That night, Von approached Johan after supper and asked for a quick sparring match. Up until that point, the group would continue talking for a while before turning in for the night, with some members taking care of the occasional miscellaneous task instead. Von felt that he needed practice with his new weapon to make effective use of it. At the least, his goal was to be able to grow accustomed to the jarring shift in speed when deactivating it. Being disoriented by the change in perception could prove fatal.

Johan readily agreed to the match, saying that he needed it as well.

While Roska kept vigil, Lloyd, Hartwin, and Roland watched on as Von and Johan got into position, Von brandishing his dagger and Johan twirling his staff. Von stood just outside the reach of Johan’s weapon.

“I’m just going to focus on blocking and evading, I gotta get used to this thing,” said Von.

“Sure, I’ll start off slow. Let me know if you need a breather,” Johan replied.

Von nodded.

I wonder how many bruises I’m going to have by the end of this?

The thought threatened to sour his expression, but he kept it under control. A comfortable night of sleep was not likely to occur in the near future, he knew. Still, it would be a necessary sacrifice.

He belatedly realized Roska could heal him afterwards, mentally clicking his tongue at his own idiocy.

Johan opened by stepping into a telegraphed sweep. Even without the use of his weapon, Von had no trouble avoiding it.

“Way too slow,” he informed Johan, who nodded in response.

Johan’s next strike followed a similar angle as his first but was nearly twice as fast. Von was caught off guard and barely reacted in time, blocking it with his forearm.

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Von nodded to Johan, “That’s it. Can you keep up that same speed? I want you to keep attacking me like that.”

His plan was to first get accustomed to the flow of the strikes, then incorporate the use of the dagger’s perception-alteration ability at the optimal times. While the ultimate goal would be to reach a level of proficiency where the use was instinctual, for now he’d have to settle for gaining a certain level of familiarity with it.

Just as he had asked, Johan kept up his measured assault, and Von quickly grew used to the transition in his perceptions when he activated and deactivated the ability. Sadly, he also soon discovered that he had only enough anima for a limited number of uses.

He learned to properly time the activation, granting him time to read and analyze his opponent and react accordingly. Oddly enough, that was the most efficient use of his anima. Rather than using it while dodging, triggering the ability before an opponent acted gave him the time necessary to plan out his own maneuvers and possible counterattack.

Von carefully observed the tension in his opponent’s muscles, watching for the tale tell signs of movement.

Now!

His anima, having already been primed and stored at the tips of his fingers, flowed into the dagger. Immediately, his perceptions kicked into overdrive, and time seemed to slow. Already, Johan had pulled the staff back overhead in preparation for a downward strike.

What?!

Von hadn’t even seen the motions, just the result. To him, Johan was just that fast. Already feeling the effects begin to wear off, Von planned out his course of action. Since he wasn’t going to be able to get out of the way in time, he’d have to block it. Or rather, deflect it. The blow had enough force behind it that receiving it on his thick leather bracer wouldn’t do him much good.

Actually…

Von released the ability. He leaned forward, taking the hit on the shoulder. Rather than be hit with the far end of the staff, he chose instead to step closer, where there was less time for the swing to build up velocity.

“Oh?” he heard who he assumed to be Lloyd remark from the sidelines.

=+=+=+=

Having run out of anima, he brought the session to a close, thanking Johan for the help. He sauntered off to ask Roska to help recover his injuries. Patches of purple dotted his arms and legs, the muscles in his shoulders and hands cramped, and the overall fatigue weighed on him.

Despite the lingering aches and pains, he felt satisfied, and slept deeply that night.