I would really like you to tell me your favorite part or aspect of the story in comments or at the main fiction page. I am not exactly sure if there is a way to check but there are some who are following/'favorite-ing' the story so thank you for liking my work, whoever you are.

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Sumila woke me up early in the next morning and after taking care of our respective morning stuff and eating light breakfast she proceeded to teach me 'way of sword' as she called it. Why can't it simply be swordsmanship? 

During our half an hour of 'sparring' I came to understand why the technique and practice is important. I was definitely superior in raw speed and stronger than her but I still didn't get any clean hits. Sure I wasn't going at my full power or even at my full controllable power but she was probably not using her full strength either. So the spar was me trying to hit her and hitting nothing but air. She would duck, side step or pull back at the last possible moment, leaving me wide open for her counter. I could see her movement but I couldn't move naturally like her, my movements were jerky and....unpracticed.

After the 'sparring' or one sided harassing was over, I mean if I was still the old me I would have been black and blue all over. Anyway, once it was over she asked me to pick a main sword style to train in. There are three broad ones to choose from, almost every style falls in to one of these, some mix few aspect of two or all three in them. First one is swift style, relying on speed, fast slashes and thrusts. This one mostly uses short swords, rapiers, katana, daggers etc. I like this one. Ahem, Second one is Power style, relying on superior strength. The common weapons are great swords or heavy swords. Meh, why not just use clubs or mace if all you want is to smash them? Moving on, the last one is Ever changing style, this one relies on unpredictable moves and counters. 

I think the last one is perfect for you, don't you think?

That's a low blow...even for you.

...did the hair color change more than just appearance?

I am not emo if that's what you are implying!!!

Uh huh...whatever you say dude.

....

Anyway, moving on from my emo half..I am not an emo, you sissy! Ahem as I was saying Kitty asked me to pick a main style and I kind of agreed with my em...err other half and picked swift style as a major and ever changing one as minor, almost feels like I am picking subjects for college..Anyway after I told her my decision she proceeded to show me few stances and some moves and told me to simply practice them whenever I can while varying the pace of moves from slow motion to fast paced and also to do this without enhancing myself.

Like I know how to do that...The hell is enhancing anyway?  

It must be something related to that mana manipulation she keeps saying she is good at. 

I know but how do we do that..?

umm..meditation? I mean that's how it always works in the stories, right?

Hell no...You want me to become Buddhist monk? The sword tai chi wasn't enough?

Doesn't hurt to try...?

Well how do we go about it then? I mean what exactly are we supposed to be focusing on ?

Umm...keep chanting 'inner peace' and try to reach it? Or try to become one with the world? or try to find some sort of glowing energy or fog inside you? Take your pick.

Lets ignore first one..that only works for tortoise or pandas. We will try the other two one by one before asking kitty.

Although I said that but I don't think she will be of any help. If it works like any of those stories then she will say something simple yet profound which I won't understand till I succeed, rendering it meaningless. 

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

I practiced my sword-tai chi as I had this chit-chat and after about two hour or so kitty called it enough so we ate some more of the ration, packed our stuff and started on the day two of our journey. The day itself went by without any noteworthy event or discussion. We did come across a rabbit which was quickly dealt with by a throwing knife from Sumila. She picked it up and after dusting it off she tied it along side her travelling bag. I guess it will be our dinner tonight. Around evening we again looked for a source of water and a clearing and set up our camp. While Sumila prepared the rabbit, I walked a bit further away and started practicing my sword tai chi moves. I like my meat but I definitely don't want to see the process if I can help it. Kitty called me over when it was done, I was practically drooling already so I took my share of the rabbit and wolfed it down. It was the first time I ate a rabbit and first time I ate something other than vegan mumbo jumbo. It was bit like chicken but not quite and Kitty roasted it quite well considering the equipment. All in all I liked it.

After finishing up the dinner we laid on our back for a little but Sumila drifted to sleep soon So I started experimenting with meditation, my other half was sensible enough to keep quiet, probably attempting it himself. I stopped when I started getting sleepy and moved to practicing sword tai chi moves. Sumila got up at some point and told me to get some rest and that's how day two ended.

