A Glimpse into the Future

Sana fell to the ground again for what felt like the hundredth time. She quickly rolled to the side to avoid the spear stabbing into the ground where she had been laying. Scrambling up she just so managed to parry another stab and jumped back to make space between her and her mother. Not optimal since she currently wielded a sword about half as tall as herself and her mother had a far larger reach with her spear, but she needed time to think up a new strategy.

The two women slowly circled each other. Sana looked at the serious expression on her mothers face and felt conflicted. On one hand she enjoyed the feeling of being pushed to her limits, on the other hand she was annoyed that in the almost four weeks since her parents started training her, she had never even managed to disturb a hair on her mothers head.

Sana surged forward, but her attack was quickly dismantled, and she found herself once again on the ground. This time with a wooden spearhead on her throat. "I yield," she said breathlessly and her mother helped her sit up, too exhausted to stand.

"You've done well Sana," her mother said, "and I think you understand what I meant by getting a weapon with a longer reach now." Her mother took the wooden sword from her hands and laid it to the side with her own spear.

In the meanwhile Sana had already started meditating, breathing in the Primal Qi to nourish her muscles. The past few day she had the feeling that her muscles were almost bloated and some had stopped absorbing Primal Qi altogether. From her father she knew this meant that she was approaching the Martial Student stage of Martial Arts. Her parents were astounded at her quick progress but were extremely happy nonetheless.

Opening her eyes, Sana saw her mother sitting at the table reading a book and relaxing. She stood up and shook out her arms and legs before joining her mother. Aria looked over and smiled at her daughter, "Very good, when your father gets back we'll talk about the next step of your training."

A while later Andrus stepped into the courtyard and joined his family at the table. After a nice dinner, he started explaining the next steps to Sana, "After you have managed to nourish your muscles completely, you will have officially stepped into the Martial Student stage. In this stage, you start to reinforce your muscles directly with Primal Qi, surpassing what should normally be possible for a human. At the same time, you need to nourish your bones forcefully. It isn't as easy as the passive way with the muscles since your bones are a lot sturdier.

" When you have managed to nourish your bones completely you will have stepped into the Martial Squire stage. To reach the next stage, the Martial Knight stage, you will at last need to nourish your tendons, which need strength, flexibility, and a lot of fine control not to hurt yourself doing so. When you manage to do that, you will be able to reinforce your entire muscular and skeletal system." With that said her father paused, letting her digest the information.

Sana's heart was beating incredibly fast, thinking about reaching that height and becoming one among the strongest in the entire city. A thought occurred her and she asked, "I've heard people say you and mother are Martial Kings. What stage is that?" People were always extremely respectful of both her parents. She even saw the rare Martial Knights in the clan looking at her parents in what seemed to be awe.

Her father laughed and said, "Don't worry about that just yet. It simply means that either of us can defeat every Martial Knight in the entire city at the same time without getting even a scratch." He patted her head feeling incredibly pleased at the look his daughter gave him.

Suddenly he heard a teasing voice, "Oh, how about we show her a fight at the level of Martial Kings then, if we are both so incredibly strong." He looked at Aria and saw a teasing smile on her face and a dangerous glint in her eyes.

He quickly stood up and said, rushing out of the room, "Well, I still have to report to my brother, bye bye..." Sana stared, stunned at the quick departure of her father until she heard the quiet giggle of her mother. When she turned towards Aria, her mother schooled her face and cleared her throat.

"You fared better with the sword than most of the other weapons. The only problem seems to be the reach. Well, it looks like some kind of two-handed sword would fit your talent best. I will order a sword to your specifications for our trip next month."

It took a few seconds for Sana to comprehend what her mother just said, but when she did she excitedly rushed to her mother's side. "Really? Really, really? We're going outside the walls?"

Her mother picked her up onto her lap and said while chuckling, "Of course. At first, your father and I were worried, but it seems by that time you'll be well on your way toward the Martial Squire stage. With that kind of strength, you'll be able to at least defend yourself from Martial Squires and buy time in the face of Martial Knights. At least enough for your mother to come and take care of the problem." The longer she talked the colder her tone became.

Aria shook herself from her trance and continued smiling warmly at her daughter.

After a bit more cuddling, Sana and Aria once again picked up their weapons and started sparring. At first, Andrus was worried that Aria was going a bit too hard on Sana, but he eventually had to relent in the face of his wife's arguments. If Sana can defend against Aria's onslaught, she would be able to defend against any ordinary Martial Knight, which would make the upcoming trip a lot safer. After all, even though the spirit beasts in the wilderness were ferocious, the most insidious danger would always be other humans.