Spar [1]

"Again!"

With a [Lightning Step] I closed the distance once more, getting close enough for my teacher to hug me if he closed his arms. His left knee came flying toward my face, ready to smash my nose, as he had been ready for my approach, but by taking a step back with my left foot, I dodged it by leaning back.

Knowing I couldn't stop moving, I simultaneously used the momentum from my movement to drive Khanda forward, attempting to stab him in the stomach. *Ting!* Unfortunately, the lower part of a greatsword blocked my stab, utilizing the area just above the guard.

Afterward, he swung his left fist, trying to catch me while I was in an awkward position. Having no other way to dodge, I slid my left foot in a half-circle motion in order to turn my body, successfully dodging his punch but unfortunately creating a situation where my back was facing him.

*[Lightning Step]*

Having no other choice, I activated another step to reset the situation, creating distance from Mike who had by now already stopped moving, knowing what the outcome would become if I stayed.

"Huff, huff, huff..."

Sweat was pouring down my body, having already sparred with my teacher for almost four hours, not even taking a break for lunch, and my breathing had gotten rugged. However, instead of resting I crouched a bit and readied my daggers, preparing myself to go in as soon as the cooldown on my step was over.

'One more time, just one more time!'

Although I had noticed that if I only used the single-step application of my skill, I could use it numerous times without feeling much pain but at this point my whole body was screaming in pain, having already been tortured for hours.

*[Lightning Step]*

This time I dashed slightly to the right of my teacher, trying to find a position where he could not use all his limbs as freely. As it was too awkward for me to aim at his neck, because of the difference in our heights, the areas I could attack were limited.

As he held the sword with both hands, extending it toward me in a classic swordsmanship position, I saw an opportunity. Quickly imbuing Khanda with lightning, I sliced toward where his kidney would be, but, unfortunately, the attack was too weak to inflict any damage.

Having only managed to slice his suit, I rolled to the side to avoid the sword that was coming from my left side, barely managing to save my head. However, I never got up. My body had now officially given up, making me stay on the ground on my back.

"Huff, huff... Fuck!"

That had been my last attack for today, and it didn't work. Just imbuing my element into Khanda had not been enough, something I did not know as I hadn't landed any other attacks during our entire spar.

"Well done, kid!" Looking up to my side, I saw a huge smile greet me. "You truly are improving quickly, I didn't think you would manage to land a hit during our first spar without using that triple-step of yours."

I had already decided before we started sparring to not use my third consecutive step as it was only useful as a last resort. Instead, I had tried to focus on using a single [Lightning Step] as much as possible.

Normally I wouldn't think twice about using a double step in a fight as it could often create a situation where I could instantly kill my opponent, but against James, that tactic didn't feel right. If I committed to using it and he blocked it once, it would be fine, but what if he managed to defend not one time but three or four times? It would make it hard for me to move efficiently, making it impossible for me to win.

Of course, I would try it one or two times, but I had to be ready to fall back to using a single step if it didn't work. Although it could pretty much only be used to engage quite straightforwardly, it could also be used to disengage to assess the situation if I was in a tight spot.

Mike sat down beside me, and although he appeared to be content with my progress, I was not. He had intentionally lowered his speed and power a lot in order to try his best to simulate the opponent I would face on Saturday, even going as far as wielding a sword. Granted, he was probably still a bit stronger and faster than James, but he wasn't even using any skills in order to not accidentally hurt me.

"Don't look so down kid, it's actually kind of insane that you managed to improve this much from a single sparring session.", he said while trying to cheer me up, but it didn't help. This was the only lesson I had with him the entire week due to my new schedule, so that meant I would have to practice against dummies for the rest of the week. And that's where I was struck by the realization once more that I was probably an idiot.

'What's stopping me from asking him if he has time?'

Not wasting any time, I started opening my mouth but before I could make any sounds, he had somehow read my mind again, "If you want, you can come here the next two days to continue sparring before your duel. I have time."

It was a bit freaky to experience the mind-reading gorilla using his voodoo magic, but I wouldn't decline his offer, "If you have the opportunity, then please lend me your time."

He just smiled at me warmly, as we waited for my body to get enough energy back to get back onto its feet.

****

"Miren, what happened to you?"

I had just arrived at my usual table in the cafeteria, where Lindsey was already waiting for me. When she noticed the state of my body, she started to freak out a little bit, although it was probably just me who could see the fragmental changes in her expression.

"I was sparring with your uncle, in preparation for the duel." At this point, I had already learned my lesson in trying to hide things from her. She did, after all, share the same blood as the gorilla. However, she didn't have much of a reaction to my explanation, just going "Ah" and then continuing on with her food.

Following suit, I started the monumental task of eating my meal as well. Unfortunately, my meals were back to the normal triple serving with two protein bars and a shake. The main reason for this being that the ordinary kitchen staff was back after, what I assumed, their vacations.

"But Miren, are you really sure about this? There is still time to tell him the truth. Are you sure you shouldn't just talk to them?"

She had been pestering me about this all week, and although I had explained my reasoning, she still felt that it was stupid. However, to me, this was still a valuable chance. The duel in itself always had a purpose, even before they assumed me to be a murderer. If I had the chance to make it impossible for James to fight me in the future, it would always be worth it.

If there was even a grain of truth in the dreams I had seen, there would come a time when we were real enemies, on a whole other level than we were right now, and that would make the contract priceless. She did have a point that it could be good to clear the misunderstanding, but at the same time, they had been the ones to throw me away, even before all of this. Even though this last misunderstanding had escalated the situation, they weren't my friends anymore, nor would they be so in the future. However, if we were going to attend the academy for more than three more years, it would be good if they knew that I wasn't going around killing people just for the sake of it.

"I will talk with them, but not before the duel. As I said before, I need to do this. Please, just trust me."

Going silent for a bit, it looked like she wasn't particularly happy that I stuck to my decision, but in the end, she still supported me.

"Okay then, if I can't stop you, then I'll at least cheer you on. Just..."

Curious as to what she was about to say, my brows furrowed a bit as I urged her to continue, "Just, what?"

"Just promise me that you won't get hurt..."

It was a silly request, impossible even, but instead of telling her this, I chose to lie with a smile, "I promise."