The day three was pretty much same except there was no 'sparring', thankfully and no rabbits, sadly. Kitty did get us few purple colored fruits. It tasted like ripe mango but there was no large seed in center like an actual mango So if it wasn't for the weird color and lack of seed I might have mistaken it for mango back home. We also encountered two bandit groups, which were easily taken care of by Sumila.

It was first time I saw her fight seriously...no, a bit seriously. 3 of the 5 bandit were taken care of by flying knives in their throats before she even approached the remaining two and then played with them for a bit before slitting their throats. She wasn't overly fast as I could follow her with my eyes but she was in complete control of her movements and was pretty agile. Her movement seemed elegant and natural compared to mine which are full of short bursts of speed and jerky. She even picked up any money they had on them and throwing knives. And she had galls to tell me that I am the Bully...?

The other group was even easier. She picked two off with throwing knives and other two were dealt with by her daggers. I asked her why the bandits were throwing away their lives by attacking a rank 3 adventurer which are supposed to be strong from her explanations. To which she answered that very few individuals possess the skill which lets them check someone else's level. They are either high ranked adventurers who somehow come across a lucky opportunity to learn it or are somehow born with the skill. Even then it has a lot of restrictions like the amount of information they can see is dependent on their skill level and they can only check for someone's level if they are in close proximity and they are not too high level compared to skill user. 

So I am guessing without being able to check level the bandits are like gamblers hoping to not come across someone with high level or be able to handle them with superior numbers. And a cute demi human along with a teenager human don't really strike them as high level adventurers, huh? 

Anyhow, the day three evening went like as usual I kept watch, practiced sword tai chi and experimented with meditation before sleeping till morning. The day 4 was pretty much like day 3 till afternoon, when we came across a carriage with dead horses, two heavily armored guards, a lavishly dressed youth, about a dozen individuals dressed like wannabe assassins and few bodies of guards and assassin cosplayers. And no, these cosplayers weren't dressed in some steampunk version of assassin costume but the more traditional black outfits covering everything with some leather armors and daggers.

Sumila rushed off to save the lavishly dressed youth while I stayed away so I don't get pulled in their fight. After all I had specific instructions from Cat to not engage unless asked to and she didn't ask me. 

Let's hope it's not an encounter with some arrogant young master from some powerful family to advance the plot...

Errr....why are you saying it like we are in some sort of story...?

Why can't I? You are always narrating everything like some trashy MC.

.....

Sumila approached the wannabe assassins while throwing her knives at them. 3 were dead before they became aware of her presence. Another died when a guard took advantage of their loss of focus due to her presence and stabbed one through his heart, making it 3 against 7. A short melee ensued where guards were trying to keep the 'young master' safe from 4 assassins while Sumila engaged with the rest 3. Sumila ducked pass a rushing assassin's slash while giving him a nasty gash in his side. She kicked the second one in the chest and used it as a boost to lunge at the last one slicing through his throat before he could react. She quickly dispatched the second one before he could get on his feet and soon after finished the first one by stabbing him through chest.

While Sumila was busy with 3 assassin, the guards managed to kill one of the attacker but the assassin also killed a guard when the guard jumped in front of a thrust to save the youth. the other guard was also heavily injured so Sumilaa quickly sprung in action after finishing her three assassin. She threw two knives at the remaining attackers and got one in his head another in his shoulder, making it two assassin against her. She quickly reached the injured one and finished him off with a thrust through his throat. The last one gave a frustrated look and threw his dagger at the teenager in an attempt to finish his task before running away but Sumila finished him off with a throwing knife in his neck. The teenager was saved by the last guard who pushed him aside in time but got stabbed himself instead.

Sumila checked the guard but from expression, I don't think he survived. She then said something to the teenager, probably introducing herself before quickly giving a bow. I couldn't really make out the words so I approached them. The teenager eyed me for a bit before opening his mouth.

"Hey, you peasant! how dare you not assist this Prince in his time of need and why are you not on your knees, have you no manners?"-Bratty prince

Oh boy....

oh boy indeed....hehe.