Chapter 37: Chapter 36: Instructor Mist.

"Do not disappoint me."

Emmy groaned under the pressure induced upon her by the instructor. She struggled to lift her head for several seconds before she could finally catch a glimpse of his appearance.

"Inazuman?" That was the first thought that came to her mind when she saw the middle-aged man.

His beard was well kept and so were his clothes, which were certainly from Inazuma. He had a katana at his side along with a bottle of what Emmy could only guess was some alcoholic beverage.

It's likely sake, looking at his Inazuman aesthetic.

And while Emmy wasn't a clothing expert she was sure the man was from Inazuma but… his clothes looked different somehow. The electro spiral on his chest plate was worn and his clothes looked a little… ancient.

Emmy didn't know but it wasn't modern Inazuma clothing, not like the ones her parents brought home anyway.

Her thought process was suddenly disrupted when the pressure increased and Emmy could now see the electro energy bouncing off the man in waves, trying to consume her. Emmy tried to summon her flames and failed.

'Dammit!' She felt that it was unfair treatment. She leaned against a wall and felt the sweat journey down her face, her breath labored as she felt a sharp pulse going on in her head.

It hurt. A lot.

Emmy bit her lip and glared at the man hatefully for subjecting him to this.

"A feisty one," Suddenly at his words the pressure eased and he adjusted his seating posture, holding his sword vertically.

Pushing off the ground he got up with a groan and started stretching, ignoring the panting little girl before his eyes.

He didn't think she needed it, she was glaring at him with such intensity earlier. She had a bit of energy left.

"Alright…" the man released a satisfying sound as he finished his stretches, he looked at Emmy saying, "Hey get up! You're still young, why did you let an old man like me do it before you."

Emmy gashed her teeth and got up looking at the man with a cutting gaze before she breathed, calming down. She watched the man carefully, ready for if he might hit her with his aura again.

"Who are you?" Emmy asked as she looked at the man, he was an instructor that was for sure. She didn't know what he would teach her though.

The man laughed heartily, "I am your combat instructor! You may call me Instructor Mist, as you can see I am a swordsman but I also know how to use many other weapons as well," he said as he patted his sword.

Emmy sighed as she looked at the man, silently evaluating him but as she had expected. She hadn't been able to obtain anything from how he looked other than he was from Inazuma somehow. The question was how the system even got a man like him to be her trainer.

He was ancient or he just liked old clothing. She wasn't one to judge another's style of clothing.

It was still incredibly suspicious though but Emmy had no choice but to drop it and move one. Why?

'The system wouldn't give me an answer to this one either, right?' Emmy sighed once again as she looked at the man.

She noticed that she started sighing a lot more since she got the system.

"When will I start training? Will it be now?" Emmy as usual asked questions as she looked around the room. She hadn't done that as she was slightly overwhelmed by the man's aura when she entered.

It had some type of mats on the floor, she noticed. There wasn't much other than a teapot, medicinal herbs, a bow, and a black feather. She wondered why he had a bunch of medicinal herbs and a black feather though.

Excuse her but this was a fake reality, right? So why herbs?

Emmy was going on a bit of a tangent with her thoughts that she almost hadn't caught what had been said.

"Are you listening?" Instructor Mist asked as he looked at Emmy with a deep gaze as if he was daring her to lie.

Scratch that she didn't hear a single word. She had to stop analyzing things in the middle of a conversation or she really might get killed one day.

"No…" Emmy could feel the heat rising from her cheeks, and her embarrassment skyrocketed, "I, I was thinking about—"

"Where am I from? I'm an Inazuman citizen of course, is there anything else to know?" Mist chuckled as he looked at Emmy, twirling his sake bottle before taking a swig, "So kid, you wanna be a swordsman?"

Emmy nodded, in the end, she chose a sword for the time being, who knows if her preference for a weapon might change in the future but for now it would do.

"Do you know the principles of the blade? Or is that not something the people from Mondstadt are taught?" Mist asked as he looked at Emmy, sighing when she shook her head, "Well, you're still a kid. This is probably your first time attending a sword class, but since I'm gonna be training you. I won't go easy!"

