Dane drew on his meager mana. A mere wisp easily enough to give him an advantage. Atlas even this wasn't much but it had to be!
Dane dropped his center of gravity, lunging as he crossed the short distance between himself and Darren.
Darren himself was a little startled at the seeming faster Dane. He intended to force Dane to move as he drew his blade half up, cleaving down.
But the tables have turned. Dane closing well within Darren's personal space jabbed his sword up.
Darren caught off guard had to retreat causing imbalance. It wasn't just that Dane had become faster. His reaction speed, reflex speed it had all gone up a notch.
How so? Well Darren figured either Dane actually held back, or he was using magic. He would have thought of potions. But he didn't see him drink anything.
Caught off balance Dane gained a perfect opportunity, a short window. He shifted from a jab to a slash Darren barely could bring up his guard in an odd angle he could see his loss, Dane using his momentum once his sword caught between blade and hilt he pushed from below forcing the odd angle of Darren defense to lose his handling of the blade. Disarming him.
Dane with some trouble shifted his momentum to slash diagonally down. His blade meeting shoulder armor and neck guard. Giving Darren time to back pedal. "Whoa whoa there buddy you win" he laughed surprised he lost. Perhaps whatever Dane used truly closed the gap between them. It really boiled down to Dane being able to speed up his reaction, reflex and overall body movement by a notch. Akin to going from jogging to a sudden dead sprint.
Dane quickly back off with an apologetic expression. "Sorry I uh, got a little carried away. I did not mean to go for a killing strike" he said his own bloodline he had found to be a mild issue of his own.
But Darren didn't seem bothered. "No, no you did good. It's good you committed. This was a proper duel. Did you use magic by chance?" He asked.
Dane smiled awkwardly. "Yes, I use magic and sword but my magic capabilities are rather shallow comparable to my martial skill" he said.
"Dont feel ashamed, it's a good practical skill to have. Its similar to how we Sanquilius have blood qi. Don't ever assume a tactic is too low to use. Combat is deception, it is to outwit your enemy and slay them before they slay you." he said smiling with great emotion. He loved talking about this stuff, teaching was sort of fun.
"Well boss, what's your word on this?" Darren said before Dane could articulate a response. Dane followed his gaze to a full plate knight, a large claymore great sword tip planted in the dirt and her gauntlets resting in the butt of the handle. She has blue piercing eyes, glacier cold and blonde braided hair.
If Dane had to explain the feeling she gave him it would have to be a hero of myth. That chivalrous feeling. Like staring at a mountain pondering how high its peak truly is beyond the clouds.
She did not say anything at first. Perhaps pondering how to put her words. "Your sword skills are average if not just slightly above that, you're okay in close quarters when the sword is pushed aside, but despite being six foot your body weight is not being entirely utilized and you're being too careful.
You're treating yourself as if you don't have the weight to handle Darren. To cross the gap you needed magic to speed up your reactions. Without magic you should be able to do that much alone. It's like watching an inexperienced, experienced fighter." She said
Dane did quite enjoy the blunt break down. He could see she held her tongue just a tad apprehensive to continue.
"However, you have talent. We can iron out the kinks, get you actually trained up. That rematch may see you beat Darren without mana. And surely overwhelming him far more now with mana." Sophia finally expressed. "Let's say you're a sword initiate right now. To join the Swords Of Sanquilius you need to fight a Sword Elite."
"Believe it or not, Darren isn't a sword Elite, in fact none of us are. We are Sword Maritals. Just above initiates. Above martial is Elite and above elite is masters." Sophia said as she hoisted her great sword resting it on her shoulder. The great blade made Dane apprehensive. He would NOT want to ever in any capacity fight her. Even if it was a spar, he wouldn't know how to handle fighting her. "So wait, there are ranks in the Swords Of Sanquilius? I thought there were only two didistinctive. Elites and masters. At least that's what rumors state" he said feeling somewhat misled.
"Oh that's on purpose" Sammy said grinning. "Propaganda spread by the Invidivia Royal family. They regard our faction highly. Almost reverently so they often boast leading to intentional misconceptions."
"Huh… but why?" Dane asked, perplexed at the need. Sammy was all too happy to spill the beans. "Political strength, drawing swordsmen of all kinds to keep the martial world alive. There are probably other reasons. They might be trying to see the rise of more masters. Such figures are another world of strength." He said stars in his eyes.
"So wait–" Dane said curiously "-- What makes a master distinct from a sword elite? Why is it so taboo to call oneself a master of the blade?" He asked
Darren chuckled "we have a lot to talk about."