Sora didn't wait for an answer. He took up his stance, drew his sword, and pointed it at Jarek. "Don't hold back, I don't want to hurt you."

Jarek immediately drew his sword, a broad smile spreading across his face. "You're even allowing yourself to provoke me? I like that spirit."

Sora charged straight at him, his footsteps raising a light cloud of mist, and swung his sword in a sharp, precise arc. The metal met Jarek's with a sharp clang, the impact echoing throughout the clearing.

Jarek's smile widened even more. "Not bad. You strike without hesitation. "

But already he was pushing Sora back with a sharp flick of his wrist, forcing him to take two steps back. No sooner had the young man regained his balance than Jarek advanced, his sword moving in a fluid, almost lazy motion... but each blow threatened to cut him down.

Sora parried narrowly, his arm trembling under the force of the impact. "He's too fast... Too strong," he thought. But he couldn't back down. Not today.

He counterattacked with a series of three quick blows, aiming for the sides. Jarek dodged the first two without even raising his blade and blocked the last with insulting ease.

"You're still thinking too much," he whispered, inches from him.

Their eyes met. Jarek's were amused, almost playful. Sora's were burning with contained rage, his teeth clenched.

Sora focused harder. He knew he had to give it his all now if he wanted to have any chance of beating him. His chances were slim, but it was enough to gain the upper hand.

His breathing calmed slightly, his vision became clearer, and he could feel every vibration in his body. His concentration was at its peak.

This time, he managed to anticipate a feint. He spun abruptly, avoiding the blade aimed at his shoulder, and counterattacked, targeting the mercenary's exposed flank.

Jarek raised an eyebrow, surprised to see him keep up with him. He had to raise his sword with both hands to deflect the assault. "Oh?" His smile turned into a brief burst of laughter. "Now that's something else..."

Their blades clashed again, sparks flying in the mist. Sora fought relentlessly, carried by momentum, by a visceral need to prove that he was no longer the frightened child who had been abandoned here two months earlier.

But despite his efforts, despite his skill, Jarek still parried every blow. More seriously this time. His eyes, amused but focused, never left Sora for a second.

"You've grown, kid. But..." Jarek stepped aside, his blade tracing a quick curve.

Sora raised his weapon to block, but it was too late. The flat of Jarek's sword struck his side, sending a wave of pain through his body and forcing him to stagger backward.

"...you still have a long way to go before you can touch me."

Sora immediately sat up, panting, but his eyes still gleamed with defiance. He gripped the hilt of his sword tighter, his muscles trembling but his spirit unyielding.

"Then I'll keep going... until I succeed!" "

However, despite these fine words, the throbbing pain in his side reminded him of the vast difference in their strength. But his eyes did not waver. His hand tightened around the hilt of his sacred sword, and a clear thought crossed his mind: "Now is the time... "

He took a step forward, his feet firmly planted on the ground. The mist around him vibrated slightly as a faint glow lit up the blade.

"Hoh?" Jarek said, raising an eyebrow. His amused smile turned into an intrigued expression. "So you've decided to bring out your real toy..."

The light intensified, as if emanating from his arm and running along the weapon. Sora focused everything he had, his breathing steady, his gaze fixed on Jarek's silhouette. His world narrowed to this precise point, to this single opponent.

"Big Cutting Edge!"

He swung his sword in a wide, brutal motion that sliced through the air with tenfold power. The blade released a wave of pure energy, a veil of immaculate white, cleaving the mist before him and rushing straight at Jarek like a gaping maw.

The impact shook the ground, lifting dead leaves and dust in a gust.

Jarek didn't move right away. His eyes lit up with a predatory gleam as the wave approached. Then, in one swift motion, he cut off the flow of energy rushing straight at him.

The explosion echoed through the clearing, the energy of the attack shattering against Jarek's blade. The mist abruptly dissipated over several meters, revealing Jarek's tense body, which hadn't moved an inch despite the violence of the impact.

A brief laugh escaped his lips.

"Not bad at all, kid!"

He pushed the blade away, dispelling the last bursts of energy with a powerful gesture. The ground beneath his feet now bore a deep crack, marking the trajectory of Sora's blow.

The mercenary straightened his posture, his eyes sparkling with genuine excitement.

"If you had pulled that off on the first day... your arm would already be completely necrotic. But now... " He spread his arms as if to welcome the challenge again. "...you don't have a single visible burn. You're really improving."

Sora was breathing heavily, his muscles tense like strings ready to snap, but he refused to give in. His fingers trembled on the hilt of his weapon, yet he raised his blade again, ready to attack once more.

Elwen, who had been watching silently until then, widened her eyes slightly at the power unleashed. She had seen this attack dozens of times before, yet this was the first time she had seen anyone capable of destroying Sora's most powerful attack with a simple wave of the arm.

Jarek, meanwhile, hadn't stopped smiling.

"Good, very good... Show me again. Show me how far you can go before you collapse."

Sora tightened his grip on his sword, already breathing heavily. Jarek simply dodged or parried, as if each blow he struck was just a warm-up. The young man felt irritation burning in his chest. "He's still taking me lightly," Sora repeated to himself.

He picked up the pace. His strikes became sharper, faster, cutting through the air as if to force Jarek back. But on the third attempt, as he lunged forward with too much force, the mercenary pivoted sideways and surprised him with a lightning-fast backhand.

The blade grazed his side, deep enough to cut into his flesh. Sora grimaced, gritting his teeth against the pain.

Jarek, meanwhile, chuckled amusedly, without a hint of malice.

"You're exposing yourself too much, kid. In a real fight, I could have killed you already."

