The suggestion came from the professor of joint training, not from either of them.
"Training duel," the professor announced in front of the whole class, in a voice that leaves no room for objection. "Kaiden, the mage. Eveline, the swordswoman. We will see how each specialization deals with the other."
Kaiden looked toward Eveline, sitting on the other end of the arena, and found her already looking at him, with an expression not devoid of calculated curiosity.
"Do you agree?" the professor asked.
"Why not?" Eveline said, and stood up, drawing her sword from its sheath in a smooth movement everyone is used to now.
Kaiden stood at the opposite end of the dirt arena, and the familiar blue aura began to form around his fingers. He tried to calm himself, even though something in her stance, in the way she holds the sword with absolute confidence, made him feel a tension he did not feel in his previous matches.
"No special rules," the professor said. "Just stop at the decisive hit. Begin."
Eveline rushed immediately, without introductions, without a warning spell preceding her as Kaiden was used to from his mage opponents. Her speed was much greater than he expected, the distance between them vanished in less than two seconds.
Kaiden raised his hand instinctively, released a wave of air pushing toward her, but she deviated sideways with a semi circular movement, her sword passing beside his body without touching him, then turned quickly toward him again.
Kaiden retreated two steps, trying to create enough distance for a complete spell, but she did not give him time, rushed right behind him.
"First wind chain!" he shouted, launching an almost invisible air blade.
Eveline bent under it with sudden flexibility, and continued her rush, her sword approaching his shoulder.
Kaiden raised his left arm instinctively to protect himself, so the blade cut the fabric of his sleeve without reaching the skin, but he felt the close heat of the metal that almost touched him.
"Too close," he muttered, and retreated faster this time.
Eveline did not speak, focused completely on movement, her eyes not leaving his hands, anticipating each spell almost before it completes.
Kaiden tried to repeat his tactic with the advanced student, pushing air from under her feet to break her balance. She noticed the movement at the last moment, jumped sideways instead of losing her balance, and used the jump to reach him from a completely different angle.
This time he could not retreat enough. The tip of her sword touched his shoulder, a superficial but real wound, and he felt the pain piercing his concentration for a moment.
"Stop!" the professor called.
Eveline did not stop immediately, but completed her movement until she stood a step away from him, her sword still raised beside him, looking at him with eyes that do not carry clear pride although she clearly won.
She finally retreated, and lowered her sword.
"Good," the professor said, approaching them. "Eveline, decisive hit. Kaiden, you lasted longer than I expected against this speed."
Kaiden wiped the blood from his shoulder with his hand, looking at Eveline who was flicking her sword with the same usual elegant movement.
"It was not a fair match from the beginning," he said, trying not to sound whiny. "You are faster than anyone I faced."
"And you are slower than I expected," Eveline replied, but without clear mockery, closer to a technical observation. "You rely on spells with long preparation. Against another mage this might succeed. Against me, every second of preparation is a chance for me to reach you."
Kaiden thought about her words, trying not to let his pride prevent him from admitting its correctness. "So what should I do?"
Eveline looked at him for a second, as if a little surprised by the direct question. "Faster spells. Less power, but faster. Or learn how to fight at close range for a few seconds until you gain enough distance."
"Are you teaching me now?" Kaiden asked, half joking.
"No," she said firmly, but a slight smile appeared on her lips before disappearing quickly. "I do not teach my opponents. But maybe, if you face me again and you are better, it will be a match more worth my time."
After that she walked away, leaving Kaiden standing there, trying to understand if that was another insult or the closest thing to a compliment he might get from her.
Lucy sat beside him after a little, examining his shoulder wound with her usual worried eyes. "You lost."
"I lost," Kaiden confirmed.
"But you do not seem as upset as I expected," Lucy noticed.
Kaiden thought about it, while watching Eveline walk away toward the other side of the arena, talking quietly with one of her personal guards. "She is better than me in one very specific thing," he said finally. "This does not mean I am weak, only means there is something I need to learn."
Lucy did not comment on that directly, but she looked at him with a long look, as if noticing something in his way of speaking, something different from his usual confidence.
That evening, while he was rubbing ointment on his wound, Kaiden thought about Eveline’s words again: "Maybe, if you face me again and you are better." It was not an invitation to friendship, far from it, but it was something, an open challenge he did not intend to be occupied with this much in his thinking.
He opened his book about quick control, the one he took from her in the library, and began reading again, this time with a different seriousness than the first time.