I couldn't block, not without risking the loss of my blade.

  The first strike was simple enough, a downward slash from high guard aimed at my head. Perfectly ordinary, perfectly unassuming. Ro Kan didn't even bother giving advice, he did that sometimes, even when I wasn't pulling on our bond. Could get a bit distracting at times.

  There was only so much advice he could give when I hadn't solidified my understanding of the sword or cut though.

  Every bumblefuck who knew nothing about combat thought that singular attacks could have infinite depth, that a normal swing could be refined ad nauseam into something divine. That wasn't how it worked at all...to a point. Combat was all about flow and how well you could manipulate it to serve as an advantage.

  Yir wasn't ignorant in our first bout.

  On the contrary, she could've probably taken most of the apprentices and come out the victor. It was clear she trained under a knowledgable mentor, her only glaring flaw was that she was too easy to predict when she went on the offensive.

  Her fighting style consisted entirely of defensive maneuvers. Parries and counter-strikes. Which she was pretty good at. But when she went for a strike of her own?

  Too many openings to count.

  She didn't even use feints for heavens sakes!

  It was like fighting two different people, one was an adept at tracking and predicting their opponents strikes to match them, and the other was an idiot. I'm pleased to say that I managed to balance out her bullshit in the time we spent training together. Enough where she didn't hesitate to take the initiative.

  So I complimented the opening swing with a simple parry.

  That was a mistake.

  There was so much force behind the blow, enough that surpassed every hunter I had fought except for the bruisers, and those needed decades of gathering essence to qualify for the role.

  Well, unless they were suicidal, then they might've managed it in a few years.

  Point being, I was not prepared to meet a blow with that much power behind it. My parry was ineffectual, and for the first time since I met her, I was put on the back-foot. I had to scramble out of the way to avoid the fight ending then and there, even Ro Kan seemed surprised.

  Wait, why hadn't he warned me about the magic?

  I didn't have time to get an answer for that, as Yir took the massive opening she had made to strike me in the side. The pain was blinding, I swear I could feel my ribs cracking.

  I grit my teeth but pulled back and gathered myself.

  Only my sparring with Loklan could've prepared me to handle such a blow.

  Was this how magic worked? That seemed ridiculously unfair.

  But I wasn't about to give up because of this development, I had plenty of cards to pull, and Yir didn't seem to understand how to wield her strength to its full potential.

  So the duel wasn't lost, it was just complicated.

  I immediately threw away any notion of blocking, letting my weapon make head on contact with hers would've been a futile test of my grip strength. Parries too, to an extent, but If I pulled on the spirit in my soul then I could manage, so I still had a level of defense to work with beyond dodging.

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  Following Ro Kan's guidance without letting him take complete control was a balance I'd learned to manage years ago. The man had no patience for errors, and constantly tried to take over when I fought. But that wouldn't do for passing along knowledge, I wouldn't get any better like that, I'd just win.

  That and the toll it took often meant that strategy was relegated to hopeless scenarios.

  Another strike, cutting through the air to make a course for my belly. I didn't let it. I struck the blade while skipping back out of its range, then dashed forward with a stab that caught Yir in the sternum.

  She flailed, but with the new strength on display? Her amateur attempt at making me back off worked, and I had to reign myself in.

  I had to approach this methodically. The new addition was a challenge, but a challenge was simply something to overcome. Something to push me beyond what I was, ever closer to a realm that rivalled the ancient master resting in my soul. Ro Kan let out the metaphysical equivalent of a snort, but I ignored him.

  So far the only ones who could provide said challenge were the priests of Yorokrom and my hunting mentor, but they were mainly focused on skill, even if their strength was ridiculous. Yir, at the moment, was imbalanced.

  Too much strength to complement too little skill.

  I could see why she didn't want to lean on magic for our sparring, but to forgo it entirely? We were going to have to change up our schedule a bit. I could hardly wait.

  I didn't even try to hold back my smile.

  A proper rival to mark more growth.

  So I pulled on my connection, to the point where my soul was barely strong enough to endure without having my consciousness overridden, and I charged.

  I could see everything.

  Potential moves to make. Predictions based on my opponents body language.

  I made a horizontal slash for her head, and she went to block a blow that never came. Moments of realization didn't happen when operating on instinct, but I could see her instant of confusion before my blade whipped against her knee.

  She had managed to stay standing, but I made it my mission to rectify that error.

  Another swing, this one trying to reset our tempo and put us back on an even playing field. I met her fingers with a crack of wood and broken bones. She let out a yelp, but somehow managed to hold her blade.

  Huh, that was actually pretty impressive. While she'd recently become an absolute juggernaut when it came to handling pain, powering through broken fingers simply wasn't possible. Was it another facet of her magic? I'd have to ask her later.

  The boost was so powerful that I almost mistook it for a spell, but that'd be ridiculous.

  A spell at her age would practically guarantee that she was a witch, and she didn't seem insane enough for that. Though she was at least insane-adjacent.

  I kinda understood societies general dislike of witches? Kind of. It was too convenient to make magic wielders to throw away the route entirely, and yet they did. Why not have them be regulated in some fashion?

  Demons of certain strengths only and constant monitoring and all that. Would make it much easier to deal with than their silly witch hunts.

  Ah well, not all mysteries were meant to be solved.

  I stepped to the side, letting Yir's weapon cut through air and struck her in the belly. She didn't seem perturbed though, continuing in a rampage, faster than she was before. Ro Kan was...seemingly impressed by what she was doing.

  Apparently she was converting pain to speed, with barely any support from her mana.

  I didn't know what that was supposed to mean, but I assumed it worked on the same principle of understanding the sword. The fact that she knew pain enough to actually make use of it didn't surprise me in the slightest, the girl was a bit of an overachiever in the art of suffering.

  Meant that the fight got more complicated, but I played along, letting a few of her strikes hit me to keep the tempo in my favour. Switching to pure defence would've meant I could've avoided any and all damage, but it would also mean I was consigning myself to a prolonged bout. I couldn't hope to beat the girl across from me in one of those.

  Meant that I took a few hits, all of which would definitely need Healer Ken's expertise later.

  The spirit let out a snort in my soul-space. "Weak."

  Hah! You said that like it was meant to be an insult, but being weak meant there was so much more distance to climb! So many battles to experience, so many struggles to overcome. I wondered if I'd be happy once I reached the pinnacle of my passion, where none could claim to be my equal?

  Wasn't worth worrying about yet, that was a long way into the future after all.

  My body ached with pain, begging me to just give up. But the body was a dumbass bitch that didn't understand the pursuit of greatness, only desiring the bare minimum to pass as living. To listen to your foundational flesh would be a betrayal to the path.

  Or some shit. It was a fancy quote from the clan matriarch, so it probably had some merit to it.

  So I ignored my biology and pushed and pushed and pushed—

  Until her blade struck my chin, and I blacked out.