Sparring The Master

My daily routine consisted of training with my father, training alone, and then reading before sleeping.

Although, that is quite the summary. Morning training is how my father spends time with me before going to work. Then, Iris would take me inside for food and a nap. I would wait for her to fall asleep, and sneak out to train my Spirit. 

The fact that I can already control Spirit, that too outside my body, is being kept a secret from my parents. I don't want them to brag and let it slip to others, lest I end up grabbing a noble's attention.

Training to control my spirit is very exhausting though, and I end up returning before my mother wakes up even if I don't want to. The rest of my day is spent reading in the library. I'm sucking the library dry, reading anything and everything I can find. 

That is how I'm spending my days until I turn five.

I'm four years old now, so shouldn't be much longer until I can graduate from this mini-academy. 

...what? Do you want me to note down every single event of my toddler life?

Fortunately, I have better things to do. 

Anyway, I was engrossed in my evening training, when I noticed my father returning earlier than usual, with someone else accompanying him.

I panicked and started thinking of an excuse. After all, I was alone in the backyard while my mother was sleeping inside. 

"Hmm? Ah, Linus, what are you doing, son?" Athan asked, noticing the stick in my hands. 

"Welcome back, Father. I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep, so I thought I'd train some more. I wasn't in the mood for reading today." Hopefully, that worked, I didn't want him to notice that this was a daily occurrence for me. "Did something happen at work today?"

"I'm glad you're taking your training easily. You need to be able to defend yourself. And no, work was the same as usual. I came back early to introduce you to my dear friend." He gestured for 'the friend' to come closer and I finally got a better look at him.

Long silver hair and a mustache decorated his perfectly carved face. He looked my father's age, but without the mustache, he could've passed for a man in his twenties. He and Athan stood at roughly the same height, say a couple of inches over six feet. This man had seen plenty of battles and each one was tougher than the prior. He was wearing a lavish dress with white and blue mixed into each other. I could see a stopwatch's chain around his chest and an expensive ring on his finger. There was no doubt that he was a noble, that too quite high on the ladder. 

I made sure to show my nervousness to not appear unnaturally calm. 

He gave me a gentle smile as he knelt to my level and offered me a handshake, "It's nice to finally meet you, little Linus. I've heard so much about you. My name is Bale Alder. I've known your father for decades now, and he has a habit of bragging about his family."

By the time he stopped speaking, my other hand was clasped in a fist. 

Alder...you have got to be kidding me.

I shook his hand and introduced myself. 

"Looks like Athan was lying. You seem quite mature for your age." 

"Mr. Alder, does your name mean..."

"Please, call me Bale. And yes, as you might've guessed, I'm a part of the Royal Family."

My father chimed in with a slap to his back, "Bale here is the third son of His Majesty. He decided to forgo his responsibilities and become an adventurer. Now, he's the Guild Leader, and a pretty big shot anywhere he goes."

"H-Hey, Athan...I only became an adventurer because you did too. And they made me Guild Leader without even asking if I wanted the position..."

Sounds rough, but I get the idea. 

These two are good friends, and I don't need to worry about Bale acting like a typical, arrogant prince. 

The fact that he's the Guild Master, means that he's also my father's current boss. 

"By the way, Linus, I have a favor to ask of you." Bale suddenly grabbed my shoulders and brought his face uncomfortably close to mine. "Please convince your father to take my money!"

...excuse me?

He was pulled back by Athan before I could answer, "You're not about to use my kid. I told you, I only want my wage and nothing more."

"But, Athan! I have too much money! Don't you want to build a bigger house for Linus here?" 

It sounds amusing, but I'll pass. I'd rather have a larger field to train without regard to my surroundings.

They went back and forth until the argument ended with my father's win, which I assume it always does. 

"Anyway, son, I brought Bale along with me today because he's the best swordsman in the country. Recently, your talent has been hard to keep up with. I always preferred a spear you see...so I thought that Bale and you can spar and he'll give you a few pointers."

A priceless opportunity, if what Athan says is true. 

It's also quite surprising, however, because I thought I was hiding my skills. I was too conceited. 

I knew I had to hide my Spirit-

"Bale is also a master at sensing Spirit. And since you're nearing your fifth birthday, he might be able to tell us how the ceremony might unveil." 

...interesting. 

I bowed towards my new mentor. 

"I would be honored if I'm allowed to spar with a master such as you, Guild Master Bale."

He held his hands up and replied, "Like I said, please call me Bale. I dislike honorifics. And I was delighted when Athan proposed this to me. I get the chance to test my friend's son myself."

What he's talking about, is the instructor from the Central Academy testing a potential student after the five-year ceremony reveals their talent in Spirit. Sounds like he can put in a recommendation for me if all goes well. 

It might be time to test where my current limit lies, so I should take this seriously.

"Your father also told me that your gift for your fourth birthday broke quite easily, so I brought these..." He took out two wooden swords, one longer than the other. 

Handing me the shorter one, he walked a few steps and turned around, having taken his position for the spar. 

"Athan told me you train regularly. But don't worry about that, I won't judge you. Come at me with full power, and forget about anything else but this fight." 

Calling it a fight instead of a spar, this guy is smarter than he sounds. He's making sure I take this seriously. 

Giving him a nod, I took my stance. 

Athan signaled the start and I immediately ran towards my opponent. 

I guided Spirit to my foot. As soon as it peeled away from my skin and hit the ground, my speed was given a boost. Using the dirt I kicked up as cover, I appeared behind Bale and swung at his neck. 

Even though he blocked it, he was still surprised and took a more serious stance.. 

I spun around and attacked the side that wasn't guarded. He took a step back to dodge and rushed back in for his first attack.

I blocked his sideswipe, but the force pushed me back several feet.

Okay, so no more blocking, only dodging.

Bale smirked, impressed at the fact that I didn't fall to the ground. He raised his sword above his head. 

My senses screamed, warning me about the danger. Immediately, my Spirit coated my sword. I had an inkling that the attack would be too fast for me to dodge. 

And it was.

He appeared in front of me in an instant, and his sword was brought down not a second later. 

Our weapons clashed, with me being pushed down into the ground. My use of Spirit saved me because his sword was also being strengthened.

He noticed my surprise at the swords still being intact.

"These were made by the Elves of Arandil. They won't break this easily."

I managed to latch one of my hands off the sword hilt and attack his feet when he jumped in the air to avoid it.

I thought he was going to spin and attack me with his falling momentum, but that never happened.

Instead, a pan hit him in the head and he was sent flying, destroying the barrier of our backyard. 

I turned around to discern what had attacked him.

Iris was standing in the doorway with a look of anger. The fire in her eyes told me even the Demon King would struggle against her if he were here.

Athan stumbled onto the ground and began mumbling, "I-Iris dear, there is...well...I can explain..."

I put the sword down and silently prayed for my father's safety. 

...