May 1st, Tuesday Morning
Ryder had woken up early this morning, with time to kill he went over what he learned yesterday as well before going through more of [Parabellum].
This page interested him very much, up until now he had felt odd using weapons and getting into certain stances for those weapons.
However when he began to mimic the stance of this martial art he felt nothing at all. Like that odd feeling had completely vanished being left with small moments of comfort as he went through the movements.
'What is this… it almost feels… natural… like I'm supposed to be using this stance to fight instead of the others!'
He acted like he had the weapon as he swung it around connecting the movements together before accidentally getting to close to the wall making a diagonal slash across the wall!
"Ah! No no no no what did I do! Don't tell me I'm going to have to pay for this!?"
He was freaking out a little bit as he heard a knock at his door, this only got him panicking a little more!
However he went over to the door anyways just to see if it was his master ready to training again today.
"H-hello?"
"Open the door boy, why are you keeping me waiting?"
Ryder sighed realizing it's his master he opened the door his head down unable to look at his master. He felt embarrassed about his mistake and thought he would definitely be in trouble.
However Sirius just examined Ryder then looked around saw the cut across the wall but only let out a light chuckle before turning his back and walking towards the training field.
"Come on boy, no time to worry about other things! It's time to train!"
Ryder lifted his head sighing with relief as he ran out closing his door before following his master.
'I'll tell Celestia later about it… I mean she did fix my door, I wonder if she can fix my wall as well? She's always so helpful…'
Upon walking out to the training field many fighters looked at Ryder with envy. After yesterdays training and the rumors going around that he's in a relationship with Lady Kaylee how could they not be envious?
They had been training their whole lives to get to where they are but by sheer luck the boy became the student of Sirius Star and Kaylee Star's lover which guaranteed him a spot in Apex Academy and possibly even the royal family!
So most guards or knights didn't like him, though they wouldn't dare voice their opinion especially in front of Sirius or Kaylee.
However today felt different to Ryder, with all the stares he was getting it made him feel a little uncomfortable. Though one person in particular felt like he was being analyzed the moment he walked outside.
He quickly looked over towards the group of warriors before standing in the middle of the sparring ring was a man wearing an Apex Academy Royal uniform. This man had the same hair as Kaylee and was holding a wooden sword in his hand staring at Ryder.
"U-umm… master who is he?"
Though he knew that the Dynasty had many heirs he didn't know each one by name or face. He's only heard some names but this man was foreign to him.
"Don't worry about him, his name is Evan Star. He's Kaylee's older breather and one of my grandsons"
"Papaw what are you doing here so early? I thought you would be busy with your other duties today?"
Evan walked out of the sparring ring to greet his grandfather with a smile on his face. However each time he looked over to Ryder the smile would vanish.
"Of course I'm here to train my disciple. I'm happy to see you are keeping up with your training but please don't cause trouble for others"
He knew his grandson could be a bit of a trouble maker sometimes though one thing was always true about Evan. He cared about his family members more then anything, he may be a little forceful but it's all for his family.
"Oh? You took a student while you were gone? I didn't know, how about I help? You can't have too many sparring partners right?"
'Ah, so that's why your here. Wanting to test Ryder, I guess I can only blame that girls actions for now'
At the moment he heard Evan's reasoning for wanting to help Ryder he knew exactly what his plan was. He could only sigh knowing exactly what's about to happen.
"Sure, Ryder go with Evan to the sparring ring pick a weapon that you feel most comfortable with and show them what you have learned so far"
"Yes sir!"
Ryder didn't know what his master was thinking however the star family had been nothing but nice to him the entire time he's been here so far. So he decided to follow Evan however he had a concern.
"Prince Evan… do you have any other weapons I could use? All of these are metal while you are using a wooden sword…"
"Do you really think I'm so incompetent that I can't handle a boy with a weapon who has only trained for one day? Pick out whatever you want and let's get started"
When Ryder looked at the rack of weapons he was shocked to see so many kinds, it felt like he was looking at [Parabellum]'s table of context with how many different types stood before him.
However a couple weapons caught his eye, he quickly grabbed 2 items from the rack. One of them had been a shortsword though it looked more like a normal sword for his current size.
The second thing was a pair of gauntlets and boots, they seemed to be more for protecting the hands and feet then a weapon.
Though this set of items had adjusted to his size which caught Ryder off guard, when he realized his mistake he put the shortsword back and grabbed an actual sword before standing across from Evan.
"I'm ready when you are"
"Good, then let's get started"
Evan got into a familiar stance Ryder had been practicing since yesterday. As he examined his opponent he began to adjust his form before completely coping his opponent.
