BOOK 5. CHAPTER 9

“Why? Do you have a new Skill you want to practice with?” Brin asked.

“Something like that,” said Hedrek, looking to the side.

“I bet everyone got some good Achievements for our work in Canibri,” Brin prodded. “I know I did.”

“Do you want to duel or not?”

“Fine,” Brin said with a shrug.

Since Hedrek carried a wooden practice sword, Brin decided to follow suit and picked out a quarterstaff to replace his spear.

“Let me get my armor off real quick,” said Brin.

Hedrek said, “Keep it, if you like. We'll go to first touch.”

“What? Why?” Brin asked. That didn't really make any sense for Hedrek's fighting style. You couldn't take down someone like Hedrek by tapping him lightly with the tip of a rapier, and not the least because he was normally covered in armor. [Knights] fought to open up an opportunity to use a full-bodied swing, or they tried to grapple each other to the ground.

“Maybe I want to work on finesse today,” said Hedrek, and Brin figured he understood. Hedrek must've gotten to the next step in [Path of the Blade], the one that improved speed and precision for reduced power.

He didn't feel bad about keeping the quarterstaff against the smaller wooden weapon in Hedrek's hand, then. Brin might have a Dexterity advantage on Hedrek normally, but not enough to overcome Hedrek when he had a Skill for it.

He followed Hedrek to an open dueling circle, marked with a circle of white sand. There was some kind of Skill or enchantment on the grounds, because it always seemed to find its way into a perfect circle again, and whenever someone flung a sword or even an opponent past the ring, they seemed to lose momentum much more quickly than they should. The knights-at-arms of the order were supernaturally strong, even compared to other combat classers, so this would more or less let them practice without getting in each others way.

Brin faced off against Hedrek and bowed, a dueling tradition.

Hedrek rolled his eyes. “You don't have to make this all formal or anything. I don't have a grudge to settle. I just want to practice.”

That was a relief. When Cid had said something was up with Hedrek, and then Hedrek had come straight to him with such a serious look on his face, Brin had started to wonder. Then this really was about practicing a new Skill.

“Alright. Then when do we start?” Brin asked.

“Whenever you w–”

Brin dashed forward. If Hedrek really had gotten to Cid's level on the [Path of the Blade], then this first strike taking Hedrek by surprise might be the only chance he got. He stabbed, using the full length of the quarterstaff to keep as much distance between him and Hedrek as possible.

Hedrek slammed his sword down, blocking Brin's staff into the ground. It was the correct move; any other direction and Brin would be able to use the momentum to bring it around into another swing. More, Hedrek struck hard. This wasn't like dueling Cid at all; even a light tap like this nearly struck the staff out of his hands.

Brin rolled to the side, trying to trip Hedrek with the staff while pulling it back to a more stable grip, but Hedrek leapt over it and swung down at Brin, only missing because he couldn't change direction in the air and Brin was able to move aside.

Hedrek followed up with a series of swings that put Brin on the backfoot. Each of them were full of the wild ferocity that he was used to from Hedrek, and all of the brutal power. Strikes where normally Brin would be able to turn a parry into a counter strike instead had him stepping back because of the sheer power in the blows. His hands were shaking, probably already bruised.

To be honest, he had trouble fighting off someone who had even regular [Blade Mastery]. It was a long shot to imagine he'd be able to beat someone on the third step. Normally, this would be the part that he started to get clever or use illusions, but he didn't have a good excuse for that here; this was practice.

He hung on, waited for an opening, and when Hedrek extended a side-sweep too far, Brin reached out and tapped him on the shin.

Hedrek reflexively swung back the return blow, and smacked Brin hard on the forearm. It hit hard enough to break another crack in Brin's armor. “Ow!” He dropped his quarterstaff and waved his arm. It wasn't broken, but there was definitely going to be a bruise. In fact, [Battle Fury] had recognized it as a wound and ticked up a bit.

“Sorry,” Hedrek said, running his hand through his hair in distress. He turned to go back to the entrance.

Brin repressed a biting retort and pumped his hand a couple times, just to be sure it wasn't broken. He couldn't really be mad at Hedrek for this. The same reflexes that made him a pain to spar with made him a hero on the battlefield.

He tamped down his temper and said, “Where are you going?”

Hedrek looked back, still frowning. “You're done, right? We can practice, but we have to stay battle-ready. One bruise like that is fine, but you shouldn't risk getting any more.”

