It was a clear day with a cloudless blue sky as fervent duels were taking place. Sword against sword, metal against metal. The clanging of iron filled the air with sharp sounds that made those who weren't accustomed to it uncomfortable. Although they seemed like battles to the death, it was just another day of training in the Central Capital Castle of Forthen.
When the blond-haired boy noticed, three huge flaming fireballs were coming towards him. Despite this, he headed towards them. He didn't fear them. Kewy, with his eyes shining in a lively yellow, easily dodged each one so effortlessly that some other soldiers stopped their training to witness the scene.
He advanced even further towards the conjurer. Before he knew it, a large stalactite-shaped rock flew towards him, but he also dodged it, only making a small cut on his cheek. And then, with a jump...
"Aaa! Okay, I give up! I give up!"
Before delivering the final blow, the conjurer gave up the battle. He seemed terribly sweaty and exhausted. This would be the consequence of spending most of his mana in this fight. Echis was panting when he continued:
"Man, I really can't win against you."
"It's not all that," Kewy said politely with a smile.
Echis sat on the ground, upset.
"For starters, this training doesn't make sense. Why would the commander have the pairs train against each other?"
In the elite military of Forthen, soldiers were separated into pairs: a conjurer and a swordsman. They had to do similar training and be almost always together on missions, especially those exploring beyond the barrier that prevented magical beasts from invading the region.
"Well," Kewy also sat down next to his friend. "If you stop to think about it, we're training our weak points. My goal is to get as close to the enemies as quickly as possible, and yours is to keep the enemies at a distance. It seems like a fair type of training."
"But you know that's not exactly what I mean. The commander said we would have an outside visitor today, right? Someone who is well-known worldwide, according to him. If we were supposed to warm up, why make us tired so soon?"
"Isn't this a warm-up?" Kewy asked, tilting his head slightly.
"For you, maybe. But for me, who needs to store my mana, it's very tiring, you know?"
"I understand... so making you spend all your mana at the beginning of the duels is a good strategy," Kewy said thoughtfully.
"Forget about it!" Echis exclaimed.
It was when Kewy responded with brief laughter that a cold wind came and lightly tousled his hair. Before he noticed, he saw the entrance to the training field open and a big man with a beard and long hair pass through it with a strange companion.
"Hey," whispered Echis, looking at the companion. "Do you think that person is who the commander was talking about?"
When Kewy saw her, he realized that she had a stranger appearance than anything he had ever seen before. Long black hair covered her waist, dark wings were tucked in on her back, and she also hid her face behind a white mask.
The military and people of great power in Forthen were the only ones who knew that there were other civilizations in the world. This was because Forthen was a large country on an island that few dared to approach due to the high density of magical beasts around it. The only thing that allowed civilization to exist in that place was the great magical barrier. That being said, Forthen's contact with the outside world was almost nonexistent, and very rarely was someone able to meet a foreigner.
"Men! Formation!" bellowed the big man as he approached.
In a matter of seconds, everyone who trained with each other stopped what they were doing and stood in pre-established rows they were already accustomed to. Murmurs among the soldiers soon sounded. Many were curious about that strange-looking person.
"Is that the person the commander said would come here to train with us?" someone asked, tilting their head.
"I heard she's an acquaintance of the queen."
"She doesn't look very strong. What do you guys think?"
As a grunt, the commander soon caught everyone's attention with a dry cough. As quickly as they stood in formation, silence took over the area. When Commander Sparks puffed out his chest, he began speaking in a volume that everyone could hear.
"Few here must know the history of the world outside this country. Therefore, they must not know this one beside me. A few hundred years ago, there were wars against beings called Abyssal Beasts. Many of these beings were over thirty meters tall. To contain their advance, the Fallengod group was formed, bringing together the strongest swordsmen in the world. Among them is Thorkel, who came here today in a meeting with the queen, but gave up a bit of his time to compete against you," and he turned to her. "It is truly a pleasure to have you here with us today, miss."
However, she only made a small bow, without commenting on anything.
"Those who do not fear death and would like a unique chance to face her, step forward," said Commander Sparks.
Only a few soldiers were willing to fight against an unknown being, among them Kewy, who took a step forward. He did not know the strength of that masked person, but, from what the commander had said, it was a unique chance in a lifetime.
"Bro..." Echis whispered to Kewy beside him, "You're getting married in less than a week...! Do you really want to hurt yourself like this?!"
To this question, Kewy smiled as if he found it amusing. "Qynn wouldn't really want me to hurt myself, would she?... But I think she would understand."
"My sister would break your neck."
"That's part of her charm."
"I really don't understand you!"
Before anyone could notice, a large soldier - about two meters tall - marched up to Thorkel. As far as Kewy knew, he was one of the strongest in the squad. He and Kewy had trained together a few times before, and most of the time, the man's overwhelming strength had prevailed, earning him an easy victory.
