Crash Course

The next morning, I found myself walking through what felt like a military encampment, in a walled-off section of the castle grounds away from the serene gardens and terraces that the nobles schemed in. Here, honest men fought face-to-face without the dirty tricks of politics to interfere. The sounds of steel clanging and plasma discharges filled the camp, along with the shouts of soldiers and the bellowing of their commanding officers.

It had been decided that this morning, I was to be put through my paces to see how much raw fighting skill I had in me. Leena was the one who led me through the training grounds, seemingly unfazed by the noises of men preparing for a war. She almost seemed to be in her element, walking around in her usual clothes and proudly displaying her pistol as if she were one of the most senior commanders present. In all fairness, being a princess probably gave her a senior post by default.

At least she seemed to be in a better mood than last night.

We walked through the camp and up to the back, where a large wooden building set into the ground was located. At the railings edge, I saw what it was. An arena pit, complete with wooden seating for spectators. A place where quarrels were settled, and blood was spilled.

At the entrance to the dirt pit, a single soldier stood in full battle gear, the same one that I took a few pot shots at on the walk to the castle. I couldn't quite see any weapons on him, but something was telling me he had gear on him. Most people would say 'no shit' in response to that observation, but it was the same sense that went off at dinner, an unnatural fight or flight response that put me on edge.

I was right then…

Antagonizing that trained soldier was not a good idea at the time, but now it was about to bite me back

‘No more smart mouth comments then, Arbiter? Nothing to say? Not even one?’

The soldier looked at me and snorted.

‘Pathetic’

I, being the level-headed adult that I am, drew my sword and pointed it directly at his face. ‘I'll let my blade do the talking, not run my mouth like a coward’ before spitting in his general direction.

He turned bright fucking red. ‘Get in the ring, you little shit.’

That's when it dawned on me. This was their revenge.

His revenge.

The captain drew an object from his belt, pushed lightly on a symbol on the side of it and a full-size longsword blade projected out in glowing blue energy. It seemed to be plasma of some sort, but it was too cold and didn't hurt to look at. It was the same blade I saw on the other royal guards as well as the blue glow on my own blade.

‘I'll admit Arbiter, you certainly have guts for a pathetic little shit. Not even wearing any protective gear.’

Only then did I realise that I was still in my tunic and trousers. Turning to Leena, I smiled while trying not to show my fear. ‘Would you be a dear and get me a padded gambeson? Be rather stupid to face a professional soldier without protection.’

‘Well, there goes the tiny bit of respect I had for you. Dying honourably so we can summon another.’ His cocky smarm rubbed me up in oh so many wrong ways, starting with his utter lack of professionalism for a man of such high rank. I guess he was really pissed off at me.

I turned to face him and levelled my sword at him, the two tips of the blade lined up with his eyes. ‘You should shut the fuck up if you value your life!’

‘Then fight me!’ He responded.

Well, there goes that bluff, as well as my one chance at some sort of protection.

I took a stance, hoping I could overwhelm him with speed or pull something out cheek wise. Right foot forward, left foot at 90-degree angle, sword down and away from my opponent but ready to swing at a moment's notice. Something about this stance just felt right to me, as if I'd already used it many times…

The captain lunged at me with a downward thrust I barely managed to block; sparks flew as our blades connected. I hopped backward to absorb the momentum without falling over, but he just charged in for another strike swinging diagonally upwards which I barely blocked.

‘Heh, as I expected’ He gloated at me ‘just a fucking whelp. All talk and no stones. Cone on, fight!’

His words really got to me, so I decided to strike back. Stepping onto my front foot with a slashing pirouette, I swung diagonally from his right shoulder to his left hip. My blade barely scraped his chest but left a visible slash that still glowed faintly.

The captain snorted, looking down at the scratch in his immaculate breastplate. ‘Huh, so you can fight.’

I just stood there grinning like an idiot, barely able to believe I'd actually pulled off a move I saw in a video game. But before I could have my self-congratulatory, the captain charged in again with a slash.

It came down again, angled down from the right while swinging forwards. Time seemed to slow down as I sidestepped him and brought my blade up to slash him with his own momentum.

A metallic burning smell and horrible scraping sound pierced my ears as he charged past.

Stumbling forwards and then turning back to face me, the captain was visibly snarling, but regained his composure and pulled out a rectangular device and slid it over his bracer and secured it to his forearm.

The same one the gate guards had been wearing…

With a slight twitch, it projected a brilliant blue shield in a shape halfway between that of a Roman shield or a medieval war-door shield. In all honesty, it seemed to have more in common with a riot shield than anything else.

