The duo were living in the temple for the time being. The priestesses gave them a clean room to stay in. There were two wooden beds with yellow blankets on them, an old table and chair, an oil lamp, and a window with decorated curtains.

Roy hopped onto one of the beds and put his hands behind his head. When he pulled the curtain back with his leg, he saw the priestesses spreading fertilizer in the field outside. “When’s the trial starting, Letho?”

“In a day or two. You’d better pray that royal advisor will help you out.”

“We have some time, then. Better not waste it.” Roy clenched his right fist and swung it around, as if he were holding a sword. “Time for that thing.”

“You really want to know how to use a sword, huh?” Letho shook his head. Then he hunkered down and rummaged through the bottom of the bed. A short while later, he pulled out a wooden sword. “I told Nenneke to put this here precisely for this.”

Roy’s eyes gleamed, then he rummaged through the bottom of his bed. A while later, he found a similar wooden sword lying there. It felt lighter than Gwyhyr. Probably weighs a pound or so. Probably made out of birch or poplar. “No short sword?” Letho was a master in the school’s dual sword style. And Roy didn’t want to practice with a wooden sword either. “Why don’t I just practise with Gwyhyr?”

“We’ll start with normal swords,” Letho said coolly. “No real swords, either. You’ll hurt yourself easily.”

They went around the temple to find a suitable training space. The priestesses were healing some patients in a room, while Iola was teaching the kids to read and write. Roy noticed Art and Arri in that room. They were sitting in a chair, reciting the words taught to them aloud, just like the other kids.

Roy nodded in approval, then he went away with Letho. Eventually, they arrived in a quiet corner in the temple, where a tung tree was standing. Letho looked at Roy quietly, then he said, “You’ve been bugging me for a long time now, but that ends today. You’re a newbie, so you’re going to start from the basics. Don’t think they’re pushovers. Every advanced technique comes from the basics.”

Roy arched his eyebrow. I killed quite a few with Gwyhyr, but Letho sounds unimpressed. 

“You don’t believe me? Well then, come at me with everything you have.” Letho realized what he was thinking, so he wanted to teach Roy a lesson. He moved his wrist around and made a circle with the wooden sword. “Let’s spar.”

“Of course.” That was what Roy wanted. He stood up straight, gripping the sword tightly, but Letho was doing something strange. He held his sword with both hands and raised it above shoulder level. He was slightly crouched, his feet pointing outward. There was a solemn gleam in his eyes, as if he were in an actual battlefield, ready to die at any moment.

Roy knew he couldn’t take the training lightly. He put his left leg forth and thrusted his sword at Letho’s shoulder. Alas, his movement was too obvious. Before it could even reach Letho, he’d already blocked it. At the same time, Letho used that momentum to get into offensive range. He held his sword high, and he stabbed Roy’s chest.

Before Roy could defend himself, he felt a throb of pain coming from his chest. Roy leaped back in an attempt to dodge, but Letho wouldn’t give him that chance. The witcher zipped ahead, this time his sword pointing downward. And then he slashed upward, pointing the tip at Roy’s throat.

Roy felt like he was a land that was going to be tilled by a hoe, and the thought made him sweat. Finally recognizing the gap in skill between them, Roy stopped attacking. Instead, he circled Letho, trying to find an opening, but Letho didn’t have any. He followed Roy as he circled, waiting for him to attack, his tip always aimed at Roy’s vitals.

No openings. Roy decided to change his strategy. He decided to start with a feint, and once Letho took the bait, he’d take the chance to start his counterattack. However, Letho wasn’t making it easy for him. Letho lunged ahead and stopped Roy’s feint, then he held Roy’s sword using the wooden sword’s crossguard. Letho yanked Gwyhyr back, and Roy was left without a weapon.

That was not the end. Letho used that momentum to get closer to Roy and slammed his knee against Roy’s belly. At the same time, he smacked Roy’s collarbone with the wooden sword.

Roy howled in pain as he wobbled helplessly. His pain gave birth to fury, and that fury was set ablaze. Roy picked up the wooden sword on the ground, intending to charge in recklessly. He’d decided he would get a hit in even if it meant his loss. Their swords crossed for a moment, and that moment was enough to decide the outcome.

