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Soon spring had come to the land, and with it the completion of approximately a year's training for James, according to Glenn. James hadn't even realised the passage of time, and moreso had been given little indication of the passing months since his arrival. The last time he had really remembered any mention of a month was back in the Barrows Mansion with the calendar. Of course the place had been abandoned so he wasn't even sure how much time it had been since it was updated. A year's training with the gladius that had almost become his most trustworthy companion, even though he didn't feel as strangely bound to it as he did to the scissors. Nevertheless he became skilled enough with it, his reflexes sharpened to deflect almost any single blow, that wasn't from a far heavier weapon. His body was certainly healthier than it had been before from the constant training his body was given. Legs strengthened, arms buffed up, a stronger heart with greater endurance, which made only his agility even better than before. He admittedly enjoyed showing off to the frog to show the skills he had already known beforehand of climbing trees and leaping between them, even if Glenn said that such skills were not required of a swordsman. The only thing that worried James at this point was his growing feelings for his master, borne from vulnerability and a deep admiration for someone so....classically heroic. Glenn was everything he imagined knights of the past to be, the embodiment of chivalry and goodwill, not even vengeance tainted his heart, at least not now. It was something that impressed the raptor immensely but also confused him in how Glenn could even restrain such things as anger with the smallest of efforts.

James wasn't even sure if that was a good thing to do or not, in contrast to his unbridled passion and painfully strong pride. But they had agreed to disagree with each other's moral philosophies and continue training, until one day, when the snow and his unfortunate associations to it melted away into the soil, he soon heard some of the best words to ever hear from his instructor. "Thy skills hath grown considerably since last spring, James. I believe that thou art skilled enough within the short sword to advance onwards to a stronger weapon." "R-really!?" "Indeed." "Awesome! Thank you, sir Glenn!" "Hahaha, thy formality is appreciated, but there is one last test for thee." "Test?" "Indeed. Whilst I might say that thy skills with the short sword are considerable, I must see it for myself. And there is only one way that thou shalt prove it to me." "...a duel?" "Indeed. If thou proveth to me that thy skills are strong enough, then I shalt train thee in the next lesson." "So...wait the times we had duels before, they were nothing?" "Not at all, they were but to monitor thy progress. Now I feel thou art ready for a true battle...against me." "Wha? You...really wanna fight me?" The frog's expression was serious enough, and he merely replied by putting his Masamune to one side and bringing out a short sword of equal length to James' gladius. The gravity of the situation suddenly hit the raptor, and he brought his own blade out almost unconsciously so. "Only use the skills that I hath shown thee. Pragmatism has no welcome here." "No dirty tricks, got it." "I am only here to see how well thy skills with the blade are. And that is the only thing I wish to see from thee. All I ask is proof from thee of thy experience. Dost thou believe that thou art skilled enough with a blade to rely upon it alone?" "Yes." James did not falter, steeling his resolve as well as his stance, mentally strengthening himself to fight his instructor. He knew by now how this would go, that all he had to do was to show Glenn how good he had become. He wasn't sure if he could win, but all he could was to give his best shot. "Then we shall begin. Prepare thyself!"

The two began their duel, stepping close towards each other, with Glenn offering the first strike. James began deflecting his instructor's blows, one after the other, a small test to establish skill level before he began to get serious and start attempting to strike his pupil. He continued to defend, but had to resist every instinct to back away, not giving Glenn the chance to increase the power of his swings by sidestepping and slashing along the sides, managing to clang off the frog's armour before once again on his guard. With his bravery increased, James began to strike back, continuously blocked by the frog knight who made several parrying strikes back, sidestepping and hitting the raptor across his legs and sides. While most of the attacks were blocked with surprising reflexes, one or three got through to the pupil. The clashing of blades rang throughout the morning forest, reptile versus amphibian, youth versus experience, speed versus skill. James had the speed to surprise and strike at Glenn, but despite his age the frog was never slow on the blocking, and it was rare for James to be able to hit his trainer. No words were exchanged, and the raptor for once never even considered any dirty tactics, out of respect for his master. The swords crossed again and again, constantly clanging off of each other, growls and roars of renewed spirit coming from both swordsmen as they circled each other. James at one point did back off by instinct after a particularly ferocious swing from Glenn, but this cost him dearly when he fell backwards, the force of Glenn's blade shoving him off-balance.

