Liana saw the confidence in his eyes when he spoke, and it made her slightly uncertain to accept the bet. She stared at him for a few seconds, heavily contemplating what she should do.
After a few seconds of thinking, she knew that she couldn't back down now. Her pride would be taking a shot if she did that.
"Then it's a bet. I hope to have you as my loyal dog soon enough. But then again, you didn't give this whole bet a duration, and since you didn't, I'll be kind enough to do it.
One year, one year from now, if the situation—we will know who has won."
Riven smiled. He was expecting a shorter time, but she ended up saying one year. He got up from his chair and nodded at her. "A year works fine," he said and walked away.
She watched him leave the room. She wondered, was this the same person she was told was an utter waste capable of nothing?
Yet here he was, standing with pride. She didn't understand it, but regardless, she didn't believe he was right for her even in the slightest.
Riven left the house. He headed to the training grounds. He walked in and saw Liam there with two wooden swords in his hands, seated with his back against the wall.
He was putting on normal clothes now, a simple white shirt and brown trousers. He looked over at the door when Riven walked in, getting up from the ground and walked toward him.
"That was pretty fast. Thought you two lovebirds would have some fun together," he said in a joking tone and a smile on his face.
"Tsk, I think she would rather swallow nails than do anything with me, but all that will change in good time," Riven said.
"Now that's the spirit," Liam said and tossed one of the wooden swords to him. He caught the sword and immediately got into his stance.
"When I watched you fight against that man in the forest, there were many areas I felt like jumping in to help because it looked like you would die.
Somehow, you managed to survive, but that doesn't change the fact though—there are a lot of things you need to learn.
First is how to block and parry. You need to know how to block and what attacks to block, and the same thing for parrying.
The man had attacked you in rage, creating perfect attacks for parrying and countering. But you tried to block," Liam said. He raised the sword to his eye level and then tapped on the guard of the sword.
"This is your best friend when it comes to blocking. Raise your sword."
Riven did as he said and raised his sword straight up.
"Now angle it a bit to the side."
When Riven angled it, Liam slashed. The sword hit Riven's sword and slid down before getting hooked on the guard.
"Now do you see why I said it is your friend when blocking?" Liam asked.
Riven nodded. He understood the use of the guard to block, but he had believed you could block with just the blade. As if Liam could read his mind, he immediately spoke on that issue.
"Many people believe in blocking with the blade alone, but it is a risk not worth taking," Liam said. He showed Riven his sword again and continued speaking. "If your blade hits mine on the blade and I try to block without making use of the lower end of my sword, my blade would simply get pushed back.
I have to be insanely stronger than my opponent to just block his attack with my blade. You, on the other hand, weren't as strong as that man, and so his attacks kept blasting through and almost hitting you.
There are many exceptions during an actual fight, but I need you to keep these words close, as they will help you grow your own fighting style.
If you can't block properly, parry. Never allow yourself to get too confident in your ability to block someone's attack," Liam said. He took a step back and held out his sword.
"Now come at me, I'll show you blocking and parrying."
Riven nodded and charged in. He lifted his blade up and went in for a slash. Liam took a step forward and blocked the attack with the base of his blade where the strength of his hold was still strong.
Though the blade didn't hit the guard, he still stopped it with the base in a very sturdy way. He pushed Riven's blade back. "Again," he said, and Riven charged in for the second time.
This time, Liam took a step back and perfectly parried the attack and went in for a counter. His sword stopped a few inches from Riven's neck.
"Now you have seen the application of each one, and their usefulness. What remains is for you to know when to block and when to parry.
There is also the slight footwork I use when I was about to block or parry. For blocking, I took a step forward, reinforcing my stance to enable me to take the full force of the attack.
As for the parry, I took a step back, allowing me to have space to raise your sword aside, and then step in again to finish the counter," Liam explained carefully.
"Now it's your turn. For the first few ones, I'll tell you either to block or parry," Liam said. He raised his sword and got ready.
He moved toward Riven and then slashed, "Block!" he called out. Riven moved to block immediately. He took a step in, but he was so focused on his footwork that he missed the block and the sword whacked him.
"Ouch," he cried in pain.
"Again," Liam said and charged in. "Block."
Riven concentrated more this time, and he executed it properly and blocked the attack. A sense of joy welled up inside him, but Liam wasn't about to let him stop.
He attacked again. "Parry!"