Vampire Reincarnation

“I see you two already met?” Euphridia’s melodious voice rang in their ears as her figure appeared from within the darkness.

“Yeah,” Kai replied, “An amazing first impression I must say.” He smirked and turned toward his teacher, glancing at Sverik with the corner of his eye. The young dwarf didn’t utter a word, in contrast to his earlier demeanor. All the barking he did before ceased as Euphy got closer, letting out a scoff at Kai’s comment.

“Sverik’s a feisty one that’s for sure, but he doesn’t mean any harm, right?” She slammed her hand on the boy’s shoulder, causing his entire body to tremble as he turned toward Euphridia with trembling pupils. An amused smile creased Kai’s lips, although he didn’t show it for long, as a knot began forming in his stomach.

“Anyway, let’s go, no time to lose!” Euphridia laughed and walked toward the training field, her armor rattling as she almost broke into a sprint. Behind her, Kai dragged his feet, his occupied mind not noticing Sverik’s venomous glances.

The moon, still hidden by the clouds, struggled to cast its light over the pillars, however, the stars decorating the night sky and the lamps scattered on the ground provided more than enough light for the three of them. Kai and Sverik sat crosslegged on the cold floor, the former breathing heavily as he straightened his back, while the latter’s back was arched. Euphridia stood in front of them with a hand on her hip, looking at the two with excitement.

“I’m sure you’ve already gotten acquainted but let me re-do the honors. Kai, this is Sverik. He comes from the neighboring Dwarven Mountain Range, his teacher is Zarem, a skilled blacksmith and swordsman. Sverik is also skilled and talented in both fields and is currently a Two Star Big Core Body Mage, at the cusp of reaching Three Stars. Naturally, he can use a wide assortment of Inko spells, and uh… he’s strong.” After that introduction, Euphy turned to Kai with a smile, gently pointing toward the boy.

“And Sverik, this is Kai.”

Upon hearing his introduction, Kai’s contemplative expression shattered, and he stared at Euphirida with widened eyes. “That’s it? I’m Kai. He’s all of that, but I’m Kai?”

“Well,” Euphridia rolled her eyes, and leaned toward Kai, “This is Kai, a vampire, and a cripple.”

“Huh-?”

“What?!”

The two jumped to their feet, their eyes clashing mid-air before turning toward Euphridia.

“He’s a vampire?!”

“I’m a cripple!”

Sverik took a step backward, clenching his fists as he stared at Kai. “I wasn’t told I’d be fighting a… a… a…!” He stuttered gritting his teeth as his pupils constricted.

“A what?” Euphy’s voice resounded in the area, her tone strict and cold as a faint suppressive force escaped her body. Sverik’s body trembled, and whatever words he had remained stuck in his throat.

“That’s what I thought. I don’t want to hear such remarks again, you two are equals, so I expect respect.” She paused, turning to Kai. “From both of you.”

“I didn’t do anything-”

“Yet,” his sentence got cut short by Euphridia, “You didn’t do anything yet.”

“Not like I would have done anything…” He pouted and walked closer to her before sitting down cross-legged. Glancing at Sverik with the tail of his eye, he saw him sitting at the same spot. “So, how is this going to go?”

“Well, I devised a small warm-up consisting of one hundred pushups and situps, then fifteen counts of rest, and then you two will duel. Simple, right?”

“I guess so…” Kai said, disappointment present in his voice. “I thought we’d jump straight to dueling.”

“Well, that’d be stupid, wouldn’t it? Plus I need to observe the difference between you so I can estimate when the duel should end. I don’t want either of you to get too hurt while fighting.”

‘Too hurt’ she says… Kai chuckled bitterly, remembering the pain he went through during their training and duels. He turned toward Sverik, a mixture of disgust, anger, and pity manifesting on his face, however, he quickly hid them as he stood up. Walking a short distance away, he began stretching, starting with his head neck, and arms, and finishing with his legs. After breathing deeply, he fell to the ground and began doing a hundred pushups, sweat dripping from his body each time he rose.

Sverik watched Kai with widened pupils, his mouth turning agape as he started doing push-ups right away. It took him some time to get started, however his speed didn’t fall far behind Kai’s after warming up.

