From thereon, it was a matter of endurance. My body came to handle even dull blades, which led to me returning to the training before.
"Dodge!" [Vincent]
"I'm trying!" [Solace]
Master swung around a dull blade, one that was actually quite large in size. It had a two handed grip, and a two sided blade. Even though it seemed to be longer than a meter stick, Master was swinging that thing with a single hand.
"Block!" [Vincent]
"How?!" [Solace]
Master expected me to catch a blade with my bare hands. Though it wouldn't cut me, it still hurt quite a bit.
"Deflect!" [Vincent]
Raising the sword up high, he swung down as I moved my hands to redirect the slash.
("I need to angle it!") [Solace]
Using my own arm to riposte, I managed to send the sword down the side. It struck the floorboards, leaving a deep gash in the wooden planks.
"Hm. Not too bad. As expected of my disciple." [Vincent]
"Yep. It wasn't too bad." [Solace]
So I said, but I was sweating pretty bad.
"I see. Then would you like me to increase the difficulty?" [Vincent]
"H-hold on. Let's talk about this." [Solace]
Acting as if he didn't hear me, Master gripped the sword with two hands.
"Dodge." [Vincent]
Before I could even react, I found myself facing my reflection in the blade the next instant.
("Uh oh.") [Solace]
The blade slammed into my forehead, making the world around me spin. It wasn't until I hit the ground that I realized I was the one spinning through the air.
"Ow…" [Solace]
I sat up, rubbing my forehead. I sincerely hoped that he didn't dent my skull.
"...Perhaps it was too soon." [Vincent]
"I think so too." [Solace]
Master gave me a strange look.
"You weren't supposed to say that." [Vincent]
"Why not?" [Solace]
"You are young are you not? Show some more ambition." [Vincent]
"Hell no. Ambition leads to either greatness and everyone hates you, or you lose everything and everyone still hates you." [Solace]
"...I suppose." [Vincent]
Master sighed.
"Well, at least your progress has been much faster than I have expected. The training will end when you are able to dodge my vertical slash." [Vincent]
"I can dodge your vertical slash." [Solace]
"Did I hit you so hard with it that you forgot?" [Vincent]
"I can dodge your vertical slash if you use one hand." [Solace]
Master looked unamused.
"Do not play smart with me, boy." [Vincent]
"I am young am I not? It comes with the territory." [Solace]
"How old are you?" [Vincent]
I shrugged.
"No clue." [Solace]
"Does your status not show it?" [Vincent]
"It's question marks." [Solace]
"...Strange." [Vincent]
Master brought a hand to his chin, as if he was deep in thought.
"Then do you know what your birthday is?" [Vincent]
"...How does the calendar work here?" [Solace]
"Every year holds four seasons, and each season spans four months." [Vincent]
"What month is it?" [Solace]
"The month of Hema." [Vincent]
"Huh…" [Solace]
It's not that I didn't expect that the culture of this world had different months, but I didn't ask before because it was at the back of my mind.
"How many days in a month?" [Solace]
"Fourty." [Vincent]
"Fourty?!" [Solace]
"Mhm." [Vincent]
That was a bit of a culture shock. Maybe the dates were longer because the days felt a bit shorter. Either that or I was having a bit of a fun time here so time passed by quickly.
"Then… By my calculations… I have no clue." [Solace]
"..." [Vincent]
Master looked at me like I was stupid. I'm not going to say that he's right that I'm stupid, but I'm not going to say he's wrong.
"Not having a birthday will be quite the problem." [Vincent]
"Why?" [Solace]
"Because you need to have one to register for school." [Vincent]
"...You're sending me to school?" [Solace]
Master nodded.
("Aw hell naw…") [Solace]
"We can figure that out later. For now, focus on your training." [Vincent]
Raising his sword again, Master readied it with two hands.
"...Wait." [Solace]
"Is there something wrong?" [Vincent]
"Before we do this, I want to make a bet." [Solace]
Master gave me a strange look before chuckling.
"Interesting. What do you propose?" [Vincent]
"Let's change the rules of my training. I graduate if I can block your attack. Also, you don't send me to school." [Solace]
As you can see, I really didn't want to study again.
"Hm. Then what will happen if you lose?" [Vincent]
"I go to school." [Solace]
Master shook his head.
"You're going regardless of the bet. There isn't any profit for me here." [Vincent]
("Bruh.") [Solace]
That was something I forgot. That said, I wasn't sure if I had anything to give him.
"How's this? If you lose, you will owe me a favor." [Vincent]
"A favor?" [Solace]
"Indeed. You cannot refuse the favor no matter how terrible a task it is." [Vincent]
"That's… a bit suspicious." [Solace]
Master gave me a sly smile.
"Either that or no deal." [Vincent]
("...Damn he's pretty good.") [Solace]
It seemed that it wasn't Master's first time making a deal.
"Alright. Deal." [Vincent]
Master's sly smile widened into a mischievous one, sending an uncomfortable chill down my spine.
"As expected of my disciple." [Vincent]