Skelly Swordsmanship
Thud!
I fell backwards as my wooden sword flew out of my hand.
"Tsk."
I clicked my tongue and got back up.
My opponent was a skeleton knight.
He was probably a decently strong knight before losing his life, as he was able to beat me consistently without expending much effort.
My master had ordered him to teach me, but, well...
'He can't talk...'
All he was doing was beating me up.
I guess that I was learning a little bit, as over the past week I had been able to dodge slightly better and use a sword with a little more proficiency.
I grabbed my training sword off the ground and took a basic stance.
Back in Notoria, we were taught basic swordsmanship to build reflexes and body strength.
We didn't care to make our own swordsmanship style, as it was unsightly for a mage family to create their own, instead we borrowed the methods of the imperial knights.
At that time I had thought I was pretty good at swordsmanship.
Well, at least my teachers had told me so.
Right now though, I was getting my ass handed to me.
Looking at the undead knight in front of me, it was clear he was not going to attack first.
'Fine, be like that.'
I charged towards him and lunged towards his ribs.
It was a simple strike, without any skillful technique.
All it had was my frustration over losing.
The knight stood perfectly still, even as the sword approached close.
Clack.
When the blade was a hair's length away, he instantly shifted his sword to meet mine, blocking it effortlessly.
More than blocking, he redirected my momentum, causing me to stumble.
'Going on the offensive is even harder.'
Even though he could have finished the fight in that moment, the knight allowed me to recover my bearing.
Pointing towards me, he beckoned with a bony finger.
Again.
This time, I did not charge, I circled.
Hah.
My breathing was ragged.
I thought about the swordsmanship I was using thus far.
The Key Imperial style focused on simple, rigid movements, so that the users could be "walls of steel."
It made sense, considering that it was an empire of mages, the knights were merely fodder to stand in front as a vanguard.
I had learnt the style for a few years, so it was hard to break those patterns.
But I felt that if I didn't, I'd never be able to win.
I feinted high, repeating a strike I had used beforehand.
I knew the knight would only react at the last second, so when my blade came close...
I dropped low, shifting the blade's trajectory towards the knight's knee joint.
Even then, his blade was moving to intercept my feint.
Clack!
"Heh, take that, asshole."
For the first time in a week, I had been able to land a strike.
Looking at his face to check his reaction, his eye holes stared at me blankly, and I got the feeling that he was bored.
I really, really, hate being looked down upon.
[Trait: Swordsmanship (F) has been earnt.]
Exiting the training ground, I asked the mage undead that had welcomed us about my master.
I hadn't seen the guy since we had came here, and I couldn't help but wonder what he was up to.
Obviously he hadn't fallen sick or something like that, so he was probably doing something important.
Maybe it had to do with the item he received from the sanctum knights, or perhaps he was working on the cloaking spell that was supposed to mask my mana.
"Apologies, the master remains busy."
His blazing purple eyes, unlike that of the other undead who merely had empty eye sockets, bore into me.
I wondered if he was jealous of me, or something.
Well, maybe that's just how the undead gaze feels.
"Could you tell me what he's been up to?"
The skeleton's answer was delayed, as if he were wondering whether to tell me or not.
"The master has been working on a medicine."
Huh?
Maybe he is sick after all?
Could archmages even get sick to begin with?
Or undead, for that matter.
"Well, uh, is he alright?"
"Of course, the master is nigh immortal."
Then, if not for him, perhaps it was for someone else.
Maybe me?
I mean, it's not like I was sick or anything, but maybe the skeleton actually meant my master was making some great elixir for me.
"So... is he making it for someone else, then?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
"Apologies, I am barred from releasing this information to anyone, you would have to ask the master himself."
I frowned at the answer, but it seemed as if it was a restriction forced upon the skeleton by my master himself.
"Then, that's all."
I went towards a lounge area, and a skeleton dressed in a suit approached me with a plate.
Honestly, his appearance was a mix of funny and ominous.
Taking the plate, my mouth watered at the sight of the wolf meat that had been cooked by a gourmet chef.
Apparently my master had some undead chefs.
There were a few upsides to living in this place.
Laying down in my assigned bedroom, I was quite comfortable.
It was larger than the room I had back in the estate, plus it had heating spells to maintain a pleasant temperature.
I opened my status window.
[Furio Ars Notoria]
Body: Stage 1 - Highest
Reflex: Stage 2 - Lowest
Magic: Layer 2 - Highest
Traits: Circuitry of Infinity (EX), The Notary Art (F), Dragon-Slaying (FFF), Swordsmanship (F)
'Oh, hey.'
There were several changes.
My body stat had reached stage one - highest, presumably from me being mercillesly beaten by the skeleton knight.
Over the past week he had broken my bones numerous times, which were always fixed by a seeminglessly endless supply of potions and elixirs.
It seemed all that doping had helped strengthen my body.
Today, he had went easy, perhaps knowing I could make some sort of breakthrough.
After landing a single strike on the knight, my reflex had increased to stage two.
I thought for a second that I didn't feel any different, but the effect would probably reveal itself the next time I fought the knight.
This was in addition to the fact that I had received the swordsmanship trait.
[Swordsmanship - F]
You know how to hold a sword.
Effect: Improved understanding when wielding swords.
Honestly, I wasn't all that impressed.
Why would I want to be a swordsman, fighting so up close and personal.
I envisioned myself in the future, being able to kill a monster from miles away with a rain of thousands of bullets so powerful that it was indiscernable from artillery fire.
Staring at my magic stat, I wondered when my master would finish his medicine-making.
For my third layer advancement, I would need to achieve a minor enlightenment.
This was the case for mages, requiring an enlightenment every three layers.
The sixth layer would require a moderate enlightenment, and the ninth layer, the realm of archmages, would require a great enlightenment.
After that point, it was anyone's guess, it was theorised that every level after that point needed its own enlightenment.
My master had said he'd create some sort of trial for me to achieve a minor enlightenment.
'Well, it's not like I'm running low on time.'
I drifted asleep, satisfied with my growth.
LOG 19 - MARTIAL CORES
Mages often look down upon martial artists and knights, as they are the ones who have thrown away the chance at being a mage by creating a martial core. To create a martial core, one must warp their own magic circuits inwards, wrapping them and molding them into a single core. This core is able to provide great strength to the bodies of the wielders, but is extremely poor at directing magic outwards, meaning knights cannot cast even basic spells such as magic bullet. At best, they are able to project their thick and tough magic outwards as a form of armor or enhancement for their weapon.
