Selicia picks up the blade.
Her seemingly dainty fingers wrap around the wooden weapon, and her grip is firm.
’Good,’ I smile in observation, nodding slowly.
I take my stance, with one foot back and my body properly balanced, to achieve perfect symmetry with my blade. I raise the sword with two hands, and then leave it with just my right hand as I stare hard at my prepared sister.
Without standing on ceremony, I point the blade at her and part my lips.
"Come."
WHOOSH!
She dashes forward, showing no hesitation at all in her movements. Her legs kick against the sand, leaving footprints behind her blurry body. Within seconds, she crosses the boundary that exists between us and slashes at me.
Naturally, I evade the attack.
Twisting my body to the left, I side-step, dodging the strike right as it is about to make impact.
This causes her long strike to carry high momentum and force that it wouldn’t be easy for her to stop mid-swing. The inertia just won’t let her—especially given her lack of training. Even if she manages to prematurely stop her movements, her body will suffer the backlash.
Either way, it will be disadvantageous for her.
’This is why one should never make such a large swing as a battle opener.’ With this thought in mind, I swiftly use my leg to kick her from the side, and she easily goes tumbling to the ground.
"Ack!"
As her body rolls on the floor, I smile at her.
"I only needed to exert a bit of force, pushing you in the direction of your powerful swing. That allowed your body to lose balance and fall in that direction. Do you understand?"
"Yeah!"
She rises to her feet and charges at me with determination flaring in her amber eyes.
SWISH!
This time, her swing isn’t very powerful.
It’s clear that she’s playing it safe. She has learned from her past mistake so quickly, attempting to correct her terrible movement from earlier.
But—
’This isn’t the way to go. If it’s too weak, then I can easily do this...’
This time, I parry her strike—rather easily, too—and swerve her blade to the side, easily controlling the flow of her body as a result of the shift in weight and direction. Selicia’s body moves uncontrollably again, and all I need to do is give her a little kick for it to crash into the ground again.
"Argh!"
I ignore her yelp and smile at her again.
"Your attack was too weak. You shouldn’t show so much caution or hesitation in your strike. It makes your moves very easy to read, which makes it easy to counterattack and parry. Plus, the lack of weight in your blade makes it easier for your opponent to control the rhythm of battle."
My words appear contradictory, that much I know.
After all, if I tell her not to strike too fast and hard, then turn around the next moment to tell her she’s being too slow and soft, where exactly does she draw the balance?
’That’s one thing that took me a long time to understand...’ My eyes flicker as my curled-up lips begin to rise even higher. ’But you’re different, aren’t you, Selicia? You already understand what I mean, don’t you?’
"Got it!" She roars and charges at me once again.
This girl has so much energy.
I take a step back and give her more distance to cover, watching her legs pounding the earth beneath us to increase her speed. It seems she already realizes the unfair advantage I have in terms of weight and height, which also gives me the advantage of speed.
She desires to offset as much of that as possible.
If I retreat, it means my body is leaning backward, granting her the perfect opportunity to exert her weight—especially if she’s coming at me with incredible force.
But this also gives her the risk of being redirected by a much smoother and experienced blade.
—Like mine.
SWOOSH!
Selicia’s eyes bulge as she appears right in front of me, sending her blade crashing into mine in a straight descent.
’Excellent!’ I beam to myself. ’If it’s a vertical slice, especially timed when I am leaping back, it reduces your chances of being swayed away. Instead, it actually adds weight to your blade and prevents the enemy from taking charge of the rhythm.’
My sister, even at this age, is still the same genius I remember!
Following the strike, her body and blade are sent back slightly due to recoil. This leaves her vulnerable for a moment, but I decide not to take the opportunity.
After all, I know it’s bait.
"Tch! You didn’t fall for it, Javi!" Selicia admits while clicking her tongue.
I merely smile.
"Next time you create a false opening, make it less obvious. You need to be in control of all parts of your body in a fight.... That includes your facial muscles." I smirk and try to retreat further, but she presses on and hits my blade with hers once again.
However, this time, she uses the recoil to twist her body and create an arc with her blade.
I shift my body back to avoid this, but she’s not done.
In fact, she’s just getting started.
"Don’t think I’ll be passive forever..." I lunge my blade forward, slicing high into the air, but she bends at that moment and strikes my lower body. This naturally causes me to loosen my footing in order to shift my legs.
I bend backward, but only for a moment, using that momentum as a spring that pushes me forward. My blade pierces into the air, directly straight at her torso, but she has already moved to the side, also using her blade to parry mine right as I strike.
’She has really good instincts. It seems her basics are really what need the most work.’ I note to myself, realizing just how far she has come just from receiving two pointers regarding rudimentary movements.
I’m curious.
How far can she go in this fight?
As I turn my body to the side, where she’s waiting for me, my eyes widen as I see her arms already raised. She is preparing a downward strike already.
’So fast!’ I’m simply amazed by how her body works. ’Her mind can’t be that fast. It’s her body’s instinct! Is this what they call talent?’
I quickly slice upward with a semi-vertical attack, forcing her to cancel her blow and shift to defense. Increasing my pace, I strike a few more times, increasing my speed and the force behind my strikes.
This flusters her, and she staggers backward at some point.
"Hold! Keep going!" I bark out without realizing it. My nature leaks out slightly, but I suppress it and decide not to taint this moment with the burden of expectation.
Rather, I want to simply enjoy it.
So far, Selicia has been doing well. I am impressed in every department.
Could she be doing better? Certainly!
But that isn’t the point of today’s exercise. Rather than harp on her deficiencies, I’d rather explore just how much she has grown. Only after complimenting her sufficiently for the pleasant surprises she has displayed today, will I critique some of her actions and explore the areas in which she can improve.
