Austin finished his meal, and Artas had him wait in a clearing away from the shrine. Nervousness started to well up inside of him. He had managed to fight Chet, but he had no real experience fighting. Now Artas was going to throw him into combat training. He did not know how he could possibly keep up with a master, even if it was just training. As Austin waited for Artas, he tried to control his breathing and his nervousness as best he could.
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It did not take long for Artas to arrive. The elf man walked out of the forest with a large smile on his face, like he did not have a care in the world. Resting on his shoulders was a large glaive made of wood. Like many of his creations, it was not smooth. Instead, the wood twisted together to form the long handle of the weapon. The wooden blade even looked like it was twisted together into the shape of the blade. The main distinction was that the outer edge of the blade was smooth and looked sharp despite being made of wood. Overall, the glaive was an intimidating sight. The uniqueness of its shape and its sheer size gave off an otherworldly feeling that made it more intimidating than any weapon Austin had seen before.
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Austin clenched his fists tight as Artas casually approached him. Artas’s arrival did not alleviate any of Austin’s nervousness. Instead, he was now more nervous now that he saw Artas’s colossal weapon. Austin had no idea how he was supposed to handle such a thing.
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“Chill out,” Artas laughed as he leaned the glaive against himself.
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“How am I supposed to chill out when you bring a weapon like that?” Austin asked. “Also, I thought you were ‘of the Thousand Wood Fist.’ That doesn’t look like a fist to me!”
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“It’s funny how nicknames work,” Artas said. “I didn’t even get the technique I was nicknamed after until I was Silver rank. I created it by combining aspects of Champion and Shaper. Before then, my weapon of choice was this glaive.”
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“You used that huge thing as a Copper?” Austin asked in shock.
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“Yep, this is actually the exact form my technique took at Copper,” Artas motioned to black armbands with script drawn in. “These reduce my power to around the level of an early Copper. That way our training will go smoother.”
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“So are you just going to throw me into it? Not show me any moves or anything?” Austin asked.
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Artas laughed especially loudly. “Scared you didn’t, I? We aren’t jumping into sparring, don’t worry. I’m going to get you comfortable with some basics, then we will spar.”
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“So like, are you going to teach me how you fight or what? I’m not sure if I want to fight with a glaive,” Austin said.
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“Oh no, not at all. Just the basics, you need to form your own style of fighting,” Artas said. “I believe that a person is more successful when they find their own way. As your master, I’m just like a compass that helps you find it.”
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“I guess that makes sense,” Austin nodded.
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“Yep, so let’s get started with the basics!” Artas spun his glaive with ease and stuck the blade into the ground.
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For the next few hours, Artas ran Austin through training drills. Most of the drills focused on footwork and body movement. Artas explained to Austin that using a weapon or a fist can come after, and that good footwork and understanding of one’s body would serve Austin best. Only after extensive review of footwork and body movement did Artas go into basic kicks, punches, and grapples.
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Austin felt like the drills would never end. Luckily, his endurance had increased due to his Essence control, but they still eventually wore on him. By the time they were finished, his clothes were drenched in sweat. As he tried to stave off exhaustion, Artas lifted his glaive out of the ground.
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“Well, are you ready?” Artas grinned. “We are almost done.”
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“Can’t we be done for the day?” Austin groaned. “I’m so exhausted.”
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“Nope,” Artas said as he spun his glaive and pointed it towards Austin in a ready stance. “We are done when you can get a hit on me.”
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“Is there a time limit?” Austin asked. “I mean, you have way more skill than me.”
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“Nope, better figure it out,” Artas grinned. “Because we start now!”
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Before Artas was finished speaking, he already lunged his glaive towards Austin. Austin scrambled into a defensive posture and got out of the way just in time as the attack came. Austin knew that he wanted to finish the fight quickly and immediately tried to move in to punch Artas. Essence flowed through his legs as he kicked off the ground. Austin’s pursuit was immediately stopped as Artas swung the back end of his glaive into Austin’s stomach and sent him flying backward.
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As Austin struggled to regain his footing, Artas did not pursue with another attack. Instead, he shifted into a casual stance and rested his glaive against himself. Austin grew angry at how casual Artas was and then grew even angrier as Artas started to whistle.
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Austin was about to charge Artas in anger when Artas raised his hand up in a stopping motion and said, “I wouldn’t do that. You need to keep a level head and think before you attack. If you charge recklessly, you won’t ever hit me.”
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Austin stopped moving forward as he realized that Artas was right. He did want to finish the fight quickly so he could rest, but it was obvious that Artas could stop him easily if he went in without thinking. He took a deep breath and allowed himself to calm down. As he did, he flowed Essence around his left arm until it created a circular shield. Austin was shocked to see that the shield was not just blue but now had streaks of silver flowing throughout it.
