Limits

Both of us went to the training area, where Aran was already teaching some youngsters. When Aran saw me arrive with Nade, he shook his head. I could guess why he did that. After all, Nade was unable to train before. I walked over to Aran, and said "I brought a new student for you". Aran replied "He is not a new student. Nade, you know you can't train, because you get tired quickly. You can't force yourself". Nade replied "Nex fixed that! I can now train! I can be strong too, just like you guys!".

Confused Aran looked at me, for explanation. I said "He can train now. I fixed his issue, he just had some blockages in his body, and got tired very easily. Now, this will not happen, and he will be able to train". Aran smiled, and said "You've been here for a few days only, yet you already work the farm, help out people… I feel like you should be the Village Chief". Although he said it jokingly, I replied "I'm not interested in that. Anyway, we can start the sword training. Treat me as an idiot, because I never learned anything about swords".

Aran nodded, and said "Then we will start from the basics". Nade wanted to train with me, when he heard that I would begin my sword training. Aran disagreed on the other hand, and said "You have to build up your stamina, and strength first. That is what you are going to do. Your first training today, is to run 10 circles around the training area. When you are done, I will tell you the next part".

Nade was a bit disappointed, but nodded nevertheless, and began running. Aran took out a sword, and asked "Do you have a sword?". I nodded, and said "I have two… three actually. I just don't know which one will be better". He replied "Show them to me". I took out the Razor Swords, and the Bastard Sword. Aran grabbed the Bastard Sword, and said "This one is quite heavy. A bladeless thick broadsword, interesting choice of swords Nex". I said "It has a Formation. Activate it to its maximum, and you will see something".

Aran nodded, and activated the Formation. "Booom!", the sword pulled Aran to the ground. He exclaimed "That's heavy!". He then lifted it up, and swung it a few times. "I knew that its main attacking power came from weight, but this is much more than I could expect. This is about 500 kilograms". I smiled, and said "Yes. It's very good as a weight. I didn't really use it, as anything else". Aran smiled, and said "Catch!". He threw the sword at me, with the Formation still active.

I shook my head, and caught the sword. Even though the sword weighed so much, I didn't even lose balance or took a step back. I caught it as if it would weigh nothing. Aran whistled, and said "Boy, you are strong. Catching that 500 kilogram sword, and not even moving… I'm envious". I said "I'm a bit strong. Anyway…" I swung the sword freely, then continued "This sword was used for its weight. I understand the notion of attacking using its weight, but I have no idea how to use it properly". Aran nodded, and said "We can work on that. Let me check the other two swords". I stabbed the Bastard Sword into the ground with a loud "Boom!" and replied "Go ahead".

Aran mumbled "Show off", under his breath, and picked up the other swords. After a while of playing with them, he said "These are quite interesting too. The saw blades can do a lot of damage, but it's more of a barbaric weapon, than a weapon with finesse. Well, I guess your other sword is also very physical". I smiled, and said "I can show you something with these swords too". He stopped, and said "So, they are not that simple either? Go ahead, show me". He threw the swords, and waited for my demonstration. I connected both swords, and activated the Formation. "Vooom!", the saw like teeth began moving, and vibrating.

Aran was completely stunned. I swung the sword a few times, and said "This is very useful for cutting trees. That was the purpose of that sword". I then stopped the Formation, and separated the swords. Aran said "If these are the weapons you used for some kind of wood chopping, and simple weight… what are your real weapons?". I smiled, and replied "Daggers".

Aran was taken aback a bit, and asked "Daggers?". I smiled, and said "Yes. This is my dagger". A dagger appeared in my hand. Aran stayed quiet for a while, then said "You are fast. I didn't even see how you took it out". I smiled, and said "These are my main weapons after all" I then hid the dagger, and said "I like both swords, so whichever you could teach me, I will be happy".

Aran thought about it, and said "We can try two different styles. After all, the basics are the same for all swords. You have to learn basic moves, in order to wield a sword properly". I nodded, and said "Let us start with the Bastard Sword then". Before we started, Nade come over all exhausted, and said "I did 10 laps around the area. What's next?". Aran nodded, and said "Rest a bit, and then do 100 sit up, squats and jumps. You should know how to do them". Nade nodded, and said "I do", then went somewhere to rest a bit.

