"You''re actually pretty good at this, aren''t you?"


    Early in the morning when the sun was still about to rise, I met with Miss Rio in the outer fields of the floating inds.


    With wooden swords in both our hands, we pitted against each other with pure technique and nothing else.


    I pushed the de slightly further ahead, and Rio counteracted the force by applying her own at the perfect angle.


    Her body that never moved more than necessary was formidable, there was no telling what she would do next until she had already done it.


    "I apologize for hiding most of my skill."


    "No, I already knew you were doing that. I could tell because I am your teacher."


    We both jumped back, smiled, and then charged in again. Like wind, she nimbly danced around thend as she avoided every single strike and swing.


    I gripped the de, spun it in my hand and drove it into the ground.


    "Oh?"


    A cloud of dust rose from the sheer force, blinding the sight all around me. In that stance, I listened for her steps and dashed through the dust.


    My de emerged from within and almost hit Rio''s eyes, when she raised her free hand and redirected my stab into the air.


    Before I could regain my bnce, she raised her knee and drove it toward my chest.


    I managed to block it with my other arm. Taking leverage from her own body weight, I regained my bnce and drove back my sword hilt-first


    She raised two fingers again.


    This time, before she could redirect my attack, I swept my feet under hers in an attempt to topple her to the ground, but she jumped at just the right time.


    Her fingers tapped my sword, and it went tumbling around in the other direction.


    "Woah!"


    I was about to fall.


    My cor was grabbed.


    "Be careful—"


    Jackpot.


    I dropped the act and immediately turned my de again, this time toward her neck.


    Rio let go of me and raised her hands. There was nothing she could do this time.


    "Cheap…"


    "Is it? All is fair in love and war."


    "This is a battle."


    "War."


    "Battle."


    Whatever.


    I got back on my feet again and dusted my clothes.


    "What is that thing you do?" I asked, amused at the way she continued to redirect my attacks without much effort. It almost seemed like magic.


    "I mess up your center of gravity, for the most part."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Rio''s words were as monotonous as I assumed her face would be.


    "Hm?"


    I did stuff like that too, but something like this never happened.


    "I know what you''re thinking," she said as she picked up a bottle of water and started sshing it on herself. "It''s actually useless on weak people. When you''re as skilled and fast as us, you be very sensitive to such little details."


    "Huh?"


    That made sense. What she meant was that every slight change in one''s center of gravity affected the way a person like us swung their sword.


    Form and grip to muscles and flexors, once you would start perfecting all of theserge details the only way to bring out even a minute more power would hide in the little details. That meant I subsconsciously always moved so that every aspect of my attack, from the muscles I use to where my center of gravity was, all of it was in perfect alignment.


    "By changing it slightly you make me lose bnce."


    "Incorrect," Rio shook her head. "Come, try swinging again."


    She tossed over the wooden sword back to me and ced one hand behind her back, the other open and waiting.


    "Give it your all."


    I took in a breath, narrowed my gaze, and charged in again. My muscles clenched and rxed all at once as I swung the sword right at her neck. Before it could hit, I maneuvered it in a different direction and went for a low swing.


    "Hmph."


    Rio scoffed and tapped the de. It was slightly pushed away and the center of bnce broke. I almost fell ahead, but immediately got my bnce back and whirled around for another strike to the back of her head.


    A gust of wind spread as I stopped my de just short of hitting her.


    "This is what would happen if you just break the bnce."


    "Don''t lie, you made a mistake didn''t you?"


    "I can never make a mistake. I know because I am your teacher."


    "You''re lying."


    "Am not."


    We both coughed and I moved back again.


    "This time, I''ll show you what I am doing. Try and see if you can figure it out."


    I nodded and took in another breath.


    This time, I wanted to hit her.


    I shot off the ground and charged ahead. She leaned back as I stabbed the de out.


    And then, her hand fell near the cross guard of the de. Just a simple slide with two of her fingers.


    The next thing I knew, my stab had turned into an upward swing.


    My footnded back on the ground and I turned my gaze toward her.


    Rio pumped her shoulders and patted my head before walking away.


    "See what I did?"


    She didn''t just break my bnce, she utilized my instincts and muscle memory to cause a synapse reaction and changed the structure of my attack itself. It was a disy of pure skill.


    "My ancestor Isaac made that technique. He was a millennium wizard, but practiced sword arts too."


    What the hell was a millennium wizard.


    "His grand sword was a powerful artifact that got lost in the east. We called it the de of the thundering firing watering school."


    I was so lost.


    "Anyway, I''ll teach you thatter if you want."


    "You will? Promise?"


    Rio stopped.


    She turned back, walked over to me, pulled my cheeks in a single go and then turned away again.


    "Sure, I am your teacher so of course."


    How cute.


    Continue reading at empire


    I stretched my hand above my head. The sun was about to rise up.


    "Make sure you go to ss on time, Irina will being with a transfer student."


    "Hm?"


    Transfer student?


    Now what was this?