Gilly, with only fire magic was no match for Aroelan who had spent his entire life perfecting earth magic battle techniques. She looked helpless as all of her attacks hadn’t connected; every single one of them was countered, every single blow Aroelan did was precise. She dashed forward again, increasing her speed to time a thrust attack which was met by a single earth block, knocking her backward. Areolan had not gone for a killing blow, giving her chance to recover before making another move.

The battle dragged on for another hour before Gilly finally gave up in frustration. She fell on her back, drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. Aroelan stood above her like a wall.

“Your moves are too predictable, your attack too weak. Your form is good but you rely too much on your physical strength and you use less mana”.

He was blunt but he still put up a smile when he made his correction clear.

They met with Zin and Xing, Gilly had met him earlier but her evaluation of him was bad. To put it simply, she saw him as a snob. They rested for a few hours with a few conversations here and there. Along the way, Ariel had brought snacks, along with Zin-Li who held on tightly to Ariel’s Kimono. Gilly saw the same thing she had seen when she looked at Katherine, black mist radiating from her body.

After a while, Ariel took Zin-Li and left, not before Zin-Li cast a questioning look at Gilly. When the break, Xing challenged Gilly and much to the other two’s surprise, She agreed and they both approached the center of the field. Xing was a dual blade user who specializes in water magic. At the start of the duel, he moved forward at great speed, even surpassing the speed Zin used when they trained together.

Metals clanged as Xing was pushed back, she followed up with various swings which Xing evaded with one swift move. Strength wise, she was superior but Xing was better at all other aspects, including techniques. Her fire-imbibed Meta Slash was countered with a water shield and a mizu-bullet as he advanced forward. Gilly had a hard time avoiding their impact. Before she could react, Xing’s sword was already on her throat signaling the end of the duel.

He wore a smug expression on his face looking down at Gilly who was covered with scars water dripping from her shirt. Zin smiled slightly, the mana fluctuation had gotten stronger. Aroelan continued to train her using various techniques for the next few days.

On the last day of the day cycle, Mizin finally appeared on the training ground and she had two swords in hand. At some point in her training, her head buzzed, pain causing her head to throb.

“Scram!”

Aroelan, hearing these words, left the center area and stood on the side lines with the rest of her disciples.

Zin, Aroelan, Ai-lyn, Xing, Ariel and Zin-Lu were all present.

“Pick it up.”

Mizin’s eyes glowed with a burning intensity. Gilly followed on instinct, picking it up and unsheathing the sword. What happened next was surprising even for Mizin’s disciples. A boom from the clash of swords resounded as Mizin clashed swords with Gilly. No words were said; the force had sent her quite some meters back. Though she had not been injured, her muscles were numb from the sheer force alone.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Mizin smile as she spoke up,

“Rule number one: Don’t rely on what you see alone”.

Those words uttered, Gilly instinctively dodged by ducking and rolling few meters. Upon regained her stance, she turned back; Mizin had slashed where she stood. Again, she sensed danger, turning her sword instinctively, parrying the attack. Though she was thrown back, she managed to catch her footing not falling as usual.

“Good, Good. I like it that you are sharp like your mother.”

Mizin sheathed her sword with a belt now appearing on her waist.

“Rule number two: Use each strike to your advantage.”

Gilly immediately felt a sharp pain on her right shoulder, it had a cut and was bleeding slightly. Mizin had done a quick draw after she spoke. The on lookers were surprised; the only people she ever trained like this were Zin, Euen, and Roger.

“What did I say rule two was?” she asked Gilly, her eyes glowing.

“Use each strike to my advantage.”

Her voice trembled slightly but her eyes were serious. A sudden realization dawned on her; Mizin did a vertical quick draw which was even faster than the first. Gilly had a danger premonition at that point, the voice sounding sharp and pain as though it was right beside her. However, she was calm and in that moment, she parried; the recoil causing her to slide a few steps.

Mizin ‘blinked’ in front of her, just a few inches apart, taking the exact same stance. This caused Gilly to panic, the voice screaming in her head to parry before Mizin drew her sword. On cue, she assumed a parry stance and using the recoil, distanced herself again. Mizin appeared again in front of her, raised her sword high and swung it down, Gilly raised her left foot and leaned back, stomping as hard as she could on the blade, as she regained her balance. Mizin raised it effortlessly, tossing Gilly in the air. Seeing the opportunity, she took a flip in the air and landed few meters back.

The crowd was silent, Xing knew he too could not pass the seven rules of battle test. Zin eyes furrowed as he saw Gilly’s eyes were now light blue with a flickering glow. Her aura fluctuation was even more chaotic than earlier.

“Not bad,” Mizin had a calm demeanor and an expressionless face, when she talked she moved.

“Rule number three: Use your brains, but trust your instinct to drive your thought.”

With that, she vanished again. Gilly could not feel her presence but she had an even greater sense of danger. She ducked down, bits of her hair parted off as a wind slightly grazed it. Again on cue, she jumped back, the position where she stood moments ago had a sword gash on it that raised a dust cloud.

A side step and parry, a loud clang reverberating as and she slid few meters backward. Repeating it, she gained some distance. She could not see Mizin but her action was always right. Mizin appeared with a blur.

“Not bad, sharp like Elna,” she casually strolled forward with her hands crossed.

“Rule number four: Strength or mana alone is useless; like salt and water they must mix”.

Mizin vanished but this time, a blazing red slash flowed towards Gilly.

There’s no way I can dodge or parry this in time. Maybe I should try what this fox said.

She looked at the flame slash as her sword and palm glowed slightly.

Following Zin’s move he used to counter her Meta Slash, she swung forward dispersing the flame but she was thrown backwards slightly. Another barrage followed with the next greater than the former, all at impossible angles, Gilly dodged the first one, used Foot of the Wind and parried some using the recoil to her advantage. Ariel looked at Zin, knowing his skill was used.

“Not bad, not bad,” Mizin appeared in a blur again in front of Gilly looking her straight in the eye, a wide grin playing on her face.