"Wake up," he said.

"Ugh," I groaned. "What happened?"

"You got hit," he said.

Did I get hit? How? I didn't even see anything! 

"That strike just now, if you can handle that, I shall consider you ready and I will send you to our backyard. Usually, you would have entered with a team of six. However, I'm not training you to be an average knight. You will be the Princess's escort in the future, and I shall train you as such. Do you understand, Seraphine?" he said, his voice stern and serious.

My body still hurt and my head was spinning. Was this what it meant to be a Royal Guard? Did my brother also train like this? If that was the case, then I could also do it. No, I would do it. I would become a knight and make my family proud.

"Yes, Father. I will do anything to achieve my dream," I said, determined.

My father smiled.

"Good, now raise your sword. I will adjust my strength," he said.

My training began in earnest. I dashed toward my father and swung my sword as hard as possible. This proved to be a mistake because after my sword clashed with my father's sword, my hand went numb.

"Don't just swing your sword like that. You will destroy your hand before being able to hit your opponent. Focus, observe, take advantage. Find the little details your opponent gives you, control your strength and stamina, and be aware of attack range. Remember, in combat, if you can control your distance and find the right timing, you can defeat even the strongest enemy. Now, again!"

"Yes, Father!" I said and tried again.

This time, instead of dashing forward, I slowly moved towards him. I started my attack with a stab to his chest, hoping to lure his sword away. My sword was swiped to the left, so I took advantage and began to redirect the energy and slash his right side. But, with very minimal movement, my father stopped my sword again and I decided to retreat to try again.

"Good, always think of your next move. Don't assume that your strike will hit. A very skilled swordsman can predict your attack before you even make them. You would think they can see the future." 

My training continued. I tried to attack, father stopped me and then gave me advice on what I did wrong, and based on that advice I tried to attack again. We repeated this over and over again until I couldn't move my body.

"Let's take a break." my father announced.

Right now, I was laying on the ground, breathing heavily. I felt my muscles aching all over and my lungs feeling like they were on fire. Despite that, I was smiling. This was exactly what I wanted.

Not long after that, a maid brought me some water. Feeling quite thirsty after training, I quenched my thirst. After drinking, I saw my father approaching me.

"Well done. I can tell that your training has paid off. I will reward your instructor later." he said, praising me.

"Thank you, Father. I am sure instructor Dan would be delighted." I said, grateful.

After father took over my training, instructor Dan went back to his knight squad. It was a little sad, but I could still find him if I wanted to. I should give him something later.

"What is that bracer? I've never seen it before." my father asked, curious.

"Oh! It's a birthday gift from instructor Dan! I really like it!" I beamed, while at the same time trying to show it off to my father.

"Hmm, it's a good gift, very useful," he said, nodding.

Why did I feel like my father was annoyed?

"I'll give you a good sword later. Have you rested enough? Do you want to continue?" he asked,

Ohh! A new sword from my father! My second piece of equipment!

"Yes, Father! I can continue!" I shouted excitedly.

I got up and ready, entering my stance again. I still feel tired but after what father said, I feel like I have to work even harder.

After a few moments, I started my attack.

“Swordsmanship, no matter how advanced, will always revert to the basics—slash, stab, block, parry, and footwork. If you can master that, then everything else is just a variation of those five. What we teach the squire is called Offensive Kingdom Swordsmanship. Why? Because it’s easier to teach a standardized style to a lot of people in a short amount of time. However, what I will teach you is not that. Throughout our training, I will let you develop your own style, so it would fit perfectly with your body.” lectured my father.

My father keeps lecturing me, even when I attack him. Frustration burned inside me, this means I'm not even a threat. Someday I will make sure that he won't be able to talk while sparring with me.

“For your reference, I usually categorized swordsmanship style into five: fiery, a relentless attack without giving the opponent the opportunity to fight back; flow, a style which relied mostly on controlling your opponent; fast, an explosive speed too fast to react to; free, this style relied heavily on footwork, making the opponent unable to guess what’s your next move; and lastly, firm, a defense focused style, with strong emphasis on blocking,” he said, explaining to me while effortlessly fending my attack

Ugh, I got hit again. This time it was quite powerful, rendering me on my knees. Waves of nausea swept over me. But still, I won't give up. I get back up, steady my breathing and start attacking again.

