Master Of None

Chapter 1159 – 1159. The Swap

Walker was not as experienced when it came to battle but she was learning faster than before. She could see how Walker was moving to dodge and change his options. She had been standing in one place and singing, yet, as she saw Walker moving she realized that she was an easy target. All someone would need to do was get to her and everything going on would end. If Walker wanted, he could use magic or just throw one of his swords at her to end the entire battle. 

She couldn't help but try and copy the way he moved to always see him and observe the area. Walker had not caught on that Alice had been doing this. It was impressive to watch her learn though, the high priest was feeling more and more proud as this sparring went on. Never had he imagined that his adopted daughter would be able to hold her own against anyone or anything. He had always believed she would have to hide away within a city and be protected by the walls. Now he could rest easy when she decided to head in to the world. 

The song of swords was only a partial verse that came from the full song she had made. She lacked the ability to use it the way she envisioned because of her lack of mana. As much as she wanted to boost her mana she could not because that required improving her level which was slow. She could get gear that improved mana storage but it would make her heavier or would be expensive. Not that she lacked gold, but it was not something she wanted to spend it all on. She made sure not to let Walker know though, she knew too well that he might go out of his way to get her something. 

Walker spun around to counter one of the blades that Alice had tried to be sneaky with. She thought that the light blade could come around from behind him and deal a decisive blow. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Walker was paying attention to the number he slashed apart and how they reformed. Since Alice had started with three light blades he knew that there would be a third coming from any angle. He was also making sure he paid attention to his elemental manipulation skill which could sense the light elemental mana behind him. 

In the next moment that Walker tried to slash down, he noticed that the song had changed. There were pauses added in making the swords change speed and attack patterns. Alice had learned to slow and speed her song while watching Walker. She noticed that his dance was not to a perfect rhythm and that he was moving in different ways depending on how the sparring match progressed. 

The first light blade made Walker feel as if he could easily slash it multiple times, Yet the next two were faster than he would expect from the way the battle had been going. Walker cursed that Alice was discovering these things while also loving the fact that he was also improving. His sense for battle was increasing constantly and he was able to discover where his flaws were. 

There would have been no situation up until this point where Walker would have been able to safely realize he had small flaws in his movement. He might have had great skills but they were nothing if he did not understand and use them properly. The dance of seasons was a perfect example. He knew the movements and how the different acts worked with the specific movements. But he had not trained his body to move through those moves fluidly with different weapons. This was something that came with time and training. 

Therefore, the best skill at the moment was dual stance since it helped him learn. But he couldn't just use swords in the future. He needed to change things up and try weapons he didn't use often or at all. That was why when the twin blitz sword disappeared from his hands and Walker dove forward, Alice wasn't sure what was going on.

In the next moment, two basic steel daggers that Walker had asked the wandering blacksmith to make in case he needed them. This was the time to test them out and try to learn something new. 

The shorter blades were more or less foreign to Walker. But he knew that he could move around faster since he was not carrying as much weight. This gave him the agility advantage over the changing speeds of the light swords. But where it truly started to show Walker's strength was when he dodged and used both of the daggers to block. He was copying his actions as he did with the swords, yet, when he used the daggers he could deliver quick decisive blows breaking the light swords faster than before. 

These new movements threw Alice off since she was not expecting the swap. It also threw off her focus when it came to recreating the light blades, which she was now remaking more than before. It also caused Alice's mana to drain faster and her to become frustrated. This was the chance that Walker took to get in closer and closer until Alice was right in front of him. 

The sudden close combat made Alice freeze up. She had never needed close combat and had yet to think of it since she would have had someone shielding her. Luckily, it was Walker that was sparring with her, so in the blink of an eye, his daggers disappeared and his hand reached out for hers. If this was anyone else they would have remained completely stunned and frozen. But this was Alice. She grabbed Walker's hand and immediately gave him a stern look, "Next time." She would win the next time they spared. She would make sure of it.

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