Chapter 25: Chapter 26 Intermission 3 (Vol 2) : The price

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['Guru Dakshina' is the tradition to repay one's 'guru' or the 'teacher' after the complete process of education and training is over. This is done out of respect and acknowledgment by the student towards the teacher or the guru. The Guru Dakshina also functioned as repayment for the guidance and teachings provided by the Guru. ]

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"Awwwooo"

Howling the wolves charged at the pair of humans in front of them. There was no diversion or smart play necessary now instead they used their superior numbers to overpower the humans in one go.

The pair of human who were standing in front of the wolves awaiting the attack also ready themselves and finally both the sides collided in close quarter battle. 

The human trainees knew how to use the advantage of being outnumbered by the wolves against them.

Rjuna used his blade to slice off several tendons of the monster which made them fall to the earth.

 Once they were fallen down they were stomped over by the feet of their own brethren who didn't even looked at them.

The skill just employed by the wolves had clouded their judgment as well as their eyes apparently. 

The only thing which mattered to them was to chew the flesh off of the bones of these humans. No matter what they now paid no head to the suffering of their brothers.

The other human used his blade to slice off heads of these monsters, the fallen ones that were not stomped upon and the ones doing the stomping. His sword art was perfect. 

There were not any unnecessary movements. Every strike, every swing found its mark and did the job it was supposed to. Everyone was capsized by the dance being performed by a sword, even Rjuna.

One of the students used this opportunity and slipped past the wolves to alert their teacher.

The battlefield was dyed red with the blood of these monsters by the end of the battle. Rjuna had suffered few scratches and minor bruises but the other warrior was now completely red due to continuous bathing in the blood of the enemy.

To other human trainees, the other warrior now looked more of a monster than the direwolves. Some even gulped fearfully at the sight of his fearless and merciless fighting style. 

No matter what they used to think about peasants, in front of them was a person far more capable than anyone amongst them.

While the battle was raging in full force, the Alpha slipped past the rest of the group and appeared behind Rjuna to attack him from behind. 

He opened his jaws wide to bit of his neck, but before he could do anything, a kick sent Rjuna out of his jaw's path.

Rjuna landed few meters away, he then looked at the other warrior who had kicked him with a mixed expression. 

Although he was saved, it felt like he was wronged and a moment of bravery was stolen from him. There were many other ways to save him that did not involve him getting kicked.

The Alpha also looked at the other warrior with pure rage and fury in his blazing eyes. The human was looking at him with a sneer and eyes that were focused.

"You look quite smart for a monster. If we kill you first, we might not need to deal with the rest, I guess" said the human with a calculated glance around the alpha of the direwolves.

The alpha growled and attacked him with his right front paw, the human deflected it with the back of his sword and at the same time went for his head.

The wolf ducked and the blade could only cut few strands of his fur. 

The wolf opened his mouth to breathe out some elemental magic, but before he could do that the warrior used hilt of his sword and hit the wolves lower jaw to shut his mouth close. 

The wolf whined in pain as the fire he was about to breathe was released into his mouth but could not get out due to the closed jaw causing him internal injury.

Then one of the wolf came charging at the human warrior with a menacing rage and speed and managed to bit his blade. 

The blade had already lost his durability a while ago and under the strain of the monster's jaw it broke apart in several places.

The human warrior let go of his blade while it was still in the mouth of the wolf and then launched a roundhouse kick at the sword handel which was still stuck in the mouth of the wolf at point blank range. 

This made the blade to shove deep down in the throat of the wolf, killing him instantly.

The alpha had recovered and came charging at the human thinking that the human has lost his weapon and it should be easy to finish him off now.

"Oye! That's unfair. You already had an advantage of your numbers, now I don't even have my sword. Talk about cheap monsters" protested the human dripping crimson red.

But the alpha didn't heed any thoughts to what his enemy was saying, all he wanted was the neck of his enemy within his jaws.

The human tried to dodge continuous barrage of attack of bites and sharp paws of the wolf when suddenly a sword landed next to him. The human picked up the sword and looked at the person who had helped him.

This was the same person who had initially discriminated against him, called him a peasant and what not. 

The warrior nodded towards him while test swinging the sword. It was a well-made sword far better than his own.

He smiled and used his own skill on the sword. The sword's blade changed its hue to indigo which made other trainees gasp in surprise. 

They couldn't believe that an ordinary peasant had already learned mana armament and that too of indigo hue. 

Learning how to use mana and using it to enhance one's weapon is very different, the later one being harder. This left everyone present and observing the battle in shock. 

With his shining indigo blade, the warrior took the stance and made a swing for the Alpha's head. It happened so fast that the monster didn't even get the chance to process what was happening and his head was split in half till his neckline and then the monster fell down.

Other direwolves ran away in panic once their leader was killed leaving everyone without a leader and protector.

Then a human voice brought everyone back, "Who taught you those moves."

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""Gurdron""

Everyone looked at the owner of the voice and rejoiced in unison.

Gurdron ignored the rejoicing students and focused on the red warrior. He was shocked due to the skill displayed by the young warrior.

