Chapter 20: Chapter 20: Elif's First Sparring Session!
Waking up, I sit up yawning before getting out of bed and heading to the bathroom to clean myself; after about half an hour, I exit the bathroom and start cultivating as I still have time before breakfast.
'There we go, just advance another minor realm; now I'm at the late stage of Foundation Establishment.' Thought Elif as he opened his eyes and started feeling the increase in power, though the door opened in the middle of him, testing his strength.
"Your highness, it's time for breakfast." Said Illumia after opening the door without prior warning, which allowed her to see the strange scene of Elif trying to break a part of his bed.
"Make sure to knock next time; what if I was cultivating or naked?" Responded Elif, annoyed at how Illumia had just barged into his room.
Getting off my bed, I left my room and headed toward the dining room with Illumia following behind me; when I arrived, everyone was already present and was just waiting for me.
"Get a good night's rest, Elif?" Asked Maria as she helped Elif into his seat, which he was still too short for.
"Yeah, it was good. I also advanced to the late stage of the Foundation Establishment realm this morning." Replied Elif as he started eating his food while waving at Elaine, who was currently being held in Marcus's arms.
"That's good; just make sure to use those pills we gave you unless you want to strengthen your foundation yourself." Said Marcus as he fed Elaine small pieces of food, as she had just started growing out of the breastfeeding phase.
"Ohh, I forget about them; I'll use them; I don't want to waste time strengthening my foundation if some pills can do it instead." Answered Elif with a mouth full of food, causing Maria to shake her head at Elif's lack of etiquette as a Royal Elf.
We continued eating and chatting for a while, but we eventually finished all the food and left as some of us still had some things to do.
"I'm going back to my room to cultivate; bye." Said Elif as he quickly ran out of the dining hall heading towards his room to get his sword he had forgotten about.
"Ha, sorry about that; I'll remember to keep you with me from now on." Said Elif as he apologized to his sheathed partner in his hands.
Releasing a sigh, I was about to start cultivating again, but then I thought, since I now have a weapon, I should get accustomed to using it, and what better way to get comfortable with it than to do it while fighting, so I asked the only person available who I knew could fight.
"Hey, Illumia, can you teach me to fight or something similar?" Asked Elif while pointing his sword at Illumia, who had gained a smile from hearing Elif's question.
"I was wondering when you'd ask me that, and yes, I would be glad to teach you how to fight. However, if you wish to spar, we should go to the training grounds." Answered Illumia with a smile while bowing.
"Lead the way then, as I've never been to the training grounds, so I don't know where it's at." Stated Elif in mild excitement as he hopped off his bed and followed behind Illumia, who was already walking away.
As I followed behind Illumia, we eventually made it out of the maze of identical hallways and arrived outside, though the moment we did, I could hear loud shouting in the distance.
"What's with all the shouting going on?" Asked Elif as he walked down the pathway littered with beautiful vegetation till he eventually made it to a vast open area filled with nothing but men and women training.
"Welcome to the training grounds, your highness." Announced Illumia with a slight smile as she watched Elif's reaction.
I could see hundreds of Elves training intensely; a portion of them was fighting against a statue that fought back, others were fighting amongst each other, and some were training in a big formation.
"They're training with such intensity!" Said Elif as he watched with interest.
Walking down the stone road with Illumia, I closely watched all the different types of training the Elves were going through and wondered if I would have to train like that. While walking, everyone who looked over in my direction stopped what they were doing and instantly bowed before they resumed their training, though such actions were expected, considering I am their prince.
"So, are we almost to our training grounds or not? We've been walking for a while." Asked Elif, having gotten a little bored of walking.
"We're almost there, your highness."
Illumia wasn't wrong; after passing through a series of gates and guards, we arrived at a much more beautiful training ground with a bigger arena to boot.
"This is quite nice, and they even have a little house in the back." Said Elif as he scouted the area.
"Come up to the stage, your highness, and we'll begin the spar." Announced Illumia, who was already on the stage holding a wooden battle axe.
Walking onto the stage, the moment I stepped on it, I saw a wooden battle axe suddenly appear mere inches away from my neck; it happened so fast that I didn't even process what happened until Illumia's voice sounded out.
"That is one death, your highness; next time, make sure always to be prepared in case someone wishes to sneak attack you just like I did." Advised Illumia, who removed her battle axe away from Elif's neck before appearing back where she previously stood.
I'd never experienced it before, but that was the first time I ever felt scared when I saw that battle axe just inches away from my neck, I was too stunned even to move, and just like what Illumia said, I would've been killed if this wasn't just training. When I recovered, I quickly unsheathed my sword and stored the sheath in my dimension ring that I figured out how to use yesterday before getting into a stance that'll allow for quick movement.
Though I was prepared to fight, I was still nervous as I'd never fought before, and it seemed Illumia could also tell I was nervous.
"Calm down, your highness; fighting with an agitated mental state will only cause you to make more mistakes that'll lead to your downfall." Advised Illumia, noticing how nervous Elif was.
Listening to Illumia's advice, I closed my eyes for a while before opening them, feeling much more at ease, and although I'm still nervous, It's no longer to the point of influencing my mind. When Illumia saw me visibly calm down, she gave some information before suddenly launching directly at me.
"Just so you know, your highness, but since this is your first sparring session, I shall limit my cultivation to the early Foundation Establishment realm." Announced Illumia as she instantly propelled herself directly toward Elif with a very impressive speed.
Seeing her closing in on me quickly, I tightened my grip on my sword and waited for her to arrive within striking distance, though that didn't take long as half a second later, Illumia was only a meter away from me, which was within striking distance. So I quickly brought my sword down in front of me, but I was too slow as Illumia easily dodged my attack before bringing her axe down, which she held with her right arm and struck directly for my arms.
I was slightly flustered as I knew I wouldn't be able to bring my arms back in time while holding my sword, so I let go of it and quickly retracted my arms which caused Illumia's axe to miss. However, my happiness didn't last long as I suddenly felt a terrible pain coming from my stomach before getting launched in the distance off the arena and only stopping once I hit a tree.
When I finally hit the ground, I grabbed my stomach in pain, groaning while kneeling over, feeling as if I was about to vomit all the food I had eaten for breakfast.
"Why did you hit me so hard, Illumia!" Yelled Elif in anger while trying his best to get up, though his question got ignored.
"Why did you let go of your weapon, your partner!?" Asked Illumia holding Elifs partner in her other hand while looking at him coldly.
"Because my arms would've been hit!" Yelled back Elif as he managed to stand up with help from the tree.
"You sacrificed your sword for your arms, so how will you fight me with no weapon?" Asked Illumia as she threw the sword to Elif, landing on the ground blade first right in front of him.
I couldn't give her an actual reply, as if I couldn't even fight her while wielding my sword; how would I do so without it?
"It seems you've understood, in real life and death battles, letting go of your weapon or partner is the same as giving up your life to your enemy, as they won't stop attacking you while you're defenseless. Step back onto the arena so we can resume our battle, and this time no matter what happens, never let go of your partner, your highness." Stated Illumia as her tone of voice eased up towards the end of her speech before walking back to the other side of the arena.
Releasing a sigh, I stand up, holding my stomach, and walk to my sword before picking it back up.
'Don't let go of my sword; easier said than done.' Thought Elif while tightening his grip on the sword.
Making my way back onto the stage, I notice Illumia's back in the position she was previously in; letting go of my stomach; I use both hands to grip my partner and focus intently on Illumia.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone