Van seemed to be standing on some sort of battlements, a large castle wall of some sort that gave him a nice view of the surrounding area. Forests and green plains as far as the eye could see with a few mountains in the distance. Turning, he saw a man in full armor, his helmet off, gazing into the distance.
"So... you have come to me..." the man then turned to look at Van with some slight disinterest... but at the same time... curiosity... "I suppose you are here to gain something from me, correct? Well then... how can I help you..." sounding like even he wasn't sure if he wanted to aid Van or not.
Van was taken a little aback by the man's attitude, but sensed no malice in his words or actions and so decided to explain why he was here. "I heard that you are a master swordsman and aura user. I have come in the hopes that you would be able to help teach me how to grow and control my aura, and maybe teach me a few other things if you are willing." speaking courteously, not wanting to make a bad impression.
From what he had heard from Van, they couldn't directly hurt him in any way, nor can he hurt them unless there were special circumstances involved. So trying to convince those he comes to for aid to help him out of their own free will was effectively the only way that he would ever learn anything from them.
The knight thought about it for a long while. To the point, Van was wondering if he would ever answer. The man then turned and walked away...
Van watched a little dumbfounded by this action.
But just as the knight was about to disappear from sight, he turned his head to look at Van, and then motioned with it towards the direction he was going, as if to say to follow him. After that, he stoically moved on.
Van was a little confused by this, but then quickly realized that the knight was about to disappear from view, and rushed to follow him. After a few minutes, he found himself in some sort of open field with a few boulders around and trees in the periphery of the clearing. The knight then turned to address him, arms crossed.
"Alright..." the man said slowly. "You can call me..." he thought about it for a while. "Duran..." tasting the word as if for the first time, as if unsure if he was happy with it or not.
"Before we begin... I want you to show me your skills..." He then looked around until his eyes landed on a boulder not so far off from the two of them. "That boulder... cut it..." and gave no further explanation or reason.
Van looked towards the boulder, then back to Duran. "You... want me to cut that boulder?" he asked unsure.
But Duran remained silent, giving neither a positive nor negative answer.
Van stood there for a while until the silence got uncomfortable. Uncertainly, he made his way towards the boulder and drew out his sword. Thinking there must be something more to it, he gave a mighty swing of his blade.
Only for it to clang loudly against the rock, making Van wince at the sound, fearful that he might have just dulled his blade. Worried, he turned to look at Duran, wondering if this was all within his expectations. But the knight didn't budge one inch and continued to stare and watch Van.
Van really didn't like doing things without reason. But decided to give it one more try anyway. This time, he planned to use his aura, encasing his blade with blue energy. But before he could bring his sword down, he was stopped.
"If you do that, you may be able to make a dent on the rock... but it would be at the cost of your blade..." Duran said disapprovingly. "And I'm pretty sure I asked you to cut the boulder, not just make marks in it..." his eyes bore holes into Van.
Van... was somewhat offended, given a task he couldn't understand, then told he was doing it wrong, really peeved him... "how else am I supposed to do it?" he complained, a little nervously due to Duran's gaze. "The only way to cut a boulder like this is if I used all my aura and tried several times! Maybe if it was my father... he could cut a few trees with a single slash. But even he would have to expend a lot of aura for that." he pointed out in his self-defense.
Duran continued to stare at Van for a long while before he finally sighed. Slowly, he took out his sword and raised it up high with a very thin film of aura surrounding it, to the point it was hard to see. Lazily, he brought it down without much force.
Van frowned as he watched wondering what the knight was trying to do and if this was some sort of attack. As he stood next to the boulder, he felt a soft current of airbrush past him when Duran brought his sword down. He looked around confused, wondering what that was all about.
Duran then slowly walked up next to Van then pointed at the boulder.
Van, still confused, followed the finger back to the boulder.
The knight then created a thin film of aura on the tip of his finger, and gently poked the boulder.
CRACK! BOOM! The boulder went. The sides of it exploded outward as if a bomb of pure energy exploded from the inside.
But the middle... the middle was cleanly cut, almost as if someone took a waterjet cutter to a geode, revealing a glossy and smooth interior with rainbow swirls and beautiful colors.
Van was startled, then flabbergasted by what he just saw. He looked towards Duran, then back to the boulder, the sides of which were all on the floor, but the middle part still untouched except for where a clear cut had been made through it. Gently... carefully... he touched the boulder as if he wasn't sure if it was real or not.
"Unbelievable..." Van thought as he touched the outer edges of the rock. "The only reason the sides exploded... was because the energy within had no natural escape... the cut in the middle appeared so quickly and smoothly, that when Duran push even a little bit aura in between the practically nonexistent gap, it displaced the air and space around it so fast when it cracked open that it effectively broke the sides from the sheer air resistance of the sudden movement... what fucking bullshit..."
Van then gently moved his hand to the cut part of the boulder. His fingertips practically glided over its smooth surface, as if there was no friction whatsoever. When he pulled his hand back and turned it around. He found his fingertips bleeding, with some of his fingerprints cut away, leaving only smooth skin.
"Holy shit... the cut must have been made on a molecular level or some sort of bullshit. Because even the jagged fingerprints of my fingertips were cut off just by touching it... how the fucking hell..." looking in a mix of horror and awe at his bleeding fingers.
Duran looked at Van, then looked away. "Follow." was all he said and made his way toward a nearby tree.
Van, confused, followed Duran, afraid of what might happen if he didn't, but also curious to see what else the knight might show him.
Once at the tree, Duran casually swung his blade once more across the tree.
Van then waited, expecting it to be cut down... but nothing happened. Now he was questioning if he even saw it right. He did see the blade pass through the tree... right?
Duran then turned to address him. "Sometimes... it's not always about being able to cut whatever you want... sometimes... it's about choosing to cut what you want to cut..." sounding sagely.
