12 Chapter 12

'Tell me Awakened, what arms would you trust your life to?' the question stewed in Frank's head. It was a solid question. So many of the weapons floating neatly behind the wizened knight could come in handy, and Frank knew he was put here to train with them. Strangely enough, guns were missing from the lineup. Was it because the system didn't account for it, or because guns wouldn't work against whatever was coming to Earth?

Even still, Frank thought it was a good idea to keep a backup weapon. The question was what one? Since Frank's system labeled him as a scout, maybe daggers would be a good stealth option? Even some sort of hatchet. But it didn't feel right. He liked the way the daggers felt in his hand, even when he crossed his hands in a cool X pattern, which Granspier rolled his eyes at silently. The polearms would have been more practical, keeping the enemy at a distance, even being able to weaken armor with some of the hammer ended ones. But they felt unwieldy in his untrained hands, so he skipped over them, though Granspier would have taught him how to swing it properly. 

Then he came to the swords. Again, he gravitated to them, it almost felt natural. It made sense, he was wielding a sword in his first dream from the system. But what kind of sword was it again? He couldn't quite remember. Clearly something he could thrust, since that was a move he used in that dream. 

There were a few he could rule out straight away. The massive zweihander, the wavy flamberge, elegant hook swords, the crescent shaped khopesh, the hefty claymore. None of those were what he had used, nor would he prefer to use them despite the "cool factor" each had.

There were scimitars, cutlasses, even a sword with two blades on either side of a large handle. He narrowed down his choices for the type of sword he'd like to get a hang of. Broadswords, longswords, rapiers, and the different varieties of short sword. He tried out the moves he had done in the orc dream with each one, to be sure they fit the bill. These all felt closer to his favorite, and in the end he settled on the short sword in the lineup because he liked the guard on it. It curled up on what was likely meant to be the top end to catch and deflect a strike, and the finger guard came down along the other end in a simple way that didn't feel too cumbersome to carry. With a larger finger guard he would have felt more secure of his fingers, but this felt more lightweight and that is just what he needed.

'I think this is the one. Light, but not too much so. It can slash, thrust, and it isn't too long. Say, Granspier, you were awfully quiet through this whole thing. If I didn't feel your eyes searing a hole in my back, I wouldn't have even known you were there' He finally communicated in telepathy to the old knight.

'This is because I would not rush a man to pick an armament he did not feel comfortable with, within reason. The heat of battle, you take what you can. In the arena or the training grounds? You pick what feels right. I also got a feel for your thought processes. I saw you admire the heavy weapons and the exotic blades, but you did not even pick them up. You tried the daggers and knives, you found them wanting. Even the spears and poleaxes did not fit your preference, prudent a choice though they may be' he motioned to his halberd 'however, the standard swords gave you pause. I watched you test each one, I saw you perform moves upon unseen enemies and finally settle upon that sword for the enemy you had in mind'

Frank wasn't sure if he wanted to tell him it had just been enemies in a dream the system gave him, one he wasn't even sure was a vision of the future or merely a sort of demonstration of what the system expected of him. 

'So, what's next?'

'Now, we forge your eager will into iron skill. You would not be here if you did not wish it.' In a flash, Granspier held a sword similar to Frank's own, but more flashy and decorated.

Frank held up his sword and spread his legs slightly, Granspier scoffed and immediately shifted his pose to something more solid, his sword held deliberately to cover more of his body. He had shifted sideways so less of his body was available to hit, where Frank stood straight and wide.

'You want to present less of your body to the enemy so you do not get hit, the part of your body that you hold forward should be covered by your guard stance. There are a few, but we will start simple'

---

Simple, as it turned out, was Granspier grilling Frank and knocking him to the ground repeatedly when his stance or technique faltered. But after a couple hours of practice, something finally clicked for him and he could react to a few of the master's cuts and even strike back. Granspier insisted that Frank try to really cut him, and on the one occasion so far he had done so (when the old knight actually left himself wide open to prove a point) the wound healed immediately.

While Granspier admitted to having a healing skill, he claimed it wasn't the skill but the arena they were in. The strange mix between European cathedral and Asian temple was striking, but comfortable, and apparently magical. For what little magic counted for in a dream, anyway. So if Granspier chose, he could cut Frank and he would heal quickly. Of course, the bastard took a lot of joy from telling Frank all the ways he COULD have harmed or killed him, without leaving even a scratch due to his excellent control.

After a longer bout of successful guards, parries, and riposte strikes Frank finally got the notification he wasn't sure he would receive.

[You have received the skill Swordsmanship, Rank E Level 1]

'Hell yeah! So I can wield a sword in real life now?' Frank thought to himself. Something finally clicked for him when he realized he wasn't properly following through on his strikes, so when he finally did and put more power behind his strike, the flow of combat became more natural. This finally gave him the notification and Granspier noticed the unfocused look his student got in his eye.

'I see that you have been blessed once again, you have developed your skill quickly, I expected many more nights of training when first we began. Are you sure you haven't held a blade before?' 

'Well' Frank began, 'When I first uh... awakened, I had a dream I was fighting orcs, big nasty green and grey bastards. And I was using a sword then, so it felt better to use one here. Of course, I wasn't in control then'

Granspier nodded and replied 'It is not too common for Heaven to send you a first vision of a fight. When I first awakened I was shown my village burning to the ground at the hands of goblins, many of whom have since become slaves to the orcs. I was fortunate to have been able to fight off many of the attackers, but my village was still razed and too many good people lost that day. That is why I have dedicated my nights to training humans, elves, and others who serve Heaven. So we may not see such tragedy occur with your people.'