(General POV)
(Next day)
The two children stood across from each other, hands on their weapons as their bodies were settled in a position of drawing their swords. Ais found it annoying that she could not make any eye contact with him. After all, the eyes told a lot about an opponent and gave indication of what they were aiming for.
She chased him up the very next morning on his promise to spar with her. Going so far as to wait outside in his door in her pyjamas for him to wake up and pop the question as the first thing he would hear.
There was not really any reason to deny her, so he agreed after they both had something to eat. Breakfast was as uneventful as it could get with Loki wreaking havoc from the effects of a severe hangover.
It turned out that she'd drunk more than her fair share after returning home the night before and it was fun to watch Riveria give her an ear-bashing. It didn't help that Loki had tried to play it off while subtly trying to grope the elf princess.
Now the goddess was doing paperwork in her office, sporting a large bump on her head as Riveria stood behind her with a vein throbbing in her forehead, her fingers rhythmically tapping on her Magna Alfs.
He knew Ais was just as obsessed with improving as he was but he had underestimated how much. He doubted that even he was this persistent. Still he'd made her wait another hour for the food to settle in their stomachs before he joined her in the courtyard.
They'd considered going to the training ground but it was filled with other members of their Familia. Mainly Raul and the other newbies receiving training from some no-names that Lyze couldn't be bothered asking or talking with and so they both decided to fight on the lush grass in front of the manor.
Lyze picked up on somebody watching them from one of the windows, and after briefly identifying that the window was of Finn's office through 'Thread', he settled on it being the captain interested in the outcome of this bout.
"Ready when you are Ais." He called out to her.
She nodded and then suddenly draw up a little more tense. As per his predictions she draw her sword in a flash and came speeding towards him and made a downwards slash at him in a diagonal way, from his left to his right.
Lyse drew his sword equally as fast, stepped to his left a little and held his sword backwards at an angle. Ais's sword scraped across the flat of his blade and she found that she'd put too much power into her strike as she'd expected him to block.
Instead he had used a clever deflection to deflect her sword to the ground using her own momentum against her, and she found the weight of her advance pulling her to her knees. Before she could get up, the blunt edge of Libur was suddenly pushed against her throat.
She looked up, her mouth opened a little in shock as she caught sight of an empty expression on his blindfolded face.
"Point." he said quietly and withdrew the weapon, sliding it into his scabbard. Although it was a Shikomizue, he'd sown his belt up in a way where it created a loop tight enough to hold the cane. So he could treat the holster like a scabbard and draw out the blade just like any other sword.
"I didn't expect you to fall for that Ais." He said with no intent to hurt in his voice. The surprise was genuine. "Is it possible that you don't have much experience fighting people?"
She shook her head, still a little awed.
"No, I have not. The captain has been training me a little but I'm not yet very battle aware when I'm fighting other people."
Lyze nodded in understanding. Adventurers did expect to battle monsters after all which did not fight back like other people. The Xenos were an exception, even if he didn't know if they had yet formed at this point in time.
What he did know from his knowledge was that Ais had actually been a supporter most of her time in Orario up until now, and only after her recent level up a short while ago was she actually considered an adventurer and she'd begun fighting like one.
Of course, acting as a supporter and fighting monsters all the time did not really offer much opportunity to spar against others but he really had not expected such an amateurish move from her.
Perhaps the 'Sword Princess' was not so perfect from the beginning after all. He held a hand down to her.
"Well if it's any consolation, I fell for the same trick multiple times in my training, so there's nothing to be ashamed of."
Ais appreciatively took his hand and stood up while nodding as she took that piece of information in. For some reason, she did not feel the need to be embarrassed for falling for such a thing .
"Could we start again please? And this time we fight for real."
"Of course." he replied and walked backwards to create some distance between them.
This time he drew his sword and held it out while putting one foot a little further back than the other. He was now standing in Ais's previous position as she held her sword aloft. Once again she rushed forward and slashed from the side.
He tucked one arm behind his back and and blocked with one arm. They traded blows again and again with Ais dancing from one foot to another while he stayed in one place. He was using some simple fencing against her and discovered that she was better than he'd expected despite her blunder earlier.
But he still found himself a little disappointed.
'The fencing in this world really is poor...primitive one would say. It is not as advanced as it was back in my world, and I was a national champion. Perhaps I'm being too harsh in judging such an underdeveloped world, but she is still lacking.'
To his surprise however, Ais began to adapt and started work her way around some of his parries, creating holes in his defences where she could thrust the point of her blade through. There was not yet anything major for him to worry about, and there were little more than a couple of close calls as he expertly drove her back again. It was still a pleasant shock though.
'Or perhaps she isn't. She is the daughter of Albert Waldenstein after all. Surely some of that talent passed down. Although if I remember correctly...' He ducked under one of her swings and spun out of his position for the first time to take a swing at her back.
Just like it was in canon, her back was actually exposed, partially covered by her short hair. Or short compared to how he knew her older self to look. She turned around in time and locked their blades together.
'She should be able to remember some of her father's moves, and imitate them in some way if memory serves e correctly. I'm interested in a small insight into that man's technique.'
For a moment they appeared to be looked in a stalemate as sparks flew from their crossed blades. Lyze suddenly pushed back against her with superior strength and she flew backwards slightly. She levelled her weapon at him before noticing that the edge of her blade looked to be rough, as if shaved.
She then caught a very thin piece of paper thin metal sliding off Libur's edge and hitting the ground. She marvelled at his beautiful sword's sharp edge as it glistened in the sunlight.
"That is a very good sword you have Lyze. It somehow damaged mine very finely." She said.
He smiled and nodded before flourishing the weapon a little proudly.
"Thank you. And indeed, it is a special blade. I've killed many monsters with this, even before I came to Orario?"
