"We shall end it here today." Noel stabbed the ground with his wooden sword while looking at the kids who had laid down because they had no energy left to move.
They had been fighting for two hours as Noel kept giving them advice. Although he couldn't be called a master of the sword, it didn't change the fact that he got his basic right. So, his advice only focused on the basics as the kids would take that advice and incorporate it into their Sword Dance.
The kids didn't have any visible injuries even though Noel had hit them a few times. It seemed Noel had controlled his power carefully.
"I am impressed that you have reached this level. This is a new path that no one has walked on, so it's quite impressive for all of you to build it from scratch. You even have made the foundation for your Sword Dance.
"I'm sure you will do just fine in the future." Noel nodded, satisfied. It was quite impressive for the kids who had no experience in battle or even learned any form of Swordsmanship to learn something like this.
He didn't know how much Shale had helped them, but it was clear that most of their foundation came from their dance.
"What did you find, Rose?" Noel turned to Rose and explained, "This big sister here has sharp eyes. She should be able to notice any missing details, so make sure to listen to her."
"I'm not that great and I haven't learned any swordsmanship, so I will just tell you what I got from the sparring." Rose shook her head. "The Sword Dance is great and unique. I believe there are four advantages you can get from using the Sword Dance.
"Firstly, the Sword Dance is a new path, so people will be confused about how to fight it. Of course, you have to at least reach a basic Swordsmanship level for the Sword Dance to confuse them. Basically, make sure the Sword Dance is usable.
"Secondly, the Sword Dance relies a lot on rhythm. This is extremely unique because your dance will change a lot depending on the rhythm. I don't know much about music since I rarely find bards in towns. But just by clapping hands with different patterns, you can find your own rhythm. So, I think you should find some basic patterns.
"Just like swordsmanship, these basic patterns will make you move easier because everything is programmed. It's true that others can find out your patterns, but they need a lot of understanding about the Sword Dance, so it will only go back to the first point.
"Thirdly, this is basically a dance. The more you dance, the more you spread your influence. It's true that the goal is good and realistic, but you should know that the dance might allow your enemies to learn your Sword Dance. So, I suggest you have a separate dance pattern if you want to perform.
"Last but not least, the Spiritual Energy and the Spirits themselves. I don't know how much you have learned about them, but I have to warn you that sometimes your Spirits might not be compatible with your Sword Dance.
"The swordsmanship has been generalized, so it can match everything, including the spirits. But I don't know how you're going to develop the Sword Dance. That's why I have to warn you about the direction you go. Make sure you think about the future as well. It will become awkward if one of you ends up becoming incompatible after all."
Rose stepped back after explaining what she had learned from her perspective. They were good opinions since they hit the essence of the Sword Dance.
Eric led the group by bowing his head. "Thank you very much. We are grateful to know about all this."
"Thank you very much." The other kids lowered their heads.
Noel smiled. He knew that everything would be alright. They were talented enough to overcome the problem.
After thanking Rose, Eric went to Noel and said, "Big Brother. We have been thinking that we want to spend one year polishing our Sword Dance and start going around to hunt the demons. We are not going to be affiliated with the Demon Banner Army…"
Noel thought for a moment and wondered what he should say to these kids. On the one hand, he felt one year wasn't enough. On the other hand, they had numbers and unity, which should help them a lot against demons.
"Hmm…" Noel glanced at Rose. "What do you think about their plan?"
"I do think one year is not enough. However, I won't stop them. As you said previously, you couldn't decide what they did. In that case, it's better to support them while giving some warnings."
"I see…" Noel pinched the bridge of his nose. "I will be giving you some basic knowledge about Spiritual Energy and the Spirits. Also, you have to learn teamwork and traps since that's basically the first thing you need to kill the demons. Don't forget you have to buy your own equipment."
Noel paused for a moment. He was wondering if he should teach the kids runes or not, considering the kids would only leave this place one year later.
By that time, the knowledge about the runes should have spread.
However, it was better for the kids to focus on their Sword Dance first, so Noel decided not to give them the knowledge. Instead, he was planning to give them a parting gift.
"Alright. Since we are done here, let's have breakfast." Noel smiled.
Noel spent another day with the kids before leaving. Rose also had some fun with the kids since they were optimistic and wanted to learn a lot of things.
Although they had finished their business with the kids, they hadn't left the fort yet. After all, they still needed to meet one more person, who had been waiting for them.
Noel and Rose gathered in one room as a shadow emerged from the floor, turning into Dimitri.
