*CLANG* The sound of two swords clashing resonated in the air. The force from the clash caused a shockwave that blew away loose dirt, leaves, and other small objects. Ringing noises could be heard in all directions, prompting people to turn their heads towards the sound.
Joren and Grace were sparring while Glenn watched their movements to see if there was something they needed to improve on. It had been two years since he started training Joren and he picked up the sword relatively quickly. He was able to contend with Grace who has 6 years of experience under her belt but that was mostly due to his abundance of mana and his better mana control.
If there was one thing that Joren excelled at, it was his mana control. Feats that shouldn't have been possible at his current stage were now possible for him because of his great mana control. His large amount of mana just added to that.
Grace on the other hand, although she also has good mana control, her strength lies in how quickly she's able to pick up on combat or adapt to a certain fighting style. Her battle intelligence is very high.
"Don't tell me that's all you got Joren? Come on! Show me what you're made of!" Grace pushed Joren back, slashing the air, and sent an arced aura beam his way. She then immediately dashed behind Joren and came at him with a low-angle horizontal slash.
Joren used an aura shield to block the aura beam followed by planting his sword into the ground blocking her strike. Using his sword as a force to lift himself slightly in the air, he kicked Grace's side sending her stumbling backward while forming two mana arrows and firing them at her.
Not letting Grace get her footing back, he removed his sword from the ground and performed a thrusting strike sending a straight beam of aura her way.
The first arrow hit Grace in the left shoulder but since she had aura protecting her, she only felt slight pain. She easily deflected the second arrow and instantly followed up with a sword thrust of her own which pierced through Joren's attack.
Stomping the ground which resulted in it cracking, Grace reverse-gripped her sword, put a lot of power in her right arm, and threw her blade at Joren. She then pulled out two daggers from her side and ran towards him.
Seeing as his aura thrust was blocked, Joren repositioned himself assessing the situation. But before he could formulate any type of plan, he saw a sword coming his way at frightening speeds.
He blocked the sword but the force coupled with his unpreparedness caused him to lose his grip which sent his sword hurdling back. His hands stung with pain as the skin between his thumb and index finger ripped.
As Grace reached his position, she slashed at his throat which he deflected using his palm enhanced by aura. Grace then stabbed at his lung with her left hand but this time, Joren grabbed the dagger. Not letting up, she kneed at his stomach which he again blocked but this time, she slashed at his face forcing Joren to step back but not before getting a cut on his cheek.
"You're getting better little brother. In a few years, you might be able to beat me." Grace started spinning her blades and grinned menacingly
"Thanks, sis, but I think I can win against you today. I'm feeling confident" Joren retorted getting back into his fighting stance.
"It's good to be confident, but confidence doesn't equate to skill, and trust me, brother, you do not have the skill to beat me just yet." Grace then vanished from his eyes appearing behind him. But when he went to attack, she was no longer there.
She kicked his back causing Joren to stumble and when he got back up, she planted her knee right in his nose breaking it.
"Arrghh!" He cried in pain clutching his face with one hand.
'She's freaking crazy. She was just talking about how she can't bare the thought of her 'sweet little bother' getting hurt, but now she's breaking my nose, like what the fuck.' Joren shook his head and returned back to reality
"You don't have the luxury to think about other things Joren! Focus!" Glenn shouted
Joren immediately summoned ten mana arrows around him. During the past two years, his control over his mana became so good that he was able to form ten mana arrows casually and his focus became sharper allowing him to control the arrows better.
Instead of shooting at Grace, he positioned the arrows in front of him making them act like a barrier. This act forced Grace to stop her pursuit and find a different approach.
As she stepped back, Joren launched all ten arrows at her but instead of shooting them head-on, he made them circle around her and fired them off in random intervals.
Distracted by the arrows, Joren seized this opportunity dashing towards Grace, punching her in the side. Joren didn't let up his assault and went for another strike.
As Grace stumbled back, an arrow flew toward her but was cut down easily. Suddenly she saw a leg in her peripheral vision and dodged by leaning back. She used this time to stab Joren's leg but another arrow approached, forcing her to block it.
Joren then took this opportunity to punch Grace in the gut causing her to cough harshly and be sent flying.
As she crashed on the ground, dust and dirt lifted into the air forming a small cloud that shielded Grace from his line of fight. But since he didn't see her leave the dust cloud, he launched his remaining arrows at her.
As the arrows were approaching Grace, a bright blue light shone from the dust cloud and all the arrows instantly shattered. In the next instant, a sword was at Joren's throat while the person holding it had a smug smile on her face.
"Holy shit, that scared me! Are you tryna take my head off?!" Grace appeared in front of Joren before he could even react. She was far faster than before and he didn't even get the chance to counterattack.
"I told you, confidence doesn't mean skill," Grace spoke.
"Yeah, yeah whatever. Now look at this! How come you always say you can't bear to see me get hurt but here you are breaking my nose!"
Grace's smirking expression vanished, replaced by one of worry and regret. She hated seeing her brother get hurt. Even when they spar, she usually limits herself because the thought of hurting Joren makes her heart ache. But today, she got into the heat of battle, forgetting that she was fighting against Joren, and ended up breaking his nose.
"I'm sorry Joren! Are you okay? Does it hurt? Please forgive me. I'll do anything!" She hugged him as tears started to flow from her eyes. Joren didn't like seeing Grace like this so he stopped teasing her
"It's okay sis, I was just teasing. But yeah it does hurt, a lot in fact."
Glenn walked over with a healing potion and handed it to Joren. When he drank it, his injuries fully healed and his nose was put back together.
"Healing potions are amazing," Grace said.
"That was a good spar you two. Joren, you're improving at a good pace. Do you know the reason why you lost?" Glenn asked
"I can think of two reasons. The first one was losing my sword. The second one was when I fired all my arrows at Grace." If he kept his arrows around him like a shield, Grace would have had to keep finding different ways to approach him allowing Joren to take the offensive.
"That's correct. You assumed Grace was down for the count so you wanted to assure your victory. But you never know what cards your opponent has so you should always play it safe or you could end up dead." Glenn was strict on their training. He had them use real swords when sparring so they could know the feeling when they came across someone who would want to cause them harm.
"Grace, I know you were holding back but that doesn't mean you have the luxury to not take things seriously. Look at the times you were hit, the times when Joren almost beat you in the spar. Even when you guys first sparred, you lost because you underestimated him. Never underestimate your opponent especially if they are close to you in strength."
"Yes, Uncle Glenn. I'm sorry." Her head hung low. She was embarrassed that she of all people would underestimate her opponent.
"Don't be sorry, be better," Glenn said in a firm voice.
Turning to Joren, Glenn then asked him a question.
"Joren isn't it time you form your first circle? I know you've been putting it off but I think now is the right time to do it."
"Yeah, I think so too." Joren had an abundance of mana, so much that someone would question how his body didn't explode already. You see, he had enough mana to form his first circle when he was ten. But instead of doing that, he wanted to better understand and get control of his mana before he formed a circle because once he did, he would be introduced to a whole new world of power.
In fact, the reason why Grace underestimated him and was able to speed-blitz him was because she had already formed her first circle a year ago. A very impressive feat for a 14-year-old at the time.
"Let's get started then." Joren put up his sword and sat down getting into the lotus position.