When Kireshu took his unique stance, I noticed its similarities with the dagger's stance. He was holding Sai like a knife but with his thumbs on its guard while bending his right leg forward.
[He is right-handed, should I use my dominant hand or...]
"Let's begin." When he said that I came out of my thoughts.
Taking my wooden long sword out, I held it in my right hand normally.
With a nod, I swung my sword from below and the tip of the sword emitted a small bright light which quickly shot out and dimmed.
This is one of the 'Speed swords' techniques 'The Phantom Throw'. The technique is executed using light reflection and the speed of the swing which shows the opponent a fake sword thrown at them.
He tried to parry my incoming phantom sword but only felt the air which made his eyes widen in surprise.
Taking the moment of surprise to my advantage I slashed my sword at him from the right but to my surprise he blocked it with his right sai by reverse gripping it.
"!!!"
[humm... Interesting]
He quickly attacked me from the left sai, aiming for my neck but I took a step back at the right moment and saw the sai pass in front of me horizontally.
Not giving me the time and momentum, he started attacking me with ferocity and in wild forms unknown to me.
Due to his weapon being small in size, I tried to create distance but he kept reducing our distance.
[Initial stage of advanced rank... Nothing serious but he has good potential.]
While blocking and dodging his relentless attacks I reached the end of the training mat, Just as he was about to slash diagonally from right, I redirected his attack by similarly reverse-gripping my sword and using my 'Sword Dance techniques' with good footwork I spun around while elbowed his back.
Just as he was about to fall out of the line I quickly grabbed his collar and saved him from falling.
"Don't let your emotions drive your momentum next time." I said as he scowled while turning back.
[Sigh~ he is emotionally imbalanced, he must have lost someone very dear.]
Coming out of my thoughts I made some distance between us when I saw him preparing for his next move.
Reverse gripping both sai's he crossed his arms and chanted something in a low voice which made one side of the prong glow with a magic circle.
I narrowed my eyes as I saw a glimpse of the magic circle which had two layers of circles with some runic marks.
[He is a 2nd class mage!!!]
I quickly became alert and took 'short stance', holding the sword in both hands below my abdomen while the blade pointed towards him.
[He must have used enhancement magic on the weapon.]
He leaped on me even though I was three meters away from him near the center of the mat.
He slashed vertically with newfound strength which I blocked with my sword but he used it to his advantage and slashed from the left sai at my neck with impressive speed.
I crouched down to dodge but he tried to stomp on me to which I quickly rolled back and stood up.
[He is becoming unrestrained.]
"Okay, Kireshu no more playing around. Now I will get serious." I said while switching my sword to my left hand.
As the enhancement in the weapon made it sharper and stronger but it still could not penetrate the protective layer of the training mat. But still, the spar had become deadly because if I didn't suppress him, his state of mind might suffer.
I quickly closed in with a left swing at his neck which he deflected but I quickly swung my sword toward his chest from below which he blocked with his left sai.
I increased my speed of swings which he found quite hard to deflect so he started dogging and evading my swings.
[He is not at the advanced level in this weapon but has raw talent and wild emotions that push him forward.]
As I gained momentum I started to push him with my relentless strikes and with a last swing I stopped as my sword's wooden blade rested on his neck declaring my win.
"You lost." As I said that I put my sword inside the inventory as he took deep breaths, head hung low.
The deep breaths he took were not to regain his stamina but to calm his mind.
[From his expression he does know his state of mind.]
"You see after sparring with you I realized that you don't have that much experience in this weapon and your rank is a little low too which means it is not long since you started practicing the sai, am I correct?"
To my words, he hesitated but still admitted.
"Yes, you are correct about me."
"Then let me give you another offer, Will you become a student of a grandmaster?" His eyes widened in surprise, not expecting a sudden offer.
"It's not me but someone else, he is very skilled in daggers and stealth, so you might find a way to refine your techniques and skills." I said which made him contemplate for a moment.
"And in return?" He asked.
[I knew it. He will not trust me this easily.]
"To be honest I don't have anything particular in mind but for now you can think of this as an investment in you." I said after which I became silent to give him time to think.
[He will probably try to deny it because the disadvantages outweigh the advantages but...]
His previous outburst of emotions during the spar concludes that he is furious and burning from the inside. And the broken expression shows his loss of someone dear. Overall the conclusion I reached was revenge.
"I am sorry but..."
"And before you make any decision I think you should know my full name. My name is Finn Divy Veer the 2nd prince of Divine Sword Kingdom." I cut him before he could speak any further and revealed my identity which made him shocked.
[To take his revenge he needs not just individual power but some connections too.]
I concluded because one of the 'Strongsteel' clansmen is in this state and they are still silent.
[I could think of some reasons for their actions but it might be an International matter.]
"My apologies Your Highness for not knowing your identity."
"It's alright just give me your answer."
[Now he will think hard and most likely agree because he can gain more benefits by forming a connection with a prince.]
No one knows what happens in life next so 'Never cut what you can unite' that the reasoning behind my offer to him.
"Your Highness please don't take offense but I would like to meet the grandmaster first and then decide if possible?"
[Bingo. He took the bait.]
"Okay, come to my dorm tomorrow morning before the first lesson starts." I said with a kind smile and left towards the exit of the training room.
[He has good talent and decent experience, he is one of the unpolished gems in my collection.]
As I thought that a smile came to my face.
[I need to escalate the preparation for the future.]
*****
After exiting the training arena I reached the office of the training sector of the academy and bought one slot of mental training room.
When I entered the room I saw five different colored magic orbs were placed on a small table and a brown mat was present near the table.
I spread the mat and took the yellow orb in hand while sitting in the lotus position. Joining both hands in the power mudra above which the yellow orb was present, I started meditating.
The five orbs are one of the few ancient antique items replicated by Runic Grandmasters for training young generations.
Different colors indicate different mental tests like the yellow orb which is used for training 'Memory'.
As I focused on meditating and tried to link my mind to it, I reached a yellow space where many square-shaped cards were flying around. Soon six cards appeared in front of me which had different symbols on them in pairs.
In this space to pass the test we need to observe and memorize the card's position in three seconds after which the cards were automatically turned around. And we need to choose the correct pair one after another.
The more we complete the test the more challenging it will become next time.
This time I failed the test on 80 cards after which I automatically came out of the yellow space.
Placing the yellow orb back in its place, I took a deep breath as I checked my condition, sweat covered my face and palms.
Taking another deep breath I took the red orb in hand this time around.
[Okay this is 'Attention Orb' This time I need to break my previous record.]
This time inside the red space there were many holes from which many balls appeared at high speed and we were required to strike them with a stick to gain points.
After four hundred-six balls I came out as I failed, sighing to myself I placed the red orb back in its place.
[I am still under four hundred ten.]
This time I picked the blue orb which was for 'Reasoning'.
The test was simple math where I needed to sum from the given numbers to get the stated answer. I calculated almost a hundred sums after which I failed.
After the 'Reasoning test', I picked the green orb which was for the 'Coordination test'.
This time I was tasked to take a six-centimeter radius ring from one end of the rope to another without letting the ring touch the rope, but the difficulty was that the rope was not straight and was bent at different angles.
I failed this after reaching the two-kilometer mark.
After that, I took the last orb, the purple one. This was for the 'Visuospatial test' or visualization.
In the space I had to stop the horizontally moving blocks at the right time to create a tall tower which I failed at the nine hundred meters mark.
The overall result of my mental training was in above average range in my opinion.
**********