the way you do it," Renault lifted his own practice sword, right into that ever so familiar Sword God stance. "Also, I'm gonna swing back. So, see if you can match my timing."

"Isn't that a bit too much to ask the kid?" Clive shook his head with a sigh. "I know you wanna test him, but ease up a bit, would you? Aegir's not even half your size!"

"Real world ain't fair. Kid's an adventurer, I'm sure he knows that."

"Clive, it's fine," I gave the captain a reassuring thumbs up. "Let me show him what I can do. I wanna prove myself."

"Oh, and another thing: No magic. Touki only," Renault snickered when I flinched a bit. "We can cook up that one another time if you impress me enough."

"It's one blow anyway, no need for anything else."

Renault only gave an amused grin. Both of us took our stances as the crowd went down to silent, patient murmurs. As my eyes met the Sword Saint's, I was already feeling my heartbeat thump in my ears. I knew there wasn't a chance I could actually match him. Both physically and in terms of experience. But that heartbeat also came with excitement.

How much faster was he?

How much stronger was he?

How much more precise was he?

All of these things were running through my head as my fingers adjusted along the practice blade's hilt.

And with that rush of power through my limbs, I moved forward. Renault moved the very same instant, maybe even a split second before I could even finish my own motion. Two swings without sound split through the air as we dashed forward, our dashes ending at the opposite ends of the mat.

"Ahhhh! Dammit! It wasn't even close!" Arms throbbing and my fingers going numb, I dropped the practice sword to the mat right as its blade broke in two, shaking my hands to try and get some feeling back in them as Renault laughed, spinning his blade to his shoulder, not even so much as a crack in the blade. "Talk about a gulf in difference…"

[So that's what a Sword Saint looks like.]

[He was even faster than when he was sparring with us…]

[Really wasn't holding back on the kid, huh? Surprised some shaky hands are the worst he got.]

"Not bad kid, not bad. I'd say you're at about the mid-upper end of an Intermediate student already," Renault dropped into a sitting position, crossing his legs as he leaned on the practice sword. "But you've got the flaws of a kid who's only been trained by instructors, and that's holding you back. Your swing is too simple, too taught. You haven't had a lot of actual combat experience even as an adventurer, have you?"

"Hard to get that here in Ars," still holding one of my wrists, I also sat down. "And this is going to become another talk about experience, isn't it?"

"Gotten it a few times already, have ya?"

"Of course I have."

"Then go out and get more of it. Get out of the city and get some real fights in," standing, Renault began to walk away. I was half expecting him to leave with that. Perhaps he was disappointed at where I was after all, and figured I wasn't worth training with the state I was in. But then he stopped, placing a hand on my head. "And when you're back in town, find me here at the dojo or the inn. I plan to be in Ars for a long while. Whatever rough edges of yours the world doesn't beat out, I'll do myself."

"Ah… r-right!" I nodded as Renault removed his hand, shooting to my feet. "I look forward to it sir!"

"Just don't get killed out there. Adventurers have a bad habit of getting in over their heads. Don't be one of 'em."

"Harsh as ever," Clive sighed as Renault strolled out of the dojo. Looking at me, the knight captain ruffled my hair. "But, despite what he said, you did impress him. Renault's the kind of guy who'll only take on a student if he thinks they'll be worth his time. So, how'd it feel to cross blades with a Sword Saint?"

"Well, my hands are still numb," the blood still felt like it was taking time to get back to my fingers properly. "It was the exact same technique but it was so… different. It was faster, more precise, stronger… but somehow it also felt different. Like he was using it his way and not just how you'd be taught. He had a point that right now I'm still just working off what I've been taught."

"You'll work it out as you get older. Part of a swordsman's journey is defining what works for them even within the limitations of techniques. And I'll give the same advice Renault did," Clive knelt, putting a hand to my shoulder. "Don't die out there. No one wants to hear about you dying too soon."

"I don't plan on it. I want my life to be a good one. So, no way I'm gonna go dying way too early."

Not again. I won't let my life be cut off too soon a second time.