Roy’s cheeks were swollen. He let his wooden sword slip, and he fell down, his eyes closed in defeat. No matter how he attacked or defended, he was full of openings for Letho. He felt like a helpless child fighting against an adult. As if he were nothing but prey.

“Now, do you understand how important the basics are?” Letho hunkered down and patted his face, grinning coolly. “I held back, but still, you didn’t stand a chance.”

“Am I really that weak?” Roy hoped Letho would give him some encouragement, but he was spared none.

“You’d be dead in five seconds if you tried to fight like that.” He kicked Roy’s stomach, and Roy quickly stood up. “Stay humble, you hear?”

“Yes.”

“Then start paying attention.” Letho started from the basics of the basics — how to hold a sword.

The basics of swordsmanship were more boring than Roy had imagined. Most people got it wrong at the very first step — holding the hilt. The majority would hold the same spot using both hands, or their hands would stay close to each other. The correct way to hold the hilt was the opposite of that. The dominant hand should be holding the spot near the crossguard, while the other hand should be holding the other end of the hilt.

Whenever a sword was swung, the dominant hand would decide where to hit, as well as bear the sword’s weight, while the other hand would provide extra mobility. It worked on the principle of leverage. If the nondominant hand swung the hilt up, the blade would slash downward.

Roy understood it immediately, for he already knew some basics to begin with. “So I’ve been holding it wrong, but I feel comfortable enough. I killed a lot of nekkers in Smiack holding it like that.” The new way of holding it felt awkward for him. It would be hard to get used to.

Letho answered, “That would work against amateurs, but if you ran into pros or the more dangerous monsters, you would’ve been full of openings ready for them to exploit. Your technique and flexibility would’ve been a big disadvantage. You might be attacking them with all your might, but it wouldn’t hit as hard as you would want it to. Don’t forget about the sparring.”

Realization struck Roy as he recalled how he was rendered powerless in mere moments. “I see.”

“Keep on practicing, but this time, do it the right way.”

Roy obliged. He walked around the grounds, swinging the wooden blade, but it didn’t take long for him to get irked. He could swing the sword easily if he held the hilt with both hands on the same spot, but when he did it the traditional way, his hands — being in different places — stopped coordinating. The strength would sometimes go in opposite sides, causing the blade to slip out of Roy’s hands. If he couldn’t coordinate well and swung the blade the wrong way, Roy could end up hurting himself.

No wonder Letho wouldn’t let me practice with Gwyhyr.

“Holding a sword the right way is one the basics, but its importance can’t be underlined enough. If you don’t perfect it, you can’t master the more advanced techniques. Let me demonstrate. Look closely.” Letho didn’t involve any footwork. Instead, he lunged ahead and slashed downward, performing a simple slash and thrust. At the same time, he talked about the nitty gritty of hold strength and the key to the movements.

“Anything I need to know about this stance?”

“Not yet. You’ll be practicing the right way to hold a sword today. Depending on your proficiency, I’ll teach you basic footwork in a day or two. As for the basics of attacking, well, you’ll have to wait until next week for that.”

Roy nodded. After going through some training, Roy realized the way of the sword wasn’t as exciting as he used to think. Even the simplest movement had a set of theories behind it, with countless battles to prove its efficacy. Spending the whole afternoon practicing a single movement was boring Roy. Eventually, his excitement started withering away.

Letho wasn’t surprised to see that. “Regretting your choice? The training’s only going to get harder.”

“Not a chance.” Roy wouldn’t back down. “I’m not going to give up.” He went through the same boring routine once when he was practicing his marksmanship. Roy didn’t stop training, and sweat drenched his clothes.

When the sun had set, the sound of a bell rang through the temple. As if on cue, the priestesses stopped working and headed toward the canteen, chatting happily.

Roy and Letho followed the crowd into a hall that was beside the main one. It was big, bright, and filled with long tables that were situated between the dozens of pillars that held the hall up. Roy thought it could house two to three hundred people.

The tables were covered with blue-striped cloth, and candelabras sat atop them. Around them were pots filled with food, and the priestesses sat around the tables, looking serene. They were speaking in a hushed tone after entering the hall.

