Mythshaper

The soothing wind curled around my thin, sleeveless vest as I swung the duelling cane in practice arcs, shifting my balance from front to back foot. My arms ached from the repeated motions. I had been moving through them for close to an hour.

I did not complain. Not about my aching arms, not about the exhaustion, and certainly not about the stupid sword form. The two people sitting on the porch, my parents, were probably waiting for me to whine, to give in to a complaint, but I would not give them the satisfaction of being right. After all, I had asked for this. I’d follow through, even if I had to lie down all day afterwards.

The practice was obnoxiously boring. Well, what had I hoped for? I was repeating the same motions over and over without rest. It wasn’t some secret sword art, just basic sword motions. One swing from my upper right downwards, followed by a returning arc.

Needless to say, the electrifying feeling I had experienced during my spar with Priam last evening was nowhere to be found. Since the night had passed, the sensation had faded, making me question whether it had simply been a rush of thrill.

[A new Way is accessible: Swordsmanship I (1/100)]

I faltered mid-swing and finally rested my aching arms, gasping for breath. Turning to my parents, I found Father watching me with an unreadable expression, while Mum’s gaze was a mixture of motherly worry and something else I couldn’t quite place. Pride, perhaps?

“Did you get it?” she asked.

I nodded with a bit of disappointment. “It is a three-layered Way.”

I had been hoping it would be like Meditation or Essence Sense—divided into ten layers, which would grant me more rewards, making all this exercise worth every minute.

“Swordsmanship can be as awfully simple as it is complex,” Father said, standing up, the twin of my duelling cane in his hand. It looked like a toy in his grip, out of place compared to the greatsword he usually carried.

“There’s a reason it’s one of the most common weapons,” he continued, stepping in front of me. “Ease of use, lightweight in the hands, and, of course, the dual functionality of offence and defence. There’s no novelty to it, no matter what everyone says. Its superiority lies in its simplicity and versatility.”