'Oh? Looks like you aren't talentless at least, just one day and you've already gotten to the level of understanding where you can copy your opponents movements huh…"
He quickly lunged forward bringing the edge of his wooden sword down over Ryder's head as he boy countered with his own attack clashing blades before Ryder was forced backwards from the power behind the blow!
He readjusted his stance before lunging towards Evan this time, he quickly swung the blade from his side only to get parried and forced to take another step back.
'He's to fast! I can barely see his movements coming… should I try it?'
He was contemplating using the stance he was practicing this morning before he used the sword as a shield to continuously block the attacks at the last second.
He was forced on the defensive, the more he was cornered the more his heart began to beat wildly. He should be feeling frustration from this situation however the look on his face betrayed him!
The boy was smiling, with each block he was feeling more exhilarated as if he was enjoying himself with each blow that came.
Finally Evan pulled back giving the boy a break as he goes back to examining his opponent.
'Odd… why does it feel like I'm looking at a beast instead of a little boy?'
This thought crossed his mind as the boy began to change things up. Those watching the spar was surprised especially Sirius when he saw Ryder sheath the sword and throw it to the side.
"What are you doing? You do know this fight isn't over right?"
Evan was curious as to what the boy was planning, he tried to think up a reason but nothing felt like it fit till he saw the boys next action.
"I know Prince Evan… I'm sorry but I want to test something I saw earlier… forgive me for testing it on you your majesty"
He looked again at the gauntlets around his hands and wrists. These gauntlets had been much more then just a hand protector.
When he looked at the tips of the fingers they had been sharpened like claws the same was on his greaves as he got on all fours looking at Evan with the same smile.
"I'm going to start again"
"Go ahead, show me what you got!"
Using his whole body Ryder began to run at Evan first clawing at him with his right hand forcing Evan to block before a kick was sent to his stomach making him take a step back.
Evan was shocked beyond belief! He hadn't seen many use a style so animalistic so he wasn't expecting this boy to pull out a special stance from [Parabellum].
This time Evan was on the defensive, Ryder had never stopped his barrage. After the kick landed on his stomach Ryder back flipped off Evan before lunging for his legs aiming to break his stance!
Evan quickly jumped up as he swung down at Ryder.
Though the boy had shown more then he expected Ryder too he still didn't have enough strength or experience to fight off Evan effectively.
However when his sword came down he heard a splintering sound, when he looked down to Ryder he saw the tip of his wooden sword had been broken off with the piece of it now being in Ryder's mouth after chomping down on it with all his might!
'What the hell? Are you really human boy?'
Evan was about to land before Ryder lunged into the air right about to claw him however in the last second he closed his hand punching against what's left of his wooden sword instead of Evans body.
'That was close… I almost harmed the Prince…'
However now the prince had landed near Ryder, his eyes had looked more angered then before. He walked up to Ryder grabbing him by the collar of his clothes.
"You brat! Do you really think I'm that weak!? Since my Papaw hasn't given you this lesson I will! Never show mercy to an opponent! In a true fight to the death your opponent won't show you mercy, they won't hold back! Do you understand me!"
"Y-yes sir!"
Ryder stuttered not expecting the Prince to get mad at him just for not truly trying to hit him.
"Now now boys, let's calm down for now. Evan you got what you wanted, so go back and don't disturb our training again"
"…Yes grandfather"
He could sense that Sirius didn't want him there at the moment however he took one last look at Ryder.
"I will acknowledge you for now! However I'll be watching you! If I feel like you are no longer worthy of being by my sisters side I will do what I must to make sure Kaylee is safe! Remember that!"
Evan turned around before heading back inside the castle leaving the others to train.
"Boy, when did you learn to use the Spirit Beast Imitation stance? I'm sure we only went over the basics of the sword yesterday…"
"I… I read about it this morning… I tested it out a little and accidentally… hit the wall earlier"
He felt another wave of embarrassment and guilt however those feeling got blown away the moment he heard Sirius start laughing.
"Boy, don't worry about the wall too much. However just by reading up on it and trying it your already pretty proficient with it… then I won't stop you from training this stance on your own time!"
'The boy was able to hold his own against Evan even though he wasn't even close to serious. That is an achievement for someone who just started training… if this set of movements works for him then there is no harm in practicing it'
"I will just say now though we will not stop practicing with the sword! The sword is the symbol of everyone of my disciples, meaning you'll have to double down on your training if you wish to master both forms!"
"Yes sir!"
"Good now let's get started! Pick up your sword and start swinging!"