I send a strike flying to her neck, but she tilts her head at the last minute.
The two of us smile.
I pierce towards her shoulder, but she shifts her body right before I hit her, completely avoiding what would have been a decisive hit.
’Looks like she’s already reading the flow of my blade...’
I send a wider, more powerful strike at her—this time resorting to a full horizontal swing—but she tilts back and avoids the attack in its entirety. I follow her movements, shifting my position so I can attack her in multiple directions at once.
However, she either parries or avoids them—preferring the latter.
Our blades clash after I send a vertical strike, but she stops it with a horizontal one. This sends her body sliding back a little, but she quickly recovers.
After crouching for a moment, she springs forward and delivers a piercing strike at me.
But how would I let that connect?
I tilt my body and evade the attack, causing her to retract her blade before I disarm her. She then makes a criss-cross attack, attempting to swallow me in the strikes, but I jump away to escape the range of her blade.
My two hands grab the hilt of my sword as I drag it from below and deliver a powerful, crushing strike.
CLANG!
She blocks it in time, but her body immediately staggers backward.
If we were wielding blades of steel, several sparks would have flown the moment our weapons collided.
I can see her body tremble due to the impact, but I’m not ready to stop just yet.
Using my two hands, I drag my blade on the ground and send another powerful swing at her again. This time, she tightens her grip on the blade, planting both her feet on the ground, and sends her wooden sword forward to intercept the force behind mine.
Once again—IMPACT!
Her body shifts back, and I simply twist, allowing the momentum to give my body an additional force to deliver a consecutive strike.
This time, I use only one hand to strike, but she continues to block with her two hands, tightly gripping the blade. She is finally able to stop my strike, nullifying all of the built-up momentum from earlier.
Selicia’s eyes shine with brilliance, and I know she is planning something.
She won’t miss out on such an opportunity.
SWOOSH!
Her body bends, and she targets my legs, trying to make me lose my already unstable footing due to my earlier twist. However, I already anticipated this, so I simply jump into the air and dodge the attack.
She doesn’t stop moving either, swirling to build up speed and power, only to send it at my torso.
Thankfully, my jump was measured, so I hurriedly shift to the side, while also preparing my blade for a counterattack. She sends a flurry of attacks, one of them aimed at my buttocks—for some reason—but I easily shield it with my wielded blade.
She targets my head, at this moment, but I lean backward, smoothly avoiding the attack.
’It seems she’s running out of moves to make and places to hit. I can’t blame her... especially since she hasn’t learned proper forms. Besides, she hasn’t had much of an opportunity to experience Knights fighting. The most she sees are those warriors whose skills are likely on par with hers at the moment.’
In a practical fight, I expect any of the warriors to defeat her.
After all, they’re bigger, stronger, and far more experienced. They would easily use all of these to their advantage and overwhelm her.
However, purely in terms of skills, she is already their equal.
But—
’You have a long way to go before you reach my level!’ My body becomes a blur, and I charge towards her with my blade wielded in one hand.
Her eyes widen, realizing my rhythm has completely changed.
WHACK!
My sword slams into hers, and she is forcefully sent back by the force. Her eyes squint for a moment, and I can tell it’s due to the shocking impact.
She does well holding it in and not falling.
This shows her incredibly deep foundation in footwork. Unfortunately, there’s only so much that can help her when dealing with someone truly strong.
I increase my flow and easily close the distance again, slamming my blade into hers for the second time. She doesn’t flinch from her position, but her entire body shakes as she loudly grits her teeth.
She shivers, watching my body press against hers.
I can see she won’t easily give in, but it’s already too late.
I win.
A little kick to her legs, and she falls to the ground helplessly. Before she can get up, my blade is right next to her neck, displaying my clear victory.
Selicia sees this and lets out a sigh, smiling. "I lost..."
A shrewd person admits to circumstance.
It seems her stubbornness doesn’t prevent her from admitting defeat when it comes.
"Good job!" I reach out for her hand, and she gives it to me.
I draw her up in one easy motion, both of us smiling at each other while our weapons drop to the ground. It was a brief session, but I enjoyed myself greatly.
When it comes to moments like this, I guess using the blade can be quite enjoyable.
"Wow! Javi, you’re really good..." Selicia gasps, now trying to catch her breath. "I didn’t know you could fight so well. Are you sure you don’t want to be a Knight?"
"Yup!"
"Wow! Such a waste... my two brothers are great at the sword, but none of them are interested."
I laugh silently.
Did Selicia just lump me with Craig? Do I really seem that talented?
I have the mind to tell her that I spent several decades learning and honing the skills I have shown her. It didn’t come from talent, but hard work and constant dedication to the blade—something I no longer see myself doing.
Of course, I won’t tell Selicia all of that.
I simply rub my younger sister’s hair and smile very proudly at her.
"You have great talent. Your potential is immense. I believe in you, Selicia. As long as it remains your goal, and you work hard at it... You can become a Knight."
"R-really?"
Her eyes tear up at this moment as she looks at me with both admiration and surprise.
"Yes."
"I can really become a Knight?"
"You can."
"You have my back... right, Javi?" Hearing those words causes memories to swirl in my mind.
This isn’t the first time I have heard them.
In my past life, Selicia asked me this same question when my family tried to tie her down despite her dreams of Knighthood. Back then, I told her that I had her back, but it was a lie.
I ended up siding with the Aditi Household and ruined her life.
’I’m sorry... Selicia. I was an awful brother. A big liar! I truly was the worst!’ Tears glisten in my eyes as I look at her, but I hold them back and simply nod while smiling.
"Yes. I will always have your back, Selicia." She embraces me excitedly, and I wrap my arms around her as well.
"That’s a promise, okay?"
I nod.
"Yeah. That’s a promise..."