For a knight, a sword is originally meant for servitude and loyalty towards their masters. However, it is rare for them to actually know any martial arts, as it originally came from the east. When my father unified the whole continent under one empire, the cultural exchange became so frequent that you would think every corner of the city is a marketplace.
If you pit a swordsman against a martial artist, the one who has a higher chance of winning would be the swordsman. On the other hand, if the two fought bare-handed, then the martial artist would have a higher chance of winning. However, a fight between the two is almost impossible as martial arts practitioner mainly focuses on building their spirituality, while a swordsman would be focused on getting stronger to be of better use to their masters.
Of course, there were valid exceptions to this, specifically, those who became arrogant due to the power they acquired. To patch this problem, our empire opened up a new academy that teaches a combination of the usage and purpose of swords, and the spirituality of the mind from martial arts. Although I never went there myself, my personal teacher, was also an instructor there.
Using that style, I was able to form my own blade arts. One that doesn't just mix martial arts and swordplay, but also a crueler style that aims to efficiently immobilize the opponent using my knowledge of anatomy. Thinking back, I wouldn't have decided to learn my own style if I wasn't bored and isolated in the castle.
Giving my sword a quick spin, I sheathed it back as I gave a soft smile to the stupefied Mr. Renard. "How's that?" I asked casually. "I-I never thought you that? Did I?" Master asks with his jaws slack.
Crap. I forgot he said that I only need to show him what I learned and beat him instead. Though I felt somewhat corrected, I can't help but feel satisfied with his expression. So instead, I just gave out a small grin as I made strengthened my excuse, "Like I said, from the books."
"As if that's possible!" Master exclaimed. I just shrugged and shifted my gaze to the audience who was still in a state of shock and astonishment. Returning my gaze towards master, I retained my soft smile as I spoke, "Regardless, I still win."
Master eyed me like a sore loser before sighing and walking to where his sword landed. After picking it up, he analyzed the damage on the sword, "You were deliberately aiming for my sword, weren't you?"
"Well, going against a stronger opponent, wouldn't I need to think of a countermeasure?" I threw my sheathed sword back at him, signaling the official end of the match. "So? Do I graduate now?" I asked, keeping my tone playful.
"You already know the answer to that," he replied and let out a dry laugh. His expression then turned serious as he advised me. "Listen, White, many people are blinded by their own strength, ultimately abusing it against those who are weak, and those that stand in their way."
"Although I don't know how you learned that style, don't try to stand out too much unless necessary, okay?" He said. Even I know that, and I doubt I'm naive enough to fall for their traps. If possible, I also wouldn't want to attract the eyes of nobles and figureheads. If I did, then my life would just repeat itself.
"Don't worry about that," I affirmed, "it would be a pain if they start using me as they please."
Master shook his head and took both swords and placed them on the wall beside their door. "Wait there," he says with a grin, "I have something for you." I already knew from the back of my head that it would be a graduation gift, but I just couldn't help but shiver from his grin.
After master left, Kayla rushed towards me with incredible speed. "What was that!?" She asks, still seemingly in a state of disbelief from a sword style that beat his father. "Well, it was cool right?" I asked to avoid the question.
"Yes!" a soft voice echoed just from behind Kayla. Shifting my gaze, it was Astesia who looked a bit flustered. I gave out a small chuckle as Astesia noticed her own state and used little velxia to cover her face. My initial impression of Astesia was that of a quiet kid, responsible for both his rowdy father and sister.
Looking at her now, it seems that she's just a bit shy, so I guess I misunderstood her on my part. "That was impressive," Velxia commented as he made his way towards me, "though I doubt that would be effective in the celestial reality."
"It won't, huh," I echoed his words. From what he previously says, it seems that the laws of nature are different from every reality. that would mean that the technique I developed would be out of place, even useless, to someplace where my technique isn't made at.
Velxia then shook his head as his eyes turned white. I thought he was going to do the holographic dome thing again, but he instead collapsed like a ragdoll.
"Velxia!" I exclaimed as I came to his aid. Kayla did the same, but as if he was dead, every normal body function stopped and I can't even hear a heartbeat or any breath coming out from him. I tried to analyze the situation and shifted my gaze around, thinking that he might have been killed from somewhere by some unknown, unperceivable magic.
My gaze landed on little Velxia, who was starring in the air and looked as if he was playing. After a few moments, Velxia woke up and grumbled, "You were too noisy," he said before his eyes illuminated once more. This time, showing the holographic dome from his point of view.
Apparently, he detached his mind and crossed to the celestial reality where he saw our interactions in a different environment. "You're like a ghost," I commented on Velxia. He then scoffed and countered me, "Nope, ghosts are fragments of egos left from residents of the material world," he says, "those 'ghosts' can't do their cycle through infinity because they don't have they have complete egos of the mind."
"And you can cycle to infinity?" I was a little shocked that he confirmed the existence of ghosts, but at this point, even those matters seem trivial. "We celestials can, but since it's hard for us to die, the thought of cycling through infinity seems like a dream."
"So you guys can also die," I muttered subconsciously. Picking up on my comment, Velxia then responded, "Our concept of death is more complex than you material beings."
"Unlike you people who only need to destroy your material body, we celestials have to break our minds to the point that they would vanish. At the same time, keep the ego safe so that we can cycle through infinity," he explained.
"What happens if the ego of the mind is destroyed?" Kayla asked curiously. "Well, since there wouldn't be a mind core that would cycle through infinity, you simply would vanish from every reality and be reduced to the foundation of atoms," Velxia explained, "infinity."
"By the way, why can't you just open a fissure between realities as you did before with the giant snake?" My question caught the attention of Kayla, who then looked at Velxia with a look of disapproval.
Noticing this, Velxia flinched before clearing his throat, "Remember when I told you about world counterparts? Let's just say the counterpart of this area in this reality is... not somewhere you would want to be at."