Chapter 60: Spar (3): A Flicker of a Veil!
Chapter 60
"Tag me in!" Jace called out as he walked forward, and Kael clapped hands with him.
"Now it’s my turn. Let’s see if you have the water veil, and for this lesson, I will be your teacher."
"At least give me a break or something." Zen groaned as he was currently on the ground, huffing and panting, sweat cascading down his face while he stared at Jace approaching.
His mouth was stained with blood, his head slightly bleeding from being whacked by Kael’s shield, and his entire body throbbed with pain as if his bones had been rattled from the inside.
"No rest for a lazy man." Jace grinned as he walked up to the weapons’ rack and picked a wooden katana sword.
Zen just sighed and pushed himself up while holding his own sword tighter.
"What shall I do, sensei?" Zen asked as he glared at Jace, who shook his head.
"Don’t say those words from outside again. We don’t know who is who." Jace whispered, but strangely enough, Zen still heard every word clearly.
"Right." Zen mumbled beneath his breath.
"Now. For the water veil, it’s all about calmness and serenity." Jace said as he lifted his sword up.
"Calmness and serenity?" Zen asked with a raised brow.
"Yes. When I was battling my own share of beasts in the dungeon, I felt so rageful that I could rip them to shreds, but I was still getting battered left and right. The moment I almost lost consciousness, my body, heart, and mind calmed down.
I was able to see and think clearly. The liquid in my body flowed seamlessly, and that’s when my Veil sparked out as I used it to drown the goblins in front of me. So our exercise now is for you to attack and defend while keeping calm." Jace smiled as a wave of water swirled around his wooden sword, glistening like liquid glass under the training room’s dim lights.
"Keep calm. Got it." Zen sighed, and without warning, Jace had already moved.
Droplets of water dripped down his sword behind him as he kept his eyes on Zen, his gaze stern but composed.
A few seconds later, he was in front of Zen as he swung his sword from down below. A small slash of water shot towards Zen’s jaw.
"Keep calm and defend." Zen mumbled as he quickly jumped back, avoiding the slash that struck the ceiling above them with a wet hiss that carved a shallow mark across the stone.
Immediately after landing, he didn’t waste any more time as he blitzed towards Jace with full speed. His sword came hacking from the side, but as if sensing it, Jace had already moved, gliding through the air with a graceful spin that made him look almost untouchable.
This caused Zen to stumble forward a bit, but he immediately caught himself and quickly spun around with his sword mid-swing.
CLANG!
A dull clang rang out as the two swords clashed against each other. None of them overpowered the other as they stared at each other fiercely, eyes locked like predators in a deadlock.
"The key is to control your breathing." Jace said as he let go of his sword, causing Zen’s weapon to fly towards his face unobstructed.
SWOOSH!
The sword sliced through the air as Jace had already ducked down, swiftly grabbing his falling sword and then thrusting it with all his strength.
A wave of water shot out and slammed into Zen with massive force, sending his body hurling back, specks of blood spraying out of his mouth like crimson mist.
He quickly flipped mid-air and landed softly, though he stumbled to his feet due to exhaustion. His breath was now ragged and labored, his chest heaving as though he had run for miles.
’Damn it! That hurt. And I just regained consciousness after two weeks, only to be forced into another beatdown?’ Zen thought in anger. His knuckles whitened as he gripped his sword tighter, and before he could think of doing anything...
SPLASH!
The sound of liquid was heard rushing his way, and Zen quickly glanced up to see a wheel of water spinning toward him with dangerous speed.
"Shit!" Zen cursed beneath his breath as he quickly rolled aside, avoiding the wheel, which crashed into the wall. The impact splattered loudly but didn’t dent the fortified stone in the slightest, only leaving wet streaks that dripped slowly down.
Zen shot up, trying to stand, when...
WACK!
Something solid struck him hard on the shoulder. His eyes widened from the sting of impact as his knees buckled under him, slamming into the ground with force.
"Tch! Too slow." Jace commented calmly, lowering his blade as if he had expected that exact outcome.
"See what I was saying?" Kael also added from the sidelines, arms crossed with a smug expression.
"Why does it look like you’re holding back?" Aria asked from the side, narrowing her eyes at Jace’s movements.
"Don’t worry. Go all out, I’m here to heal you." Rina shouted encouragingly, though Zen only grit his teeth harder.
’Damn it! All of you shut your damn mouths! How am I supposed to go all out when I don’t even know what my veil is? I’m at a disadvantage here because of Jace’s water veil. Shit!’ Zen roared internally, his glare tightening on the smug grin spread across Jace’s face.
"That does it." Zen declared with fire in his voice. He dashed forward with such immense speed that, in less than a second, he was right in front of Jace.
His sword was already cutting through the air, yet Jace managed to block effortlessly with calm precision.
Before Jace could retaliate, Zen twirled his hand with sharp instinct, forcing Jace’s sword upward and out of line. In the same motion, Zen thrust his blade forward with blistering speed, aiming straight for Jace’s chest.
"You’ve lost your cool. To the outside, it would seem like I’m at the losing end, but in this case..." Jace muttered softly, eyes locked on Zen’s movements.
At the last second, Jace took four light steps back, fluid and measured, avoiding the thrust entirely and forcing Zen to stumble forward off-balance.
"I will win because I kept my cool." Jace completed his words as water suddenly roared around his wooden blade, forming a torrent that shimmered under the training room lights. His grin widened.
’Damn it! Why am I so unlucky? I managed to awaken an essence unexpectedly, and yet I can’t even use it? Why?! Why is life so unfair to me?! Come on, essence, work!’ Zen screamed inwardly, his heart pounding.
And then, as if answering his desperate call, his fingers briefly glowed obsidian, faintly pulsating with raw energy.
At that exact moment, the water surrounding Jace’s sword flickered in and out, stuttering like a broken light switch. Jace froze for a second, brows raising in mild confusion.
But the glow vanished as quickly as it came, the flicker subsiding until all seemed normal again. Jace dismissed it with a shrug.
"Honestly, there’s no need to keep torturing you." Jace finally said, letting the water dissipate from his blade with a sigh. "Let’s go get some rest. We can figure out how to get your essence veil to awaken properly another time."
"Yeah, I think that’s what we should do, because I’m getting bored already." Aria yawned, stretching lazily as Jace put the weapons back on the rack.
"Come on, don’t look so disheartened." Kael said as he nudged Zen’s shoulder playfully while they all began walking out together. "At least you know you have a veil. That alone means something. Sooner or later, it’s bound to activate. Just be calm."
’Yeah... I hope it does soon.’ Zen thought with a weary sigh as the group fully exited the room. They made their way toward Zen’s quarters, planning to discuss their next steps.
None of them realized that the faint, fleeting flicker of obsidian light had already stirred a storm within Zen’s life—one that was only beginning to awaken.