Slash, thrust, twist—
Yesterday's training was mostly for this exact purpose, Corren observed Cael as he masterfully imitated the Sun's dance. Even if it was not perfect, the safety net he set up earlier would cover for him.
"…" Corren's eyes analyzed every movement he made, his eyes twitching slightly from time to time when he noticed something wrong.
Elyra stood next to him, her brows tangled in a frown. She couldn't tell the difference.
To her, Cael's movements still looked graceful, the way he balanced the training sword and how it reflected the sun, the effortless rhythm of his footwork, it looked the same as the last time she saw him practicing.
But Corren saw the stiffness in his swings, the hesitation in his steps and his recoil from the pain. The Hero's crumbling precision told him all he needed to know.
It didn't take long until she understood what the problem was, the Hero moved slower, with less precision, his breath got heavier, his shoulders slumped and the iron sword looked heavier in his hands.
He continued his dance, sweat accumulating under his mask.
Every swing promised him pain. His torn muscles held on for dear life, his shattered ribs creaked under the mounting pressure, his hot breath further clouding his limited vision.
'This is even harder with this damned armor.'
Arlen's armor stuck to his skin, further imperfections bore their teeth as the chest plate dug into his abdomen.
And sooner than even Cael thought, he let go of the sword and dropped to one knee his breathing erratic, his hands trembling and pain contorted his face.
"It is as you said…" Corren fell into deep thought.
"You were doing good at the start, I guess you get tired a lot faster now." Elyra assessed.
"No. It was not good even at the start." Corren coldly corrected her.
He clenched his jaw, Arlen would just accept his master's criticism.
'Ouch– Even if it's the truth I tried my best…'
"Yes. This is severely lacking especially after I got my hands on Vigil." Arlen got multiple times stronger after he started using Vigil and practicing with his full might.
"I also understand why you would seek Wraith's style. It relied on speed and fluid motions instead of strength and explosive strikes."
Cael's eyes narrowed and his eyes glowed.
'My adventurer title? Why does this guy know so much about me?'
He hasn't heard that title for over a year, and being called by it again did not thrill him.
Wraith, like Blight, was a title agreed upon by the senior adventurers for Cael.
Aven got hers for her use of poison, and he for his incredible stealth and fearsome presence.
If there was no evidence at the scene, no trails left to follow. It would most likely be Cael's doing, everyone knew but no one could prove it.
"It is also a style you grew familiar with by both watching and sparring with him so adopting it would be easier." All of Corren's conclusions would have been right if Arlen was the one who truly survived.
"You are correct."
"In normal circumstances I would never allow one of my students to practice anything other than the Sun's style. If a knight was injured I would let him heal then slowly rehabilitate him and if that was not possible it would be an honourable discharge."
'What kind of person is your teacher, Arlen?'
"These are not normal circumstances and you are not a normal knight."
A smile appeared on Cael's face.
"An exception has to be made. I will help you."
'Gotcha…'
Mirroring Cael's delight, Elyra's face looked sullen which became a sight that Cael got used to.
"We should start the training as soon as possible but before that we should repair your armor." Corren's eyes scanned the beaten armor.
"Indeed. Should we pay him a visit?" Cael looked towards the sister.
"Ah, yes I'll be with you." Elyra didn't expect him to talk to her.
"I'll be waiting here." Corren bowed his head seeing them off.
***
A week passed and a routine formed.
Different from the first two days of his impersonation, the rest of Cael time was uneventful.
He would spend the entire day training under Corren's supervision.
Although he was a professional killer and it was his own style that he was trying to learn he had to appear like an amateur in front of him to not rouse suspicion.
He showed a fraction of his speed, acting like he wasn't intimately experienced in exploiting weaknesses and fighting in "a dishonorable way" in Corren's words.
The days started before dawn, each ending with his body refusing to move.
Corren was a brutal teacher, which made Cael reminisce about his own master. The harsh training wasn't without its benefits, he found out that his stamina was improving even if it was minimal it was his biggest issue.
Elyra kept up her silence and when she did speak it was to remind him to drink water, to eat or in concern for him. She would follow him around like a personal maid even when she was ignored and rejected, but as the days passed the Hero ignored her less and his rejections had gotten softer.
At night Cael would practice in Arlen's room with his full might, trying to come up with a new style that combined his and the knights'. He observed as the knights trained dissecting the fundamentals underlying their style, none were as good as Arlen which he expected but that made it much harder to truly understand the Sun dance.
The training grounds were quiet, only a steady rhythm of air being cut disturbed the morning peace.
Cael exhaled through the mask. His strikes flowed smoother, with less hesitation as he adapted to the pain.
