"You are late."
Ethan said, in Alapurian. Alapurian was the common tongue of Alapur, taught to every commoner. Everybody knew this simple language; however, it was not the only one on Alapur.
The Nobles of the Beast God, Noble Shepherds, as they liked to call themselves, used Minician, a sort of High tongue. Similarly, the Nobles of the Dragon God spoke Valerian. Alapurian was considered a lowly tongue, befitting of commoners, but everybody knew it. There were many other languages as well, and Ethan would have to learn the most common to traverse this foreign land.
Ethan had been busy learning Alapurian since he came here; safe to say, he had grasped it quite well. While he wasn't exactly fluent, he could understand and speak it fine, struggling only at elongated sentences, or those with a bit of Minician, or Valerian mixed in, as well as some strange words.
He had a heavy accent, but alas, all his means to hide it were futile. Though even with it, he was certain not many could see through it. After all, would a heavy accent link him to Vakuma? Certainly not, not in this region anyway. Maybe the frontier regions and the Empire would catch him...
But he had a while till he got there, plenty to fix it, or hide it in some way. Regardless, Ethan disliked this system. Back on Vakuma, there were only three languages. The Language of the Empire, of Liuk, and Kal'sifi. All three regions had adopted a common tongue that was used by everyone born there, and while ancient languages that were the source of the three still existed...
They were simply kept alive by scholars and some nobles who wished to preserve their heritage. Vakuma was not like Alapur, where dozens of languages existed. The different tribes of the Beast God had their own tongue, and preferred to use it despite knowing Alapurian... and such was the case for the different kingdoms under Dragon God as well.
The humans there spoke different languages, although at a much lesser scale than in the lands of the Beast Gods. They seemed to take much pride in their ancient languages... Still, to survive and traverse this land... Ethan would have to tackle those languages no matter what.
"...?"
Ilika looked confused at first, as he struggled somewhat to understand Ethan's words.
'...Didn't they say he forgot language as well?'
The thought flickered in his mind for a brief moment. Ilika was pleased, thinking that his training would go more easily without the language barrier. Ethan sighed, noticing the disrespect all of a sudden.
He flicked his sword, and a thin string of Ki lashed out, striking Ilika at the ankle. It was like a whip, and the boy let out a small scream as he grabbed his ankle in pain.
"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"
He cried out, and Ethan's gaze turned cold. He flicked his sword once again, and another string of Ki lashed out like a whip, striking Ilika's other foot.
"WHAT THE HELL?!"
"If you have a... problem, come."
Ethan pointed his sword at Ilika. It was still in its sheath, as using a real blade against this young boy would be cruel. Before teaching him anything, Ethan wanted to gauge Ilika's true strength—his true level.
Back in the duel, he was more focused on observing Ian and had thus finished it quickly. Now, he wished to prolong the duel, exchanging blows as he studied the young man.
Thankfully, Ilika had received the hint. With a slight smile on his face, he, too, grabbed his sword and pointed it at Ethan.
"Take it out of its sheath."
However, he tried to mimic Ethan by keeping it in its scabbard, much like his own. Ethan didn't wish for that. His sword, likely made by the best blacksmiths in Vakuma, would cut that cheap training blade in half without a shadow of a doubt.
Even if Ethan tried his best not to do it, a single proper clash, and Ilika's sword would snap. In fact, he'd be lucky if it didn't shatter like glass.
Somewhat annoyed, Ilika unsheathed his blade, and Ethan beckoned him to come. Ilika took the opportunity with a smile and lunged at Ethan.
'Unstable footing, no, scratch that. He doesn't care about it at all.'
Ethan's left foot stepped back; he put some pressure on it to withstand the strike and effortlessly blocked it.
'Wild Swings, without the proper movement to augment them, and not an inkling of what he should do next.'
Ethan pushed Ilika away and beckoned him to come again. Ilika obliged, lunging at him again.
'The same overhead swing, a wild swing... but it lacks anything fruitful.'
A 'wild' swing left him too open; furthermore, he didn't support it with the correct movement, and Ilika didn't have the raw strength to make it worthwhile. Furthermore, he did not imbue his sword with mana.
He was like a wild beast that was at the bottom of the food chain, with no strength to be a hunter, only prey. There was nothing behind his swing. Ethan knew animalistic sword styles existed, but they were almost always supported by an influx of Ki, honed in nature, and a powerful physique.
Ilika had none of those. He was akin to a child swinging a stick at his friends, perhaps even worse... as he was genuinely trying to be serious.
Ethan let out a sigh, but this was fine. Things were progressing as he expected. He decided to take it to the next step.
"Imbue your weapon, strengthen your sword with... mana."
To his surprise and slight happiness, Ilika looked at him with a dumbstruck expression.
"How am I supposed to do that?! That's an incredibly advanced technique!"