CHAPTER 8: AGAINST THE SWORD SAINT

The day after the match, I lost again because I'm too cautious about when my mother will use that move again. I can't concentrate on my fights because I'm afraid to lose to that unknown move again.

The losing streak continued for six days until only one day remained. I am now in the backyard with Chris by my side, talking about how I have lost consecutively to my mother.

"You can't see that move at all?" She asked

"Yeah, it's as if she stopped the time," I answered.

"I'm sure that my water arrows hit her, but they suddenly vanished, and I find myself on the ground," I added.

"Your arrows have vanished?" Is that possible? "Unless you cancel it or it gets attacked, it will not vanish, right?" She asked me so many questions that I don't even know how to answer—wait! That's right; it will not vanish easily unless it gets hit.

"Does that mean that he slashes those three arrows in an instant and goes to me?" I asked

"That can't be, no matter how strong she is; she's not using her skills, so her speed and attack should be lower than normal," Chris answered.

"Then how?"          I asked again, even though I knew that Chris didn't know the answer.

"Why don't we try it?" "I learned how to cast a water ball now," she said.

I can't turn her down because I know that she's doing it for me, so I go along with her.

"I will cast a water ball, and you are the swordsman; maybe we can figure out something," she said, looking at me while smiling.

I know she's worried about me because, when she came this morning, I didn't greet her like I used to. So all I can do is go along with her, even if it's pointless.

"I call a pleasant burbling stream here and now," "Let the tremendous protection of water be on the location thou seekest," she started chanting, and I readied my wooden sword.

"Water ball!" she shouts, and a ball of water appears and is heading towards me. I slashed it, and it vanished. But that didn't answer the problem. While I'm thinking that—

"Water ball"          Chris has finished her second spell and is heading towards me. I'm not prepared, so I just make the sword a shield and try to stop the attack, and I can't believe what happened next. The water ball bounced at my sword and fell a meter before me.

"Will, did you see that?"   Chris asked as if she had just figured out the answer, just like I had.

"Yeah," I answered.

Now that I know what my mother did, I just need to think of how to counter it, and I've got an idea about that.

Time flies while I'm thinking about what to do, and the time of our last battle comes. My mother, with an expression that proudly says that she will win, was in front of me. My father, aunt Lyshia, Chris, and uncle Philip—who just got here to fetch his family—are watching.

"Will, you can do it!" Shouted by Chris

"Yeah," I answered lightly, but in reality, I'm really happy because, because of Chris, I now know what my mother just did in that first match.

My mother tossed the coin, and it landed, which is the mark at which the match starts.

My mother took the initiative again and headed towards me, and just like always, I cast a water shield in front of her. 

She stepped back and turned her head towards my left, and just like the first day, I cast a water shield.

But she predicted it again and headed towards my back. I jumped at the water shield, and it collapsed, and when she was preparing to take me out, thinking that I would cast a water arrow, what I cast in front of her was—

"Water shield" she's surprised but she can't stop now because of her momentum and her stance that is about to parry the water arrow that she think is coming.

That's right, what she did on the first day was parry my arrows, aiming them to block my vision and make me blind for a second, then attack me. That is why I think she just stopped time because my vision was blocked for a second; I didn't see her attack me, and I was just suddenly thrown to the ground.

But in this case, I outsmarted her. She bumped into the water shield and fell. That serves as a tool to buy time and for me to cast a water arrow.

"Water arrow" I shout and run at the same time towards her.

The water arrow that was heading towards her was slashed, but I, who ran alongside the arrow, got to point my wooden sword at her face. She didn't get a chance to stand because she prioritized slashing the arrows, but that was also her mistake because she didn't know that I was coming.

"I lost," she admitted for the first time since our training.

I held out a hand to her and helped her stand. "Mother, I finally won," I said.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Will, you're awesome!" Shouted by Chris while running towards me.

"That was awesome," added Aunt Lyshia.

"I can't imagine the sword saint would lose to a 7-year-old kid, hahahahahahaha," said uncle Philip while giggling and finally couldn't hold his laugh at the end.

Oh, right!      Uncle Philip was also a swordsman on the battlefield, so he knows how strong my mother is.

"You don't have the right to laugh at me, a mere advanced swordsman," said my mother teasingly to Uncle Philip.

"Well, I will listen to that after you beat your son, hahahahahahaha," uncle Philip continued to laugh.

"Will, tomorrow at the same time, come here, and I'll teach you the beginner swordsmanship skills," my mother said to me.

"Yes!" I replied.

And that is how I finally won against the sword saint—who has a huge handicap—and was finally allowed to learn beginner swordsmanship skills.