Completed [Anthonius Fighter's Pit] A Promising Student Part. II

[Rachel Messer]

Anthonius Fighter's Pit, 16th of Bell, 2nd of Winter 513 A.V

As promised, Jon came back in the afternoon, walking happily into the Fighter's Pit. His dark brown eyes searched around for his favorite instructor, Madame Rachel. He found her soon enough, practicing with her longsword on the same spot with a wooden dummy. He waved a hand at her, his voice calling after Rachel. "Madame Rachel! I'm back!" This brought the instructor's attention as she rested her stance and turned around, smiling brightly at the boy.

"Jon! You're here!" Rachel's bright green eyes regarded the young man, she knew he was a good boy. He wasn't one of those students that wanted to become a warrior, but chickened out when they found out how hard it was to train in the art of combat. During her time spent training in the Fighter's Pit, Rachel had personally seen various young people, trotting into the Pits as if they were veteran warriors, then spoke of amazing feats while treating practice and exercise as simple matters. In the end, they gave up, they spout excuses and never came back. The instructor pitied them, their arrogance blinded their eyes. If only they could accept that everyone started as beginners, they could be a great warrior, instead of whiners. This Jon however, he had talent, determination, and humbleness. If he kept this up, Rachel wouldn't be surprised if he surpassed her one day and be a knight.

The instructor and student faced each other, shook hands, and Jon moved to pick up a blunt longsword. "Alright then, Jon, like I said bells ago, now we will practice the overhead strike. This is a rather difficult technique so you need warm yourself up first. Do some basic strikes." The boy nodded and immediately began practicing, standing before a wooden dummy and performing light strikes. Rachel watched the boy, studying his motions to assess his ability. He took heed of her lessons it seemed, while he was still rather clumsy, he didn't look like someone who never held a sword before. He wouldn't be a competent overnight of course, but hopefully after this day was done, he would no longer stab himself accidentally. After after a few moments, the boy huffed and faced his instructor. "I'm ready now, Madame Rachel. Teach me!" He nodded firmly, gripping his longsword hard and turned to the wooden dummy.

[Rachel Messer]

"Alright." Rachel smiled, she also faced her own wooden dummy, the instructor and student were standing next to each other, separated by about seven feet of distances, they were each facing a dummy. "First," Rachel held her longsword with both of her hands, the tip facing diagonally upwards. She slowly raised her longsword above her head, deliberately doing so to allow Jon to observe her. "Raise your sword like this, make sure to not overdo it." The student tried his best to follow. "As you can see, you let yourself open for attacks. This is why this technique should only be used with caution, but if it connects, it is a powerful blow that can end the fight unless your opponent is wearing some kind of very hard helmet." A cleave with the heavy longsword to the skull proved fatal in most cases, if the edge didn't cut through, the blunt trauma and force would do the job. "Next, you grip it firmly then... bring it down!" With a huff, Rachel brought down her sword, the blunt edge striking against the dummy's wooden surface. Rachel grunted as the counter-force from her blow reverberated along her hands, arms, and shoulders. "Now you try." She turned her head to Jon and smiled. "Your muscles may ache, it's part of the training."

The student nodded, gulping down his nervousness, and tried his best to mimic her. Jon brought down his longsword, his movements clumsier than Rachel. When the blunt sword struck, his grip almost faltered, but he held on. "Gah!" He closed his eyes, his muscles screaming in pain. "Hmph!" Refusing to give up, Jon plowed on, he raised his sword and performed the strike again and again, his determination and adrenaline dampening the pain. Rachel watched with keen eyes, she couldn't let herself be outperformed by her own student, Rachel performed the manoeuvre in tandem with Jon, perfecting her technique.