Brin shook his head. “Who exactly do you think you're talking to? This will be healed by the time we’re done here.”

It wasn't quite true, but it was close. [Scarred, But Healing] didn't just triple his healing speed. It tripled his healing after the significant improvement he already had from his high Vitality.

Hedrek considered him for a moment and then said. “Oh. Well, alright then.”

The second time, Hedrek moved a lot more carefully. His strikes didn't carry nearly as much of their normal vicious strength as Brin was used to, and while he was a lot more precise, he didn't move with the speed Brin was expecting, either. He managed to tap Hedrek's thigh using the standard set of movements, the first things that Hogg had drilled him on.

Brin decided that Hedrek must be trying to practice a particular move set, and left the ring briefly to switch his quarterstaff out for a practice sword. Hedrek was clearly holding himself back a lot, so there was no reason for Brin to keep an unfair weapon advantage.

The third bout went about the same. Hedrek's weapon flowed smoothly, with perfect control, and acted out the sword movements as if he were a dancer on stage. But again, he wasn't very quick, he didn't hit with his regular hand-stinging power, and worse, he was predictable. Brin easily angled him into position and scored another tag, this one on the chest.

Was Brin wrong about the third step of the [Path of the Blade]? The control was there, but where was the speed?

“Surely you got some good Achievements from Canibri,” Brin said, trying again. “I got a 10% bonus when fighting while outnumbered, and a 20% boost to all stats when fighting without subterfuge.”

“I got both of those, too,” said Hedrek. “And I leveled up an Achievement that adds Strength and scales with my level, got something for Stamina regeneration, and a few other little things.”

Brin decided to just ask. “What about [Path of the Blade]?”

Hedrek sighed. “I'm still on the second step.”

Brin's eyes went wide. “Seriously?”

He didn't know all the requirements for [Inexhaustible], but he was pretty sure you had to get to the end of the [Path of the Blade] to get it. Maybe it would be unreasonable for Hedrek to expect to earn [Inexhaustible] from Canibri, alone, but to not even get the next step was preposterous.

One thing Brin had learned about this world was that opportunities like Canibri didn't come every day. Even for a [Knight], fighting with those odds and surviving wasn't the type of thing you could expect to happen more than once in your life. It was a career-defining event. And Hedrek hadn't sat in the corner and watched, he'd been in the heaviest of the fighting every time. If he couldn't advance his Skill from that, then Brin had to wonder if he would ever do it.

Hedrek sighed again.

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“What's holding you back?”

Hedrek said, “Sir Crost says it's because of the way I fight. Too wild, with no thought put into it. Cid told me once that when he fights, he thinks it through, makes a plan, and then executes. I don't do that. I just do what feels right, you know?”

“I thought that was because of [Path of the Blade]. On the second step, it exchanges precision for power,” said Brin.

“I guess. It's not like I can turn it on and off.”

Brin tapped his practice sword on the ground a couple times, thinking. “Ok, let's do it.”

“Do what?”

“Let's do what Crost says you're missing and practice fighting with intentionality.”

Hedrek gave him a blank look, so Brin said, “We're going to practice doing things on purpose.”

Hedrek frowned. “Everything I do is on purpose.”

“Here's what I mean: I'm going to attack you with the standard set. What are you going to counter that with?”

“What's the standard set?” asked Hedrek.

“You know that. You tried it against me just a minute ago.”

When Hedrek still looked uncertain, Brin said “This,” and demonstrated the movements.

A light went on. “Oh! That's what that is? Well that's easy, then. All I have to do is--”

Brin held up a hand. “Don't tell me. Just picture what you're going to do, and then do exactly that.”

“Got it.”

They squared off again, and Brin lifted his sword for the opening chop. Hedrek closed this distance in an instant and held one hand up to keep Brin's sword up high while bringing his own sword around to stab behind Brin's breastplate in the side of the ribs. Luckily, this time it was just a soft tap; if Hedrek had stabbed with full power at that spot it might've been a mortal blow even with a practice sword.

“Uh. Good job,” said Brin, a little nonplussed that Hedrek had ended it so quickly. “This time, you go into the standard set. I'm going to counter it. I want you to try to guess what I'm going to do to counter you, and try to counter my counter.”

“Got it,” said Hedrek.

