The Infinite Bk. 03 Ch. 02

"Since you're a cadet, I should chastise you for doing something so reckless." She looked him in the eyes. Her own, gray, gleamed like diamonds. There was depth to them, depth he had never seen in humans. She called him a cadet, but it was evident in her eyes that she didn't see him as one.

"Technically, yes, you should. But realistically?"

She gave a huff of amusement and smiled. "I'll leave you to wrap it up. You can get it healed in the infirmary on your own time." She then cleared her throat and turned to the rest of the cadets. "Now, who's next?"

Noah returned to the group, and it parted like the Red Sea, for the most part. A few of the more hyperactive cadets began cheering and congratulating his skills. Ken Rilgis, the sharp-eyed youth from earlier, even approached and respectfully bowed his head. "That was an amazing thing to witness. Thank you."

"You're welcome," he replied with a cheerful façade.

He had hoped to blend in among the cadets and go unnoticed. Unfortunately, that plan had been blown out of the water on his first day. He had to now focus on twisting the result to his benefit. If he could not be invisible, he could at least manipulate how he was seen. He humbly accepted praise from all those who gave it, shaping their first impressions of him while they were still malleable. Hopefully, his skills would put off potential enemies, and his mild-mannered acting would lower everyone else's guard and make it easier for him to get what he wanted.

While Valia continued gauging the other cadets, Noah went to work fixing his hand. Along with their uniforms, each cadet had been given a canteen and a small pouch full of bandages. However, healing and mana potions were forbidden. It wasn't much, but the bandages were clean, and Noah could treat his wounds. Soon enough, the rest of the cadets had been defeated, none of them putting up much of a fight, and Valia faced the crowd.

"Well done. Now I know what level each of you is on. Yesterday, you were told that the only weapons you can use are those the academy provides. What you weren't told is that you are required to carry an academy weapon with you at all times. The standard is a sword, unless you can use warrior magic for a different weapon." She held out her arm to the barrels to her right. "Each of you, return those practice swords and take one of these. They are what you'll be using for all training and battles. Do not draw them until I say so."

Noah and the other cadets obeyed. They brought back the donated swords, and each took their new partners. Once everyone had one, Valia ordered them to be unsheathed. Immediately, there was the sound of something fragile breaking and the cadets exclaiming in shock and confusion while holding broken swords, some even snapping off after only an inch.

Intrigued, Noah held his sword straight up and carefully lifted the scabbard. Glass, the blade of his sword was made of glass. In the corner of his eye, he caught Valia glancing at him, perhaps curious as to how he'd react. "Ok, you have my attention," he muttered. Did she hear him? He thought she made a slight chuckle.

"This is how I learned to wield a sword, and if you can master it, you will be the greatest warriors of your generation." She picked one herself and drew it without it snapping. "As you can see, you are each wielding glass blades. The glass on its own is strong enough not break under its own weight, no matter how it is held or swung." She waved it in all directions, performing various tricks and acrobatics to prove its durability. "What you can't see are the runes are on the tang, granting it two enchantments. I know what you are thinking, and yes, you can attack with it, but it is tricky. If the blade is a single degree off from the exact direction you're swinging, it'll break against your target. However, if the swing is perfect, it will be undamaged."

She held out her khopesh and tapped the glass sword against its back. The sword's angle was off, if only slightly, and it was a gentle hit, but the blade snapped like a thin icicle. It didn't shatter into several small pieces like standard glass, but simply broke in two. Valia knelt and joined the broken ends of the sword. "That is the first enchantment. Even if it breaks, the second enchantment allows the blade to repair itself. Simply hold the pieces together like setting a broken bone and channel your mana into the handle. The blade will heal itself in seconds."

True to her words, she lifted the sword, and it was as new. She once again struck it against the back of her khopesh, this time with much more force. However, both the swing and the direction of the blade were perfectly vertical, so the glass edge didn't even chip. She continued smashing the two of them together at varying angles, always keeping the sword focused in the same direction as her swing, and it never broke.