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“Good, you are thinking a little bit,” Artas smiled as he kicked the end of his glaive out of its resting position and entered a ready stance once more.
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Austin entered a ready stance as Artas lunged forward once more. This time, since Austin was prepared, he was able to step out of the way of the attack while keeping his bearings. Specifically, Austin stepped at a forward diagonal so he could close the gap between himself and Artas. As he moved to close the gap, Austin raised his shield in the direction of the glaive.
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Austin felt a surge of confidence go through him as he started to close the gap and channeled Essence into his legs to increase his speed. He just knew that he was going to be able to land a hit this time. But then something seemed off; the glaive that was at his side had seemingly disappeared.
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Austin had made it to Artas, but just when he was going to throw a punch, he noticed the curved wooden sword in his hand. Artas slashed forward with the sword, and Austin was forced to raise his shield and block the strike. Artas did not let up when Austin blocked and continued the assault, forcing Austin to jump backwards out of the range of the sword. As Austin jumped away, Artas once again entered a casual stance.
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“Not a bad try,” Artas praised Austin. “You are putting some thought into your moves. But you did not consider what makes the wood affinity special. Like nature and life affinity, wood excels at growth. That is the truth of my Champion technique. I can use the growth aspect of wood to change the shape of my weapon as needed. This is also a lesson for you once you start making your techniques. You need to think about what aspect of your affinity makes it special.”
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“Thank you for the explanation,” Austin said with a slight bow.
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Austin tried to think of what made his Essence affinity special. He had the feeling that it was metal from the color his Essence was starting to take. All he could think of at the moment was how sturdy metal could be, but he was not sure how that would help him. It seemed like many Champion techniques were already sturdier than their regular counterparts. It would have to be something to think of at a later moment.
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Artas nodded in response to Austin’s bow and said, “Think on that, later. Right now, we continue.”
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Artas did not shift his weapon back into its glaive form. Instead, he stood ready with his blade forward and watched Austin carefully. Austin felt a little confidence in that fact; it must have meant that Artas took him somewhat seriously after their last exchange. Despite this renewed confidence, Austin did not rush in. Instead, he entered a ready stance with his shield forward and circled Artas, carefully watching as he did.
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As Austin circled around Artas, he tried to think of how his affinity could be useful. Metal had other properties besides just being hard. It worked as a great conductor, and some metals were magnetic. He realized that was the key to getting a hit on Artas. He needed to understand the properties of his affinity and use it.
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Austin focused on his Essence; currently it did not fully have an affinity. Despite this, Austin thought maybe he could channel just the parts that did have an affinity. He focused on the outer edges of his Essence, the silvery part, and tried to draw on them. As he did, he managed to get just that flowing through his body. The sensation was strange and different from when he had channeled Essence prior. It felt icy cold as it ran through his arms and into his shield.
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A bright silver light radiated from Austin’s shield as it started to change shape. The shield grew slightly in size, and the edges of the shield were now covered in spikes. As the light settled, it could be seen that the shield was now a pure polished silver and no longer had any blue.
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“Now that’s what I’m talking about,” Artas grinned. “Let’s see what you got.”
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Austin did not respond except for a slight grin at his success. He just needed to see if he was successful in making the shield exactly how he wanted it. To test it out, he swung his shield arm backward and channeled Essence through his arm. Then he threw his arm forward and sent his shield flying at Artas. Austin’s imbued Essence made the shield fly at incredible speed. Despite this, Artas side-stepped out of the way of the incoming shield.
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“You’ll have to do better than that,” Artas said. “I told you not to be reckle-“
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Artas was caught off guard as Austin closed the gap between the two and tried to swing a fist at him. Artas was able to move out of the way, but Austin did not let up. Instead, he continued to close the gap and did not allow Artas to swing his sword as he swung punch after punch at Artas. Artas was unable to find a chance to counter and instead was put on the defensive. Even then, Artas was able to move out of the way of every one of Austin’s strikes.
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Artas knew that he needed to change his style if he was going to end Austin’s assault. As he dodged Austin’s attacks, Artas’s blade started to shrink. Now, instead of a sword, he had something similar to a knife. Now that he no longer had to worry about swinging a sword, Artas tried to counter by stabbing his knife forward.
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Artas was shocked to see a grin come across Austin’s face as he lunged forward. Austin moved backward from Artas and brought his arm to his chest as he did so. Right as Austin did this, Artas stumbled forward as he was struck in the back. Austin’s shield dropped to the ground after striking Artas. Artas could not help but grin as he saw the shield.
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“Super Magnetic Shield,” Austin smiled. “I got my hit in.”
