"Arrrgghh! I lost!"
"Hmph..."
Ardyn lowered his training wand, followed by Gerdan, who immediately stood up and patted his dusty clothes and pants. Gerdan stared at his brother with a sharp gaze, while Ardyn just stared back at his younger brother with his usual blank expression. Gerdan then smiled and seemed to accept his defeat gracefully.
Two healers then approached them to check their bodies, then cast healing spells on the two boys who had been fighting.
Victor saw his two sons talking to each other after the fight, neither of them fatally injured, and breathed a small sigh of relief.
Leni lifted her lips slightly, seeing her son's victory, while Berthy gritted her teeth and showed her annoyance at seeing her son lose. Seeing his student lose, Norrit just shook his head and sighed deeply.
"Impressive fight, you two. Now you both take a short break. Next, you two will spar with Winfred."
"Okay, Father!"
"Understood."
"Winfred, get ready. Do some warm-ups first."
"Yes, Father..."
Gerdan and Ardyn then left the field and climbed into the spectator seats. Winfred saw his two brothers talking to their respective mothers.
Gerdan seemed to be scolded by his mother because he saw Berthy glaring at her son. Ardyn greeted his mother and then sat down next to her. Winfred couldn't clearly read Leni and Ardyn's feelings because of their blank faces, but it seemed that Leni and Ardyn were quite satisfied with the outcome of the fight.
A moment later, he saw Sebastian carrying a small box and approaching Gerdan and Ardyn's group. He thought perhaps the Head Butler was going to give them something, but he dismissed the thought and tried to focus and not be distracted by trivial matters.
Winfred was about to go out to the field to prepare, but before he could leave, his mother held his shoulder and looked into his eyes with an understanding smile, stroking his head.
"Please... be careful, okay? Don't push yourself too hard."
"Okay, Mother! Don't worry! Nina, and Miss Helina, please pray for me!"
"Young Master Winfred, please don't overdo it, okay?"
"As my daughter said, don't overdo it and always be careful, Young Master."
Even though Helina put on a straight face, Winfred knew that she was really praying for him. On the other hand, Nina was just like her mother, whose faces were full of worry. He just smiled enthusiastically so they wouldn't worry too much.
After doing that, he went down to the field and warmed up by stretching his body, trying to swing a wooden spear, and running small laps around the field. After a while, Victor saw that Ardyn and Gerdan had rested enough, then he saw that Winfred had also finished warming up.
"I think you two have had enough rest. Now, which one of you will go first?"
"Me, me, Father! Let me fight the little brother first! It's okay with you, right, Brother Ardyn!?"
"Suit yourself."
"Very well. Gerdan will go first, then Ardyn."
Gerdan pumped his fist in the air because he was the first to step forward against his younger brother.
Ardyn just sighed as he wiped the sweat from his forehead with the towel he wore around his neck.
Gerdan was about to rush down to the field, but his mother stopped him because she wanted to say something
"Gerdan, win the match!
"I understand, Mother!
"Always remember our lessons. Never underestimate your opponent…"
"Eh, Sir Norrit!? I know about that!"
After exchanging words with his mother and instructor, Gerdan then went down to the field and faced his younger brother.
He disapproved of his brother's choice of a spear as a weapon, but what could he do? Winfred took a position quite far from his red-haired brother and assumed a fighting stance.
"Begin!"
At Victor's signal, the battle commenced. Gerdan immediately lunged toward Winfred, instantly casting his Physical Strengthening spell. Winfred, on the other hand, immediately activated his Sonar, which flooded his mind with information.
Thanks to his efforts, he managed to filter the incoming information so that he wasn't overwhelmed and only picked up on the important information.
Gerdan entered the detection radius of his Sonar, and Winfred was able to sense his brother's movements. The position of his arms, the grip of his hands, the stomping of his feet, the swing of his wooden sword, and the breath coming out of his brother's nose... he could sense it all.
"Based on the position of his sword and arm... a diagonal slash!"
Gerdan launched a quick diagonal slash attack toward his younger brother, but his brother easily blocked it.
Gerdan then immediately launched a follow-up attack in quick succession. Winfred, who had activated his Sonar, quickly read the small ripples in the space caused by his brother changing his posture and the direction of his wooden sword.
"Horizontal slash!"
Once again, Gerdan saw his younger brother successfully defend himself from a quick follow-up attack. But Gerdan didn't care and again launched a quick follow-up attack. Overhead attacks, stabs, feints, vertical swings... all were blocked by Winfred.
This time, Gerdan was confused. How could someone younger and less experienced than him survive his relentless attacks? Breathing heavily, Winfred managed to defend himself from his brother's seemingly endless barrage of wooden sword attacks.
However, he paid for it with stiff and tired arms, as well as depleted Mana from continuously using Sonar.
On the other hand, Olivyn and the two maids accompanying her were surprised that the youngest child they usually took care of was able to survive the seemingly endless rapid attacks.