"Lady Zodiac, what about blocking?" Ken asked. "If these blades are made of glass, won't they just snap if we try to defend?"

"You bring up an excellent point. Every swordfighter worth their salt knows to never block an attack edge-to-edge, as it'll wreck your blade. Here, take this." She reached into one of the nearby barrels and drew a steel sword from the sparring matches, then tossed it at him, nearly making Ken stumble to catch it. "Now, take a swing at me."

He seemed uncertain for a moment, then stepped forward and slashed with all of his strength. Valia blocked the attack edge-to-edge, and to the continued shock of the cadets, the glass sword showed no damage whatsoever, while the steel blade was chipped from the collision.

"Your blocks and parries must follow the same principle as your attacks. If you focus your edge perfectly in the same direction as you're exerting your strength, you can destroy enemy weapons without ever going on the offensive. Keep in mind, this technique has no margin for error. Every time you use it, it must be absolutely perfect. When you become knights, you can choose your style of blocking, whether you go the traditional way or my way, but this is the path to true sword mastery.

I want all of you to hook the sheaths to your belts, opposite from your dominant hand, and form a ring around me, no less than ten feet apart." The cadets took their positions, making sure Valia was in their view. She secured a cadet sword to her belt and assumed the directed stance. "Before you can begin wielding your sword, obviously, you have to be able to draw it first." She drew the sword in the blink of an eye, unsheathing the glass blade and swinging it at an invisible enemy. "You have to draw the sword perfectly straight, without twisting the blade or dragging it out of its sheath. Otherwise, the blade will break. Keep practicing until you can do it ten times in a row, then work on increasing your speed."

Noah and the other cadets spent the next hour repeatedly trying to draw their swords without any damage. Even he found it rather difficult, as while he managed to successfully pull out his sword more times than anyone else, it was only one out of every dozen attempts. Noah welcomed the challenge, this new method of studying swordplay. Without magic, training like this would never have been possible.

At the moment, the cadets' combined attempts sounded like a china shop during an earthquake. Each time their swords broke, the cadets had to pour in their mana, and after repeated attempts, the drain became impossible to ignore. Noah could sense the building frustration in many cadets, hear the subtle cursing and enraged nasal breathing, threatening to lead to full-blown tantrums. There was a noticable ripple every time he successfully drew his sword.

Valia paced around them, studying their technique and trying to offer advice where she could, be it how they bent their shoulders or the angle they drew from. There was little help she could give, as this most basic foundation couldn't be taught, only learned through repetition.

Halfway through the class, Valia stopped them. "By now, even if you haven't mastered drawing your sword, you should have a sense of dexterity and accuracy needed to handle it. I expect you to practice drawing it in your spare time until you can do it perfectly. For now, we're going to move on to the next stage. Follow me over here."

She led the class to an array of wooden constructs, each featuring a log, a meter in diameter, propped up at chest height. The ends of the logs, displaying fresh saw marks, had been painted like a compass, splitting into eight sections.

"Head, right shoulder, right side, right leg, chest, left leg, left side, and left shoulder. The lines depict the eight basic directions in which you attack your enemy, and you will use them to practice your attacks. You'll be swinging at them every lesson. This will teach you how to control the angle of your swing."

She took her khopesh and swung at the nearest log. She went with the grain at an improper angle and buried it in the edge of the wood. She then used her glass sword and swung at a different spot, against the grain at a perfect angle, and not only did the blade not shatter, but it also matched the depth.

"The slightest adjustment in the direction makes all the difference in the world. Regardless of your prowess or experience, whether or not your sword breaks determines your actual skill. Every time you have to repair it, I want to think about every time you've used a sword before, every time you failed to cut through enemy defenses or slay a monster. The reason for your failure will be made clear. All the times you succeeded, realize that victory came DESPITE your skill level, not because of it. You could learn the most elegant and deadly moves in the world of swordsmanship, but if your sword still breaks against this wood, then you'll never reach true mastery.

For today, just attack in whatever way you're most comfortable in and don't worry about technique. The focus is purely on how you hold the sword. Now, begin."

