I stopped my thoughts and closed my eyes as I continued my training.
There was no need to dwell further on those questions and feelings. Time would tell whether I would receive my answers or not.
With nothing else to do, I focused once more on my training.
The pathways throughout my body had already adapted to the thicker mana. At most, it would take a few more training sessions before I could use my mana without restrictions.
My concentration right now wasn't as strong as before my duel with Rash. The shouts and chatter from the other teens in the arena constantly interrupted my focus.
But that wasn't a real problem.
No matter how focused I was, the important thing was to keep training.
Time passed.
One by one, the teens left the arena until it slowly became empty again. When the last of them left, I decided to stop as well and opened my eyes.
My stomach had been growling for some time now.
I had grown hungry, and my body felt tired after all the training.
Standing up and brushing the sand off my clothes, I reached for my sword and pulled it out of the ground before heading out of the arena. I returned the sword to the rack and walked past the pair of guards before stepping onto the stone floor of the corridor again.
The bath was empty as I reached it. I took my time and washed and bathed.
I couldn't really relax when the other teens were there. Their constant glances and chatter annoyed me. Because of that, I preferred to bathe only when I was alone—like today.
Feeling refreshed, I headed back to my cell.
The other teens were already there when I entered.
Rash was lying lazily in his bed. He only turned his head slightly when he heard the door open.
The others had gathered around one of the beds. Some sat on chairs they had dragged over, while others sat directly on the beds. They were eating, drinking, and chatting happily.
Normally, after training, most of them had dark expressions, unsure when they would be called to fight again. But now things had changed.
Everyone seemed more relaxed.
The reason was obvious.
The fights had changed.
No one had been sure after the first battle, but now it was clear.
We would receive a few days of rest between each beast fight. Last time it had been five days, and it would likely be the same again.
It meant that no one would be called for a fight tonight.
And that allowed them to relax.
The group glanced at me briefly as I entered, but only for a moment before returning to their conversation again.
I paid them no mind and took some food from the crate before walking toward my bed. Standing before it, I felt a pair of eyes on me.
I turned my head.
Rash was looking at me.
He gave me a small smile before turning his head again.
It felt strange that he hadn't spoken to me. Normally, he would lean against my bed frame and talk about all kinds of things. But seeing that he had already turned away, I climbed onto my bed and lay down.
After finishing my food, I closed my eyes and soon fell asleep.
***
From then on, the days passed in the same rhythm.
Every morning, I woke early and headed to the arena.
Until the other teens arrived, I focused on my mana training, prioritizing the pathways connected to my senses before moving on to the rest of my body.
Later, during training, Rash would arrive and ask for a duel.
I accepted.
During those duels, I tried to focus on my instincts. I tried to move my body first and let the sword follow.
It was difficult.
Changing my entire style and moving my body first while letting the sword follow felt completely unnatural. Even wrong. I didn't land any hits. Most of the time, I only moved my body to dodge and used my sword to block.
The duel was nothing like the ones we had before. But even though I didn't attack, I wasn't helplessly defeated.
I simply gave up attacking altogether and focused only on defense. The feeling of my body moving first, without thought, still felt strange.
Dodging.
Blocking.
That was all I did.
I stepped aside to evade Rash's strikes. And when dodging wasn't enough, I blocked them.
Without attacking and focusing entirely on defense, there were far fewer openings for Rash to exploit. Our duels even lasted longer than before.
But in the end—
I still lost.
It wasn't surprising. I had known from the beginning that I wouldn't win.
Winning wasn't important.
What mattered was trying to apply what Rash had taught me.
To change my swordsmanship.
To use the sword as an extension of myself rather than just a tool.
Even though I didn't make any real progress, I at least gained something else.
Understanding.
Understanding that the solution I had found was correct.
Just once...
I felt it once during our duel.
But it was enough.
It was when I stepped to the side and crouched to evade one of Rash's slashes and repositioned myself beside him. My eyes saw his attack, and my body reacted. It felt natural. Even a bit strange, as if my body moved on its own.
My sword followed the movement, arms moving forward without thought.
And suddenly—
I realized I was in the perfect position to strike.
I hadn't even thought about attacking.
It just happened.
It was like a tide.
My body moved like a wave through Rash's attack. And my sword followed that wave, about to smash into him.
But the feeling vanished just as quickly as it came.
Rash simply stepped back and moved out of reach.
I didn't land the hit.
But that wasn't important.
The feeling was.
With that single moment, I knew I was on the right track.
If I could fight again and grasp that feeling one more time.
Just once...
It felt as if I would be able to master this new style.
Shing.
The duel ended with Rash's sword pointed at my throat.
Haah.
I let out a breath and fell down to the ground.
Exhaustion weighed heavily on my body.
My sword lay beside me as I stretched out in the sand.
Haah.
I had lost the duel.
But at the same time—
I felt good.
Achieving something new always made me feel that way.
Closing my eyes, I took a few deep breaths until Rash spoke.
"That was better."
My eyes opened.
I looked up at him as he continued, resting his sword over his shoulder.
"I didn't think you'd grasp the gist of it that quickly. But understanding it and actually using it are two very different things. It will take a long time before you can actually fight like that."
"You must have felt it at least once. The feeling of the sword following your movement."
"How did it feel?"
Looking into his dark brown eyes, I answered with the first thing that came to mind.
"Good."
His lips curved into a grin as he chuckled.
"My master would've beaten you up a few more times so you wouldn't forget that feeling."
I closed my eyes again as he laughed. When I opened them a moment later, he was already gone.
Leaving me alone with my thoughts as he returned to his own training.
After resting a bit longer, I sat up and resumed my mana training.
Later, the other teens left one after another until I was the only one left in the arena.
I ended my training at that point as well and headed out. After a long bath and some food, I was lying in my bed again.
My mind replayed the duel over and over.
I held tightly onto the feeling I got when my sword moved with me.
I didn't want to forget it.
I wanted to keep it until our next duel.
And like that—
For the first time...
I found myself looking forward to the next day.
And the reason for that was none other than my duel with Rash.