Owen went for an overhead strike, aiming to disarm me. His speed and agility ensured that most people would not be able to avoid his strike and would be forced to defend themselves with their weapon or magic.
Fortunately, I am not most people, so I managed to barely avoid his swift strike and retaliate with a diagonal slash.
Owen instantly stopped his strike and awkwardly defended himself from the strike. It was less than a second in which he was caught off guard, but that was enough for me to exploit and get into his guard.
With a swift strike backed by my boost, I managed to lock swords with him and then disarm him with a pull.
With no weapon left, the spar came to an end as I pointed my blade at the taller man's throat.
"I yield. You fight really well, Jaune."
"Thank you. Owen."
We exchanged a handshake as cheers and jeers erupted from the audience, which consisted of Owen's fellow knights.
I chuckled as the older man glared at his companion and flipped them the bird, which only made them jeer even louder.
When Knight Captain Dawn informed me that Owen and a few knights would be accompanying me on my quest since they were passing through the same route for an escort duty, I thought the old knight was trying to gauge my power for some reason.
But as the days passed, as we travelled together on horseback, a perk of the mission, as Dawn put it, I slowly started to relax and realize that there were no ulterior motives behind Owen and his unit's presence during my quest.
They really were headed for an escort mission. Specifically, they were supposed to escort a couple called Jude and Layla Heartfilia to the capital for some official business, and it just so happens that the route that Dawn gave them coincided with my own all the way to Shirotsume. After that, I would proceed into the mountain ranges, hunt the Wyvern, and then head towards my target across the mountains while the Knights would head south towards the home of the VIP.
I think Dawn arranged this route for the Knights so that they could act as a kind of protection for me, a way of showing their gratitude for saving Owen from the Vulcans.
Of course, I could be wrong, and this really is some kind of a plan that the old man has, but I do not think it is the case.
But whatever the truth may be, I cannot deny the fact that I've come to enjoy the nightly spars between Owen and me ever since we began this journey.
Owen is a traditional knight who has been taught from a young age to fight in a knightly way, specifically trained to fight against his fellow humans. Fighting against him every day for the past few days had worked wonders to refine and integrate my instincts and skill further than before, a boon that I did not foresee when this quest started.
It also helps that he is an easygoing person and is very well-liked by his unit, which means that I already had the goodwill of his knights because of my act of saving him.
Although I think they might be a tad too rowdy for my liking.
All in all, it was a wonderful trip so far, and I do feel a little disappointed that this night is the last one we will share for now, since we will be reaching Shirotsume in the morning.
As I joined the knights for supper around the huge fire, talking and drinking with them, Owen sat beside me with his bowl of porridge.
"Enjoying yourself?"
"Pretty much, yeah. I had an inkling of what to expect from you knights, thanks to Dawn, but I never realized that you guys were so easygoing when not on duty."
Truly, it is quite a jarring image to see the strict and stoic knights of Crocus who look like seasoned and hardened warriors during the day look like complete fools by night.
But I wouldn't have it any other way, for I have come to see them as valued acquaintances just after a few days of travel.
Owen chuckled at my words.
"Yeah, these boys have had my back through thick and thin right from our time as squires. But they have yet to shed their idiocy."
"Like I said before, I don't mind it. It makes it easy to talk with them. And I've really come to enjoy our travels so far. It is a shame that we will go our separate ways tomorrow."
"Hmm, true. But it is only a temporary parting. I have full confidence that you will pass through Crocus once again, sooner or later. When that happens, I will be waiting for you there. And this time, we will be sparing with proper tourney rules."
I chuckled at his words.
"As you say. But don't forget the score between us. It's fifteen to one in your favor."
"How can I forget? I will lord it over you for as long as we live!"
"Oi! Do you want to become Vulcan food? Because that can be arranged."
We burst out laughing as we continued bickering. Soon, the rest of the knights joined in on the fun, and things escalated from there.
Next thing anyone knew, we were in the middle of an arm wrestling contest that was fit to write legends about.
And of course, Owen ended up winning the contest with me as runner-up.
