My cohort and I were all lined up in the morning as Paladin Bloodclaw showed up along with a large slim rat. If he had a Movement skill it would have to be at least 90 or even max level. Just watching him made me feel like I was improving.

“Today, you will each get a turn sparring against Master Assassin Southpaw. He normally isn’t part of the training rotation, but kindly volunteered his time. He wishes to speak to you all first,” the Paladin said and then glanced at Southpaw.

“Hello applicants. Years ago, I stood where you stand now. Weak, pathetic. While fighting is only a small part of what we do, it is the most important part. In time you will develop your specialization and your own methods.”

“I prefer poison and throwing knives, but that does not mean I have neglected other parts of my training. Being able to fight close up will save your lives. If you ever wish to reach the rank of Master Assassin, that is what is required of you,” Southpaw said.

“Get your weapons. You will each get one round against Southpaw. Mittens you are first,” Paladin Bloodclaw said. I gave him a quick nod and quickly entered my stance as the other creatures raced to get their weapons and return quickly so they could watch.

I advanced on Southpaw, and he didn’t say anything. He moved into a stance of his own as I approached. That was when he lunged, attacking me right away. I swiped at him at moved towards the side. He gave me some room and then moved in again.

Swiping a second time, he was forced to move back and then he grinned and pulled out two daggers. I was more cautious now about attacking, but I still kept up the pressure, while he easily dodged and kept his distance from me.

I darted forward and felt my danger sense spike. I twisted to the side as he counter lunged, his daggers striking out. I blocked one blow with my claws, and barely avoided the second. My other paw swiped out in a counterattack, and I was forced to abort as he brought up a dagger to stab my paw.

He moved in and spun, I wasn’t ready as his tail struck my leg, making me stumble slightly. He pounced, a dagger stabbed into an arm I brought up to block while the other one was placed against my neck. He then backed off.

“Your movements were good, but the weakness of using your claws is that they are poor for blocking. If you are blocking with your claws, then you are doing something wrong. You need to move faster, adjust your height more, and not be afraid to commit to attacks. Against a superior opponent, the longer you take the worse of a position you will end up in. Act quickly and decisively in the future, before they understand and see through your fighting style.”

“Thank you,” I replied and went away as Paladin Bloodclaw called Sharpfang forward. I watched the remaining fights. Southpaw was much more aggressive than Gary had been. Even with my rapid improvement, I was still no match. But I had done a lot better than the other creatures in my cohort.

Southpaw gave a critique of everyone. Sharpfang was using knives as well. Southpaw quickly pointed out that he needed to speed up without losing his precision. Grizzle was using knives as well and got a similar lecture but was also told to improve his footwork.

Knaves was using two small paw axes with a spike on the back. He was very aggressive while keeping the weapon close. Southpaw actually took the fox a bit seriously like he had done with me. I paid attention, since this was the most impressive fight other than my own, I had seen so far. Knaves was spinning a lot while keeping his axes close, retreating and advancing in line with Southpaw.

After about ten seconds of a furious back and forth, Southpaw stepped forward and blocked both axes with his daggers. He pushed them away and spun, his tail striking Knaves’ chest, sending him tumbling on the ground.

“Good movement. Going high and low at the same time. Most creatures can’t handle an attack like that. Your mistake was repetition and allowing me to block you with my superior strength. Don’t fall into your opponent’s pace. You should have extended your attacks to pressure me at a couple of points in that fight but you didn’t,” Southpaw explained. Then he moved onto the next creature.

The rest of the fights were not as good in my opinion. I still watched to learn, but Southpaw outclassed everyone by so much, and what they were told to work on was fairly simple, that I was a bit disappointed.

My ally Blackfur was using a sword. He was warned to no overextend or swing wildly. Mary was using a sword as well but was told to be more aggressive. Shiversnout was using a short sword and he was able to hold his own fairly well, but he was also lecture on aggressiveness.

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After going through everyone, Southpaw left right away. There were no follow up rounds. We all lined up again as Paladin Bloodclaw looked over all of us before speaking. “The purpose of these fights is not to discourage you, but get you used to going all out.” Everyone listened attentively.

“Once you are a Neophyte, fighting between yourselves and other members is strictly forbidden. This includes sparring. Once you reach a certain point, it is very hard to prevent accidents. Even with blunted weapons, they aren’t safe.”

“That is why I am pleased you are all making the most of these opportunities to experience different fighting styles. It is also a chance for Master Assassins to see if they will accept you as a Journeymouse after your training is complete.”