Berthy and her entourage were also shocked, especially Berthy. The woman thought her son would finish the fight with his little brother in a short time, but until now they were still fighting even though the fight was dominated by her son.
Ardyn and Leni were quite surprised this was the first time they had shown change in expression all day. Ardyn, in particular, was curious about how his youngest sibling had managed to withstand the attack of someone so physically gifted.
Victor crossed his arms as he thought about his youngest son. He never imagined that Winfred would grow up to be the person he is today, a child whom many people thought had no bright future after his appraisal ceremony, but who now stands firmly against his older brother.
However, as an experienced Knight, he could see that Winfred was reaching his limit and that the next attack would likely be decisive.
Returning to the fight, Winfred took a few steps back to position himself and improve his posture. Gerdan then cast his Fire Lance spell targeting his younger brother's shoulder. Winfred took a step ahead and anticipated the spell attack by dodging to the side.
"Tsk! Hey, little brother! How long are you going to be defensive! Why don't you attack me!?"
Winfred regulated his breathing and looked into his brother's eyes, which were burning with energy.
They were both dripping with sweat, but it was clear that Gerdan still had plenty of power left and could continue fighting at full strength.
Compared to himself, who was already gasping for breath and almost out of energy, Winfred considered whether he should go on the offensive or remain defensive.
But before he could make a decision, Gerdan rushed towards him and closed the distance between them.
He then launched a quick diagonal slash at his exhausted-looking younger brother. His younger brother was still able to block the attack, but not as effectively as at the beginning of the fight, as his posture began to collapse.
Winfred felt that the longer he fought his brother, the faster and stronger his brother's blows became.
However, he continued to defend himself with all his might and then decided to turn around and attack his brother. He launched a simple thrust after successfully blocking his brother's attack.
Gerdan watched his younger brother switch to offense and unconsciously smiled broadly. Then he blocked his brother's spear thrust with ease and the two exchanged blows.
Yes, this was what he wanted! The friction between the weapons reverberating through his arms gave him satisfaction and fulfillment.
Winfred then felt Gerdan using his spell, and quickly a basketball-sized fireball flew towards him. He quickly dodged the Fire Ball spell, but it seemed he was too hasty, because when he was about to recover his position, Gerdan was already close to his right side.
Gerdan saw that his younger brother had not fully balanced himself to take advantage of the opportunity, so he gripped his wooden sword tightly and launched a heavy diagonal slash that struck his brother's spear precisely.
Winfred knew the attack was coming thanks to his Sonar, but he didn't have time to dodge or block it because his stamina had reached its limit and his hands felt numb from repeatedly exchanging blows since the beginning.
The wooden spear in his hand slipped from his grasp and flew a short distance, eventually landing at the edge of the field.
"Yeah, my victory! Hahaha!"
"..."
Gerdan raised his right hand, which was holding a wooden sword, into the air while laughing freely.
Everyone who witnessed their fight showed various reactions, some remained silent, some smiled broadly, some were lost in thought, and some did not react at all. Of course, those who smiled were from Berthy's side and his entourage. Meanwhile, on Winfred's side, Olivyn and the two maids beside her stared at the boy standing on the field with concern.
Winfred then saw two people from the Church of Light approaching him, and Gerdan asked permission to begin the healing spell.
"Excuse me, dear Young Masters."
A warm sensation enveloped him as the Healer held his hands and cast a healing spell. It seemed that the Healers had chosen to use Minor Heal as their healing spell because they saw that Winfred and Gerdan did not have any serious physical injuries.
This warm feeling was very different from his "unique ability", it was much warmer, as if he were lying on a bed with a warm blanket that made his body feel better and healthier.
"You two, take a break first. After that,it will be Ardyn's turn."
When they were done, the two Healers bowed to Emerdine's two sons and returned to their positions. As he was about to obey his father's order to rest in the audience seats, Gerdan approached Winfred and smacked him on the back.
"Hey! Little brother, you're not too bad after all!"
"Ouch! Um...Brother Gerdan?"
"Hahaha! But that doesn't change the fact that I'm the winner! Oh yeah, how about we spar regularly!?"
"Hmm...I'll think about it first..."
After saying that, they parted ways to return to their respective groups. When he reached his mother, Olivyn, looking worried, held Winfred's shoulders and cheeks.
"Son, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Mother. The Healer just checked me and healed my body!"
"Thank goodness..."
Olivyn, Helina, and Nina could breathe a sigh of relief after Winfred had fully recovered. Shortly after, someone approached them. It turned out to be Head Butler Sebastian, who was carrying a small box. He then bowed slightly as he opened the small box.
"Excuse me, Young Master Winfred. Here is your potion. A present from Lord Victor."
"Thank you, Sir Sebastian."
Winfred observed the light blue liquid in his hand. The liquid was contained in a small glass tube, which he knew from the game to be called a Minor Mana Potion.
