Travis and Hendrick stood on opposite ends of the training ground. Travis gripped his sword tightly, body still as he settled into a ready stance.
Hendrick's hand glowed faintly as he summoned a crystal-clear blade from thin air.
"This is my Wind Blade. Its abilities are quite powerful, but since you're not as strong, I'll hold back most of them," he said with a smirk. "For example—Wind Slash."
He casually swung his sword forward.
WOOSH
A sharp, crescent-shaped wave of wind flew toward Travis. The force of it stirred the dust on the ground. Travis didn't react, simply standing his ground as the slash faded just before reaching him.
'Show off,' Travis thought.
"You see, Young Master," Hendrick continued, clearly pleased with himself, "if you had an element, you'd be able to do that with no effort. But unfortunately, you don't."
He returned to position, lifting his blade once more.
"Now. Let's begin!" he shouted.
The two sprinted toward each other at blinding speed, boots pounding against the packed earth. Their blades clashed mid-air, metal ringing out loud.
CLANK!
Travis leaped back without hesitation and lunged forward again, his blade slicing down from above toward Hendrick's shoulder. But Hendrick spun his blade sideways with practiced ease, blocking the strike with a loud—
CLNK!
He shoved Travis back, but the boy twisted to the side, using the momentum to dash forward. His sword thrust toward Hendrick's chest like a spear.
Hendrick jumped back—graceful and light—flipping mid-air and landing several meters away. But Travis didn't give him a moment. He was already closing the gap, blade whistling in a horizontal arc aimed straight for Hendrick's hip.
The older swordsman was forced to dodge again, gritting his teeth as Travis pressed the assault. In a flash, Travis let go of his sword, caught it with his left hand mid-motion, then stepped into a spin, building force into a sudden slash aimed at the exact same spot.
'What's this?!' Hendrick thought in shock.
He barely managed to bring his blade down to block, steel shrieking as the blades collided.
KLINK!
Travis's power surged through the clash, sending Hendrick sliding backward across the dirt, boots digging in as he struggled for balance. His eyes flicked to Travis, who calmly returned to his stance like nothing happened.
'This is… interesting,' Hendrick mused, flexing his wrist. Then he slashed downward.
WOOSH!
A sharp gust of wind burst from his blade, kicking up clouds of dust around the arena.
Travis narrowed his eyes. He could already tell—Hendrick was using the dust as cover.
Sure enough, a blade shot through the haze from Travis's left side. He caught it at the edge of his vision, pivoted sharply, and dodged. The glowing wind blade slashed past him—
WOOOM!
The force of the miss sent a powerful wind shockwave rippling outward, blowing the dust cloud apart. But Travis was ready.
He raised his sword and clashed with Hendrick's again.
CLANK!
Then, without pause, Travis drove his knee up and followed with a hard kick toward Hendrick's side. Hendrick raised his left arm, blocking the kick, while his right hand still hung back from their last clash.
He grabbed Travis's leg in one swift motion and yanked—sending Travis falling flat on his back.
"Well, I guess that's the end," Hendrick smirked, towering above him.
But Travis wasn't finished.
His hand gripped a handful of dirt. Without warning, he flung it into Hendrick's eyes.
"Argh!" Hendrick stumbled, releasing Travis's leg as he clawed at his face, momentarily blinded.
Travis rolled back up, pushing himself up with one hand. His eyes scanned Hendrick's open stance—the exposed ribs, the unguarded chin.
'Finally… I can have my revenge,' he thought, sprinting forward like a bullet.
BAM!
A punch drove deep into Hendrick's gut.
"Uahh!" Hendrick choked, spitting out saliva from the sheer impact.
Travis didn't stop. Another punch. And another. He threw a barrage of fists into Hendrick's body, ending it with a devastating spinning side-kick to the hip.
WHAM!
The man flew several meters back, crashing to the ground and tumbling through the dirt.
Travis stood there, panting slightly. A wild grin spread across his face.
'Wow… I wasn't this strong before. Guess all that training is finally kicking in,' he thought, amazed by his own growth.
Hendrick groaned, slowly pushing himself up. His hand glowed again, and wind spiraled around him, clearing the dust and grit from his eyes.
When he looked at Travis again, his pupils were sharp—and furious.
Bloodshot.
"FINE!" he roared. "THIS IS NO LONGER A SPAR! TRY TO SURVIVE THIS!!"
His blade began to glow, the aura of wind making it shimmer visibly in the air. Travis stood still, eyes locked on his opponent, waiting. His heartbeat slowed, breath steady. Hendrick's lips curled into a wicked smile, anger clouding his thoughts like a raging storm.
Without hesitation, he roared out,
"WIND SLASH!!"
WHOOOSH!
A massive crescent-shaped arc of compressed air burst from his blade, hurtling toward Travis at incredible speed. It tore through the ground, kicking up dirt and slicing clean through the air like a guillotine made of wind.
Travis didn't flinch.
He dropped the dull sparring blade to the side with a metallic clang, and in one swift motion, he summoned his sword. The weapon hummed as if it sensed the danger. Energy pulsed faintly along its edge.
'I'll cut it!' he thought, narrowing his eyes.
The wind slash was nearly on him.
He raised the sword, his arms steady despite the pressure in the air. The blade shimmered—and then he swung it down with a vertical cleave.
SHIING!
The two forces collided. For a brief moment, everything went silent.
Then the wind blast split in half, the two halves screaming past Travis on either side. They crashed behind him, ripping through the old weapons shack with a thunderous boom—completely obliterating it as pieces of wood and shrapnel exploded into the sky.
The wind continued forward, dissipating in the distance like a fading scream.
Dust settled.
Travis remained standing, unmoving. Deep gouges scarred the ground to his left and right—proof of how close he'd come to being sliced in two.
He slowly exhaled.
'Damn... I cut through it,' he thought, staring at his sword in disbelief.
But then—his vision blurred. A heavy dizziness washed over him like a crashing wave. His knees buckled. The sword slipped from his fingers, vanishing into thin air as if it had never been there. Travis collapsed to the ground. Unconscious.
TO BE CONTINUED