John looked down at the book in his hands, The Imperial Dominion: Vol. 1 - Formation, and frowned. "Wouldn't it be better to start with the first emperor's autobiography?" he asked, turning to Oberon with a confused expression.
Oberon nodded thoughtfully. "I see that you're aware of its existence. Not many people your age would know about it since it's such an old text."
John shrugged. "I just stumbled upon it one day while looking through my library back at the imperial palace."
Oberon folded his hands and explained why they weren't starting with the first emperor's records. "From what I've noticed, there seem to be far too many inconsistencies within the book. And according to my own research, the version available to the public has been highly edited. Beyond the fanatical records of the emperor saying that he had formed a full-body core, close to nothing is the same as the original. As far as I'm aware, only two copies of the original exist - one within the royal academy, and the other stays in a sealed vault within the imperial vault where all the other priceless treasures of the empire are stored. And as for the original…well, no one really knows for sure. People have theories, but no one is stupid enough to test them out."
John furrowed his brow, trying to wrap his head around the idea. "But why would there be so many changes to the versions released to the public?"
"I can't say anything for sure," Oberon said with a shake of his head, "but I'm sure it contains some sensitive information that the imperial family of older generations did not want to be known to the public. Now enough about that, get to reading. You don't have enough time to talk about all this when you have another training session with the Grand Duke in a little while."
John nodded, pushing aside the confusing thoughts for now. "Right, I don't have time to waste on pointless stuff like this," he muttered, flipping open the book and beginning to read.
Hours had passed, and it was time for John's dreaded training session with the Grand Duke. As he arrived, Dante greeted him with an annoyed expression on his face, one that the knights and soldiers training on the field weren't used to seeing. "You're finally here, boy. You're five minutes late. Have you no sense of time? If this is your attitude, forget about being an emperor. You won't even make a decent knight," Dante scolded, causing the other knights and soldiers training on the field to glance in their direction.
John hung his head in shame for not making it on time. He knew that royalty could not make excuses, even if he had been attending classes beforehand. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again," he replied.
"You better make sure it doesn't because I don't like to repeat myself," Dante warned. He then gestured towards the weapon rack with his wooden sword and said, "Now go grab your spear and start running. Don't let go of your weapon for even a moment."
"Sir, yes, sir," John replied as he quickly made his way to the weapon rack.
"Good. Now start running. It's best to have your body warmed up before we start dueling," Dante instructed, noticing that John had grabbed a spear.
"Sir, yes, sir," John replied before he started running, preparing himself for the intense training session.
"Huff, huff, huff," John panted having grown tired from running for the past hour and a half.
"Good, now you can stop running, rest for a minute, and then, we will start sparring," Dante said, satisfied with the amount of time John had run for.
"Understood, sir," John said as he panted and walked towards the grand duke.
"Phew," John breathed out as he sat before the grand duke with his legs crossed, attempting to regain as much energy as possible.
"Swish, swish," a couple of minutes later, having rested, John got up and swung his spear around, indicating that he was ready to fight.
"Done resting?" the duke said, turning his head away from the knights towards John after hearing the movement of his spear.
"Yeah, I'm ready now," John said as he took his stand, spear facing up.
"Good, then come at me. Don't use any of those fancy techniques of yours that you used yesterday, not before I allow you to. You are too weak to handle the aftershock right now," the grand duke said as he too took his pose with one hand behind his back.
"Yes, sir," John said as he started to move toward the grand duke.
"Now, with just the basics, come at me," the grand duke said once the young prince started to move towards him.
John moved towards the grand duke, spear in hand, and launched his first attack with a thrust. Dante blocked the attack with his sword and countered with a swift swing. John barely managed to block the strike in time, and the force of the blow made him take a few steps back.
"Your stance is too weak," Dante said, his expression stern. "You need to maintain a balanced position and make sure your body is aligned with your weapon. Otherwise, your attacks will lack strength and accuracy."
John nodded and took a moment to adjust his posture. He circled around the grand duke, looking for an opening. He launched a quick slash, but again, Dante easily blocked it with his sword. John tried to encircle Dante, hoping to catch him off guard, but the grand duke quickly parried the attack and moved in with a swift counter.
"You need to use your body more efficiently," Dante said as he effortlessly dodged John's attack. "Your movements are too slow and predictable, and you are not using your weight to your advantage."
John took a deep breath and refocused, trying to put Dante's advice into practice. He thrust his spear again, this time with more force and precision. Dante blocked the attack and gave a nod of approval. "Better," he said.
They continued their sparring session, with John using basic moves of thrusting, slashing, and encircling, and Dante pointing out the problems with his technique. Most of the issues stemmed from the imbalance between John's body and skill. While he was quite skilled with his weapon, his body was not strong enough to keep up with him.
Dante pushed John hard, forcing him to keep up with the grand duke's quick and precise movements. The prince's muscles screamed in agony, and his breaths became ragged. However, he refused to give up.
"Come on, boy," Dante said. "Don't be weak. Push yourself harder."
John gritted his teeth and renewed his efforts. He focused on maintaining his balance, using his body to increase the power behind his attacks.
"Stop, I have seen enough, for the time being, I will teach you how to fight with the sword until your body is in the right shape touching the spear is absolutely prohibited… also it would be best for you to learn the spear from someone who knows how to use the weapon effectively and in that regard, it would seem that you already know more about the spear than I do, so I see no point in this training, and it would be good for you to know another weapon…you don't get much of a choice what weapon you have to use in the battlefield." The Grand Duke's voice was firm and authoritative as he ended the training session for the day.
John nodded in understanding. "I see. Well, could you perhaps find me a spear instructor at a later date then?" he asked.
"I will do that once I send you to the front lines," the Grand Duke replied with a slight nod.
"Alright then, well I shall head back to my room if training is over for today. I could use some rest," John said as he respectfully bowed before the Grand Duke and made his way out of the training hall.