“There is no such thing as the strongest style, it all depends on the user. Remember, what I said is a guide, not a rule. I will show you each and every style, and I want you to take what you think is useful and discard the rest. Don’t worry and take your time, let your own style develop naturally.”

Kyaa! This time, my body flew backward. It was a really hard hit. I tried to get up but my body won't listen to me.

“Let us end today’s training. Tomorrow, we will focus more on handling mana to strengthen your body.”

Father walked towards me. After he arrived, he lifted me up and carried me back to the mansion. I wanted to protest, but I was too tired to even do that. I feel my consciousness slipping again.

“Well done, rest for the rest of the day.” I heard a gentle voice.

I want to say something but unfortunately, everything went black. I passed out.

~*~

After an intense training session yesterday, I couldn't get up for the whole afternoon, only being able to wake up when it was approaching nighttime. At that point, I decided to stay in my room and rest more because I still felt my body hurting all over. I even asked dinner to be delivered to me.

Today is the next day. I woke up with a heavy body. It has been a while since I felt muscle sore. Thankfully today’s training won't be like yesterday. I will finally learn my family’s mana handling technique!

I finished my breakfast and then did my morning routine. After that, I took some time to wash up and tidy myself before going to find father. 

“I’m here, Father,” I called.

“Come here, sit down on the ground,” he beckoned,” Do you know about our family history ?”

“Yes, father. It is said that our family already existed before the empire was founded. Rather, we help build the empire with the royal family.” I said.

“That’s right. But what the public doesn’t know is that our family doesn’t come from this place.”

“What do you mean, Father?” I asked, confused.

“The royal family and our family are travelers, from someplace far. At least that’s what was described from the first family’s head journal. Even back then, our relationship with the royal family was firm.” he explained.

“So, our family has always protected the royal family ?”

“Yes, that's how it was written.”

“Woah…”

I didn't know that, so we have always had a relationship with the royal family. It’s amazing that our relationship is still good for so long! And it will still continue with brother and me in the future!

“We tried to find out where this faraway land was. We scoured the continent but didn’t find anything. The next thing we did was sailing the seas. But instead, what we found was a storm that stretched forever.”

“Huh?”

“We call it the Wall. A storm that always raged and stretched infinitely, surrounding our continent. We assume that beyond that wall is where our ancestors come from. We tried to cross it a few times but it always ended in failure, so we stopped. There are still those who tried it to this day but you don’t have to worry about that,” Father stopped speaking for a moment and looked at me, “The reason I'm telling you this is because there’s something special about our bloodline.”

“Special?”

“We cannot become a mage.”

“!?” I gasped, widening my eyes.

That’s right! When I read our family history, there’s never a mention of someone from our family becoming a mage. I thought it was because we are exclusively a knight family. I never knew it was because we couldn’t become a mage in the first place.

“There has never been a mage throughout our family history. Some tried, but all of them failed. We never know the reason. Instead, we are blessed with a constitution that is extremely compatible to become a knight. In addition to that, our ancestors have left us with a technique that will further help us.” father continued.

“Our special mana handling technique.”

“Yes, that’s right. From what we know, this technique was brought by our ancestors from that faraway land. This will enable you to wrap your body with mana and dramatically increase your strength. Now, are you ready?” asked my father.

“Yes, Father!” I said excitedly.

“Good, relax your body. First, you have to…”

…

Time passed.

I continue my training with father diligently. I can feel my strength grow every day but I still can’t handle that first strike by father. Fortunately, my hard work is paying off, I can finally see the strike! It’s only a matter of time before I can react and block it!

In the meantime, I started going to the palace to meet with the Princess. Who would’ve thought that my first outing with her was getting swept by the current in the river inside a peculiarly long wooden box because she wanted to know how it feels to ‘walk on the water’.

I can still remember the panicked faces of the guards. We only looked away for a second and the next thing we hear is her excited voice going further and further away! Where did she even find that box!?

sigh That was an exciting month. Is it going to be like that every time I visit? I mean, sure it’s fun, but still!

Before I knew it 3 years had passed.