The Duel

"There's a dueling area in the guild hall, follow me. Talent is worthless if you can't win on the battlefield."

Cris walked out of the room and I followed alongside Anne.

"Hey, be careful Arden. He might act arrogant but, his arrogance doesn't come from nowhere. He's been trained by master swordsmen because of his father's connections. Protect your head, take some cheap blows, and surrender if you need to. I'll be rooting for you!" she said as she gave me a thumbs up.

'Yikes, I kinda hoped Anne had a plan since she was beckoning me to take the fight. I think I can at least keep up if I use the watch's time powers though…' I tried to relax and gather my thoughts. 'I have no real experience with weapons, I have no idea what the limits are for my powers, and I have no idea how strong my opponent is. Wait, maybe I shouldn't have accepted this duel after all…'

"We're here!" The three of us entered a spacious room. Smaller square boundaries were marked on the ground for the dueling fields. Some sections already had people dueling with a variety of weapons. Cris led us to an empty section and picked up a wooden sword from a nearby stand of weapons. "Anne will act as the witness and judge. Pick any weapon. I doubt you know any magical arts so I'll make it fair and restrain from using any magic."

After choosing his weapon, Cris stood still at the center of the arena, waiting for me to choose my weapon. I walked over to the collection. There were a few choices laid out in front of me: swords, axes, spears, hammers, and daggers, all of varying sizes. The sword seemed the most straightforward and simple to me, so I just chose a wooden double-edged sword which I examined with one hand. It was a bit on the heavier side, but it did its job.

I strolled over to the center of the platform and held the sword in front of me, copying Cris's stance. 'He's definitely stronger than me and a much better swordsman. My only real advantage is my speed and maybe the element of surprise. I can't fight a war of attrition, take him by surprise and end it in one move.'

"Are both parties ready? You two will fight until one leaves the perimeter or is unable to continue fighting. Three… two… one…begin!"

Both of us circled each other as we tried to probe for information. Cris seemed childish when I first saw him, but he is completely serious now. He slowly closed the distance between us and suddenly he took a step forward and made the first move, striking for my head from above. Instinctively, I slowed downed time. It was the correct choice because even with time slightly altered, I could still only barely react to his move.

Our swords met perpendicular to each other and my sword was instantly pushed back. Immediately after the initial impact, I willed time to slow down even further to dodge his strike. Without stopping, Cris took another commanding step forward and swung his sword from the side. Not having the time to dodge, I gripped the hilt with both hands and tried to block his second strike.

*Thwack! * I was again pushed back multiple steps and almost stumbled over. As we disconnected, time started flowing naturally as the world around me went back to its natural speed. I couldn't do anything; his strength and speed were way too overwhelming. 'I can't even block because then I risk losing my balance. Plus my hands were already becoming numb from his fierce strikes.'

"I admit your speed is praiseworthy, but you can't only rely on your speed if you want to defeat me. Your sword is flimsy, and your resolve is weak. Prepare yourself."

Cris began to approach me once again, this time with less care. He suddenly took two quick steps erasing the distance between us and swung his sword from above once again. I felt some resistance this time when trying to alter time, but I forced time to slow down once again to an even slower rate to sidestep the swing. I was able to maintain my balance, but my position was too awkward to swing back. Still wanting to retaliate, I raised my front leg and kicked him right in the chest pushing us apart. The time effect once again returned to reality.

Cris looked down at his white garment now dirtied from my shoes. A brown mark was left where my foot struck. He looked up and glared at me with widened eyes, "YOU DARE?!?" He charged at me eyes gleaming with killing intent.

He thrust his sword towards my stomach. I tried to slow down time but Cris's speed seems to be even faster now. Time slowed down slightly but even then, I couldn't fully dodge his strike and it hit me near the side of my abdomen sending me crashing down on the floor with an erupting pain.

