The Dance of the Sword, a combination of katas with numerous variations, is said to be the root of all swordsmanship. This was something Alaric only heard from his guardian, Alia when she was trying to brag about the esoteric art of swordsmanship.

In truth, the Dance of the Sword was an elaborate set of katas taking on various names and variations modelled for different purposes in battle. There was one other way Alaric liked to look at the Dance of the Sword, however.

Alaric considered the Dance of the Sword to be the embodiment of the sword’s true capabilities… and Alia agreed with him on this. The scope of truth in this summarization of the art went as far as to explain why Alia herself didn’t fight often or rather, why she never went all out.

Before meeting Alia, Alaric had thought he’d teach himself swordsmanship and learn the art on his own through gruelling drills and bouts with masters from across the Valerian continent.

Alia shattered this plan with a few simple words, [ You’ll die before you grasp the basics. ]

And she wasn’t joking either. Her explanation cleared up that nicely. Countless others before Alaric had tried to reinvent the path to swordsmanship and yet, none of them had gotten close to completing the Art of the Sword. From what Alia had told Alaric, the Dance of the Sword was a complete Sword Art, allowing a master to use the weapon as though it was an extension of their body.

Furthermore, when Alaric started to gain more insight into the Dance of the Sword, he gained the ability to read other sword styles. As it so happened, every swordsman Alaric began to observe seemed to have a disjointed style that could be traced back to the various variations of the Dance of the Sword, so much so that Alaric could vaguely grasp openings and strengths caused by the unorthodox styles of swordsmanship.

Whether or not the Dance of the Sword was the ultimate art of Swordsmanship, Alaric did not know. What he did know was that there was some truth to what his guardian said about the Dance of the Sword… and that it was more progress than he could ever hope to achieve without Alia’s help, so he welcomed it with open arms.

That said, learning the Dance of the Sword was not that much easier than trying to reinvent swordsmanship. Actually, it was a very arduous path to take. Without proper instruction, it was a useless endeavour. The process was long, difficult and testing.

Alaric and his friends had suffered many injuries and setbacks while trying to learn the difficult katas contained within the complicated dance. What’s more, the guardian made a point to ask the children to figure out why each step in the choreography was designed the way it was.

They had to visualise battles they’d never been a part of and spar against each other countless times in search of answers. At first, the question had seemed vague… but as time went on, they kept learning.

They learnt why the sword was used to slash at certain times during the katas and why it was used to parry in others. They learnt why there were times when it was imperative that they held back and why it was imperative that they struck with decisive lunges and slashes.

They’d then moved on to understanding how important timing was, then footwork, then breathing rate, then the food they ate to the very feeling of the wind blowing through the air. Everything got clearer over the course of four long arduous years of training.

Alaric’s mastery of the esoteric art was to the point that when he fought without a sword, his whole body appeared to have become a weapon itself. The movements of the Dance of the Sword were engrained into his very bones, taking hold of his body as he fought. With each passing second, he used his head less to control his body and more to create an opportunity to strike as most of his movements became autonomous and far more lethal.

LionHeart ran a hand through his hair as he watched the boy before him push Gunther into corners, landing one hit after the other. With each passing second, his movements became more refined, accurate and deadly.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

As he watched the boy battle his colleague, striking with his feet, hands, knees and elbows with no manner of decorum of restraint, his eyes remained glued to the sight. With each missed attack chaining into the next and the next and the next… he easily took on the visage of an angry serpent, striking with its coils and fangs whilst simultaneously trapping its victim within the coils of its massive body.

It was an elegant battle style that, for any warrior, almost seemed to manifest the illusion of a web. Gunther wasn’t faring well against it. Perhaps if the man wasn’t restricted in how he could fight Alaric, then this battle would be completely different.

A loud clap echoed through the clearing as the heel of Alaric’s foot collided with Gunther’s dashing body, sending him flying for the edge of the woods. LionHeart flinched. He’d watched Gunther run into that attack without even realising it.

