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Demarcael watched over one of his pupils with pride. He was pretty sure the pupil in question wasn’t even aware of his presence, as stats and Skills gave him an overwhelming advantage in that regard and the object of his observation had not even unlocked their System yet. However, he’d learned not to underestimate this particular pupil, especially in the last few weeks.
He watched as Seraphiel went through sword forms two floors below him, on the bottom floor of the dojo. After the girl's brother had left for one of the academies, her own talent suddenly skyrocketed. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she had been holding back to not embarrass her big brother and now felt free to let her true talent shine. And it was a beautiful sight, even if he didn't recognize the forms she was using. He also had no idea where she'd learned them, but she certainly had not learned them at the dojo. Not that it stopped him from feeling proud of his student, even if it wasn't his teachings that made her shine so.
She looked perfectly natural as she slowly moved through the sword forms, swinging her sword with poise and grace you just didn't see in someone whose System was still locked. Every path her sword took seemed so smooth and efficient, that it almost looked like she was dancing. Every time she moved her wooden sword, it was like he was having another epiphany. It was like every movement seemed obvious in retrospect, that of course that was the way she should move, but yet at the same time it seemed unpredictable and didn't follow the basic forms he had practiced for over a thousand years.
It also felt like there was something missing. Her form was sublime and seemed to perfectly transition between offence and defence without leaving any gaps to exploit, but at the same time, he felt the form was incomplete. He couldn't quite figure out what at first, but as he continued to watch, he understood. The form felt incomplete because she didn't have access to the System. Some of the attacks were supposed to have some special effect, and the effect was the reason the movement was made in the way it was, so without the effect, the movement didn't quite feel complete. And it seemed many of the attacks should have some sort of special effect. She was practicing a sword form that was supposed to be practiced with System access, without that access.
He couldn’t quite tell whether those effects were supposed to be magical, meaning a magic swordsman-type, utilizing the power Qi, meaning a cultivator, or something else, but the number of techniques was surprisingly varied. And it was rather surprising that she knew such sword forms without System access. To his eyes, she was perfectly executing the techniques, which would require years of training, but how could she have that kind of training so young and without the System? Obviously, someone else was teaching her, but that someone was either insane or a genius.
Most starting Classes focused on the fundamentals. That’s why even the more exotic paths started with simple Classes like Apprentice Swordsman or Squire. The advanced techniques would only come later once the trainee had mastered the basics before their first Class evolution. Sometimes the real magical or otherwise special techniques didn’t truly start until the second Class evolution. That’s how important the basics were, and the better Classes usually required better mastery of the basics.
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Here, whoever had taught the girl was clearly aiming for an advanced Class from the start, but it didn’t seem she had neglected her basics either. In fact, the way she executed her swings spoke of years of hard training, and knowledge that usually only came with a high-level Skill. He’d also noticed her training the basics during his lessons. In fact, it seemed like she had been using his lessons specifically to train her basics. He was happy about that as he knew their importance and always made sure his students did as well. All the young ones should focus on their basics before unlocking their System.
When did she have time to learn these more advanced forms though? She moved like some of the greatest experts of the sword he'd ever seen, though much slower of course, and her small body couldn't quite match the adults. You didn't just learn that in a few years while training in spare hours. And from what he'd heard, the girl excelled academically as well. He liked to keep tabs on his more talented students. And his were not the only lessons she and her brother had been taking. If she'd gotten this good, this quickly, then that spoke of monstrous talent!
“Any advice to offer? You’ve been watching for a while.” The girl suddenly called out and turned to look at him on the balcony circling the dojo.
“I think your form is fine. What you lack is System access, as you already know, and perhaps a sparring partner.” He replied honestly while floating down from the balcony. Angels didn’t need to flap their wings to fly. The wings were magical after all.
“It seems you’re offering to be that partner.” She suggested rather boldly, though he didn’t mind. Nurturing a talent like hers would be interesting.
“Sounds like fun. Do you still have the stamina for it though?” He asked with slight worry. She’d been going at it pretty hard for a while now.
“For a brief spar at least. I’ve been training my stamina. Got annoyed from being lapped by older students. Still couldn’t outrun them, but I can outlast them.” She grinned playfully.
Her smile was infectious, and he found himself grinning as well as they squared off. As their wooden weapons collided, it became obvious that she was rather proficient in sparring as well. He was rather enjoying the bout almost as soon as it began. Her form was nearly perfect. There were no openings in her defence, and any opening he thought he saw turned out to be traps. She happily exploited any openings in his defence, and the way her attacks flowed from one to another clearly showed she was thinking a dozen strikes ahead and driving him towards her desired positions. She was prodding him to react in certain ways that would then leave him open for a well-placed counter. Only his vast experience and stats stopped the whole thing from becoming rather embarrassing. He could’ve easily battered his way through her defence in a single attack with his stats, but that wasn’t the point. Still, that didn’t stop him from showing what it would be like to fight someone vastly stronger and faster than her.
She hadn't been lying about her stamina, but eventually, she started to slow down, and she was drenched in sweat. At that point, they mutually decided to call it. "You're right. A sparring partner really does make training more effective. I hope to repeat this again?" She requested with a polite tone while they both bowed to each other.
“I think that can be arranged. I might’ve learned more from this than you.” He replied, and he wasn’t lying. He’d gotten several levels in several Skills. He’d even leveled his main Class once during the bout, which was becoming a rare phenomenon these days. If this continued, he’d be quite happy to oblige.