NOVEL NEXT Chapter 8: Morgan of Valor's Hellish Training
This is my first attempt at writing a fight scene, so forgive me if it's not great.
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Keter gasped for breath as he dropped his sword and knelt on the ground.
"Get up and grab your sword. We're going again." Morgan said, not the least bit winded.
Keter ignores the pain and gets up, grabbing his wooden sword and returning to his textbook stance.
"So we'll go over this again." Morgan lightly kicked off the ground and swung her sword. Quickly getting past his guard, she struck him in the chest. "Your current swordplay is the definition of basic; there is no style, no personality to your swordplay, but your base techniques are damn near perfect." She jumped back as Keter's sword came crashing down.
Keter dashed at her and struck overhead, and as Morgan blocked it, he allowed the sword to slide down the shaft of her sword, aiming for her fingers. Morgan pushed her sword down and tilted her body backward, making the strike miss her entirely as her sword hit Keter's left forearm.
"And you wish to incorporate some of the sharpness of my style into your swordsmanship. You also said earlier that you wish to create a fast-passed battle style, holding only counterattacks but no solid defense." Morgan's sword crashes into Keter's side, knocking him back. Keter stumbles before he regains his balance, but not soon enough, as Morgan's sword smashes into his head, knocking him to the ground.
"So I will train you in the waking world until your body is about to give out, and then we will train in the dreamscape until I'm satisfied." Morgan smiles brightly and innocently says, "Oh, and we will start using real swords tomorrow."
"You're the devil." Keter groans as he holds his head.
Morgan winks at him and says, "Your favorite devil. Now get back up, pretty boy. We still have a long way to go."
--Three days later--
Keter was walking to the Main Hall with headphones in, listening to music. 'Thank God for Miracle. It's healing is so nice. Miracle was also the only reason Morgan could basically break him on a daily basis, but my point still stands.' As Keter walked through the big door, he saw only six others awakened. 'So it's that bad, huh.'
When Keter walked into the room, he couldn't help but notice that he couldn't feel anything for the other sleepers. It's like there was a void where those feelings should have been. He felt so distant from them, almost alien. 'With this flaw, I could never be a good leader even if I wanted to be. That's so ironic.' Keter chuckles lightly. Keter then sees a large, toweringly tall man walk onto the stage.
"Hello, sleepers; you may call me Professor Mars. I teach the shielding class. And today, I will be delivering your introduction speech." The now understood Professor Mars states. "There is Absolutely no useless Aspect in the world as long as you are creative enough. Even the seemingly most useless ability can turn the tides of a fight. And we here at Awakened Acadamy wish to help you realize your ability to the fullest extent so you can survive the horrors of the dream realm." The towering man looks at his watch for a second and then says,
"In about five minutes, you will all start to be pulled into a room with one of the counselors. They will help you configure your schedule and help set up their appointments if need be. So I will stop here and wish you all the best of luck." Professor Mars walks off the stage and into another room almost immediately after one of the other sleepers is called to another room.
Keter was the second-to-last one called. After walking to the counselor's room, he sat in the seat across from her.
"My name is Lux, and I'm the counselor at this academy. What class do you wish to take, Keter?" She asks calmly, looking down at her clipboard with Keter guessing has his file on it.
"Wilderness Survival, Rune Language, Composure, and Consoling Body Language." The counselor nods, writes down his answers, and then asks.
"Do you wish to share anything about your First Nightmare or Aspect? You will be rewarded for any information you give us, " she asks.
"No, but I do have a True Name." Keter revels, seeing no reason to hide it. 'Especially considering faith is more than likely my path to sovereignty.'
She quickly looks up in surprise and looks him in the eye, and Keter notices a faint glow in her eyes. "Say that again." She asks.
"I have a True Name," Keter says, guessing she has some sort of intent-based ability.
She looks at him in surprise as the glow in her eyes disappears. "Well then, please tell me your True Name."
"Holy Emperor," Keter says. 'So this is how they tested Nephis."
After leaving the room a little while later and getting his schedule, he gets ready for the grueling hell this is about to be. 'So I will train my Aspect and swordsmanship with Morgan in the afternoon. Before that are the two acting classes, then rune language, and finally wilderness survival.' Keter groans. 'This is going to be so much fun."