Dorian lifted his hands over his eyes as the afternoon sun shined brightly in the sky. Not only was it nearly unbearably bright for Dorian’s tastes, it was hot and humid. Looking around, he could see everyone else must have been having similar thoughts, as many of them were already sweating profusely.
Meredith looked at a clipboard with a single piece of paper on it. “Alright, let’s get these mock fights started shall we? I know it’s unbearably hot right now, but you need to be able to perform in the harshest of weather conditions.”
A few students nodded as Meredith continued. “Alright, so for the mock fight, you’ll be fighting me. However, this won’t be just a regular fight. You’ll be exclusively using the techniques I taught to you during your combat drills. How well you’re able to utilize and perform those techniques will determine your grade. A failing grade means you will be required to spend an extra hour every day training and perfecting those techniques on top of your other responsibilities.”
After a brief pause, Meredith continued. “Okay, first up is Farnell Hughes.”
Farnell let out a quiet sigh, nervous and unsure about being the first one to fight Meredith. As he grabbed the wooden pole, Meredith cleared her throat. “Farnell, before we begin, just relax and concentrate. I’m not here hoping that you fail. Just remember everything you’ve been taught and let your body take care of the rest.”
Farnell nodded and visibly tried to relax his muscles. Meredith grabbed her wooden daggers. “During this fight, you are not bound to use only those techniques if you feel another technique is required. However, if you fail to use them or don’t execute them properly when you do, that will cause the failing grade. Understand?”
Farnell nodded. “I understand.”
After a few seconds, Meredith took a defensive stance. “Begin!”
Farnell charged forward, making a wide swing to the right to force Meredith to parry. As planned, she did and launched an attack of her own, a stab towards the left side of Farnell’s stomach.
Farnell, thankful that he had predicted correctly what Meredith would do, blocked the attack with the other side of the pole. Quickly making sure his feet were firmly planted on the ground, Farnell launched a flurry of attacks, almost all of which were the taught techniques. As each attack was parried, Farnell was starting to smile. It’s just like Dorian said, my muscles, after so much training, feels like they’re moving on their own!
After another parry, Meredith stepped back to cause some separation between them. “That’s it!” Farnell lowered his arms as his arms began to feel a bit tired.
Meredith smiled. “Congrats Farnell! You’ve passed with flying colors! If I may be blunt, I had thought you were the one who was going to struggle the most, yet you surpassed even my highest expectations for you. Good job and keep it up!”
“Thank you, Instructor.”
Farnell stepped back to his classmates as Meredith picked up her clipboard again. “Ethan Price, you’re next.”
“Yes Instructor.”
Ethan walked up and grabbed the single short sword and immediately took an offensive position. Dorian looked on, his forehead furrowed. If what Meredith said is true…then most of us here are here as some sort of experiment. Yet, it’s clear that Ethan is already well trained. If they truly wanted someone who doesn’t need to be broken down before they could build them up, does this mean he already has the qualities they like? If not…why is he here?
Meredith got into a defensive stance before shouting, “Begin!”
Ethan took three large steps forward before swinging the sword from the left. Much to his surprise, Meredith easily dodged the attack, causing him to stumble. Rather than attack, Meredith stood her ground, her daggers raised to block any attack.
Ethan again swung the sword, and again Meredith dodged. Already becoming frustrated, Ethan began to swing in quick succession, with each swing being dodged by Meredith. After around thirty seconds, Ethan abandoned the taught techniques and tried to fight with his own style.
Meredith finally blocked an attack but immediately stepped back. “That’s enough!”
Ethan gritted his teeth and stared at Meredith. “Why did you only dodge instructor?! Were you too afraid to face me?!”
Ignoring his question, Meredith sighed. “Ethan, your attacks are way to slow and predictable. Even if I hadn’t known the technique you would have favored, I would have been able to easily dodge every attack. However, this is to be expected considering your background.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your cousin Rick was the same way as you were both taught by the same person. However, unlike you, he knew he had to adapt and change from the very beginning. You also need to adapt and change how you fight. If not…your life will end on the battlefield much quicker than you would like.”
Ethan let out a big sigh and set the sword down on the table. “So that means I failed?”
“Yes, you did. Spend the extra time you’ll be required training to speed up your attacks and to not telegraph them to your opponent. If you need help in that regard, I’m willing to help.”
Ethan nodded and began to walk back, but stopped as Meredith began to speak again. “Also, show an attitude like that again and not only will it be an automatic failure but also an added class about how one should act in the military. Am I understood?”
Ethan nodded. “Yes Instructor.”
“Good.” Without looking at her clipboard, Meredith called out Olive Richardson next. Doran watched as Olive calmly walked over and grabbed the sword and shield. She didn’t take a stance as she just stared at Meredith. Meredith as well didn’t take a position before starting the match.
Olive, unlike Farnell and Ethan, didn’t attack first. Instead, she still stayed where she was, as well as Meredith. After several seconds, most of the rest of the class began to murmur and talk amongst themselves. However, Olive quickly dashed forward, breaking the stare down with Meredith and attacked. Meredith blocked the attack and countered with one of her own, only to be easily blocked by the shield. Olive though was more selective in he strikes, not trying to overpower Meredith by sheer force but by trying to find her weak points.
However, Olive was never able to break Meredith’s guard. When Meredith called the fight, Olive looked visibly upset. Meredith stared at Olive. “Olive…were you honestly thinking you could try to beat me in the fight?”
Olive slowly nodded. “Yeah…I did.”
Meredith sighed. “I know why you want to get as strong as quickly as you can, but you have to take it in steps. Going from almost no combat experience to trying to defeat a special ops combatant is basically impossible to do. While you did pass as you did execute the techniques well, be calm and patient. You’ll get stronger as you continue to train.”
Olive was silent as she set the shield and sword down and returned back to the rest of the class. Meredith looked at the group and cleared her throat. “Dorian Scott. You’re next.” 424Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX5lcn5jAh6