He rolled immediately and back onto his feet within a second, and lashed at the back of the frog's leg, who retorted with a grunt and a backhand swing, catching the raptor off guard again. This time however, he didn't step backwards and merely pushed forwards against the swing, resisting powerfully so and pushing Glenn slightly off-balance in revenge. The frog however maintained his balance, and sweeped himself around to remain upright and regain his stance, waiting for the raptor. James eagerly charged in, and struck repeatedly at Glenn who blocked every single move without even blinking, despite his pupil's surprising speed with a short sword. The raptor was striking everywhere he could, slashing every angle he could, until he was stopped in one particular swing, and was almost disarmed. But he kept his wrist strong, and soon faced the frog's revenge with his own multiple fast strikes. Most of which he deflected other than being cut on the shoulder and across the cheek, before forcing his opponent's blade one way too far and trying to throw it from his grasp. He resisted the urge to grab at the sword arm, and forced with a scraping blade against his master's weapon. However Glenn was stronger than him, and easily countered by letting James carry through his motion, sweeping his blade in a circle and pushing James' hand far to the side. He spun round fast, and slammed the flat of his blade straight into the raptor's stomach, knocking the wind out of him. With his stamina weakened, James regained his composure barely, and resisted the slashing strikes of his instructor with gritted teeth, who pushed his blade hard against his. Hard enough to try and push him backwards, but all James did was push against him with all of his remaining strength, having more wounds than Glenn which began to wear down his resolve.

Every ounce of his strength was focused purely on resisting the frog's blade, pushing as hard as he could. His teeth were fully out snarling, his eyes pierced shining green, his neck twitching with veins shining of sweat across his scales. Glenn tried to sneakily pretend to fall to James' resistance, and try to cut his blade arm to weaken his grip, only to have James bring his other arm up and take the strike in defence to protect his blade arm. Despite this, it was futile when Glenn struck him across his left shoulder, hitting a sensitive spot that sent a shudder of pain through the raptor. In that moment of weakness, he was shoved down hard, a blade pointed straight at his throat. Gazing upwards, pain throbbing throughout his upper half, he watched his master above him. Controlled and firm-handed, barely panting, his sword close enough to his pupil's throat that sweat was dripping onto the edge. "Surrender thy blade." "Wh-...hhh...I-" "Thou hath lost. Surrender thy blade or face thy end." James thought of everything he could do to get out of this situation, of some way he could deflect or surprise Glenn. As much as he could try the dirtiest of tricks, he remembered that that wasn't the purpose of the duel. The duel was to prove how skilled he was with the blade, nothing else. Out of respect for Glenn, he pushed his gladius away and threw his hands up. "I surrender, I-i surrender!" "Good." Sheathing his own blade, Glenn pulled James up by the arm gently and stood back, rubbing his chin as he considered the duel, going over everything his pupil did. Small twitches of discontent and pride went back and forth, the raptor feeling like a schoolboy after the exam. Relieved for it to be over, but panicking at the end result. "So...how...how did I do?" James feared the worst. He worried that his failures in fighting were enough to disqualify him, he worried that failing to defeat his master was the crowning moment of failure that would force him to repeat this year of training all over. All he could do now, was to stand and wait. After what felt like an eternity compressed within a minute of mental examination, Glenn wordlessly walked over, re-equipped his Masamune, and brought it out before James. Holy shit is this part two of the exam, he thought. No WAY can I handle him with THAT thing! "Kneel before me." Strange words to hear for James. Words that were archaic to him. But nevertheless, he did so, more out of surprise than anything else, exhausted and panting heavily, but restraining it as he kneeled. Soon he felt the cold blade touch both his shoulders softly. "As thy instructor and Master in the ways of swordsmanship, I name thee, James Campbell, a Scholar of the blade. I hope that in the following years, that thou shalt become evermore dedicated to honing thy skills, and that whatever blades thou shalt wield in future, thou shalt always wield them in the name of justice and good. Arise, James."

