The Way of the Morningstar (1)

I arrived at the arena just as we planned, but Lanselot was nowhere in sight. The arena was currently vacant, with no students or teachers in sight. I took out my sword and practiced a few swings when suddenly, I saw a man materialize out of nowhere a few feet away from me.

"Hey man, you don't gotta flex, just come in from the entrance like anyone else." I said

"Ehhhh, a mentor needs to at least show off some skills to his pupil," he said scratching his head in embarrassment. "What I just used is called 'Flash Step'. Unlike using pure speed to move from one location to the other, this is a movement technique that allows the user to maneuver at the high speeds accurately without causing any shock or disturbance to the surface they step on. This way, the opponent will not be able to predict your movements. Now let's start with some light sparring."

We went to the opposite side of the circle and stood facing each other. With my blade pointing towards him, I made the first move. Meeting my attack straight on, he counter-attacked and used the flat of his blade to push mine away. Following up with an attack of his own, he brought his sword from the side and made a horizontal slash across my chest.

I immediately jumped backwards, but he relentlessly followed after me with 'flash step'. Every time i dodged, he'll attack with an even faster strike until they were all a blur. Sometimes he even landed a few hits in. Watching him move so fluidly and elegantly, it felt like watching the performance of an expert who had mastered their craft. Even back during the Endless War, I haven't met any human warriors who were as proficient with the sword as he is.

"Let's stop here, did you gain anything from the fight?" Lanselot asked, a sheen of sweat covering his forehead.

"You seem to be getting an upper hand in the fight, but I don't know how you managed to do it."

"Tell me, what makes a good swordsman?"

"Good skills and an even better sword."

"True, but that is not all. The reason you are losing to me, is because you lack the foundation that makes up a swordsman. Footwork is an important aspect in swordsmanship, with it you are able to direct the battle in whichever way you desire.

Let me give you an analogy, imagine swimming against a stream, then it changes into a river. You can still keep up with it, but now you are starting to feel the strain. Suddenly the river widens into an ocean, and the current becomes so strong that you'll have to give up and go along with the flow.

That was what happened just now, you were slowing giving in to my pacing and it affected the way you fight. So what I need you to do is to master the foundation and find your own rhythm."

I did not think much of this at first, as I questioned how simple footwork will help me turn the tide of a battle. But as I trained in my footwork, I realized that i've started to move differently. My movements have changed and it was no longer random.

After another bout with Lanselot, i found out that I had drastically improved. No longer was I moving aimlessly, now I was clashing with him, fighting on even ground.

"Excellent! You have mastered the basics of footwork, now let's move on to actual sword techniques. Now as you might have heard, I can't use magic, but I can still utilize the magicules inside me. That was how I created my sword technique, I called it 'The Way of the Morningstar'."

"You have a great naming sense, I'm ready to learn... Sensei."

"Ahem...." Lanselot bashfully turned his head away, it was the first time someone addressed him as such, so he was embarrassed. "Alright my pupil, my techniques are tough, I hope you will be able to learn it all in the six months before the tournament arrives. Now before I teach you my moves, I want you to learn this technique called, Rippling Sword. You will be using this together with all the moves that I'll teach you later on."

Rather than telling me what it was, he decided to demonstrate it. Taking out his sword, I stared intently at it. At first, there was a soft buzzing sound emitting from the blade, but then it gradually became louder. As I concentrated, I realized that the very blade itself was vibrating.

"Now watch how easily this blade can slice through steel," he said

He took out a metal training pole as a example and gently moved the blade through the pole. There was literally no resistance at all.

"Now it's your turn, I want you to send enough magicules to fill your blade without breaking it, now tune it to the right frequency and stop when the vibration is at it's highest. This may take a few tries-"

"Ah got it," I held up my blade which was now buzzing with vibration.

"....."

"What?"

"Nothing, now let's move on. I'll teach you the first move in the Morningstar Series, Lunar Slash"

Propping up 10 training dummies in front of him in a bowling pin formation, he took a stance. Then without warning, he made an extremely fast diagonal slash, the afterimage of the blade still flashing through the air. A second after he sheathed back his sword, all the dummies split cleanly in half and slowly slide down onto the ground. Although he aimed only at the first dummy, the rest of the were cut as well.

"With the right amount of power, angle and speed you will be able to achieve this. As you make the slash, release a small amount of magicule from your blade as well. This will produce an energy wave that's able to cut through humans like butter," he explained.

I had to spend a few minutes getting the angle and speed right, then calculate the right amount magicules I need to produce. Too much and the wave will lose its shape, too little and it'll be too weak to inflict any mortal damage.

Keeping a constant frequency on the blade while expelling energy from it was not an easy task. I cannot mess up any of it or it will cancel each other out. This took me a little more than half an hour before I managed to produce a decent sized Lunar Slash.

Lanselot took a look at my results and placed a hand over his face. "If I am called a genius, then what is he... A monster? I took nearly half a year to master this, yet he only took half an hour, the world is truly an unfair place," he muttered to himself.

"Let's move on sensei, I think I got this down."

"That's great, but I bet you'll have trouble with this next one," Lanselot said with a smirk on his face.