It was morning when Krieg had finally earned a break from his training.
“Ugh…”
He was drenched in sweat and had one knee on the grass while holding a wooden sword borrowed from Setsuna. On the opposite side, his father was tapping the practice wooden blade on his left hand seemingly with no signs of exertion.
“How many times do I have to tell you? Overwhelming strength is not the answer against a skilled opponent.” He didn’t seem impressed. “You’re falling back to Eleonorian swordsmanship.”
“That… that is the only way I know how to fight…”
Despite Krieg’s strength, his father was proving to be quite an opponent. Four of five bouts was his loss with the last being a draw.
“And that is the problem. If you encounter an opponent that has the skill to match your strength, there is barely anything you can do to fight back. Techniques are the foundation of swordsmanship, they allow you to adapt to any given situation and respond accordingly.”
“Then you propose I learn proper techniques? Where on earth will I ever come across another swordsman like you?”
“On any battlefield. If you prepare for the worst, you’ll be able to come out on top. Besides, what is important here is not just your own safety but the person relying on you.”
Krieg’s expression darkened as the first thought that came to his mind was.
‘Leona…’
“Plowing through opponents might be easy for you as a dragon and oni descendant. Might naturally run through your veins, but it is not the same for those around you.” He pointed the training sword at him. “While a solid blow with this sword might only bruise you—the same cannot be said of your liege. It might knock her out or even prove fatal.”
“...”
The knight looked at the training sword full of dents and marks of previous clashes. Those were proof of his inability to fight against his own father.
He stood up and exhaled slowly before pointing the sword at him.
“Teach me all there is to know about these techniques then.”
Miyamoto twirled the sword downwards and smiled.
“Lady Setsuna, I’ll need that shield now.”
The shrine maiden who was simply observing from the sidelines went around a nearby tree and grabbed a round shield made of wood. She tossed it to the knight, who grabbed the piece of wood mid air.
“What the…”
Krieg had a puzzled expression on his face.
“Never seen a shield before?”
His father asked while chuckling.
“I have, I just never used it.”
“I supposed the Eleonorian knights wouldn’t have any use for a shield against beasts that could gobble them down in one bite. However, you are no longer fighting against beasts. Your opponents are sentient humans who know how to inflict pain in the most effective way possible.” He raised the training sword and rested its wooden blade against his own right shoulder. “Your job is to protect Leona and what better way to protect her than using a shield?”
“I thought you meant sword techniques?”
“I never said you wouldn’t be using a sword.” He started to walk around him while explaining. “Bash, shove, deflect, defend, attack—the possibilities are endless if you know how to use it alongside your blade.” He raised each of his left fingers as he pointed out the strengths of having a shield. “That being said, it is equally important to fight against a skilled opponent in order to learn first hand how to utilize all those options.”
Krieg turned the shield around and held it by the center handle before bending his knees slightly, ready to fight.
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“Very well… teach me all there is to it.”
Just as they were about to spar, a huge explosion followed with a wind shockwave came through the trees from behind Setsuna, who also looked over her shoulder only to witness a sizable azure blast set the sky ablaze.
“Ho…” The shrine maiden had a smirk on her face. “Not bad at all…”
Krieg glanced at the lingering flames from the explosion before returning his attention towards the opponent in front of him. It was a reminder that his liege was training just as hard as him. He pointed the training sword at his father.
“Teach me everything you know so I can become the one to protect her!”
“By all means!”
The clashes between wooden sword and shield could be heard from where Yuna was sitting down as she administered mana directly through Leona’s wrist. A faint light blue glow could be seen coming off from the shrine maiden’s body and going through her mana gates.
“Nngh…”
Leona mumbled as she was regaining consciousness. The clear blue sky greeted her blinking eyes as she tilted her head around only to see Yuna smiling at her.
“Good morning.”
“Good… morning?” Her speech was slightly muddled as she was squinting her eyes. “Where…?”
“Oh, this must be a moderate case of mana shock.”
She gently approached Leona’s face with her left hand and kept her right eye open while raising her right index finger just above her.
“Wha… what are you doing?”
“Examining you.”
The tip of her finger began to shine brightly and Leona’s reaction was to tilt her head away from it but Yuna kept a firm grip on the side of her face. She was checking for her pupil’s reaction to light.
As she approached her shining finger to her face, the pupil quickly constricted to protect her iris from the excess light.
“Ugh…”
Yuna let out a discreet relieved sigh.
“You’re fine. Thankfully it’s just a moderate mana shock.” She let go of her face. “You should be more careful when casting spells.”
“I’m sorry… I’m trying my best.”
Despite seeing no obvious damage to her brain as she was capable of cohesive speech—Yuna was still somewhat worried about her condition. She raised her left hand to the side of her head and thought.
‘Dad.’
There was a lingering sensation of emptiness until a few seconds later she heard a reply through her mind.
‘What do you need, Yuna?’
‘Miss Leona just had a moderate case of mana shock.’
‘I see. Is she responsive?’
‘Yes, but her speech is a bit jumbled.’
‘What about her eyes? Do her pupils respond to stimuli?’
‘Yes.’
‘Provide her some mana and check after ten minutes if her speech is still muddled.’
‘Okay will do. Thank you dad.’
She followed with his instructions and began to administer another dose of mana through Leona’s mana gate.
“Nngh…”
She writhed in discomfort, but Yuna continued to supply her mana.
“Bear with me for a moment, it’s important that you recover quickly at this stage.”
The shrine maiden’s mana acted akin to her father’s as it took more of a viscous liquid appearance rather than anything solid as it was seeping through Leona’s wrist.
That was the second time Leona received another person’s mana, but this time she was conscious and the process itself was less remarkable than what previous theorizing would otherwise suggest.
It felt like she was being forcefully fed and her body would feel bloated in the same way as if she had eaten a feast, but as opposed to food, mana transference left a perplexing feeling of reinvigorating vitality that she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
After a few minutes had passed, Leona finally had a distinct glint in her eyes as if she was brought back from an otherworldly experience. She sat up and looked around before rubbing the corner of her eyes with her right finger.
“Ngh… what happened?”
“You suffered a moderate mana shock.” Yuna explained as she stood up. “I know I said you’d need to push yourself beyond your limits but this was a close call. If you go too far you might end up frying your brain.”
She looked at her own hand which felt like there was still a lingering vestige of the fire spell she cast previously. Recalling through her memories made her grasp the moment she had ‘run out’ of mana. The sensation was equally exhilarating as it was dangerous and in that moment, she realized that she had effectively ‘died’ during a short period of time that she had no more mana inside her body.
“Yuna.”
She called out to her without looking away from her own hand.
“Yes?”
“I think I’ve got the feeling down.”
“You have?”
“Yes. Using all your mana and consequently recovering it makes you capable to accumulate even more mana.” She turned to her with a confident look in her eyes. “It all comes down to ‘remolding’ one’s soul, doesn’t it?”
Yuna’s expression went from raised eyebrows expressing doubt to glistering eyes of pride.
“Yes! That is exactly why!”
Leona smiled as she closed her hand in a tight fist. There was progress, something she hasn't felt in literal ages. She stood up and looked towards the sky.
“Another step closer to my goal.”
The bright sun felt warm against her back and her eyes were filled with determination.