Roy was fiddling with the cutlery, looking uneasy among the priestesses. There was only one man around him — Letho. Everyone else were young ladies mostly in their teenage years, the best years of their lives. Their skin glowed healthily, though their clothes didn’t look pretty. Their voices were soothing and silvery. They were delightful to hear.

There weren’t many men in the hall, making him and Letho a rare sight. Some of the bolder girls would stare at them curiously, while some of the shier ones would look away, though they would steal some glances from time to time.

Most of them would only look at Letho for a moment before turning away, as if he were a monster who’d gobble them up if they looked at him wrong. However, they were interested in the boy beside him, so they kept staring at him. The boy in question was feeling quite uneasy from the stares he was getting.

Men have always been the ones who flirt first, but I think something’s wrong here. Be coy, ladies, Roy thought. He tried his best to ignore them by shifting his focus to the steaming pot before him. He could taste the scent of potatoes, turnips, carrots, and all sorts of veggies, as well as the aroma of chicken and pork.

When everyone had come in, the chef started distributing the bread to them. She took the bread out of her basket and put it on everyone’s plate. Then everyone would ladle the soup before them into their plates. Once they were done with the soup, the bread would be soft enough to eat.

After the chef was done giving the bread out to everyone, Nenneke, the administrator of the temple, put her hands together and started praying. Much to Roy’s astonishment, Art and Arri started imitating her. She took one week to whip these two into shape when the whole troupe had trouble with them? The head priestess is something.

Kantilla was right by the kids. She noticed Roy looking at them, so she grinned and waved at him. Roy nodded at her.

At the same time, the priestesses and the believers started praying. All sounds of talking died down, leaving only the recitals of holy prayers. Roy caught words like “merciful,” “kind,” and “magnanimous” during the grace. All of a sudden, he was caught up in the solemn atmosphere. Roy then looked around and realized he was standing out too much, so he stared down and started praying.

The prayers were done a while later, then everyone started digging in. Letho whispered, “Why’d you do that, boy? Planning on becoming a woman?”

“Don’t you think we stand out too much if we don’t pray along?” Roy chomped down on his potato, then the flavors of spice and meat burst in his mouth. Holy shit, this is good. 

“Melitele’s believers are mostly women. She’s the goddess of fertility and pregnancy. And she’s the guardian of women in labor.” He popped a piece of chicken in his mouth and gulped it down, bones and all. “Only women worship her. Well, in most cases anyway. Why’d you play along? And we don’t really need religion. Witchers don’t do that.”

“You’re the boss. I’ll stay away next time.” Roy wasn’t interested in gods anyway. Then he met the eyes of a young girl, and she quickly looked down. Roy’s lips twitched. “But I have some questions. They’re providing food and education for girls all over the world, so it costs a lot, doesn’t it? Where do they get the money then?”

“The priestesses charge their patients.”

“But most people are poor anyway. Won’t they lose money long term?”

“Yes, but just because the wealthy are in the minority doesn’t mean there aren’t a lot of them.” Letho finished the last piece of chicken and ladled some more soup into his plate. “Aside from the usual diseases, the priestesses also cure infertility and some rare diseases. They don’t work all the time, but a lot of nobles trust their skills. The priestesses take as much money as possible whenever they’re working for a wealthy client.”

He paused for a moment. “And the richer believers would tithe every year. This is the center of the religion after all. They have to keep it up at all costs.”

Roy finally realized why they could keep the temple open. Nenneke’s a rich woman.

“There might only be women here, but nobody would be stupid enough to attack them,” Letho continued. “Because the men’s wives, daughters, and sisters worship Melitele.”

Men control the world, while women control men. That quote suddenly popped into Roy’s head. Those guys can’t afford to disrespect Melitele when the whole family worships her. She’s one wise goddess.

***

Letho went to Nenneke’s lab after dinner to process the ingredients, while Roy told him he’d go out for a bit. The boy went to the forest nearby and spent two hours there. In the end, he managed to kill two rabbits, netting him ten EXP. After that, he went back to his room in the temple to meditate.