The Witch's Relay

Chapter 47: Blade Training

I continue to train vigorously for several days. Occasionally Heather would ask me to hunt something for food, but mostly she did that after giving me some instructions.

Train. Heal. Rinse. Repeat.

But I don't mind. Both Heather and I are in agreement over this, this dungeon will be my biggest fight up-to-date. Even though I will be in a party with her, Linda and Vannessa, anything can happen. And in the worst case scenario, although unlikely, I may end up getting separated from the group. Admittedly though, even if I continue like this for way longer than the time we have left, anything powerful enough to separate me and Master, will be strong enough to kill me regardless.

I have learned now how to cast the fire orb further away from my hands, so now I don't have to worry about burns. I even learned to throw the orb, inaccurately, but forward at least.

My actual mana-capacity is pretty alright though. Because I've previously practiced holding water spells, I don't suffer from mana exhaustion all that fast, and can hold the orb for several minutes at a time while practicing control. Not longer than that though, fire does consume more energy than water over time, even though water takes more mana initially.

There isn't really much interesting that comes to mind while thinking back on the last few days, and other than the rain yesterday, the same thing has happened every day. So much so that the days even begin to become a bit hazy in my mind, although that probably has more to do with my mana depletion than the tediousness of my daily routine.

We did a lot of discussing yesterday in the rain, and not much training. Even though it was nice to rest for a bit, it turns out that our second-hand tents weren't quite as waterproof as promised, and they did in fact end up leaking in several places, leading to a rather cold and wet entire day.

But with the rise of today, the sun shone brightly and dried everything up, however slow that it did, since the winter is almost here after all.

Since, incidentally Heather's tent leaked a great deal less than mine, we spent most of the day in her's, discussing a great many things, most of it being lessons in this country's history and mage's part in it, which by now I've learned is her favorite topic to teach. We also discussed our plans henceforth.

Long story short, we plan to stay out here in the wilderness for a total of three days more, before heading back to Northerton. For the rest of the time here, Master wants to focus more on actual physical combat, which I likely will have more practical use for in the dungeon, or questing in general when observers are around.

"Are you ready?" Heather gets up from where she had been laying in the grass. We already had two bouts and it's time for a third.

"I suppose so." I myself get up and pick up my blade.

Incredibly, my sword hasn't received any significant notches from where our swords met, probably due to the skill put into forging it. Although some minor ones of course can be observed, half an hour of sharpening will do the trick.

We take our stances directly facing each other.

My arm-ring is lying in the grass on top of my cloak which I discarded to fight more freely. Like Master instructed me when she first gave it to me, I always take it off before training. That way I actually improve upon my natural strength and create a lasting impact. If I were to train with the arm-ring, then I would feel a bit lost without it.

Of course when I started out training with Heather out in the forest I didn't stand a chance without it, but now I can actually hold my ground for a brief moment. Master does however hold back a little so our fights take a little longer, and so that I can gradually get stronger, but even when she rushes towards me at full strength, I can usually deflect two or three strikes before her sword is at my throat. But of course if she really wanted to she could just blast me away with a spell. As a mage she would have no reason not to simply take out her foe before it even came down to the blade.

I block her first strike, and the second, and then deflect her lunge as we both close the distance between us.

With her lunge deflected I use the opening to counter with my own attack, opting for a quick slash over her exposed chest-area, but she side-steps easily.

With her free hand Heather grabs my sword arm and pulls it past me in an attempt to ruin my balance, but knowing this trick from previously, I don't fight it, and instead I go with it, rolling over in the grass and getting free.

During this process I immediately aim my long knife which I am duel wielding with, and before I commit to the roll, I swing it towards her, which forces her to take a step back which in turn gives me time to get up before having to block Master's ensuing blows.

Up until now, I have had the advantage of two blades, even though I mostly just focus on one arm at a time, but while keeping me on my toes with several quick slashes, she releases her two-handed grip, and instead draws a small dagger with her now-free left hand.

I notice this, but too late. She lunges towards me once again, but now fully commits to it, throwing her entire body weight into it, so that when I deflect, her balance is in an unrecoverable state.

Master doesn't seem to mind however, and with an evil grin, she drives the dagger deep into my gut before crashing to the ground.

My eyes widen from shock and confusion as I realize what just happened, and in vain I let my weapons fall as I try to grab my wound and fail to stop the blood from flowing out of me.

I don't feel any pain however, or at the very least don't notice it because my mind is occupied with disbelief.

I also completely forget about Master, so when she gets up and puts her hand on my stomach, I nearly jump from surprise.

"Dead. If it wasn't me you would be dead." She then says the healing incantation and my wound closes up, not even leaving a scratch. The only sign left from what just happened is the tear in my shirt.

I sigh in relief. I supposed that any injury sustained during our sparring sessions could be pretty easily fixed, but I never thought she would ever go so far! Up until now Master has been content to just give me a punch to the gut or a smack to the face as an ending move, but wrongly I took that as the unseen line.

I suppose I let down my guard a little too much.

"You didn't have to actually stab me!" I huff angrily.