"Formation!" Sparks shouted, making the opponents bow.
Anyway, the two about to battle bowed to each other. Soon, they drew their swords. The man raised a large and heavy sword, but on the other side...
"Wow."
"What is that?"
Murmurs passed among the soldiers. Thorkel had two long and thin swords at her waist. None of those present had ever heard of such swords. They seemed light but sharp. Despite this, only one was drawn. When the murmurs ceased, Sparks announced:
"Begin!"
In a kick-like advance, the big man spread dust in a trail that followed him to Thorkel. But she remained motionless.
"RAAAA!" The soldier yelled in a vertical blow.
It was only for a second. When the man raised his arms to strike, Thorkel, as fast as a blink of an eye, turned the sword backwards and hit the center of her opponent's armor directly with the hilt. The impact was so powerful that part of the armor cracked, and a large amount of blood came out of the man's mouth as he fell painfully to the ground.
The battle ended in just one blow.
"The fight is over," Sparks said approaching. "The winner, of course, is Thorkel."
It was a matter of seconds. As soon as Sparks declared the winner, he turned his face to a group of healers who were already ready at the entrance to the training field to pick up an injured person. At least five approached with a wooden stretcher and carried the man - now unconscious - into the barracks.
"It wasn't a fatal blow," Thorkel murmured almost inaudibly.
When she turned her face, she noticed that many were looking at her completely impressed. In addition, those who were previously willing to fight now backed away, as if they regretted their delayed decision.
With a dry cough, Sparks drew everyone's attention again. "Well, I believe that after this demonstration of strength and superiority, you will devote yourselves more to training. There is still a long way to go if you want to be at least a worthy opponent of the one who bears the nickname Thorkel the Immortal. As I know none of you are willing to duel, we'll end it here. You are free to..."
Kewy politely stepped strongly on the ground, with the clear intention of informing them that he was still there.
"Soldier Kewy Narick... any questions?"
"If possible, sir, I'm still willing to duel," he said, saluting and looking his commander in the eye.
At that moment, everyone looked at him impressed. They weren't gaping at the fact that Kewy, in particular, still wanted to duel, but rather that there was someone crazy enough to still want it. Even Thorkel, who wasn't completely fluent in the language they spoke, wondered if she had translated something wrong.
But, despite everything, Commander Sparks only approached Kewy and whispered in a volume that only the two could hear.
"Are you getting married in a week, right? Take my advice and don't do anything reckless."
Hearing that, Kewy smiled.
"Captain," he spoke a little louder, "As you said, this is a unique opportunity. I don't know if I'll have another chance like this in my lifetime. So, if you allow me," he faced Thorkel, "I would like to have the pleasure of facing her only once."
Sparks made a sound like a sigh, patted Kewy's shoulder lightly and said, "Don't say I didn't warn you," and turned to Thorkel, "If it's not too much trouble, could you teach this young man a lesson?"
She just nodded.
The two distanced themselves from each other. Around them, more and more people, besides the soldiers, watched that scene. All wide-eyed and whispering quietly. Before anyone realized it, Kewy had already drawn his sword.
No one could notice, but in a small room at Forthen Castle, a person with long black hair smiled while elegantly sipping their tea and waited for the results of their plans that would come soon.
When Kewy drew his sword, his yellow eyes shone with the flow of mana through his body. He had already thought of a strategy, but he would need a little luck. He stared at Thorkel and tried to see behind that mysterious mask - it was impossible.
"Ready?" Sparks announced. "Begin!"
With a jump that raised dust and made a small crater where he stood, Kewy attacked Thorkel with the fastest lunge of his life. This was his last chance. He trusted all his strength and focus on a vertical attack identical to what he saw in the previous battle... or so he wanted it to seem.
"Raaa!"
"..."
As fast as a blink of an eye, Kewy changed the direction of his attack to a straight thrust. He pretended to make the same mistake as the previous soldier, just so Thorkel couldn't predict such a move. However...
"..."
The clang of swords echoed throughout the training field. Thorkel defended the attack masterfully, without even moving from her spot. She somehow predicted the attack.
With his survival instinct warning him to flee immediately, Kewy retreated with a jump. His initial plan didn't work. But he didn't have time to think of anything too orchestrated. He would give another direct attack. Maybe, with luck, he could at least land a hit.
He advanced again. Only the trail of his shadow could be seen by those who were not part of the battle. His heart was beating frantically. With his eyes fixed on his target, he realized a strange action: Thorkel threw her sword into the sky.
"...!"
For just a second, it bothered him. "Maybe this is her plan," he thought. He wouldn't be distracted. He would take advantage of the fact that she had given this opening and attack with everything he had. With his body and soul, he increased his speed even more. He only needed one hit. His target was now unarmed. Maybe, if it were in another situation, he would have stopped the fight there. But he knew that was not the case now.