Glenn's words were overwhelming. A year of remaining in this world and it had not gone to waste. He could only stand up slowly and resist the urge to hug his instructor in absolute rapture of what he had been dubbed as. Instead he smiled sheepishly, and said: "Th-thank you sir! I....you really believe I'm good enough?" "Thou art not a slow learner, despite thy lack of knowledge of the world. There is an intelligence within you that has never been given the chance to bloom. Thy performance in the duel hath showed me such, and that thou hath the potential to become a better swordsman. We will continue work with the short sword, but I will also now train thee with the longsword. And with that, thou shalt reach ever closer to thy destination over the remaining two years of thy scholarship." "Scholarship!? Haha, and I never even went to high school, now I feel like I'm in college!" "It is still knowledge that thou shalt learn, my lad. And I promise thee, that by the time two years hath passed since thy arrival to this land, I shalt surely make thee a competent swordsman at the very least, and a challenge to all of thy foes." "I know you will, I trust you sir Glenn. You've already done so much for me I...uhm...th-thank you." "Think nothing of it. Now, I believe that thy wounds are not going to heal themselves, so perhaps we should attend to them." "Uhhh...y-yeah we better, I'm kinda starting to...so, is this gonna be a regular thing, getting wounded in these li'l duels?" "Regular!? HAH, my boy, the only swordsmen who remain unblemished are those who hath never fought a battle. The trials of swordsmanship will not be so kind as to leave thee without a body worn with scars." "Well...I suppose that's not too bad, girls love a guy with scars right?" "Haha, indeed, but I hope that thy battles were not just to increase thy attractiveness to the ladies." "Naaaah, if I wanted you to cut me, I wouldn't wait a freakin' year wouldn't I?" And so the two returned to Glenn's home, laughing off their small wounds and recuperating with poultices, relaxing for the day. The raptor was still trying to let his recent graduation sink in. Even if it was more or less an official statement of the fact that he was just a student now of sword training, it was still something he had never imagined. He'd never qualified for anything like this before, and yet here he was, a Scholar of the blade according to Glenn. "Hah...bet you never thought I'd graduate for ANYTHING, huh?" he said to nobody in particular. "Wait 'til I tell Sarah about this...hell I'll just show her when I get back, I bet she's gonna love it...wonder if I can get Glenn to make me a certificate...or a medal...ach well..." Watching Glenn from afar made his heart swoon slightly and smile softly, thoughts continuing to stir in his head. God he's handsome...so strong and...and noble. Hmmmmm...wish I could...ugh forget it, he's totally not into guys surely, you're fooling yourself James...you just haven't had a guy in ages since...since...shit, that long ago? ...ach, it doesn't matter, you're a fucking knight now, no time for that now!

Despite the danger of depressing himself, he remained confident and cheerful of himself as he went to sleep for that day, his dreams taunting him with prospects of love. His recent graduation came into play too, imagining admirations from all of his former friends, seeing himself in knightly armour striding through the streets of Chicago, kissing girls and kissing guys, dancing with Sarah in the clear-lit streets. In the midst of it all, he was content and joyful, eager at the prospect of returning as a hero, skilled enough to fight and protect his friends. Idealistic scenarios of heroism played out in his head where he could do anything and barely suffer a scratch, saving the girl and killing the villain, in this case the General whom he could barely remember the tight-muscled human face of. The next morning he had healed up superbly, his scars merely tiny outlines difficult to see from afar, and Glenn surprised James with yet another phrase he never expected to hear. "I believe it is time to upgrade thy equipment James. Take thy scissors with thee too." A beautiful spring morning greeted their walk towards Porre as they traversed across the plains, the plantless desert to their left and the sea's horizon to their right. The sky was joyful with the slightest breeze, welcoming the relief after such a cold winter as they returned to the small red-roofed town. Porre was in full bloom, both literally and figuratively for many windowsills were blooming with flowers, a general amicable feeling of blissful times now radiant across the land. Everything was certainly coming up roses for James, and since yesterday he had felt a lot better about himself, moreso when he saw the store that they would be shopping at. A blacksmiths, which slightly confused the raptor who didn't fully catch on, his scissors firmly within his right hand hanging down. "You need a new sword or something?" "No, we are going to obtain thee some armour, now that thou art skilled enough." "Armour?! Awwwwww sweeeeeet!" The prospect of being tooled up like a knight excited him like a little boy as they stepped inside, the blacksmith recognising Glenn.

