The Perfect Knight and the Illusionist (BL)
Chapter 17: Watch and Learn

Chapter 17: Watch and Learn

MARIUS

Lying in my bed, I wondered if Skylark was already homesick. He was talking about "berries from the South." He did mention, during dinner, how sweet they were, and he did seem rather proud of the local produce from his region. Although it was a complete mystery to me why he’d suddenly ask me—of all people—about berries, I did make a mental note of it and thought that I might check with a kitchen worker back in the mansion whether they could get some berries from the South. Maybe Skylark would feel better if he could get a taste of home, alleviating his homesickness a little.

"Because helping a comrade is a knightly thing to do," I told myself.

The next morning at the Academy, the eagerly anticipated first real combat lesson took place.

"Good morning. Today is the day that you take your first step in your journey to becoming a Royal Knight, and it begins now with this Martial Combat Class. This is a mandatory class for all students, and, regardless of your specialization, you are expected to reach a certain minimum standard in physical combat skills, mainly, swordsmanship, archery, and hand-to-hand combat," the instructor, who introduced himself as Instructor Knox earlier, said to the class, looking at everyone gathered in front of him in neatly arranged columns and rows.

"Now, while the use of magic is an innate gift that not all of you are blessed with at birth, we are all physically capable of learning basic martial combat skills. I expect all of you to work hard, and with enough dedication, every one of you will reach a level of martial combat competence that will save your life, your comrades’ lives, and the citizens’ lives when called upon. Now, without any further ado, Marius!"

"Yes, Sir!"

I answered instinctively as soon as my name was called out, without knowing why.

"Come forward with your wooden sword."

"Yes, Sir."

Once I was at the front of the class in the open field, Instructor Knox continued,

"We must, and we will, start with the basics, but before we do that, I want you guys to see something. Martial combat isn’t just about developing physical skills. You also need to be observant and be able to analyze how your opponent moves. Now, who will challenge Marius Valenkraft?"

With that, Instructor Knox looked at the students with a smile on his face.

I, of course, would never shy away from such challenges, and had I not been picked already, I would have volunteered. I was a little concerned as there was a moment of silence without anyone taking up the challenge, but then I became delighted as Dimitri raised his hand.

"I will do it, Sir."

Excellent.

Dimitri, physically, stood out in every sense. He was the tallest in the class, possibly a head taller than me even. His shoulders were broad and his arms were thick, packed with muscles. This was going to be a tough one.

And I was looking forward to it.

"I will go next if Valenkraft survives," someone else volunteered too.

When I looked, it was Dorian with a smirk on his face.

"Watch and learn first, class. Watch and learn," Instructor Knox said, seemingly pleased that the students in this class weren’t short of courage.

Dimitri then came to the front, and we stood ten paces away from each other. Upon Instructor Knox’s signal, we exchanged a polite bow and assumed a fighting stance. I took the standard stance, holding the sword with both hands and my body slightly turned, one foot leading and another foot supporting from behind. Dimitri surprised me with an unorthodox stance, where he held his sword high in the air with one hand. We were both issued standard-length training swords, but he had the advantage in reach. My reading was that once I entered within his range, he would swing down with full force. Blocking it would be foolish as he was likely strong enough to push down my sword effortlessly. And of course, he would know that was exactly what I was thinking, so the real attack would be to strike me when I dodged his downward swing.

Having thought this far, the best strategy was a simple one.

Once the match started, I made a quick dash toward him, head-on. I saw his grip on the sword tighten, and as I entered his range, he drove down his sword, aiming for my head directly. Instead of dodging the swing as he would have expected me to, I brought my sword up and held it horizontally to block his strike. I saw a flicker of surprise in his eyes, and a slight grin, as he used all his power to force my sword down.

But I wasn’t going to lose.

I used all my power to hold the sword in position, not budging even a tiny bit. The longer I held, the more unsettled he was becoming. The classmates started to cheer. Dimitri was strong, and I probably couldn’t hold forever. But I didn’t train my whole life for nothing. Someone like Dimitri was bigger than me. I would always come across people like that. But I had the confidence in the fact that nobody trained harder than me.

Then I felt Dimitri push down harder, with much stronger force than he was using before.

I did enough to show that I wouldn’t shy away from a challenge of strength. Now it was time for me to show something else.

Keeping my eyes firmly on Dimitri, who seemed to be really enjoying what I’d imagine was a rare occasion when someone decided to go toe-to-toe in a contest of brute force, I let out a scream as if I was about to put all my strength into pushing him back, but as I did so, I sneakily turned my body, slid to the side, and landed a well-placed precision kick on Dimitri’s left calf, which made him instantly lose balance and fall to his knees.

"Ha! You got me there!" Dimitri said, taking my hand as I offered to help him up.

As soon as we finished the traditional bow of respect after the match, though, Dorian stepped forward. Dimitri seemed a little irritated by Dorian not giving me a moment of rest as was customary between bouts, but he quickly went back to the group as Instructor Knox waved him away.

"It is an honor to fight a Valen," Dorian said, theatrically softening his voice as he pronounced my name.

A provocation.

Nice try, but I wasn’t going to fall for that.

I did not answer and resumed the standard stance again, but was a little puzzled by how Dorian simply stood still in his spot, with both arms by his sides, with one hand loosely holding his wooden sword.

Just as I had done with Dimitri, and thousands of times before in such matches, I took my time studying his posture, the slightest movement in his muscles, his facial expression—and his eyes. But his breathing was calm and steady, his muscles didn’t tighten, and his eyes told me nothing.

I couldn’t read him at all.