The ground was sandy, and after warming up, Francis commented while yawning in boredom, "Yo Lewis, why don't you two fight? The newbie and I would probably enjoy such a fight."
Lewis merely shook his head before commenting, "No, I think it's a bit too early for it. One should first grasp how to swing a sword properly before trying any fights."
Francis chuckled at his answer, but Luz immediately pleaded with big eyes, "Common Lewis, do not be a killjoy. I promise that I'll follow your training strictly after the match."
After sighing loudly, upon seeing Luz's big eyes, Lewis gave in. "You know that you are a grown-ass man. Such innocent eyes don't work on me, but fine. We will have one match, and after that, I'll force you to do sword swinging for the rest of the day."
Delighted by the latter's answer, Luz immediately picked up his sword and shield.
Their weapons, of course, had dull and thick edges to keep injuries at a minimum. Furthermore, their leather armor would absorb most of their hits, and the iron helmet they wore limited the attack surface even more.
"Fine, by me," commented Luz before positioning himself while tightly gripping his sword and round shield, whose radius reached up to his elbow. 'How big could the difference even be? I mean, Lewis isn't like the 500-pound gorilla, like Francis that monster' Luz tried to reassure himself upon seeing how Lewis casually strolled towards him.
'They didn't rule out magic, so I should be fine using it, right?' thought Luz as his eyes narrowed while beads of sweat began rolling down his forehead before the fight even started.
But when the difference between the two narrowed to around 15 meters, Lewis immediately shifted to sprinting towards Luz as fast as possible.
Bewildered by such a sudden change, Luz took a few steps back while watching Lewis jump towards him with a raised sword.
'Fuck that. This bastard is ready to kill me,' gulped Luz, ready to cast the only wind spell he knew, "Gust," while jumping to the side. With his aim on the ground, Luz shot a strong wind, sending sand into the air.
Lewis, who didn't expect such a hideous attack, immediately coughed as sand got into his eyes and mouth. 'I underestimated Luz. I cannot fight idle any more,' shot through his head as he immediately casted a water spell towards his face.
Francis roared in laughter from the side at such a spectacle, "That's my boy, Luzifer. Come and beat that brat, Lewis."
"I'm not Luzifer," Luz cursed as he took the initiative to attack. However, he immediately got forced back by Lewis, who had been swinging his sword at a 45-degree while being blinded.
But such a thing wouldn't stop Luz. 'My attack window is small. If I cannot finish the fight while he is blinded, I might, as well, give up.'
The clirring of swords echoed as Luz began his offense, swinging his sword and even ramming his shield into Lewis's face.
But Lewis wasn't really impressed by his attacks. "Common Luz, at least put more effort into your swings. If you keep this up, I will beat you while remaining blinded," Lewis taunted while parring all of his attacks casually.
But their sword-swinging soon came to a standstill because Lewis pressed his sword against Luz's handle while the latter resisted with a trembling sword.
A smile formed on Luz's face as he immediately rammed his shield against Lewis's in hopes of throwing him off balance.
Unfortunately, it didn't work, and Lewis immediately swung his sword, which Luz's barely blocked with his sword handle.
"So what will you do next," Lewis replied with a grin as he slowly pushed Luz back.
"Well, I got some cards up my sleeve," answered Luz before giving the latter a headbutt, sending the latter tumbling back.
However, Luz didn't stop there and immediately casted a fire spell that had been on his mind. "FIRE." A flame cloud immediately shot out of his hands, forcing Lewis to roll to the side as the spell narrowly grazed his leather armor.
Laughter interrupted, and Francis remarked with a provocative undertone, "Lewis, that's what you get for holding too much back."
'How the fuck can he dodge all of my attacks!?' shot through Luz's head as he tried using the small window for one more attack.
But before Luz could take another swing, a razor-thin layer of water immediately enveloped his opponent's weapons as Lewis's glared at him enraged with red eyes, before answering with a cold smile, "From now on, I also will use magic against you."
The water enveloping Lewis's weapon was sending him an ominous feeling, as Luz tried to calm himself. 'Ignore it. After all, it's just water and you aren't scared of getting wet.'
But in their next clash, Lewis's weapon somehow cut into Luz's shield, although with great difficulty.
Luz felt a shiver and hastily commented, "Well, how about we end it here, and I continue swinging my sword?"
Hearing his request, Lewis laughed loudly before stating, "I got a better idea. How about you train with Francis for the rest of the day before you continue with basic sword training?"
Before Luz could decline, Francis immediately stood up, stating, "I'll gladly duel that young lad for hours if you allow me, of course, Lewis."
After giving Francis a nod, Lewis casually strolled back to the side as the giant slowly moved onto the field. The ground trembled slightly with each of his steps, and Luz was sure of one thing.
That man in front of him was an apex predator, and Luz will be his goddamn salad.
Gulping, Luz stared in defeat as the latter took out a two-meter tall roman shield with a goddamn club. "Francis, don't you agree that a club would be deadly against an inexperienced newcomer like me?" Luz stuttered while taking a step back.
Amused by his question, Francis laughed before commenting, "Don't worry. I'll use it gently, I swear."
But Luz wasn't really convinced by the latter's reply, and upon seeing how the menace dragged his club on the ground while walking towards him, Luz took a deep breath before rushing towards the latter while gritting his teeth.
The fight was epic and resembled David vs. Goliat, or Levi from AoT vs. that hairy monkey titan.
"You are braver than I thought," shouted Francis while slamming his roman shield onto the ground, setting the earth quivering. Shortly after, he raised his club with his free hand, ready to swing Luz out of orbit.
But Luz was not a wimp and did not let such simple actions sway him, as he immediately ran right past Francis towards the rest of the group, surprising Francis, who was hoping to curb stomp a newbie.
"Damn you," he roared before throwing his gear and running after him.
Sprinting for his goddamn life, Luz didn't even dare to look back in fear of the giant rhino catching him.
The ground shook more and more with each second passing, and upon seeing Lewis a few meters chuckling at him, Luz shouted while jumping with open arms, "LEWISSSSS, YOU BASTARD. I'M SO SORRYYYY."
The latter widened his eyes and tried to dodge the flying Luz, who hugged him tightly, before crashing with him onto the ground.
Upon seeing the two cuddle, Francis gave up on curb-stomping Luz. "Well, you won since you got away from me," sighed Francis before a grin surfaced on his face.
He immediately added, "Luz, these two beauties will assist you in your basic training. I still have to settle some debts with the man below you."
Chuckling, Luz immediately let go of Lewis as an evil grin formed on his face.
Frightened by Francis, Lewis hastily shouted, "NO. LUZ, YOU ARE MY BROTHER. DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE WITH THAT MONSTER."
Stoically, Luz replied while shedding a tear of sadness, "I appreciate your sacrifice, Lewis, so that I can enjoy myself with the girls."
Luz walked right past the pleading Lewis, who immediately got dragged by the spirited Francis, who awaited fighting Lewis for eons.
Anne immediately accepted Francis's proposal while Alicia groaned loudly in protest, "Francis, but I also wanna fight Lewis instead of teaching a greenhorn how to hold a sword."
"Sorry, sis, but you gotta wait till I'm done punishing Lewis. But till then, you could play with Luz while he swings his sword," Francis replied before throwing Lewis onto the other side of the field.