In a horizontal attack, he struck his blow. The sword strike was so strong that it caused a wave of wind that tousled everyone's hair. Dust rose, obscuring the view of the two for the spectators.
Kewy knew he had landed the blow. He felt his sword connect with something, and since Thorkel was disarmed, the attack had definitely worked. But when the dust settled, everyone was stunned. No one, not even Sparks, had expected what happened next.
"What...!" someone among the soldiers shouted.
"But how?"
"Is that even possible...?!"
That's when Kewy realized. The sword had indeed hit its mark. Yes, his goal had been accomplished. But...
"That was a good attack," Thorkel said. "But you underestimated me."
She calmly held Kewy's sword blade in her hands. With absurd strength, that being who surpassed any common sense did the unimaginable in battle. Anyone could imagine the fate of someone who dared to try to defend themselves from a sword attack with their bare hands. However, there wasn't even a scratch on those naturally pale hands.
And Kewy, before he knew it...
"...Ow!"
The hilt of the sword that had been thrown skyward struck him in the head, causing him to fall to the ground. His luck was that the sword was, indeed, light. But, either way, the battle had a winner.
"The duel is over," Sparks roared. "The winner is Thorkel."
Still stunned, the soldiers applauded the scene they had witnessed. Had Thorkel really calculated the sword's trajectory from the beginning?
"You know," Thorkel said, crouching down to talk to Kewy still on the ground. "Many young people like you always make the same mistake."
With her hand stroking his hair, Kewy sat on the ground, feeling something lightly trickle from his head. Then he said:
"Lack of confidence?" he tried to guess what the mistake was.
"No. On the contrary. Your mistake is precisely underestimating your opponent."
"I apologize for seeming rude, but...I don't remember underestimating you."
"You didn't imagine I would do something when I threw the sword up? You saw an opening there, but you didn't imagine that I had done it on purpose?"
...
Now that he imagined it, he really hadn't stopped to think for a second why she had done that strange act. He thought he wasn't underestimating her when he attacked her unarmed, but deep down, he hadn't realized that it was all part of a strategy to lure him in.
"So...at that time," Kewy remembered, "when you defended my first attack..."
"I didn't underestimate you. I knew you wouldn't make the same mistake as the previous soldier, so I immediately took a defensive position."
"So even you don't underestimate people like me," Kewy said.
"You're strong, but what you lack is experience," Thorkel replied. "Perhaps in a century or two of intensive training, you might be able to hurt me."
"People around here don't usually live that long," Kewy said.
"Well, that's a shame. But let me tell you something," Thorkel said, placing her hand on her chin and thinking for a few seconds. "Always imagine that someone is better than you. It may sound silly, but... I had to learn that the hard way. Underestimating an enemy can cost you your life. So always imagine that someone has a card up their sleeve."
"Thank you for the advice. I'll keep that in mind from now on."
Thorkel made a motion to smile behind her mask.
"The world would be an amazing place if children actually followed the advice of their elders," she said.
"You speak that way, but you seem younger than my fiancee," Kewy said.
"Hm... the last time I checked, I was around four digits old," Thorkel said, showing the fingers of her right hand.
"...! Is that... common where you come from?"
"No, I'm an exception. But I take advantage of that to get stronger... You know, the last time I was here, this place was just a small village. Experiencing progress is a pleasure that only the elders can feel. It's a good feeling... but also a bit painful..."
"You've been here before?" Kewy interrupted, her eyes widening.
"Hm... whenever I go from the Lowland Continent to the Beaste country, I take a detour here. I usually go to the current king or queen to offer my help in killing the Magical Beasts around the barrier," Thorkel said, sighing. "But they always reject my offer..."
These words sounded stronger than they should have to Kewy's ears. She wouldn't doubt that Thorkel had enough strength to wipe out all the Magical Beasts around the barrier, which would consequently free Forthen to the outside world. But then, why were the previous kings and queens rejecting her help?
But when Kewy opened her mouth to ask that...
"Excuse me, Miss Thorkel, but I just received a message from Queen Elise," Sparks interrupted them. "She suggested another meeting before you leave."
Thorkel stood up and helped Kewy to stand up as well.
"Well, I have to go. I hope we can meet again. ...Although I think that might take about fifty years," Thorkel said, smiling slightly.
"I'll be waiting," Kewy said.
Before leaving the training area, Thorkel picked up her sword from the ground and headed for the castle. Sparks asked to accompany her, but she declined with a wave, indicating that she knew the way. Soon, Sparks gathered all the soldiers again, telling them that they were dismissed and should return to their usual posts.
But Kewy still looked intrigued. The fact that all the previous kings had rejected Thorkel's help created a flea behind her ear.