His brother didn’t waste much time, leading them to a wide space that was obviously designated for this sort of training. It was as wide as the house itself and was dug into the ground beneath it. There was a staircase that led down into the training grounds. It was essentially just a stone container, a few wooden weapons laid against the walls, but other than that there was nothing really. An unnatural light came from the engravings along the walls and ceiling, lighting up the room as if it were daylight. He appreciated the simplicity of the space but felt like he would come to hate it very quickly.

His brother moved towards the weapon rack, motioning for them to follow him. There were all kinds of weapons laid out among the racks, each seeming to be of high quality as well. Some were wooden, but there were also some that were metal and blunted. Despite being meant for training, even the wooden swords seemed to be covered in basic enchantments.

“I’m going to start with a basic evaluation. We’ll spar without any offensive skills at first, so that I can test out your fighting styles. Afterword, we can do a more normal spar. For now, I need to see where you stand, and don’t worry, I will hold back.”

His brother spoke while grabbing a broadsword from the weapon rack. Despite hearing the confidence in his brother’s tone, Mash thought that he might have a chance. His fighting style was unusual, and most people were tripped up and unprepared to deal with his it. Rather than using the weapons available, he formed his usual swordstaff but blunted the bladed ends. That essentially just made it a quarterstaff with a different weight distribution. He didn’t need to wait for his brother to call him out first, he knew that it was coming. Mash knew that his brother was going to give him a hard time and didn’t really care about having to go first. He found himself grinning, believing that Arthur would find it rather difficult to deal with him.

“Whenever you’re ready, Mash.”

Mash only nodded his head in response, charging at him immediately. His best chance would be right at the beginning of the fight, since Arthur didn’t know his style. He would be able to pick it up as the fight went, but for this opening attack, his brother was blind. On the other hand, Mash knew his brother’s style well. It was the one his father had taught him, the sword technique of the kingdom. Despite knowing the technique, he also knew that there were no glaring weaknesses for him to exploit. The technique had been refined for years, and it was considered one of the more superior sword styles. However, it was still just that, a sword style, and his staff would give him the reach advantage.

As he got within striking distance of his brother, he pivoted on his front foot, swinging his staff around in a wide arc. He didn’t need to face his brother to see his attacks or responses, so he had incorporated using his full range of motion into his technique. Afterall, mana territory made it so that he had no blind spots, everything within its range was visible to him. His brother easily blocked the blow, his sword sliding along the staff towards Mash. Arthur was doing the expected motion, attacking at the obvious blind spot that Mash had left open. Knowing that the attack was coming let him dodge it with an unnatural level of precision.

Mash didn’t try to block or parry the blow, instead he lowered his stance and angled his head toward the ground. Normally, a move like that would be amateurish, but many typical conventions didn’t apply to him. The blade passed over his head, and he stepped forward pivoting the other way now. He didn’t spin all the way around though, using the back end of his weapon to strike at his brother’s side.

His brother blocked the staff, drawing his blade far enough back to catch Mash’s swing. The two weapons thumped against one another, the wood not as satisfying as metal. Mash stepped away and turned around to face his brother. His last attack had left him facing away from Arthur, leaving his back open to an attack. However, Arthur already seemed to understand what Mash was doing, and didn’t take the obvious opening he laid out. His brother had always been calculating, and he figured that he would only have one opportunity to surprise him.

Well, that tactic hadn’t worked. Honestly, he didn’t expect it to land and was glad about the results it did produce. His brother was acting more cautious now, realizing that Mash fought unusually. Despite that, Mash’s continued efforts to try and land a strike only met with increasing levels of resistance. Arthur was adapting quickly, and before long Mash found himself struggling to block his brother’s attacks. Since this was training, Mash maintained his focus, constantly making the attack motions as if he was using his persist skill.

His brother’s first blow landed soon after, the broadside of his blade slapping against his back. It made a loud clapping sound, and he felt pain needle its way across his back. It would probably leave a mark, but at least the fight was over. That would’ve been a lethal blow in an actual fight. Mash took a deep breath, but it turned into a small cough when his brother gestured for him to continue.

“But I lost.”

“It doesn’t matter. If you plan on continuing to rush into stupid places, I’m going to make sure to iron out every little weakness you have.”

His brother’s expression didn’t change in the slightest as he spoke, but Mash found his mouth feeling surprisingly dry. Instead of trying to argue, he altered his priorities. He would land a single real hit on Arthur, doing that would be enough for him.

It didn’t happen, and Mash found himself preferring his left leg by the fights end. He would call it a fight, though his friends probably saw it as a beating. As soon as he got off the main ground, he took a seat and began using Inhuman Hibernation. It would be able to heal wounds like this quickly enough.

“He didn’t have to hit you so hard. Are you ok, do you want me to heal you?”

