I came closer to inspect the weapons while Yalgir went on. "Knowing about your fight with the Orcs, my guess is that you are a man who prefers swords, so I'm going to stick to explaining the three classes available. The standard is the straight sword. It has a good thrust and a decent edge, but is slower than the other two. In comparison, the curved sword has better slashing damage and is faster, but has poor thrusting. The third choice is the rapier, that has superb speed and penetration, but it deals almost no damage when trying to cut and you can't be combined with a shield because it would rob you of the agility you need to use it properly."
I was looking at the available training swords when I saw one that resembled a Japanese Katana, so I got it right away without thinking. I already had a training Katana at home, and I knew the basic moves through one of the many illustrated guides my father had. Together with it I had what I used to call "two pieces of iron that looked like real katanas." In the end, I know it would be much more simple to call them "decorative swords." Both men looked at me before Oner said, "So you will be keeping to the curved sword. Yalgir is very adept at it, he can teach you some good moves... if he wants to."
"It's not just a matter of if I want to or not. He needs it, and even though it's going to take time, I'm mostly sure that he is going to end up becoming a great warrior and a worthy rival like you. Maybe something even more interesting than you, Oner," retorted Yalgir. That gave me the feeling that he was a man who loved fighting and that he was training me for the sole reason of having a duel with me in the future.
Oner took a stick covered in wool and Yalgir armed himself with similar stick, but this one even more curved than my fake Katana and a shorter stick for his left hand. "In a real fight, I use a wide-bladed saber in my right hand and a dagger in the left," was his explanation.
From wizard robes to heavy armors, there were four kinds of protective gear based on the quantity of plates and weight of the materials. Oner took his time to tell me the difference between each other while Yalgir got more restless with each minute.
"Well, at least you are teaching him the fundamentals without trying to force him into being a battle snail like you, Oner," chuckled Yalgir at his explanation.
I quickly said, "I think I'm going to stick with the medium armor for now. I like the idea of having a heavy armor that isn't too heavy to move around. You know, the point is that there are attacks that no armor can block, and in those situations is good to have enough freedom of movement to jump out of the way." I felt the need to jump between them before they started a discussion that could escalate. They seemed to have some kind of friendly rivalry based on combat acknowledgment.
Yalgir said, "It is not a bad choice. Even people who go to battle with light armor start their training with medium armor to tune up their muscles."
Given that he was the most used to the task, it was Oner who taught me the right way to dress myself in medium training armor. Probably it was the lack of habit, but it was much heavier than I thought it would be at first. Oner noticed my uneasiness and told me, "Even though we call them training armors, the truth is that they are heavier than actual combat armors. The point behind this is that if you get used to a big weight, in real combat your gear feels as if it wasn't there. That's what Yalgir was trying to mean just a moment ago. Armor-handling, also called armor expertise, is an important ability because it determines how much armor weight you can carry without hindering yourself."
Yalgir pointed to the last rack and told him, "Have him make his last choice. You are more suited to that task, and I'm getting tired of all this chatter. My muscles and my blood are getting cold."
The last rack was loaded with shields of several shapes and sizes along some strange bracers I had never seen. I understood what Yalgir had said; maybe using a different weapon in each hand didn't qualify him to teach me about shields, so Oner took his place. "You can choose not to wear anything on your left arm for several reasons, the main one being you want to focus on a pure two-handed style. Another reason is wanting to learn a second weapon, the way Yalgir uses a dagger. For now that choice is out of your reach; you lack expertise. But you may be able to learn the use of throwing blades. Though speaking again of how you have already fought, I think it would be wiser to explain you the three categories of shields." Saying this, he picked up a common shield, one of the smaller ones and one of the strange bracers I had noticed before.
"You don't need too many explanations about this one, it is a common shield. In exchange for the extra protection, it is heavy and reduces your agility. Also, you are forced to combine it with one-handed weapons because its area is wide and you need your hand and part of the arm to keep it in place." He left the shield on the rack and showed me the smaller shield. "This is an armguard. Obviously it protects less than a shield because it has less area, but it doesn't hinder you so much and leaves your left hand free enough to perform certain two-handed movements with your weapon of choice." Leaving the armguard in the rack, he proceeded to enlighten me about the strange item that seemed so out of place. "The last in the list is the rune. This bracelet projects a glowing emblem that acts as an energy shield. On the good side we have that it has the same area as a common shield and offers a fair defense against magic. Also, it can be combined with a two-handed style without losing much in terms of strength or attack speed. The drawbacks are that it doesn't have a Physical presence, so you can't use it to shield-punch your enemy, and that it has the lowest physical defense out of the three types. That is why it is called 'Mage shield'. Many kinds of magic users combine the staff with a rune for protection."
The theoretical lesson was starting to get overwhelming, but I understood that it was necessary for my well-being. Also, I wasn't able to shake off the feeling that attracted my attention to the trees. "I'll choose the armguard. More or less for the same reasons I chose the medium armor. Also, I like the idea of having a shield that gives me some freedom of movement and tactical flexibility to strike with one hand or two. More chances to catch an enemy off-guard."
Oner scratched his chin while thinking out loud, "Medium armor, curved sword and armguard, right? If you want, I can teach you the basic skills from the Code of Honor. That way, you'll become a full-fledged Samurai class." Some part of my head knew that he had used a different word, but my linguistic treatment had translated it into Samurai as the closest match in my vocabulary.
Leaving aside the notion of becoming a Samurai, I had a doubt I needed to solve. "What is this of the 'Code of Honor'? You say it in a way that makes me think it is not just words."
"The Code of Honor is a minor form of Magic that lets you impose rules on your enemies or on yourself. For example, 'Oath of Swiftness' increases your attack speed every time you defeat an enemy for a short time. On the other side, Challenges apply only on your enemy; like the 'Challenge of Mist' that makes you more difficult to see and be hit by your enemies. But well, that's for when you have passed the basic training. You will be starting with Yalgir right after you do your warm-up."
This way, I spent the next hours practicing the basic moves. Yalgir was merciless and used his wooden sword to correct my stance frequently and made me repeat each movement countless times in order to forge my muscle memory, or the way they called it, 'make my body remember the right forms'.
After that, the challenge escalated and I was taught to willingly use my Spirit in a basic move called 'Power slash'. My first tries gave no results. To my embarrassment, one the attempts failed so badly that I fell to the ground. Not only Oner and Yalgir laughed at me, but so did some of the bystanders that had come to take a curious look at my training. I stood up dirty, angry and embarrassed, and vented my frustration in a hit of the sword that sounded strangely loud and raised a small cloud of dust from the ground. I was told to remember the feeling, because I had found the standing point in the use of my Spirit in Physical skills.
But the worst had yet to come. The next part of the training was a sparring match against Yalgir, and if I had thought he was merciless during the first stages, he was about to teach me a new definition of the word. He used his two weapons to pummel me, and even though training weapons were covered in wool for protection, I knew perfectly well that some of the hits I was receiving were hard enough to leave bruises. Oner cautioned him against going too seriously against a beginner, but he countered by saying that I had already beaten two Orcs. The thing was starting to get serious; his attacks were becoming fiercer by the second and I didn't have the skill to fight two weapons coming at me from different sides at the same time. At some point, he screamed at me and I instantly lost my stamina and fell to one knee. All I could do was raise my left arm to cover my head with the armguard.