As Jon trained, Rachel used the chance to perform her basic three-strikes combo. The blond gripped her sword and planned her movements inside her mind, then a tick later, she struck the dummy on its right side then quickly swivelled to strike its left side, then finished with her stepping back before charging forward for a thrust. Hmmm... still not good enough. Performing single movements to teach was a whole different matter than combo-strikes, especially in real combat. Bandits wouldn't give her the chance to properly react. In melee combat, one slip could mean the difference between life and death. As a combat instructor, she would feel like a failure if she was defeated by a bandit or Yukman, even teachers needed to study. Rachel gripped her sword then performed another kind of combo, her counter-strike. The instructor crossed her sword in front of her as if she was blocking, she imagined her opponent's sword striking her own, then she moved her sword downwards in an effort to guide the blow to the ground. The instructor quickly followed up with striking the dummy with her knee as she launched forward. "Ugh..." Her strike clumsily struck the dummy, she rubbed her knee. I still need to train in unarmed combat... She looked to her right, Jon was still striking the dummy, sweat tricking down his face. "Alright, Jon, that will do!" At her command, Jon stopped, wiped his forehead, and smiled at Rachel. "So, Madame, how did I do?"

[Rachel Messer]

"You did good, Jon, definitely a progress." The student and instructor decided it was time for a short break. They walked to their backpacks, picked up their waterskin, and gulped it down. "Do you feel your arms aching, Jon?" At this question, the boy simply nodded. "It's fine, with practice, your muscles will get stronger and stronger until you feel the sword become an extension of your limbs." Rachel dreamt of one day wielding her sword as masterful as Ser Wade, how his sword flowed with such ease as if it was weightless. She neeeded to train with Ser Wade, but would the knight regard her? There was no harm in trying. "Alright, next, the spar." Rachel patted the boy's shoulder, she got up, and picked up her sword. The boy did the same, then they walked to a spot, claiming it as their 'arena'. "Alright, first, I want to see your offense, go on. Strike me, give it all you've got!" The boy needed no more instructions, "Here I go, Madame!" he charged at the instructor, his longsword held with both of his hands. Rachel firmly stood her ground.

Once in range, Jon began the spar with the first strike, a slash from right to left, aiming to strike at Rachel's torso. The instructor reacted by parrying with with her sword, the sounds of metal clashing echoing in the fighter's pits. The student continued with another side strike which was parried by the instructor. The student then stepped back, preparing for a thrust. Rachel's green eyes kept locked with the movement of Jon's arms then as the student charged, her feet moved sideways, narrowly dodging the strike. "Nice one!" Half a tick too late and he would get her. Rachel let him recover and the student struck with another side strike, Rachel parried it, but this time, Jon raised his sword for a cleave. "Hmmm... ha!" Rachel decided to teach him a valuable, she struck out and put her sword near his neck, ending the spar. "Remember, Jon, mind your openings." She returned to a ready stance. "Again."

Jon growled, he wanted to beat his instructor. Rachel said she wouldn't attack, why did she lie? His instructor seemed to read his mind as Rachel smiled gently at him. "My dear student, remember that in real combat, your enemy won't stay put and let you attack as you please. If I'm a bandit for example, you are already dead." She said firmly, this was a serious matter. Pure-heartedness and naivete were different, kindness without wit was the same as foolish. There were many foul people out there who wouldn't think twice of taking advantage over compassion and kindness. The boy realized why his instructor counter-attacked, he nodded.

[Rachel Messer]

"Forgive me, Madame. I... I'm really sorry." If he wanted to be a knight, letting his emotions took control was foolish. He calmed himself down and began again. His movements became cautious, taking care to balance offense and defense to the best of his abilities. Rachel kept parrying his strikes, until an idea came to her mind. She wanted to see if Jon truly heeded her words. Rachel concentrated as she felt the flow of djed inside her body, especially her arms and shoulders. With her command, a short surge of energy flowed through her, the power of Flux. With her slightly enchanced speed and strength, Rachel suddenly countered with a powerful upwards strike. Jon's eyes widened, the boy barely parried a swift strike that would struck his torso. His sword trembled, but then he saw it... the tired look on Rachel's face. He charged forward, closing in the distance and put his blade on Rachel's neck, announcing victory. "Ha... I got ya, Madame." Amidst his gasps and ragged breathing, he smirked.

