I had my doubts about the kid, even if the lost princess was asking. He looked too much like the muscle-bound idiots that kept pestering me for rge swords that could ‘cleave through a mountain in one swing.’ Like such a thing was possible, even with magic.

  Given that both mother and daughter were following us, I figured that he would try to show off. Maybe he would go and pick up a weapon that he had no chance to properly use. Or possibly use some fancy move that looked great but did nothing but leave him exposed in a fight.

  He did none of that. Instead trying knife after knife. Swinging them around in various strokes before shaking his head and returning them. Those swings were controlled and precise. Just enough power to see if he could control the weapon as he moved around but not enough to lose control if he couldn’t.

  On top of that, he skipped over every magical bde. His hands skirting right over them as if he somehow knew he had no hope to use them. Instead, he ended up choosing a short bde. A bde meant to be abused. Something that could chop through branches as well as break bones.

  The kid walked up to the dummy and started to attack it. Not mindlessly, nor to show off. No, he attacked it as if for his life. Striking out and back while leaving few openings for his opponent to strike back.

  “Where tah hell did you find this boy?” I asked Marcy in a low voice as I watched the kid deal damage to the vital points all over the dummy.

  “I didn’t, my daughter did. I have a few questions for you, but we can talk more about him tonight.” She responded just as the kid pced the bde down on a table near the wall before looking for a sword.

  With even more care, the kid went through the selection. Finally, settling on one that reminded me of those used by the knights in stories. Given their history, that was probably not a good thing. Marcy hissed at the sight of the bde. Given how hard she tried to keep all of her emotions out of sight, the fact that something had broken through was telling. Yet another thing I would have to ask her.

  The dummy he attacked with the sword was in tatters by the time he stopped attacking. Deep cuts dug through the straw and to its core in pces. Enough to kill an unarmored individual in an instant. Against armored individuals and creatures, he would probably do well to hold out until help arrived.

  Then, the kid picked up the knife. His entire stance changed as the aura he gave off nearly manifested. I didn’t know what the hell this kid had been through, but it seemed to have pushed him to the edge of what a typical human could achieve in their lifetime. Again, I gnced up at Marcy. Her face showed concern. As if she hadn’t expected the kid to be able to do so much.

  All of a sudden, the kid attacked the dummy. If not for the core of hardwood, the entire pce would have been littered with dead dummy parts. As it was, a leg and arm fell off. Not that the kid seemed to notice. Slowing to a stop, he inspected his work.

  Walking up to him, I spped his back as I said, “Yah, I think those will do. Don’t cha agree?” He practically jumped out of his skin. None of that hard fighter was visible now that he wasn’t fighting.