"Sigh... Geez, I guess I lost, right?" Those were the first words that came out of Sakuya after the excitement of the match ended.
"Ufufu, so it seems, you danced on Blake's palm the whole time." Shino couldn't deny that she was pleased with the result.
"What, no, nothing like that, the last move Sakuya made seemed like it was going to be enough to knock me down, I was just lucky." Blake really believed that he had just been lucky at that moment and Sakuya agreed with that.
"Hmph! Of course, it was luck, if I wasn't reducing my strength to be on the same level as you, I would have been the winner."
"I don't think you should say that, after all, you did release a bit of your elemental essence during combat, do you think I didn't notice?" And those very words made Sakuya panic a bit.
"That was... I-I just wanted to test his battle talent, it wasn't enough to cause much damage..." Sakuya's voice trembled a little when she said that, she knew that she had actually ignored a bit the situation and pulled out a little more force than he originally planned.
Blake had been very lucky not to have been hit directly with everything or he would have spent a few months in bed before recovering.
"Well, I won't blame you since nothing serious happened." Hearing that, Sakuya sighed internally thinking that she would be saved from anything that could happen, but she couldn't be more wrong. "But as punishment for not controlling yourself, you will have to give five complete laps of the town before sunset."
"What, but if...!"
"Did you not hear me?" The sight was simple, Sakuya seemed to be about to throw a tantrum, but the image of Shino narrowing her eyes and giving that small smile that conveyed more fear than anything else, was enough for Sakuya not to say anything else and run away without caring everything else, and that whole scene was seen by Blake who had a nervous smile at the whole situation. "What's wrong, Blake, do you want to accompany her?"
"N-No, I think I'm fine, haha..." Blake couldn't bear the look that was on him, but it only lasted for a second before he heard Shino's voice again.
"I see... I must say I'm surprised."
"Surprised?" Some confusion was on Blake's face.
"Yes, at first I thought I would have to put you on a training regimen that would make your bones feel like they would break at any moment."
'I doubt that's considered training...'
"But maybe I don't have to… Still. Where did you learn those moves?"
'Still?' That question stuck in Blake's mind. "Moves...? Ah, the ones I performed during the match? It's a sword art I recently learned."
"Recently? That's strange because of the way you moved and the techniques you used I can tell that you would need several years to be at the level you are at, maybe it's because of your memory loss, but I think before that you must have been really skilled at swordsmanship." Blake almost hit his face for not thinking about that point.
The first day he came to the town he got the basics of short sword art thanks to the system and it was obvious that he didn't look like he was a beginner at this point. He had already gotten used to the moves he learned enough, plus his skill level with the sword had increased several times, saying that he had recently learned how to use a sword seemed like a complete joke given Shino.
"Haha, maybe that's." Blake didn't even try to explain further since it was better to use that excuse for now.
"Indeed, you do not look like a beginner, but I can say that you still have a lot to improve, although I think it is enough for what I had planned from the beginning. I thought you didn't have any real knowledge about combat, that makes us advance faster."
"Advance?"
"That's right, I think you're ready... Let's see if you can enter the runic path." Just when he heard that, Blake started to get excited, he hadn't forgotten about the runic ability he had in his inventory, but since he still couldn't use it, he had left it behind. And now that he had heard of the runic path again, he could not rest easy.
"But shouldn't I see if I can do it first?"
"Don't worry, once you start the process to try to make your way we will know if you are capable or not, the process is not very complicated and I will be here if something happens, don't trust your master?"
"I trust completely!" Blake no longer had any doubts at that moment, so he would only follow the instructions of his master. "So what would I have to do?"
"First tell me, do you know what your elemental affinity is?" As soon as those words entered his head, Blake got flustered, his elemental affinity was something really peculiar and he didn't know if it was safe for more people to know, he thought about telling the truth, but at the last second, he opted to answer simply hoping Shino wouldn't ask any more questions.
"Yes. I know what my elemental affinity is…"
"Okay, then you should pay attention to what I'm going to tell you." Breathing a sigh of relief, Blake relaxed and focused all his attention on Shino, she motioned for him to sit on the ground and get into a comfortable position before following the steps she was transmitting. "The first thing you have to do is feel your surroundings, you have to grasp the huge set of runes and the elements that are formed from them, as I have already told you, the way to get in contact with the runic path begins by trying to absorb these runes into your body."
Blake had no complications with that part, he had previously felt the runes around him and could see them. Runes of different colors and shapes seemed to float everywhere, and especially he drew his attention to the gray-colored runes that snuggled up around him giving him a very comfortable feel.