Chapter 35: Qi?

"No, Don't cry. It's okay." Roah exclaimed and then ran over to comfort him. Despite being a member of the military and a high ranking one by Kalon's observation, she was caring and kind. She was a little harsh when it came to the troops and making sure that they were doing their jobs, but she would drop everything to make sure that he was okay when it came to Kalon.

Kalon spent a few days in bed recovering from the frostbite that had set into his legs until it managed to heal completely and he could walk again. He was still advised to stay in bed, but Roah would constantly nag him to show her what kind of swordsmanship techniques he had practised as soon as he was healed.

"Come on. You're better now. And if I am going to sponsor you to attend school, I had better make sure that you have the skills to survive there. I have already spoken with the generals of the base, and they said that I have free reign to do whatever I want with you.

You are now my responsibility, so you won't get into trouble for using a sword. Come on, come on, come on, let's head to the training room." Roah begged Kalon, who had turned her down for many days in a row, but upon hearing that she wanted to test him to make sure that he would make it in a school for warriors, he decided to give in.

"Fine, I will do it." Kalon reluctantly agreed while Roah was pulling at his arm. He pulled the blankets off from his body and then sat at the edge of the bed before getting to his feet. Although he was completely healed, his balance still hadn't come back to him, and he worried about falling if he stood up too quickly.

But as soon as he stood up, he was caught off guard as Roah picked up the sword that was still wrapped in the table cloth and threw it towards him.

"What-?" He asked but was cut short as the sword flew into his arms and dropped gently into the palm of his hands.

"How did you just?" Kalon asked as the sword moved strangely and slowly drifted through the air. He didn't understand what had happened one bit, and it made his brain spin as he tried to wrap his head around what he had just seen.

"You never used Qi before?" Roah asked, surprised for some reason, but Kalon had no idea what she was talking about.

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"Qi? What does that mean?" Kalon tilted his head and wondered about what she had just said.

"Haha, you say you're a swordsman, and you don't even know what Qi is. Now I am even more interested to see what you've got. I will tell you what. If you manage to block a single attack from me, I will sit down and tell you about Qi. If you don't, then you will just have to wait until you get to school to learn about it." Roah smiled before opening the door and gesturing with her hand for him to follow.

Kalon looked up at her back as she was leaving and followed close behind.

'Why is she doing this? I don't even know her, yet she is so nice to me. It's almost as though we have known each other for years.' Kalon thought as he nervously walked out into the hallway.

The room outside was connected to the main barracks for the soldiers at the base, and it was always busy, so as they both entered the room, it was apparent that the room went silent as everyone looked up to see Roah. Most of them stood to salute, and others remained seated and tilted their head as a sign of acknowledgement as she walked through the room.

Kalon felt scared as they turned to look at him as Roah passed them. He was worried that they could tell that he was a spy from the empire with just a single glance, but most of his looks were looks of pity. They seemed to relate with him in some capacity, but no one dared to speak while in the presence of Roah.

"Hurry up. I don't have all day, you know? I'm pretty busy during the times where I'm not caring for you." Roah chuckled as she watched Kalon pick up his feet and slowly jog behind her.

"That's better." She praised him before guiding him around the base. They ended up walking up and down different staircases and then entering a large room with a circle ring in the centre of it. There were dozens of people within the room, and they were all practising different types of fighting styles.

Some were jabbing the air with spears, and others were hacking around giant battle axes, but it seemed like most of them opted for swords and were swinging them in flurries around the large circle in the centre of the room.

"Everyone out! I need to use the training room for a few minutes. Feel free to spectate but don't interrupt anything." Roah demanded, which was followed by salutes from all of the people in the room.

"Yes, ma'am!" Many different voices shouted before they packed their things and left the circle on the ground to sit in seats at the sides of the room.

"Okay, now stand in the middle and take out your sword," Roah said with a smile and patted Kalon on the back before giving him a gentle push.

"Okay, but don't you need a weapon too?" Kalon asked while noticing Roah's lack of a weapon despite being a soldier. She seemed rather proficient in using swords, so he found it strange that she didn't have one by her side.

"Don't worry about me. Just hurry up and take out your sword already." She said and then smiled before taking off her jacket and placing it on one of the empty seats used for spectating.

"Okay then," Kalon replied with a bit of confusion, but he decided not to overthink it and did what she said. He lay the sword on the floor and then unwrapped it by pulling the cloth up into the air and watching the sword roll down onto the floor. He then leaned over and picked up the sword.

"Okay, I'm ready," Kalon said before turning to see Roah cracking her knuckles before holding her hand out by her side. Suddenly a red liquid formed at the tip of her finger and then quickly expanded down in a straight line before solidifying in the air to create a blade that looked to be razor-sharp.

"Okay, then I won't hold back." Roah smiled before running towards him with the red coloured sword held out towards him.