"Where are you going?" Kate asked when she saw Carl and Miku coming down the stairs and walking straight for the door. It was past eight at night.
"Practice," Carl replied curtly without turning to look at her.
"Only in the yard," Miku added, replacing him to calm Kate down.
"Don't finish too late," Kate half-shouted before the door closed.
"I didn't think Carl would be this passionate about being a fighter," Stary commented after they were out of sight.
"Me, too."
Meanwhile, in the yard, Carl and Miku were discussing their practice. It was about the sword lesson this afternoon. Carl wanted to repeat it to get used to the moves.
"I'll make a shield to drown out the sound." Finished saying that, Miku closed her eyes. She focused her magic on her hands and then stretched them out to create something transparent silver-pink. Once the small dome was formed, it became ultimately clear. "It'll also limit your movement," she added.
The practice for this time wasn't a duel like a fight with Julian and Vega. It repeated the basics of the sword as taught by Raphael and Columba and his new partners, Darren and Irvin. So, he did it slowly until his body remembered the pattern. Only then did he dare to challenge Miku in a casual duel.
"Strengthen your hands," Miku ordered as they dueled, and Carl tried to block her attacks. She purposely suppressed it firmly to practice his defensive abilities. "If your hand is weak, you may lose your life," she said again. Actually, not just his hands, but his whole body. However, since hand strength was the key to the sword, he needed to train it extra.
"I know. But I think I'm almost at the limit." Carl chimed in, still trying hard to hold it in. As he said, swordsmanship differed from fencing. He didn't have to do something like this in fencing.
"Ten seconds. We'll end it if you can hold it for another ten seconds." Miku then started to add a little more attack power.
Carl tried his best to hold it in. The ten seconds of her attack felt heavy. He really reached his limit. But, he still wanted to bring out his best.
Sweat dripped down his temples for the ten seconds that seemed endless. In a moment... He needed to hold it in for a little while, and the practice was over.
Suddenly, he felt his hands tremble. This time, it really was his limit. He couldn't take it anymore. His body could no longer withstand the attack.
"It's done," Miku said at the tenth second and just as Carl was about to give up. She then relaxed her attack and slowly shifted her position. "Well done, Carl," she complimented with a smile on her face.
Carl gasped. It was as tense as an actual fight. Her pink sword lit up, making him think it would really kill him if he failed to hold it back. After all, this was his first duel with a proper weapon. "You're really serious about your attacks," he said between breaths.
"It's time for you to fight actual attacks with actual weapons."
It was only a sword. What about other weapons? Gun? Arrow? How should he fight it?
Carl straightened himself. "Yeah. It's time for real lessons, right? I'm lucky my training partner is you. If it's Darren or Irvin, he's going to corner me. I probably have a lot of scars."
Miku chuckled hearing that. "I won't let that happen."
Yes, it was his luck to have Miku, so he didn't have to do this duel practice with his partner. Or not yet. At the very least, it would buy him time until he mastered the swordsmanship and could withstand their attacks. The last part was scary because he imagined they would attack him like Miku.
"What will happen if I use all your magic?" Suddenly, he asked as Miku prepared the artificial tree for the next practice. He stared at his silver sword that glowed in the night.
Miku turned her head and instantly understood what he meant. "That won't happen. This sword will only take a little magic unless it's for a big hit," she explained.
"But, if I used continuously, it will consume your magic, right?" he asked again. This time, he looked up and looked her straight in the eyes.
Miku finished her preparations before turning to him. "Magic runs in our blood. So, there's no running out of magic. There is only running out of energy to use it."
"So you'll get tired when you use it all over?" His brain quickly worked to conclusions.
She gave the nod in acknowledgment.
"That's not fair. I used it, but you got the effect." A protest was issued. He couldn't accept that.
Miku smiled at that. "Thanks for your concern. However, this is our collaboration. We help you with magic while you make the tools."
"That's also using your magic," he blurted. He let out a snort of annoyance.
In contrast to Carl, who was being controlled by his emotions, Miku remained calm. "Yeah. But you'll learn that our cooperation is not only limited to providing something commensurate. It's about personal relationships." Her words were reassuring. "After all, using magic is like practicing. Our magic will get stronger the more we use it," she added, still in the same tone.
Carl faltered. His emotions began to subside. "Is that true?"
"Yes. That's one of the reasons we agreed to cooperate with humans." Then Miku blinked her eyes. And it managed to break the tension and bring out his laugh.
"You always succeed in calming me down," Carl said between laughs.
"Perhaps that's my duty as your companion."
Carl stopped laughing until a smile remained on his lips. "Thanks, Miku."
"Then I should also thank you for being my partner."
They were momentarily lost in a mellow atmosphere.
"Okay. Now, prepare your sword." Miku changed the atmosphere by giving orders for the next session. "You may not have magic. But you can control the magic flowing in your sword. So, focus on your sword. Gather the energy flowing there into one." She took a moment to give Carl time to follow her lead. "And attack!"
Carl stepped forward to perform a slash at the tree clone a second later. It managed to leave a long but not deep incision.
"That's great, Carl," she complimented. "Do that until you've cut it down completely."
The incision in the artificial tree closed. It resulted from her magic.
"Where did you get the tree?" he asked, preparing for the next attack.
"That's a secret."
And he launched a fresh attack. It was still the same incision. Apparently, Carl needed time to train his abilities so that he could complete Raphael's task.