Opening the cork, Winfred drank the potion. It tasted like a mix of tea and carbonated drink, not particularly good but not too bad either.
He could feel his Mana levels starting to recover quickly. Then Sebastian excused himself after taking the empty bottle from Winfred and returned to Victor's side.
***
After a while, Winfred felt better and wanted to go down to the field to continue his fight. As usual, his mother and the two maids beside him always told him to be careful, to which he replied by reassuring them that everything would be fine.
Upon arriving at the field, he saw his older brother Ardyn warming up by jumping up and down and stretching his arms.
Seeing his younger brother arrive at the field, Ardyn stopped warming up and took his fighting stance. Victor saw that both of his sons were ready and started the fight with a loud voice.
"Begin!"
This time, Winfred tried changing his strategy to become more aggressive and offensive. He knew that it wasn't wise to stand still when fighting a Mage.
Winfred tested his brother's response by launching a normal thrust, and Ardyn saw his younger brother approaching him and responded by using the Gale spell.
Thanks to his Ping ability, Winfred could sense the Mana and spell that were about to be used, allowing him to anticipate attacks in advance. He then dodged to the side and continued advancing toward Ardyn.
Ardyn was not lacking in ideas, so he cast the Wind Ball spell from his palm and then used Airstep to dodge Winfred's thrust. Ardyn retreated while maintaining the spell, and every time Winfred launched an attack, whether it was a thrust or a swing, Ardyn successfully dodged it.
"Brother Ardyn...it seems he's starting to master the Airstep spell..."
Ardyn jumped and occasionally glided briefly across the field. He didn't hover as high as he did during his battle with Gerdan, but only glided slightly above the ground.
His movements when dodging Winfred's attacks were so calm and orderly, as if he were surfing.
Winfred, on the other hand, continued his attacks even though Ardyn kept dodging them. Seeing that Winfred's attacks were slowing down, Ardyn then pointed his palm at Winfred and fired the Wind Ball spell.
Emerdine's youngest child anticipated his brother's spell and dodged it. Ardyn gathered Mana in his hand and was about to quickly use the wind spell Wind Pillar at his younger brother, but Winfred caught the slight ripple that occurred and dodged to the side first.
However, it seemed that the decision was too hasty because it turned out that his brother's move was just a feint.
When Winfred tried to return to his fighting stance, his brother's spell was released and quickly hit his hand. Winfred was thrown backwards, but fortunately he did not lose his grip on his wooden spear.
Ardyn stopped all his attacks and stared at his panting younger brother with a blank expression.
"Let's get this over with."
"..."
It seemed that his brother wanted to end the fight, because Winfred saw a large amount of Mana gathering around Ardyn.
The blond-haired man pointed his palm at Winfred to cast the Gale spell. Winfred responded by running towards his brother, brandishing his wooden spear.
Ardyn fired the spells Gale and Wind Ball alternately at Winfred by pointing his palm, but his younger brother managed to dodge them all.
Wind magic is one of the fastest types of magic, along with Light and Lightning magic, but for some reason, his younger brother was able to dodge the attacks by moving out of the way early...
Seeing that they were only a few steps apart, Ardyn continued to use his spells. Winfred, who had been running in a straight line, changed his course to zigzag in an attempt to outmaneuver his brother. He could sense through his Ping that there were several pauses when his brother used wind spells.
Here comes the moment, Winfred lowers his body and delivers a swift stab to his brother's stomach. Ardyn's left hand is still open and pointing forward, which means his brother won't have time to change the direction of his hand, Winfred thought so.
But suddenly Ardyn's right hand, which was holding the training wand, was pointed at him, and in that brief moment, a spiral wind was shot out by the young Mage with his expressionless face.
"Oh no-"
Winfred thought that his brother was only focusing on using his left hand, not the training wand in his right hand to use Wind magic.
Apparently, he was fooled by his Brother Ardyn's actions, who pretended not to use his training wand, and Winfred had to accept the consequences of his carelessness with his wooden spear slipping from his hand.
Seeing his brother's wooden spear slip out of his hand and fly far away, Ardyn lowered his hands and stared at his brother, who was crouching down.
"My victory, Winfred."
"Yes, Brother Ardyn..."
"Though, I do admit…"
"Hm?"
"That was a good fight."
Winfred was quite stunned to hear his brother say that. He didn't know whether his brother was genuinely praising him or just paying an empty compliment... but what was clear was that he had once again lost out to his other brother.
As usual, the Healers checked on Emerdine's two sons and healed them. Once they were done, they returned to their positions. Winfred saw the audience beginning to descend onto the field, which meant that today's sparring was over.
Winfred approached his mother and the two maids, while Ardyn returned to Leni and her group. As for Gerdan, he and his group seemed satisfied with today's sparring, especially Gerdan, who had fought his two brothers.
"Everyone, before we leave, I want to say something."
Victor's words caught everyone's attention. Winfred wondered what his father was going to say.