"You were a monster hunter?" She questioned, her brows slightly raised. He shrugged his shoulders.
"Something like that, I guess you could say."
"So does it have a name?"
"A name?"
"Yes. Every good sword has a name, at least that was what Gareth told me."
"And what's the name of your sword then?" He asked her.
"It's called Ale."
His brow furrowed in understanding. It made sense that she did not have Desperate at this point. She was only a level two and he doubted that the executives were willing to invest in a weapon with the Durandal property just yet.
"Well if you must know, mine is called Libur."
Ais's own brow furrowed in confusion.
"That's a strange name. Why is it called that?"
Lyze held the edge to eye level as he looked at her over it. Not that she could see him looking at her of course, given he was blindfolded and all.
"Because I use it to liberate the heads of my enemies from their shoulders." He replied. Right after he said that though, his stomach twisted in cringe.
'God I hope nobody ever finds out I said that back home. That was so bad.' He thought desperately in his mind.
Ais seemed impressed though and she cocked her head to the side.
"Could you tell me something though Lyze?"
"What?"
"How did you improve so fast?"
"Hmm?"
"You only joined us the day before yesterday, but you levelled up yesterday after being in the dungeon only once. How did you improve so fast?" She asked.
He sighed internally as he recognized this as the same question she'd asked Bell in canon. He should've figured that she would ask this as his achievement was even greater than that wimp's record.
"I'm not sure Ais really. It just sort of...happened."
Her face fell at that but she pressed on.
"But you must know something! Surely you have some idea of the reason behind such an incredible growth, right?"
He shook his head and scratched the back of his hair.
"I honestly don't know Ais. I've pondered a lot on the subject but even I don't have a clue." A total lie on his part on his part as he did have a clue but he still didn't know if his theory was correct.
Ais lowered her raised hand and sighed in disappointment.
"Perhaps it was just the circumstances?" he followed up as she perked to attention again.
"What do you mean?"
He shrugged his shoulders.
"Well being face to face with Goliath with no way of escape kind of forced me into a position where I had to fight him. Maybe the strain of the situation as well as the damage I took and the methods I used to survive was what made me grow so fast. I can honestly guess at this point."
This was a genuine theory on is part. He needed more power to kill the thing and so her forced himself to achieve it. His gut was still leaning towards his original theory though.
"I see." She said as she thought on his words. "I'll keep that in mind. But it still doesn't explain how you were able to fight minotaurs though!"
"No?"
"Of course not. Those are high level two monsters ,and not even I could fight them easily even after I became level two."
"Well what monster did you fight to become level two."
"I fought a black wyvern." She said as her eyes suddenly hardened.
"I fought a wyvern as well."
"You did?"
"Yep. Shoved my sword into its neck and then fried his brain with lightning magic. Not before I cut off his wing though. Couldn't have him flying circles around me now could I?"
She just stared at him in amazement.
"You really are something else Lyze." She said before looking downcast. He noticed immediately.
"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked gently.
She shook her head a little and sighed.
"It's just...it took me a year to become a level two. You took only a day yet it is clear from this spar you're physically stronger than I am. And you're faster even though I'm attacking as fast as I can." She looked at him, her eyelids drooping a little in disappointment. "Makes me feel like my efforts were pointless."
"Hey now." He chided. "The fact you were able to level up in that amount of time is a clear sign you have great potential Ais."
"But you levelled up quicker than me."
He scoffed and shook his head. "Levels aren't everything Ais."
She looked at him confusedly, conveying the 'Why?' question through her expression.
"As great as levelling up is," he continue, "it's even more important that you build up as much stats before hand as possible as these things are what actually count toward your overall strength.
I bet you any amount of Valis that an adventurer with maxed stats at level one could beat a fresh level two. I guarantee it as they carry more potency than power.
Why do you think I was upset when Loki levelled me up without my consent?. I was hoping that I could push all my stats to S rank if they did not max out at most. But now that she's done that, I will be weaker than I could have been had I managed to accumulate as much quality stats as possible and it will have an effect on my overall power level."
Ais nodded as understanding dawned on her face.
"I think I understand."
"Of course I have my own perks as well." He mumbled to himself as he looked at his hand. A spot of Darkness swirled in his palm. "Temporary or permanent boosts in power depending on my wishes. But at the cost of some of my will. And somehow I doubt a counterfeit demon form actually matches the real thing."
"Are you okay over there?" Ais asked him. He snapped back to her.
"Yes I'm fine. Now get ready. Let's end this." he said before suddenly rushing forwards without warning.
Ais barely had any time to react as Libur smashed down on her blade that she'd brought up right in time. Her arms buckled before they gave way and she was forced to jump back.
He tried to sweep for her feet but she jumped up and attempted to kick him in the face while she was mid-air. But even with a blind-fold, he predicted that move and grabbed her foot swinging her around. She flipped in the air to land on her feet only to find Lyze on her once again.
They traded even harsher blows this time as clangs rang out through the courtyard, drawing the attention of some of the manor's residents as they observed from their windows. Some gazed in wonderous aspiration as they beheld their Familia's two prodigies that were already making quite a name for themselves throughout the place.
Ais eventually found that even with two arms, she couldn't fend off his one handed attacks properly and soon they became sore. Eventually he over powered her and sent her battered weapon sailing of her hand and lodged it in a bush.
"And point to me again." He said. She conceded once again. "That'll be enough for today. It seems the captain wants a word with us."
Indeed, Finn was seen walking towards them with an impressed smile on his face as held out a piece of paper in his hands for them.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Read 10+ chapters ahead on my Patreon:
Patreon/ Vulkizaro_Zoromi
For commissions:
https://ko-fi.com/vulkizarozoromi