¹
Darkness everywhere....
Pure darkness, a void where nothing existed. Amidst of which was just one entity floating peacefully, devoid of any thoughts. If one were to see it like that, they would assume that it's lifeless.
Certain voices echoing in his head, voices of ocean waves, heavy rain.
"Papa, bring me gifts when you return" A voice of a little girl.
"Stay safe in your journey, dear." A young woman's voice.
Suddenly, a loud scream was heard, an image of someone extending his hand, "Edwaaaard!!!"
The next thing he sensed was someone lying on a bed.
Edward's senses jolted awake. He was alone, scared, in panic.
"Where am I? What the hell is this place? Robert? Someone help!"
Suddenly he left a strong pull.
"Wake up! Or I will throw you out of the window!" A sharp loud voice pierced his head, forcing him to jolt awake.
"A dream?"
"Oh... it's just you... Let me sleep in peace." Edward said, noticing that Robert was standing nearby, going back to bed.
Suddenly, he left a sharp cut on his leg. "If you sleep again the next attack will be on your neck."
"Okaaaay…" Edward quickly stood up without complaining.
It was still some time or sunrise, thus everything was dark. It was peaceful, the sound of birds chirping, they could feel the fresh cold breeze from the open window.
It was quite similar to what Edward used to experience when he was a sailor.
"Hey Robert? I had a dream... It felt as if I had two bodies and both were trying to pull me over." Edward asked with a solemn expression.
"That's... actually good news, it was just your old body trying to pull you back. You are still alive there, back in your world... Just in a suspended state, like a coma. If they have something to keep you alive, you can easily go back. For now, get prepared and meet me in the general training ground." Robert quickly gave the directions and went away.
²
Both Edward and Robert were standing on an open field, facing each other. The sun had just risen, making the whole sky look a bit orange. Edward was wearing basic grey armor on the top of his dress, holding a normal metal sword in his hand. While Robert, wearing a white shirt, without any protection, with just a wooden sword stood on the opposite side of him, with a faint smile.
Winds were blowing really fast. Chloe was standing at a distance, quietly observing both of them.
"Okay so the first lesson, which I taught you yesterday is, 'early stance'. Imagine yourself being surprise attacked as a beginner, and you are unprepared for it. This is the best position to give you an advantage to start most of the attacks. This position will allow you to perform a lot of basic attacks and dodges. Also, it is the first thing which is taught to kids before anything else."
Robert continued after a pause, "So, if I am not able to draw my weapon in time, I will be killed before I am even given an opportunity to attack. That's how unfair a battle truly is. Just like what happened to you yesterday, you lost balance, so do it a few times."
Robert passed Edward his wooden sword as he spoke, "Lesser the time gap, more the benefit. Moving on to the next lesson, basic swings. Just like yesterday. Try to make a horizontal slash, then a diagonal slash from bottom to top then a vertical slash. Make slashes for how you are comfortable, make sure you block the opponent's attacks. Make the slashes to make your opponent vulnerable… Try fighting me."
"What does he think of me? I am no prodigy, I don't even understand most of what he is saying." Edward thought to himself.
He followed his guidelines, trying to attack Robert with random slashes, which he kept evading his attacks without any support. It was just a normal training lesson, but Robert took it seriously and ordered it to keep going until he felt satisfied with the results. Soon, those random attacks turned into pattern based attacks.
It took an hour or so, but it was faster than expected. Edward expected that it would take him at least a few days to learn basic swinging as he had no experience. Chloe kept giving tips in between to help him adapt faster.
"Muscle memory..." Robert intervened, noticing that Edward was confused.
"Huh?"
"You don't have experience but Arthur had it. You are currently using his body. I had a theory that you might be able to learn everything faster with help of Arthur's proficiency in sword training. What happened now just confirms it. Your luck is quite good." Robert appreciated it.
Edward wasn't even given time to celebrate or even time to think.
"We fight battles, until you hit me once. The moment you hit me, today's session is over." He commanded seriously, as he picked up his sword back. He was going to use a wooden sword and Edward was going to use a real one.
"I am ready for that." Edward didn't make any comments on this, he clearly knew that he was way out of Robert's league and won't be able to deliver even a single hit, even if they trained for days.
Clash! Clash! Clash!
It took just three clashes and Edward was hit on the neck, throwing him far away. It was a blunt wooden sword, so Edward suffered near zero damage.
"Try analysing Robert's moves instead of making random clashes, try blocking him." Chloe commented.
"Thanks for the suggestion..." Edward groaned, trying to stand up with the support of his sword. Even though his body's current defences were too strong. His pain tolerance was garbage shit.
"Again!" He shouted.
He was hit on the stomach.
"Again!!"
A hit on the head and he fell down, immediately going almost unconscious.
"Sigh... Robert can't you go easy on him?" Chloe asked, with a holeless sigh...
"Stand up, we try it again!" Robert completely ignored her existence.
Before Edward could get up, Chloe landed a devastating punch on Robert's stomach. He immediately let out a pained grunt and flinched. Holding the attacked area, reacting to the pain, tear drops forming in the eye. The attack had just barely missed his family jewels.
"Next time you ignore me, you would have to think twice about your future. And the same goes for you too..." Chloe warned coldly, eyeing at Robert and then putting her deadly gaze at Edward making him gulp his own saliva. He won't be lying if he said that he was scared shitless.
"Ye... yes ma'am." They both instinctively replied.