The cadets spread out, each taking a target to practice on. All still struggled to draw their swords, so attacking without the blades breaking was a daunting task. Noah made his first swing, a downward slash across his imagined foe's chest, only for the blade to snap and get stuck in the wood. Around him, every other cadet had similarly failed, snapping their swords. The broken shards lay stuck in the wood, soft enough to catch any attack and prevent a ricochet. He and the other cadets retrieved and repaired their blades and went at it again. Crack! The blades were once more broken.

This went on for the rest of the morning, swinging from the eight directions and trying desperately to get the angle right. The sound of glass breaking was constant, but blades would sporadically get buried in the wood without breaking. A perfect swing, just one of the infinite they had to produce. For Noah, the challenge was more amusing than frustrating.

While all this was going on, other classes proceeded throughout the academy, teaching various weapons and techniques. Weapons could be heard striking, along with shouts and grunts of pain and effort and bodies hitting the ground. Warrior magic--magic that enhanced the abilities of weapons and their users--most often manifested for swords, bows, shields, spears, and clubs, so the academy used that to create the cadet's schedules. Today, Noah and his assigned class would train with swords, and the day after, he'd move on to bows. Five days of work, followed by two days of rest, resulting in a seven-day week.

Everyone was grateful beyond words when midday finally arrived, and Valia gave the order to stop. They were all drenched in sweat, with blistered hands.

"You've all done well today. Now, go fill your bellies. Remember to keep your sword with you at all times and to practice whenever you can. I expect you all to be able to draw your swords flawlessly when next I see you.

Cadet Noah, a word?"

The others departed while exchanging glances of curiosity and intrigue. Noah sheathed his glass sword and approached. "Yes, ma'am?"

Valia waited until the cadets were no longer in earshot. An owl hooted nearby, but otherwise, all was quiet. "My curiosity and pride as a swordswoman would be crying if I did not ask this. Where did you learn to fight?"

Hopefully, she wouldn't see through him this time. "My father trained me relentlessly. He claimed he was some great warrior back in the day and didn't want it to all go to waste. When he was drunk, he'd joke that on the day I was born, he forced a dagger into my hands and made me cut my own cord. He was killed by a sledgepaw this past winter."

"Ah, my condolences." Her pause seemed sincere. "What was his name? Maybe I've heard of him?"

"Steven the Bold. It's the only name he ever gave, but I have yet to meet anyone who knew about his glory days."

"That's a shame. I must admit that I am not familiar with that name either. You, on the other hand, your skills impressed me, and you'll go far in the knighthood. However, you should watch out. Factions will start building soon, and many will try to lure you into their folds."

"I wasn't aware of that. Thanks for the warning."

Those eyes, so focused. Noah was confident in his ability to hide his tells, but their battle had shown the power of her intuition. Trying to hide under his façade felt shielding himself against a flamethrower with a sheet of plywood.

"I think you had some idea. I probably wouldn't be off the mark to say you dropped your sword on purpose in the first round because you were trying to avoid it. While I do sympathize with the pressure about to be put on you, intentional weakness is still weakness, and is not something a knight should be doing. That kind of hesitancy will get you and others killed."

"With all due respect, I have no qualms with ending the lives of others on the battlefield if that's what you're worried about. I assure you that I will erase Uther's enemies when the time comes. I simply wish not to make a spectacle of myself unless it is necessary."

"To intentionally drop your weapon dishonors me as your teacher and yourself as a student. I need you to treat these lessons with the same seriousness you treat the battlefield."

Noah bowed his head. "Yes, ma'am. I will."

She seemed irked by the response. Whether she spotted a tell or if it was instinct, she didn't let herself be satisfied by the answer.

"It looks like you have something you wish to say. You can speak freely, cadet."

He felt it, her seriousness. Just like before, if he came at her with nothing less than total honesty, she'd see right through him. He really didn't want to anger her a second time.

