The Unbreakable Bow

"Ow ow, leave me, old man, you can't do this to me!"

"I am sorry, sir, really -"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, walk in front of me,"

He threw both of them and pushed them from their backs, hurrying them up.

"What do you want from me, I don't have a training session today."

"Well, I decided that you can help me with the boy, I am sure this will be better than being in the library the whole day."

"Whatever,"

After some time, they were back at the tilting yard.

"Each one of you go get a weapon that fits you, a melee weapon mind you and no shields except for regular armor . Keep in mind that you won't be allowed to do any magic except for phys magic. "

"Ok..."

"Quick, wear your armor before I finish my tea!"

"OK!"

Aefrine struggled at first with the iron plate armor but once he figured out the right way to wear it, he quickly came out, just to find out that Alma had already worn hers and was wielding a broad sword.

"Go there, pick a weapon, choose something that fits your style."

He went to a wall where weapons were put next to each other. It was obvious that someone had put them in a particular order for Aefrine to notice. Two daggers, a couple of war knives, three swords of different sizes, long spears, axes, maces, and finally, a couple of short swords. Aefrine looked at them and thought:

What is my style?

He has no experience whatsoever with anything but his bow. In fact, he had never put in his hand a weapon ever before. He looked at the daggers and knives and remembered that time he had put a kitchen knife in his hand for the first time, he wasn't cooking. A strange boiling sensation pierced through his neck, and his hand unconsciously went upwards, almost touching his neck as sweat went down his chin. His hand was shaking.

"Aefrine?"

"Eh, nothing, nothing.."

He looked quickly at a hand axe and remembered Alma talking about the axe that made earthquakes and how she loves to get one and thought:

Yeah, that's my style.

"Well, I must say that is a choice that I certainly did not expect from you. "

"So, what will we be doing, old man ?"

"You will be duelling each other, obviously,"

"Wait, what?.. OK, you actually want to kill one of us, don't you?"

"No, you are wearing an enchanted armor that blocks ordinary non-magical attacks. Even though it is of bad quality, you will need a miracle to break it with your terrible phys magic.."

"Hey, watch your tongue, old man."

"Rules are simple: don't target the head, no magic except phys magic, the first who falls off his feet or leaves the circle I have drawn, loses. "

Both of them went down looking for said circle. When did he draw it ?!

"Get into battle position!.."

"Ok."

"Eh, wait,"

How do you weald an axe? One hand, two? From the bottom, from the top? Is Rudolf sure that the axe wouldn't hurt Alma? The last thing he would want to happen is to accidentally kill the princess ... Maybe Alma was right about the Duke, perhaps he really wants them killed?

In the end, he saw Alma welding her sword with one hand from the end of it, so he copied her. The axe was heavy, but he could handle it.

"Get set. And go !"

"Wait -"

As he tried to explain that he still wasn't mentally ready, Alma had already swung her sword in the direction of his waist. He didn't think much. He just jumped away. Alma was now holding the sword with two hands and slashed. The sword was now targeting the chest, and it came fast. Aefrine again jumped away. He barely got away with it this time. He almost got pushed out of the circle. Not to mention, the tip of her sword made impact with his axe before completing its way upwards. In that small moment, he noticed the crimson aura on both of her arms.

She was swinging her sword again this time downwards. Aefrine had no place to run. He took his axe in both hands and blocked the attack using the bit of the axe. The impact was strong. Aefrine struggled to keep his ground. For a few moments, the two blades kept clashing before Alma backed down as her phys magic disappeared. She attempted once again to target his waist. Aefrine blocked it again, but this time, she quickly made another attempt. Before he could do something about it, Aefrine found himself trying to hinder her continuous assaults. It reminded him of his fight with Ryuj. He was impeding his opponent's attacks while keeping himself in defence.

Practically, Alma and Ryuji had the same attack speed. However, this dual was harder. Not only, he was using a totally new weapon that was unlike his trusty bow couldn't stop offences from all sides, but also he couldn't use the bow in any way even if it wasn't illegal since he couldn't get out of the circle and be on a safe range to shot his arrows. He was constantly trying to adapt his axe position to bar the blade. As the duel drew on, Aefrine began to notice with each slash that not all of Alma's attacks were equal. Some were soft and quick, which often targeted the axe itself while others were also quick but had a lasting collision that targeted Aefrine. It was almost like she used normal offences to adjust the axe's position to open up for a real attack utilising phys magic. Speaking of which, he should try his luck with phys magic.

The fight was almost equal, so if he could figure out how to use it, he could turn the tide of the battle to his side. He tried hardening his arms without closing his eyes. It was hard to focus since he was defending at the same time. The aura didn't appear. The phys magic just wouldn't work for him. He needed something else quick, as defending became harder and harder with each slash. Suddenly, he realised that one of Alma's legs was a bit further than the other. She was trying to keep a distance between them as her sword gave her a melee range advantage over Aefrine's axe. He wasted no time. In the moment that the blades disengaged, he tried to trip her over or to do anything that might mess with her stance. Alma didn't stand by, she noticed his attempt and hastily took a step back. Thanks to her phys magic, she was faster than him, but that didn't matter. Aefrine now has a chance to take the offence, and he wasn't going to waste it.

