Chương 66: From the shadows

Ethan's blade came down in a diagonal slash. Leah met it cleanly, steel ringing as she redirected the strike to the side. Her arms dipped with the force, but she let it carry past her, stepping away from the attack. Ethan watched the adjustment, already moving again. His greatsword swept back across in a wide horizontal arc, forcing her to retreat through the sand to avoid it. The moment she cleared the edge, she pushed forward, trying to close the distance before he could reset.

Ethan shifted his grip and rotated the blade. The massive sword moved to his will as he dropped the tip and brought it up in a tight arc, cutting off her approach. Leah had to abort the entry mid-step, twisting her body away as the steel forced her back out.

"Too predictable," Ethan said, stepping forward with another attack. Leah caught it, but the impact drove her back a step, her footing slipping slightly in the sand. She tried to pivot off it, using the recoil to circle, but Ethan followed, keeping the pressure steady without ever fully committing. Leah exhaled sharply and reset, circling him. Her steps were quick, light, the sand barely shifting under her weight as she moved. Ethan tracked her easily, blade held forward, controlling the space between them.

"That's it, look for your opening," he said.

"Your strength is your speed. Use it." Leah nodded. She slowed just slightly, her shoulders relaxing as she shifted her approach. She darted in, stopping as Ethan's blade rose to cut her off. His swing came down just as Leah attacked again, pushing her advantage. Ethan stepped back, letting her blade pass by his chest. He had forgone his armor, opting for a lighter outfit as they stopped for the evening. Now, his shirt blew slightly in the wind, her blade missing it by a few inches.

She pulled back immediately, circling to the side again. Sand shifted under her feet as she adjusted her angle again.

"Good," Ethan said, readjusting. Leah smiled, clearly proud of herself, even though she had come close to cutting him. She attacked again, feinted high, her shoulders turning as if she was going to strike. Ethan lifted his blade to intercept, playing into her game. She angled her sword low, trying to slip inside his reach. Ethan adjusted mid-motion, dragging the blade down and across.

It didn't catch her cleanly, but it forced her to halt her advance again, the edge stopping her just short of getting where she wanted. Leah clicked her tongue and moved again.

"Slow down," Ethan said.

"You're rushing the finish. Set it up first, watch my reactions and find the weakness." She circled again, breathing a little heavily, but her movements were sharp. She stepped in, then out, shifting her weight between each motion, forcing Ethan to track her instead of reacting to a single line of attack. She tried to feint again; this time she chained them together—a step forward, a shift to the side, a slight dip of her shoulder before she actually committed. Ethan waited, watching to see how she would attack.

Her sword came up fast, aiming for the gap beneath his arm. Ethan twisted just enough to let it pass, then brought the flat of his blade across, knocking her strike off-line. His foot moved at the same time, stepping into her space, disrupting her balance before she could recover.

"You need to chain attacks as well as feints," he said. Leah gritted her teeth and tried to recover, pivoting off her back foot to stay inside his reach. Ethan didn't let her. His blade came down again, not fast, not overwhelming, just constant. The sheer size of it forced her back out, step by step, until she was once again at the edge of his range.

"When you're inside, use your speed," he said.

"You're getting flustered and only reacting." Leah exhaled sharply and reset again, adjusting her footing this time before moving. She feinted again. Ethan didn't bite. Then she burst forward, faster than before, her body low and controlled, her sword coming in tight and precise. Ethan met her halfway. The greatsword dropped and rose in a tight upward arc, catching her just as she tried to slip past. The impact wasn't heavy, but it was enough.

It knocked her off balance completely, her footing breaking as the sand shifted under her. Leah stumbled before falling back. She landed on her backside with a frustrated groan, her sword dropping beside her as she leaned back onto her hands and looked down at the bandage still wrapped around her torso.

"This is bullshit," she muttered.

"I can't get inside your range." Ethan rested his blade on his shoulder, breathing steadily as he looked down at her.

"You're getting closer," he said.

"But you're still thinking about the hit too early. Use your speed to control me first. Feints, angles, footwork. Make me commit before you do." Leah rolled her eyes, brushing sand off her legs.

"Easy for you to say when your sword's the size of a door." If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Ethan smirked slightly.

"You need to take that into account and study your opponent. I use a greatsword, so my style has adjusted to suit heavy, brutal attacks while keeping a distance. You need to use that. If you noticed, I don't use as many feints because they'd be too slow. Next time, watch and time your attacks and your feints. Make your opponent bite before attacking again," he said. He paused, slipping the blade back into its sheath and putting it over his back once more.

"You're definitely doing better. It took me a long time to earn [Sword Mastery]. I can tell you're close. Maybe another fight using your sword only, and you'll get it—which would break my record."

"So you're saying I have more natural talent than you?" she asked. Ethan held up his hands.

"Easy now. You just have a better teacher than I had," he answered, pushing his memories into a box and locking it away.

"If you want me to go hard and show you the difference, I can." Leah laughed.

"I'm just playing. Didn't mean to bruise your ego." He kicked some sand at her feet.

"Yeah, yeah." He pointed to her wound.

"How's your cut healing?" Leah looked down at the bandage. It no longer had blood seeping through it.

"It's good. The week's break from fighting anything, as well as awakening my core, has helped it heal almost supernaturally fast." She paused before looking at Ethan.

"Is that normal?" Ethan nodded and offered her his hand, pulling her back to her feet.

"Absolutely. If you'd invested in endurance, it would have healed even quicker." Leah was quiet for a moment as they walked to their packs before speaking again.

"You know, despite how scary the trials can be, they really do have their moments of wonder." Ethan agreed as she continued.

