Sword training was becoming easier for JiYeong the more they practiced. The sword still felt a bit heavy, but she was handling it with an ease she hadn’t felt initially. Mathieu told her the dance she had been learning was helping as well, and she was starting to see how true that was. It was certainly helping her footwork.

She parried Mathieu’s attack, wincing at the pain that shot through her arms from the strength of his attack. Despite getting better at the footwork, JiYeong still felt ridiculously weak compared to Mathieu. It was expected; he was a Lord Knight with years of practice and she had only been learning swordplay for the past three weeks.

“JiYeong,” Mathieu said, lowering his sword. She paused, brushing her hair out of her face. She was expecting him to correct her for something she did wrong but he said, “I believe we’ll go over a skill today.”

At that JiYeong couldn’t help but perk up. Using skills was something she’d been curious about since arriving in Allumia. Skills were definitely a thing here, as they had existed in-game. But how to use them was something that eluded her. There wasn’t an interface to select the skills from, and JiYeong hadn’t experimented with trying to use magic yet.

On top of that, she didn’t know if there were magic points or skill points that she could use either. Did people still level up like when it was just a game, or did you just know when you got stronger?

“We’ll start with Surge.” Mathieu continued, drawing her attention back to him.

Surge was familiar. Back when her character was just a Swordman, it was one of the first skills she learned once she’d hit level ten. It was a skill that allowed the user to draw energy to a specific body part, or in the case of a Swordman to their sword. It made their attack more powerful for the brief time Surge was active.

“It is a fairly easy skill to use, doesn’t take up that much energy. Perfect to get you used to using skills again.” Mathieu held his sword out, widening his stance a bit.

So it does take up energy. That made sense. Iridia had said something about summoning taking a lot out of her too.

“Just, focus the energy into your sword.” As Mathieu talked, a blue light began swirling at his feet, slowly moving up his body and eventually settling at the tip of his sword. It didn’t seem as if that took any effort for him at all.

“Okay now you try. It’s easier if you close your eyes and try to visualize the skill taking form.”

The sword was gripped in both hands, held slightly away from JiYeong’s body as she closed her eyes. She tried to visualize the same glow that had crawled up Mathieu’s body, starting at the floor beneath her feet. A warmth began to form, and she imagined it swirling up legs, past her hips. It moved down her arms, and when she opened her eyes she was pleased to see the blue swirl had settled on the tip of her sword.

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Using the skill hadn’t been as hard as JiYeong imagined it would be. Once the skill formed in her mind's eye, getting it to move to where she wanted came almost naturally. A grin formed on her face at the ease. It was the first thing she hadn’t had to force to happen.

Mathieu smiled a bit, raising his sword once more. “Come at me.”

Readjusting the grip on her sword, JiYeong ran at Mathieu, raising her sword at the last second. He barely managed to block her, but with Surge on her sword, the hit knocked him back quite a few feet and he winced.

“Good. Again.” He used Surge again, the light immediately appearing on the tip of his sword. Once again it didn’t look as if it took up any effort at all.

JiYeong raised her sword as Mathieu ran towards her. She’d become better at blocking his attacks and keeping her eyes on him as he moved. She moved her sword to the left as Mathieu swung, the swords ringing out a loud clang with the impact.

A burst of green light sparked from Mathieu’s feet and he dashed around her, hitting her in the back with the butt of his sword.

“Ouch!” She yelped, stumbling forward. JiYeong turned quick enough to block his next attack, fighting to keep her footing as he pushed against her. The blue swirl on her sword began to wane with the added effort of fighting him off, and she forced her energy back to the sword.

“You have to learn to keep the skill active even while concentrating on keeping yourself alive,” Mathieu said. JiYeong slipped away from him, raising the sword above her head to bring it down at Mathieu. He raised his sword to block the hit, the blue on his sword growing more intense.

With a swing of his sword, he knocked the sword from her hands and pressed the edge of his to her throat.

“You are getting better,” Mathieu said, chuckling when JiYeong glared at him. He took a step back, gesturing for her to pick up her sword.

“That skill you used, that’s another beginner skill isn’t it?” The sword was back in her hands. Though she was a bit winded, it was nothing like what it would have been at the beginning of their training sessions. She was getting stronger.

“It is called Burst.”

Another skill she recognized. It was a skill that gave the user added speed, though she could only imagine it took up quite a bit of energy. Using Surge alone was making her tired. Mathieu had used both at once and still didn’t look the least bit winded. It wasn’t fair.

“Today concentrate on getting Surge down.” Mathieu rose his sword again, using Surge. “Again.”

⚔⚔⚔

“We’re going to use Burst today.” Was the first thing out of Mathieu’s mouth when JiYeong approached him after lunch.

“It’s so hot though.” JiYeong had gotten used to the morning runs, and it had gotten to the point where she could keep up with him fairly easily. Early morning was the only time they’d run though, and despite the fact that the weather was cooling just a bit, the afternoon was still far too hot to justify running outside.

“Burst is a speed-boosting skill. What better place to use it than during our run?” A burst of green sparked from his feet again, this time lingering longer than it had just a few hours ago. It shot out like lightning in different directions.

“So why not tomorrow morning?”

“Is a mid-afternoon run too much for you, Champion?” Mathieu asked with a slight smile.

“If I say yes can we wait until tomorrow morning?”

Mathieu leaned down so he was eye level with JiYeong, reaching up to tuck a stray hair behind her ear. “Do you like when I touch you during our sparring matches that much?”

It was the first time he’d flirted with her so openly. JiYeong opened her mouth to retort but found she had nothing. When Mathieu’s slight smile turned into a smirk her face turned red. There was a chuckle before he pressed a quick kiss to her forehead.

“Come Champion. Let’s run.”