The rest of the day, Vern prepared. He looked through his training gear and cleaned his sword – something he had almost totally forgotten about.

After that, he did some training exercises and concentrated on his movements, trying to understand them better to later enhance them with mana more effectively.

The mansion was quiet since his brother and father both had left, and any servant tried to be as invisible as possible.

›I am not confident about tomorrow‹, said Vern while changing out of his training attire. ›It still doesn't feel quite right.‹

›Nah, I think you'll do fine. I have seen plenty of humans in the forest. A lot of fights close to the border as well. And in comparison, you seem alright in your skills‹, reassured Velvet.

›Well, that might be true. However, we're talking about an elite arm of the military. So being above average will not cut it.‹

›Well, if I were you, I would be more concerned about showing off too much and raising suspicion.‹

›Hmm, I do like to hear that you're concerned about my safety.‹

›Yes. After all, your well–being is my well–being.‹

That said, Vern made sure to eat plenty of food before he went to bed.

Around noon the next day, a carriage arrived to pick him up.

As he entered, he noticed that Ezra was there.

»Surprised?«, she asked. »Of course, I am going to accompany you today. You are my student, after all.«

»I just thought you were busy training Alvyn.« He took a seat and the carriage set in motion.

»Well, since he's training together with the others, I hope Bertio and Rewalt can handle him for a day on their own.« She winked.

While the carriage rolled through the streets, Vern used the opportunity to gain more information on what lay ahead. »So, what does joining the royal guard actually mean in detail?«

»You will be training swordsmanship and mana usage as well as the combination of these two … then, of course, etiquette is a substantial part too, behaving around nobility and such.«

He looked at Ezra, trying to imagine her doing all those formal suavities, but it wasn't really befitting her.

»Yes. I also had to learn all these things«, she said as she noticed his doubting look. »However, if you're not stationed in the palace, you'll forget it anyway, and it doesn't matter.«

»So, do you prefer not being in the palace? Can I choose that later myself?«

She grinned. »Well, I'll better refrain from answering the first question. But for the second, usually not. But since you're a duke's son, those rules … don't really apply to you anyway. You're just going to get some training mainly for appearance's sake, but nobody expects you to actually serve as a royal knight after that.«

»Hah. So it's just a bit of a facade to look better to the public.«

»Yes. At least, that's mainly the reason your father agreed in the first place. But I expect you to still give it your all.«

»I'll try my best.«

After half an hour, they reached their destination, and Vern had grown surprised since they had left the city far behind.

»In this general area, most of your training will take place«, explained Ezra while dismounting the carriage.

Vern looked at the stone fort in front of them which was only surrounded by forest and grassland.

»That's in the middle of nowhere«, Vern said.

»Yeah, naturally, it is. Perfect place to focus just on training.«

They entered through the open gate into the courtyard. A couple of young men trained there, but they paid no attention to the newcomers.

»Wait here«, Ezra said. »I'll notify them of our arrival.«

She left Vern behind in the courtyard and entered through a door into the interior.

Velvet appeared next to him as Vern carefully watched the sparring matches.

›Heh, they don't look that impressive‹, Velvet said.

›Hmm, well, they're also in training, probably. So you can't expect too much, can you?‹

Nevertheless, he continued to pay attention just in case he could learn something new.

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Then, a bearded man came out, followed by Ezra.

»Ah yes, that's our new recruit?«, he asked and stopped in front of Vern, eyeballing him. Ezra nodded, and he continued talking.

»Well, his build is decent, at least. We're going to have a little match so that I can decide whether or not you have what it takes to join.«

»Wait«, Ezra interjected. »I thought it was already approved and all?«

The man looked at her and smiled. »Do you expect us to just accept anyone only because of nobility? That's not how it works, and you know it too. Especially since he'll be joining outside the regular recruitment time, he needs a firm examination by me.«

Ezra frowned and looked at Vern. »Are you alright with that?«

Vern nodded and started to put on his training gear.

After that, he took the wooded sword that was handed to him and moved into position.

In the meantime, the others in the courtyard had paused their training to watch the events unfold.

»So, we should probably clarify the rules«, said the man, and pointed his wooden sword at Vern. »Sword fighting – with mana enhancement. So brace yourself.«

»Is that really necessary, Stane?«, asked Ezra from the sideline. »We only trained these things in isolation so far.«

»Well, I can't lower our standards like that.«, he responded. »I'll make sure not to kill him, so don't worry.«

Vern gulped. He didn't know if his opponent was serious or not.

›Uh, oh. Looks like it's gonna get exciting‹, commented Velvet and jumped in between the fighters.

»Are you ready?«, asked Stane.

›Please, stop doing that. It's so distracting!‹, Vern reprimanded Velvet and then turned to Stane: »Yes, I am.«

As soon as he uttered these words, Stane closed the distance between them. He was fast, clearly using mana from the get-go.