"Very well, ma'am. You tell me I need to take your lessons seriously, but I also need to think beyond them, don't I? I threw the first fight for the sake of every fight that would come after. With my skills now public knowledge, my future opponents will be less likely to underestimate me, less likely to drop their guard, meaning I've lost the element of surprise. I take that very seriously."

"Is that not the whole point of enrolling in this academy? You're here to learn and develop new skills for combat. It was inevitable that you'd have to fight seriously and let people see you. How long do you think you could have coasted by hiding your abilities?"

"Long enough, ma'am, and until I do develop those new skills, I need every advantage I can get. The sooner people know my abilities, the sooner they can develop countermeasures. I chose to lose a sparring match to my teacher in an academic setting, rather than risk getting killed in the future because my enemies would know my strength."

"You're here to become a knight of Uther. You will live, fight, and possibly die for this nation. Instead of hiding your strength from potential enemy cadets, shouldn't you be making them into your allies? When you graduate, you will be part of an order, with people who will depend on you just as you'll have to depend on them."

"I know how to depend on people. I know they are valuable and necessary."

"Necessary to preserve your own life, right? To fulfill your own goals? That's not how we do things around here. You're thinking long-term about yourself, but I need to think long-term for this country."

"Are you sure you aren't focusing too much on the short-term? It's a choice you may not like, but you know it was the right one."

Valia's eyes narrowed. "Excuse me? Do not presume to know what I think."

"You're an elf, are you not? You've seen how far the choices we make ripple out. Years, decades, centuries can pass before consequences lose their momentum. A human teacher would obsess over a sparring match on the first day at the academy, but I'm rather disappointed that you would as well. I figured you would have a better sense of perspective. You of all people should know how easy life can be thrown into chaos, and how insignificant the things we deem important really are."

He saw it, the slight tremor in her expression, alerting him that he had touched a nerve.

"You forget your place, cadet."

"On the contrary. My place has been made quite clear, has it not? I get the sense you're stronger than most gold-rank knights, so it's probably safe to say that my place is in the high silver. Once I include magic, I'm probably gold-rank. Might makes right in this world, does it not? The purpose of this academy is to support that rule. You're teaching us how to wield our strength to extend the reach of our influence and control, all for the glory of Uther. Tell me, what authority does that drop of blood on your cheek grant me?"

"Is that a challenge or a threat?"

"It's a request. You wanted to know my level, well now I would appreciate the respect it deserves. When I speak of concerns, I want you to acknowledge them as the concerns of a gold-ranked warrior. When I calculate what is important in the long run, I want you to trust my math."

A moment of silence. "You are dismissed. Hurry up to the mess hall."

"Thank you, ma'am."

When he arrived, the mess hall was already half-full, and he could hear descriptions of his fight with Valia. It seemed like his match with her was a big deal. Only the two dozen cadets had seen his face and heard his name, and they were already eating or weighting in line. He could still blend in with the cadets still streaming in and get his tray of food without being hassled.

Alexis was eating by herself, so he walked over. "Mind if I join you?"

"Go right ahead." He sat down on the other side of the long table. They both ate in silence for the first few minutes, each acclimating to the presence of the other. This was time to eat and rest, so they gave each other time to decompress. "Today was your first day training under Lady Zodiac, right?" she finally asked.

"Was it the sword that gave it away, or just how I look?"

"Well, you do look... weathered. I'm guessing she was a bit rough on you?"

"More than a bit, I'd say. When do you start?"

"Tomorrow." Then, a rare smile. "I honestly can't wait. This will be a dream come true."

"You're that excited?"

"I was raised on stories of her adventures. She's my hero, and training under her is one of the main reasons I enrolled. Most of the women here probably feel the same way."

"Well you can probably expect the same introduction she gave me."

After eating, Noah made his way to the infirmary, where he found several other cadets already waiting. At least forty were gathered, sitting on long benches in the brick corridor, all with varying injuries, much of which came from sparring matches and inexperience with new weapons. Unless something was broken, missing, or spurting blood, suffering an injury was not an excuse to skip a lesson. Cadets had to learn to fight through the pain. Blisters were aplenty, even for seasoned warriors.