"Wanna duel?"
I was still training my mana when Rash's voice broke my focus.
Opening my eyes, I saw him standing there in front of me in the same relaxed sword stance as before, his blade hanging loosely at his side.
I stood up and circled my fingers around the grip of my sword before pulling it out of the sand.
Shing.
"Yes."
I took a step forward and raised my sword into position while planting my feet firmly into the ground.
Rash.
The teen standing before me.
He was different from the others.
His appearance.
The way he fought.
And the way he behaved.
I didn't like him.
I didn't like how carefree and positive he was.
I didn't like that he treated me as if we were already friends, or that he talked so much.
But I didn't hate him either.
In the end, only one thing remained.
Curiosity.
I was curious about him.
That was why I accepted his duel.
But that didn't mean we would become friends.
I didn't need friends.
I only needed to survive.
"Ready?"
Rash asked as he lowered his body and bent his knees slightly.
Tightening my grip around my sword, I nodded.
Step.
Rash stepped forward the moment he saw my nod. But instead of closing the distance and attacking immediately, he simply kept walking toward me with slow, casual steps.
Step.
"Adonis, you fight really well for your age."
Step.
Rash talked as he approached.
"But…"
Step.
"You're too stiff."
The moment he finished was when he stepped into range.
Step.
His knees bent as he pushed his left foot forward into something close to a lunge while swinging his sword in a low arc with his right hand.
Fsshh.
The blade scraped across the sand, kicking up a cloud of dust before rising upward toward my left side.
Shing.
I pulled my left foot back and shifted my weight onto it before lifting my right leg and kicking sideways toward his sword-wielding arm.
Bam.
His arm and sword were flung away, stopping his attack. But Rash didn't dwell on it and rose before stepping in and slamming his shoulder against my chest.
Bam.
I was caught off balance and stood only on one leg. His push was enough to make me fall helplessly to the ground.
Thud.
Rolling backward, I pushed myself up immediately and stood again.
But—
Rash was already upon me.
Fsshh.
He had scooped up a handful of sand during his first attack and now threw it into my face, blinding me, while at the same time stabbing forward.
Swoosh.
I couldn't see his sword, but heard the air split as he stabbed.
It was the same trick he had used yesterday.
It worked yesterday, but...
Falling for the same trick twice would only make me an idiot.
And I was no idiot.
Closing my eyes, I focused on my hearing and jumped backward.
Thud.
My back slammed into the wall behind me, but I had dodged.
My eyes stung as I opened them, but I was no longer blind.
Rash still stood in that stabbing position, blade aimed where my throat had been before pulling his sword back with a chuckle.
"I thought I'd get you with this one."
I took my chance to regain the momentum as I saw him chuckle and stepped forward.
Shing.
I aimed a downward slash at his right side. With his sword just pulled back, there should have been a gap.
My blade descended in a clean arc.
But—
Clang.
Rash parried it easily.
He stabbed directly into the path of my downward slash, letting my blade slide along his as he redirected the strike to the side. Then, in one flowing motion, he turned his sword from the stab and guided my blade downward.
Thud.
My sword dug into the sand.
Rash took the opportunity and stomped his right foot onto my blade, pinning it to the ground.
He now stood with his right elbow lifted and his sword angled downward at his side. It would take him at least a moment before he could properly strike from that position.
Step.
Seeing the opening, I stepped forward and raised my left hand to punch into his unguarded right side.
But—
Rash was faster.
He stepped in, releasing my sword, and let my punch pass through the air before raising his own hand and struck my face with the pommel of his sword.
Smash.
I staggered backward, hitting the wall again.
Thud.
The pommel hit me squarely in the face, right on my nose. Something wet ran down my face and over my lips, but I ignored it and pulled my sword back.
But before I could return into position was Rash already upon me.
Swoosh.
He turned the sword in his hand and stabbed forward at my chest before I could raise my sword.
Thud.
With no other way to defend, I threw myself to the side and rolled through the sand before getting back to my feet.
Thud.
Rash's stab missed and struck the stone wall of the arena.
Haah.
Now, with a few meters of distance between us again, I took a breath and raised my sword into position.
Rash turned toward me, once more letting his sword hang loosely at his side.
Our eyes met.
"Your sword is plain."
That was everything he said.
I didn't understand what he meant. But there was no time to think about it.
Step.
He stepped forward again.
Shing.
Twisting his wrist, he delivered a diagonal slash toward my chest.
Clang.
I blocked the strike easily with a shift of my blade.
There was almost no force behind it.
Too light.
It felt more like a tap than a real attack.
He let his sword slide along mine before completing the arc and pulling back, then instantly turned it, aiming a fast backhanded horizontal slash at my throat.
Shing.
I took a small step back, barely dodging the blade as a breeze of air passed my skin before stepping in again.
Step.
Turning my sword downward, I stabbed toward his unguarded left side.
Swoosh.
Rash made a small sidestep, barely enough to evade my blade, letting it only graze his side.
Then he lifted his left arm—and trapped my blade beneath his armpit. Squeezing my sword between his biceps and ribs, he slid his forearm under the blade and grabbed it before turning.
Everything happened in a matter of seconds.
I tried to pull my sword back, but was too late.
Turning on his heel while holding my sword, he spun around himself, yanking the sword out of my hand and disarming me. Using the spin, he continued the motion and swung his blade in a wide arc before bringing it back toward my now unarmed right side.
Shing.
Tap.
The blade stopped the moment it touched my ribs, lightly tapping me.
Chuckling, he declared, "I won again."
Shing.
Pulling his sword back, he brought mine out from behind his back and held it toward me by the flat side of the blade.
I gripped the hilt and took it back while looking him in the eyes.
"What was that move?"
I had never seen anything like it.
It looked like some kind of disarming technique. The move was fast enough so that I hadn't been able to react at all when I lost my weapon.
Lowering his sword again, Rash answered with a smile.
"Are you asking for its name?"
He shrugged.
"Maybe it has some fancy name, but I don't know it. I only learned the move by chance from my uncle. Nothing more."
Then his lips curved a little wider.
"Pretty cool, right? The spin and everything."
He chuckled.
"I had the same reaction as you, as I lost helplessly to it."
He was right.
Nodding slowly, I thought back to the moment he used it.
The way he locked my sword under his arm and grabbed its blade before spinning around himself, turning the disarm directly into an attack.
Step.
Rash had already moved away and was about to walk off when he turned his head back toward me.
With a smile, he said, "As I said, your sword is plain. That move should help you a bit."
Then he walked away, vanishing into the crowd of teens, returning to his own training.
I remained where I was, sword in hand. The duel replayed again in my mind.
The moves he used.
The way he parried and redirected my strikes.
How he stepped onto my sword.
How he threw sand to disrupt me.
The move where he disarmed me.
It didn't feel like swordmanship.
I had seen my swordmaster's swordsmanship. It was nothing like what Rash had just shown.
Rash's sword was unpredictable. It was wild and somehow even free as he mixed strange movements without hesitation.
And as I stood there, replaying the fight in my head—
A desire slowly began to bloom inside me.
A desire to fight him again.
To see more of those moves.
Because his style of fighting—
I liked it.