“While your lives hold little value, the time spent helping you improve is quite valuable. All of you are going to be given a week. Improve as much as you can and train yourself. I can promise you that the creatures who survive to become Master Assassins don’t ever stop improving or training.” That was something my father had repeatedly said.

“You will still report every morning, but you will be dismissed immediately. If you wish to spar between each other, that is your choice and a risk you will have to decide on your own. Any injuries you have at the end of the week are on you.” This was clearly a test of knowing one’s limits. Training and improving was important, but that couldn’t interfere with the job.

I had no doubt we would all be heavily observed during this time to see what we did. No one slacked off in their down time, but everyone did things differently. This place clearly wasn’t about paw holding creatures, but making sure they had the bare minimum to succeed.

That was what all the exercising had been for at the start. The fights had forced us to think how we would fight and get us used to pain and being injured by Fenrir. Now we were being left to our own devices for a stretch of time to really look at our judgement.

While I was confident that I could pass any test that was set, I wasn’t sure. How many assassins were needed? I wouldn’t be surprised if they only picked one or two creatures from each cohort and the rest were shuffled off into other positions.

“You are dismissed for the day,” Paladin Bloodclaw said and marched off. A bit of the tension left the indoor track and fighting area with his departure. There was always a sense of danger while he was around.

“Blackfur, want to spar?” I asked the stoat. He turned towards me a bit surprised. “No claws. You try and hit me, and I try and hit you.” I held up a paw and my claws were retracted. I had thought about this issue, and this was my solution.

“Alright, but I won’t go easy,” he replied and brought his sword up. The other creatures backed off to watch us for a bit. There was no need to announce the start of our spar. Real fights didn’t have announcers.

I moved forward quickly. Blackfur brought up his sword in front of him, making sure to keep it pointed directly at me. It just clicked in my mind what I needed to do. Probably from skill Claw Arts combined with Movement. I swatted the blade to the side with a heavy blow. He hadn’t been ready for that. My paw hit him in the chest, and he tumbled backwards.

“Oof. That was a good strike,” he said while getting back up to his feet.

“Again?” I asked.

“Yes.” We faced off against each other a second time. The other creatures were still watching. I didn’t mind. I was used to people staring at me and not being able to hide due to my large size at school. Let them look, I was a cat and proud to be one.

Moving in on Blackfur he kept moving his feet and his blade. I kept up the pressure and went faster, building up speed and quickly tiring him out. After twenty seconds, he slowed down. Swinging a sword around wasn’t simple and would tire a creature out quickly. That was why claws were the best weapon.

I batted his blade to the side, but my danger sense flared. I quickly retreated as he lunged quickly. He had been pretending to slow down, but my skill had let me know it was a trap. With his lunge, he was out of position, I rushed by him, dragging my paw across his face. If my claws had been out, half his face would have been ripped apart.

He stumbled a bit from the blow and turned to face me while breathing heavily. He wasn’t in bad shape, but he wasn’t used to the weight of a weapon. “I thought I had you,” he said good naturedly.

“I saw through it,” I replied. Well not really, my skill did, but I wasn’t going to mention that.

“Mind if I tag in?” Knaves asked, while spinning both his paw axes.

“Up to you Mittens, I need to rest for a bit before I can go again,” Blackfur said.

“Alright, same rules, but no spikes. Even blunted those things will go right through me,” I replied. Knaves nodded at that, and we approached each other.

Knaves began to spin and advance. I kept a short distance away while circling. He wouldn’t be able to keep up his movements for long without tiring himself. He quickly hopped across the floor, while turning, his axes covering his body, high and low.

I easily moved to the side. I wondered how my father would handle something like this? Probably out last the other creature or disrupt their movement in some way. I had been thinking how I would fight my comrades when they had sparred with Southpaw. Knaves was one of the trickiest and most capable creatures in our group.

My danger sense rose and fell with his spins. Like water on a beach. Moving in and out. I moved in, my movements precise and crisp. I used one arm to block, Knaves’ arm, haling his rotation. My hind paws had their claws digging into the floor to stop me from being pushed back by the force of his strike. My other paw darted out and struck his chest. He went tumbling backwards on the ground.

The key was to act at the precise moment there was an opening. No hesitation or second guessing myself. That was the key. I had seen that from Fenrir, Gary, and Southpaw. When they struck it was quick and vicious. My skills just made seeing that precise moment I needed to strike and knowing how to strike.