Chapter 24 - Sparring Session

The next day since it was still Summer/Autumn break, everyone including granny we're home.

My usually annoying brothers were nagging my parents instead of me today while Aroura seemed extremely happy for some reason. I had worn her necklace since the point I had put it on and I didn't plan on taking it off. To be honest, seeing her happy instead of stressed to find a job after finishing with the academy at the age of 19 or trying to find a spouse made me quite happy as well and I had never minded her company so I accepted it with grace. Later in the day my father taught me how to use his gift and gave me my own time to find ways and strategies to use the weapon he had given me.

My mom had a lot of free time on her hands and so did my grandmother so they both decided to train me on how to fight a mage whenever I came across them. They kept reminding me it's better to talk things out with people before using violence but my mind would just tune that out until something relevant reached my ears.

I started with attacking my mother with speed she didn't expect. Since my father was here, he had decided to spectate and now that he had seen his wife's face when I lunged towards her, he started laughing loudly to be accompanied by the glares of my brothers and granny.

Aroura was kind of busy but she said she would come and watch if not participate after a job scouting with the family manager.

As I lunged towards my surprised mother, I used that instance to attack her with my wooden short swords just to be accompanied by a kick. To my surprise, my mom had used hand signs to create a barrier in front of her which I couldn't crack with my wooden swords. I kept sidestepping and attacking the barrier with all the power I could muster in quick succession.

Unbeknownst to me, my mother was struggling to find me around her without using advanced spells to locate me around her. Eventually, my wooden swords both snapped after hitting the ice walls too many times for their good.

"Do you yield?" asked my mother with a slight smug impression.

"Yield?" I said with a chuckle

To the surprise of my mother, I threw both swords away and lunged at her with so much power and speed that they kicked up the dirt under me in chunks while the air made a whooshing sound while I traveled towards the wall of ice.

My father choked on his laughter while the eyes of my brothers seemed to want to get out of their sockets from the sheer shock at seeing nothing but a blur go towards our mother. Both women made an audible "What he-" which they couldn't finish due to the loud bang and the crackling sounds that accompanied it.

I had changed both my rings and bracelet into their gauntlet forms before giving them their full weight and using all the momentum I had built up to slam my left foot on the ground and throw my right fist towards the ice wall. The ground under my hand sunk around my foot while sending a vibration from the bottom of my toes slowly through every single joint until it reached my knuckles.

My gauntlet smashed through the wall of ice as if it was paper just to be stopped by an invisible force that had slowed my fist down to a stop right in front of a wall of water.

"I think that's enough for one day," said my grandma before grabbing by the ear towards my father

"What kind of training did you make her do?" asked my granny with more curiosity and fury while throwing me at my father with the ear.

"The normal training, I always did in the Royal Military" He stated while catching me before I bashed into him

"SHE'S BARELY EVEN 5! HOW DO YOU EXPECT HER TO HANDLE THAT KIND OF TRAINING? SHE@S A GIRL FOR GOD SAKE!" Asked my mother in outrage

"Well, I started off normally but after she had a basic mastery over most of the weapons, I knew how to use them. I decided to see how much she can take before wanting to slow down a bit. Eventually she got to the point where normal training wouldn't be enough, so I decided to see if she can take the weapon training I did back in the military. Hell, she's doing better than I was doing back then since I'm a little easier to deal with than my sergeants" Replied my dad trying to diffuse the anger of both women in front of him.

They both face palmed while I watched Aroura join us with a confused look.

Wait, that spell that was used before, was it used by my mother or granny? I want to know how it was used, to think she could completely negate the momentum I had built in less than a second makes it quite useful against stronger opponents who are better at close combat. maybe I ca-

"Why do you all look like you've seen a ghost?" Aroura asked

"If that ghost is your sister, you would be correct" My grandma snarled back

"What? why?" Aroura asked

"You will see if you spar with her. don't go too easy on her, she might start getting cocky if she wins again" said my mother while sighing

"Again?!" Aroura asked just to be followed by silence

After a few seconds of silence, I walked towards the middle of our backyard and waited for Aroura who promptly followed. My father gave me a long sword this time to use against her. Granny then started to count down to being the fight and also get us ready in the next 3 seconds

"3"

"2"

"1"

"START!"

This time, I waited for my sister to do something instead of lunging forwards. The long sword wasn't as good at the short swords in close range but they packed more power behind each hit rather than the speed and maneuverability of dual-wielding short swords.

Seeing that I didn't lunge at her, she went forward and used her battle knight spells with hand signs. They strengthened her body and moved with speed I wouldn't expect from someone the size of an adult female. My sister had grown 3 inches since the day I was born and now she is around 5ft 7. Her golden hair moved with the wind magnificently. The sunlight reflecting off her hair in combination with its graceful movements was almost hypnotizing while in contrast, her eyes seemed to absorb all the color and light around them giving them an intimidating aura in this kind of situation.

Her Aura-like eyes shone with a blinding vibrancy that would be attractive to any male including me. Unfortunately, I was born 14 years too late and a female at that. We are also family-related so clearly, our bond was not supposed to be more than siblings, yet I couldn't complain because she is the best thing that I could have even dreamed of having. I honestly don't deserve to have such a good sister.

I lifted my sword to chest level and pointed the tip towards her before moving my left foot behind me to where I can use my dominant right leg to lunge forward or attack with all my strength.

When her wooden sword was close enough, I moved it away to my right and took advantage of the momentum to change her trajectory mid-air. I twisted and turned my front foot to move my entire body to the side, away from her grab range, and towards her hip area before slamming my hand on her side.

She went flying towards the crowd where granny seemed to make a few hand signs with one hand which completely stopped Aurora's launch a few meters towards the crowd.

CRAP! I didn't think I would hit her so hard. Crap, is she okay? Did I hurt her too much? What the hell was I thinking?! This is a simple spar. Why did I use so much strength!? She's not as strong as Mo-

My thoughts derailed when I saw her getting up without a scratch and I audibly sighed in relief after I went up to her and made sure she was okay.

"Honestly, I didn't expect that, do you wanna go for another round? I'll use the best body enhancement spells I know and maybe we ca-"

"NO!" Everyone except my father said in unison

My brothers were getting jealous while my mother and granny were scared for my safety when the words "I'll use my best-" entered their ears

"Let's go inside now, I think we have had enough for today," said my mother and walked towards the door. A few seconds later everyone either nodded or shrugged and walked inside.

While we were eating dinner, I asked my mother and father a few questions.

"Can I go outside tomorrow? I want to go deeper into the town or even towards the village to meet new people"

"Hmmmm, no.," said my mother

"Yeah, why not, good learning experience," said my father

They both stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds before saying "okay but someone has to come with you" they said in unison

What the f*ck? Are they psychics or something? Wait... Looking at how the world has all sorts of magic, that should be the least of my surprises.

"Granny will take you when she has some free time," said my mother with a warm smile

"But granny always has free time" I replied with an innocent smile

"Damn kid! What would you know?!" My grandma snarled back