"Uh. Yeah?"
I said nervously, I stammered, suddenly feeling uneasy under the gaze of her deep blue eyes. It was as if I was completely exposed to her scrutiny.
Yet, I couldn't tear my eyes away from her captivating beauty.
Her curious face held an undeniable allure and her long black hair transitioned to a bright blue that almost seemed like it was glowing.
As she stepped back to have a better look at me, I took the opportunity to observe her.
Clad in black track pants, trainers, and a matching tank top, she possessed a slim figure that appeared healthier than mine.
And she is taller than me.
I was speechless. If she was this striking at thirteen, she'd undoubtedly put supermodels to shame once she reached adulthood.
However, looking at her arms, I doubt she will be into modeling in this lifetime.
Numerous scars cast a horrifying contrast against her otherwise porcelain skin, now marred by those terrible marks.
On her forearm is the mark of the Deathwalker with one line depicting a year spent in the Shield.
Shivers ran down my spine as I gazed at Iris Karsus.
In just one year this child has accumulated so many scars and the ones on her arms, neck, and shoulders are just the beginning.
I bet there are scars all over her body.
I shuddered. Is this what will happen to me as well?
Iris tilted her head with an amused look. She had noticed me staring at her.
"I know I'm quite the knockout, so feel free to stare for however long you wish."
I quickly averted my eyes and my face flushed, "Sorry about that."
With a smirk, Iris teased, "Ha! That's cute. When I first saw you on the battlefield, I wondered what a beautiful weakling like you was doing in this hell."
Ouch. Her words stung me.
But she wasn't done, "And then I learned that you are Mordred Pendragon, the infamous Failed Prince who was so weak he got beaten up by a teddy bear."
I winced at her words.
Yeah. That really happened. Gawain and Morgan were playing around with a code that gave inanimate objects the ability to move.
Somehow the teddy bear they used it on escaped and ended up in the Dawn Palace where it found Mordred and beat him to a pulp.
The bear's body wasn't even enhanced and still Mordred suffered bruises from the soft furry punches.
During that time, he was weaker than a normal person.
Yeesh. How embarrassing.
"I fully expected you to die on your first day. I was looking forward to it. It's not every day you see a High Prince experiencing a brutal death.", Iris said and she looked rather disappointed.
"But here you are, alive and kicking. You even got stronger.", her disappointed face changed and she now looked rather impressed.
"You are an interesting kid."
I frowned, "We're the same age."
She smirked, "But I am way stronger than you."
"However. I heard your speed of growth is phenomenal among warlocks.", Iris said before turning around to leave.
"Get stronger and survive, Mordred Pendragon. Perhaps we'll fight together one day. I would also love to have a one-on-one battle with you."
With those words, she left the gym, darkness trailing behind her and eventually enveloping her.
I looked back at the spot where she disappeared.
What the heck just happened?
I thought about Iris Karsus as I continued my workout.
She really is an oddball.
*******
Flames danced around Damien as he knocked Felix's arrows out of the air.
As I watched, he bent his knees and lunged forward like a fiery lance at his opponent.
Felix quickly shot another volley of arrows at Damien before teleporting a good distance behind the flaming swordsman.
Without wasting a single second, he fired off five arrows in quick succession.
Three of the arrows suddenly blinked out of existence and rained down from above Damien in the next second.
He now had arrows coming at him from three sides.
I was astonished. All of this happened in a matter of mere seconds.
Felix's mastery over Locus is phenomenal!
And his archery skills are simply terrifying. Maybe it's because he is a superhuman, his skills as an archer greatly surpassed me during my prime.
I shuddered. Felix is not even the best archer in the Shield and he is this good. I wonder what kind of monster would the strongest archer here would be.
They could probably decimate an entire mountain.
My eyes went over to Damien and his sword skills.
I must admit. His mastery of the sword is on par with the strongest knights of my past life but he is still far from my skills during my ever glorious prime.
Yeah. I am that much of a genius. The only ones who could beat me in swordplay were Lancelot and my father.
Heh.
But even so, Damien's skills enthralled me. His swings, slashes, thrusts, and even the way his strand is attached to his sword, all of it fascinated me.