The warrior bowed his head and declared with his chest puffed out full of pride, "It was you who had taught me and helped to surpass my limits."

"Why are you lying child? I don't even remember accepting you, let alone train you. Who gave you such unparalleled training?"

The warrior smiled and gestured everyone to follow him.

 

The group followed the warrior and reached a camp area not far from where they were. There was a training dummy near the camp and a sculpture that looked somewhat similar to Gurdron.

The warrior pointed at the sculpture and declared, "He is my teacher and you as well. I remembered your explanation and guidance given to your students and followed them all with my heart."

"Through hard training I've polished my skill to this level. Although this is just a start, with further training from you I might become the mightiest swordsman in the history and you will be known as my teacher throughout history."

Gurdron silently observed him. He couldn't deny the fact that at his age, he has never seen any more skilled swordsman than him.

Given the fact that he had achieved such skills while following pointers given to other. There is nothing he can't achieve when he becomes his student and is trained by him personally.

"You want me to be your teacher but I still don't know your name" said Gurdron.

"I am Iklavya Valya, son of Vineet, the Chief of our tribe" replied the warrior.

"Iklavya, are you sure you want me your teacher?" questioned Gurdron.

"That is my utmost desire" said Iklavya eagerly without holding back his happiness.

Gurdron didn't say anything for a while and then said, "I have pledged that I will make Rjuna the best swordsman in the history. You still want be a student of a teacher who might be biased towards other?"

Iklavya looked at Rjuna for a minute. He had seen his skills and according to him he's the closest contender for the title of the best swordsman.

This only excited Iklavya further. There's nothing more helpful to one's growth than a close rival. So he just nodded without saying any word.

Gurdron sighed and said, "Very well, I accept you as my student."

When those words left Gurdron's lips, Iklavya's happiness had no limits. To him it was like overcoming the greatest hurdle.

He jumped while rejoicing, even Rjuna was happy for him. He could as well use a sparring partner.

"Then it's time for you to pay 'Guru Dakshina' as my student" said Gurdron.

"Yes off course I'm willing to pay anything within my power, that my teacher desire' said Iklavya while he knelt down on one knee.

"Very well, I want the thumb of your right hand" said Gurdron with sorrowful expression.

"""Gurdron??""" Questioned everyone in astonishment except Iklavya. He was still smiling while looking at his teacher.

"Gurdron, how could he hold a sword without his thumb? There's no way he can become a swordsman without his thumb?" questioned Rjuna while everyone was also protesting.

"This is between a teacher and his student, you people should stay out of it" said Gurdron and his gaze landed back on Iklavya.

"I want your thumb!" said Gurdron again with a stoic expression.

Iklavya nodded and drew his knife and cut off his right hand's thumb. Then he picked up his thumb and put it in his teacher's feet with a smile.

"Now that you have lost your thumb, there is no way you can hold the sword anymore, right? There's nothing for me to teach you. You can go back to your tribe. I'm very lucky to have a student like you" said Gurdron with wet eyes and while patting Iklavya's back. 

Iklavya nodded his head without showing any expression whatsoever and headed back towards his village in the forest. Rjuna just looked at his rival and then he looked back at Gurdron.

"What we have witnessed today, will only bring shame to my teacher. I would have worked hard to surpass Iklavya to become the best swordsman in the history. But now, even if the world anoints me as the greatest swordsman, I would always remember Iklavya as the hurdle I can never surpass. For me he will be the greatest swordsman ever. Your pledge will never be fulfilled" said Rjuna with teary eyes while leaving the forest as well.

He was ashamed that his mentor was not confident enough of his skills and had to use such under-handed tricks to make him the greatest swordsman.

Gurdron just stood there in daze while his gaze was fixed in the direction where Iklavya went.

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In a dimly lit room, a mother and son couple were sitting on bed.

"So that was story of Iklavya, Sati. Did you like it?" questioned Aisha while gently caressing Satvik's head which was in her lap. 

She was trying to make him fall asleep but the story of Iklavya has not even made him yawn. She has been telling stories to Satvik since he was 4 years old and could understand what kind of stories he wanted to listen to.

Satvik nodded and closed his eyes pretending to go to sleep. Satisfied, Aisha left after tucking him for the night. The moment Aisha left the room, Satvik's eyes popped open.

'Well that was a complete spin off of a story I already know about. No, not just a story you tell at bedtime and forget about it. A legend! The legend of Eklavya and Guru Drona' Satvik thought to himself amazed at the parallels this world has with his own.

Eklavya's devotion towards his teacher was something else. The devotion was evident when he sacrificed his right thumb happily as Guru Dakshina and did not complain about it once.

Eklavya never held this against his Guru and continued to treat Guru Drona as his teacher.

Although he could never become the greatest Archer, he mastered the art of archery even without having a right thumb. He gave birth to new possibilities by using an archer with his index and middle finger. 

People still believe that he was the greatest student a teacher could have ever had. Guru Drona may have received criticism for his decisions from many and for many years but such decisions are not made in isolation and are taken in order to avoid a ripple effect of consequences.  

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