"You ran into a what?"
"A red dragon..."
"And you thought it was a good idea to have this Dwarf launch you into the sky to kill it?"
Renkai stays silent. Diantel lets out a heavy sigh.
"The dragon had an injury around its neck. It was the only chance I had. The rest of the party was useless. I keep telling you that-"
"And where's your greatsword?"
Renkai startles at his question.
"I don't need it. But about that..."
Diantel stares her down.
"Renkai."
She pulls out the remains of her greatsword from behind her.
"The rest of it is still lodged in the dragon's corpse..."
Diantel's face slowly fills with disappointment.
"I managed to carve a few dragon scales off of its-"
"Do you know many greatswords you've broken now?"
Iden is laughing in the back of Renkai's mind. She wants to snap at him.
Iden...
Eight. Pfft. You've broken... eight greatswords. Pfft.
"Eight..."
Diantel's disappointment grows, but eventually his face softens as he lets out a sigh. He moves toward Renkai and hugs her.
"I'm just glad you're safe."
Renkai raises her arms for a moment, but drops them a couple of seconds later.
"Of course I'm okay."
Diantel pulls back and moves his hands to her arms.
"Don't play it off like it was nothing. You're lucky the dragon had an injury. You said it was an injury around its neck, right? Do you know what could have caused the injury?"
Iden. It felt like the injury had mana around it. Can you-
Already studied it a while ago. The size of the injury matches that of a bolt from the kingdom's magic-infused ballistas. There were also some splinters in the flesh, had you looked closer. I'm honestly surprised it managed to fly from one side to the other while being injured and hunted by the knights from the capital.
"A magic-infused ballista from the otherside of the Great Lake."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Daintel stays there for a moment, then lets out a sigh as he stands up.
"Everything is slowly getting more and more complicated. It really goes to show the power difference beyond the Great Lake."
Renkai drops her head slightly, as if frustrated by the power difference that exists.
"Why isn't our side as strong as theirs? We're part of the same kingdom, aren't we?"
"It's not that simple, unfortunately. You have those nobles to blame for that."
"But our side holds more dungeons, doesn't it? Wouldn't that entice more adventurers from the other side to our side?"
Diantel's face lightens slightly. This is the first time in a while that Renkai has asked so many questions. A small smile rises on his face.
"They're more dangerous, however. Most people on this side are willing to take that risk, considering the difference in struggling is vastly different. While others on the other side are like that, there are at least ten times that number living comfortably. They don't need to take risks."
"And what about the knights? Surely some of them were sent to our side."
"Have you seen any other knights besides our own?"
Renkai drops her head once more. Diantel places a hand on her head, attempting to comfort her, even if slightly.
"Enough of this talk, how about a bit of sparring?"
Renkai's head slowly lifts, and a disappointed face appears.
"I thought I didn't have to do anymore sparring with you?"
"Should have thought about that when you snuck out. Now, come on."
Diantel leaves through the back door of their small home. Renkai reluctantly follows. Behind their home lies a decent-sized clearing of dirt, clearly a training ground of sorts. There are all sorts of wooden weapons lying on top of a rack. Diantel picks up a wooden spear and moves to one side.
"I'll be nice this time. I won't force you to use a greatsword this time."
"That's awfully nice of you, considering you force me to go adventuring with one."
"How else would you build strength for your swings?"
Renkai moves towards the weapon rack and scans over all the available weapons. Wooden daggers, short swords, longswords, rapiers, maces, a greatsword, and a halberd.
What do you think, Iden?
I would go with the greatsword. You have more experience with it, considering he forces you to go on missions with them. Though you could surprise him by using a different weapon for once. The choice is yours.
Renkai scans the weapons once more, and her eyes linger on two. The greatsword and a longsword. She grabs the greatsword, and it's heavy. Not as heavy as her old greatswords, but still enough to slow her down. She puts it to the side and shifts toward the longsword. She lifts it, and it feels right in her hands. She does a few practice swings with it, and while it's still heavy, it's not as heavy as a greatsword.
Renkai begins to walk to the other side of Diantel, while he is slightly surprised.
"I really thought you were going to pick up a greatsword, or something just as heavy. Are you sure you want to use that?"
Renkai scans over the wooden weapons once more, but her grip only tightens around the longsword's handle.
"This is good."
Renkai. In case you had forgotten, greatswords are harder to block and excel in controlling and dominating the area. Longswords don't have as much range, but they're considerably lighter and easier to swing.
Glad you remembered that.
How would I forget? You enjoyed studying back then.
Diantel claps, grabbing Renkai's attention. A smile begins to grow on his face.
"Renkai, I'll start training you right now. For the next few days, you'll be putting all your efforts into learning how to use a longsword."
He readies himself, something that shook Renkai. Diantel wasn't just some old man. He's the current captain of the knights for their town. Diantel had been training Renkai, fully aware of her goal.
"Ready yourself, it'll be a long, hurtful lesson."
Renkai hesitates, but eventually clears her mind and readies herself. Both of her hands grip the longsword tightly.
Iden.
Of course I'll help you. Maybe we can knock him off his high horse.
A few seconds go by, and neither of them has made a move. Then, Renkai rushes in. Diantel moves to the side and pats her back.
Turn around.
She stops her momentum and turns quickly, only to see the tip of Diantel's spear rapidly approaching. She tries dodging, only for his spear to land a blow on her side. She tries backing away, but Diantel keeps the pressure on.
You need to close the distance. Creating space only lets him mess with you further.
Renkai lunges towards Diantel once more, and Diantel retaliates with a thrust.
Clash with it.
Renkai clashes with it and continues her approach. She gets close enough to make a vertical swing, only for Diantel to repel it and land a blow to her stomach. Diantel walks backwards and allows her to recover for a moment.
"Closing the distance was a fine idea; however, you didn't consider what would happen afterwards. Think carefully this time around. Is using a longsword with two hands always the right choice?"
Diantel readies himself once more and immediately launches himself at Renkai. She barely dodges and tries to land a hit, but Diantel ducks. He shoves her back and launches a few quick stabs. She manages to block a few of them, but one manages to slip by and hit her in the side.
Create some space to recover.
Renkai ignores Iden, and instead, she pushes forward, switching her grip from two hands to one-handed on her longsword. Diantel throws one more thrust, but this time Renkai uses her free hand to grab and throw his thrust off track and follows with a vertical swing. Before her swing can land, Diantel changes his grip and uses the bottom of his spear to glide her swing off, and launches three quick thrusts in retaliation. The thrusts land on her stomach, knocking the breath away as she collapses to the floor, gasping for air. Diantel then slowly backs off, allowing her to catch her breath.
"Good, good. You're learning pretty quickly. I guess sending you out with just a greatsword trained you more than just swinging."
Renkai just looks up at him.
Iden.
I know. We'll have him on the ground beforenightfall.
The only advantage Renkai had was Iden. She had kept him a secret from Diantel, as well as her mother.
"I hope you're ready for more. These next few days are going to be quite painful. It probably won't be enough for that goal of yours, but we'll try anyway. You'll be sparring against me, as well as some of the other knights, whenever they're training."
Renkai gets up, still slightly grasping for air, but enough to keep going. She readies herself once more.
"If that's what it takes, then bring it on, old man."