Aran said to me "We will start from the basics then. Your position, or stance, the way you will hold a sword, and the basic attacks you can carry out using a sword". I nodded, and waited for the instructions. Aran stood in a specific way, and said "This is your basic Attacking Stance. Your right foot should be in front, while the left foot a bit behind. Notice that my left foot is placed horizontally, to my right foot. My right foot would also face my opponent. You position yourself towards the opponent. Besides that, my right knee is bent a bit, this allows for faster movements, and better balance". I nodded, and assumed the same stance.

Aran nodded, and continued "The Attacking Stance will allow you to advance faster, and attack your enemy". He then changed the stance, and said "This is the Defending Stance. Now your right foot is at the back, while the left is at the front. As you can see, my left foot is just a bit in front of me, while my right foot is way behind. This will allow my body to take on the strike, and absorb it. This stance also allows me to escape faster. It's pretty much the opposite of the Attacking Stance".

I nodded again, and tried that stance as well. After a while, Aran said "There is one more stance, but we will come to that later. For now, just practice these two. Make sure you get them correctly, and within the shortest possible time. I will call out "Attack" or Defend", and you will need to change your stances accordingly. Do it as fast as you can". I nodded my head, and said "I will try".

We trained the stances for about an hour, where Aran said "You are not that bad. You can adapt fast, but these are just the basics. Now that you know about the stances, and can use them to some degree, we will move on to the sword". Aran took out his sword, and said "This is the Neutral Hold. You hold the sword in front of you, with one hand. Both hands, in case of a two handed weapons. The way you position your upper body, changes depending on the sword. With the one handed sword, mostly your right side faces the opponent. In case of the two handed sword, your full body faces the opponent".

He continued, and said "There are of course differences in style. One handed swords are more agile, while two handed pack more punch. Your Bastard Sword is a two handed weapon, and a heavy one at that. So you should use a two handed style with it". I nodded, and tried. While I held the sword, I asked "Can I try with one hand as well?". Aran laughed, and replied "Sure, I forgot that there is no real difference for you anymore. With your strength, two handed swords can be used just like one handed. Learning both styles, is not a bad idea though".

I trained the two styles, and liked the one handed better. I decided to learn properly though, and would adopt both styles. When I got more used to holding the sword in Neutral Hold, we moved on to the next style. "If you hold your sword like this, not only will your hands rest, but you can also attack. This is a style for attacking as well, but mostly used for one handed weapons. For the two handed weapons, it's a bit different". He said, and showed me both styles. It was to hold the sword by my side, blade pointing to the ground. Of course when I used one hand, I could easily do something else with my other hand. While using two hands, I had more restrictions placed on my movement, but the power of my attack would be greater. I guessed it was something for something. Aran continued "This is called Side Hold. You have a few varieties of attacking using this style, but I will talk about that later. For now, give it a try using both hands, and a single hand".

I nodded, and practiced that style for a bit. I also got some hints from Aran, once in a while. When Aran was satisfied with my progress, we moved to the next style. Aran said "This is a Rear Hold. You position your sword behind you, where you hand physically extends backwards. Your grip changes as well, this is called Reverse Grip. You should be aware of it, since your main weapon is a dagger". I nodded, and said "Yes, I'm aware of such grip".

Aran continued "That is for one handed weapons. In case of a two handed weapons, you will need to lean forward a bit, to keep the balance. You will not be physically able to extend both of your hands backwards, but the grip changes to the Half Reverse Grip. This means, one of your hands is reversed, while the other stays on top. This gives you more balance". I nodded, and tried that as well. I found that I leaned more towards one handed style again. 'I guess, I just need to get used to the two handed style. It shouldn't be that bothersome' I thought.

With that taken care of, Aran said "I will now show you, how to change between those styles. It's important to change your styles during a fight, this will make you less predictable. Of course there are advanced methods too, but they originate from the basics. You will learn about them in the future". He showed me how fluidly he could change between those styles. After that demonstration, he told me to change the styles, when he shouted a specific style. We trained like this for a few hours, until Aran said "Not bad kid. You still need to practice, but you are getting it. Let's have a lunch break, then we will continue". I nodded, and we took a rest.