Vern wasn't prepared to meet him like that, so he quickly channeled mana to his feet and jumped back.

»Oh? This is a fight. No running away allowed«, the man taunted and changed his trajectory to Vern's landing point.

Just as Vern got a hold of the ground, he reached him again.

This time, however, Vern had had plenty of time to prepare himself midair and faced him head-on.

Their swords clashed, and Vern felt the force behind his swing. If it would hit, it would surely do more than just hurt.

He distanced himself, but unlike last time he wanted to bait his opponent. As expected, Stane followed him closely again, so Vern pushed himself forward now instead, stabbing his sword toward his body.

With both their speed increased due to mana, and them coming at each other like that, this attack was twice as fast in reality.

Narrowly, Stane deflected the sword to the side with his own and was the one distancing himself afterward.

»Ah yes. I see. You little cheeky brat. You think you could just beat me like that? Now I won't go easy on you«, he shouted, and his eyes glinted in excitement. »Watch and learn.«

But Vern didn't pay any heed to his words. He was ready himself, his body brimming with mana that just waited to be used.

They walked closer to one another, however, in a slow and controlled manner this time.

When they reached striking distance again, the tips of their swords started to push against each other, both awaiting an offensive.

Vern gently pushed his enemy's weapon off-center, and after a few centimeters of doing so, Stane moved forward with a thrust at Vern's upper body. He deflected it and swung at Stane at the same time, but he was already out of distance, as his thrust was just a feint.

»Not bad. I think I can work with that«, he said but showed no intention of stopping. To the contrary, he actively forced another bind, and this time he went in hard.

An attack followed immediately after Vern's sword was pushed from his defensive position.

Vern stepped back and pulled his sword up from below, colliding it with his enemie's, pushing it away. He thrust forward, increasing the mana he used for his attacks.

At this point, his body basically moved on its own. He didn't think about any of it.

His thrust was deflected, but Vern didn't back down, swinging his sword at Stane's legs in the process with full force.

Wood clashed on wood, and Vern immediately stepped aside to avoid any counterattacks.

On the last connection, he felt he could overpower his opponent with just a few more strikes and therefore didn't give Stane any time for a breath. Another strike and another, as his adversary stumbled back from the sheer force, Vern saw his opportunity. He took another strike from the left, and as Stane readied to parry the blow, Vern suddenly flicked his sword around, making it come from the right instead.

As he had anticipated, Stane wasn't ready for his faint, and so his upper–body was completely exposed.

Just before the sword hit its target, Vern realized he was still using all his force and tried to slow his weapon as much as he still could.

Nevertheless, as the strike smashed into Stane's rips accompanied by a distinct cracking sound.

Stane fell onto his knees and dropped his sword to the ground, clutching his chest.

Vern's eyes flickered towards Ezra for a moment as he didn't know what to do. However, Ezra just stared back at him with her mouth open.

»Are … are you alright?«, asked Vern and hoped not to have made a grave mistake.

»Oh, ah … yes. I … am … fine«, answered Stane, his voice was weak, but it was an answer nonetheless.

»Are you sure? I am very sorry, I tried to —«

»I said … I am fine«, interrupted Stane, and he slowly raised his body up, supporting his efforts with his sword.

»You're … free to go. Show up Sunday evening … you'll start your training … the day after.«

Then Stane slowly turned around and stumbled across the courtyard, back to where he came.

Vern just stared at his back speechlessly, and no one else dared to raise their voice.

After what felt like an eternity, Ezra stood next to him and took the sword out of his hand.

»Well, I think you passed. Let's go home for now.«

She guided him back to the entrance leaving the other spectators standing behind.

Velvet bounced around enthusiastically. ›That's what I am talking about. So much fun to watch. You should fight more often like that.‹

›Hmm, I don't know. I wasn't as much in control of my body as I liked. I don't want to imagine what would have happened to Stane if I had reacted slower in the end …‹

As they reached the carriage, Vern finally opened his mouth. »I am really sorry. I didn't mean to hit him that hard.«

Ezra looked at him expressionlessly and entered first.

»Don't worry too much about Stane. If he says he's alright, he won't end up dying, probably.« She signaled the coachman to start after Vern had climbed in.

»I am much more curious about how you improved so much in such a short time.«

Sitting opposite him, her eyes pierced into his. Vern looked away. »I don't know … I was just doing what felt right in the moment. It seems like your training paid off well …«

»Hmm, I certainly will get all the credit for that, but we both know that isn't the only reason, is it?«

Vern just shrugged, and they spent the rest of the way back in awkward silence.

As the carriage stopped in front of the mansion, Ezra finally spoke up again.

»I don't know if you're aware, but tomorrow the yearly horserace will take place, and it is expected of you to attend. The others will be there as well, obviously.«

He nodded, said goodbye, and left the carriage quickly. He was very much aware of this event as it presented an opportunity he wanted to take advantage of.