His swings wouldn't stop. His diagonal slash would lead to a horizontal one by rotating on his right leg; he avoided putting pressure on his left leg and ribs.
That same rotation continued for one more move ending in a stab instead of a thrust to use the superior strength of his left arm.
"I almost forgot how talented of a student you were." Corren nodded in satisfaction at Cael's display.
"I'm still far from my original strength." Cael sighed, stopping his sword.
This new style of his sacrificed the impenetrable defense of the sun dance to achieve as much damage as possible, it did leave a bunch of openings but that would not matter if the opponent was dead.
"You have been improving, not only your stamina but your speed has increased."
'Even after the curse my speed would still rival Arlen's.' Cael was considerably faster than the Hero.
"Even at your lowest you would have been able to defeat most of the current knights…" He shook his head, disappointment in his tone. "And now you might be able to beat me again with some of the tricks you picked up." A smile appeared on the old giant's face. "Would you want to test that?"
"I would be honored to spar with you again." Cael reciprocated the smile.
***
They stood opposite each other in the arena, neither wore armor confident in the other's ability to not draw blood, at least that's what Corren thought.
While Cael does recognise him as a capable man saying that he trusted him or respected him would be a lie, the only reason he doesn't wear armor is simply because he did not want to; it was more of a hindrance than protection for him.
Both warriors took their stance, to Elyra's eyes they looked the same but the Hero's differed ever so slightly.
Corren was an unmoving wall, his legs as if planted and growing roots in the ground, the sword next to his face was stuck to the air as straight as an arrow. It was flawless.
Cael on the other hand was ready to move in an instant. His legs were poised in a way that allowed him to escape at a moment's notice, to retreat or strike. Even the way he held the sword was different, it was lowered into a more defensive stance.
Cael drew a deep breath—
Only clouds of dirt were left where they stood.
They launched forward. Corren's foot left an imprint in the sand, Cael's did not.
Quickly closing the distance between them, they readied for impact.
The giant's sword came down to crush the Hero, but instead of blocking it he simply did not stop his advance, letting the falling sword miss him by a hair's breath.
It was time for retaliation, he deviated the sword's trajectory towards his kidney—
Klang
But was blocked by the sword's handle.
'It won't be that easy.'
Cael jumped back taking a different stance. His defense completely crumbled, he relaxed his posture and lowered his guard, the tip of his sword touched the ground, his grip on the handle was loose. With his right hand, he unbuckled the sword's sheath and held it in front of him.
'It's not as durable as Vigil's but it would do.'
Corren's eyes narrowed, but before he could punish his student for his terrible stance, he vanished.
The masked figure blurred and in a blink he was covered in the giant's shadow. Caught off guard, Corren stepped back and blocked the barrage of strikes coming his way, but Cael didn't make it easy for him.
He was relentless, always moving, leaving afterimages behind him as if he was in different places at the same time, striking from every angle mixing the attacks between the sword and its sheath. Some were faints, some were lethal and some even Corren couldn't read the intentions behind them.
'He's doing all of this without magic!?'
The knight had to block the incoming attacks, not letting a single one through. He was taken aback at first but the strength behind the swings was not enough to push him back.
"Enough."
He deflected Cael with a single downward slash, sending him a few steps back and halting his advance. Flowing it with a wide upwards strike, Corren aimed for it to be the final blow; catching Cael's right side with nowhere to escape.
It connected, yet it didn't have the impact he expected.
The Hero jumped with the swing, blocking it with the scabbard and letting the force throw him up in the air.
'It reduced the impact but now you are wide open!'
Cael let go of the scabbard as he flew in the air, he was an easy target now that he couldn't dodge.
The tip of Corren's sword was raised to the sun, reminding Cael of Arlen's own.
They weren't using magic in this duel so he missed out on the brilliant display, but it would still be a fearsome strike.
"You have nowhere to g—"
Three knives flew through the air, interrupting him.
"How dirty!"
His sight left the Hero for a second to deflect the incoming blades but when he looked up again he wasn't there.
The ends of his white hair rose as he felt intense killing intent from behind him.
He turned to strike its source—
But no one was there.
"That was a good match teacher."
Cael's sword hovered a few hairs away from Corren's neck.
"You got me. That was impressive." He smiled as he admitted defeat.
Sheathing his sword Cael gave him a small bow.
"You're bleeding!" Elyra who was standing at the side ran towards him.
The bandages around the Hero's left hand were dyed crimson.
"You didn't have to go that far…" She frowned, Cael's wounds opened regularly so she got used to the sight.
'What a worrywart.'
"I don't have much to teach you yet again." Corren let out a proud sigh. "I can't help but feel that my help was not needed at all."
"I'm thankful nonetheless. I'll keep coming here to train my stamina."