Chapter 19: The Crossing Swords

Cimmerian went outside Mado's house and prepared to head home. As he was about to reach the main road leading back to his house, he saw someone waiting for him.

     "Good evening." The old man, who was wearing an apparel similar to that of a yukata in his homeland, greeted him courteously.

     "Chief Feldor, good evening. What can I do for you?" He retorted the same.

     "Please, follow me."

     The two walked towards the Chief's house. The house wasn't any different of that normal village house. It was also half-brick and half-wood. Plus, it had quite a spacious front yard.

     "Please, come inside. Oh, Grucia, can you prepare some tea. I have the lad with me. Thanks!"

     "Okay, wait for a minute." Grucia, who was at the kitchen, answered. "I'll prepare some tea for a while."

     "Please take a seat, Cimmerian. I want to talk to you earnestly."

     "Yes. Thank you."

     "First let me commend you for your help. Do you know how much a single deer costs?"

     "Yes. I think it's 20 silvers."

     "Correct. After all, goats, deers, cows—all of these may be almost the same types of herbivores. However, the taste of their meats are very different."

     "I agree."

     "Now, without further ado, I have a proposal for you. Oh, first, have you read all the books I've lent to you?" Feldor asked as he accepted the tea from Grucia.

     "Thanks for the tea, Elder Grucia." Cimmerian thanked her by giving himself time thinking about Feldor's question...

     "You're welcome, Cimmerian. What a polite boy. Okay, I'll leave the two of you there..." After giving the tea, she went back to the kitchen.

     "Chief, it's 6 of them right?"

     Actually, Cimmerian borrowed a total of five: Literacy Book, Adventurers' Guild Book, Mercantile Guild Book, The Magitonian Book, The History of the Styllacus Kingdom, and lastly, The Orthodox.

     "After reading them, what's your decision? You can tell me about it."

     "Actually, uhm… I want to learn magic as soon as possible. Also, since swordsmanship is very important, I want to learn the standard of it too."

     "Ha-ha-ha. So you're interested on it as well? Did you like The Orthodox book?" He was gladdened by his interest on the book.

     "Yeah. It's complicated but I think I was able to get a grasp on them.

     "Is that so? Then how about a sparring session? Is it fine?"

     "What!?? I know I've learned so many things about the book, and I practiced in my free time as well. However, I still don't know if my learning method is correct..."

"Ha-ha-ha, don't worry, it'll work... Oh, here..."

     Feldor stood up and open the long cabinet built on the wall. On the inside were two green sheathed longswords, two short knives, a black katana-like sword, and a claymore. However, the ones that he pulled were two wooden swords for training. He gave one to Cimmerian.

     "Shall we go outside?" He asked as he took his sleepers for outside.

     "Y-Yes." He hesitatingly replied...

     "You know, I won't hold back even you're just a kid, you know?"

     "I'll do my best too..." He just nodded.

     "Then, let's start!"

     The moment this was said, Feldor suddenly seemed to disappear. It all happened in a split second. However, Cimmerian was never that careless. He knew exactly that the old man was an expert in the sword. So, he was able to defend the first heavy sword strike. Nonetheless, on the next strikes, he already felt the serious old man.

     (So heavy! Seriously??? This is awful. This is not an old man. It's like I'm fighting a lion in full force. What's worse, he knows exactly where my weak spots are. Those parts where I cannot exert my full force in clinching my sword because of spatial or positional disadvantage. I bet he studied my action when I got those deers. He also offers some problematic feints to drag me to the trap. If he were younger, I'd have been defeated already. Thanks for the fact that he's already breathing heavily. But, the book sure is interesting, it's very detailed, huh?)

     Because of his time reading the book and internalizing its contents, he was able to predict some of Feldor's attack and quick stabs. When it comes to speed, Feldor had the advantage since his speedy movements were very organized and systematic to target some positions that were vulnerable.

After a few minutes of crossing swords, they stopped, both exhausted.

     "C-Cimmerian. Answer me calmly, who first taught you swordsmanship? Answer me honestly." Feldor asked while breathing hard.

     "I think it's from the book you lend—" He answered while also gasping.

     "Stop. Don't lie to me."

     "Chief, it's the truth. Though I learned all these extra styles when I was self-training before I learned the Orthodox Sword Arts so that I had my own method in hunting."

     The extra styles he had been using in fighting was actually learned when he was still in Japan. In short, it was a white lie.

     "Is that so? Then, you're a talented man. I haven't seen someone in my whole life as talented as you and someone I know. So there are two of you."

     "Someone you know? May I know his name?"

     "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll cross paths with him sooner or later. By the way, you mastered the book right? You predicted all my attacks well. But some of your moves are different. So I thought you had another type of art."

     "Thank you for lending me your book. It's very useful and detailed..."

     "Oh, this is boring." Feldor suddenly threw his wooden sword. "How about we try using real swords? Are you on?"

     "Wait, it's too dangerous… Uhm.." He hesitated to say that he's not very used to real swords yet.

     "What? You're scared. Ha-ha-ha, don't worry. You're already strong enough to hold a real one. Remember that this is not a training, but a duel between legitimate sword artists. I, Bacchus Feldor, hereby recognize you as an equal."

     "W-Wait a minute!!!"

     (Is this real? I mean, this would be my first time holding a real longsword. I only use knives because it's dangerous. But I think he won't hear what I have to say, huh?)

     "Here." He tossed at Cimmerian his black katana-like sword as he picked one of the green sheathed ones for himself. "Use it."

     "Yes, Sir!"

     (Oh, wow! What a beautiful sword. It's well maintained and polished. It's so sharp, and it even reflects light even in the night. Its handle is very comfortable in the hands. Plus, it has been embedded with a series of five silver stars.)

     "Are you ready? Here I go!"

     "Yes. Come"

     The two crossed swords again. This time, it was different. The momentum of every strikes were heavier. The edges of the blades were far more effusive making the strikes to be more dangerous if not defended properly. The slashes continued to go on. In addition, on the next minute, the battle became even more hyperactive. The two were smiling widely. The anxious Cimmerian began to love the fight. They displaced from one place to another. Since normal techniques didn't work, Feldor resorted to insert some hard kicks but they were all repelled by Cimmerian. And this went on for minutes...

They stopped for a while.

     "You're really a monster. Your breathing is not even that disturbed..." Feldor said.

     "No. Chief is very strong so I'm exerting my all in this fight."

     "Then glad to hear."

     Cimmerian took the start of the third round. He assumed the role of the aggressive one. Because of this, Feldor was forced to jump high and change the venue to the roofs of village houses.

     "Ha-ha-ha. It's been a while since I've had a fight like this. Fine, come at me Cimmerian."

     "Yes Sir."

     Some hung pots from Feldor's neighbors were shattered missed attacks. A couple of roofs of the villagers were almost destroyed.

     When the loud tings and cracklings were heard by the villagers, some panicked and went outside their homes to see what's happening.