"That's nothing short of impressive still," Katherine commended.

"So now that we got that out of the way, what next?" Aiden was eager to proceed to the next step.

Katherine gave it a brief thought and then replied, "I didn't think you would be getting the first stages done this quick, but I guess we can begin the next."

Aiden nodded and waited in anticipation.

Katherine started with a brief explanation, "The basic mastery of Qi is done in line with a Discipline. Starting with either Martial Arts or Swordsmanship. One may choose to have basic mastery in both but must start with one. So which do you think is the right fit for you?"

Aiden gave it a thought for a moment. "Well I do have a sword that could use a fine swordsman," before finally giving the Captain an answer, "Let's start with the sword."

"Perfect," she said. "Your mastery of swordsmanship starts with three basic techniques. These techniques serve as the foundation for all swordsmanship in Zahka."

"The First basic technique is your Parry and Redirection, Nagare."

"The Second Basic technique is your Speed and Aggression, Hayate."

"The Third Basic Technique is your Unpredictability, Maboroshi."

Then she beckoned towards the wooden sword Aiden held, prompting him to toss it over to her.

He did as asked, and once Katherine caught the sword, she turned towards Piers and said, "This is Nagare," then nodded as a signal for Piers to attack.

Piers took a few hurried steps forward and swung his wooden sword down in an arc. The captain raised her sword horizontally to block the opposing sword's descent.

Piers then retracted his arm and swung his wooden sword from a different direction.

Katherine, instead of blocking this time, tilted her sword just enough to catch Piers's swing and guide it aside, causing him to nearly fall out of balance.

Aiden's countenance softened into a smirk as he quickly grasped what had just happened. The first being a parry and the second action from the captain being a redirection.

[Basic sword technique copied: Nagare]

"I don't even think there's a need to have it copied," Aiden thought to himself, knowing that he had already assimilated how it worked.

Katherine then faced Aiden and muttered, "That was simply Nagare."

"And now, Hayate." Katherine then turned back towards Piers and took a stance, after which Piers dashed in again for another attack. Their swords clashed together a couple times, and when the time was right, Katherine guided his swing off course again.

However, it didn't end there, because the moment Piers had his sword's movement redirected, that left him open, and Katherine took that opportunity to instantly thrust her blade forward, halting its tip at Piers's neck.

The movement went from Parry to Redirection to Speedy Aggression in perfect sequence of each other.

Piers's arms raised up whilst the tip of the Captain's sword was still pointed at his neck. Then Katherine blew a kiss at him and winked afterwards before receding her sword.

A quiet laugh slipped from Piers as he took another stance ready for another go with the captain.

"And this, Aiden, is Maboroshi," Katherine said, and as though that was the signal to engage, Piers dashed back in with his blade.

Whilst stepping back slightly, the captain blocked a few sword swings from Piers, and they exchanged a few more clashes. At the same time, Piers was also trying to improve, so he made sure to not give the captain an opening to redirect his blade.

Unfortunately, he faltered at some point, and Katherine capitalized on that.

The moment his guard was left open, Katherine instantly thrust her blade forward towards his face.

It seemed like Piers had actually anticipated that move this time and was going to tilt his head to the side to avoid the blade, only for him to realize that the thrusting motion from Katherine was a feint.

Instead, she swung her blade in a semi-circular motion, halting the tip of the blade by the side of his torso.

"Unpredictability," Aiden's lips twitched in amusement as he watched the proper display of it.

"Noooo," Piers threw his hands up. He was certain he was going to avoid the captain this time.

"Oh Piers darling," Katherine couldn't help but laugh a bit, before turning towards Aiden.

"Now I'll explain to you how Qi emission and Qi sight comes into all of these. The amount of Qi you emit at any given time signifies the amount of strength and speed behind your attacks and movement. And being able to see the flow of Qi helps with predicting your target's movements so that you may avoid attacks or counter appropriately."

Aiden nodded as she spoke and then interjected with a reply, "Your Qi is naturally higher and stronger than Piers's, so with a little effort, you could always guide his blade off course. Due to the same reason, there's also that natural speed difference which, after you redirect his blade, you can still thrust forward for an attack in almost the same time frame…"

Katherine had a smile on her face as she listened to Aiden.

"…But regardless of the fact that there's a speed difference, if he had paid better attention by reading the flow of your Qi, he could've known you were going to feint at that last instance and reposition in the more appropriate direction to avoid your attack."

"That is such a wonderful observation, Aiden," Katherine praised him, rather impressed at how quickly it seemed like he was grasping the techniques.

"If you were in Zahka, the Asuras will definitely have an eye out for you," Katherine added.

Asuras were Zahka's equivalent of Guild Masters.

Aiden smiled a bit at that, then asked, "Although I must ask, Captain, in a world bolstered by the force of magic, why do your people favor martial arts and swordsmanship?"

"Hehe," Katherine let out. "This dates back to a story from a thousand years ago."

"Ah a story, I want to hear too, Captain," Piers said. He had a liking for stories.

Katherine shook her head amusingly and continued:

"About a thousand years ago, The God of Fight Valgor and the Samurai God Tenshin both took a liking to a woman. The beautiful wife of our Ancestor, Tae Jin. They both wanted her so badly and could have easily taken her, but they were gods with honor and instead went to ask her husband nicely. Tae Jin agreed. They were gods after all. But he agreed on one condition…"

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