小嫂子的味道

There was a loud booming sound accompanied by two small shock waves when I kicked off the ground and dashed toward the human dummies. It was quick and didn't take a minute to cover the distance.

Reaching close I swiftly swung the sword at the nearest dummy. The blade clicked and touched the skin on the dummy's neck, then like a hot knife through butter, the sword split the dummy's head apart from its body in a single slash.

I landed across perfectly and flickered the sword in the air before turning behind and looking at the dummy that was now lying on the ground with its head rolling on the side. I then glanced at the sword in my hands.

This was sharp as fuck, but that's how a sword's supposed to be; so it was the least of my concerns. Pushing the useless thoughts in my head aside I dashed forward again.

The sword did its work; this time, the number of heads severed was three simultaneously. I landed at a distance, scanned the destroyed bodies, and then repeated the same thing all over again.

This went on for a span of around thirty minutes before I got tired of it and stopped. I was cutting the dummies just fine but that was about it. If I wanted to get a hold of magiken and the Requiem then this was the wrongest of the wrongest methods I could choose.

The human dummies were a great told to practice but at the same time, they were pretty much useless if you wanted to train at a higer level since they did not move an inch. How much will you improve by cutting a still target that doesn't even counter-attacks or defends itself.

It was a huge pain in the ass. And I was thinking about a way to deal with this, a way to practice and get used to my magiken, a way of training without involving anyone else. It was then when my eyes wandered into the vast room and noticed Req who was standing and watching me from afar.

The gears in my mind moved and an idea sparked up.

"Come here, you'll be helping me with this," I called, raising a hand in her direction.

At first she looked a bit confused but came over to me anyway.

"Go and pick up a sword," I said as I pointed toward a certain section of the wall where a number of swords hung on a flat, wooden board. "You will be working with me in this."

Req didn't move from her place. There was a look of amusement on her face as she broke out into a wide grin, and from the looks of it, she did not tried to hide it at all.

"Are you sure about that?" she asked in a teasingly tone, twisting her tongue around in her mouth.

"I am. Otherwise I wouldn't have called, you know that," I clarified.

"Well, if that's what you want,' she said. After that she went and grabbed one of the swords. It was a normal long sword with a grey, metallic blade and wooden handle. It was truly one of the most basic swords you could find.

She stood in front of me, toying with the sword and playing around with it in her hands. It was as if she was checking whether it was good enough to be used by her or not. Then a few minutes later she stopped and gripped the sword with one hand.

"Satisfied?" I asked.

"Not quite. But it will do," she responded, referring to the sword in her hands. She rubbed a finger on the edge of the sword, starting from the tip and down to the hilt. It was not that she was touching it lightly, as gently like a rub of feather, she wasn't. Though it still doesn't change the fact that not a single drop of blood welled up on her finger.

When she was done, she took her finger back and raised the sword, pointing its tip in my direction. "What do you want me to do?" she asked.

"Nothing much, nothing less. I want you to fight me so I can train with the Requiem. By now even you would have noticed that those dummies are up to no good," I said, glancing back at the severed heads with the corner of my eye.

"Hmm. I can do that, but will you be able to handle me? I might not look like that but at one point, I was feared by the five kingdoms back in those days. The time sure has passed but my powers haven't faded, not with the sword at least."

"Is that so? Go easy on me then," I said casually and lifted the Requiem sword up and pointed it toward her. Both the swords were now only an inch or two apart from kissing each other's head.

A wry smile crept up on Req's face. She dropped her hands and lowered the sword, walked back a few steps and then turned back at me. Her sword still not up again.

"Come at me. Attack," she said.

I can't say I wasn't taken back by this. Even if she and the Requiem sword has strayed quite a lot from what they were in the novel, I still somehow knew about her powers and strength. This also meant that I knew what I was getting into when I asked her to fight me.

She wasn't going to go all out, but fighting her on a low difficulty was not child's play either. She was powerful, more powerful than me. There's no denying the fact no matter how much I want to.

That's why I knew she wasn't kidding when she dropped her guard and said to attack. I was no prince either.

I clenched tightly at the hilt of my sword and pushed myself away from the ground. Reaching close to Req I kicked the ground multiple times to increase my speed and by the end of it I was basically hovering for a span of few seconds.

Raising the sword up I prepared for an attack and delivered the slash just where I wanted to. On the left side of her neck, opposite to her dominant arm. The blade reached close, an inch away from her skin.

Then she vanished, her presence disappeared and there was not a single trace left of her. My sword completed the arc and cut nothing but empty air. I landed on the ground, adjusted my balance, and turned only to find Req standing behind me with a wry smile on her face.

"You're fast," I said.

"That ain't even the best of it," she replied casually.

Pointing my sword toward her I held it up close to my right shoulder with both my hands. I locked my eyes on her and provided the magiken with a bit more of my mana. I knew doing this might not be the best idea but I was training so it did anyway.

I was about to launch myself in her direction when she suddenly stopped me by showing the palm of her hand. "Here's a little tip. Instead of dumping more mana in her, utilize what you already have. It'll be better that way,' she said.

I stopped and took a moment to think about it. Then I closed my eyes and concentrated. Just like she'd said I felt up all the mana that I'd already transferred in the sword, and as I did I grew more aware of it.

And by growing aware what I mean is, that the sword felt more like a part of me. The hilt was less rough, the grip was more natural, and its weight was surprisingly light. All of that.

Since this was training I decided to push it a little further. I focused on my breathing, taking deep and relaxed breaths. I drowned myself deeper in the realm of consciousness and inside my own mind. The more I ventured, the weird things got.

I became painfully aware of my own body, and I mean this in a three-sixty-degree way. I could sense what was on the back if not see it, and the same went for all the directions. It was as though my instincts had been increased to a whole new level.

I can not describe the feeling, but it was addictive. A part of me didn't want to leave this state of mind and come out. Although it was not like I was totally lost in it, I still had control and knew what was right and what was the hunger for power that I should avoid—bad hunger for power.

Opening my eyes I  looked at Req, she looked rather pleased. I glanced at the sword then at my foot and hands. I changed my posture and placed the sword in front of me.

Then when the time was right and I was done simulating my path inside my mind, I kicked off the ground and darted in Req's direction. Raising my sword as high as a proud king.