A Small Spar

CHAPTER 8

A small spar with his elder sister was all that was asked and he already knew how woefully he was about to lose here. Other than physical strength, and innate control, there hadn't been any other major training he had been undergoing since he lacked the ability to manipulate external energy.

He was at a great disadvantage, and even if they would try to make things fair, he would still lose to Rikiyo's experience, with her being three years older than him.

He didn't bother to change what he was wearing as he slowly stood opposite his elder sister with his gaze intently fixed on her. He dared not blink once as he stood there, quickly taking a stance, bending his right leg forward as he arched his body to the side; both his arms were bent backward, and his hands folded into fists.

The spar began, and for a while, they both stood there staring at each other. He was gritting his teeth while clenching his fists as hard as he could, whilst she stood there staring at him like it was nothing.

" I'll just accept my fate." He thought, breathing in heavily as he immediately charged forward.

He instantly closed the gap between the both of them and went for a straight punch toward her. The attack though very predictable, was very fast and precise, but it was blocked like it was nothing.

All he could tell was that his hand was moving just a moment ago and had stopped the next. He immediately let him go after that, prompting him to step back immediately.

He charged forward immediately after that, trying every other attack he could but it was all to no avail. All while standing in the very same spot, she had blocked every single one of his attacks without breaking a sweat.

He had kept on increasing the amount of innate energy he used with each attack, but it never made a difference, and now he was completely exhausted.

Huffing and panting, he fell to his knees, bowing his head as his gaze turned to the ground. If only he could successfully land a single blow on her, then he was sure the tides of battle were certainly going to change.

He slowly got back on his feet a few seconds after that breathing heavily as he looked around the place.

" I can't use the external energy around me well enough; judging by her actions so far, she's probably taken this as training for me rather than a spar between the both of us." He thought, slowly walking forward, "Hehe, well done, sister; I guess I'll have to try harder."

Quickly increasing his pace, he jumped up high quickly concentrating as much external energy as he could around his legs before sending a downward kick towards her.

He kept concentrating as much external energy as he could around his legs until a glow of intense light was left around them causing an intense surge of wind as he descended to the ground.

A great amount of dust surged up as he descended to the ground and although his attack was about to miss, it was never intended to hit her. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he quickly twisted around, trying as much as possible to get behind her.

And just then, before he could even begin preparing an attack, she quickly unleashed her own surge of external energy, pushing him far away from her and rendering the distraction his initial attack posed completely useless.

He tumbled against the ground a few times groaning in pain as he finally stopped face down against the ground.

At this point, there wasn't any point in trying to fight again as he lay there with both his fists tightly clenched. Yeah, he was weak, but just now, he couldn't land even a single hit against his elder sister.

He was supposed to have more innate energy and control than her, but this felt no different than when he would go on sparring with a few other students his age.

" No," He mumbled, slowly getting back on his feet as he clawed against the ground, " she's not too strong, I'm the one who's just too weak."

He slowly turned toward his sister who had turned around to face him as well upon seeing that he had finally decided to stand up.

There wasn't any change in her expression, and it seemed that she was already walking away just now. He paused for a moment as their long stare continued on.

She turned around and walked away after she grew tired while he stood there watching her until she was out of sight.

" What kind of training could she have been going through?" He thought slowly walking back into the house as well.

" Megumi," Aoi called out to him as soon as he was about to walk through the entrance.

He turned around to see her standing just a few meters away from him with her gaze as stern as ever. He already knew what she had to say would obviously have to do with his training; this wasn't the first time.

" Do you know why you lost today against your elder sister?" She asked, slowly walking closer to him, "You should at least be able to tell me that."

He clenched his fists upon hearing her last few words slowly turning his gaze to the ground as he mumbled a few words to her,

" I'll take my training more seriously from now on."

" And I hope you keep your word." She said, patting him lightly on the head before slowly walking away.

*****

His training continued later that day with his teacher, with their main priority, as usual, being having him be able to control his innate energy to the best of his abilities. I

Since he had only one stronghold in this world of magic, everyone thought it would be best if he harnessed it beyond human comprehension for a chance of survival to even be guaranteed.

Now, standing at the edge of a cliff with a few shattered boulders scattered around them, their training was soon coming to an end as the day slowly dawned.

He was only resting for the moment and they would both immediately set for their homes as soon as he had regained his strength once again.

" Megumi, I know you want to be strong, but you have to understand that most at your age most likely haven't even awakened any of their energy channels, let alone set on the path of cultivation. It's a pity that such high demand had to be placed on you as an heir, but you have to be rest assured that you'll be strong enough in time." His teacher said.

He had a worried look on his face as he looked at his esteemed student, who was sitting on the plain fields with his gaze fixed on the ground below them. He was glad to be assigned as the teacher to the heir to their Family, but at certain times, some things just needed to be halted.

" If you continue like this, then you'll only end up hurting yourself, slowing down your progress even more."

" Slow down?" He asked, slowly turning towards his teacher, " I feel like we're already going too slow as is. I awakened my link to light energy just recently and it was only because I pushed myself enough to do so."

There was a slight pause between them as his teacher stared long and intently at him with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

" You really awakened?" He asked with a slight gasp, walking closer to Megumi, " In that case, I guess I won't have a problem pushing as you've said."

" Really?"

"Of course, I would need your mother's consent first of all, but in the meantime, how do you consider coming to live with me for the next few months for your training."