4 Sparring with the Old Man

-2 Years Later-

"What are you doing! Summon your weapon!"

Focusing his Astral energy into the palm of his hands Aiden materialized a pair of purple blueprint- looking knives and got into a combat stance. Facing the old man he didn't dare look down on him.

Picking up his sword from the ground, the old man unsheathed his katana and stared at the tanned boy in the distance. "Try not to accidentally die."

Keeping his breath steady, Aiden observed the old man who looked like he was full of openings. Remembering the lesson he learnt from two years ago he didn't recklessly charge towards him and observed his movements.

"Good, you're finally using your head. This time I'll only take an arm."

Hearing his words Aiden felt an ache coming from his arm. Using the technique he developed from sparring with the old man he felt the muscles in his legs tighten as he shot towards the old man!

"Still charging in recklessly, maybe I gave you too much credit." Shaking his head in disappointment he prepared to intercept the attack but was surprised by the boy's next actions.

Spreading the Astral energy all around his body, a dull purple glow radiated off of him before his body dispersed into purple lights. Watching the sword pass through the space the boy had previously been standing, a look of confusion was evident on the old man's face.

Above the old man's head, the dispersed lights gathered into the shape of a human and materialized the purple eyed Aiden. With a wide grin on his face he slashed down both knives at the old man's unprotected head.

"DIE!!"

*CLANG!!*

"You shouldn't be so loud when you attack."

The old man had blocked the boy's strikes and looked up at him with a smile on his face. Pushing him back, Aiden was forced to retreat as he needed to create some distance. When he looked back up the figure of the old man had vanished.

"Oh SHI-

Before he could finish cursing he realized that the old man had appeared next to him and swung his katana down at him at full speed. Relying on nothing but his instincts and reaction time he some how managed to dodge the attack but felt his sweat roll down the side of his face.

'FUCK THAT ALMOST KILLED ME!!'

Without giving him anytime to rest the old man was back on Aiden like a fly on shit.

'FUCK THIS OLD MAN IS REALLY TRYING TO KILL ME!!'

Feeling the pressure on him increase, Aiden barely managed to dodge the attacks as he felt various cuts appear on his body.

'Running won't work, I'll have to find a way to take advantage of an opening.'

As soon as he thought about it his body vanished into purple light again and materialized a few feet away from the old man. As soon as he had materialized he immediately charged towards the old man with a murderous glint in his eyes.

Clashing with the old man, he felt the difference in their strengths as his 9 year old arms couldn't compete with the old man's thin yet powerful slash. Feeling his constructs breaking Aiden quickly used his astral energy to construct a new pair of knives while the old ones vanished.

Refocusing his attention back on the old man, he felt alarm bells go off in his head as he quickly dodged to the side. Looking at the place he had previously been standing, he saw a deep sword scar etched into the ground.

"Hmm? You dodged." The old man said sounding surprised. "Your combat instincts have definitely improved. If this was a month ago your arm would already be lying on the floor." He nodded to himself.

'WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!!'

Aiden screamed in his head while perspiration glistened his body.

Feeling angry at the thought of losing his arm again, he looked at the old man with hatred.

"Staring at me isn't going to do anything boy." He mocked.

Just as he was about to be pushed over the edge, he remembered the words of one of his teachers and forced himself to calm down and assess the situation.

---

"Urgh what happened?" Waking up to the sight of a white ceiling, Aiden found himself laying down in the infirmary bed. Feeling a dull pain on his right arm he saw that a new scar had formed.

'....*Sigh* Looks like I really did lose my arm again.'

Unable to contain himself he laughed at the fact that the old man kept his word. It was only after he calmed down that he saw the old man sitting next to the bed. "Erm-"

"What was that!?" The old man interrupted.

"Huh?"

"That ability you used to disappear and appear again."

"Oh that..." He looked surprised that his teacher was asking him about something that wasn't related to swordsmanship or removing his limbs. "By converting my body into pure Astral energy I can temporarily become invisible/intangible. Think about it like teleporting and phasing at the same time. In that state I can move to anywhere within a 10 feet radius. Its basically short distance teleportation. I call it Astral Shifting."

"Astral Shifting..." The old man repeated. "Why have you never used it before today?"

Feeling slightly embarrassed, Aiden told the old man that he had only recently gotten to the point where he could use it during combat.

Nodding his head the old man looked at Aiden with slight curiosity before getting up.

"You did well boy, now rest up."