It was morning in the Continent Of Deserts which was now abundant in forest life. Josec, Harry, Buern and Estelle slowly awakened from their slumber. They were in a clearing close to one of the Summer Domes. The Masters seemed to be engaged in serious discussion with one another. Josec walked to them and greeted them.
"You're finally awake Josec. That's good" Master Fencer said.
"Why? Is there anything I should know?" Josec asked.
"You've become significantly stronger over the past year. You've mastered the legendary martial art of the Fenixes, the Killer Ghost, integrated it into your own fighting style to create a new technique, the Killer Ghost Frenzy and you've also mastered the greatest defensive ability of the Defender, the Labyrinth Of The Defender" Master Fencer said.
Josec assumed a serious look.
"But it's not enough" he said.
"So you've realized that as well" Master Fencer asked.
Josec nodded.
"During our battle with Aesakal, he instantaneously shattered any shield I raised so I focused instead on complicating his movements with the Labyrinth Of The Defender. It was the same when I initially learnt the Labyrinth Of The Defender from you and I couldn't maintain my shield of invisibility when we fought Aeros" Josec admitted.
"All of that is true. However, we have already provided you with the basis for your next great defensive technique. You just haven't realized it yet" Master Kyem said with a smile.
"Really?" Josec asked.
The Masters nodded.
"Usually, I would leave you to reflect on everything you've learnt so far especially anything potentially concerning your shield but I'm feeling slightly magnanimous today so I will aid you in your training" Master Fencer said as he stood up.
Josec nodded and they both walked to the centre of the clearing. The other students watched them.
"What's going on?" Estelle asked.
"It appears Josec and Master Fencer are about to duel" Buern said.
"If I had to venture a guess concerning what they hope to achieve, it's most likely to raise the abilities of Josec's shield" Harry said.
"But why is that necessary? Josec's shields are very impressive. I'd say as a Defender he's plenty strong. Too strong in fact if we take into consideration the reputation of the Class Of Defenders" Jason said.
"The reputation of the Defender Class is all based on hearsay. From what I learnt from Josec concerning this class, no one has ever chosen it throughout history. We only know about its abilities from the lecture we got from Jo-lan during our first time in the Book Of Jo-lan. Naturally, people prefer strength over weakness so it's understandable that no one ever chose this class throughout history, however that implies that all we thought we knew about it was based on assumptions" Harry said.
"Jo-lan did say though that the defensive capabilities of this class are as strong as the offensive capabilities of the Warrior Class" Estelle reminded everyone.
"When you put it that way it's almost as though the Class Of Defenders exist to contain the destructive abilities of the Class Of Warriors" Buern said as she stared intently at Josec.
"You are right Jason. Josec's abilities as a Defender are quite terrifying. Individually, his abilities are impressive yet he is also able to combine all those abilities to create a fighting style that incorporates them all. His Killer Ghost Frenzy and Labyrinth Of The Defender are especially worthy of note however…" Harry paused.
"The abilities of his shield are generally weak which forces him to waste a lot of energy in attempting to match his shields to his opponent's movements in order to complicate their movements. Josec's Killer Ghost Frenzy already consumes too much of his focus. Combining it with the Labyrinth Of The Defender must definitely be mentally draining. If his shields were strong, he could simply contain a foe's attacks" Estelle noted.
"I see" Jason admitted.
Master Fencer and Josec stood facing each other. Josec took a fighting stance while relaxing his muscles. Master Fencer took in a deep breath and took a fighting stance as well. He also relaxed his muscles so his stance wasn't tense.
"What? Master Fencer intends to train Josec by utilizing a defensive style of combat?" Harry was surprised.
"His usual combat style is mainly offensive and very aggressive so I understand your surprise however every style of combat to some extent contains an element of defense" Buern said with a laugh.
"You can attack whenever you're ready Josec" Master Fencer said as he assumed a serious look.
Josec charged in from the front and attempted to punch Fencer in the face however Fencer sidestepped and evaded at the last moment.
"There are a number of elements to defensive combat, the first is the element of evasion" Master Fencer said as Josec's force propelled him past Fencer.
Fencer stared at him from the corner of his eyes. Josec attempted a high turning kick next but Fencer ducked to evade and when Josec's kick missed, he somersaulted backwards and reassumed his defensive stance.
Josec smiled and began to multiply. He raised up his dome around the entire field and then began to charge at Master Fencer from all sides. Master Fencer widened his stance by extending his right leg behind himself and aligning his body to limit the number of places Josec could hit. He stretched his left hand before himself defensively. He began to parry the attacks of Josec's afterimages.
"Another element of defensive combat is observation and perception. The ability to widen one's field of vision thus narrowing one's blind spots. Especially useful when dealing with multiple opponents" Master Fencer said just as one of Josec's afterimages attempted to strike him from behind.
