Ancient Pasts - Tbate

Masked swordsmen

Arthur Leywin Pov

"Good morning." Jasmine was up and cooking something over the fire by the time I had gotten up and out of my sleeping bag. Cathan was filling up his water by the river.

My stomach rumbled to remind me that I hadn't eaten since yesterday afternoon as I looked hungrily at the skewered fishes grilling on the fire. "Good morning! You could've woken me up, Jasmine. There's no need for you to do all of the chores on your own."

"I asked Cathan to wake you up, but he told me you'll kill him if he wakes you up." Jasmine deadpanned.

"...Besides, I tried waking you up... You wouldn't budge." Her half-closed

eyes that give off an apathetic stare regarded me with concern. "If I didn't hear you breathing, I would've mistaken you for a corpse."

"Haha..." I let out an awkward chuckle. "I'm sorry, I need to fix that."

After devouring the grilled fish for breakfast, we put out the fire. Using the nearby stream to wash me and my clothes, I put on my mask and swords, assuming we'd go hunting for some mana beasts around the area when Jasmine stopped me.

"Your opponents for these few days will be me and each other."

"Huh?" I couldn't help but be surprised at the turn of events. Did we come all the way here to spar?

"This area is close to the dungeon we will be exploring, but for these days, I want you to focus on fighting me. I noticed that your fighting style seems. Awkward at times. Like, you know it in your head, but your body doesn't listen to you. Or something like that. "

Unsheathing her two daggers, she pointed one at me and one at Cathan, continuing, "We won't use any kind mana for these next few days while sparring."

I hadn't expected Jasmine to catch on to what I had been worried about, but it was an opportunity.

"Arthur can go first. I want to look around for now," Cathan announced before running off.

"Good idea," I replied, unsheathing my shortsword.

"Use your other sword..." Jasmine's eyes flickered toward Dawn's Ballad.

"How did you know this was a sword?" I wasn't planning on hiding my weapon from her, but it caught me off guard.

"Knowing you, that black stick should be something more than just a cane or a practice stick," she shrugged, walking a few steps closer to me.

Giving her a confirming nod, I tossed the shortsword near the campfire. As the sword soundlessly glided out from its sheath. The translucent blade glowed a light teal as it reflected the sun's rays.

Holding it out in front of me, I positioned myself. "Ready when you are."

"Y-Yeah," Jasmine stuttered as her eyes remained glued to Dawn's Ballad.

We dulled the edges of our weapons using mana before beginning. Without mana strengthening my body, I realized just how much I had been neglecting myself. After a few swings, my arms felt heavy, and my legs trembled as they pushed feebly off the ground.

It was a mistake. I knew of the limits that my juvenile body had, but instead of fixing my shortcomings. I chose only to mask it using mana. Magic in this world was capable of many things. I should use mana to supplement my abilities, not to cover them.

I lunged out with a sharp thrust aimed at Jasmine's sternum. Even though we dulled our swords to prevent fatal injuries, they would still leave bruises and even broken bones if taken lightly; this made the sparring experience much more intense and real.