Aerin was now looking very focused. He looked very different than before. The nervous and shy kid from before was gone. Now, he looked sharp and determined.
Yaria was surprised, though she did not show it. To her, the new kid seemed to be someone inexperienced. He did not even know how to hold his weapon correctly from what she could see, let alone battle. However, the sight before her made her rethink her earlier thoughts.
Aerin's calmness was not something a beginner can fake. Which makes her even more confused. He really looked like someone who didn't know what to do earlier.
However, she decided to throw these thoughts off her mind. For her, no matter how good her opponent is, she will still win no matter what.
They were studying each other. Waiting on who would make the first move. Suddenly, Yaria dashed forward with great speed.
Though Aerin's ability was not activated, his eyes are still sharper than a normal person's. It seemed to be an effect brought by his ability. Yaria sure is fast, but she was still slower than his grandfather. However, that doesn't make the situation any easier. He could only react to his grandfather's speed because of his ability. Without it, he couldn't watch all of Yaria's body.
Before Yaria even got close, she already swung her greatsword horizontally. Aerin hastily jumped backwards. This is his first time sparring with someone with a weapon, so he could not make a judgement correctly.
Yaria's reach was very far. Her greatsword, extending up to five feet tall, made Aerin miscalculate the force he needed to dodge it. However, Aerin still jumped a little too much.
Aerin evading her attack did not faze Yaria. She just pressed on, delivering another horizontal slash. Aerin did not jump backwards too far this time.
Yaria continued attacking, while Aerin just continued dodging. Yaria hacked vertically, and Aerin just evaded sideways. If she hacks horizontally, then Aerin would just move backwards.
The longer they spar, the more irritated Yaria becomes. She felt like Aerin was just fooling around with her. He did not even bother to put his weapons in front of him; his arms are now down, just swaying with his every move.
Some of their classmates are now watching them. They whispered to each other.
What irritated her even more was that Aerin still looked as serious as ever, as though he was really giving it his all. He even looked like he struggled to dodge some of her attacks, but he still dodged them nonetheless. However, each time she felt that she left an opening and thought that Aerin would attack, he chose not to for some reason.
She could no longer take it and made an unexpected move. Just after Aerin jumped backwards to evade her attack, she suddenly threw her greatsword at Aerin, surprising him greatly. He hastily ducked down, his eyes wide. He felt the air wave through his nape. Just as he raised his head to look at his opponent, a fist suddenly came crashing straight to his face, just an inch away.
With no time to evade or block, not even to close his eyes, he could only take the attack head-on.
This is when he realized that his grandfather had been holding back too much during their spar. He felt that a stone was thrown at his face with great force. He was thrown a few meters back, his head tingling with pain.
He was dazed and could not get up for a while. His other classmates stopped themselves from laughing.
After a few seconds, the pain became manageable, and he stood up, shaking his head.
He then went back to pick up Yaria's greatsword, which she had just thrown. After that, he walked over to where Yaria was to give it back to her.
Offering her the greatsword, Aerin shyly laughed.
"You were really good. That last move was really unexpected."
Yaria just looked at him coldly for a few seconds, leaving Aerin embarrassed. She then let out a small humph and took her sword.
Aerin could only scratch his head.
The other kids are now back to sparring against each other. Sensing the awkward air between them, Aerin did not know what to do.
"So… uhh—"
"What was that before? Are you not taking me seriously? "
Aerin was cut off by Yaira. He did not expect that Yaria would say something, let alone that much.
"Huh?"
"You only dodged."
Aerin finally understood what Yaria meant. He gave out a shallow laugh.
"Hehe… Actually—"
"If this is just a joke to you, just say so. I don't want to waste my time."
Aerin panicked.
"No, no. That's not it. It's just that…"
Yaria kept quiet, her brows frowning.
"I don't know how to use a weapon…"
Yaria looked shocked. However, it quickly changed back to a frown.
"You can't fool me. You clearly knew how to fight."
"I don't… Actually, my grandfather only taught me how to dodge; he never taught me how to wield my weapons."
Yaria seemed to not believe him.
"Uhh… I heard that the Lionkin family knew how to use all types of weapons. I was hoping that…"
Aerin hesitated.
"What?"
"I was hoping that… you could teach me how to use these…"
Aerin showed Yaria his daggers.
Yaria just looked him in the eye. He did not seem to be joking. It was hard for her to believe that Aerin only knew how to dodge. She often sparred against her older cousins, and not one of them managed to dodge her attacks just as well as Aerin did.
Seeing that Yaria was not saying anything, Aerin thought that she must have declined his request. It was understandable, though. It was not her responsibility. A person like her, someone from the major families, was not obligated to teach him anything.
"You're holding your daggers wrong."
Yaria suddenly spoke, catching him off guard.
"Huh?'
"It is my first time seeing a curved dagger and a straight dagger paired together. However, I believe the functions are the same. Curved daggers are better at slashing and cutting, and straight daggers are better at thrusting and piercing."
Hearing Yaria talk, Aerin was initially confused. However, he soon realized that Yaria was teaching him how to use his weapons now; he was overjoyed. He thought that Yaria would not teach him. Feeling grateful inside, he stayed quiet. He carefully listened to every word that Yaria said, nodding his head from time to time.