The wooden puppets were the best facility the combat institutes offered to its members. It was a facility that enabled acolytes to have the perfect sparring partners to practice their techniques. The puppets would adjust their battle power to equal that of its opponent. Furthermore, when one was using the facility they would be restricted from using any kind of spells. Therefore, the acolytes had to defeat the puppet using only their techniques and skills.
The puppet would also choose the same weapon as the opponent, so it could also act as a weapon instructor, due to the fact that the puppets brought out and displayed the full essence one's weapon could have.
Lastly, the facility would also give a reward each time the acolytes managed to clear a level. The reward could be in the form of weapon skills used in battle or essence that could increase a fighter's strength.
At the moment, the four of them were tasked to confront these wooden puppets in order to increase their strength.
Eyeing this familiar puppets, Emery remembered that the last time he tried this facility, he had only managed to finish up to level 3 before he fell unconscious. At the moment, Emery was watching Chumo and Julian fight the level 5 wooden puppets. As for Thrax, the bull currently went to the fire institute.
Shifting his gaze away from his two friends, Emery saw Klea who just stood there awkwardly, as she didn't know what to do. Chuckling in his mind, he immediately walked towards her. After all, this was the first time Klea tried these wooden puppets. She had indeed heard of the combat institute's combat puppets, but she had never actually seen them, let alone used them.
Seeing Emery approaching, Klea smiled and quickly said, "Emery, can you help me with this? What should I do actually?"
Smiling faintly, Emery replied, "Well… First, you have to choose the weapon you want to use. Do you have any weapon that you like or you have learnt before?"
Thinking for a moment, Klea said, "Hmm... I never- Hmm... Aaa! I don't know… I don't really like seeing blood, you see."
Hearing that, he thought it shouldn't be hard for Klea to use the same type of weapon she was currently using: a staff. Therefore, Emery recommended her to choose the blunt weapon path and pick the staff as her weapon.
Klea nodded her head when she heard Emery's suggestion. "Alright, Emery. I'll give your suggestion a try then. Thanks, Emery."
"Anytime," Emery lightly replied, while waving his hand. She then immediately went ahead and practiced her new weapon.
After helping Klea, Emery's thoughts turned back to find a type of weapon that could be suitable for him. Julian seemed to be firm with his choice of shield and sword, Chumo looked comfortable with his bow and short sword. As for Thrax, although he was not here at the moment, he was definitely adamant with the spear and shield.
Previously, Emery had only used a sword as his main weapon. Therefore, after thinking for a while, he planned to use a secondary weapon just like the others. Making up his decision, Emery immediately accessed the panel.
[Choose your weapon]
"Sword"
[Choose type of swords]
[Short sword, long sword, one-edged sword, broadsword, rapier, great sword, ...]
Without hesitation, Emery immediately chose, "Long sword."
Now, Emery could be seen wielding two swords. After swinging the two swords for a few moments to get used to them, he immediately began fighting against a wooden puppet.
Even though Emery was quite confident in his sword skills and also felt he could use both of his hands well, he strangely felt something was limiting him when he used both swords simultaneously in battle.
Luckily, despite the strange feeling restricting him, Emery still managed to beat the level 4 wooden puppet. This happened thanks to the fighting experience he had accumulated for the past year, which greatly helped him to beat the puppet, albeit barely.
[Congratulations, the level 4 combat puppet was defeated]
[Received 2 battle power]
Seeing the almost pyrrhic victory against the level 4 puppet, Emery wasn't sure he would be able to win against the level 5 combat puppet, at least not now. However, he still tried it and just like he predicted, he was beaten up and lost miserably.
Lord Izta walked over to Emery after he saw the boy getting beaten up by the puppet and laying on the ground, exhausted and breathless.
"Kid, why are you choosing two swords?"
Startled by the sudden question, Emery stuttered, "I-I'm not sure actually…"
"Huh?! You aren't sure?" Lord Izta asked with an incredulous expression. "This kid doesn't have a clue! Hahaha, that's hilarious."
"I hope you are not one of those people who doesn't mind losing as long as they look cool, kid."
Hearing the accusation, Emery immediately replied, "No, Lord Izta. I just… I wish to be a swordsman, but I don't find the shield to my liking."
Lord Izta gave him a weird look when he heard Emery's answer. Squatting down his body, he said, "Listen here, kid. When you choose a weapon it's not about you the wielder, but about the weapon itself. It doesn't matter if the weapon is a short sword, longsword, broadsword, or even rapier. Each of them has their own advantages and disadvantages and it is the wielder responsibility to optimised them"
Standing up and looking at Emery, he continued, "You can choose any weapon you want and unleash its potential. And to do so, you have to make sure that you understand the weapon inside and out."
Hearing the magus' words, Emery more or less understood what he meant. However, he couldn't help but ask the most important question right now.
"So... is using two sword alright?"
"Of course not!"
"..." Emery was confused again.
"What I said earlier applies to your main weapon. If we are talking about the secondary weapon, its purpose is to enhance and support the main weapon that you use. Therefore, choosing another sword as your secondary weapon isn't really the wisest choice."
Lord Izta then took out a sword and began swinging it.
"Shield is the best secondary weapon for one-handed weapons, while another long sword is the lowest ranking option. It's just not practical. It might be fun to use them to slaughter hundreds of weak opponents. However, you are currently looking for a way to increase your skill and defeat stronger opponents, not killing enemies for fun.
Although Lord Izta was a combat magus, who specialized in Ax and Bow, as a champion who had lived more than two thousand years, he had mastered the basics of all 10 paths of weapon. He was the best teacher one could wish to have, especially when choosing a weapon.
"If you truly wish to do a dual wielding, you are much better off by choosing a shorter secondary weapon, like a short sword, dagger, or hand ax."
Lord Izta then proceeded to show the difference and advantages of following and not following his suggestion. With a shorter secondary weapon, Emery could use it to parry the enemy's attacks as he moved closer to them and then, using the reach the long sword gave to defeat them. This was just one of the combinations Emery could choose with a short and long weapon. There were still many more possibilities Emery could unearth and master.
"If you still wish to dual wield using two swords of the same length, then I suggest you choose a one edge sword, instead of a longsword. If you can master them, there is a battle art technique that uses these two types of swords named [Whirlwind], which is quite noteworthy."
"Lastly, if your goal is to deal more harm by using two sword instead of one, then you should consider a broadsword or greatsword."
Looking at Julian and Chumo who were working hard, Lord Izta said his last explanation.
"In the end, the matter is about the characteristic of the weapon itself, not you.
Returning his attention to Emery, who still laid on the ground, he asked, "Do you understand now?"
"I do, Lord Izta."
Nodded his head, Lord Izta said, "Good, now show me what you can do."