"Hey Silva, wake up."

*groan*

'Who is waking me up so early in the morning. There's only a little presence of sunlight yet.'

I opened my eyes I can barely see the pretty-boy face of Yukio in this darkness. It seems like he didn't notice I was already awake so he shook me hard.

"Can no one in this place wake up someone normally" I complain disgruntledly.

"Ah, you're awake Silva. Come let's spar." Yukio left those words before running out of the room. He sure is excited early in the morning.

I didn't wear the jacket today and went on with only the tunic underneath. Based on Yukio's words, I'll be moving and a lot today. I'm intrigued by how good Yukio's swordsmanship is. It would also be good to measure the strength of people in this world.

"It looks like no one is awake yet."

I could still hear the loud snore of old man Jo from here and Shimomura is nowhere to be seen so I assume she is in her room sleeping.

Yukio was waiting outside wearing simple clothes, unlike the heavily armored attire he wore yesterday. He may have a pretty boy face but his physical build is much better than the most mages I saw at the Adventurer's Guild.

'Well, if you could throw fireballs from far away, it's uninspiring to train your body for close combat.'

Yukio is a special case though. Based on what he shared yesterday, he is obsessed with sword because he always wanted to be like King Shlomo who was known to use sword and magic together in perfection.

Glancing over Yukio's, I could see he has a long sword strapped on his back. Noticing my gaze, he took it from its sheath and showed it to me.

"Look at this bad boy. I bought it with all my savings and every penny was worth it. This has been my partner for a long time."

I could see the hilt of the sword all battered up, indicating he has been using it religiously. One problem though, I could also see it being poorly maintained because there were deep nicks on the edges of the blade and there was rust on some parts of it.

'I can tell him about the condition of his sword but it would dampen up his spirits. Maybe I'll do it another time.'

"So where do we go?" I said before he talks nonstop again.

"There's a place I always go to when I train with my partner. That would be a perfect place for a friendly fight. Just follow me."

Yukio went ahead and ran. I trailed behind until we reached outside of the village.

We arrived in an open field in the middle of the forest where few animals were roaming around, some of which looks very unfamiliar. There even was an eight-legged creature with multiple eyes and a hairy body. The sheer size of it made me wonder if going here was a good choice but I immediately dismissed the thought when not a single creature attacked us.

"This is the place. It's a nice environment for training, right?" Yukio turns to wait for my reply.

"It's decent for a self-made training ground," I said honestly.

There were dummies made out of wood and some broken ones on the ground. I went closer to inspect the dummies that were still standing.

'These are beaten up poorly. Based on the damages, Yukio seems to have just hit it randomly'

"Silva, grab this wooden sword. You can warm-up first if you want." Yukio threw me the wooden sword. It is unexpectedly well crafted for one.

I swung it a few times to get used to the weight. I got no problems with it besides it being longer than what I'm used to.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Yukio was swinging his sword with great force. He may not have any technique but there definitely some power with it.

After a few more swings...

"You good to go, Silva?" Yukio grabbed the extra wooden sword laying on the side.

"Yeah" I hold the sword with both of my hands and fix myself in a battle stance.

I was never was considered to be good in battles during my time in the House Beleth back in my world. If there was a power ranking among the demons, I'll probably be placed somewhere on the bottom. I can't even remember the last time I won a duel against anyone. It was a miracle that I become the Emperor somehow.

'If it wasn't for sister A'rta, I won't have reached far in my life back there. Too bad, I haven't got any chance to say goodbye to her.'

Anyway, back to the current situation. Now, I am going up against Yukio in an old fashioned duel in the world of magic.

The sun has risen enough for the duel to start. We were a few meters apart waiting for someone to move first. However, it didn't take long before someone moved first.

Yukio rushed into me while I stood perfectly still anticipating his movements. With momentum, he swung his sword towards my left shoulder.

*bam*

I blocked his strike with ease. There's definitely some power with that strike as I could feel my arm went a little bit numb.

'But something is strange.'

Yukio carries on with his attacks. He targeted different parts of my body every time but not a single one has connected yet. I deflected and dodge every strike Yukio attempted.

Amid the assault, I prepared for my counter-attack. There were a lot of opportunities I could strike back. However, It was only when he lost his balance did I decide to move.

When I was about to strike his head, I noticed he doesn't have any plan to avoid or party my attack. If I went ahead and smack him on his head, it would result in major injury due to the fragile characteristics of Humas. So I stopped it halfway and continued deflecting his attacks.