He approached me, face distorted with anger, looking for the final strike. He pulled his sword back for another jab. I knew I had to do something, or I was in for a lot more than just a few bruises. I reimagined the same sensation I felt when the warmth entered the affinity sphere and poured as much of it as I could into my watch, no longer holding back. Cris's actions became slower and slower until he was practically moving in slow motion. I knew I couldn't control time this much for a extended period of time, so I ignored the pain and got back on my feet in a crouching position. Wasting no more time, I launched myself upwards at Cris swinging directly at his face. As my sword traveled, the flimsy restraints on time began to falter.

I don't think I could call out the same power any further, so I put all my strength into this next strike. As his jab flew past me, I struck the side of his head with my sword sending his body crashing into the ground.

After a brief silence, a clear voice pierced through the arena. "Duel, over. The winner is Arden!"

I fell to my knees gasping for air, I focused on the pain fighting to keep myself conscious. 'I won, I actually won…' I thought.

"Hahaha, not bad! Not bad at all!"

Only then, did I notice the two men watching our duel. Both had towering figures. The one that spoke wore a white robe of high quality. Some symbols matched the ones on Cris's shirt. The second man was much more mysterious, wearing a slightly worn cloak over some more simplistic earth tone clothing. Both men exuded an extremely fearsome aura and even I could tell they both had immense strength.

The white-robed man glanced at female assistance standing behind him, "Take my son away and have him treated."

"Yes, master." The assistance along with another male guard bowed and took Cris out of the room. 'Wait… son? So that means this man here is… the mayor?!?'

"Uh…. Mr. Mayor, I apologize for harming-"

The mayor cut me off with a wave of his hand. "My son initiated the duel, so he knew what he was in for. Strength is the only thing that matters in my world, and you have it. That's all there is." The mayor turned to the silent man beside him and asked, "So, what do you think?"

The silent man in the cloak looked at me deeply without any response before finally speaking, "He has potential…"

"So, will you do it?" asked the Mayor.

The cloaked man walked towards me and held a hand near my stomach. "Recover." Following his command, the pain near my abdomen began to dissipate. He stood up and offered a hand to me.

"I am Caladan, the sword master of the air arts. I've already heard about your affinity score and now I've seen your arts in person, so I raise you this offer, become my pupil and learn the arts under me."

I looked towards Anne and she was completely star struck. 'I didn't know who he was, but it seemed like he was a big deal. I already planned on learning the arts from somewhere, so this was perfect timing. The mayor seems to acknowledge and respect this man so how could I turn down his teachings?' I took his hand and got back onto my feet.

"Master Caladan, I accept your gracious offer. I'll be in your care."

Caladan revealed a small smile and nodded. "Good. You still have a lot to work on but under me, your talents will flourish."

"Interesting! Very interesting!" the mayor exclaimed. "I'll have to keep an eye on you for the future then, Arden. Caladan, I hate to interrupt your moment with your new pupil but we still have some business to take care of."

"Of course. Meet me in the dueling area tomorrow Arden, we begin your training then."

"Yes, master."

Both the mayor and my new master left the area ending our brief exchange. Anne walked up to me and I realized everybody else in the dueling arena was also taking a peek at what was going on.

"What the hell, WHAT THE HELL? You're really something else Arden! First, you appear out of nowhere, then you get a ninety-five on the affinity test, and now you're studying under the air sword master?"

I scratched the back of my head unsure of how to respond, "Well… yeah. I guess it just kinda happened. By the way, is Caladan famous or something?"

"Is he famous? IS HE FAMOUS?!? HE'S A MAGICAL WARRIOR ARDEN!!!" She suddenly realized her volume and pulled me aside, "Caladan is at the peak of the air arts. Plus, he's a sword master, which is a title that only a few can obtain. How can you not know him?"

"Well… as I've figured out, there's a lot of things I don't know."

"Yeah… I've reached that conclusion as well." she smiled. "Come on, let's get out of here."