My adhd ass can actually write a lot if i actually lock in. Considering how I wrote almost 3k words in a single sitting.
Too bad; if I could only lock in every day, the chapters would actually be consistent and decently long.
***
Reinhard was sitting peacefully on the ground.
His back was turned to Sunless, who was performing his thousand strikes nearby, and Cassie, who was passing the time just like him. As for Nephis, he had seen her move towards the western side of the island earlier, though he had no idea what she was doing there.
While he was lost in thought, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching from behind.
Reinhard turned his head slightly to look.
It was Cassie.
She stopped a few steps away from him, her hands clenched at her sides and her head lowered slightly. She seemed to be trying to figure out how to start the conversation, occasionally parting her lips before deciding against it.
He could easily infer that she wanted to ask him for something.
What could it be?
Since he was bored anyway, Reinhard didn't mind waiting to find out. He turned towards her properly and stood up.
"What is it?" he asked.
Cassie hesitantly raised her head.
"Rein..."
"Yes?"
She hesitated for another moment before finally asking.
"Could you... teach me swordsmanship?"
Reinhard simply stared at her for a few seconds.
Then he thought about it briefly before nodding.
"Sure."
***
Helping Cassie learn swordsmanship wasn't actually a bad idea.
She had told them a few days ago that she had been good at fencing before she lost her vision. That meant her fundamentals were already clear and a lot better than Sunless's.
Now that she had a substitute for her vision, there was no reason for her to not learn how to fight.
Even though it pretty much only worked as long as she was with him.
Her previous experience with fencing also made Reinhard's job considerably easier. He didn't have to make her perform a thousand strikes like Sunless. Since she already knew how to swing a sword, she could directly work on the part that actually mattered.
Sparring.
Reinhard knew that without his aspect abilities involved, Nephis was a much better teacher than he was.
Nephis knew how to fight, but she had also been taught how to fight. She could simply replicate what she had learned and pass it on to her student.
Reinhard was different.
He could understand and anticipate another person's fighting style through the first level of his Aspect Legacy, while [Battle Master] instinctively made him proficient in practically every form of combat.
His body knew how to fight.
His mind knew what to do.
But that didn't mean he knew how to explain any of it to someone else.
That was where a new attribute he could form came in.
An attribute that could make him an excellent teacher at anything he was capable of doing himself.
Teaching was a skill too, after all.
And like any other skill, it could be mastered.
Now Reinhard stood with the Azure Blade in hand. He had given his other sword, Minute Edge, to Cassie since it was sharper and, in his opinion, slightly better than the Azure Blade.
Sunless, who had been told about the situation by Cassie a few moments ago, stood to the side. His thousand strikes weren't complete yet, but he wanted to see how Reinhard would train her through their spar.
Maybe I could change teachers if his methods are better.
He chuckled at his own joke.
Meanwhile, Reinhard stood near the middle of the area, relaxed, with the Azure Blade held in his right hand and its tip resting against the ground beside him.
Cassie stood in front of him, both hands gripping Bright Fury tightly. Actually sparring for the first time in such a long while had made her quite nervous, which Reinhard could easily tell from the way she was holding herself.
There was no point in trying to calm her down before they even started. The nervousness would disappear naturally once she became familiar with the changes.
So Reinhard simply began their first lesson.
"Aim to kill. I will only deflect, dodge, or defend your strikes, so go at your own pace and focus on familiarizing yourself with your new way of sensing."
Cassie nodded after hearing his instructions.
"Okay..."
Seeing someone as delicate as her standing in imposing dark carapace armor with a sword in both hands and a tense expression on her face almost made a small smile appear on Reinhard's face.
But he swallowed it down and focused on the upcoming spar.
Slowly, Reinhard raised his right arm, preparing his sword for battle.
Then he spoke.
"Start."
Instantly, Cassie launched at him. She turned her sword sideways, trying to cut him in a horizontal arc.
Although she had put most of her strength into the strike, she still hadn't approached as close as she could have for complete lethality. That gave Reinhard a little more room to block the attack.
It was understandable, though.
She wasn't really fighting with the intent to kill yet.
Can't expect that from a simple command.
Reinhard shifted his sword and caught the incoming blade, redirecting it away from his body rather than meeting the full force of the strike.
"Again."
Cassie stepped back and immediately attacked once more.
This time, her sword came from a slightly higher angle.
Reinhard deflected it with the flat of his blade before moving out of range.
"Don't stop after the first strike."
Cassie hesitated for a moment.
"Continue the movement. If the first attack fails, the next one shouldn't depend on you having to reset completely."
She nodded.
The next time she attacked, her movements were slightly less rigid.
Her fencing fundamentals were obvious once she actually started moving. She kept her body relatively light on her feet, maintained a proper distance, and naturally favored quick thrusts and controlled slashes rather than putting unnecessary strength into every movement.
"Lower."
Cassie immediately adjusted her stance.
"Don't retreat in a straight line."
She moved to the side on her next attack.
Reinhard watched each movement carefully, allowing his Aspect Legacy to gradually build a clearer understanding of her fighting style.
There wasn't much to understand in the first place...
As the spar continued, Cassie improved. She wasn't simply following the mental image produced by [Sonar Sight] anymore. She was beginning to combine it with the sound of his movements, using both to predict where he was going to be rather than merely reacting to where he currently was.
She's learning quickly.
Whether that was because Reinhard's attribute allowed him to precisely point out what was wrong with her attacks and tell her exactly how to fix it, or because she was naturally a fast and intelligent learner who could follow instructions very well, he wasn't sure.
Probably both.
After several more exchanges, Reinhard noticed Nephis approaching from the side.
Probably to see the reason for the clashing of swords.
Her focus was clearly more on him than on the person he was teaching. That was exactly what he expected her to do, though.
He focused back on Cassie.
As the spar continued, her movements gradually became less hesitant.
She still had a long way to go, but at least she was beginning to fight rather than simply swing a sword.
After some time, Reinhard finally stopped.
Cassie was heavily exhausted by then, her breathing noticeably heavier than before. She lowered Bright Fury and moved to the side, where she drank some water before sitting down to rest.
By that point, Nephis had gone away as well, and Sunless had followed her.
Now, Cassie and Reinhard were alone.
After greedily drinking water from her bottle memory and taking some time to regain her breath, she offered it to Reinhard.
He took it and drank some himself.
Once her breathing had calmed down, Cassie turned her head upwards, her eyes opening as she looked directly at him.
There was still that dullness in her eyes, the unmistakable emptiness of someone who could no longer see.
Yet the fact that she could match her gaze to his with such exactness was still a little eerie.
***
There are some things unquestioned in this chapter. They will be done so in the next.
See you soon.