Evengarde and Quies walked down a seemingly endless flight of stairs.
The hidden door closed behind them, sitting flush with the wall as if it had never been there. The staircase itself was rather narrow, but it was still enough for someone of both of their statures to walk comfortably down it. Unlike the outside, though, it was raw stone. There was no wood to cover the smoothened rock of the mountain.
"Considering you were able to hold your ground against two Etrean guards with only a day of swordsmanship experience, your level of proficiency must be rather great."
On the way, Quies had told him about his perspective and what happened during Etris. He wasn't too specific, but he wasn't being intentionally vague either. He described what happened in Valerie's illusory realm, what she had done to him, how he woke up, and the fight that ensued after.
Quies chimed in.
"Ah- the thing is… I sort of cheated."
"Cheated how?"
"I mean, first of all, I didn't really take down both Etrean guards myself. In fact, I nearly died from one of them because I let my guard down. If Valerie hadn't saved me… well, I don't think I'd be talking to you right now.
"On top of that, I wouldn't even say the fight was a close battle. Like you said, I practically only had one day of swordsmanship experience. I learn quick—quicker than most, at that—but one day is one day. The only reason I had won was because I was sly and cunning, with my mantra being the singular win condition."
Evengarde held Quiet as Quies talked.
"Quies, if there's anything you need to know about fighting, it's that there's no such thing as cheating."
Quies looked at Evengarde with a perplexed, but slightly understanding face. He tried his best to figure out what Evengarde meant, and could form somewhat of a conclusion.
"I mean… if you put it like that…"
Evengarde looked down the narrow staircase. Below, a faint light could be seen from a narrow doorway.
"In a fight to the death, there is only a singular rule—don't die. You're only cheating if you're breaking the rules… Ah, well, in such an instance, I will revise my previous statement. The only way you can cheat in a fight is to die…"
A fair analogy to compare this philosophy to was a math exam. Specifically, the use of a calculator to perform arithmetics during a math exam. In primary, or elementary, school, the use of a calculator during a test would be considered cheating! However, in a class that covers higher level mathematics, such as calculus, a calculator wouldn't be considered cheating. In fact, it could even be considered necessary!
That's because using a calculator wasn't against the rules of the test. Therefore, it does not count as cheating.
"Huh…" Quies remarked in understanding.
Eventually, the two reached the bottom of the seemingly endless flight of stairs. As they walked through the narrow doorway at the bottom, a gigantic training room welcomed the two inside.
A vast training mat spread across the huge room. Wooden colored lines extended from the edges, bending at right angles in random intervals and decorating the fighting surface. Speaking of which, the surface was completely flawless. There wasn't even a single drop of blood that stained the training grounds. In fact, there was quite a bit of dust…
The rim of the room was around the same width as the primary training room, except it surrounded an even larger sparring area and was made of stone. Thick pillars partitioned each of the four sides of the wall into 4 sections each, reaching upwards to a ceiling that was the same height as the entrance of the staircase, steam pipes sprawling in all different directions on it.
In each partition, a gigantic blackstone statue held two swords, totaling 16 statues and 32 swords in total within the room. Articulated pieces of armor were carved into the statues, and a wide conical straw hat rested on the top of all of their heads. At their base, near their feet, bright flames burned within darksteel braziers, illuminating the edges. Above, hanging from strings, glowing brass lamps illuminated the rest of the room, their size similar to that of the blood lamps Quies saw in his bizarre dream.
If one word could describe this room, it would be grand.
Quies looked around the training grounds. His eyes stared in awe at the grandeur architecture. After taking in the sight, he eventually asked:
"Who knows about this place?"
"Only a few. That's why the mat is so clean."
Evengarde walked onto the off-white mat.
"I rarely take people to train here. I believe I'm the only individual who knows about this, unless some misbehaving vigil happens to come across it. This room also contains the weapons I have collected over the past few years."
Quies followed him onto the mat. His steps slowed as he got used to the feel.
Evengarde focused… He felt the gale flow around his body.
And in a split second, he appeared on the complete other side of the room, leaving a wake of air that caught Quies off guard. Quies raised his arms as his tunic and hair billowed wildly.
Turning around, he faced Quies.
"So…"
Evengarde stared at the young bloodrender with a hint of curiosity. He listened to Quies' song, studying it to see if he could recognize some of its tones. He wanted to see just how much this kid had learned in one day…
It was also a great chance to stretch his fighting muscles. Only the gods below…
He shouldn't mention them.
Who knows the last time he had swung his sword.
He put a hand on the handle of his trusty katana, unsheathing it with the grace of the wind. As the edge moved, it felt like the air was parting before it, rather than it parting the air. He pointed it towards Quies.
"Let's see how your skills have improved, eh?"