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"Okay, I'll do my best teacher!" Emmy said bowing slightly before looking at Instructor Mist earnestly, "Will I be learning the principles of the sword now?"

Instructor Mist took another swig of his sake, closing his eyes and savoring the taste, "I will explain in a moment but tell me, child. What is a sword to you? What is a weapon to you?" He opened his eyes and looked at Emmy, "Is it something you would just use? A tool or a companion? A weapon of murder or seal of judgment against all evil?"

"I haven't used a sword yet though?" Emmy said in question.

"You have elemental abilities, don't you? They are roughly the same and most use them for the same purpose, destruction," he placed down his bottle, "So I ask again child, when you carry a blade in hand or a weapon of any kind, what is your first thought?"

Emmy lowered her head and closed her eyes. She didn't know how to answer this question, she admitted. It wasn't that it was hard per se but whether what she would say had any negative implications.

She didn't like giving wrong answers, so she would give it her all on the first try. So Emmy sat for a long while before she opened her eyes, looking at the instructor.

"I…" Emmy opened her mouth as the words floated around her mind for a moment before forming a solid conclusion, "If I had a blade in hand I would Kill all that was in front of me to protect all that was behind."

Kill all that was in front of her to protect all that was behind!

This was an extremely bold statement, especially one made by a 7-year-old girl. Nonetheless, Emmy was certain that was what she would do if she had any weapon in hand.

During her short years on Teyvat, Emmy had already noticed that the single most important thing was people. The family, in particular, people without families were especially miserable along with those who had bad family conditions.

Emmy knew she had a good family, best friend, and comrades who had her back. Anything that threatened them would be her enemy, even a god. The system's evaluation of her potential gave Emmy even more confidence and determination but also a goal to work towards, it was a simple one you could find anywhere.

Become extremely strong to the point of invulnerability!

Emmy clenched her fists as she looked at Instructor Mist who had his eyes closed. He opened them and a slight wave of pressure overcame Emmy again but she didn't move, she looked him in the eyes.

"Are you sure that this is what you would do?" Instructor Mist's voice was grim and low, almost grating, "Are you ready to endure the pain of that choice? The numerous families that you would destroy to accomplish such an ambition in this world?"

Emmy was suddenly reminded of what her father told her the day before they went on that mission. He asked if she could endure the pain and torture that would come her way in the future and when she said yes he fully supported her.

Emmy's eyes were wet and she rubbed her eyes before she nodded solemnly. No matter what she wouldn't give up and would always move forward.

"Outrageous! You…" Mist walked his hand on the floor and Emmy was lifted a few inches off the ground from the force, "Pass!"

He smiled and stopped smiting pressure on Emmy. The girl in question nodded as she rubbed her rear, finding this situation somewhat familiar.

'Ah! Didn't the Grandmaster use the same tactic?' Emmy thought as she looked at the floor and sighed.

She felt that these old men were so unoriginal, even without knowing each other they used the same tricks.

"So I passed your test, what is the principle of the sword?" Emmy was bouncing in excitement, in her mind of course.

In truth her body was as still as a rock and so was her face.

Instructor Mist blinked, "Eh? There isn't a sword principle."

Emmy nearly fell onto the side. Then why did he ask her about what she would do if she had a sword in hand—

Emmy's eyes contracted. She looked at Instructor Mist in shock and saw he was smiling at her.

"Not bad, you seem to learn quite fast."

"So what I said before was…"

"Yep! That was your sword principle. There is no defined sword principle, people are unique and thus their views may differ and so are their thoughts on the sword. For some, it is a tool and a weapon to kill. For others, it is a companion. We are not the same and our principles aren't either."

Emmy was speechless, so she did all that just to figure out her answer wasn't that hard to find.

She felt a bit cheated.

"Now…" Instructor Mist said, drawing Emmy's attention, "Time for the real lesson." He smiled saying, "It's time for combat training!"

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