"Fight...?"
Upon hearing my proposal he frowned.
"Have you gone insane? What a truly foolish suggestion!"
"But you said you were strong! Can it be that you're afraid..."
A visible vein appeared on his forehead as he furrowed his brows.
"Don't be stupid! Do you think I'm afraid of trash like you!? Father, tell him that this is unreasonable. Why should I lower myself to fight someone like him?!"
After lashing out he quickly turned towards his father fully believing that he would rebuke me. However contrary to his expectations that didn't seem to be the case.
Thomas threw me a wary glance before he directed his attention towards his beloved son.
"Hmm, why not? Why don't you just play with your brother? A nice little spar doesn't seem to hurt much right?"
"But father! He's only 5! Moreover, what does that filth know about fig-"
Before he could finish his sentence Thomas quickly bent down as he closed the gap between them. He approached his dear sons ear as he whispered: "Teach, your foolish brother a lesson."
He spoke in a low and nearly inaudible voice, however I could still hear it. Whether he let me hear it on purpose or not I didn't know, but that didn't really matter.
Alan's eyes quickly shone with a new conviction.
Kids are kids after all. I inwardly sighed as I looked at him.
"Okay, fine. I'll play with you, but don't think I'm going to go easy on you!"
"Sweat! Let's start immediately. Where can I find a weapon?" I asked eagerly trying to sound like an excited and impatient child.
"There's a room with some practice weapons in the room further down there." Thomas said as he pointed towards the left end of the training hall.
I slowly turned my back to the father and child duo as I made my way towards the room.
Unknowingly to them a mischievous and nearly malicious smile was growing on my face.
***
As I came back to the training hall, they both frowned as if unhappy with my choice of weapons.
I had already guessed that a longsword and shield was an established practice in the family, but as I went to pick out weapons I realized that my beliefs were true.
There wasn't a big variety of weapons. I could see a few daggers and arrows, but longswords and shields was by far a majority. More particularly heater shields with a pointy bottom and trident like edges on the top.
Well, not that I care. In fact I was highly skilled with any weapon. It never mattered to me. A weapon is only a tool for killing. It didn't matter if I used a sword, bow, dagger or axe. H*ll even my fists. As long as I triumphed in the end nothing else mattered. I did everything I could to survive, and picking up skills and experience with all kinds of weapons was something that helped me survive an abundance of different situations and scenarios. At some point I was even dubbed with the title King of Weapons.
As I reminisced about the past, an annoyingly loud voice brought me back to reality.
"What do you think you are doing? Are you looking down on me!?"
"What do you mean?" I asked, feigning ignorance.
Alan didn't bother answering me and only pointed towards my left hand.
I only threw it a glance before I looked at him with a confused expression.
"Where are your shield?!"
"Oh, it was to heavy for me..." I said as I scratched my cheek trying to sound embarrassed.
That wasn't necessarily a lie. In fact, it was partially true. There was shield and sword sets in all sizes, but even the smallest seemed to be a little too large for me. Although I could manage, it would only hold me back. Therefore, I decided to just use a dagger. Although the training weapons were made out of wood this was the only weapon that I could utilize without using to much energy.
However, although I call it a dagger, it might as well be considered a one handed shortsword in my hands. With this, I can move freely and utilize my dexterity to my utmost potential. I can't beat him in strength considering our age gap so even if I would use a sword and shield my body would quickly give in even if I blocked him. Therefore, the best choice was to rely on my dexterity and combat experience to dodge while I look for an opening.
"Hmph, you can't even hold a wooden shield, but you dare fight me? Pathetic. Moreover you dare tarnish our family name by wielding a dagger instead of a sword and shield."
"I'm sorry brother... I'll do better next time, but for now let's just fight!"
"Alright, but I'll say it again. I won't pull my punches."
"T-That's fine" I said. Trying to sound insecure.
We then went towards the center of the arena before taking a few steps backwards to create space between us.
"Alright, on the countdown of 3 I want you guys to begin." Thomas said.
I gripped my short sword (dagger) with my preferred grip. Instead of instinctively gripping the handle like you would on a hammer I clenched it more like you would with a handshake. My fingers wrapped around the handle as I applied the most pressure with my middle, ring and pinky finger while the pointer finger and thumb relaxed with the latter pointing upward towards the blade.
This allows me to manipulate and steer the sword with the forwardmost fingers while keeping a firm hold on the sword with the back fingers.
In other words, this grip combines firmness and relaxation, which allows me to wield the sword in a more "proper" manner. It leaves flexibility in my wrists so I can easily move the sword into offensive and defensive positions.
Alan on the other hand just held his shield and sword in a apathetic and careless manner. From what I saw of the spar it wasn't because he wasn't taught properly, but he was just oozing out his confidence and arrogance.
His father didn't seem to care either. In their eyes the battle was more or less set in stone. The only reason this fight took place is because of Thomas curiosity and his wish to see me getting taught a lesson without breaking the deal.
As I got lost in thoughts Thomas countdown echoed throughout the arena.
"3"
"2"
"1"
"Start"
Alan immediately dashed towards me.
He really wasn't lying when he said he wouldn't hold back. His speed even had me a little impressed.
As he arrived in reach length he swung his sword in a vertical motion causing me to side step.
His expressions was somewhat surprised, but he quickly regained his composure as he followed up with a slash in a diagonal motion from bottom to top.
I was quickly put on the defensive because of his follow up, however time yet again seemed to flow in slow motion. My reaction time and experience was out of this world. No matter how fast he was I would see it coming. However my body wouldn't cooperate properly.
This feeling was extremely frustrating and uncomfortable. My body was too slow compared to my reaction time. Even though I saw an endless amount of openings and counter opportunities, it was hard to take advantage of it.
Moreover, I kept slipping and messing up causing him to graze my hair with some of his slashes. Even after two years it was hard getting used to this body. The difference between a war veterans body and a kids was too vast. I didn't even know how many years it would take for me to get used to this. 5? 10? 20?
As I kept dodging and cursing my luck for being born in such a feeble body, Alan slowly but surely lost his patience.
His shield was covering him less and less, leaving him even more openings.
As he slashed in a wide horizontal motion I ducked.
While his arm was outstretched due to his wide sing I swung my sword towards his wrist while I was ducked down.
"Ouch!"
He was immediately taken aback by surprise as his grip on the sword weakened.
I then immediately let go of my sword as I used my now free hand to grip his wrist.
He was again caught by surprise as his eyes followed my falling sword. Never in a million years would he think someone would let go of their only weapon. With his attention divided, I quickly followed up with a palm strike towards his elbow joint with my left hand while my right hand held a firm grip on his wrist while I forced it downwards.
In most cases this would more likely break his arm, but considering my strength this would just cause him some joint pain, which was exactly what I aimed for.
"AAGH"
As my palm strike connected with his elbow joint he groaned in pain as he let go of his sword.
I immediately let go of his wrist as I caught the sword with both hands and swung it with a 360 degree spin aiming for his head.
The momentum added force to the swing and as the hit connected a loud sound reverberated throughout the room.
"dunk."
Alan immediately lost consciousness as his body fell limp on the floor.