Chapter 4: Spar

Carl's stomach growled with hunger as he sat through the morning's lessons. Priest Michael, noticing his discomfort, smiled and said, "Let us take a break. I believe it is time for some sustenance."

He led Carl to the kitchen, where a simple but hearty meal was laid out. They sat down together, and as they ate, Priest Michael asked Carl about his progress.

Carl shared his thoughts on the lessons so far, and Priest Michael listened intently. After a while, the conversation turned to more serious topics.

"Tell me, Carl," Priest Michael said, "have you heard of the FTC?"

"Yes, Lord Harrington explained to me a little."

"Fate Theocratic Country," Priest Michael explained. "The strongest country and largest country on this continent. Currently, we are led by the Saintess."

Carl's curiosity was piqued. "The Saintess?"

Priest Michael nodded. "A remarkable woman with unparalleled faith and power. But I digress. As a priest, I have to learned harness my Faith Core for fight, you also needed it."

Carl's eyes widened with interest. "Really? How Sir doing it?"

Priest Michael smiled. "Well, when I'm faced with an enemy, I first try to preach to them, to bring them back to the path of righteousness. If they refuse to listen and launch a long-range attack, I use my Faith Core to stop the projectile in front of me. After that I send back to them."

Carl's eyes grew wide. "That's amazing!"

Priest Michael chuckled. "It's all about faith, my young friend. And if the projectile proves too powerful to stop, I can rewrite my destiny, making the attack invalid."

"What about melee attack?"

Priest Michael showing Carl with conjuring big hammer of light presumes created by miracles. "I bash them with this!!"

Carl's eyes sparkled with excitement. This demonstration really opened his eyes. While this world have gun, they no way as powerful as modern gun. I can just conjured modern weapon to fight.

"That's so cool! A hammer made of light!"

Priest Michael chuckled. "Yes, it's quite effective in close combat. And if the situation calls for it, I can also conjure a shield of light to defend myself."

Carl nodded, taking mental notes. "I see. So, you use your miracles to adapt to different situations."

Priest Michael smiled. "Exactly. Faith is not just about preaching and converting others. It's also about using one's abilities to protect oneself and others."

Carl thought about this for a moment. "I think I'm starting to understand. Faith is not just about belief, but also about action."

Priest Michael's eyes lit up with approval. "Exactly, Carl! You're a quick learner. Quick finish our food so we can resume what we left."

"Sir, can we changes our next course to practical one?"

Knowing world sure good, but at the end, having fighting experience is must. Carl only normal Collage student. He totally can't fight.

"Okay, let's just have little spar after this." Priest Michael approved it.

After breakfast they goes to garden for little spar. Carl and Priest Standing few meters apart, facing each other.

Carl attack first, without moving from his place he conjured blade of light, depleted 20% of his energy, that blade flew towards priest Michael.

Priest Michael's eyes widened in surprise as the blade of light suddenly stopped in front of him. He was about to send it back to Carl when the blade transformed into a swarm of butterflies made of light. They fluttered around him, their gentle glow illuminating the surrounding garden.

Priest Michael's eyes darted back and forth, trying to keep track of Carl's movements. But the butterflies' dance was mesmerizing, and he found himself momentarily disoriented. Making it difficult for him to pinpoint Carl's location.

A small smile played on Priest Michael's lips. "Well played, Carl," he said, his voice laced with a hint of amusement. "You're quite creative with your miracles."

All the glowing butterflies turn into glowing dust. Further covered father Michael sight. Carl who already changed position send his next attack. This time he use all his miracles energy left to shoot continues beams of lights from his hand.

The glowing dust swirled around Priest Michael, obscuring his vision. He raised his hands, preparing to defend himself, but before he could react, a brilliant beam of light shot towards him from a new direction.

The beam, fueled by Carl's remaining miracle energy, was intense and unrelenting. It struck Priest Michael with incredible force, sending him stumbling backward. The priest's eyes widened as he struggled to keep his footing, his hands still raised in a defensive posture.

Despite his best efforts, Priest Michael found himself being driven backward by the sheer power of the beam. His robes were singed and smoldering, and his skin felt scorched by the intense heat emanating from the light.

With a swift motion, Priest Michael raised his hand, and a soft, white glow enveloped him. The beam of light striking him began to falter, its intensity dwindling as the priest's miracle energy took hold.

Carl's eyes widened in surprise as he felt his attack being nullified. The beam of light dissipated, its energy dispersing harmlessly into the air.

Priest Michael stood tall, his eyes shining with a gentle light. "Rewrite," he whispered, his voice barely audible.

The air seemed to shimmer and ripple, as if reality itself was being reshaped. Carl stumbled backward, he considered himself winning by successfully hitting Priest.

When the ripple dissipated, Carl found himself standing in his original position, his hand still raised as if preparing to launch the attack. The attack itself has occurred. But it's not hitting Priest Michael. It was as if time had been rewound, erasing the beam of light damage from priest Michael.

Priest Michael smiled, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "Well played, Carl. But this time, I had to rewrite the script. I assume this the end of our spar, you didn't have anymore energy to fight right."

Priest Michael and Carl stood facing each other, both of them catching their breath after the short but intense exchange.

"Not bad, Carl," Priest Michael said, a hint of a smile on his face. "Your creativity and adaptability are impressive. But, of course, there's always room for improvement."

Carl nodded thoughtfully, his eyes narrowing as he evaluated his own performance. "I think I could have done better if I had managed my energy more efficiently. And maybe if I had..."

Priest Michael chuckled, holding up a hand to interrupt Carl's self-analysis. "All in good time, my young friend. Let's take a closer look at what happened during our spar."

With a wave of his hand, Priest Michael conjured a glowing, ethereal screen that hovered in the air between them. The screen flickered to life, displaying a replay of their spar.

"Let's see..." Priest Michael murmured, studying the replay. "Here, you used your blade of light to attack me... and I countered with my deflect technique. Which before the deflection happen, your blade turn into butterflies. That's really good play, but the next move you made is totally waste of energy."

Carl answered the analysis. "I don't see any others attack that can't be deflected. But indeed I don't need to use rest of my energy that time."

Priest Michael grinned, nodding encouragingly. "Exactly! And that's what makes sparring so valuable – it helps us anticipate and prepare for different scenarios."