“I'm not going to do what you just did,” said Brin. To be honest, he didn't think he could pull it off. Hedrek was a lot faster than before, maybe due to the new Strength buff he'd been talking about. He was definitely stronger than Brin; if it had been in any doubt before Canibri, it wasn't now.

Hedrek took a second to think and then nodded. “Ok, got it.”

Hedrek went into the movements, moving with precision but still a lot slower than Brin thought he should be capable of, and when Brin countered using the same defense he'd used before, Hedrek completely flubbed it and Brin scored a tap on his chest. This time, Hedrek avoided the reflexive swing to Brin's arm.

They tried again, and then again after that, and when Hedrek finally realized Brin was going to do the same thing every time until he had a good counter to it, he finally managed to turn it around and score a tap on Brin.

They went like that the rest of the afternoon, with Brin calling out his moves and Hedrek forced to adapt. He thought Hedrek was making improvements in thinking things over and making a plan, but overall? Brin couldn't help but think that Hedrek's fighting was getting worse. He was losing that sense of menace that made Brin want to second guess everything the second he squared off against the big [Knight]. His strikes didn't have that overwhelming power that made your whole body vibrate and made you want to step back when you should press forward. His speed was frankly normal now, and there was none of the unpredictability that made it impossible to make a plan.

Brin hoped it was like when an amateur athlete got professional training for the first time. Especially in games like golf or bowling, you often got worse before you got better, as your muscles had to get used to moving a different way. There were trainers watching the duels, so he hoped someone would've stepped in if Brin was doing something really wrong. He'd check with someone, anyone, maybe sir Crost, just to make sure they were on the right track.

With their short conversations between spars, Brin started to get an idea of how Hedrek had been trained. His father, also a [Knight], had turned his nose up at the idea that you could learn to fight by swinging against the empty air, so apparently he'd never memorized any sword forms and hadn't wasted time on things like technique. The right technique was what worked, and you could only learn what worked by trying it in a duel. Hedrek had practiced relentlessly, but only in real fights where mistakes or failure were rewarded with bruises. He'd fought his father when he was around, and against the stable boys or neighborhood kids otherwise, often needed to take on three or four of them at a time to make it fair. When he'd gotten [Warrior] on System Day, [Blade Mastery] had straightened out the worst of his flaws, and that was that.

Brin was surprised to learn that Hedrek's father had actually been a [Knight]. He'd always assumed that Hedrek had grown up poor, just from comments he made here and there. But he spoke of his father in the past tense, and Brin got the feeling that he'd died when Hedrek was rather young.

After a few hours, Hedrek was starting to fade. The tiredness wasn't physical, if anything Hedrek was vibrating with energy and could keep fighting another ten hours, but his brain was getting tired. His movements were starting to get sloppy and slow, which told Brin that he'd had enough.

Just as he was about to suggest they adjourn for the day, Cid entered the dueling grounds. He considered Govannon for a moment, who was still training with someone from another Lance, but when he noticed Brin and Hedrek had stopped made his way over to them.

“I'm surprised to see you here,” said Brin.

“Well, I do practice sometimes, you know, just to keep up appearances. Can't have anyone think my whole purpose in this war is to stay silent and take notes during hours and hours of never-ending meetings,” said Cid.

“He's down here two hours before anyone else wakes up every day,” Hedrek said to Brin.

“Would you mind if I borrowed Hedrek for a bit?” Cid asked.

“Sure. I was just about done anyway,” said Brin. Then he remembered that it was Hedrek who was about done and that he'd actually be fine to keep going, but now the moment had passed and he'd look stupid if he said anything. He handed Cid his practice sword and then stepped out of the ring to watch.

Cid started the way Brin had, with a formal bow. Hedrek laughed and shook his head, but Cid stayed in place until Hedrek gave in a returned the bow. The Cid launched forward, overcame Hedrek's slow and careful defense, and delivered not a soft tap but a strong thwack against the ribs.

Hedrek grunted, but more in surprise than anything else. He rubbed his side where he'd been hit, looking confused.

“Go grab your armor if you need it,” said Cid. He himself was fully kitted out in his armor, and even though he still wore his old set, his was still brightly polished and looked almost new.

“Nah,” Hedrek said.

They closed again, and Cid easily danced around everything Hedrek tried before smacking him in the cheek.

