Path of the Pioneers

Another day of uneventful walking had passed the two of us, and we were once again opposite one another as we readied for our next bout of spars. I had spent the day ruminating on how best to fight such a strong opponent. But in truth, I had little in the way of ideas. After all, she was a trained and viciously skilled combatant. It would likely take years if I were to ever stand a chance of fighting her without magic, assuming she never managed to grow.

“Sybil.” She had her hand rested on the pommel of her sword, scabbard still strapped to her hip, something that would change momentarily. “I want you to try something this time around.” She lifted up slightly, standing almost on her tippy-toes. “Stand on the balls of your feet, rely less on your heel.” She scratched her head, lowering back down. “The heel is important, but.. I want you to get used to moving quickly, for now. Your strategy in combat should be a nimble one, like a knife-fighter.”

The comparison between a spellcaster and a knife-fighter felt odd to me, but I understood her reasoning, at least slightly. I possessed a weapon that could end a fight very quickly, but I wasn’t someone who could take very many hits without dying then and there. Thus, I needed to not get hit at all. Easier said than done against an opponent who seems quite seasoned at aiming for someone despite them dodging.

“If I’m being honest, most of this training is only important when it comes to close-quarters combat. Unfortunately, most dungeons are ridiculously confined. And if we encounter another modifier, you may be on your own again. At the very least, you should be able to avoid an opponent’s attacks while you run away.”

A nervous smile crept onto my lips. It was certainly true that I’d be running away from most close-range fighters.

“But. I would prefer it if you learned how to fight back within their range.” She unstrapped her scabbard from her hip, holding it at her side casually. “Are you ready, then?”

I nodded.

Adeline, rather than charging, began slowly walking towards me. She was four meters away, closing the distance bit by bit. “Your instincts are good when it comes to dodging. I especially liked that you ducked towards me, rather than away.” She rolled her shoulders a few times, slashing her sword at the empty air to practice hitting me with it, “I’m not saying that you should always get in close towards an enemy, but your magic is powerful enough to put a hole in somebody. I have to imagine that it gets more dangerous at close range, too.”

She stepped forward with a startling swiftness, closing the distance between us all at once. My eyes darted to her sword. It was still at her right side, at her hip. The scabbard flew up towards my head, and I moved as quickly as I could. I pressed off with my left foot, moving to Adeline’s right side, ducking down slightly to avoid the rest of the sword’s motion. 

A move like that wouldn’t have worked if I hadn’t dodged it so narrowly. If she saw me moving around to her left side as soon as she readied the swing, she could have changed its trajectory to hit me with ease. Every other time I had been in this position, I tried to capitalize on it by attacking her. It was a sure thing that she had caught onto that pattern.

Her sword was now above her head, to her left. For her to swing down at me without losing her balance, she’d need to turn quickly. I didn’t doubt that she could, at that.

Before I could begin planning out what to do, Adeline pushed off of the ground, rotating through the air. Her sword was still held in its position, primed for a heavy swing down and to the right. In those few fractions of a moment, stretched beyond their typical length from the adrenaline coursing through my body, I saw Adeline’s right leg begin to extend out. She was going to kick me?

Acting on pure reflex, I cast up [Barrier]. I wasn’t exactly keen on being kicked by a trained martialist, so I poured as much mana as I could into the shield in the scant time I had during its casting.

Adeline’s foot made contact, pushing me back a few inches. But the barrier hadn’t broken. Almost immediately after, Adeline’s sword came crashing down from above, just as she landed back on the ground. The barrier shattered like a cheap pane of glass. Though it absorbed a great deal of the blow, I was sent sprawling back on the ground once again.

Adeline loomed over me from above, a smile on her face. “You’ve gotten much better at this. I think it would’ve gone quite well for you if you had backed off when I jumped up.” She put her hand on her chin for a second, thinking for a few moments. “There may have even been enough time for you to cast a spell. Like the one you used on the minotaur? I’d probably die if you used it on me that closely.”

I wasn’t sure how exactly I felt about such a morbid topic. I certainly wasn’t keen on using such a dangerous spell anywhere near her.

“One more time, what do you say? We’ll go nice and slowly, and I’ll give you pointers on your footwork.”

I took a deep breath, and then stood up off of the ground once more. This time, there was no distance created between us. She stood, about half a meter away, sword once again at her right side. “Knowing where to stand and how to move, that’s a skill, too.”

She began stepping around in the small space she occupied, her movements almost making her look like she was swaying. “My family has had a technique for moving around opponents for a long time, even before the first awakening. But it quickly became a real skill. Obviously its quality became far higher as a result.”

She continued moving about. The simple, swaying steps had an almost hypnotic quality about them. “Our movements are based on flames. Moving in, and out, like the edges of a burning fire. The sword techniques of my family operate on a similar principle: movement is energy. Whenever you move, always be ready to keep moving.”

“I think I understand..?”

“I know the flowery language doesn’t exactly help, but the comparisons will make sense once you understand the technique. And for that..”

Adeline took one step closer, her sword ready to swing up at me. It was in the same position as it was at the start of our last match. 

For the next hour or so, Adeline meticulously explained the actions that I should have taken. I wasn’t left completely clueless, at least. It was a miracle to absorb even some of what she was saying. Not that she was an unskilled teacher, I just found it difficult to understand the methodology of a melee fighter. 

Nonetheless, I felt much closer to understanding than I did before.