"Tripped? On what?" Dominus asked. "Use your head a little, boy. Just because you've slain yourself a hobgoblin doesn't mean you get to lose what little wits you had and just turn into a mindless sword swinger.
Beam frowned. It might have been his imagination, but he felt like Dominus was growing even harsher now that he'd made him his apprentice. Dominus paid no mind to the look that he shot him.
"I didn't sense any mana from you when you did it," Dominus mused.
"You can sense that? I thought you said only mages could?" Beam asked.
Dominus just shrugged. "I didn't say I could sense it well – can't even attempt to control it or anything like that. I more feel it just like you feel heat, though I have to concentrate."
"Hmm... So if not mana, what else could it be?" Beam said.
Dominus tilted his head, looking entirely baffled. "Beats me. Seems to be something entirely out of the normal realm of understanding."
"Well... It doesn't seem that powerful to me," Beam said.
"That's why you've got to train it then, isn't it?" Dominus said with an impatient wave of his hand. "Don't forget to count these blessings boy, this here is unique, in a realm completely unknown to me. Do you not understand the weight of that? Have you forgotten just who I am?"
"You're the man who wounded the Pandora Goblin," Beam said uncertainly.
"The answer is right in front of you, boy! It was given to you when you needed it most. It's this skill of yours," Dominus shouted. "What more is there to think of? Develop your swordsmanship around this skill, use it at the scaffolding for a new mode of improvement. So far, we know it works on fear.
So how should you fight? You must terrify your enemy."
As Dominus said those words, Beam felt a chill pass through his heart, as a sudden realisation dawned on him. It was not a chill of fear, but a chill of excitement, a rush of adrenaline. "Terrify my enemy?" He repeated quietly.
"Exactly, boy! There are many ways to go about doing that. There's the unexpected – to fight so wildly that your opponent grows flustered and fears you. Or there's the kingly way, making your movements seem effortless, magnifying the difference between yourself and the enemy, altering his perspective so that he sees you as stronger than you are. Thus will he yield.
Find what path you want to pursue and pursue it," Dominus said.
Now Beam was smiling, as he thought of all the possibilities that were unfolding in front of him. "I'm going to have to put some serious thought into this... I want to try it out. Are there more enemies in the area?"
But Dominus waved his hand. "That can wait until later. The strange nature of this monster spawning, that works to the advantage of your training... But things have changed from how they were before. You are now my apprentice. Thus, it is not only progress that you must chase, but you must also learn to shoulder responsibility."
"You want me to do chores or something?" Beam asked. He was already doing a few things to tend to his master as an apprentice should – like sharpening his sword and helping with the meals and the firewood.
"No. I mean a weightier responsibility. It's a core component in the growth of a knight. You must have something to protect. In the city, the nobility have their sectors that the knights are charged with protecting. When I was a youth, for our lack of land, I was charged with wandering to the nearby town.
For you, I give you this responsibility: protect this village that you inhabit. And protect it with your life."