You quickly fall back a few paces, raising your shield, and the sergeant steps towards you, his sword at the ready. Suddenly, he raises up his sword and brings it down on your shield in a lightning fast vertical slash. You see it just a tiny bit early, and bring your shield up in time, watching the sword bounce away. He then tries to feint a stab, but you easily notice the lack of commitment and knock his sword away before he can follow up. Backing up a few paces, he looks for weaknesses, and goes at it again. The sword comes down again, going for your arm, but you easily sidestep it. Impressed with how you're managing, the sergeant suddenly savagely kicks at your shin. You jump back, away from the kick, and only realize too late that it was a feint. He hooks the hilt of his sword over your shield, and pulls it down, away from your face. Within a second, his left hand, curled into a fist, is inches from your face. He backs away, and gestures at you.
"Well done again. If I didn't know better, I'd say you actually knew what you were doing!"
A few of the men in the line chuckle.
"Now then, do any of you understand this any better then you did an hour ago?"
Most of the men nod.
"Well, then. Get to sparring!"
The sergeant stops shouting, and turns to you.
"You, Elias. You're doing a lot better than I expected from a town of "backwater peasants." What's your secret?"
((goddamnit guys. stop rolling well. you rolled like nineteens straight up until the end.))