…

The two sat parallel each other, their bodies drenched in sweat. Kai gripped a wooden sword, which swayed gently as his chest heaved. Sverik, on the other hand, held both a shield and a sword, both made out of a grayish-white wood. Giving each other death stares, they took a combat stance as they waited for Euphy to give them the go.

Soft rays of moonlight rained over the two yet-to-be warriors, and the desire to battle shone brightly within their eyes. A cold breeze passed them by, causing their hair to gently sway back and forth as a shiver ran both their backs. Euphridia stood in between them, observing their body language with a smirk. Kai held the sword diagonally in front of him, his arms loose and his knees bent with the left foot forward. Sverik, on the other hand, held a much more stable stance, holding his shield straight and his left hand backward with the sword pointed downward. Euphy inhaled sharply and took three steps backward, raising her hand and rapidly lowering it, signaling the start of the duel.

The two didn’t immediately jump at each other’s throats but carefully approached each other, eyeing each other like a viper stalking their prey. Their blades, although not pointed directly at the enemy, posed a good enough threat for them to be wary. Kai, who had never dealt with a shield before hesitated to take the lead on the attack, whilst Sverik’s pupils constricted upon seeing Kai’s stable, yet unhardened stance. Hiding most of his body behind the shield, he used a rectangular whole carved within to observe Kai’s movements, stepping backward as he advanced to keep a safe distance.

Damn this guy! Sverik thought as he glanced beyond the shield. I can’t find any flaw within his stance! His weak points aren’t obvious at all, and on top of that, I’ve never fought a vampire before. How strong can they be?

With those thoughts in mind, Sverik’s sword trembled back and forth as he hesitated to attack, unsure of his opponent’s strength and technique. Meanwhile, Kai’s eyes scanned Sverik and frowned as his eyes locked onto the shield. Why is this guy using such a big shield? I’ve never had to deal with that before… compensating for something? However, in the end, he grits his teeth and carefully approaches his opponent until only one meter separates his sword and the shield.

A soft smile creased Euphy’s lips as she watched Kai’s decisiveness, only to turn into a neutral smile as she looked at Sverik. Tactically speaking, Sverik isn’t wrong in being cautious, however, he’s being too careful while also stalling for time. Kai, on the other hand never fought a shielded opponent, however, the time Sverik gave him is more than enough to conclude. A muffled thud echoed in the ears, and, awakening from her thoughts, she looked at the two just in time to see Kai thrust at Sverik, bouncing off his shield before immediately spinning, aiming toward his opponent’s hand with a horizontal slash. That idiot!

Sverik blocked the upcoming attack almost immediately, moving his shield, it absorbed the brunt of the attack, however, he got pushed backward just enough for Kai to attempt another thrust. Damn it! Sverik cried inwardly as he hastily planted his feet on the ground, dropping his sword and holding the shield with both hands.

Thump!

In a rush, he pushed his shield forward just as Kai’s blade struck it, resulting in both of them getting pushed backward.

“Are you insane?!” He yelled as he quickly recovered his sword, glaring at Kai whose arm trembled along with the hilt and blade. Smirking in response, Kai advanced once again, yelling and charging like a madman at the still-unprepared Sverik. However, a resolute look manifested on his face as he grits his teeth. A soft murmur echoed into the night as his body started to glow with a faint light, and he began charging toward Kai as well.

Euphridia’s hand flew to her face as she looked at the two. And they started so well… Zar did tell me his pupil has some reckless tendencies but… I didn’t expect both of them to be morons! Oh well… She sighed and sat down, letting the two brawl with each other. They’re sturdy little bastards anyway.

Kai kept swinging toward Sverik, while Sverik kept blocking with his shield, looking for any opportunity to attack. Rivers of sweat ran down their backs, especially so on Kai’s who could barely keep up with Sverik’s enhanced strength. The muffled thumping noises went on for a while, accompanied by the two’s heavy breathing.

This coward! Kai yelled inwardly as he took a step backward, observing the damage he had done to the shield, he clicked his tongue in annoyance. I can’t get to him, not with this sword, or rather… tactic. His shield can block all sorts of slashes, and he has a solid stance, I can barely shake him down. And also the magic… I can’t use it yet despite having my veins healed, there’s too little mana I can filter and use… annoying. Wait- Filtered mana hmm?