That guy is a monster, I tell ya.
As the night settled, we prepared for sleep.
Owen and I took the first watch as we sat at the fire, talking about mundane things before Owen finally started to speak about the thing that I could tell had been bothering him all night.
"…You ready for your hunt? Dawn says the Wyvern has made its nest on the peak of the highest mountain in the entire range. It will take you at least a day to climb it from Shirotsume."
"I know. I've studied the geography thanks to the map that Dawn gave me. And I am prepared for it. Although I will admit, I am a bit nervous. Even if it is old and near death, it is still a high-rank monster."
Owen smiled as he continued staring into the flames.
"You will do fine, Jaune. I know it."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence."
"I mean it, Jaune."
Owen looked up from the flames and gave me a serious stare.
"If you were a regular mage or some noble child playing at being a knight, I would have put my foot down and stopped Dawn from giving you that quest. I might not look like it, but I still have a considerable influence in the Knight Order and with the Royal Family."
Right. I keep forgetting that Owen is supposedly a child of a high-ranking noble family in Fiore. But he renounced his heritage and even his family name when he joined the Knight Order because of some conflict. But he still has a lot of political pull and clout, according to what Dawn said, so he is not kidding when he said he would have stopped Dawn.
"Do you know how a regular Mage fights? Jaune?"
"No. So far, I haven't come across any proper mages from major Guilds. A few amateur Dark Mages and a few casual practitioners? Sure, but no proper mages."
"Then, I'll tell you. Mages, most of the time, do not have proper martial arts training. At least those below a certain level don't. As they become stronger and hone their magic, they start to instinctively learn how to move their bodies in tune with their magic to optimize their damage output, but by and large, mages who have formal martial arts training are few and far between."
True. From what I read in the library of Crocus, Mages are mostly instinctual creatures who allow their magic and their emotions to guide them during a battle. Given their success rate, I am inclined to think that this is a pretty valid method of doing things.
However, from the perspective of someone like Owen and the Knights, the mages must look like bumbling fools with too much power and no proper discipline.
Owen suddenly smiled as he looked at me and pointed the stick in his hand.
"You, on the other hand, are different."
"You fight in a way befitting a proper warrior, maybe even a knight. It is not perfect, maybe because you are still growing and are still struggling to constantly adjust your reach and technique to your growing body, but the skills are there for all to see. It is the reason why Dawn wanted to pull you into the Knight Order."
"You truly would make an excellent Knight."
Then he looked away with nostalgia.
"However, I also know that your ambitions lie elsewhere, so I will speak no further about this. The point I was trying to make is, I trust you to not take unnecessary risks like a regular mage in your age range would, and I also believe that your skills would allow you to complete this hunt where other mages in your situation would fail."
"Damn! No pressure then?"
"Hahaha! Maybe a little bit. I want to hear the tales of a knight in shabby armor slaying a discount dragon on a mountain top when we pass by Shirotsume during our return."
"Oi! I'll have you know, this armor is made of the finest steel and is worth much more than your shoddy plate mail."
"Oh yeah!? Let's test it out!"
"Be my guest!"
Once again, we tussled throughout our shift, trying to compare our swords and armor and doing other stupid things.
In the end, there is no denying that Owen has become a friend in the few days I've known him, and I intend to uphold my promise to him about visiting Crocus again after I am done with this Quest.
As Dawn broke through the tree line, we packed up the campsite and started moving again. A mere three hours later, we arrived at the small town known as Shirotsume.
I clasped hands with Owen as the Knights stood behind him.
"Good luck, Jaune. May fortune favor your hunt."
"And good luck to you as well, Owen. Hopefully, your VIPs are not dicks and won't make your life a living hell."
We both chuckled a little before we finally parted ways.
Looking at the towering mountain range I could see from the town itself, I knew that the upcoming fight would be a challenging one.
And yet, it is exactly what I am looking for.
I have resolved myself to live this life without regrets and to indulge in my adventurous spirit, and what better way to do so than to fight a Wyvern on top of a mountain?
With a grin on my face and pep in my step, I headed straight for the mountains.
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