Have you ever had a heart wrenching dream? One that makes you feel just a little emptier inside once you wake up? The type of dream that leaves a fading impression as you slowly forget its contents...
I woke up in the morning and could feel some moisture by my eyes. As I sat up to wipe them, I noticed from the mirror by my bed that my cheeks were stained with small streaks. There was an inexplicable ache in my heart as I tried to reminisce about what had occurred in my dream. It was a fleeting memory, and each second that passed made it harder to recollect.
All I was able to remember was a small, homely cabin. In it were a couple of people that I didn't recognize thanking me for coming to visit them. We talked and laughed, but after a while they said I had to go. Before I left, one of them gave me a small purple flower as a parting gift.
"We will see each other again, stay strong young one."
It was difficult to remember their figures, but the one who had given me the small flower was a young woman with pale blue hair that reached down to her waist. Her face was blurred, but I could vividly remember the sad smile she had given me when I departed the cabin.
The dream had felt so real to me that I could barely distinguish it from reality. I looked around my room, but nothing seemed to be out of place as I got out bed to get myself ready. Today was the day I asked Captain Lloyd for permission to spar one of the knights in training so that I could reach the next step in my swordsmanship.
I pulled up my missions tab to check how much time I had left for each one, something I had not been doing as of recent due to the fact that most of the missions were ones that required time to complete.
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{SYSTEM MISSIONS}
1. Acquire an ally at the ball. [REWARD: 500 credits, 1 lucky ticket.]
2. Raise the rank of two of your skills. [REWARD: 250 credits, +0.20 to two lowest stats.] (TIME LIMIT: 1 Week)
3. Increase your prestige in the city of Granbell. [REWARD: 500 credits, 1 mystery item.] (TIME LIMIT: 3 Weeks)
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Since I had received the missions on a Monday, that would mean I had till Monday to complete them. If I didn't rank up my 'Swordsmanship' skill today, I would still have until the following Monday to rank it up. My confidence was quite high that it wouldn't be a problem since I instinctively felt that I was close to ranking the skill up.
This time Ana was nearby, and came along with me. When I had told her my plans to ask for a spar, her face turned into a cute pouting expression.
"Ray, you are such a troublesome person to deal with you know?! We all can see you working hard to improve yourself, yet you still keep throwing yourself into more things. I hope Captain Lloyd agrees so someone can knock some sense into you!"
She let out a small huff at the end as she crossed her arms. I could only laugh at her reaction as we headed towards the training grounds. I knew Ana genuinely cared for my wellbeing and was nervous about me sparring. Her fingers would occasionally rub together as she stole glances in my direction.
When we arrived at the grounds, everyone was lined up listening to Captain Lloyd giving some practical advice and corrections about their forms and movements. Surprisingly, Reiia was also there stoically standing behind him. She was the first to notice me arrive as I was trying to be discreet, not wanting to interrupt Captain Lloyd's teachings. She gestured with her eyes to come up, and so I slowly did trying not to cause a commotion.
After making my way near the others, Captain Lloyd noticed me and flashed me a toothy grin.
"You should all take a page out of Master Ray's book! He has poured his passion into learning the sword and has accomplished excellent progress due to his unbridled devotion to learning."
He stared at me with an intense gaze as the others all turned to look at me with a mixture of emotions on their faces. Some looked at me respectfully, others with admiration, and even some with a fierce competitiveness in their eyes. I just nodded my head as I stood at attention, keen on allowing Captain Lloyd to finish his lecture before I requested permission for a spar.
The lecture was well received, and I myself learned a couple of things from it. After he had concluded his lecture, I immediately shot my hand up above the heads of the knights as best I could. The knights turned to me in surprise, unsure why I was raising my hand instead of just walking up to Captain Lloyd as I usually do.
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"Yes Master Ray, do you have any questions on any of the tips or demonstrations I gave?"
"No Captain Lloyd, but I do have a question I want to ask." I took in a deep breath of fresh air as I straightened my back. "I wish to begin sparring with the early knights in training!"
There was a brief silence all across the grounds as everyone took in what I had just said. Reiia's expression turned into a wide grin as she quickly covered her mouth. Captain Lloyd was as stoic as ever as he mulled over my words and processed his own thoughts. The other knights were mumbling and whispering to each other in hushed voices, but some of their words reached my ears.
"Isn't he a bit too weak to spar against anyone?"
"Looks like all the praise may have gone to his head."
"Who would want to potentially injure the future head."
I clenched my fists as I heard these murmurs but looked around with a fierce gaze.
"I know you all may think I'm being arrogant or conceited, but that is not why I requested this. My only desire is to earn your respect as a fellow warrior, not just by being the heir to the duchy! I know I am weak, and my talent for the sword is mediocre..." I grit my teeth as I stretched out my hands for them all to see.
"But these callouses and scars are my badges of honor! I will continue to strive for the heights, not only for my benefit, but for the benefit of my people. Let me advance onto the next step of learning and have me spar with you!"
My thunderous voice echoed across the grounds as I finished speaking my mind. The shock on the faces of the knights was clear as day, and had it been any other occasion I would have laughed. The silence that filled the grounds was a heavy one, but then someone broke it.
