Weapon Skill

"Hah! Hah!"

Early in the morning, the sounds of knocking on wood were already heard underneath the giant oak tree that two children often met up at. Underneath it was Raziel holding a wooden sword, hacking and slashing at a wooden dummy that seemed to be on the verge of breaking.

He raised the wooden sword above his head and pointed the tip towards the dummy.

"Almost there... hah!"

Raziel pierced the wooden dummy's chest, creating a big opening in it, with his wooden sword hanging on.

"That's the fifth dummy this month!" Raziel felt a little proud. In his village, people admired knights and mages, but no one seemed to be interested in becoming one as much as Alice and him.

"Aren't you pushing yourself too hard?" a voice sounded from behind him.

Raziel turned around and saw who it was and smiled. "Uncle Gasupht, how are you?"

The man was Gasupht, the village mayor and Alice's and Selka's father. Gasupht was the most skilled swordsman in the village and the person who taught Raziel how to wield a sword.

"Boy, don't think I forgot about yesterday." Gasupht snorted.

"I didn't think we would take that long." Raziel scratched the back of his head.

"No excuses! Now, raise your sword and prepare!" Gasupht suddenly picked up a wooden sword on the ground as Raziel pulled his wooden sword from the dummy's chest.

The young boy raised his sword in a defensive stance as they both stared at each other.

Gasupht didn't waste time and immediately rushed towards the latter, seemingly not holding back. He slashed towards Raziel as the young boy parried.

The two of them exchanged hits with each other, but none of them had been directly hit yet. It was amazing for a young boy like Raziel to keep up with a skilled swordsman like Gasupht. Even the adult himself was impressed at how fast the young boy grew, he had the talent and the willpower. Someday, he knew this boy would grow up to become a great knight.

"Very good." Gasupht paused his attacks. "But let's see if you can finally handle this...!"

The village mayor raised his sword above his head.

"Heavy Strike!"

Raziel watched as the wooden sword headed down to him. In his mind, he was excited and afraid at the same time as he knew what the village mayor had just used.

Weapon Skill!

A weapon skill was a special type of attack using a weapon. It was comparable to a mage using magic, it was something Raziel had been trying to do for the past few days after he witnessed the village mayor use it previously.

Raziel clenched the hilt of his wooden sword and prepared himself for impact. He knew he couldn't block this type of attack with just a wooden sword, therefore he needed to risk it all in one move.

"Full Counter."

As the Gasupht's sword landed on Raziel's, Gasupht was suddenly blown back and crashed into a training dummy behind him.

"Gah!"

Raziel immediately ran towards Gasupht who was moaning in pain.

"Uncle are you alright?" Raziel was worried he might have heavily injured Alice's father.

"Boy, that was incredible!" Gasupht grabbed Raziel by his collar. "It was like you returned my own attack... but twice the strength!"

Raziel sighed and was happy that his worry was for naught. It seemed like his uncle was barely injured at all, except for his leather armor.

"I developed it by accident during my training... but it consumed a lot of stamina and the last time I used it made me faint," Raziel said. "However, it seemed to make my blood boil when I use it."

Hearing this, Gasupht was alarmed.

"Bloodline Skill? Is Raziel from a special family?" Gasupht thought inwardly but removed it from his head.

"If it was the case, then Raziel wouldn't have been an orphan in a small village. Special families had ways to track down someone of their own bloodline and wouldn't let them be in any harm. It must be that Raziel is from a fallen family." Gasupht thought.

Gasupht always knew that there was something special about Raziel. In their village, he was the cream of the crop and was the person other children looked up to. He had the traits of a natural leader and was talented in a lot of ways.

The two of them started cleaning up after their spar and had a break. Gasupht praised Raziel which made the young boy's ego rise. Not much was done after their spar, Raziel was far too fatigued to continue his training and spent the morning talking with Gasupht about knights. Gasupht had now experienced what his daughter Alice went through every day.

"Raziel, I want you to promise me that you'll always protect Alice." Gasupht interrupted Raziel who was currently talking about his favorite Crest Knights.

Such a request made the young boy confused, but promised nonetheless. In his mind, Alice was his friend, and wouldn't let any harm come to her. Anyone that hurt her would taste his wooden sword.

"I'll always protect her," Raziel promised.

"Good, good!" Gasupht laughed which confused Raziel once more. The adult knew that the young boy didn't understand such a promise right now, but in the far future, he would.

"Papa, are you bullying Raziel again?!" A brown-haired girl jumped onto Gasupht's belly, making him spit out all the air in his stomach.

"Wait! Selka we were just talking!" Raziel immediately pulled the little girl off Gasupht.

The little girl, Selka, was Alice's younger sister and Gasupht's other daughter. She seemed to have inherited Gasupht's brashness and headstrong personality.

"Selka, my daughter, how could you do this to your own father just for a boy!" Gasupht faked tears.

"I-I'm sorry Papa!" Selka immediately came to her father's side to aid him.

"Gullible..." was the only thought inside Raziel's head.

After some moments with the family, the three of them soon had to separate ways due to an upcoming busy day for the village mayor and his daughters. Raziel was alone once more in his peaceful spot.

"Alice won't be coming for another hour, so what should I do..." The boy felt like his life was a little too plain, but the people around it were special to him so it wasn't a thought that always popped up in his head.

On the other hand, inside her home, Alice was having a little trouble with her studies.

"I thought Healing Tulips grew in the East...?" Alice grumbled as she cupped her face and leaned on the table.

"It seems like you've been neglecting your studies." Sister Myrcella, her teacher, sighed.

"A little bit." Alice forced out a smile.

Being the daughter of the village mayor, Alice had to be diligent and informative in studying. During her 12th year of birth, she would have to leave the village to study as a mage apprentice in the academy located at the capital city. She wouldn't be able to see her family and friends for 4 years or less until she graduated.

No one besides her family and Sister Myrcella knew about this news yet. She didn't want Raziel and the others to find out the sad parting that would soon come.

"You're hesitating whether you should tell Raziel about your soon-to-come long separation?" The Sister immediately guessed what she was thinking.

Alice immediately became flustered but didn't deny the claim. Myrcella didn't expect the young girl to already have blooming feelings for the young boy. Although it wasn't surprising since young girls tend to mature faster than the opposite gender.

"Alice, you are too young to be thinking of such things. Both you and Raziel still haven't seen the world as it is, there is still so much to discover, both of you have your own dreams. Tell me, what if in the future, Raziel were to fall for another woman, what would you do?" Myrcella decided to test the young girl's faith and sensibility.

Alice's face scrunched up and was lost in thought. She was still inexperienced and didn't think of such a possibility. She was a blooming young girl, as a village girl, she didn't have much ambition and wished to settle down after a few years. Not the same could be said for Raziel however, his ambition was immense and his dream wasn't what most people could achieve in their whole lifetime.

Bang!

"I think our lesson is done for today." Myrcella dropped a book, breaking Alice out of her thoughts. "You should read the 'Monster Effects and Remedies' after this one. It might be useful in the future."

Sister Myrcella curtsied and left, leaving the pondering Alice.