Luna had taken a seat behind him, glaring at his brother as Arthur called Luke up next. He didn’t know when his sister had arrived, but he refused her offer. While her healing would certainly feel good, it was overkill. He let his focus be drawn to the new fight, wincing whenever he saw Luke get hit.

His brother wasn’t hitting Luke as hard as he did earlier, but it still looked painful. Luke fared a little worse than he did, his hand-to-hand style was not very effective when he couldn’t boost its range and power with his transformation. Soon, the fight was over, and Luke started making his way over to Mash, already starting to heal his injuries.

The next up was Red, who formed a blade from blood as she prepared to fight. She said that she didn’t have the same level of control with other weapons. She also let her blood dress form, since it was a skill that would boost her natural fighting capabilities. Luke had done the same with his buffs, his brother having said that it wouldn’t matter. She formed a shield of blood in her other hand, letting Arthur know that she was ready.

“I am sorry. I should have recognized your fam-“

His brother was cutoff, Red charging at him and making a large overhead swing. Her sword was big. Bigger even than a great sword, to the point where it would be unreasonable to wield it normally. She could only wield it because it was made of blood, otherwise swinging a sword like that would be near impossible. She held out a little better than Mash himself, her techniques having a similar polish to his brother. Her family’s style was probably just as refined as the kingdom’s primary sword style. His brother used less force now though, only hitting her hard enough to break her armor, but otherwise only left her with small hits. He did the same for Jill, who went last.

She didn’t have a real style and told Arthur as much. Responding, he instructed her to use whatever she preferred, or even try something new if she wanted. She ultimately settled on a pair of daggers, much like the magical ones she still had on her. Also, she didn’t so much as spar as get some basic directions from his brother. Sparring with just her natural abilities hadn’t revealed much, though she seemed quick at picking up his pointers.

“Good, I will get you a book for some real dagger skills. But check with your guild mentor if that’s what you want to stick with.”

Arthur spoke without hesitation, his mind obviously elsewhere already. Jill looked like she wanted to protest, but that seemed to die on her lips. His brother usually left people without the opportunity to argue. It was made worse because he was normally correct, and he could never find a good reason to argue. With all the preliminary sparring out of the way, Arthur called everyone over again.

“Now, we will move onto more traditional sparring. You four can use whatever skills you want, and I-“

“No. Let’s fight for real. Come on, you can go easy on us later. But first, I want to see what you can do.”

Mash interrupted his brother. He wanted to show him what he capable of, and that wouldn’t happen so long as his brother continued to restrain himself. Arthur looked over the rest of the group, who all seemed ready for the challenge. Their determination had gotten through to Arthur, and he let out a small sigh in acceptance. They didn’t know if they could win but were eager to try. To truly test themselves.

“Fine. Everyone else move to the edges.”

He made his way to the opposite end of the stadium, while Luke went around buffing each of them. There was a big level difference here, but Arthur wasn’t over the level 100 barrier yet, and Mash believed that the four of them could manage against him.

Arthur was a frost sentinel and would probably have an ice creation skill of some kind. It should be like his wood creation skill, and he had an inkling of how to fight him. Jill would surprise attack him; her magic would be suited for an immediate assault. She had been reluctant to use her magic on his brother at first, but he reminded her of how little her attack did against the bandits. He doubted that it could do more than annoy Arthur, but even that would be useful. And on the off chance that it did do damage, they had Luna around for healing. That was probably the only reason his brother had accepted the challenge. Arthur started the fight by tossing a coin into the air for the starting signal. It was a bit old fashioned but was also reliable.

As soon as the coin hit the ground, they exploded into motion. Red launched needles of blood while running towards him. Jill launched her surprise attack, but it didn’t even bother Arthur. The space around his brother had warped, his clothes ruffling from the magic, but no damage was done. His brother stood there, before holding out his hand and uttering a single word. Mash could only barely make it out.

“Call.”

Arthur didn’t yell, but the word still carried to his ears. Materializing from the air, pulling water from the small amount of moisture around him, a sword of ice formed in his hand. It was long, and wide, easily bigger than his leg. Immediately, Mash felt his brother’s mana fill the room. No, it wasn’t his brother’s mana, it was the weapon’s mana. Slightly different from his brother, it thickly wrapped everything around Mash. He watched in awe and horror, as the ground and air around the blade were freezing.

“Flee!”

Priscilla’s warning got him to check over his own body, and he noticed frost forming on the surface of his own skin. The frost was forming around him quickly, he needed to do something to stop it. He looked back to Jill, if she could teleport them away, then they might be able to counterattack. He saw ice growing around her legs and knew that there was nowhere to run. Whatever his brother was doing, it covered the entire room. In the distance he could even see Amara standing behind a shield of some kind, though it too had frost growing along its surface. Red was already trapped, her blood having frozen quickly and trapping her. Luke was doing the best, but the effect got worse the closer he got to Arthur. Mash was ready to give up, but Priscilla sent him a message, stopping him from surrendering just yet.

“Let me control your body!”