The captains face had changed, cold and machine-like. He had gone from wanting to beat a petulant child, to actually facing a real opponent.

‘Oh, so we're getting serious now?’ I commented sarcastically, trying to break his nerve.

He said nothing.

Slowly, he approached and began to circle, like a wolf who had lost the element of surprise. I circled in turn, trying to get around him.

Within a split second, he thrust his blade at me which I barely deflected before retreating behind his shield. Another strike came a few moments later, and again. With his shield in the way, I had no chance.

He kept probing, waiting for an opening, trying to bait me into a strike.

Well, if it's a strike you want, then that's what you'll get.

I pushed off my front foot and span, holding my sword ready to strike.

He raised his shield to block my strike.

As my momentum carried me within view, I saw my target…

Right in the open.

I slashed as hard as I could at the centre of his shield, feeling the strange metal push off as I cut through it. I could feel something rushing up my sword arm. It wasn't painful, it actually felt good.

But the look on his face was oh so much better.

The force of my strike made the captain step back to maintain his balance. He looked at his broken shield in amazement. It wasn't sparking or glowing, it was as inert as the dirt he stood on.

‘H-how did you do that?’ He managed to blurt out.

All I could do was stand there in confusion. ‘I dunno, just took a gamble that paid off.’

The good captain looked like he was about to give into some primal rage by the look on his face. He pulled the dead shield off his arm and held onto it loosely by one of the straps. It looked like a halfway between leather and some sort of high-tech polymer, something that would hold up to the strain of being used as a weapon.

It wasn’t that which scared me, it was the fact that he’d shut his fucking mouth. He began spinning the dead shield in his hand, slowly pacing while emanating a much colder fury. Baiting him into a stupid move wouldn’t be very easy.

He approached me slowly, eyes burning with fury and mouth sealed shut by an otherworldly force (His wounded pride).

I began to circle slowly, not wanting him to close the distance enough to actually strike. My heart pounded in my chest in a way that felt really unnatural. It was striking something inorganic.

'Oh fuck, that's not good.'

He charged in without even trying to scream, as if he were fighting in some sort of automatic mode. The practiced discipline of a warrior drilled for a thousand hours plainly on display.

I leapt back as he swung at me with his sword, but I only dodged the first strike. Church pivoted on his front foot and let his momentum carry the dead shield…

Straight into my face.

I reeled back as I felt blood dripping down my face and into my left eye. ‘Clever dick.’

I took a few tentative steps back to gain some distance on him so I could wipe the blood away. Only then did it occur to me that two could play at that game. Slowly moving my hand up to wipe my eye without lowering my weapon in a vain hope that he would think it was a bluff and call it.

Next second, I was on the ground with the sticky sensation of blood running down the side of my neck. I managed to will the sealant foam out of my hand to stop the bleeding, but it was a small comfort.

Took me a while to regain my bearing, but eventually I was back on my feet, staring down my opponent. The shield in my opponent’s hand resembled a bloodied club more than anything else, especially when it was covered in my own blood.

‘That's the best you’ve got? I can do this all day.’

Church began to circle me again while slowly spinning the shield club in lazy arcs, leaving small red dots in the dirt. His smug expression had come back along with his confidence.

‘I shouldn't have underestimated you, but it seems I overcorrected. You're all bark and no bite. The core teach you those tricks, did it? You’re just the shit-sack that your little toy got stuck with pupetting.’

I tried to not let him get to me, even as I fought with one eye shut. A short blast of foam around where I though the blood was coming from would do little more than seal me up, not free my eye from the red goo.

Church leapt at me again with his sword held for a backhanded slash at my gut. I just managed to parry it when another blunt impact landed on my right shoulder, forcing an explosion of pain all through my torso and knocking me on my side.

The light faded from my blade as I lay in the dirt, struggling to move.

‘I yield’.

A glob of spit landed next to my eyes as a voice spoke from on high. ‘You’re not a hero, you’re not even a soldier. You’re just a boy. You will never live up to the power you have been granted. Go and die for some idiot farmers, then you might be remembered as little more than a failure. It’s fight or die in this world, but you can’t punch. After all, you’re only human.’

The soft crunch of dry dirt faded away as the captain walked away.
Droplets of liquid ran off my cheek and onto the ground. Whether it was tears or blood, I could not tell. It felt like I was lying there for an eternity.

An arm snaked its way under me and I was hefted back onto my feet. Leena helped me get my feed back under and brushed the dirt off my face.

‘You might be stupid…’

She paused for a moment too long. ‘But?’

‘No, I was done talking.’

I wanted to throw every gram of sarcasm in my guts in her face, but I just couldn’t summon the strength. ‘Help me up, I need a drink.’