Alaric wasn’t done… The boy was on top of him moments later, delivering another hit before the knight had even touched the ground. To his surprise, Gunther managed to block, if only barely and at the last second. It was enough to make Alaric acknowledge the man’s skill but not enough to keep him from flying further out of the clearing and slamming his back into a tree.

The forest shuddered with the resounding boom of his collision. ‘Four hits… and one minute to…’

“I surrender,” Gunther’s voice cut through the tension of the clearing. The ethereal timer in the air froze as well. Everyone was frozen in shock… except for Alaric. The boy was still sailing through the air to deliver his last attack.

[ Alia ] the boy mentally screamed, his eyes wide open in disbelief. Who could have thought up the possibility of Gunther surrendering? It caught him completely off-guard. He had no way to stop…

Shadows rippled around him, summoning a female knight. The lithe knight snatched the boy from the air like he weighed nothing, absorbing the full force of his attack in an encompassing hug.

A shockwave of wind whipped through the clearing as a result of their collision, “Ouch…” the female knight groaned.

“I’m sorry… Are you…”

“You’re still too weak to injure me, Alaric,” the guardian replied with a sigh, then dissipated into the shadows.

Alaric walked to a tree beside the weapon rack and collapsed under it. His hands were shaking and his mind was abuzz… ‘No drills for me…’

[ You’re not dodging training, ] Alia’s voice echoed through his head… [ But well done. You weren’t half bad. ]

While Alaric believed he’d done well, too, he could still feel several gaps in his form. At the start of the battle, he’d been very sluggish and unsteady. He’d been less unsteady at the end, but unsteady all the same.

He raised his hands to his face and made a fist… ‘Seriously, what are my limits?’

Alaric was confused. There were times he used his full power against Gunther and sent the man flying while some other times, he barely moved an inch. So much didn’t make sense. Had the Tempering Ritual simply made him too unstable?

Gunther extricated himself from the tree he’d been slammed into and walked up to the boy, his expression unreadable, “Next time, I won’t accept such restricting conditions.”

“I’ll try to refrain from challenging you then,” Alaric chuckled, “I wouldn’t stand a chance if you weren’t restricted.”

Gunther shrugged, “You’re not half bad, Alaric. In fact, you might be the strongest fifteen-year-old I’ve ever met. You cornered me with nothing but your fists.

“Thanks,” Alaric replied as he stood up. His body was still buzzing from the sudden rush. The kind of buzz one got after shocking their bodies into motion. It was too bizarre of a feeling. ‘I can’t believe I’m not tired yet.’

LionHeart came jogging up to them when the shock of the end of the battle wore off, “I love myself a good bet.”

“Oh, shut up, LionHeart!” Gunther sighed.

The burly slayer just chuckled before turning serious suddenly, “On a serious note though, I was hoping you could help me with Alaric’s training.”

“What am I supposed to teach this brat?” Gunther snapped at his friend.

“He has no knowledge of Spirit Energy and seeing as he spent his entire Glass Rank asleep, he has no idea what he’s capable of now that his body is Tempered,” LionHeart explained.

“You’re joking…”

“Nope… You just lost to a complete rookie. He was also restricted from reinforcing his attacks with aether… which I’ve heard he’s very good at,” LionHeart responded.

Gunther pinched the bridge of his nose, “I can feel a headache coming.”

“Oh, I always carry an elixir for that,” LionHeart checked his bracelet, for a strange clear vial.

When he offered it to Gunther, the man slapped the delicate vial away from his friend’s hand. LionHeart shot off to save the vial before it hit the ground, “That’s expensive.”

Not paying him any attention, Gunther addressed Alaric, “Alright, Alaric, follow me so we might start on your lessons. It would help if you first learned to feel your Spirit Vessel… and it must be instantaneous. I want it to be second nature.”

“Right!” Alaric responded, hiding the laugh that threatened to escape him when he saw LionHeart cradling the delicate vial like a wounded kitten.

On this day, Alaric’s training in the use of Spirit Essence began just like it had been for his friends six months before. He would go on to master the basics of Spirit Essence Manipulation before leaving the village of the Five Hills to travel to the Eastern Tower of Seekers.