Chapter 105 - 106
The other disciples gave a short round of applause, the defeated boy retrieving his sword and then bowing to Calum in respect. "You’ve got a very good understanding of the first three sets of skills. You deserve the win." He returned the practice sword to his instructor, who tossed it to the second boy to volunteer.
"Get in there, Handel."
"Er, Instructor. My stomach is a bit upset, so I think I’ll pass." With that, Handel shamelessly passed the practice sword along to the third volunteer.
The next boy rolled his shoulders and removed the top part of his robe, revealing a lean, sweat-covered body as he faced Calum in the hot sun. While the two readied themselves for the next engagement, Alistar mused over the fact that the previous fight had played out similarly to the spars that he and his friends often entertained. For all of the study, practice and self-discipline that went into learning the ways of the sword, actual fights tended to end in a matter of moments.
Calum had a more difficult time defeating the next boy, though he emerged victorious in the end. The results were the same for the rest of the challengers, which changed Alistar’s opinion of his cousin by a slight degree. It was widely known that House Silverkin valued strength above all else, and that most of its members were quite capable when it came to combat. Evidently the rumours were true, for even a fool like Daniel’s youngest son could seamlessly defeat multiple opponents of similar achievements in a consecutive fashion.
"Not bad, boy," grumbled Mr. Ashel as the final spar ended with similar results to the previous ones. "Not bad at all! Where is it that you two study at?"
Calum puffed out his chest. "We study under the best—"
"We’re students at the arcannia in Valay," said Edmun, silencing his brother with a forceful interjection. "We study swordsmanship with an instructor there."
"Is that so? I didn’t think they had any sword instructors there."