Dream Life Vol II Chapter 7.2: “A Heavy Swordsman”

　Byron gave a small shake of his head and then came over to me, bowing his head and saying, “Will you spar with me?”

　Guy stepped forward as if to protect me, “You know, you shouldn’t.” he said.

　Byron is a strong swordsman who uses a large two-handed sword.

　Since there was no one like him around me, I wanted to try my hand at sword fighting.

　Guy was probably worried that I might get seriously injured. I held him at bay with my hand as I walked out in front of Byron.

“Please teach me a skill. As long as I don’t die instantly, I don’t care if I receive a broken bone. I’m counting on you.” (Zack)

　When I bowed my head, the mercenaries gave an unexpected gasp. It was probably surprising to see a noble kid with a big mouth bowing to a mercenary. Or perhaps it was surprising that I said I would not complain even if I was injured.

　Byron said, “Quiet! You are being disrespectful to Master Zacharias!” He berated his men and silenced them.

　He was carrying a wooden sword for training. The wooden sword was huge, over 1.5 meters long, and a direct hit to the head would not cause a simple injury. Knowing this, the mercenaries may have been surprised.

　As he slowly lifted that wooden sword, his huge body seemed to grow even bigger.

(It’s like a cudgel. And it’s so intimidating. He is not an orthodox swordsman like my grandfather or Nicholas, but he has the appearance of a heavy swordsman who has been trained in actual battle. If I don’t start moving from the beginning, he’ll beat me in less than a minute…) (Zack)

　I wasn’t trying to beat him.

　I was just thinking lightly that by sparring with someone like him, it would be a good reference for me in the future.

　However, as soon as Byron held up the wooden sword, I changed my mind.

　The killing intent emanating from him was nothing out of the ordinary, and I could feel the killing intent as if my skin was tingling and electricity was running through me.

(He was going to kill me if I didn’t go for it. I feel like I’m being hit with a real killing intent from someone for the first time…) (Zack)

　I jumped to the right using my Magical Combat skill, trying to make the first move before Byron could set it off.

　I instantly moved sideways about three meters and plunged in a straight line from his left side.

　At that moment, something shook me.

　I followed my instincts, gave up the attack, and jumped to roll further to the right.

　Immediately after that, the ground where I was exploded, and the impact hit me.

　It was as if I felt the aftermath of Byron’s real blow exploding into the ground.

　I shuddered at the strength of the attack.

(What was that? If I had gone in there like that, I would have taken that one. …He’s really trying to kill me. I remember the first time Grandfather and I had a mock fight…) (Zack)

　I take my distance again and take a moment to catch my breath.

“As expected of you. You avoided the blow that you might have taken. Well then… I’m going to you this time.” (Byron)

　Guy was shouting something, but I didn’t have time to hear it. I had no time to listen to him, because Byron’s huge body of nearly two meters was approaching me with incredibly sharp movements.

　Furthermore, his attack wasn’t a big swing like before, but a sharp thrust that made use of the length of his huge two-handed sword.

　Shuu! Woosh! I heard the sound of the wind being cut, and I felt the fear of death from the sharpness of the attack.

　I shouted in my mind, “That’s dangerous!” as I desperately tried to strike Byron’s sword away.

　But my light attack only made a dry thud, and the trajectory of the attack changed.

　Twisting my body, I managed to avoid the tip of the sword, but the movement put me completely on the open. Byron did not miss the opportunity and slammed into me with his huge body.

　As I struggled to avoid the tip of the sword, it was as if I was hit by a car, blown several meters and slammed to the ground before I had time to catch myself.

　The impact was so strong that I felt my lungs empty out the air, and I was lying on the ground.

　Guy saw what was happening and came between us, “Whatever this is, is over,” he said.

　I tried to say something to him, but the impact of being knocked to the ground made it impossible for me to speak.

　At that moment, I was still planning to continue. I struggled to get up, using the wooden stick as a cane, hoping to at least get in one hit.

　Byron stood there without saying a word, but when he saw me get up, he said

“Master Zacharias is still ready to continue. Jakes, will you watch him a little longer?” (Byron)

　In the meantime, I managed to stand up and had him back down, whispering, “Guy, I’m fine… I know I’m still okay…”

(Even Grandpa’s sword I managed to parry it… and yet this man’s sword… what am I going to do? Is there no choice but to keep dodging? What other way is there…) (Zack)

　At that time I hadn’t been able to find a way out of this situation.

　All I could think of was to just use my speed to distract him.

　Without any deep thought, I was using Magical Combat skill to my legs again.

　Immediately after I finished applying the magic, I jumped to the right, pretending to jump to the left to take advantage of the gap, and then I accelerated further to close in on him.

　At that time, I thought, “I have no choice but to get in his range.” As long as I could get near enough, I could make it.

　After a few feints, I dove into Byron with no hesitation.

　When he swung his sword past where I was, I knew I had won.

(Okay, this is it!) (Zack)

　I drove my sword into his unprotected flank.

　But the next moment, my vision spun.

　I was lying on my back on the ground, staring up at the sky, when I saw his huge wooden sword thrust right in front of me. I was totally confused, not understanding what had just happened.

(What happened? I had just made my final attack, and I should have won. Why am I lying on the ground?) (Zack)

“Well done. Even so, I am still a fourth-rank mercenary. I didn’t think that a boy of only ten years old would be able to make me move so much.” (Byron)

　Byron smiles as he says this, moves his sword away, and holds out his right hand to me. I take his hand and raise myself up.

“Thank you. Really… by the way, what did you do in the end.” (Zack)

　He broke into a broad smile and shook his leg a little, “It’s a foot sweep,” he said.

(Will I also be able to trip someone in that situation… Is this the strength of something trained in actual combat? …As Grandpa said, I’m vastly lacking in experience…) (Zack)

　Once again, I lowered my head and said, “It was a good learning experience. Would you mind giving lessons when you have time?”

“I understand. It was a good learning experience for me as well.” (Byron)

　I smiled at him and said, “Hey, can you stop using honorifics now?” but he shakes his head.

“I may serve you in the future. I’m getting used to it now for when the time comes.” (Byron)

(Apparently, he really isn’t as good as he looks. If he says he’s going to serve me, he can turn even the embarrassment of being humiliated in that place into a beautiful story. If they like heroic tales, he’ll sound like a squire who has honestly admitted defeat and joined the ranks. Besides, if we do this, maybe time will tell. In the future, he can use the excuse that he helped a child’s future bloom…) (Zack)

　And now I have some idea of the purpose of this mock battle.

(This is more of an appeal to his men, or a consideration. I can’t speak for him, but my movements are unusual for a ten-year-old kid. I guess he wanted to show that their captain was not defeated by a common child… Another possible explanation is that he wanted to make it clear why he was treating me with respect. The mercenaries would turn against me if things stayed the way they were. I guess he made a scene to mitigate that. …Considering that, I guess he showed them the killing intent of the first blow on purpose…) (Zack)

　After the mock battle, I returned to the inn and wiped my dusty body.

　There were marks where he had been knocked to the ground, but no bruises from the body blows or the foot sweep.

(He was pretty easygoing. Guy says he’s as good as Nicholas. I’m no match for him now, even if he were to stand on his hands. Well, let’s just say I met an interesting guy.) (Zack)

　Afterwards, Liddy and Sharon were quite indignant, so I told them my theory. They didn’t seem too convinced, but Guy agreed with my idea and managed to put their rage to rest.