Sora took a step back, one hand instinctively resting on his wound. Blood trickled out, warm, but not enough to stop him. Not this time.

He took a deep breath and returned to his guard. Despite the pain, his eyes shone with cold determination.

"Perhaps... But I haven't said my last word."

He immediately resumed his attack, varying his moves, less direct, more unpredictable. His blade slid over Jarek's defenses, seeking to force an opening, however small. As he continued his attacks, he felt his arms grow heavy and his breathing quicken. But he held on.

Finally, a flaw appeared: a blink of an eye in which Jarek, after parrying a slashing blow, left his flank exposed.

Sora didn't think twice. His blade glowed with a white aura.

"Big Cutting Edge!" "

The blow split the air, tracing a luminous arc that struck Jarek squarely in the chest. The impact forced him back several steps, and a thin red gash appeared on his chest.

Silence fell for a moment. Sora was panting, exhausted, his hand clenched around his weapon. Then he realized: he had hit him.

Jarek looked down at his wound, ran two fingers over it, looked at the blood... and burst out laughing, loud and hearty.

"HA! Not bad at all! You take the hit, you get back up, and you fight back. That's what I wanted to see."

His eyes lit up with an almost wild gleam, but also with a sincere sparkle.

"You've just taken a step forward, Sora. And believe me... I'm starting to want to take you seriously."

Jarek sat up, wiping the trickle of blood from his chest with the back of his hand. His smile widened, this time without irony.

"Good, kid. You managed to hit me. But... let's see what you do when I really start to enjoy myself."

No sooner had he uttered these words than his posture changed. Lower, more fluid. The air itself seemed to grow heavier, as if his body were emitting an invisible pressure.

Sora felt a shiver run down his spine. "That's it. He's finally getting serious."

Jarek lunged at him so quickly that the young man barely had time to raise his sword to block. The impact sent him three steps back, the muscles in his arms screaming under the force. Jarek gave him no respite: each blow was precise, calculated, forcing Sora to defend without being able to regain the initiative.

"You're holding up better than before," the mercenary said between strikes. "But you rely too much on brute force... and you forget that speed and balance are what save lives." "

Sora gritted his teeth, trying to counter with a sideways blow. But Jarek deflected his blade with a simple flick of the wrist and took advantage of the opening to deliver a sharp blow with his guard against Sora's wrist. Sora's weapon vibrated, nearly slipping from his hands.

He didn't have time to recover: Jarek followed up with a sweeping kick, knocking Sora off balance and causing him to lose his footing on his left leg. His hand involuntarily released the sword, which fell into the grass with a metallic clang.

And before he could regain his balance, Jarek placed his blade against his throat. The movement was clean, precise, without unnecessary violence.

Silence fell. Sora, panting, his gaze fixed on his opponent's clear eyes, felt his heart pounding.

Then Jarek smiled and lowered his weapon.

"There you go, you're dead... You've improved, that's for sure. But never forget: the slightest hesitation in a fight, and you lose everything."

He took a step back and sheathed his sword with a calm gesture.

"Don't be upset, kid. I've seen enough to know that you've trained hard. "

Sora picked up his weapon silently, still breathing heavily. Frustration burned inside him, but so did a strange satisfaction: Jarek had recognized his progress, even while dominating him.

Elwen, who had remained on the sidelines until then, approached, her eyes resting alternately on Jarek and Sora.

"If that was supposed to be training, I find it brutal. "

Jarek burst out laughing.

"Brutal? That, princess, was a caress."

Sora, still on the ground, picked up his sword. His fingers trembled slightly, not from fear, but from pent-up anger. He took a deep breath, trying to calm the turmoil in his chest.

"The slightest hesitation... and I lose everything," he whispered to himself, his eyes fixed on his blade.

Jarek, still standing in front of him with a predatory smile on his lips, burst out laughing.

"Finally! He's starting to understand."

But before Sora had time to get completely back on his feet, Elwen stepped forward. Her icy, piercing gaze locked with the mercenary's.

"If this was supposed to be training," she said sharply, "you could have killed him."

Jarek raised an eyebrow, amused.

"I could have... But I didn't. There's a difference." "

"You're playing with him like a toy," Elwen continued, her voice filled with cold determination. "You don't understand the consequences of this kind of humiliation."

A mischievous gleam flashed in Jarek's eyes.

"Oh, but I understand them very well. What you call humiliation, I call a lesson. And believe me, princess of the woods: it's this kind of invisible scar that forges a true fighter."

Elwen didn't budge an inch, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Perhaps. But I don't appreciate teachers who break more than they build."

Sora, who had gotten back up in the meantime, stepped in between them, his eyes fixed on the ground for a few seconds before he looked up. His features no longer expressed anger or frustration, but a new determination.

"He's right," he admitted calmly. Then his gaze turned to Jarek. "But so are you." "

He gripped his sword and sheathed it with a firm motion.

"I lost. Because I hesitated. Because I thought my progress was enough. But I've learned my lesson. Next time, I won't lose."

A heavy silence fell, before Jarek burst out laughing, loud and clear, echoing through the forest.

"Hahaha! That's what I wanted to hear! If you had said anything else, I would have really thought I'd wasted my time with you."

His smile widened, his eyes shining with an almost proud gleam.

"You're not the same kid I left here. Not yet a man, but no longer a burden either. And that, believe me, is already huge."

Elwen looked away slightly, but a faint smile touched his lips, fleeting.

Sora remained upright, his gaze fixed on Jarek's.

He would no longer be content with just surviving. He would rise, step by step, to Jarek's level.

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