“Let me get this straight. You want to use lightning... to make your body stronger?” Jin eyed Rai with a very confused expression.

“Yep.” Rai nodded.

“And you failed miserably when you tried, making holes in the field?” Jin held his confused expression.

"Yep."

Rai thoughtfully placed a finger on his chin.

“I think I skipped along the floor like a rock on water. Twice.”

Jin burst out in laughter. He couldn’t hold it in. I've known some crazy bastards, especially those guys who fought under me. But this... this takes the cake! He kept giggling.

Rai pouted at him.

After a solid few moments of laughing so hard that he teared up, Jin wiped the stray tears from his face and pointed over at the holes in the field, “Okay okay, show me what you’re trying to do.”

Rai didn’t want to embarrass himself more than he had to, but he knew that there was no other way to get Jin's advice. He guided Jin to the field where he attempted this just yesterday, even though his body was still sore from his previous attempts. Jin stood to the side and carefully observed.

His eyes widened. Jin saw lightning begin to spark off of Rai’s body.

BOOM!

Rai shot off from his starting position and skipped along the ground just as he’d described. A third line of holes in the ground were now present.

Jin walked over to Rai lying on the ground, trying to hold back his laughter. He stifled a giggle.

“Pfft. First of all... does it hurt?”

Rai groaned, “Of course it hurts old man!”

Jin started massaging Rai's legs, which brought about some relief from the pain.

“I see the problem.”

Rai’s eyes widened in anticipation, which was a rather silly image considering his body was splayed out across the ground.

"Tell me... please."

“There's a problem with your perception. You’re moving so fast that your mind and eyes can’t keep up with how fast you're going. I guess it also doesn't help that you're so young and still trying something this crazy.”

“But you can keep up with it?” It was a question, but stated as a fact, “How can you keep up with it? Who even are you?” All sorts of fantasies about who Jin was before adopting Reiki flooded Rai's mind.

What kind of question is that? “I'm your grandfather?" He thought that it was relatively clear already, "And your sword tutor, I suppose. So bear with the pain and get ready for your lesson today, and think about how to improve your perception later. You have an hour before we begin.” He wrapped up massaging Rai's legs and went back to the house to prepare for the lesson.

Rai's mind drifted in thought while he was sprawled out on the ground. He thought about how Jin often acted like the soldiers he’d sometimes see in Acies. Rai wondered what type of person Jin used to be before he adopted his mother.

Jin seemed to know everything, and was obviously a great fighter.

Time passed as Rai let his imagination go wild, imagining Jin in a number of different stations. Even as a butcher who happened to be a hidden master of martial arts. As fantastical as many of the ideas flowing through his mind were, Rai felt comfort in the fact that Jin was his grandfather.

His body was still sore, but Rai managed to get up. It only took an hour. Rai went from where he seemed to have obtained a new bed, and returned to the house.

Jin was sat outside. Leaning against the wall beside him were two wooden sparring blades. They were shaped similarly to the katanas he used in his dance.

Jin looked over at Rai and smirked, “You look ready to go.”

Rai groaned in pain, “I don’t feel ready to go.” he voiced the concerns of his body. “But, you said that today was an important lesson, so I’ll just pretend I’m fine.” He reached around and softly massaged his hips.

"You’re right. Today's lesson is an important lesson." He stood up, "There’s a reason why I’m not teaching you to use two blades. Yet.”

Rai already knew the answer, it was because he still didn’t understand Balance. But Jin used another word in that sentence that he hadn't mentioned before. Yet? This was the first time Rai heard Jin say that the use of two swords was even a possibility.

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

Rai tilted his head at Jin, “What do you mean by ‘yet’?”

“I think it's pretty clear. Right now, you're not ready. But in the future, you’ll end up in a situation where you feel that using only one blade doesn't work anymore. That will only happen if you can internalise Balance, which I think you will. When that time comes, then I'll teach you how to use two katanas.” Jin could feel a mix of emotions coming from Rai. He knew that Rai wanted to learn to use two swords since that was what Jin did the sword dance with. He also knew that Rai was a patient boy. Jin would wait until Rai was ready before teaching him dual wielding, regardless of how long it would take.

“There’s no way for you to give me some hints? Or something that I can use to figure it out? I can’t figure it out from just the word Balance.”

“If you can't figure it out from your own experiences as you grow up, then your understanding of it won't be genuine. I can’t help you any more than I already have when it comes to understanding Balance.”

Rai resigned himself to the reality of the situation. His body still needed developing, and he needed to gain more experience in life. Even though Rai picked things up quickly, this was something that would probably take a long time to figure out.

