Chapter 65

As he walked home, Nick replayed Hel’s words in his mind, trying to find peace. The inspection had left his thoughts in disarray, and now this old woman, with her cryptic warnings and sly smirks, had tangled them in even tighter knots.It didn’t help that he hadn’t gotten the chance to inspect the mysterious grimoire yet. The battered tome appeared ordinary at first glance, yet the faint hum of protective magic made his fingers tingle. He didn’t doubt its significance—Hel’s reaction alone confirmed that—but what exactly had he gotten himself into? Unlike Roberta's work, he couldn’t sense anything specific about it beyond the privacy spell.

The morning replayed itself as he approached the gate. The inspection. Marthas fighting the demon, which was seared into his mind. Helping Hel with her stall—though “helping” felt generous in hindsight—and her surprisingly strong grip.

He glanced at the tome once more. She had suggested that reading it might provide him with purpose—something he admittedly lacked, beyond the general desire to explore this magnificent new world. It was the sort of thing he might have dismissed as the musings of an eccentric old lady, had it not been for the eerie silence she’d conjured without him even realizing it.

By the time the stone walls of his childhood home came into sight, he felt drained, as if he’d lived a week in just a few hours.

“Still not even lunchtime,” Nick muttered under his breath, shaking his head.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of clashing wood. Nick halted for a moment before picking up his pace. The noise came from the training yard, just out of sight behind the house.

As he rounded the corner, his senses honed in on the sound of someone’s breathing. He furrowed his brow. The pattern was frantic and uneven, and while it belonged to a single fighter, the sounds of combat coming from the yard suggested it was at least two.

Nick hurried over, tightly gripping his satchel. As he approached, he finally saw what was happening.

Devon stood in the center of the training yard, facing off against Akari, their mother’s old friend and current guest. The massive woman wielded a wooden sword with incredible grace, striking so quickly that Nick could barely see her move. Devon was doing his best to block, dodge, and parry, but he was clearly struggling to keep the pace.

“Stop thinking!” Akari’s voice boomed. Her next swing came low, blurring so fast that Nick didn’t even see it until it smashed against his brother’s sword, forcing Devon to stumble back. “Get into the flow! I told you, stop trying and start doing! You lose it every time I press you!”

Devon’s face was flushed, sweat trickling down his temple as he scrambled to respond. His stance shifted awkwardly, his feet out of sync. Akari didn’t give him a moment to recover. Her blade came down again, slamming into his wooden sword with enough force to make him yelp.

Nick stopped at the edge of the yard with his arms crossed, watching as Akari mercilessly corrected Devon through a mix of scolding and painful lessons. Though she wielded a practice blade, her strikes were anything but gentle.

“Don’t flinch!” she barked. The next blow caught Devon on the shoulder, and he let out a sharp hiss of pain. “Flinching means death. Again!”

Despite her harshness, Akari’s teaching had a method. Nick watched for less than a minute before he grasped her approach. Devon’s footwork was unsteady when he got pushed, and his rhythm lacked consistency, forcing him to lose steam when he got going. Akari’s relentless pressure compelled him to adjust and slip into the Stalking Gait much more naturally. Whenever he stumbled, her blade would catch him.

“Stop overthinking!” Akari barked, swiping at Devon’s legs. He barely managed to leap out of the way. “Feel it. You are a predator! Act like one!”

Nick felt a flicker of sympathy for his brother but also couldn’t help admiring Akari’s skill. Her movements were effortless, and her strikes were perfectly calculated to exploit Devon’s weaknesses. Watching her was a similar experience to seeing Eugene fight, although Akari’s style was more savage and less flashy.

“Is this how you treat all your students or just the annoying ones?” he called out once they stopped, unable to resist.

Akari glanced up. “You’re late.”

“I wasn’t aware I had an appointment,” Nick replied, setting the satchel down on a nearby bench. “But I see you’ve been keeping Devon busy.”

Devon shot Nick a look of pure desperation. “A little help?”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Nick chuckled. “You’re doing great.”

Akari snorted. “He’s doing passably.” She straightened, resting the wooden blade on her shoulder. “And only because I’ve been dragging him through it.”

Devon let out a wheezing breath, slumping forward with his hands on his knees. “I’m right here, you know.”

“And you’re still alive,” Akari said, as if that were an accomplishment. She turned back to Nick, her expression unreadable. “What’s that you’ve got there?”

Nick followed her gaze to the tome peeking out of his bag. “Just something I picked up at the market.”

Her eyes lingered on it for a moment, then returned to him. “Looks important.”

“Maybe,” Nick said. He didn’t feel like explaining the whole story right now. Instead, he glanced at Devon. “How long has she been working you over?”

“Feels like forever,” Devon groaned. He straightened, wincing as he rolled his shoulder. “You’re up next, by the way. I’m beat.”

Nick sighed, leaning against the fence as his brother slumped back into a sitting position. “Did you hear what happened at the temple earlier?”

Devon’s brow furrowed as he lowered his cup. “You mean the Prelate exorcizing someone? Yeah, I know. I figured you’d know more since you were in town to support your girlfriend.”

Nick hesitated. He wasn’t expecting Devon to know already, but the surprise passed quickly. Akari almost certainly had some hand in it.

“I heard about it later,” Nick replied carefully. “Apparently, the Prelate fought a spirit that had possessed a beastkin.”