"Vice-Captain Reiia of the Rose Knights pledges her life to the future lord! May you continue treading the path you have chosen."
She said this as she bent down on one knee, her right hand in a fist over her heart. Her declaration froze my mind as my brain buffered. Reiia's actions had stirred the hearts of the other knights and a ripple effect began to move across the grounds as each knight got down on one knee mimicking her actions.
Captain Lloyd let out a heavy sigh as he looked at everyone. His gaze on Reiia was the longest before turning to face me directly.
"Master Ray, it seems that the choice has been made. The Rose knights of the Glouse estate will aid you to the best of our abilities on your journey to the top. I will have Adrian spar with you since he is the newest knight in training."
With that, he signaled one of the knights I hadn't met to stand. The knight in training stood up as we met each other's eyes. He was only a bit older than me, probably around 17 give or take a year. The Rose Knights would recruit a class of people every 6 months. Within those 6 months these people were taught swordsmanship and ranked amongst themselves. The top recruits would be entered into the Rose Knights while the others would be placed into the other knight orders. The Glouse estate had three orders, each with a different purpose. There was the Rose Order which was supposed to be the highest order, tasked with protecting the Glouse Family. The Lily Order which was in charge of the general public and keeping the peace. They were essentially the peacekeepers and were the most public of the orders as well as the largest. Lastly, there was the Hyacinth Order, a mysterious entity that even I wasn't privy to. Only the head of the house had full knowledge of its details, and I only had a vague idea of what it could entail.
Adrian and I walked towards the sparring area as the other knights stopping kneeling and formed a circle around us with Captian Lloyd and Reiia nearest to us.
"Alright, since this is just a spar meant for improvement, I don't want to see blood being unnecessarily shed. Both of you take your stances, Reiia and I will be watching to give recommendations after the spar."
I gripped my wooden sword as I focused all my senses on Adrian. By taking in slow, methodical breaths, I felt my body loosening up as the background noises began to fade.
We eyed each other as neither one of us moved an inch from our spots. I dug my feet into the packed soil, getting a feel for its texture as my feet angled themselves towards Adrian. He eyed my movements as he pointed the tip of his sword at me, waiting for an opening to exploit.
I couldn't help but let out a small smirk as I saw his hesitation. If he was going to stay passive, then I'd take advantage of that and go in myself!
I dashed towards Adrian's right flank as I aimed the tip of my sword towards his exposed side. I shot my arm forward as I stabbed towards him, but he gracefully moved his body away as he smacked my sword away. I was now fully exposed to him, and he took advantage of this by slashing towards my chest.
I leaned into his slash and twisted my body at the last second to avoid it. His eyes opened up in my surprise to my daring maneuver, but I wasn't done just yet. While pushing forward to avoid the slash, I used my empty left hand to punch his chest.
Thwack
It connected successfully, but the impact was lessened since Adrian pulled his body away at the last second. He tried to move away from me, but I stuck to him like glue since I had an internal timer. If I didn't finish this fight soon, my fatigue would overcome my low stamina. I needed to end the fighter sooner rather than later given my constitution.
Adrian clicked his tongue as he entered a defensive posture, noticing my intent to slash at him. I still continued the motion, but changed the direction by rotating my hips.
Crack!
Instead of hitting his forearm as Adrian had predicted, I connected the strike with his shoulder as he let out a yelp in surprise.
The sweat coming down my face was slowly getting into my eyes, and it was becoming harder to focus as I felt a wave of exhaustion coming up. It seemed that excessively twisting my body and keeping up with Adrian's movements as he tried to create distance was catching up to me as I let out a heavy breath.
His left arm trembled due to the impact of the strike, but his hands were firm as Adrian began to go on the offensive noticing my odd condition.
Put on the defensive, I was forced to block his strikes from above and below as he tried to exploit my stamina. He continuously forced me back with his brute strength as it became harder for me to breathe.
From the corner of my eye, I could see Captain Lloyd and Reiia discussing something as they watched our spar. I didn't want them to interrupt, but I didn't have the energy to say anything as I continued to defend myself from Adrian's onslaught.
I could see Adrian's frustration in his swordplay as he tried to create an opening in my defense. This frustration grew until a mistake was made, a mistake I would take advantage of. Noticing my lacking strength and stamina, he decided to try and end things with an extremely large swing of his sword thinking I wouldn't have the energy to exploit its openings.
My eyes didn't miss this opening and I let out a roar from the depths of my soul as I forced my tired body to move well beyond its limits. My legs braced themselves as I rocketed towards Adrian's exposed body as I put all my strength into my arms and waist into a stab towards Adrian's chest. His eyes practically popped out of his eyes as he saw my unexpected movement as he panicked and tried to dodge.
It was too late, however, as the tip of my sword dived into his chest, eliciting a scream from Adrian as he fell onto his back. I looked up into the sky as I felt the remnants of my energy dissipate into the air as the light started to fade from my vision.
The last thing I remembered was the overwhelming feeling of pride I felt in that moment. It wasn't clean fight by any means, but it was progress. This progress was proof of the hard work I had been putting in ever since I arrived in this world. I let out a hearty laugh as my conscience turned to back.