Emrys staggered backwards as the old man flung a wooden sword at him.
Luckily he had caught the sword before it could fall on the ground.
One of the things Emrys noticed was that it was pretty heavy.
"Master Blackwood, why am I using a wooden sword when you get to pick an iron sword?" Emrys asked out of curiosity and Blackwood laughed at the young boy's words.
He went on to explain as he swung his own metal sword.
"You can't underestimate an object before using it… In your knight test, you would be allowed to use only wooden swords. So get used to it now."
However, Emrys rolled his eyes, still unable to understand the point that Blackwood was going to prove.
Without warning, Master Blackwood started attacking Emrys with his sword while moving closer to him.
Since he had basic knowledge of swords, he could easily use them to keep up with Master Blackwood and block his attacks.
He also noticed that he was the one on the losing side.
His wooden sword hadn't broken yet but he could feel the pain in his hands.
As he paused to take a breath, he felt his body stumble to the ground violently, his sword slipping away from his hands.
"Never give your opponent a chance to strike… Take some rest, we will continue later." Blackwood said with a dissatisfied sigh, he withdrew his sword and placed it back in his sword belt before lending Emrys a hand.
He accepted his master's hand and brought himself to his feet, panting hardly.
"Thank you for helping me get back on my feet." Emrys said in almost a whisper.
He watched as the old man turned to leave, his eyes narrowing in curiosity. "Wait, if you're as skilled as I think you are… then why am I the only one here?" He gestured to the empty space around them. "You should have a crowd of students clamoring for your attention."
Master Blackwood's eyes flickered with amusement, his eyebrows twitching upward as he turned to face Emrys.
"I've tried to pass on my skills to others before, but none have been able to grasp them at your age… As a level 10 martial artist, I have broken through the yellow stage but I have not been able to break through the last stage for the past twenty-five years. So you see… passing down my skills requires only someone at my level. For now…I can only try my best to help you, Emrys."
After saying that, Master Blackwood headed back to his office and Emrys was left alone in the huge room.
His gaze fell back on his hands and he noticed the purple bruise that appeared on his palms.
It was a strange bruise and Emrys guessed it was from the force of the attack.
He couldn't help but curse himself for being weak.
Emrys picked the sword back up and began practicing on his own.
He had never really been a sword person but if he wanted to win the test then he needed to practice as much as he could.
In the middle of the room stood a wooden human figure.
"Yaaaaaaa" Emrys shouted as he ran towards the wooden figure with his sword.
Before he could get to it, he saw the wooden figure's eyes flash with a red bright light.
Emrys stopped midway, his face pale in shock.
The wooden figure began to move towards him.
It was about seven feet tall and Emrys had to stare up at it.
"You are a living thing?" He said in a hushed tone, still trying to process what he was seeing.
The wooden image moved towards, a creaking sound filling the air as it approached Emrys.
'Should I tell my master about this?' Emrys asked loudly in his mind, trying his best not to panic.
His grip on his wooden sword tightened and he thought against fighting the wooden image.
He decided that he was going to fight the wooden creature to prove his strength to master Blackwood.
"Arrrgh" Emrys screamed once more before lunging for the wooden human.
He swung his sword at him and it went hitting the chest of his opponent but his wooden sword cracked.
Emrys could hardly believe his eyes, he refused to back down easily and went in for another strike, this time aiming for its head.
The sound of wood cracking filled the air and Emrys' face fell when he saw his sword crumble to pieces before his eyes.
He clenched his fist with anger and began attacking the wooden human with his fist.
All while he was attacking the wooden human, he noticed that it hadn't landed any major attack on Emrys.
Could it be that it was waiting for Emrys to get tired?
Emrys took a step backward, his first covered in blood.
The wooden human then began to move towards him.
A wooden sword bigger than the one Emrys had been using before appeared in the wooden human hand.
It moved towards Emrys slowly, swinging its sword in its hand.
Emrys finger dug into his ground, his eyes bulging out of its sockets as he swiftly crawled backward.
He searched around for a weapon but he found none.
His gaze fell on Blackwood's weapon room but then it was locked.
At this point, he realized that he was on his own.
It was either he defeated the wooden human or the wooden human defeated him.
He charged at the wooden human, fists flying. The wooden human also swung its sword, and Emrys dodged, countering with a kick.
But the wooden human caught his leg and twisted, sending Emrys crashing to the ground.
Emrys rolled away as quickly as he could, avoiding the sword's deadly arc. He leapt up, punching wildly, but the wooden human blocked every blow.
He stumbled back, gasping for breath. The wooden human advanced, its sword flashing in the dim light.
Emrys raised his hands, ready to defend himself, but he was no match for the wooden human.
Just when the sword came crashing down at him, he rolled to the side but unfortunately, his movement became restricted.
When Emrys turned his head backward, he saw the sword had gone through his shirt and it was pinned to the ground.
Without wasting any time to think, Emrys tore the remaining of his shirt and sprang up to his feet.
"C'mon, I'll defeat you today." Emrys angrily said to the wooden human.
It had no intention to stop attacking and Emrys had no intention to die on his first day of his training either.
With a sharp cry, Emrys delivered a strong kick to the wooden human's stomach.
It stopped as Emrys' leg came in contact with it.
For a moment, Emrys thought he had been seeing wrongly but then he saw the wooden human's eyes change from red to a brighter red.
Its movement began even faster than it was before and he could feel a strange energy radiating from the wooden human.
Emrys threw himself at the wooden human, but it was too strong. It tossed him aside like a rag doll.
He hit the floor hard, the wind knocked out of him. The wooden human stood over him, its sword raised.
The wooden human was stronger than he was. Now Emrys' body felt extremely weak, he couldn't move, couldn't defend himself.
He saw the wooden human's sword flash down, he closed his eyes, waiting for the end.
But the sword stopped just short of his face. The wooden human's eyes glowed red, and it spoke in a robotic voice.
[Level ten fully activated]
[Target in sight ]
Just as the robotic voice stopped, a red light shot from the wooden opponent's hand.
Emrys stood still in shock, watching as the red light moved towards him at a lightning speed.