In a secluded corner of the inner city's public gardens, the half-elf had changed into leather armor and tied her long hair into a ponytail.
Lailas complained:
"Renato, what's gotten into you? Dragging me out here all of a sudden-I'll have to explain myself to the supervisor when I get back."
"Let's test each other's swordsmanship. Once we know what we can do, we'll be more confident working together."
"Oh, spare me. You're just itching for a fight." She stood and stretched her limbs. "You young people always love swinging weapons around, like children with a favorite new toy."
"If you ask me, whatever weapon you use, its purpose is killing. Practicing swordsmanship just for the sake of it-I honestly don't see the fun in that..."
Glancing at the two-handed longsword in Renato's hands, Lailas's mouth twitched.
"Renato, are you trying to kill me? Put that sword down!"
"I'll control my strength. I won't hurt you."
Lailas tossed him a long wooden stick and said in exasperation:
"I don't believe you. Look how eager you are. You're bound to get carried away." The half-elf picked up two short sticks herself, lowered her body, and took her stance. "We'll use sticks instead of real swords for now. I wanted to see how good you actually are anyway."
She extended her right hand horizontally at eye level, while drawing the blade in her left hand slightly inward to guard her throat.
The long stick wasn't a real sword. Its center of gravity was too far forward for nimble, precise thrusts.
There were plenty of techniques he couldn't use, but his opponent should have faced the same limitations.
Watching the half-elf's elusive footwork, Renato quickly shifted into combat mode. He raised his sword hilt beside his ear, determined to overpower her with strength.
He stepped half a pace forward, closing the distance to Lailas, and struck the weak of her blade with the strong of his.
But the distinction between strong and weak was less pronounced with wooden sticks, and his strike wasn't fast enough. With a slight turn of her right wrist, Lailas deftly deflected Renato's force while sliding sideways.
Renato had kept his steps shallow from the outset. He abruptly withdrew his sword and retreated. Sure enough, a moment later, the thrust from Lailas's left hand flashed through the spot where his throat had just been.
A master swordswoman, he judged.
Though he had prepared himself for it, the half-elf's swordsmanship still impressed Renato and made his fighting spirit burn all the hotter.
Thinking fast, Renato seized the opening as Lailas slid back and withdrew her sword after her missed attack. He swept a backhand cut upward, knocking apart the crossed blades of her guard.
Renato lunged forward, closing inside her reach. He dropped his stick and wrapped his arms tightly around her, pinning the half-elf's arms.
Lailas battered Renato's back with her sticks, but with him so close and her upper arms trapped, she couldn't put any force behind the blows.
"Hey! Renato, you..."
Sensing that Lailas's footing was unstable, Renato growled, lifted her clean off the ground, and slammed her down.
Caught off guard, Lailas lost her grip on her sticks and was forced into a ground fight with Renato.
But the half-elf was exceptionally agile and quick to react. She adjusted her posture in midair and freed her left arm.
Renato kept her pinned beneath him, but his positioning was poor, making it difficult to apply a joint lock.
Lailas flicked one of the fallen sticks up with the top of her right foot and caught it in her left hand, attempting to stab Renato's unprotected head and neck.
Renato immediately shifted sideways, blocking the attack with his pauldrons. In that critical moment, he abandoned all concern for technique. He put his whole body into it, tightened his arms, and forced a chokehold around the half-elf's throat.
Though Lailas tucked her chin and kept the hold off her neck, Renato's hard plate-armored forearm still squeezed her so tightly that she struggled to breathe.
To avoid suffocating, the half-elf had no choice but to drop her stick and tap Renato's back, signaling her surrender.
"Ow, that hurts like hell! Can't you be gentler?"
Renato eased the pressure as he massaged Lailas's shoulders and neck.
"All right, all right. Is this okay?"
"Lighter... At least you've got some conscience. But this is the last time I'm sparring with you. Don't even think about asking again!"
