Swordsmanship

Leus went outside first, and after a couple of minutes, Blaze joined him ...

Blaze brought the two wooden swords again, so Leus took his and then asked

"Dad, what exactly happened?"

Blaze started explaining

"Since you're a Soldier, you can't see auras, but you can definitely feel them.

What I did was release an oppressive aura.

In battles, auras—and even killing intent—are pretty standard. It's almost second nature.

But when someone stronger releases such auras, it can overwhelm you at first.

However, once you get used to it, you'll learn to ignore it and focus on your magic without any issues."

Blaze then added

"But until then, or in situations where you're unable to use your Magic because your opponent is too close, a sword will be of great help"

Leus nodded and asked

"So, I'll be stronger if I learn how to fight with a sword?"

Blaze pointed at the wooden sword in his hand and said

"Exactly, that's why I bring these!"

Suddenly, Blaze's tone turned serious

"Leus, if you agree, I'll stop getting side jobs and focus solely on training your swordsmanship for the next six months."

The offer was sudden. Leus hesitated for a second ...

"Are you sure, Dad? You already said that you need jobs now"

Blaze waved his hand

"Don’t worry about such things, I know how to handle myself.

If you keep working hard, it’ll pay off. Being skilled in both sword and magic, especially at your age, is impressive.

But you should know—training won’t be easy, and there won’t be any breaks. We’ve only got six months, and after that, your apprenticeship will consume most of your time.

If we build a strong foundation now, you won’t just get stronger; your overall physical condition will improve, allowing you to Evolve further.

So, what’s your decision, Leus?"

Leus quickly resolved himself

"I agree, let's do it"

Blaze nodded

"Then your first lesson begins now."

He started instructing Leus

"Hold your sword with both hands, I'll teach you how to take a stance"

Leus held his sword with both hands and imitated Blaze's posture, and Blaze continued

"Straighten your back, and evenly distribute your weight between your feet."

He pointed at Leus' legs as he resumed

"Your feet should be shoulder-width apart, one foot facing the direction of your opponent, and the other should be slightly turned away.

Also, lower your body a bit.

And most importantly, make sure that your head remains still when you move forward or backward."

After Blaze explained the posture, he demonstrated it to Leus ...

It took Leus many tries to perfect it, but eventually, he was able to get the stance right, so Blaze continued

"Now that you'll mainly depend on your magic, you should use your sword for defense and use magic for ranged attacks. So what you should do now is maintain this posture but change the sword's grip and direction, like this"

Blaze held his sword with both hands and aimed it slightly upward, and Leus mimicked him

"Hold the handle with a very strong grip, Leus"

When Blaze was satisfied with Leus' stance he nodded

"Good, this is one of the most basic postures.

This stance will allow you to both deflect attacks and keep your opponent at a distance.

However, swords are heavy. Now that you're holding a wooden sword, you aren't feeling that, but with a real sword, you'll become tired if you stay in this stance for long ... Until you become stronger at least"

After Leus mastered the first posture, Blaze took another stance;

He held the sword close to his shoulder, making the tip of the sword point upwards behind him, and then he asked Leus to imitate him ...

"No, don't let the blade touch you. Keep it barely above your shoulder.

You can't let the blade touch you unless you're wearing armor or if it's a single-edged sword, but even then, I don't recommend that. Carry your sword yourself"

Leus adjusted himself and followed Blaze's instructions ...

After Leus got it right, Blaze elaborated

"This posture will give you good control over your surroundings, and at the same time, it will give you enough freedom, allowing you to attack or parry from multiple directions.

However, you'll need to transition quickly; agility is very important when you're using this stance"

After he was done, Blaze relaxed his body and focused on Leus'

"Keep on switching between these two stances, and slash/thrust with your sword between switching stances and after taking a posture.

Make sure to never misplace your feet and keep your weight evenly distributed, maintaining a correct stance is very important"

Leus' mind started to overheat from all the instructions he was getting

' ... This is a lot more complicated than I thought'

'Can't I just hold the sword and slash it around?'

Naturally, Leus didn't voice out any of his thoughts; he silently followed Blaze's instructions ...

Occasionally, he lost his balance, but every time that happened, Blaze helped him to get it back correctly ...

Most of Leus' slashes and thrusts were either improper or too weak, but Blaze didn't mind it

'What's important is being able to both attack and maintain the stance at the same time, even if the attack is bad or incorrect, it doesn't matter, for now at least.'

After a couple 100s of slashes, Blaze decided to stop here

"Leus, good job. Enough for today, it's already late. Tomorrow we'll have a lot to do"

Leus looked around him ...

It was late, but Leus used to train his magic further into the night ...

'I don't feel like stopping now'

"I want to train for more time"

Blaze looked at him for a couple of seconds then said

"Fine, but don't push yourself too hard; I don't want you to get burned out already.

Also, keep in mind that physical training is not at all like magic training; the consumed mana will be regained from the atmosphere by resting or sleeping, but the damaged or hurt muscles won't heal as fast at your level, so the pain will remain.

Regardless, if you wish to continue, then I won't stop you."

He moved closer to Leus and continued

"If you need instructions or help, you can ask me. And make sure to sleep early because we'll be getting up early from tomorrow"

Leus nodded

"I understand, Dad"

Blaze patted Leus' head, then he went back inside ...

As for Leus, he remained in the yard for some more time, trying to maintain his posture while slashing and thrusting with his sword ...

However, he couldn't continue for long

'My arms are paining and my body is tired, also, I'm sweating a lot'

He decided to take a shower and sleep, marking the end of his first swordsmanship session ...