THWACK
"Good parry!"
WOOSH THWACK
"Your overextending!"
THWACK THUD
My body drops to the ground as the weight of my last swing pulls me off my feet. My muscles scream in protest. Drenched in sweat. Trying to lift myself back up just serves to make me tremble and drop back down. The grass has never felt so soft. My lungs heave with each labored breath. Despite that, my sword is still tightly clutched in my right hand.
I hear footsteps approach before a thud as Mr. Thorpe sits down next to me. "Oooookay. I think that's enough for today." He chuckles. "You alright?"
I inhale a nice deep breath before responding with a very long winded groan that makes the old man chuckle even more. We have been doing light sparing for about an hour now. Turning my head over to look up at him. "Did I do good?"
Old Guard settles the sheathed short sword onto the grass and reaches into a pouch on his belt. Pulling out his pipe that he begins to fill up. "You did yes. But about what I expected." Fishing out a match from his belt and striking it against the underside of his boot to catch it alight. Placing his pipe in between his teeth and lighting the herb mix inside before he takes a puff.
My heart finally starts to slow down as I roll myself over onto my back and lean up to a sitting position. An action that takes a lot more effort than I'd like to admit. Once I'm up, Mr. Thorpe hands me his water pouch which I take gratefully. Popping the cork and beginning to chug.
The old man smirks and reaches over to snatch the pouch back before I can completely empty it. "Don't start drowning yourself now." He jests before taking a few swigs himself while I catch my breath.
Finally settling, pulling my sword into my lap and sighing. "I was getting so frustrated. It felt like I was just flailing around uselessly." I say honestly while petting over the scabbard which had a few dozen knew welts in the leather.
Mr. Thorpe put his water pouch back down and settled his full attention on me. "That was hardly just flailing around Liore. You were actually maneuvering much better than you think. But there is definitely a lot to work on. Which is entirely normal for a beginner." The old man assures, reaching over to pat my shoulder. "So don't sell yourself short."
I nod slowly, leaning the sword against my shoulder and hugging it. "Was I doing anything weird?"
The old man smiles and waves his hand dismissively. "Nope. For once, I know exactly what's going on and how to best remedy it."
The sigh of relief that escapes from me is palpable. The ever present knot of fear that I may be flying blind into an unknown future lessens quite a bit. "Okay…so what's going on?" Sitting up straighter. "I mean I'm guessing I need to get stronger."
Old guard chuckles. "Oh yeah, that's a given. We'll need to get your strength up to 2 before you'll be able to wield that sword more appropriately." He agrees. "That is the biggest issue currently cause it's the root of most of the problems."
The old man takes a few puffs from his pipe. "[Battle Theory] is a passive that every combat class is given once they've awakened. It is the foundation that your combat capability is built off of. Basically giving you necessary muscle memory of the most basic stances for a classes chosen weapon paths." He explains, smoke erupting from his mouth while holding the pipe back. "But your intelligence score judges how much of that muscle memory you are able to pull from. Higher the score, the quicker your mind can pull from [Battle Theory] to close skill gaps."
My eyes widen a bit as I begin to understand what the issue is. "Oh…" I mutter as the realization hits me. "My mind was too far ahead…" There were so many moments during the spars that were frustrating for me as I was trying to move in certain ways that just made my body hurt or I wasn't fast enough to perform.
Mr. Thorpe nods sagely. "Your intelligence score is already at a 2. So your intuition in a fight is good and you were definitely trying out maneuvers that were a bit more advanced. But you were not strong enough or dexterous enough to pull them off." He beams a big wide grin down at me. "So…as I expected…we gotta just focus on dexterity and strength training before we start sparring again."
I grimace but nod in agreement. "Mrs. Everett says she will make me barbells. And I can run every morning and do sword swings in my bedroom every night!" Despite the exhausting prospect of exercising constantly I am feeling pretty excited.
Old guard points a finger at me and states sternly. "All that and more! Running and weight lifting isn't going to cut it. Dexterity and strength is not just about how fast you can run and how much you can lift." Folding his arms over his chest. "Sword swinging practice is good. That will build your muscles into both of those stats. Dexterity is not just for your legs. It's your whole body. So you are going to want to exercise with different elevations, obstacles, and at different speeds. And LOTS of stretching!"
I can feel the grimace settling back into my face as Old Guard adds more and more metaphorical weight. All of this sounds so exhausting it's making my body ache just thinking about it.
The old man let's out a hearty laugh, likely due to the very displeased look on my face. "I know I know. It's going to suck for awhile. But it's worth it." His expression becoming serious as he stares into my eyes for emphasis. "If this is your only avenue to progress then we aren't going to half ass it. I am going to train you. Harder than I did Leone since I've all you got." His brows furrowing. "No fancy paladins coming to pick you up to take over for me."
My body tenses up and my grimace shifts to match the old man's seriousness. His words settling on my mind. I hadn't really thought about that but he is right. He'll have to train me a lot harder as it isn't like I'm going to be a knight or something. No guilds would take me either. Not as long as my class shows as [Farmer].
I straighten up my back and lock stares with Mr. Thorpe. "I understand. I'll work hard, I promise."
The old man gives a curt nod. Taking a deep breath before taking another puff from his pipe. "But we have a solid baseboard to work off of. Today's spar showed that your [Battle Theory] is working how it's supposed to. The next big test after getting your stats up to snuff is whether or not you can pick up any other passives and combat skills. And then after that is if you can get a specialization. Which I am assuming would be for broadswords if you keep up with that old thing." He says, ending with a point of emphasis on the sword I'm currently hugging.
I nod quickly a couple times in response. "I…I like it. It feels natural to me."
He smiles, exhaling smoke from his mouth. "Then that's what we'll go for. It's not like you'll be locked in. A lot of combat classes can specialize in a handful of weapons but they just take a lot of dedication to get them. But your first one is important as it will be your main." The old man reaches over to grab the shaft of his spear nearby and bring it into view. " The spear is my main. Been dedicated to it so much I was able to earn the [Spear Mastery] passive. Which is the 3rd tier for specialization and a pain in the ass to achieve. But I also atleast have [Shortsword Skill] for more close quarters issues."
My focus is entirely locked on him as he speaks, taking in every word. Excitement welling up as my new teacher details a bit of the different skills I could learn. A smile creeping across my face as he does so.
I've never truly felt before that I was meant for something until now. That always ever present weight in my chest that was there even before the accident. The guilt I always felt for resenting my birthright. Or the guilt even more for not being able to live up to what my mother wanted for me.
But right now. I think I am finally starting to feel it. That feeling like a door has opened for me. A path forward.
But unfortunately in my focus on Mr. Thorpes explainations I forgot an important point as the sun sets in the horizon.
…I was supposed to be home before that.
…and suffice it to say…I did not have dinner that night…