Shadow Author

Now, this was something I was excited about! Having a plan set forth would make things much easier as I would be able to see firsthand how far I came and what things I need to spend more time on.

"Your analysis was a bit lacking but you still got a few good points."

'Well, that's not too bad for something I've only done once.'

"You were right about your first point where you should have expected an attack at any time but you were a bit off with your thinking."

I waited for her to elaborate.

"Of course, at any point in time, you should expect to be put in imminent danger but you aren't at that point yet so you should focus on what you are capable of."

"I don't understand, if I shouldn't be expecting an attack at any moment then what should I be doing?"

"See you're not wrong but if you expend all your energy on constantly stressing about and checking your surroundings for an attacker you will be too mentally drained for when one does appear."

"Then what should I do?"

"Wait for an attacker to make themselves known and then react."

"Wait? But isn't that what I did against you?"

"Yes and no."

Now I was even more confused but thankfully Miss Smith explained herself.

"You were correct in watching me, however you did it all wrong. You kept all your attention on my body when you should have focused on one specific thing and even then you were still incorrect."

"How so?"

"You're so focused on looking at any part of me moving that you wasted too much energy. You should have focused on one thing such as my arm, leg, hip, or eyes. Then when one of them moves you know the rest of my body will follow behind."

"That makes sense but how do I know which thing to focus on?"

She smiled brightly.

"Now you are getting it! Even that thinking can be wrong. For example, if you only focus on my eyes I can throw you off with the angle of my attack or if you only look at my legs I might be close enough that I only have to swing my sword to cut off your head."

"If there are so many things and none of them are reliable how do you best expect an attack?"

"That's the question even some of my rank struggles with but you can limit the number of choices based on the situation."

"How?!"

"Well now that you know to focus on one key part instead of everything you just have to decide what part is the most important."

"How do I figure out which is the most important?"

"Often you don't know, but I'll give you a scenario when you do."

I was eagerly waiting for her to tell me.

"If someone had their sword drawn, take for example the stance you used to go against me just now the best place to watch is the top of your sword."

"The tip?"

"Yes, there is no reason to watch their legs, arms, or head if the sword is pointed at you. All you have to do is watch the tip of the sword and the enemy will follow behind it."

As I thought about what Miss Smith said I realized how much sense it made. Why would I care about the person when their weapon is the thing that can harm me?

As if I was enlightened by a divine revelation a whole new path opened up before my eyes where countering my enemies might be possible!

But I didn't get too caught up in my thoughts as a problem presented itself.

"What if the person hadn't drawn their sword yet as you did? Then what do I look out for?"

This was the big question. If they didn't have a weapon drawn there would be no way of following it to defend.

Miss Smith's smile grew even brighter at my question as she realized how seriously I was taking it.

"Great question! If your opponent doesn't draw a weapon and they are too fast that you aren't able to see it then in that case the best thing to do is…"

"Is what?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Yep, because you'd already be dead."

"…"

She laughed.

"I know it sounds harsh but it's true. If they draw their sword and you don't even realize it you're most likely already dead."

I frowned if what Miss Smith was saying was true then it was almost impossible to counter someone with a lightning-fast quick draw.

"However, it's not the end if someone hadn't drawn their sword."

I looked up at her expectantly.

"You could try to provoke them into drawing their sword, you could create some distance that way they are forced to pull out their weapon, or you would just have to overpower them with raw strength."

The first two options were viable for me but the last one was not as I was far too weak to do such a thing.

Learning about this new bit of information I already felt like I was growing stronger even if it wasn't physically.

Therefore I knew I made the right decision in having Miss Smith be my mentor feather than any of the other combat teachers.

Once I completely made sense of what Miss Smith was trying to say she moved on to my second point.

"You were right about making the most out of any situation when you get the upper hand. However, that type of sense comes with experience. You did well your second time."

Taking what she said as a compliment I made a mental note of it before she ended with the final point of my analysis.

"You were semi-right with what you said about breaking free from constant attacks. Although it's safest to get out of a confrontation that you are losing and restart it's not always best."

"What do you mean?"

This confused me since if I wasn't in a good position to win wouldn't it be best to set up a way I could?

"Well amid battle it's extremely hard to shift the flow of it and sometimes the environment doesn't allow for it to happen."

"So then don't create space?"

"If you are getting pushed back by your opponent retreating and restarting that fight won't do much. If they had the upper hand, to begin with, they would most likely keep it."

"What about if it was a sneak attack?"

She smiled, enjoying the questions I asked.

"That could be a rare case when making space would be a good thing but you also have to realize that your opponent won't allow you to do it easily."

"Then what should I do?"

"Push through it."

"Push?"

"Yes, have you ever heard the saying offense is the best defense?"

"I have."

"Well, it's true. If you are going up against an opponent that's beating you and you don't have the chance to escape, just push forward."

"But isn't that dangerous."

She laughed and as soon as I thought over my question I realized how stupid it was.

"Kid, any fight you get in could be life-threatening if you are scared you aren't cut out to be a swordsman."

Knowing I couldn't show any form of hesitation I looked Miss Smith dead in the eyes and said:

"I'm not scared."

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