"Hahaha, amazing." It was an error in Rachel's judgement, she miscalculated her flux-powered strike. The instructor was still a beginner in the art and it didn't surprise her that her poorly-aimed flux turned out to be her undoing. It was a valuable lesson for if she was facing a bandit, she would die. Both of them returned to a ready stance, their breaths replaced the sounds of clashing metal. "You did good, Jon. Ha... that was very fun." Jon beat her fair and square, she was proud. "Alright, phew... another round. This time, I want to see you defend. Prepare! Parry and counter my strikes." With an excited war-cry from John, another clash of swords began. This time, the instructor was charging forward. The boy formed a plan inside his mind. What would Madame Rachel do in this situation? He studied her movements earlier and tried his best to follow. Rachel started the round with a swift thrust to Jon's stomach, the boy blocked instead of dodging it, it failed as the blunt tip struck his leather-armored waist. "Oof!" He grunted. "Focus!" The instructor encouraged the student, she then continued by swivelling her body and swung her sword from the right to left, the boy tried to parry but his poor positioning failed to counter-act the force. Jon's sword wrenched away from his hands. The instructor stopped before her sword made contact with his shoulder. "Phew okay... you need to work on your defenses. We aren't done yet, pick it up. This time, we'll do a regular spar."

The boy groaned in annoyance due to exhaustion, but it stopped when he saw the smile on Rachel's face. She only wanted the best for him. As combat tethered on life and death, she wouldn't spare him any slack. He cracked his neck, walked to pick up his sword, and readied himself. With a simultaneous nod, they both moved forward. An opposite sideways strike and their swords clashed with each other, both Rachel's and Jon's movements were slower, exhaustion crept into their body. This would be the last round, any further and they would damage their own body. Rachel moved to raise her sword for an overhead strike, Jon quickly took the opportunity for a swift counter-attack by slashing from left to right, but it was a feint... Rachel altered her movement by parrying Jon's sword instead. He was staggered at the unexpected parry and impact, then his dark brown eyes widened as Rachel moved forward to thrust at him. He wouldn't repeat the same mistake, Jon didn't try to block this time, he dodged out of the way instead. A thrusting attack had a long reach, but easier to dodge. The student didn't let Rachel recover, he did a sweeping strike at Rachel's waist. "Good!" But due to their difference in skill, Rachel managed to recover fast enough, parrying his strike. The fight continued for for about a chime, with Rachel scored some clean hits on Jon. Then she put up her right hand, signalling for them to stop. Both of them lowered their swords, sweat tricking down and exhausted breaths.

[Rachel Messer]

"Alright... that would be all for today. I'm beat, good job, Jon." The boy had talent, he must have some basic training before meeting her, he grew at an amazing rate. Rachel was sure he was born to wield the sword. "T-thank you, Madame... aaagh!" Jon groaned as he rubbed his shoulder, his muscles aching. "Are you alright?" True to her devotion towards Priskil, Rachel placed the well-being of other people first, her own muscles were tired as well, but this was nothing new to her. She helped him to put their borrowed blunt weapons at the rack. Jon stumbled to his backpack, picked up his miza pouch, procured five gold mizas then offered them to Rachel. "Here you go, Madame. The fee for this session."

The instructor accepted it with a heartfelt 'thank you'. Teaching students like these were the best, but not all students were as obedient as Jon... sooner or later, she would meet an arrogant or unruly one and when that time cama, she must be ready. The light of Priskil shone over all that would accept it, even when they didn't realize it themselves. If Priskil's light burned someone instead of blessing them, then that someone must be a spawn of evil and deserved to be eradicated. Only death could save such beings. "Alright, Jon, since Syna is about to fall, I should be going, maybe to the Rearing Stallion to grab some dinner, are you coming?" She packed her belongings, carried her backpack, she would wait if Jon wanted to come with her.

"Sure, Madame, I'm hungry as well. I heard the Stallion's chef cooks delicious stuffs, but he's rather... odd." Jon didn't remember the chef's name, but he was rather famous. "Oh? I see, then we'll find out together!" The instructor smiled, then with tired steps, they both left the Pit. Another day of tutoring was over, but it was a mere stepping stone in Rachel's personal quest to spread the light of Priskil all over the world, starting with Syliras.

[Accolade]

Rachel Messer

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Observation	+ 4 XP
Long sword	+ 3 XP
Teaching	+ 3 XP
Flux	+ 1 XP

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	Jon: born to wield the sword
•	Technique: three-strikes combo
•	Technique: counter-strike
•	Priskil's light shines over all that will accept it

Notes :

Nice training thread! And your payment is 5GM

The Sylir has spoken

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can figure it out.