"Imagine what our world would be like if we had the skills we have now. Sickness and injury would become obsolete."

"There's the downside too," Ethan pointed out.

"People can become one-man armies, with the ability to wipe entire cities out on their own."

"Yeah, but it was like that anyway. All someone had to do was push a button." Leah said with a shrug. Ethan had to agree with her there.

"Fair enough. So do you think you're ready to find some more powerful monsters?" he asked. Leah grabbed her pack and threw it over her shoulder.

"Yeah. I want to see how my cultivation holds up against an actual challenge." He looked at her sideways.

"I'm not a challenge?"

"Fifty-fifty." She smiled.

"Nah, but in all seriousness, you know what I mean. Something that actually wants to hurt me." Ethan scoffed.

"Fair enough. Let's go then." —~~— Ethan and Leah continued moving through the desert. Her skill had worked wonders so far; more often than not, Ethan was forced into fights Leah couldn't handle. Though, for the most part, she was doing extremely well, evident by the fact that he had been right—she had gained [Sword Mastery] fighting a group of higher-leveled undead. Ethan wouldn't be lying in saying it brought him some relief.

He liked the thought of her putting more distance between herself and whatever was attacking her. In his opinion, it was far better than a dagger, especially with her agility, where she could close the distance and retreat extremely well. Now, she had reached level nineteen and would likely reach twenty by the time they made it to the second level, which was drawing closer and closer. From Ethan's memory, they were closing in on the mirage field, and it would soon be time to cross it and enter the oasis.

Leah pulled her sword free from the scorpion she had been fighting. The body twitched as it hit the ground, and Leah jumped back, lifting her blade in defense.

"Relax," Ethan said from beside her. He was back in his armor, though his helm was strapped to his bag.

"If you got the notification, then it's dead. If not, then it's alive." Leah lowered her sword.

"I know that. It just scared me." Ethan chuckled.

"Well, you're definitely doing a lot better now. What was that thing, level twenty-two?"

"Twenty-one," Leah answered.

"I must be about to hit level twenty soon. How far are we from entering level two? We've been killing these higher-leveled monsters for weeks now."

"Ha. That was a close guess. I'd say we've still got another week to go. It probably doesn't help that we aren't exactly heading in a straight line," Ethan answered. Leah pulled out a cloth and wiped her blade clean before sheathing it at her side. Ethan hid a smile. She was really starting to look like a warrior now. With her cultivation unlocked and stats from leveling, she looked lean; her arms were visible and corded with fine muscle.

She still kept her hair in a bun, the black locks wrapping around the rod she used as a weapon. The rest of her outfit was similar to most Broken Dawns members: a robe with armor plating covering vital parts, with her dagger and sword on each hip. This wasn't the path Ethan had initially wanted her to walk. He would have preferred if she took the mage class, stood behind him, and cast spells. But he couldn't complain with how she was shaping up.

Between her [Wayfinder] skill and her weapon masteries, Ethan was excited to see what class options she would have available.

"So I won't get my new class for a while then?" she asked with a pout. Ethan shrugged.

"Afraid not. We'll be needing a settlement monolith. And unfortunately, there aren't any settlements this close to the mirage. Don't stress, though. Your levels will be reimbursed at the monolith if you missed out on any."

"Good."

"Yeah… should we carry on? Still enough daylight for another fight or two," Ethan said.

"Let's go," Leah agreed, before continuing through the desert and leaving the scorpion behind. Ethan took one last glance at it, then turned and followed her. Hopefully, the skill would lead them to something he also deemed dangerous. So far, he had only gained a single level since the Sand Stalker, and he was eager for more. He wanted to enter the mirage field as close to level thirty as he could. After following Leah for the better part of two hours, Ethan looked up at the sun.

His wish for at least two more fights wasn't to be—at least not at the rate they were going. It was rather annoying, but he couldn't do much about it, so he followed along, anticipation coursing through his veins. Leah came to a stop beside him, so Ethan turned to look at her. She nodded, looking around, trying to find the source of danger. Ethan followed her gaze but also focused on [Keen Sense]. As he took in his surroundings, a faint sound carried on the wind. Ethan turned his head, focusing.

He closed his eyes, waiting for the noise again. When he heard it, Ethan turned and gestured for Leah to follow. He moved up a dune, his feet digging into the sand as [Keen Sense] continued to feed him information. It was voices, he realized. People were talking, and they were just over the dune, which only made him more curious. Why would Leah's skill bring them here? Who could be so dangerous? He reached the top and looked down. At the bottom of the dune sat three people. They were whispering in hushed tones.

Ethan looked at Leah with a raised eyebrow. She shrugged, as though conveying she had no idea why the skill had brought her here. Ethan took another look at them. It was three men, all of whom looked to be in their twenties. The blond-headed one was talking to another man, making hand gestures as the third let out a yawn. There was nothing out here for anyone, which meant these people were most likely heading to the mirage—unless they were just hunting stronger monsters. He gestured for Leah to follow.

She nodded, but as Ethan took a single step forward, [Keen Sense] flared to life like a warning beacon. Ethan spun around. His sword was still strapped to his back; immediately, he knew he wouldn't have time to draw it. So as he spun, he pulled Leah's dagger from her hip. From his shadow, a figure materialized. They held two daggers and were already mid-strike. The figure paused just as their attack was descending and Ethan was blocking. He looked at the two blades that were stopped mid-motion.

Ethan looked up to see jet-black hair, cut in a bob.

"Ethan?" He lowered his weapon. Behind him, he could hear the others moving toward him.

"Hello, Bella."