"That was one hard blow. What kind of technique did you use there?"
The three of them finally went into the labyrinth of the final course, and Sherkhan still could not stop thinking about their encounter with the flying lizard, where Mattheia dealt the blow bringing the monster to the ground.
"Nothing special, just using moves I was taught" Kabanos family heir kept his sword sheathed, but at the same time was remaining vigilant "My teacher didn't ever say anything about special techniques, he was just showing them to me, telling when to use and claiming I shouldn't think about techniques and just be able to act automatically."
Gerhan was listening attentively, and reacted by nodding to the words of his friend.
"It seems your teacher made a bet on muscle memory, and - based on how you move - that person must be a real deal. Would you mind telling me their name? My family gathers information about all possible swordsmanship styles and masters, so anyone who has outstanding skills is of our interest."
"In other words, you want to gain information about the person who trained me? Do you think it's something I should be doing without consulting my swordsmanship master? Wouldn't that be improper?"
Sher did not reply immediately, thinking.
"Well, you do have a point about the style. However, telling the name of the school or the master is a common thing. I also swear to you I won't share anything you say with anyone until you confirm with your master."
Mattheia sighed as it seemed his newest friend was quite stubborn.
"Okay, the person who taught me about sword fighting, his name is Galhardt."
Gerhan looked as if he was wanting to say something, but lost his words. In the meantime, they were up against another group of monsters, so they did not continue their talk for another moment. Once they finished the fight, Sher looked at Mattheia.
"You didn't lie, right? Galhardt is really your master's name?"
"Why would I even lie? Gal was one of my main teachers since the young age, alongside Nine and Junie. Why are you reacting like this?"
Gerhan scratched his head.
"It may be just a coincidence, but there is a famous wandering swordsman going by the same name, Galhardt. I heard he is really skilled, though quite eccentric who dislikes attention, therefore not many were able to get in contact with him. He is quite a legend among those in the know."
"To be honest, I don't really know about Galhardt's past" Kabanos said as he continued walking through the course "My parents didn't tell me much about my teachers, and everything I learned about their personal lives came out only recently. As in case of Nine, I had no idea she was that famous."
Sherhan laughed for a moment, but quickly calmed down, knowing that making noise was unwise.
"You can say both famous and infamous, because there are different stories going around about her. Either way, I know what you are getting at, and - from the sound of it - your parents gathered some strong people to take care of you, not paying much attention to the rumors. If you had Aukkleia of the Nine Magics as your teacher, I wouldn't be surprised to learn Galhardt the Bolt was one of your masters."
Mattheia was not so sure, though he obviously could not rule out the possibility.
"What's so special about that Galhardt you know?"
Sher did not have to think long before replying:
"The main trait was his speed. He excells at techniques focused on quick movement rather than relying on strength. Obviously, it's not like he doesn't have any such techniques, but speed and agility mean the most in his style. And, just to be clear here, it is based on the information I heard since no one I know actually met the guy in person. As I said, the guy is considered quite an eccentric person, who doesn't like being in the centre of attention."
"It sounds more like a speculation than a reliable piece of info" Kashia pointed out before she yawned "You basically listen to rumors and note them down?"
Gerhan shook his head, with face showing he felt slightly offended by her words.
"Among those aiming for mastery, keeping your strongest techniques hidden is quite common, therefore even rumors become useful. After all, we do say that there is always a shred of truth in a rumor."
"I suggest we cut on the chitchat for now" Mattheia told the other two, stopping suddenly.
"Is something the matter?" Sherkhan readied his sword "Did you hear something?"
Kabanos shook his head.
"Quite contrary, all the noises I could hear until now can no longer be heard."
Gerhan was wielding his sword all the time during their conversation and changed his pose after hearing worrying words from his friend.
"You have good ears, I wouldn't notice otherwise. What do you think, some kind of an ambush?"
"It's worrying that we didn't spot other students so far" Kashia pointed out "I can try to pick nearby auras with my magic to see if there is anyone here."
Both boys looked her way, shocked - "And you are telling us about that only now?" is what both of them said at the same time.
Angel girl shrugged.
"It didn't seem useful until now. You know it only allows me to find bugs, and other creatures? And the distance is not far, several dozen meters with my ability."
Mattheia sighed.
"It's still quite useful given circumstances we are in. I know you are tired, but with that skill you can help us clearing this event faster."
Kashia nodded, and closed her eyes, most likely for the better focus.
Several second passed when Sher asked, obviously too impatient to wait longer.
"So, anything there?"
Angel girl shook her head, while also raising her hand to tell him to stay quiet.
A little longer, and she opened her eyes before saying:
"I've noticed some living things appearing to be bugs around here, but that spot over there" Kashia signaled with her eyes for others to look at one of the plant walls "It is strangely an area where there is absolutely nothing, which is really weird."
Mattheia and Sherkhan looked at each other.
"What do you think? A barrier of some kind?" it was the latter to ask that.
"Yup, feels like it" Kabanos nodded "Question is how we tackle that."
"Can you break it with magic?"
"Obviously, but I'm wondering if it's the best idea. How about we play that game?"
