The Only Son Amongst The Daughters Of Eros

A round of applause came from Alzera. "Truly impressive! Especially for a prince who has spent more time reading than fighting," she teased.

"Hah!" Aeric laughed, out of breath. "You will be surprised how much you will learn when you pick up a book."

"Rather pick up a sword than a book, my Prince," Alzera remarked. "Only one can slay my enemies."

Aeric shrugged. "And the other can teach you how."

He turned around after and walked away, feeling proud of himself for saying that. Then Alzera asked after him. "If you've learnt so much about fighting from books then why am I here?"

Aeric looked back and smiled tauntingly. "Practice what you learn," he replied. "The book also says that."

"Ah, I see. So I am practice? Perhaps, I should make you spar me when we're done, and you'd quickly regret your hubris."

Aeric laughed. "I've hardly regretted doing things with a woman that made us both sweat."

Alzera's cheeks turned red.

After all that childishness was over, they both moved to defensive techniques.

Alzera led him to a section of the training ground where the dummies were enchanted with Divinity and standing in a line. Each one was equipped with wooden weapons also enchanted to simulate an opponent's attack.

"Defense is as important as offense," Alzera said, handing him a wooden shield. "Most novices focus only on the kill, but a dead man can't swing a sword."

She demonstrated the proper way to block, holding her own shield at an angle. "Always deflect. Never absorb the full force of a blow. Let it glance off. Like this."

She struck one of the dummies, and as it retaliated with a downward swing, she angled her shield. The wooden blade slid harmlessly off its surface. "See? Efficiency. Your goal is to conserve energy while surviving."

Aeric nodded, then swallowed in a deep breath before stepping forward.

As the first dummy swung at him, he raised his shield. The strike landed with a loud thunk, rattling his arm. Aeric felt the pain ripple inside his bones, causing his radius to vibrate.

"Angle it, Aeric!" Alzera barked. "Don't let it hit head-on!"

'These dummies hit hard,' Aeric thought. 'I wonder if they'll be interested in joining a battle against monstrous beasts.'

Pushing the jokes aside, Aeric adjusted and dived in again. He performed a double slice, cutting down one dummy and the moment another struck, he lifted the shield and protected his face.

Bang!

Aeric successfully deflected the next blow. The dummy's wooden blade skidded off the shield and fell to the ground.

Then Aeric turned around and performed a spin slice which was usually the last move of a triple slice.

The dummy fell after. Aeric sighed. "Got it."

Alzera saw this and lifted her brow. 'The intuition and skill to extract a move from a particular skill set and input it into another. How interesting. Is he a natural? Or was that just beginner's luck?'

However, Aeric was learning at a fast pace and it didn't seem at all like he was truly a beginner.

"Again," she ordered, her tone unyielding.

Aeric gave her a nod and went in once more. The dummies increased their pace, forcing him to react faster. His movements became smoother with each strike, his instincts sharpening.

Alzera watched, arms crossed, and even though she didn't notice, there was a hint of admiration in her gaze. He's really learning quickly. His growth in just a few hours is unnatural.

'It's almost like he's registered all these moves in his mind and now his body has been shown how to execute them. Now it's like... muscle memory.'

'Is this all from the books he read? I heard the Starlight Castle's library is vast in knowledge but... could that be all that is? I mean... anyone can read books, can't they?'

Before she knew it, all the dummies were lying on the floor on numerous wooden pieces, and Aeric was standing above them.

She looked at him with a curious gaze. 'Hmm.'

"Come on, let's move to more intense combat training."

Aeric followed.

With the fundamentals now drilled into him, Alzera shifted to improvisational combat. She led Aeric to the Adaptive Terrain, where the ground shimmered and morphed beneath their feet. Sand became ice, then rock, then grass, each shift challenging his footing.

This was to create the idea that a warrior can not always choose their battleground, and sometimes, the fight comes to them no matter where they are.

They had no choice to fight, and would have to adapt to their environment, even using it for their benefit.

"Combat is never predictable," Alzera began, circling Aeric. "You need to think on your feet. Use your surroundings. Adapt. A great warrior isn't the strongest but the smartest."

She picked up a handful of sand, and Aeric tilted his head at her with a question on his face.

Then, she tossed the sand toward his face. Instinctively, Aeric raised his arm to block. He was fast, and so barely any sand particles got through.

"Good reflexes," Alzera said in a complimentary fashion. "But what about this?"

She lunged, her sword aimed low. Aeric barely dodged, his footing slipping on the ice beneath him. He scrambled upright, raising his sword.

"You're cheating," he said, narrowing his eyes.

"Cheating? I'm sorry, are there any kinds of rules in war that we are bound to follow? All it is in war is death and life. The world doesn't play fair, Prince Aeric," she replied, her tone serious as she handed him a hand. "Neither should you." Continue your journey on empire

That part ingrained itself in Aeric's head and his mind zeroed in on it. Then, they began combat training.

Aeric had always been curious on how it would be if he faced Alzera in a one on one. She was a very popular and formidable fighter.

But, as he noticed, it was unfortunate that she was holding back her full strength. She attacked carefully although quickly and Aeric countered with increasing confidence, using the environment to his advantage.

When the terrain shifted to rock, he kicked a loose stone at her. She dodged, laughing.

"Yes, clever!" she praised. "But don't get cocky."

She moved below his slice attack and hit him at the back with an elbow, causing Aeric to fall frontwards. However, he caught himself mid fall, lifted his back feet in the air and spun around, catching her off guard.

Alzera's eyes widened. 'What?!!!?' He had just maneuvered her attack when he was already destined for the ground and now, his sword was close to her neck.

If she didn't duck right away, he was going to connect!

She moved briskly and lowered her neck, then rolled over.

Aeric's sword swiped the clean air and then he landed on his feet softly. His eyes locked on Alzera and hers were locked on him as well.

They paused, both breathing heavily.

"Not bad," Alzera said, smiling as she got on her feet. "For a beginner."

Aeric took a deep breath, seeing that it was over and admitting to himself that he had taken things a bit too seriously there. He wiped the sweat from his brow. "You were holding back."

She chuckled, shaking her head. "Doesn't mean that I'm not impressed. I'm very impressed in fact. That final move you did just now. How did you learn it?"

Aeric shrugged. "I don't know, I just did it."

Alzera looked at him for a longer time, cheeks reddened with all the questions she had. "Just did it huh? I think you got lucky then, and I escaped with my skill. If it was anyone else, they would be dead."

Aeric tilted his head. "So I had luck, and yours was... skill?"

Alzera nodded, hands on hips. "That's correct, dear Prince."

Aeric smirked. "Then how about another spar?"

"Mhm?" Her brows lifted up.