Chapter 6.2- The Seadragon's Roar

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I pressed the attack, transitioning from a straight slash that forced my opponent backwards to a stab at his chest that he had to lift his held to block. When he brought his Warhammer to bear, I weaved to the side before my foot found the back of his knee and forced him to one knee. He tried to bring the hammer around again, but a slap from the side of my sword into said arm made him think better of it. Next, my sword was at his throat, he was yielding and I almost began jumping about the place. My first win.

I turned to Manfred, not even surprised to see him waiting with a list of the things I’d done wrong in that particular spar, but that could wait. First of all, I needed to celebrate. I turned to Ben and found him smiling so it was to him I went to first.

“Come back here, boy. It’s not like you’ve done anything worth celebrating” Manfred’s words took the wind out of my sails as I made my way to Ben.

“You heard your master-of-arms, my lord. Go there” Ben said. I sparred him a glare, traitor that he was and he bore it early only reacting with a laugh and a shake of his head.

“You have to admit that was impressive as hell though” I said, looking between them.

“No. No we don’t. Now sword up” Manfred said with a scowl on his face.

“Yeah, fuck you” I muttered, but still shuffled back to the ring and took my stance.

“Did I hear something?”

“No Ser”

“Better have been nothing, boy” He said menacingly.

—

My last spar of the year was against my very first opponent. I’d faced all sorts of people. Some of them knights, most of them not. Either way, Ser Manfred managed to get experts with a wide variety of weapons to come and spar with me. There was probably a healthy amount of gold changing hands but since none of it was mentioned to me then it was not my business. The man with the Morningstar had changed little since we’d last fought.

In contrast, I must have put on two stone since then and shot up a whole foot in height. The experts Manfre. Bought were seldom willing to follow his insane schedule so that meant I had more free time to myself to both train my body, read, plot, and spend time with Igneel. Igneel whose physical growth had stabilized somewhat, had instead begun to grow in other ways. He could fly for longer now, and his fire burned hotter than it used to with even more explosive potential when he wanted to use them like that.

He plodded over towards me as this time instead of running in his direction, I let him be the one to make the first move.