The Alchemists

Chapter 7

Recap: 

"Fine! Grab it and come on... let’s get your training started," Axel said with an exasperated sigh and walked out. I looked up at my scythe again and felt something bubbling inside me...Something warm and fuzzy...

Hope.

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Racing after Axel with a twin scythe in my hand was as easy as stealing a lollipop from a kid.

Not.

The thing was so heavy. I really needed to start lifting weights.  It took me half an hour just to reach the grounds. I implanted the scythe into the earth and fell onto the grass, taking in deep breaths. Axel stood over me, looking grim.

"You have really low stamina, Sam. You can barely lift that scythe. How are you possibly going to wield that against Reyna? She is a ruthless warrior I tell you.”

“Why am I not surprised?” I asked myself, before continuing, “Okay, let’s start. What do we do first?”

“First, you will learn to handle your weapon. We will deal with the weapon-handling for the first few days and then move on to the alchemy and magic part. Now, stand and lift your weapon,” he said, summoning out a long sword. Engraved on the hilt was written, Zephyr.

I lifted my twin-edged scythe and readied myself. Axel charged without a moment’s notice. Adrenaline rushed through my body. I panicked. What was I supposed to do?! Axel hadn’t taught me the proper stance nor had he taught me how to swing it. As he lifted his sword to attack me, my eyes connected with his blade and my scythe rose of its own accord.

Our blades clanged loudly. Axel gave a smirk while I goggled at what just happened. Axel swerved and attacked me from the side but my body, which was no longer in my control, retaliated and lifted the back scythe to meet his oncoming sword. Now I shifted to offense. I planted my feet firmly into the ground and swung the forward scythe towards him. His sword was being held by my back blade. I panicked that I won’t be able to stop in time but he seemed unfazed.

Balling his hand, he summoned another sword out of nowhere and the clang of metal against metal resonated in my ears. Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I continued to slice away at him with my front blade. He parried every single attack like it was nothing, smirking slightly. His smirk annoyed me so I decided to play a little trick and suddenly shifted the course of my offense, using both blades to strike him by twirling my scythe around me.

His smirk faded into a snarl as my onslaught continued. The battle continued like this, me attacking and him parrying. Suddenly, but not until I dealt a few cuts to his arms and received a few to mine, my scythe was torn away from my arms and a blade was put against my neck.

“Do you yield?” Axel asked, his face red from the fight.

“I surrender,” I said, raising my hands. He tossed the blade against my neck  onto the grass and fell on the ground, taking deep breaths. Soon I followed suit and let my legs buckle under me, causing me to fall on the ground beside him.

Both of us looked up into the orange and black sky. The sun was setting already. How long had we been there?

“Wow! You are a really good scythe wielder. Looks like I don’t have to train you too much in this area,” Axel said with a slight chuckle. Nearby, crows cawed and flew back to their nests.

“How did I fight like that!? I have never used a scythe before so this definitely shocked me,” I told Axel.

“I’m not surprised. Everyone in this world is pre-programmed to use a weapon as if it were a part of them since birth. That’s why I asked you to pick the weapon that attracted you the most. You picked the weapon that you had been programmed for, a twin-edged scythe.”