Akari’s gaze remained fixed on him, but she didn’t ask questions. This alone made Nick feel uneasy. He chose his words with even greater care, leaving much unsaid. “It’s a miracle the town didn’t suffer more damage.”

“True,” Devon said, frowning. “You’d think something that dangerous would’ve been harder to stop. Or that someone would have been hurt.”

Nick nodded, glancing at Akari. She hadn’t spoken, but her expectant posture made it clear she wasn’t letting the conversation slip past her. When curiosity finally gnawed too hard to ignore, he turned to her.

“You seem awfully calm. I’d have thought you’d rush over to protect the caravan. The other guards certainly seemed to take it seriously,” Nick said, keeping his tone light.

Akari tilted her head, a faint smile curling her lips. “You’re not wrong. I would have gone, but the situation didn’t last long enough, and I kept an eye on it.”

Nick raised an eyebrow. “From here?”

Her smile deepened, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “I don’t need to leave the house to see what was happening. When I noticed the malicious presence, I contacted Eugene directly. He was the one who asked me to stay and guard the town with Helena.”

Nick stared at her, trying to work out how she had managed that.“How?” he asked, unable to hide his curiosity.

Akari didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she pushed off the fence and stretched, the motion deceptively casual. “If you want to know, you’ll have to dedicate yourself to the Stalking Gait.”

Nick raised an eyebrow. It came down to that again, it seemed. He was starting to suspect that the skill was much more than it appeared at first. Considering how much time his mother spent teaching it to Devon instead of the flashier skills he preferred, it had to be.

Akari smirked. “You could use it. Too much magic makes kids soft. It’s the distance, I think. And don’t even get me started on when they learn shield spells. It’s like they forget how to use their feet."

Nick grinned. He’d taken advantage of that arrogance a few times on Earth, and it seemed it would be the same here.

Taking pity on his brother, he flicked his fingers to create a small sphere of water. He gently guided it into a clay pitcher at the edge of the training ground, where it pooled with a satisfying splash.

“You’re a lifesaver,” Devon muttered, dragging himself up onto his feet and stumbling toward the pitcher. He poured some of the water into a cup and gulped it down greedily.

“You looked like you needed it.”

Now somewhat recovered, Devon shot a look at Akari, who was stretching one arm over her head. “You’re insane, you know that?”

“I’m thorough,” Akari replied, unbothered by his grumbling. “Come on, it's your turn.” She said, turning to Nick.

Nick held up his hands, mock surrender in his posture. “After what I just saw? I think I’ll pass.”

“You’re not getting out of this,” Akari smirked, tapping her finger against the hilt of her practice sword. “It’s only fair that you get a taste of what your brother’s been learning. You're still Elena's son even if you’re not a Knight. It’d be a disgrace if you couldn’t hold your own in a fight.”

Nick blinked. “What does that have to do with—?”

“Pick up a sword,” she interrupted, leaving no room for argument. “You’ll understand better once you’ve felt it for yourself.”

Nick hesitated, weighing his options. On one hand, he didn’t want to let Akari order him around. On the other hand, he couldn’t press her without acquiescing to her tutoring. And this was something he’d already wanted to learn.

He sighed, ensuring the satchel with the grimoire was well out of reach. The book wasn’t something he wanted anywhere near the flying practice swords. Content that it was secure, he stepped into the yard and picked up one of the spare wooden blades leaning against the fence.

Akari waited for him, relaxed. She didn’t see him as a threat. “Clear your mind, kid. You can’t bring your questions into this.”

Nick snorted, rolling his shoulders as he adjusted his grip on the sword. “My mind’s been anything but clear today.” That said, he exhaled slowly and fell into the Stalking Gait’s breathing pattern, feeling his movements get smoother.

“Then it’s a good time to start,” Akari said. “Now, move.”

Nick didn’t wait for her to strike first. He lunged, trying to intercept her. Akari dodged effortlessly, stepping around his sword. Her counterstrike came before he had time to recover, and he barely managed to block it. The impact painfully reverberated up his arm, but he endured it with gritted teeth.

“Too rigid," she remarked casually. “You’re focused on the next move instead of flowing with it."

Nick gritted his teeth and adjusted his stance. Compared to what Devon was doing earlier, he was clunky. However, considering how little time he had dedicated to the skill, he felt he was doing well.

He made some distance, trying to focus on the rhythm of his footwork. The Stalking Gait wasn’t just specific movements; it was about becoming part of the environment, flowing with it rather than against it.

Akari pressed him harder as he improved, striking faster and from unexpected angles—all without a single uneven breath. Nick struggled to keep up, but two more blows slipped through his defenses for every one he blocked. The wooden blade stung each time it struck true, but he refused to back down.

Gradually, he began to feel the flow she had described. His footwork became smoother, and his movements were less deliberate. He wasn’t thinking about each strike or step; he was reacting, allowing his body to take over. It wasn’t anything new, but it was the first time he had been able to apply the skill in combat.

“That’s better,” Akari said, with a note of approval in her voice. “Now, listen.”

Nick barely registered her words before he felt it—a subtle shift in the air around her. It wasn’t mana, not exactly. At least not in the way he understood it.

That confirmed his suspicion. Whatever Akari had done to monitor the battle at the temple wasn’t traditional magic. She was using this new energy to enhance the Stalking Gait.

The moment of realization cost him. Akari’s blade came down hard, and Nick was sent flying.