"Why? Our swordsmanship styles are different. It's a perfect chance to learn from each other..."
"You have the nerve to call that swordsmanship!" the half-elf said incredulously. "We sparred more than a dozen rounds this afternoon, and several times you didn't even use your sword. You just wrestled me with brute strength. What does that have to do with swordsmanship?"
"Unarmed combat is part of swordsmanship. If you don't like it, don't play..."
A vein bulged at Lailas's temple. A breeze suddenly swirled around her as she gave him a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"I see, Mr. Renato. Then would magic count as part of swordsmanship too?"
"Wait, wait, wait! Didn't I listen to you and stop using unarmed techniques in the later rounds?" Renato hastily jumped back. He had seen this spell before, though it had been used by a member of the Harpers who was pursuing him.
He asked in confusion:
"You can cast spells? What spell is that?"
The breeze faded. Lailas rubbed her face, covered her eyes, and said helplessly:
"Honestly, why am I acting like a child...?"
"I'm a ranger. I can harness the primal magic of the wilderness, so I know a few simple spells... Don't look at me like that. Rangers aren't true spellcasters. We can't throw fireballs. Most of the spells I can cast are about on par with a bard's cantrips."
"Oh, just come here. I'll let you feel it for yourself." Lailas beckoned Renato closer.
"Closer. What are you being shy for? You won't feel it otherwise."
A breeze buoyed Renato's body, as though he were moving with the wind at his back. Even his armor felt much lighter, drawing murmurs of wonder from him.
"This spell has plenty of names, but the most common is 'Zephyr Strike.' You've felt its effects yourself. Usually, though, you channel the magic into your weapon, allowing it to deal damage far beyond what the weapon alone could inflict."
When Lailas cast the spell, Renato heard an Elvish word meaning "west wind."
"The incantation is just one word? And you don't even need gestures to cast it?" He tried to recite the word, imitating the half-elf's intonation.
Lailas chuckled and explained:
"Rangers have plenty of advanced spellcasting techniques too. This spell just happens to be simple. Those master hunters can wield magic comparable to that of archmages, turning an entire forest against you."
"Besides, you aren't a ranger. You haven't walked among nature. The wilderness won't answer you."
Renato longed to cast spells himself. What Earthling hadn't dreamed of having superpowers as a child?
Even if he lacked the talent to become a mage, perhaps he had the talent to become a ranger.
"Then how do I become a ranger? I think I've spent plenty of time in the wild already. And don't you live in the city too?"
"That's because I earned the wilderness's recognition when I was young," Lailas said gently, as though instructing a student. "Becoming a ranger is no easy matter. You need to become one with nature, hunt the terrifying creatures of the wilderness, and temper your will until you grasp a path of nature that belongs to you alone."
"What monsters do I need to hunt? What ritual do I perform?"
"This isn't something you can accomplish in a year or so, and it has nothing to do with killing or rituals. It's not a sacrifice to some evil god." Lailas shook her head. "Hunting beasts is only part of the process. What matters more is finding balance within yourself along the way and forming a deep connection with nature."
Vague explanations, no clear requirements, just an indistinct concept-Renato hated this sort of thing more than anything.
Seemingly noticing his disappointment, Lailas rested her hands on Renato's shoulders and pushed him down onto a stone bench.
"I can't make you a ranger right now, but I can start giving you ranger training. Trust me, even if you never become one, plenty of these skills will be a great help in your future adventures."
Lailas deliberately coughed twice and said pointedly:
"But you should understand that I'm a veteran ranger. In principle, I don't teach people for free..."
"I'll treat you to dinner tonight. You won't be disappointed."
"That's more like it."
Lailas's expression grew solemn as she looked seriously at Renato. "No more joking now. If you want to become a ranger, you must first develop a true reverence for nature..."
"When rangers hunt prey that threatens nature, they can often track it for days without sleep or rest."
"What I'll teach you today is the technique that lets you stay alert while relieving fatigue-meditation."
Before you continue