I am a master swordsman but I still thirst to gain more skills and knowledge as a knight.
And so I watched Damien as he sparred with Felix. I watched his footwork, how his arms moved, the shifting of his eyes, and how he distributed his weight.
I observed all of them for about five minutes. A greedy smile appeared on my face.
Damien Fray's skills are truly exceptional. Perhaps his swordsmanship is something passed down in his family.
From my knowledge, the Frays are a powerful noble family under the Sterling Axial Family in the western part of the Kingdom.
Something must have happened to them if Damien Fray, the next head of the family is here in the Shield fighting daemons.
There is a huge library in Necropolis. I should go there and increase my knowledge when I am not training or fighting daemons.
My attention was back on Damien and my eyes glinted with greed.
I want to know the sword art of the Frays.
Suddenly a crippling pain stabbed me right in the head. A painful and familiar feeling of a deluge of information being injected into my brain caused me to cry out.
A constant ringing in my ears drowned out the concerned voices of Felix and Damien as they rushed toward me.
The pain was so intense that I think I blacked out for a minute.
And then just like how it came, the pain disappeared, leaving me gasping for air and clutching my head.
"Mordred! Are you okay? What happened?", Felix placed a hand on my shoulder and gave me a concerned look.
Damien was behind him and he also looked worried.
"You alright, Mordred? You look awful. What happened?"
I didn't speak a word until I steadied my breathing. Felix and Damien waited for me to calm down.
When my breathing steadied enough to not make me look like an asthma patient I spoke to Felix and Damien.
"I don't know.", I gasped, trying to make sense of what the heck just happened.
"I was observing Damien during your spar when a headache just slammed into me."
"Observing?", Damien asked, shifting uncomfortably.
I rolled my eyes, "I was observing your skills."
"Ah.", Damien grinned sheepishly, "For a moment I thought we were fascinating with my utter beauty."
He immediately shrank under the disgusted gazes from me and Felix.
"Anyway.", I continued. "There was this awful headache that lasted for a minute and some kind of information entered my mind."
Felix raised an eyebrow, curious, "Information? What kind of information?"
"Hold up.", I said and closed my eyes, trying to find the information that had just painfully entered my mind.
My brain felt like scrambled noodles but I was able to find it.
I froze when I found the information in my head.
"No way.", I whispered, absolutely shocked by what I just learned. I just couldn't believe it!
Felix gripped my shoulders, snapping me out of my shock.
"What is it Mordred?"
I looked at him and then to Damien. My eyes lingered on the young Fray.
"I don't know how to say this.", I started, "The information I got..."
Please don't kill me, Damien.
"Damien's sword arts."
There was a silence as my words sank into the two Deathwalkers.
"My...sword arts?", Damien blurted out, shock and confusion evident on his face.
I nodded slowly, "The position of the feet, how to hold the blade, the amount of ardor to coat the blade... All of that information is now in my head."
"Just how is that possible?", Damien was super confused right now. He turned to Felix for answers, "What do you think?"
"Hm.", the cyan-haired Deathwalker was deep in thought.
After pondering for a moment, he gave me a curious look, "Mordred. Spar with Damien."
Damien smacked him on the head, "Really Felix? Now? Aren't we supposed to figure out what just happened?"
"Just trust me, alright?", Felix grumbled, rubbing his head.
He turned to me, "I'll go grab a practice sword for you. Wait a moment."
"Practice sword?", I asked, perplexed.
He nodded, "Yeah. You'll be facing Damien with a sword."
He quickly walked out of the sparring court to get a practice sword for me. I and Damien looked at each other, very much confused about the situation.
"This is getting weird.", he commented.
I nodded. Yeah. No shit.
After a minute of waiting, Felix came back, now holding a practice sword that looked similar to the type Damien was using.
He handed me the sword. It is a bit heavy for me but feels good. Looks like my constant training is bearing some good fruit.
"Why are we doing this?", I asked Felix, giving him a skeptical look.
There is something he is not telling me and it has something to do with my headache.
"Exactly. What are you up to?", Damien asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
Felix sighed and urged, "Just spar, you two. It will be easier to show you."
He smiled at me, "If my hunch is correct. This will greatly benefit you, Mordred."