The training yard was large; about two hundred feet long, easily, and two hundred feet wide. The ground was a smooth brick. To the west were training dummies in the training yard. To their north was a huge building with a grand entrance. While not the largest building around, it was certainly huge compared to a village hut.
Tutsoi walked forward, guiding Corrin and Lukas behind him. A dozen steps led up to a wooden door; the only part made of wood in the whole building, aside from the windows, which themselves were decorated beautifully.
Corrin could hardly imagine that such a pristine building could serve as a place to train swordsmen. Of course, it did uphold the 'Academy' feel. Tutsoi opened the door, which was around double his size, and entered the building.
Upon entering, a group of students stood in unison like they were part of an army. Single file, a few dozen of them, all differing ages, shapes, and sizes.
Some seemed as young as four or five, others as old as Corrin, sixteen.
There were only a few similar things that seemed to sell their connection to one another: their bright blonde hair, which was dim in the candlelight, and their uniforms.
They all wore black uniforms that went from their feet to their necks. They were so baggy that, for a moment, Corrin thought they were all wearing dresses before some of them moved their feet apart, and the legs of the pants were visible. Their pants stopped around their waist, with their shirts tucked into them.
Their clothes were tucked in diagonally from their left side over their right. The sleeves were baggy as well, stopping just past the elbow.
Corrin couldn't imagine how cold they must have felt. Even inside, there was still a chill to the air.
"Master Keris."
Tutsoi walked forward to a man Corrin hadn't even noticed and bowed politely. The man bowed back.
He had gray hair that came down nearly to his neck in the back, and wore similar clothing to that of his students. He looked at Tutsoi.
"Tutsoi… if you're here then that means…"
Tutsoi looked back at the others before he turned back to Keris and began to speak.
"You received Omna's letter-?"
He was cut off when Keris ran past him and looked at Lukas. Lukas stood there staring at Keris.
"Lukas…"
Lukas didn't know what to say, so he didn't speak. For a moment, they just stood there and took each other in. Corrin had nearly forgotten what Lukas had said a day earlier. Lukas's stepfather ran the Academy.
This was Lukas's stepfather.
Keris just walked forward and embraced Lukas. Lukas tried to hide his tears by turning his face away from Corrin and Tutsoi.
Corrin found the moment heartwarming, despite the cold temperatures. Keris pulled away for a moment.
"I never believed what they said about you, Lukas."
He turned to Corrin and looked him in the eye.
"Omna told me about you and Lukas's connection. Don't worry, I won't tell anybody."
Corrin recalled something Omna had said before they left:
"Don't tell anybody about you and Lukas's… strange relationship. To everybody else, you're just friends, understand?"
Corrin assumed Omna must have told Keris. It made sense, Lukas was his stepson after all.
Keris turned to the rest of the students.
"You're all dismissed."
The students break their formation and seem to turn into a single organism on their way out the door. Corrin noticed one of the girls staring at him on their way out. She blew him a kiss. Her face gave a sinister smile, which freaked Corrin out a bit.
Nonetheless, Keris walked over and grabbed a few broadswords. He handed one to Tutsoi and Lukas.
"Corrin, this came in today. I believe it's yours."
He handed Corrin something wrapped in a brown bag. Corrin unwrapped it, revealing his katana's sheath and hilt. Corrin drops the paper and takes the sword in his hands. He unsheathes it slowly, revealing a black metal blade. Corrin gasps at the sight.
"What kind of metal is this?"
Lukas looks at it.
"It's black steel. Same as my Resonance. It can withstand attacks from all types of metal. Aside from Heavenly Metal."
Corrin smiles. The blacksmith from before didn't seem like he was going to make it out of black metal. He had made it seem like black steel was extremely rare, which Corrin believed. Omna must have twisted his hand.
Keris takes an earnest deep breath.
"Shall we get going, then?"
Corrin nods.
"Alright then, outside now."
Keris leads them outside and into the cold air. The students from before have just begun to leave the training yard.
Corrin holds his sheathed sword in his hand and begins to walk down the stairs.
"First lesson, I won't go easy on you."
Corrin felt a huge explosion of force behind Keris, and he flew forward. Corrin's mind quickly goes into battle mode. He changed the way he faced to look towards Keris. Before he even landed, Keris was already right next to him, swinging his sword towards Corrin in the air.
Corrin quickly brought his still sheathed sword up to block it. Keris's sword slammed into Corrin's sheath. He pushed forward, sending Keris back.
Corrin landed on the ground and slid back. The bricks made him trip up a bit, however.
Keris pointed a wooden sword at Corrin.
"I don't know how you fought before, but in this world, you need to learn to adapt quickly to different Resonances and fighting styles. There are dozens of different fighting styles. Every weapon you can think of has at least one unique fighting style."
He brings up his sword and looks at it from different angles while talking.
"The strange thing about fighting styles is that it doesn't come from the stance or form in a general sense; it comes from different techniques or attacks created by our ancestors thousands of years ago."
Corrin knew a bit of this. Corrin had learned Light Katana Style, and he frequently used its attacks when in combat. He knew quite a few of the forms already, but a few had just come naturally.
He recalled using one named 'Explosive Defense' while fighting the queen. He used that move when his foot was stuck. The attack had dealt heavy damage to the queen, and small explosions had occurred all around Corrin. While it was effective, the explosions also burned him, and his entire upper body was sore after using it.
Corrin also recalled one more attack he never learned while training. It was difficult to remember clearly, but he believed the attack was called 'Judgement'. He spun around in a circle in the air. That attack had cut off the queen's arm like butter.
Light Katana Style was one that Forrest had used; of course, he also used a shield alongside it, but that was a different story. Keris continued.
"For example, Light Broadsword Style. This was created by the same person who created Light Katana Style, which I believe you use, Corrin. Am I correct?"
Corrin nodded his head.
"None is particularly better than the other; it depends on the user and how skilled they are, as well as how well they adapt to the enemy's fighting style. Corrin, why don't you come at me? Use one of your forms from Light Katana Style."
Corrin unsheathed his sword and put his sheath on his belt. He pointed his sword at Keris in an offensive stance. For a moment, Corrin was afraid he could hurt Keris, but he figured this was probably part of a lesson.
But Corrin was determined to prove that, whatever the lesson, this was wrong; he would not let Keris make an example out of him.
Corrin lunged forward. His scar seared for the first time in months, and his blade glowed a golden color, bits of golden flecks coming off of it.
"Light Katana…"
Corrin whipped around in a circle.
"...Twirling Serpent!"
Corrin twirled in a circle, coming towards Keris at intense speeds. The attack aimed to target limbs, the legs, and the arms, as well as the head. If the attack was successful, it would slash the limbs, or, in very rare cases, even cut them off.
Of course, Corrin was not aiming at actually harming Keris; his blade was turned around so that it would only cause a bruise if it landed.
Keris jumped forward, legs first. Corrin didn't know how to react to this. Keris brought his leg in and kneed Corrin in his stomach instantly. Corrin fell to the ground and dropped his sword. He held his stomach.
"You should really make sure that you're flexing every part of your body, not just your arms. Of course, wherever they trained you, they probably didn't take into consideration that you're an Anees. Your connection with the Anees Energy lying in the air is palpable. As an Anees, you need to utilize it."
Corrin coughed a few times.
He began to have flashbacks of training with the Hidden Vanguard. If that training was considered bad, then Corrin couldn't imagine what Keris had in store for him.