"Ahh sir Glenn! How are ye?" "Very well, good sir. How art thee?" "Ohhh business is a li'l slow in these times but can't complain, always one or two arrogant lads who wanna buy summat. Who's the uh...friend of yours?" "Ah, this is James, he is a student of mine." "Student!? You an instructor now or summat?" "Not officially, but I carry the qualifications for such, and I offered him a small scholarship to train him better." "Well thas good to hear! So how long you been trainin', James?" "Ohh about a year," said the raptor. "I just graduated up to Scholar yesterday so we came here to get some new armour for me." "Hah, it's always a day you never forget when you first become one, innit?" "Ohh you too?" "Provost mysel', I can wield any of the blades in my store well enough, but I became more fascinated about makin' 'em perfect rather than wieldin' 'em perfect, so...here I am." "Awesome. So uh...what do we need then sir?" "Firstly," said Glenn, "we must find thee a scabbard." "A what now?" "A sheath for thy weapon." He patted at his own scabbard, an elegant piece of kit wrapped around his waist where the Masamune hung and rested, with only its fine pommelled hilt sticking out. Soon enough, the frog had spotted a large scabbard for broadswords that seemed to be perfect, taking it off the wall. It was fitted for wearing around the body, with the scabbard to rest on someone's back and another smaller scabbard for a secondary weapon, presumably for a dagger which seemed to fit at the small of one's back. "Try this baldric." "A...baldric?" James gently slid the scissors into the sheath and found it to be a little tight, the handle sticking out a bit too much to his liking. The knight hopped over to the counter and inquired: "Excuse me, but can this be modified to fit my friend's weapon?" "Uhhh suppose so, just 'and it over and I'll see what I can do." James tenderly gave his scissors over, which the blacksmith chuckled at. "Ho ho hooooo, this is some weapon! ...a li'l impractical isn't it?" "I know I know." "Yer not seriously gonna fight with this are ya?" "Why not!?" "You even know how to wield a longsword, let alone this!?" "I am training him for the next two years in such," said Glenn. "By the time I am done, he shall wield it well." "Well...alright then. Can't complain abou' that."

As the blacksmith began to modify the scabbard for the scissors to fit within, Glenn turned to James. "We must also find thee a shoulder guard to aid thee in combat." "Just a shoulder guard? What about a suit of armour or something?" "Too much armour can wear one's speed and endurance down. I notice that thou art a fighter relying on speed, and with armour that would disadvantage thee greatly. A shoulder guard is most effective in being able to deflect many life-threatening blows. Also, I suspect thy left shoulder might be considered a weak point to take advantage of." "Ohhh yeah, fair enough." Gazing across the many items in the store was already entertaining to James, the various weapons and armaments that shined at him so tantalisingly, tempting him to touch every one of them. But he restrained himself. Axes, maces, swords of all sizes, shoulder guards, stomach guards, chest guards, leg guards, all made of either steel, cloth or chainmail. A fine-looking shoulder guard caught his eye, sturdily shining towards him. "Oooooh this looks good." "Ahhh indeed, a fine choice James." Testing to see if it fit, he was satisfied with how it set on his shoulder and brought it to the counter, but not before James looked along some stomach guards to see any that would fit him. None of them seemed to do so unfortunately, being either part of a suit, or being of an uncomfortably stiff metallic disposition. "I presume there are no platarcks befitting of thee?" "Mmmmnope...do you think a shoulder guard's enough?" "While I find thy choice of clothing unusual, considering thy discipline I am not surprised." After a short while of browsing the store, the blacksmith soon put the scabbard onto the table, with scissors fitted snugly into it. The handles stuck out perfectly well, showing only the circular parts as if the scabbard had always fitted it. "There ya are! One modified baldric for the lad's weapon." "Aaaah it looks wonderful! Try it on James." Tenderly picking it up, he placed it around his body. The belt diagonally crossed his chest, with the buckle against his right pectoral which he tightened until the scabbard itself easily rested against his back without the slightest sway. So far it felt perfect, especially after he bound the shoulder guard to his left shoulder. "Have a look at thyself in the mirror." Indeed there was a mirror nearby for up-and-coming warriors such as James to gaze upon themselves. At first, he didn't even recognise himself.