He swang his axe, hitting the princesse 's waist with the head of the axe, before the counter strike that Alma had already made whilst backing down. He thought that using the head of the axe instead of the bit would guarantee he won't wound the princess as well as its force would help push her out of the circle with one blow. There was another factor that helped with his final blow, and that was phys magic. Even though it appeared for less than a second,it still made a strong impact. Alma almost flew away. However, she quickly dug her sword into the ground,decreasing the blow. She was near the other end of the circle. And Aefrine wasn't going to stop there. He knew that luck had favoured him at that particular moment, but he wasn't going to rely on it. But that didn't change the fact that he was the one who had her in a corner now. He went forward and again tried to make another attempt on her waist.

She wouldn't expect the same attack twice, would she?

Alma, in response, used phys magic on her arms as always. That was clear thanks to the crimson aura. Aefrine made a simple plan. He would clash with her sword and then attack her lower body with his leg. He would either force her back or make her fall, thus winning in both cases. As his axe went forward, he prepared his leg. Yet, he was surprised with a slap on his face. Alma had used her leg to target his face. It was so fast and impactful that it seemed like she used phys magic despite the fact that the crimson aura was on her arms, not her leg. Aefrine was completely caught off guard. He fell easily from such a strong kick. Despite the duel being practically over, Alma still went on and tapped Aefrine 's armoured chest with the sword.

"Shrilgh,you are dead!"

After she mocked him, she did lend a hand to him.

"So, old man, were you watching us, or are you busy with your tea ?"

He was indeed enjoying his cup of tea as usual.

"Well, I must say that using your leg on the battlefield is risky .."

"He did it first,"

"But don't worry, in a 1v1, I think it is a good strategy. However, what bothered me the most was that you targeted the head when I clearly said that it is not allowed. "

"What ?! I thought that you only meant that we shouldn't hit the head with our weapons."

"I am impressed with your smart usage of phys magic. You made an improper form of it on your arms to mislead the enemy while preparing a proper one on your leg to ambush him. Despite the large amount of wasted mana, in this situation, it is worth it ."

Aefrine was trying his best not to look at the Duke, wondering if he was going to praise him at all. He was definitely going to point out his inability to use phys magic as always.

But since when did Alma learn to use phys magic without the crimson aura?

Aefrine was really lagging behind compared to Alma. Maybe he just can't do it at all.

"Aefrine.."

"YES!"

"Nothing, the first thing you do when you finish your breakfast tomorrow is to come back here. I have nothing to do with you today. Plus, I am out of tea...You can go ."

"Eh, oh, OK, Er, thanks..."

Aefrine was not ready at all for this response. He didn't need to listen to his soul to know that Rudolf was disappointed. He would prefer that he punished him with a day-long exercise, but this? This was shameful.

"Well done, Aefrine, nobody had managed to get away from his training like that. I must say I am impressed!"

Said Alma as she swung his arm around his neck.

"Well, I guess tomorrow will probably be my last anyway..."

Said Aefrine as he gently took her arm off his neck.

"Wait, what are you serious, right now? Come on! Don't compare yourself to me. I am very talented. But you can get it, trust me. All you need is patience and persistence. Come with me to the library and let's finish that book about phys magic. I am sure you will find a cool move that will motivate you to train more!"

"I don't think so..."

"Oh, that is how it is going to be? Then, how about this?"

Slap

"OW..."

She had just slapped him hard on the back of his neck and ran away.

"Catch me if you can !!!"

Oh my god, I am not doing this...

Aefrine stood there aimlessly for a few moments before he decided that her slap hurt more than it should have. He ran after her, leaving the Duke, who was still searching for something that was probably more tea in a barrel to pick up the mess

It didn't matter if she was the princess. She was getting it.

As he finally reached the library's door, he opened it fast and entered, only to fall immediately rolling. As he stood up, almost dying from laughter Alma appeared from the door.

"Oh my god, you actually fall for it. HAHA, I really wanted you to figure it out and catch me, but you were hilarious, haha.."

"This is the library! I think that both of you are grown enough to realise that this is no playground."

It was Berta, and she definitely looked like she was just sleeping a few seconds ago.

"Yeah, yeah. And I am sure it is not a place for sleeping either. "

She replied as she lent a hand to Aefrine after she had tripped him like before. With a sneer, Berta went to sleep.

And the two of them were back to reading books. Aefrine didn't know why, but 'the magical capabilities of the human body' was very boring. Or maybe he was just not in the mood to read it. For it contained many different spells that use phys magic. There was this one that increased your vision as well as another one that increased your skin's durability. However, the spell that Alma was particularly fond of was a spell that increases your muscle mass for a period of time. Aefrine didn't dare to tell her that she was already a bit too muscular. Aefrine didn't really care about these spells because all of them required basic proper use of phys magic. He just kept looking at the sky imagining different shapes for clouds.

Suddenly, he spotted on the other side of the castle a tiny lime fire figure. Is it a crow spirit?! He blinked and the figure disappeared...