Jin picked up both of the wooden katanas. He handed one to Rai, “Alright, enough of that, I’ve already told you that you can do the dance with a single sword so there’s no need to think about dual wielding for now. Focus on the stances and the movements we’ve been going through." He walked over to an open space near the house, "Let’s do some drills.”

Rai smiled and nodded as he followed Jin. He enjoyed learning the Sword Dance. Jin told him that by learning to do the Dance, he would pick up how to fight as well. Though they hadn't properly sparred yet, Rai’d been given challenges that he had to complete without mana and only using his sword.

Reiki seemed to finish up her chores in the house. She came outside to watch Rai and Jin's lesson. They were already in the middle of their drills.

After going through the drills for just over an hour, Jin presented Rai with another challenge.

This time seemed... different? Jin's attitude changed drastically.

“Now, let’s see how much you’ve learned. If you can make me move from where I stand without using magic, then you win. I won’t attack. I’ll only defend and counter. You have a minute.” Jin got into a defensive stance with his left hand behind his back, and his right hand holding the sword upright just in front of him.

Rai spared no words, since the timer already started. He allowed himself a second to mentally prepare, then got into an attacking position. Speeding across the ground, Rai attempted a basic horizontal strike, but was knocked off balance as Jin struck his shoulder.

“Your footwork has improved.”

Recovering swiftly, Rai attempted an overhead strike, bringing his sword down onto Jin’s horizontally blocking blade. Jin was taller than him, but Rai wouldn’t use excuses like that if he failed. As their blades were pushing against each other, Rai used a movement that Jin wasn’t expecting, he twisted his blade and pushed off the ground. Flipping backwards, he tried to kick Jin’s blade out of his hand.

Rai landed on his left hand, which he used to push off the ground and land back on his feet, completing the backflip. Jin remained where he stood.

“Creative, and making good use of your athletic build. You’re learning well. Remind me to praise your teacher after this.”

Rai rolled his eyes. He knew that there was only time for one more attack.

He thought back to one of Jin’s lectures from a previous lesson, “There is no nobility in battle. Fighting honourably is for those who don’t care about their lives. If you want to win a fight, don’t be scared to use tactics that you might feel ashamed about. Pride doesn’t matter when your life is on the line. Treat every battle as if your life is on the line.”

Rai scrunched a bunch of dirt in his left hand and threw it toward Jin to create a makeshift smokescreen.

WOOSH!

Rai nearly lost his footing as a wave of wind and dirt flew by him. Reiki’s auburn hair flailed in the wind as she watched from the side.

Jin held his blade pointing horizontally to his right, with his arm outstretched.

“Time.”

Rai was gobsmacked, Did he seriously just blow away the dirt by slicing the air?! What the...

Jin stuck the wooden training sword into the dirt ground, “You’re making good progress, and you’re fighting creatively. Good job, you pass.”

Stunned for just a moment, Rai shook his head, “But... I didn’t make you move?”

Jin walked over to Reiki, “Did I say anything about passing? I said you would win if you made me move.” Jin winked at Rai. He then whispered something to Reiki out of earshot. She went into the house.

Rai internally groaned. "Right. I see. Thanks, I guess."

Jin leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.

“You’re doing well, but you need to think less. Try to make your movements so familiar that you can react with them instinctively. That kick thing you did was good in theory, but since you haven't used it a lot you're obviously not good at it. Keep using things like that in our training and you'll eventually make them work.”

Reiki came back out of the house with a towel in hand. She brought it to Rai. “You don’t have to overdo it though; I don’t want to see you fighting in a war.” With a look on her face that made his mother look older than she was, Reiki looked at her son. After a moment, she sighed, “If you want to fight, then make sure you’re fighting for the right reasons. Your life is your own, but I want to see you come home alive, not as a hero.”

Reiki walked back toward the house. She placed a gentle hand on Jin's shoulder, “Both of you, come in and eat. You'll have to go to Acies for the rest of the week together," She turned and gave Rai a soft smile, "so I made you your favourite food for tonight.”

The conflicting emotions about the heavy thoughts that Rai's mother left him were serious, but they'd practically evaporated at the mention of his favourite food. Meat and rice.

A combination of meat and rice was a simple meal, but getting a hold of meat where they lived was difficult. Acies hardly supplied meat for farmhouses. The butchers in the town would only supply the restaurants, inns, and taverns. Reiki only managed to buy meat thanks to Bort.

Rai’s thoughts drifted to Bort. He was excited to see the big-bellied dwarf again.

With the mixed feeling of the joy at seeing Bort and annoyance at not being able to practice magic or swordsmanship building up inside him, Rai’s feelings about going to Acies balanced out to be rather tepid.

In the end, he chose not to think that much about it, and went into the house to enjoy his favourite food with his mum and Jin.