However, before he could finish his train of thought, he heard the air split as a blurry figure appeared in front of him, its blade aiming straight for his head. “Bastard!”

Kai attempted to raise his sword, however it was too late as he barely managed to block it with the hilt. Sverik didn’t follow up immediately but instead observed his reaction. This guy is pretty slow, the guard captain said he’s a cripple, I thought he meant he was like me but it seems like… he’s worse!

With this new assessment, a grin appeared on Sverik’s face as he got closer to Kai, who responded by taking a few steps backward, increasing his vigilance. Kai rubbed his hand before gripping the hilt, paying close attention to Sver’s movements. Seems like he got cocky… Clicking his tongue, his pupils narrowed as he took notice of the boy’s posture. His back arched slightly, and the shield covered less of his body than before, instead prompting him to raise his sword diagonally. Finally, going in the offensive? Gulping, he patted his back pocket, surprise manifesting on his face as he pulled out a small plant. A flower, its petals blue like the sky, yet lacking any sort of life. One of the plants I collected on my way here, can’t believe I still have it. With a bitter smile, he downed it in one gulp, and his body immediately glowed with a faint light before immediately disappearing. Tsk, can’t even use a full-speed enchantment spell…

Sverik’s pupils constricted, however, a smirk formed on his face as he approached, revealing even more of his body as he prepared to attack. With a shot murmur, his speed immediately increased, and his figure turned into a blur. Using the darkness to his advantage, he thrust toward Kai, who in turn hastily raised his sword to block. Unlike before, however, their swords met mid-air with a soft thump.

“What?!” Sverik’s surprised voice escaped his body, and his sword trembled within his hand as Kai pushed it sideways with his own. Having the advantage of using two hands, Kai rapidly approached Sverik, extending his hand after briefly disarming him, aiming straight for his throat. Hastily raising his shield, Sverik prepared to retreat after Kai’s blow, although it never arrived. Instead, Sverik jumped on his feet as Kai’s hand grabbed the shield via the rectangular hole, and immediately pushed it down in an attempt to rip it from his hands.

Give it up, dwarf! Yelling inwardly, Kai’s nails dug into the wood as he pulled back in the same second he grabbed it, and successfully pried it from Sverik’s hands. He retreated as he threw it to the side, looking at his opponent with a strong fighting urge. “Come now, you can stop hiding and fight me for real!” He yelled, charging once again, disregarding any sort of technique or dueling standards.

“Who does that?!” Sverik yelled as he gripped the sword with both hands, getting ready for Kai’s maddening attack.

“I do!” With a short reply, his sword swished through the hair as he aimed a vertical slash straight at Sver’s head. Dodging to the side, Sverik prepared to attack, however he found himself wide open as Kai’s horizontal slash rushed toward his midsection.

“Bastar-!” However, his words, broken by the hit, remained stuck in his throat as he took a few steps backward. Drool dripped from his mouth, but he grits his teeth, inhales sharply, and jumps backward, avoiding another blow of Kai’s. “I’ll show you!” He yelled as he chanted under his breath, his body flashing three times as he turned into a blurry figure, rushing toward Kai, whose pupils constricted.

Not good! He instinctively blocked in front, however a shiver ran down his spine as the air behind him split. Before he could react, a heavy, powerful blow landed on his back, causing him to fall. Rolling, he avoided another fatal blow as Sverik thrust toward his chest. Quickly standing up and retreating, dirt and grass shot up from where he once was. Inhaling sharply, he regained his footing and raised his word horizontally, holding it with two hands just before the air split again. Sverik’s sword landed on Kai’s, chipping away at the dull blade.

“What the hell?” Kai cursed as he looked at his opponent, whose constricted pupils looked at him with a venomous glare. “What’s wrong with you?” However, Sverik didn’t reply and instead yelled as he kicked toward Kai. Taken by surprise, he contracted his belly, and his sword trembled as he tried to pull it back, but it was too late. Kai fell to the ground, immediately rolling away to avoid the blow he expected to come, however, his body shivered as he saw Sverik aim toward his new position. Following that, a muffled thumping sound echoed in his ear, and accompanying it was a strong gust of wind. His vision blurred as he watched the sword’s tip hanging a few centimeters away from his neck.