One year had passed since Kyrian had become a soldier. Today was a special day.
Kyrian had grown, but not much, his height was still very short compared to everyone else. His face still bore all the childish features.
His eyes, now, seemed even sharper. Over the past year, he had tried to learn all of his abilities.
But the particles he had never stopped absorbing still showed no sign of reaching a limit.
On the morning of the anniversary of his joining the city guard, the courtyard was crowded.
The twenty-five recruits who had entered with him, the veteran soldiers, and everyone else were there to see only one thing.
Kyrian and Rurik stood face to face, just like when they had fought for the first time.
But this time, the spears were made of iron. Kyrian had a slightly smaller spear, crafted specifically for him.
Kyrian looked at Rurik with eyes fully focused, determination shining in them.
’It’s been a year... and today I will defeat him, and then I will prove that I have grown stronger.’
Kyrian truly saw in Rurik, beyond his captain, a teacher, and even a friend. He saw in him his rival, someone he had to surpass, and he would not rest until it happened.
After all, if he could not defeat him, he could not call himself strong.
And that is why, in addition to training and sparring with Rurik, Kyrian trained with all the veteran soldiers and even the newcomers.
He saw all their techniques, their ways of fighting, he recorded everything with his gaze and stole it for himself, adapting all he had taken from others, refining his way of using the spear more and more.
And now he felt that he could finally defeat Rurik, and for that reason, he issued the challenge to his captain.
Who, of course, accepted it with a smile.
"Don’t hold back," Kyrian said to Rurik, who only replied with a smile. He seemed excited about it as well.
The two stared at each other, their hands firm on their spears.
Silence seemed to hang over the courtyard as everyone held their breath.
Unlike the onlookers, the two breathed deeply and calmly, and then, suddenly, they moved.
Their boots pushed against the stone ground with force as they advanced at the same time. The first clash made everyone’s ears ring from the impact’s sound.
Rurik’s spear came down in a heavy arc, the steel of the spearhead whistling as if it were cutting through the very wind.
Kyrian raised his weapon at the last instant, not because he was slow, but because he had already seen the attack forming in the captain’s shoulders and arms before the tip of the spear even moved.
Kyrian used as much time as possible to gather strength and block at the last moment.
The shock reverberated through his arms, Rurik’s strength was still superior to his, as if a wall were collapsing and pushing him back. But unlike before, his body was not sent flying.
Kyrian retreated only two steps, his boots sliding on the floor, but he kept his balance.
"Good! Good! You’ve improved again!" Rurik commented while spinning his spear instantly into a horizontal strike.
Kyrian ducked quickly before the spear crossed exactly where his head had been and slid to the side, his own spear aiming for the captain’s open guard.
But without difficulty, Rurik simply turned the shaft of his spear, blocking Kyrian’s attack with the handle.
Another loud impact rang out, but neither of them gave way.
The fight’s speed increased little by little, with every attack, Kyrian saw more.
The tensing muscles, the slight twist of the hips, the way Rurik gripped his left hand tighter before an upward strike.
In Kyrian’s vision, everything seemed slower, giving him more time to think and act before the attack arrived.
And now, he used this perfectly.
He suddenly slipped close to Rurik’s body, making the tip of his spear graze the air near the captain’s chest, almost hitting him.
But "almost" would not bring anyone down.
The captain stepped back slightly, spinning his spear in his hand and forcing Kyrian to retreat as well.
And then he advanced again the sequence of thrusts came like a heavy rain, each strike extremely fast and seeming to get even faster. Rurik was not holding back his strength.
Kyrian began parrying them all head-on, his small body dodging like a fish in a stream, but gradually he felt the weight of the blows pressing into his arms.
"Brat, you’ve gotten faster, I admit... but it’s still not enough," Rurik said with a broad smile, though sweat was already forming on his forehead.
He advanced again with a top-down strike.
Kyrian blocked it, but this time Rurik seemed to push with even more weight and power, forcing Kyrian toward the ground.
He had no choice but to bend his knees and spin to the side at the same moment, letting Rurik’s spear smash against the stone floor, throwing sparks and echoing with a metallic sound.
At that moment, Kyrian saw the perfect opening.
One step, two steps.
The tip of his spear lunged toward Rurik’s neck, who lost time when his own spear hit the ground.
Rurik raised his eyes, seeing the spear’s tip approaching, his left hand releasing his weapon and grabbing Kyrian’s spear’s shaft just a few centimeters from hitting him.
The whole courtyard held its breath.
Because Kyrian’s spear was smaller, he had to get closer, bringing him extremely close to Rurik now.
Rurik used his strength to lock Kyrian’s spear in his hand with brute force. And with his right hand, his own spear was already ready, aimed directly where Kyrian’s body was.