During that quick sequence, Yukio was ignorant over the fact that the duel almost ended. It's like he never saw my move in the first place. He was too focused on connecting his attacks.

Our confrontation went on for a minute before he retreated to a safe distance.

"You're pretty good," Yukio said while catching up with his breath.

'Nononono. There's definitely something strange. His attacks were too slow and I mean TOO SLOW. I could see his sword miles away before it can even get close to me while he never saw mine almost ended him.'

"Now I'm going to get serious." The atmosphere around Yukio begins to change.

He charged with another barrage of slashes This time, I could see his reaction time and the speed of his slashes have improved. The hits I deflected were also getting heavier but not something noteworthy.

Although even with the changes, it was still the same outcome. I counted the times Yukio was able to swing his weapon. In five minutes of only defending, I was able to count 143 strikes. This already includes the times he missed me completely.

I was left clean without any signs of the battle that just occurred. Meanwhile, Yukio was busy lying down and gasping for air. From what I saw, not only does he lack any kind of technique but also his stamina is laughable for someone who looks great physically. It was like fighting a child that just got a sword as a gift from his parents and immediately plays with it. I can't believe how weak he was so I confirmed it myself.

"Yukio, you're not that good are you?"

"Ouch! That really hurts, Silva. I'm already considered to be one of the best in this village. It's just that you're too strong Silva." Yukio said with a heavy breath.

I took his hand and helped a disgruntled Yukio stand up on his feet. Compared to my calm state, he was sweating profusely.

'Now that brings a new perspective. If what he said is true then I doubt the average skill level of swordsmen in this world. It's unbelievable how weak they are, yet it makes a lot of sense somehow.'

"I heard you were talented with magic, why did won't you pursue it?"

"Am I really that bad?" Yukio seems to have misunderstood me questioning his sword skills.

I don't want to drop the hammer on someone I just met yesterday but at the same time, if he doesn't know how bad he is, then he will never be good.

Because I was considered as one of the weakest demons, my standard of strength is pretty low but damn, he is well below my standard.

I ended up nodding, to tell the truth.

Yukio was disheartened for a moment but with his personality, he quickly recovered and eagerly said, "Teach me, Master."

"?"

I was caught surprised by the sudden action and declaration of Yukio addressing me as a Master. He knelt directly on the ground and bowed down in front of me.

'That escalated quickly.'

I could feel the sincerity of his words. Nonetheless, I will feel bad if I accepted his request. I don't deserve to teach anyone how to fight. But if I'm going to accompany them to the academy, it's not a bad idea to teach a thing or two. It's better to have a strong companion when I barely know anyone.

"I could teach you a few things but don't treat me like your master or teacher. I hate that."

"Thank you very much, Silva."

Now that the duel was over, I take the sword again and went on with my training. Ironically, I was never the type of person to initiate any kind of physical training. However, I need to change this attitude if I want to survive.

Even if the swordsmanship in this world is ludicrous, I should not take any chances. I don't know if Yukio's performance was a good standard to set also, people tend to fight with magic here.

'I should familiarize myself with magic or my swordsmanship would be useless.'

Shimomura would be the best person to tell me where to start with magic but currently, she isn't here. I guess Yukio would suffice.

"Hey, Yukio. How do you train with your magic?" I asked while continuing to do some sword exercise.

"Hm? Oh, you need to start with feeling the elements around you."

"How do you do that exactly?"

"That's simple. First, you need to close your eyes and meditate."

I stopped with my sword training and tried to do what Yukio was saying.

"Next, you should be able to sense the Spirits inside you."

I put myself in a meditative state of deep thought but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't discern any type of unusual feeling.

"So, you feel anything?"

"No."

"It should feel like Boom~Plah~ Kapow~ and a little bit of Whoosh~"

"Are you serious?" I doubted his words.

"Of course. That's how I connected with my Spirits."

'That doesn't help me at all... It's hopeless to learn from him.'

I gave up and conclude that when it comes to magic, Shimomura is the only one dependable.

I stood up to fix myself because the sun is almost directly above us. Yukio did the same and grabbed the long sword he brought but left the wooden ones we have used in our duel.

"You're going to leave them?" I pointed to the well crafted wooden swords.

"Those are just made by Jo-san for practice so practically, they are trash. Besides no one wants them anyway."

"So you won't mind if I take one?

"No problem at all."

Having permission, I took one of them. We then left after since it was almost time for lunch.