"You mean, getting into the ambush?" Kashia looked at him, surprised "Shouldn't we try using this to our advantage?"
"I didn't say that. I only said we can play that game too. Since someone is relying on magic, we can also play some tricks. Creating an illusion would be a perfect choice."
Gerhan shrugged.
"I'm not really a mage here, so it's up to you what to do, I'll just tag along with whatever you decide."
Angel girl sighed.
"I don't know what you are planning, Mattheia, but just let's get this over it. I don't like this place."
Kabanos showed them to get closer and quietly explained his plan. Immediately after the short talk, Sherkhan had a smirk on his face, while Kashia looked quite bored - their reactions were precisely reflecting what were their respective roles in the show Mattheia wanted to put up.
"Ok, we are starting" the boy started his illusion magic, casting it on Sherkhan, and - at the same time - gave a signal to Kashia to create a barrier.
The plan was quite simple - illusion magic was making Gerhan appear as a humongous, humanoid beast wielding a huge sword, while Mattheia and Kashia were hidden withing a barrier with illusion making them appear as a tree.
Obviously, Sher was excited about playing the main role and having the possibility to act as a different being using the strength of Mattheia's illusion, but the same could not be said for Kashia, who feeled bored by being forced to stay quiet, and being there with Kabanos was not really changing anything for her, even though they were supposed to join the fun when the time comes.
It could seem that they may be underestimating other students by putting only Gerhan up front, but it was definitely not the case - quite contrary, Mattheia did that precisely to assess the strength of anyone who was remaining. In fact, Sherkhan was in the vanguard as a bait, fully aware of this being the case. Also, initially it was Kabanos who volunteered to perform that task, and the only reason why this did not come to happen was Sher's urge to check his skills against other students, even if it was only in disguise.
In a form of a furry beast, towering over the area, Gerhan started walking towards the suspicious spot they noticed before. At first, his presence did not cause anything to happen - only after he intentionally walked into the area and caused a breach to the barrier, things finally started to get interesting, especially for Sherkhan, who started making the advantage of his illusory form.
Out of the barrier covered with illusion, there was a dozen of other students who were hiding for some reason, and the presence of what they saw as a beast, made them react to defend their position.
While his friend was having lots of fun fighting, Mattheia was observing the situation and learning about the skills of other students who remained in the race for finishing the event. Surprisingly, he was unable to find any exceptional individuals in that group, which was a bit worrying since one needed considerable skill to put such a good barrier combined with illusion, and yet no such person could be noticed.
"So, is it time for us to join?" Kashia asked, calmly standing next to him "Can't we just take care of them and finish this finally?"
Kabanos shook his head.
"I would love to, but somehow I have a feeling it's been too easy so far. I cannot shake this feeling that something may happen if we end up rushing."
"Doesn't it just mean that those stronger ones, who went in before us, already reached the finish line?"
Mattheia sighed.
"It would be good if that was the case. Then again, why would they leave such a good barrier hidden with an illusion? If they really did, it would require lots of energy to sustain it. Besides, why would so many people stay behind instead of aiming for completing the event?"
Angel girl shrugged.
"I don't know, maybe some bonus points to get from those, who are observing? Or maybe they didn't really find the way leading to finish?"
A sudden roar echoed within the walls of the maze, and the floor started shaking - not temporarily as the tremors continued. Following the noise, students with whom Sherkhan - in a form of a giant - was currently fighting, started retreating past the route from which Kabanos' group emerged.
Seeing there was no more students around, Mattheia dispelled the illusion cast on Sher, and all three of them stayed within secondary illusion, where he and Kashia were hiding all this time, awaiting as the shaking was getting stronger.
"That's a creature approaching" angel girl said before any of them could see its silhouette.
Moments after, a shadow was cast on the surroundings by a humongous body covered in heavy scales. A huge head was turning left and right, reptile eyes monitoring the area.
"Whoa, it's an earth dragon!" Gerhan was visibly excited "I've never seen one with my own eyes, only learned from the books and my father, who met these out of the city."
Kabanos made a hand gesture to calm his friend.
"First of all, keep it down" he told him "Seeing as you react, I get that you stayed most of your life within the city walls, and seeing anything new is a huge thing, but we are here for the test, so let us focus."
Sherkhan nodded with a short "story", and Mattheia continued speaking:
"From what I know, these are quite sturdy with this scaled armor covering the body, and getting sturdier with the size. This one is huge as biggest frigate ships, and has strong muscles from the looks of it. I wonder how did they manage to transport it here."
Kashia looked at him, her eyes wide open in surprise.
"Are you seriously focusing on such a thing right now? Probably some kind of magic, but shouldn't we think of a way to get through?"
"Can't we just head-on face it?" Gerhan suggested immediately.
Angel girl looked at him as if he was crazy, but Kabanos reacted with complete calmness:
"I was considering that" he said to other two "However, as we don't know what kind of dragon it is exactly, it would be unwise to just go through with a brute force. I feel the others were hiding within illusion for a reason, and I think I have a better way of handling this matter."
With that, he started explaining his plan to other two.