This wasn't the James Campbell that he had known. The James Campbell who used to run over rooftops, risk motorcycle races, flagrantly disrespect the law and get into fights only to be chewed out by his caretaker. No more did he see a heavy-handed young punk, hewn from an arrogant misarchistic orphan. Now, there was someone different, or at the very least, the shadow of someone different who he hoped would become more than that, over the years of travelling through ever-maddening worlds with various struggles upon him. This was an older raptor. He was surprised to see himself looking better, stronger, more skilful. Whether he was wiser or more mature however was up to debate, but whatever had changed, he had felt it the moment he saw himself in the mirror. An armoured left shoulder and a belt across his chest like a bandolier, the scissors' handles sticking out from his right shoulder peeking tentatively from behind his head. He carefully gripped them with his right hand, bending his arm back to slowly extract it, wielding it before him, staring down the blades towards his mirror self. Even though he knew within his now humbler heart thanks to Glenn that he had a long way to go, as much as he didn't like to admit, he felt more confident in what he could achieve. Now he was even more eager to keep training himself to what was expected of him. For Sarah. For himself. "Wow..." "How dost thou feel?" "I...I feel like a real warrior." "The first time you get yer scabbard is always good," said the blacksmith proudly, "I seen it many times with many customers in this shop, the first time they get a new home for their weapon, where it'll always be with them 'til they die. They always look at themselves like they're seeing an older self in that mirror." "Yeah I...it really feels like it. I kinda feel like...like I've grown up or something." "Mmhmm." "Yeah...yeah this'll do me good. I got all I need." He gently put it back into the scabbard with some blind aiming, missing the hole several times before it slid back in neatly, and Glenn paid for both. "Wo-woah woah hey uhhh I don't have any-" "I am paying for thy armaments James. Did I not tell thee?" "No, you didn't...you really don't have to-" "Thou shalt pay me in time with thy work." "Work?" "Of course, what else does a swordsman do in these times?" "...uhhhh what?" "Protecting the innocent and defeating the wicked of course! Naturally the spoils of our victory will cover it nicely." "Well...if you put it that way I guess I can't complain." "Indeed. I believe that is all thou shalt require. Now let us go, I must also restock on poultices." "Alrighty. Thanks, sir!" "Yer welcome lad! Take care Glenn!" "Same to thee, good sir!"

Waving each other off, they departed the blacksmith and headed to the general store to restock medical supplies before finally dropping in on Lizbeth, having not seen her since winter. The inn was a comforting sight to James, who reminisced about how he had been recuperating there a year ago, a rather pleasant memory that almost made him wish to be wounded again for it. As hoped, Lizbeth greeted both heartily within embrace. "Sir Glenn! James! How lovely to see you!" "And a wondrous pleasure to thee too Lizbeth. Are the flowers of spring jealous of thy beauty once again?" "Hahaha ohhhh don't make me blush you rogue. And how's my patient doing?" "Great thanks!" said James. "Just been to the blacksmiths, got all tooled up now." "Ohhhhh very nice, you're looking a lot better too, good to see that Glenn's training you well." "Mmhmm, Scholar of the blades riiiiiight here." "Good for you!" Glenn crossed his arms and smirked surreptitiously at him. "I am beginning to think I should hath made him study more on humility." "Oh, I'm sorry, I was too busy looking a total badass, was that part of the course?" "Do not be so flippant when thou art only a day within thy new rank," said the frog with a smile. "Remember, I will only push thee that much harder." "Hehe, don't worry, I got the lovely Miss Lizbeth here to look after me if you push me too hard, sir." "...why do I suspect that that is exactly what thou desires?" The practicing doctor merely tittered and put her hands on her hips. "Well maybe it might not work for too long, I will be going to a medical school soon." "Really!?" said James. "Yep! I've been working towards getting a degree in Medical Science, so I'll have to be heading elsewhere for it." "Awwwwww damn, that means we better watch we don't get hurt then!" "Hehehe, I hope you don't really." "Nah nah it's cool, I'm really happy to hear you went for it Lizbeth, that's awesome." "Me too!" "Thou shalt make a fine doctor," said Glenn, "and I already know that thy bedside manner will make thee a most respectable member of the medical community." "Thank you! I'll definitely be doing all I can. So, what are you two doing now?" "Well my student and I hath finished our visit to the town so we must be heading back. It has always been a pleasure to see Lizbeth, so take care of thyself." "You too sir Glenn. And you James." "You too Lizbeth, good luck out there." And with that, they departed, the two warriors returning back across the plans to the Cursed Woods to relax for the day. As they discussed various things, the raptor still gazed over his new look, unable to keep his eyes off it. "So, you really think I can be a good swordsman one day?" "Thou asketh me this many times, it's almost as if thou art in disbelief of thy growth." "Well...I kinda am. I never imagined I'd be like, a knight or something." "And I never imagined that I would traverse time itself to face against fiends far beyond anything I could ever imagine, even in my darkest nightmares." "Uhhh...good point." "Tomorrow we will begin thy training into the longsword. And with that, into wielding thy weapon. Of course thou must realise that thy weapon is unusual, and as such has its own rules that one must learn." "Of course." "So for now, we will stand by the trusty sword. Thy large scissors are another matter, and will be given their own special regimen when I hath considered how to wield them appropriately." "Okay...so, I got a question." "Aye?" "...what the hell's a platarck?"