"It's been long since I visited this place." Ethan said and looked up at the academy's gate; Bladewright Academy before walking inside. "I've got to prove them wrong, at least my unfinished training with Shawn should help me defeat Rowan." Ethan said to himself and entered the Tower of Blades. "He is here again. I bet Rowan is going to finish him off with just a special move." A boy whispered to the friend by him. "No, I bet Rowan is going to say he is not worthy to see his special move." The friend also whispered back.
Ethan walked up to the blademaster who stood in the blade arena, the space where duels were held and asked for a duel with Rowan immediately. Quickly, the blademaster, Silas turned to the crowd and spotted Rowan sitting with a fierce look in his eyes. "Don't worry I'll accept the duel but don't disappoint me with those nameless attacks you've been using all the time." Rowan walked to the blade arena after taking a wooden sword.
"Hey look! look! Ethan is going up against Rowan again." Other students stopped their training to watch the duel between Ethan and Rowan.
"Are you all ready?" Silas asked. "Yes." Ethan and Rowan replied in unison. "Then, points to twenty, START" Silas shouted with two fingers held up. Ethan took his stance; the void's edge. Whiles Rowan also stood idle as if there was nothing going on. "Here I come." Rowan said and charged right at Ethan at high speed. Immediately, Rowan got to Ethan, he stretched his left leg backwards and sent his whole body slightly downwards holding his wooden sword at waist level, "Tiger's swipe." Rowan said as he slashed his wooden sword at Ethan horizontally from low to high.
But Ethan saw through the attack and parried it with his wooden sword with a downward slash before continuing to jump back to prepare for his own attack. "It seems someone is getting better at swordsmanship." Rowan said and dashed towards Ethan with his sword raised above his head. "You're full of openings." Ethan said and also dashed towards Rowan. "You think so?" Rowan said and instantly held the wooden sword at his back. "Spider's web." Rowan said and thrust forward his wooden sword at Ethan's chest. Quickly, Ethan blocked the attack with the flat side of his wooden sword and jumped back again. "Are you only going to dodge?" Rowan asked and dashed towards Ethan again from his right side and attacked with a downward vertical slash which Ethan parried but in an instance Rowan was on his left side again. "How?" Ethan questioned after Rowan landed a downward slash right in his skull earning him some points. "Being able to attack from any angle quickly, as long as my speed can reach." Rowan said with an ear-to-ear grin on his face. "Clean hit and vital point. Five points to Rowan." Silas said whiles pointing at Rowan.
With Silas two fingers up again the second round began. "This is where the real fight begins." Rowan said and dashed towards Ethan again. Ethan took his stance, his eyes still closed as Rowan approached. "Tiger's swipe." Rowan said and attacked but this time Ethan simply parried the attack without moving from the spot. "What?" Rowan said in shock of what Ethan just did.
"Yeah, this is where the real battle begins." Ethan said with a straight face and slashed Rowan down from head to chest since Rowan was left in daze from how Ethan parried his previous attack. "Huh? how could he land such a simple attack and win the battle within seconds." One of the spectating students shouted. "Clean hit. Five points to Ethan." Silas said with a thumbs-up to Ethan.
Silas raised a fist to signal the spectators to be silent before he shouted "START" to start the next round. Ethan stood still just like before awaiting Rowan to attack but Rowan also stood still refusing to attack. "If so then I'll attack first." Ethan said and dashed towards Rowan horizontal slash which Rowan easily blocked and attempted a downward slash aimed at Ethan's head but failed as Ethan parried the attack and swept Rowan's feet of the ground with a sweep kick.
"Don't ever think of catching me off guard with such a petty attack." Rowan said and used his wooden sword to maintain his balance and stood back up on his feet. "I think I'll have to use it." Rowan said and leaped back from Ethan. Immediately, he dashed back at Ethan but in an unexpected way, running from left to right. Although he was running towards Ethan couldn't hear his footsteps. "What is this?" Ethan asked himself and tried hitting his ears but all to no avail. Ethan could really see Rowan but he couldn't understand the reason why he couldn't hear the footsteps of Rowan which left him in a daze till Rowan reached him. Instantly, Rowan lowered his wooden sword as if about to land a upward slash but instantly vanished.
In the next moment, Ethan felt a strike right from his to his waist. "Ghost step. All what you were seeing were just afterimages. "First attack, clean hit and advanced skill. Ten points to Rowan." Silas said with a thumbs-up to Rowan. "That was a rare technique to be seen in such minor fight." One of the students muttered to a colleague sitting beside him."Now that I've used this technique for you to see, you should know that there is no way you're going to win." Rowan said and went back to his initial position.
"START" Silas said with two of his fingers raised. "Ghost step. Spider's web." Rowan said and dashed towards Ethan but this time it was straight dash at Ethan. But Ethan still couldn't hear his footsteps. Ethan turned to see if Rowan would come from his back again but that was when it struck him, there were six Rowans dashing towards him but at a slow pace. "What is this? What is this?" Ethan continued asking himself till all of the six Rowans reached him and struck him in his head, back, legs and neck making him fall to the ground as if he was crippled. "First attack, advanced techniques, consecutive clean hits. Ten points to Rowan. Winner is Rowan." Silas said and pointed his hands at Rowan again.
"How did you do that? Ethan asked Rowan whiles he still lay on the ground. Rowan bent down beside Ethan and sighed. "Well, you've lost to it so I'll just explain it to you. To a weaker person than I'm, all you would see is clones of me running towards you at a slow pace but to someone stronger than I'm, what they'll see is me moving from one place to the other at high speed without leaving any clones. Though it isn't fully developed it was enough to defeat you." Rowan said and stood up, walked off the blade arena.
Immediately a hooded figure appear next to Ethan in the blade arena. The hooded figure's presence alone sent shivers down the spine of the students who were around and it was as if the gravity in the atmosphere had increased as they were having difficulty in moving from their spots. "Hey, who are you?" Silas asked and immediately drew fiery sword out of nowhere dashing at the hooded figure but the person just picked up Ethan and disappeared.
"I'm very sorry for barging into your academy in such a way but I just need to take this boy away." The hooded figure appeared in the grandmaster's office and said. "It's ok. I know you don't have any ill intentions." Gabrielle Peterson, the strongest grandmaster amongst all four of the grandmaster's in Bladewright Academy said and instantly the hooded figure disappeared again. Grandmasters were the ultimate leaders of each section of the Bladewright Academy which were; The Tower of the Blade, Library of Combat Arts, The Forge of Blades and the Hall of Honed Steel of which Gabrielle was the grandmaster of the Tower of Blades.
"You never seem to disappoint. Having such a kid with you. You must train him well." Gabrielle said to himself with a smile. Immediately, Silas barged into the grandmaster's office. "Grandmaster!, a hooded figure just came for Ethan. How will we get him back?" Silas asked. "Don't worry, you can leave." Gabrielle said. It seemed as if Silas wanted to speak but he knew that as long as their grandmaster said he shouldn't worry there was really nothing to be worried about. "Ok, sir." Silas said and then left the grandmaster's office.
*A day later*
"Have you finally decided to go through the Draconic Reforge?" The dragon asked. "Yes, I've decided, I want to become the strongest that no one would be above me when they're ranking people of pure power." Ethan said standing infront of the lightning dragon in his Ethereal Nexus. "Then let us begin." The lightning dragon said.