Tale Of A Knight

The training, or should I say one sided ma.s.sacre was grueling. Now that I was left with one hand, my non-dominant hand, I struggled to block all of the wind slashes he sent my way. One slash hit me in the stomach, the other hit me on my forehead, while another one sent me flying across the air and slam on the ground.

"You have to be able to block them, withstand their force; you have to develop the ability to resist air slashes. Otherwise we are not getting anywhere."

Easy for him to say, he is overpowered. Too strong, even with the magic cancellation collar on his neck, the winds that he generates with a single slash of a sword is strong enough to knock a grown man of his feet. G.o.d knows how powerful is his slashes are if they are landed directly.

"Just how am I supposed to do that again?" I asked with irritation.

"Counter the air slash with equivalent or greater force. Strike back; don"t let yourself get blown away!" That was his advice? I now understand why he couldn"t keep a single disciple, he goes too hard on them, and his teaching style is harsh. He is not a bad teacher but unless one has enough will to keep going even after being beaten countless times it is clear that his teaching will scare off any potential students.

He released a large air slash.

I stood my ground and countered with a slash of my sword.

The air slash was strong, even after I made it collide perfectly with the edge of my wooden sword; it still pushed me back, trying to dislocate my shoulder. With my sole remaining arm I clenched the handle of my sword. With my feet planted firmly upon the ground I pushed back, and then I struck back.

The air slash now was pushed away from me and landed upon a large rock, barely missing sensei.

"Bravo! Bravo! That is the way! My disciple! This is the proof of progress..."

I was no longer listening to what master Zen was saying, I did not care. It took all I had in me to counter a single one of his air slashes. My body hurt like h.e.l.l, burning sensation was everywhere. And my head started to feel blurry, my sight fading, I collapsed on the ground.

"You have done well, you deserve some rest." My master"s proud voice echoed in my mind.

* * *

I don"t know how long I slept. Maybe few seconds, maybe few minutes, maybe a few hours, but it was morning already.

But that was not the weird part.

The weird part is where I woke up.

I woke up tied to a tree in a sack. My hands were free, but my lower body was tied by ropes to a tree.

I noticed there was a piece of paper in my hand.

It said "Yo! I will be out for a week, so don"t come for practices until I come back. PS: How does it feel to be a tree?"

"Master…." I bellowed in anger. I noticed that he was bit of a prankster, but to think, he would go as far as to tie me to a tree…this guy is unbelievable.

I look down, about five meters between me and the ground. And he put me on a spot so high up. What the heck was he thinking?!

I tried to undo the ropes, but somehow I ended up falling down, but the rope on my leg prevented my fall, stopping me just a foot off the ground. The rope tied itself like a noose around my leg, now I was hanging backwards.

"Oh, c"mon! Why is it always like this?" I struggled to get the rope off my leg but it was clear, I was stuck. Hanging upside down like a bait for a fish, no not for fish, but for any large predator that might come this way. If another monster bear would come this way, no doubt I would be finished.

Right, I had a dagger in my pocket.

Klank…

And now the dagger is on the ground.

I stretch my hand to get it, but it was just inches away from it.

Then I hear a sound of rustling leaves. Oh no! A monster bear has come to eat me!

I desperately extended my hand and took the knife and started to cut the rope. The rope was tough.

The sound of the steps kept getting closer and closer.

"I a.s.sure you I am not tasty, the others might taste good, but I a.s.sure you I taste like rotten meat and sc.r.a.p metal! So, please don"t eat me!" the rope made me turn around. Now I was face to face with someone who seemed to step out of my snow filled dreams.

Wearing garments of befitting of a warrior with an emblem of a three headed beast, one head was a lion, one a snake, one was an eagle was a lady. Her hair was snow white, while her eyes were golden. I might be losing my mind, but this girl seems like someone who stepped out my l.u.s.t-filled dreams. A single ornate sword was on her belt.

"Why would I want to eat you, my other half?" the girl giggled.

"I see. So I am dreaming, right? There is no way you are here, this is just a figment of my imagination due to acc.u.mulated s.e.xual frustration, that"s it…"

"I don"t know what you speak of, my groom, but I believe you might want to get yourself out of this tangled situation." With a single move that looked like it was made at the speed of sound, she cut the rope with her sword, and in a single motion she sheathed her sword.

I ended up falling on the ground. Ooh, it hurt a lot, but I was grateful to be finally free from hanging upside down.

"I never thought I would find you again." She hugged me with open arms. Ok, now I know that I am not dreaming. No dream could feel so warm and snuggly, and soft. "Ever since that day, ever since the day you made me taste defeat I have searched for you. I looked for you everywhere, in every city, in every place within the kingdom, and I almost gave up hope, but I…." she put her hands on my face. Now I was looking at her golden diamond shaped pupils. "I have finally found you, my husband!"

"Hold on a second! I don"t remember being married!" Did I lose my mind? Or was I ever married to someone like this?

"I meant my future husband, of course. I am so glad to be finally able to see you again." She squeezed me tight. I think I heard a few bones pop, and some ribs crack from pressure. She was strong, very strong, and so strong that even a hug was doing me a lot of harm. I thought she might strangle me to death, but then she let go of me and grabbed my left hand.

"With you being here, you can finally become a part of my Aristan Household! I can"t wait to introduce you to my parents! Our union shall be glorious!"

"Wait; hold on a second, do you mean, marriage?"

"Of course."

"To someone you just met, whose name you don"t even know?" I pressed on.

She smiled.

"This time I know who you are, Bakit, I asked Sala of your ident.i.ty. Even if you are a commoner, I Aristan Jansulu, declare that they shall gladly receive you, for we care not for the n.o.bility of blood, but for the strength that individual holds."

I looked at her in confusion. I see, so her name is Jansulu, huh.

"I guess you haven"t heard of Aristan household"s tradition."

"I do not believe I have."

"Hmph, does that mean you challenged me without even knowing the purpose of the duel?"

As I tilt my head in confusion. She says.

"Well, I suppose it doesn"t matter. The circ.u.mstances are not important. What matters is that you defeated me in a single combat."

"Hold on, what? I do not believe I did that! I couldn"t have possibly challenged you, I mean…"

"But I clearly remember it was you. The look of your face, the color of your eyes, the shape of your hair, the sound of your voice, I took care to memorize it all, so that I would not make a mistake. Even your scent is the same…"

"Now you are just creeping me out!" I have no idea what this chick is talking about.

"Isn"t it natural for me to know the scent of my groom to be?"

"I am really thinking you might have confused me with someone else."

"No. I don"t believe I am wrong. It seems just that you have forgotten me." Her face looked sad for a second before she smiled. "But that"s ok. We can make new memories together. Speaking of which, I did promise you to give a better challenge than the last time, didn"t I?" She smiled. Now she took out her sword from her belt and swung it at the trees.

The sword released a razor sharp wind that mowed the tops of at least ten large trees that were about ten meters away from her.

"Now, let"s duel once again to our heart"s content!"

This chick is a loco!

Her slash is almost as powerful as master Zen"s, and she is not restraining herself to hit only a single tree, no she hit dozen at the same time with a single slash.

"No thanks!" I proceeded to run as fast I could.

"Wait! Come back! Why wouldn"t you face me, am I too weak to even be considered for a duel?"

No, it was the opposite. She was too strong. I did not feel fear, no, it was not fear, it was my primal instincts telling me that if I challenged her, I would die. I was hundred percent sure, I would die, no other outcome was possible.

After running for about half an hour, I finally lost her.

Note for self, I met a snow fairy…

…and she wants to kill me.