Read The Land: Forging (Chaos Seeds Book 2) for Free Online

open. Richter used the time they were walking to speak with Sumiko. The older sprite was only a few inches above three feet, but was spry enough to keep pace. She had an easy smile and short cropped black hair. Her skin was a touch lighter than the normal olive complexion of the other sprites. Her face was a bit rounder as well. Richter spent the first day just discussing the strengths of Life Magic with her. She was every bit as pleasant as she looked. Sumiko promised to teach him a spell in the morning.
    His interactions with Yoshi were somewhat surprising. At the lunch break, the sword adept walked over with a stick. Richter groaned internally, but stood and raised his sword none the less. The man simply shook his head and told Richter to sheath the blade. Rather than beat Richter pillar to post, Yoshi instead showed him a sequence of movements called a “form.” The first form was named, “The Forest Wind.” It focused on shoulder length sweeps of Richter’s blade for attack. The second was called, “Willow in the Storm.” He was made to move through a series of motions that bent him at odd angles, keeping his sword between him and the anticipated “attack.” For both, Yoshi focused a great amount of attention on Richter’s stance. Each movement required him to be both flexible and balanced. They went through the same series of movements for the half hour allotted for lunch each day. When it was time to move again, Yoshi just corrected his stance a final time by gently prodding one leg, grunted and then walked away.
    Richter was certainly not disappointed that he didn’t need healing again, but the man’s demeanor was so different that it was a bit a mystery. He wasn’t about to complain, though. He shouldered his bag and walked on with everyone else, resuming his conversation with Sumiko.
    The next several days followed the same pattern. Walking with Sumiko, and during their rests, training the forms with Yoshi. He would steal a little time in between to read the lore books he had bought from Leandra. At the end of the second night, Yoshi stood opposite him again holding a small branch. The sprite attacked from a high guard. Richter responded with Willow in the Storm and flowed out of the path of the attack. It somehow left him in the perfect position to attack with The Forest Wind form. The two of them flowed through the movements, their two sticks clattering together. Richter saw now how the two forms he had been practicing naturally complemented each other. They kept up this exchange for almost an hour. When they finished a final rapid exchange, Yoshi stepped back and grunted.
    Congratulations! You have reached skill level 2 in Swordsmanship. Damage +2%. Chance to cause bleed status +0.5%.
    The sprite was turning to leave when Richter called out, “I really appreciate you teaching me, but I’m not exactly sure what I am supposed to be learning. When I studied with other Masters, I leveled up several times, but my swordsmanship skill seems only to go up when we spar. Why don’t we spar the whole time?”
    “I am teaching you the art of the blade, not how to increase your level. You could bash away at a monster all day long with your sword. It would raise your level, but you would learn nothing. To you, a sword would still just be a club with edges. If you go that route, anyone with a bit of training will still kill you no matter how high your level is,” Yoshi replied.
    That made sense. If there was one thing he had found about The Land, it was that the proper application of force was just as, if not more important than, brute force alone. “I understand. Thank you again, Master Yoshi,” Richter said with a slight bow of his head. The sprite was turning away again when a thought occurred to Richter. “Master Yoshi!” The sprite turned back. “If you are meaning to teach me the art of sword fighting, why did you just beat me with sticks the first day?”
    Yoshi looked at him for a moment, then a