"In this spar, I will try one Martial Style after another. In case you don’t know what a Martial Style is, let me give you an explanation. Martial Arts have one or several different attacks, while a Martial Style encompasses the whole way you fight," William explained.
Gravis thought about it and nodded. Fighting against different styles would help him get used to various enemies. He had fought many beasts before, but he had never really fought a human who was an actual danger to him in a real fight. If Gravis didn’t have experience against humans, then that could spell his doom when he fought one.
William smiled. "Alright, I’ll start with the Flowing Crane Style." With that, William changed his sword’s hold so that his sword arm looked up like it was imitating a crane’s neck. His sword drooped down like it was mimicking the long beak of a crane. "You can start whenever you want."
Gravis looked at William’s stance and didn’t see any opening. William could reach and block every direction easily. Gravis was also sure that William had already tempered his muscles. If he hadn’t, then how could he have gotten his position inside the Martial Hall? So, overpowering also fell through.
Gravis decided to directly attack him with a slash. He charged at William while lifting his saber. When Gravis got close, though, he realized the best way to counter his attack would be a single stab forward. Gravis would not be able to complete his slash before the hypothetical thrust took his life.
CRRRSH!
Gravis rammed his feet into the ground to stop his charge. He was still about three meters away from William. Even though this seemed to be an excellent opportunity for William to attack, he didn’t take it, and instead, continued watching Gravis.
Gravis watched William’s stance again. Any kind of slashing was a no-go since a counter stab would arrive faster than a slash. Stabbing was also a no-go since the opponent probably out sped him. On top of that, sabers were not made for stabbing. Gravis felt like he was actually looking at a low-grade demonic beast crane.
’Then why not fight like I would fight a crane?’ Gravis thought to himself. In his mind, he pictured a crane. Three meters tall with a long slender neck and thin, fast legs with sharp claws. If he neared it, it would stab him with its beak, and if he attacked it from its side, it would stab its claws at him.
’Yet, there is one major difference between a crane and a human,’ Gravis concluded. Now, he had an attack plan.
Gravis ran at William and lowered himself to the ground while keeping his saber horizontally close to him. He reached William’s range, and William stabbed towards Gravis’ head. If Gravis couldn’t defend, William could stop the attack. He didn’t want to kill the young man.
CLANK!
Gravis lowered his head further, and he pushed the sword upwards with his saber. This had required perfect timing. Yet, due to his combat experience, Gravis had felt the perfect timing.
William grew shocked at the accurate block. One wrong move would have killed Gravis. Not everyone was ready to go all-in right at the start of a fight. Yet, it had worked.
Gravis quickly went closer and readied his saber for a slash. William suddenly lifted one of his legs for a kick, but what he saw next shocked him immensely. Gravis was not targeting his body with his slash, but the place where William’s leg would be. From an outsider’s perspective, it looked like William was kicking right into Gravis’ slash. ’NO!’ William screamed in his mind.
CLANK!
The blunt side of the saber hit William’s shin. His leg was not hurt too badly. It only spouted a slight red bruise, yet if Gravis had used the sharp side of his saber, the leg would have been severed. Both of them jumped back.
"How... How is this possible?" asked the young man to the side to no one in particular. "This is one of our highest fighting styles. How can it lose to someone without any martial training?" All the thoughts in the young man’s head were swirling around. It was incredibly difficult for him to form a coherent sentence.
Then, the young man shook his head. ’It was luck!’ he shouted to himself in his mind.
"Ahahaha!" everyone heard a lough laugh from Jeros. "You lost only after a single exchange!" Jeros shouted while continuously hitting the floor in hilarity. "Fuck, this is so good."
William couldn’t bother with Jeros right now. "How did you know I would use a kick?" he asked Gravis, intense interest showing in his eyes. He had intended to show Gravis the mistakes in his fighting style, but William now realized that he could maybe use Gravis to further his own Martial Arts and Styles.
Gravis scratched the back of his neck. "You looked like a crane when you fought, so I thought about how I would fight a crane. I realized that a crane has his beak and his claws as a weapon. Yet, the difference between a human and a crane is that humans do not have claws on their feet. It was kind of obvious that you would try to kick me."
William’s eyes widened. This was definitely not obvious! The kick was the secret weapon of the Martial Style, and it always caught people by surprise. When people with weapons fought, they mainly focused on the weapons and were not prepared for such an attack.
"Interesting," William muttered. "Would you mind going for another round, while I use a different technique?" He asked.
Gravis shrugged his shoulders. "I want an additional free Martial Art," he simply said.
"Sure!" William agreed without hesitation. Who wouldn’t accept this trade? William would have to pay Gravis’ expenses, out of his own pocket, but gold could be found anywhere. Yet, an opponent that helped to better his fighting style was rare.
William changed his stance. He grabbed his sword with both hands and held it in front of him. His muscles swelled, and he looked like a tiger ready to strike. For some reason, Gravis had immediately seen a tiger-image when William changed his stance. ’So, it’s a tiger now?’ Gravis smirked inside.
Gravis had the most experience fighting big cats. The lion and the tiger popped into his mind. This would be easy.
This time, William was the aggressor and charged at Gravis with unbelievable speed. Gravis felt like he was fighting the tiger from Wilderness Town again. William lifted his sword and chopped down, imitating a bite coming from a tiger.
Gravis also ran forward and slid on the ground again, just like when he fought the lion in the last practical test. He timed it just perfectly and wasn’t hit by the chop. Without losing his cool, Gravis simply lifted his saber to his left side.
SHINK!
William’s right knee had immediately moved to the left, imitating a claw-strike from a tiger. If that had hit Gravis, he would fly for several meters since all of William’s weight was behind that knee strike. Yet, William had only hit the sharp side of the saber, which drew blood. Gravis had not held the saber in place, and it flew away. If he had actually resisted with his power, William’s knee would have left his body.
Gravis couldn’t do what he just did, against a tiger. Ducking under its bite would leave him open to a claw strike, and those were dangerous. Yet, humans didn’t have claws.
The young man’s eyes widened again, and his thoughts transformed into static.
"Ahahaha! 2:0," Jeros shouted from the side. "Man, you can’t even put up a defense against him. You always lose in one exchange. I’m so happy to see that," he continued slamming the ground in hilarity.
William still couldn’t bother with Jeros. He looked down and thought hard. "Is it the same reason again?" he asked Gravis.
Gravis simply nodded, and William continued thinking. His thoughts swirled around in his head, and he was trying to understand the reason why his Martial Styles didn’t work against Gravis.
"Actually," William heard Gravis say and looked up. "I have a question," Gravis stated.
William nodded for Gravis to continue.
"Why are you fighting like a beast, even though you do not have the beast’s weapon?" Gravis asked. "You don’t fight like a human. You imitate beasts and their strengths, without having their strengths. Yet, you don’t make use of your strengths as a human. You don’t use the flexibility of our upper body. You don’t make use of our ability to crouch very low. This really confuses me," Gravis spoke his thoughts.
Suddenly, William felt a light go up in his head. He was fighting like a beast without having the Beast’s weapons. This was the reason why it was so easy for Gravis to counter him. Yet, without extensive fighting experience against beasts, this would be impossible. "Maybe, you’re right." William sighed and looked at the sundown on the horizon. It was already evening. "What have I been doing all my life?" William asked himself.