"A third element of defensive combat…" Master Fencer said as he sidestepped, grabbed the arm of Josec's afterimage and utilizing the force of Josec's charge and his own weight slammed Josec into the ground. "…is the element of counter offence" Master Fencer said.
All of Josec's afterimages expressed pain. Master Fencer leapt away from Josec.
"A fourth element is caution. The most dangerous moment in combat is the moment before victory. Letting down one's guard at the final moment could cost you your life" Master Fencer said and reassumed his stance.
Josec stood up. Josec charged once more with his afterimages. He attacked but with more caution. He even succeeded in blocking some of Master Fencer's attacks with his shield.
"And of course there is the ability to block attacks" Master Fencer said with a smile.
Josec began to incorporate these lessons into his style of combat. He aligned his body in such a way that limited the number of places Fencer could strike. This alignment also extended his range of vision and narrowed his blindspots. He approached Fencer slowly. When only a step separated him from Fencer, he began to attack. Fencer parried his attacks and countered but Josec parried Fencer's attacks and by narrowing his shields managed to strengthen them and completely stop many of Fencer's attacks.
"Then of course, there is the element of foresight honed from knowledge of one's own abilities and one's knowledge of the abilities of one's opponents. Battle a foe long enough and one begins to perceive the attack patterns and habits of one's foe. By taking these into consideration, one's ability to counterattack greatly increases" Master Fencer said.
"Don't tell me that's why you altered your style of combat" Josec said.
"I told you I am feeling slightly magnanimous today" Master Fencer said with a mischievous smirk.
"Errh…how do I put this…Master Fencer's really cruel" Estelle said with a laugh.
"By altering his style of combat, he's completely shut out the potential of being counterattacked in ways that take his attack patterns into consideration and since Josec has been utilizing his usual style of combat…you're right, he is indeed really cruel" Buern said as her eyebrows twitched in mixed feelings of irritation and amusement.
Then suddenly, Master Fencer assumed a very serious look.
"And here comes the final element of defensive combat…" Master Fencer said just as Josec charged up himself with lightning thus further amplifying his speed.
Josec crouched, the force from channeling the power to his feet caused great cracks to appear in the ground and then in a flash he was before Fencer preparing for a strike. Fencer's eyes were shut. Josec had attacked in the instant Fencer blinked.
"His attack is going to hit! There's no way Fencer can dodge that!" Buern exclaimed in excitement.
"You think?" Master Kyem's voice suddenly sounded.
They turned to face him.
"What do you mean?" Estelle asked.
"Look at Fencer's feet" Master Kyem pointed.
They looked and saw great cracks in the ground beneath Fencer's feet.
"While Josec prepared himself for that final charge attack, Fencer anticipated his attack by observing Josec's feet. Usually, when one begins to build up tension in one's feet, it implies a charge attack. In that instant, Fencer did the same" Master Kyem said.
In the next instant, both Josec and Fencer were zooming past the field. Josec was zooming forward, his fist stretched out in an attempt to punch Fencer and Fencer was zooming backwards.
"The final element of defensive combat is the element of neutralization. By matching an opponent's attack at exactly the same speed, one can reduce the destructive force of an attack and completely neutralize the force of a foe's attack" Master Kyem informed the students.
The others watched the battle. The force of Josec's charge was gradually reducing and by matching Josec's speed, Master Fencer maintained a constant distance between himself and Josec's fist. When Josec's charge was almost reduced to nothing, Master Fencer allowed the distance to close and Josec's punch finally made light contact.
"But that is not all…" Master Kyem said.
"PSYCHORAGE IMPROV! ALTERED RUNE KNIGHT VER. THUNDER!" Master Fencer roared as the elements encased him and he assumed a psychorage improv of a lightning nature.
Josec panted tiredly. Buern and the others stared in shock.
"He not only completely shut down Josec's charge by matching his movements and speed but he even shut out the elemental attack by using it to assume a lightning improv!" Buern exclaimed.
"And then he dispersed the residual lightning by matching the wavelength of Josec's lightning" Master Kyem said.
"B-B-But that's exactly how you fight Master Kyem!" Estelle exclaimed in shock.
"One of the reasons that man is so troublesome in a fight is due to his unparalleled adaptability. He has fought with me many times. Even though I am considered the most adaptable Jo-lan Master I have never won a fight against him. At best, the battle ends in a stalemate and it's due to his ability to adapt, learn the battle style of his opponents and incorporate it into his own. I'd probably win if I had as much stamina as he does" Master Kyem said with a laugh.
"Do you finally see it Josec? There are many elements to defensive combat. The reason your shield is currently weak is because you've only been focusing on raising it up. You haven't yet incorporated your lesson on affinity into your shields. By attuning your shield to the affinity of an opponent and matching the wavelength of their elemental attacks, you can completely neutralize their attack. This ability of the Defender is called 'The Defender's Shield Of Elemental Neutralization' and it can also be applied in hand to hand combat" Master Fencer said.
Josec nodded.
"I'll do my best to master this" he swore to himself.