Kyrian could drop his spear to dodge, but doing so would mean losing his weapon and inevitably the fight.
He knew this, so he let the attack come closer, still pretending to use all his strength to pull his spear from the captain’s grip. When Rurik’s spear was at its lowest and almost at his head, Kyrian jumped.
Rurik’s strikes were always low because of Kyrian’s height.
Using this, Kyrian leapt high forward, his right hand holding his spear, which Rurik gripped firmly, as support. Rurik, who had been pressing the shaft with all his might, suddenly lost focus, no longer feeling the boy contesting in strength.
Kyrian spun his small body in the air, making his right heel descend directly toward Rurik’s head with all his force.
Rurik smiled, dropped his spear, and raised his right arm as fast as possible, blocking the kick with his forearm.
His left hand, at that moment, released Kyrian’s spear, and a punch shot directly toward the boy’s body.
The fist came like a hammer, making Kyrian cross his arms at the last moment. He was then sent backward, landing on the stone floor, his boots sliding slightly, but he was fine, only his arms trembled a bit.
Rurik, in turn, had taken steps back from the kick’s impact. The block had actually left his arm numb, and his labored breathing betrayed his effort.
’Tsk, this little monster already has strength almost equal to mine. When he arrived, I had to hold back, but now...’
’I thought it would take him two years to surpass me, but in another month or two, I doubt I’ll be able to face him.’
’Haha, maybe I’m getting old.’
Rurik thought, but he could not have been happier to see Kyrian becoming more and more monstrous.
The two stared at each other, their spears on the ground. Neither took the first step.
’Even after all that, I still couldn’t defeat him. I thought I was ready, but... Captain Rurik has also grown stronger in this time, hasn’t he?’
’Rurik is not someone easy to surpass.’ Kyrian thought in his mind. But if he said that out loud, the others would not know how to feel.
Kyrian was only five years old now, while his captain was already forty, and in just one year they were fighting as equals.
Both seemed to have given up, knowing that if they continued, they would remain in a stalemate. Everyone then realized the fight had ended in a draw.
Suddenly, applause began. The soldiers’ shouts were extremely animated after feeling they had witnessed a spectacle.
The captain smiled at this, finding it amusing, while Kyrian kept his calm expression, still thinking about what he could have done differently during the fight.
But at that moment, Rurik slowly stepped forward until he was a meter away.
"Brat," Rurik began in a serious voice that made the others fall silent.
"I have nothing left to teach you."
Silence reigned.
"From today on, you are the vice-captain of Falk’s city guard."
Kyrian looked at Rurik in surprise, who looked back at him with a smile.
But he nodded in agreement, in his simple mind, it made sense. After all, he was the strongest there alongside the captain. And despite his age, Kyrian thought himself smarter than those foolish soldiers.
Suddenly, all the guards bowed slightly.
"VICE-CAPTAIN KYRIAN!"
Rurik laughed heartily, giving several pats on Kyrian’s shoulder. It was truly amusing for him to see a child as vice-captain, but he was satisfied.
...
After everyone dispersed, Rurik called Kyrian to his office.
As soon as he entered, Kyrian noticed the slightly somber atmosphere.
Rurik’s feeling was one of concern.
Kyrian stood still in front of the desk, waiting.
"I called you here because of the bandits," the captain began, scratching his chin.
"A year ago, they were already a nuisance. But now they’re a complete threat to our supplies."
Kyrian simply listened in silence, he knew a little about the bandits, but not much.
"There’s a reason I haven’t gone after them again. The bandit leader is a strong man, not as strong as me, but still strong."
"And besides him, there’s his brother, just as strong. If it were one of them alone, it would be simple, but the two together are impossible to face."
"And there’s no soldier besides me who can hold his brother long enough, and if they could, the casualties would be many."
"And I haven’t even counted the other thirty bandits, or more, if they’ve recruited more," Captain Rurik said slowly.
"That’s pretty simple, isn’t it? The two of us can beat them," Kyrian said directly, not seeing the problem.
"In theory, it’s easy to say. But Kyrian, you’ve never fought a real battle to the death. Your comrades, the ones you know from the barracks, could die, no, some will die. You have to be prepared to fight, determined to eliminate the enemy, and not let the losses during the fight affect you."
"If that happens, even you could be killed if your mind isn’t focused on doing what’s necessary," Rurik said seriously, while at the same time doubting whether he should involve a child in this.
Even with this strength, he was still a child, wasn’t he?
"I don’t think you need to worry. I know what I have to do. If we don’t go, we won’t have food, and I need food to get strong. Right?" Kyrian replied honestly.
"...."
Rurik, looking at Kyrian’s determined face, sighed.
"We leave in two days."