“Come on. I don't have much time for training lately, so humor me. I want to fight the real Hedrek. Go all out,” said Cid.

Hedrek grinned, and it looked almost like a weight had been dropped off his shoulders. His posture rounded somewhat, become more primal, almost feral. He shifted his feet subtly and put another hand to his practice sword. He held it like it was his regular two-handed greatsword, and from the pent-up unspent violence in his eyes, Brin was certain that in his hands, it would be.

Brin was even more excited to see what Cid would do. Outside of the time with the goblin [Paragon], he was pretty sure he'd never seen Cid fight before. Usually, Cid skipped the fighting part and went straight to winning. The fact that they were best friends meant that Hedrek should be able to keep up with him somewhat, and Brin couldn't wait to see it.

Hedrek charged. Cid... didn't. He sort of moved forward, running, but he didn't move in a blur. In fact, Brin could easily follow his movements with his eyes.

When they clashed, Hedrek tore him apart. With chaotic blows that seemed to come from every direction, Hedrek beat Cid's armor like a drum. If he'd held a greatsword, Brin was certain Hedrek would've cut him into seven pieces. As it was he knocked the practice sword out of Cid's hand and flung him to the ground.

Brin stepped back to the edge of the ring. “What was that? Did everyone forget how to fight in the two days I was asleep?”

Cid snorted a laugh and pulled himself to his feet. “Something like that. Go ahead and take a look.”

Brin used [Wyrdic Inspect], and first felt the powerful bonds of Wyrd that tied Cid to his Lance, his superiors, and his family. It was a simple kind of Wyrd, lacking any hesitation; Cid knew his duty, and it lined up perfectly well with his desires. He would protect his Lance. He would obey his orders. He would armor his family. Simple in principle, while complex in execution.

Looking past the Wyrd, Brin saw the Skill on Cid's status that he wanted to show him.

Path of the Blade – The fourth step on the path to true mastery. This Skill decreases the blade's striking power, makes it more difficult to control, and decreases the wielder's speed.

Brin was caught between excited and mortified. “You got to the next step!” he cheered.

“I got to the next step,” said Cid, returning the cheer. “It was the [Paragon] that did it.”

“The next step is stupid!”

“The next step is stupid,” Cid agreed.

“Why wouldn't you just stay where you are?”

“Because the step after this is the last one, and it'll be worth it,” said Cid.

“Unless you die before you get there. Because you're in a war.”

“That's why I have no time to waste.”

Cid dueled again with Hedrek, and again he was quickly annihilated. Brin had to admit that Cid showed a lot of determination, because every time he got struck down he came right back up again. That was the only thing admirable about Cid, though. His speed was pathetic, his strength was laughable, and while he more or less had perfect form, Brin thought he was barely on the level of a fourteen-year-old who'd just gotten [Warrior] on System day. It was a travesty.

And he'd really thought that he was going to get to see Cid fight.

“What a disappointment,” Brin said, shaking his head.

“Tell me about it,” said Govannon, exiting his own dueling ring. “It's enough to make me question everything. I'm half ready to give up on mastery and focus on axes instead.”

“You should be doing that anyway,” said Brin. “Currently our Lance doesn't much of an answer to armor.”

“Then why don't you do it, instead of leaving everything to the Dectant like always?” said Govannon.

Right, that was Brin's mistake. He'd been talking to Govannon like he was a regular guy instead of a complete child. He kept his mouth shut and watched Cid get beat down again, then decided he had better things to do and found another partner who didn't mind practicing against a spear-wielder.

When mealtime came, Cid told him something as they left the dueling grounds. “By the way. They're going to be doing another round of joint exercises, complete with that fun little competition that got you so worked up last time. It will be a grand show of force, here inside the borders of Arcaena itself. I thought we had a pretty good showing last time around, and if we... Brin?”

Cid had noticed that Brin had stopped walking.

“Will there be points?”

“See? I told you. I told you this is exactly how he was going to take it,” said Hedrek.

“Will there be points?” Brin repeated.

“We should've waited to tell him until the day of,” said Hedrek.

Brin didn't repeat his question. Their lack of answer was answer enough. There would be points. This time, Brin wasn't going to be content with “a pretty good showing”. This time, they were going for first place.

Already, Brin was splitting his mind, assigning tasks, and making plans. “Come, we've wasted too much time already. We've got work to do.”