”Today marks the beginning of our first practical swordsmanship session.”
With those words, Eleanor seized the students. Though the semester was about to end and the other weapons would be left for the second semester, the academy decided to let the students get familiar with the most widely used weapon.
“We’ll start with the basics,” Eleanor continued, pacing back and forth at the front of the room. “Of course, footwork, posture, and grip are essential foundations upon which all else is built. However, different from the swordsmanship dojos and the families, the academy’s curriculum of swords will be vastly different, as you already know from the theoretical explanations.”
With those words, Eleanor flicked her fingers, and a hologram appeared right before her face. There stood a figure of a young man with white hair standing. His posture is solid as if he could take the mountains all by himself.
On his hand stood a simple sword. A slightly long sword that could be found everywhere.
“This is footage of the second-previous generation hero, Linhelm Middleton.”
Saying that Eleanor looked at Lucas and Julia. It made sense since he was their great-great-grandfather who lost his life on one of the most legendary battlefields that this world had seen.
‘Defense of Linkeln.’
Remembering the lore from the game, I couldn’t help but appreciate the person in the footage. If the stories about him were correct, he was a very noble person and one of the biggest reasons why the human domain could still be protected up to this point.
“This footage,” Eleanor continued, her tone solemn, “is one of the biggest reasons that humanity can now hold themselves against the Demons and the other races in terms of military strength.”
With a flick of her hand, the hologram came to life, displaying Linhelm in action. The students watched in awe as he effortlessly cut through hordes of flooding monsters, his movements fluid and precise.
But just as the tension in the room reached its peak, Eleanor halted the video, her gaze sweeping over the expectant faces of the students.
“Now, can any of you tell me what this is?” she asked, her voice cutting through the silence.
Several students hesitated, exchanging uncertain glances before one finally spoke up.
“That’s the swordsmanship of the Federation,” a voice called out from the back of the room. “The first stage of Federal Swordplay.” It was Irina who was the best student in terms of academics in the classroom.
Eleanor nodded in approval, acknowledging the correct response.
“That’s correct, Student Irina,” she confirmed. “The Federation’s swordsmanship techniques have been refined over centuries of warfare, and they form the backbone of our military strength. And this footage is the first display of the technique that was formed by General Linhelm Middleton.”
With that, she resumed the video, allowing the students to continue watching in rapt attention as Linhelm Middleton’s legacy unfolded before their eyes.
CLICK!
After finishing the display, Eleanor looked at the students.
“As you already know, the Federal Swordplay has a different view towards swordsmanship than the sword families or swordsmen who pursue the peak of swordsmanship.
The whole centuries of humans being forced back by other races who had access to mana from the start had changed the view of the government. Since we didn’t have the luxury to pursue greatness while facing the threat of being extinct, the government could only prioritize efficiency.
And the Federal Swordplay does just that. It pursues systematic and efficiency at its core. Since every Awakened has an affinity with different elements, to make sure that every Awakened could use the most basic weapon effectively, the swordplay is formed as attributeless and enchantment on its core.”
Eleanor described and then conjured a simple sword in her hand. It was a clear display of mana proficiency, fitting to the person who had the nickname Invoker.
“And, now we will start with the most basic unit of Federal Swordplay.”
SWOOSH!
Saying that, she slashed the space right before her face. It was a simple slash, something that didn’t contain any attribute of mana at all. It was just that the sword was coated with mana, and that was it.
PUFF!
However, the air was split into two, and some ripples were formed in the air.
“The most basic unit of the Federal Swordplay. ‘Stripe.'”
Once again, she held the sword before her, its blade gleaming under the artificial lights of the classroom.
SWOOSH!
With a swift motion, she slashed through the air, leaving behind nothing but a faint trail of mana.
“The stripe is formed by two factors,” Eleanor explained, her tone authoritative yet measured. “First, the physical force behind the swing, and second, the coated raw mana.”
As she spoke, she gestured towards the invisible line that hung in the air, its presence palpable despite its intangibility.
Eleanor’s gaze swept over the students, ensuring that each one was following along with her explanation.
And then, she clenched her hand on the sword. Following that, three flashes of strikes appeared in the air, cutting the space right before her once again.
Even without my special eyes activated, I could see the strikes forming a (I).
SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
And then, contrary to the previous strikes, this one looked a little bit different. The air, which was cut in the motion of (I), suddenly compressed and then was shot forward.
‘Ho? Would you look at that?’
With just three strikes, the raw mana trail that was left by the strikes suddenly formed a reaction and then made the air shoot forward like a compressed blade.
‘Utilizing the compression of air and the differential pressure. It is sure scientific.’ With that, she looked into the students once again.
“Throughout the coming weeks, we will delve deeper into the intricacies of the Federal Swordplay, exploring its various techniques and applications,” she announced. “But for now, let us focus on mastering the basics.”
As Eleanor finished her demonstration of the advanced technique, the room fell into a momentary silence, broken only by the soft hum of the holographic display.
Then, a curious voice piped up from the midst of the students.
“What did you just do, Instructor Eleanor?”
Eleanor didn’t smile, but she still looked pleased that someone had picked up on the subtleties of her technique. “What you witnessed was a technique containing three ‘Stripes’ executed in quick succession,” she explained. “The interaction between these ‘Stripes’ created a reaction, compressing the air and propelling it forward.”
She could see understanding dawning on some of the students’ faces, particularly those who had a deeper grasp of magical principles.
For them, the significance of her demonstration went beyond mere physical movement as they could form the connection of the basic blocks of magic formulas as well.
“Now, I want each of you to practice the ‘Stripe,'” Eleanor instructed, gesturing to the students to begin. “My two assistant instructors and I will be circulating to observe your training and provide feedback when necessary.”
With that, she stepped back, allowing the students to start their own training.
The training grounds prepared for the Federal Swordsmanship were a little different from the other ones.
The footage of the swordplay and ‘Stripe’ was shown as a hologram right before each student’s dummy, and the students were guided to hit the dummy on their own.
‘Now, what to do.’
Looking at the sword in my hand and the dummy before me, I started pondering.
To be honest, I had considered using the sword before, but I had never done so. After all, there was no reason for me to do it.
I had myself busy with practicing daggers, marksmanship, and mana control. Thus, I didn’t have the time. I also didn’t focus on the classes that much recently with all these things happening around the academy; thus, I didn’t have much practice with the sword.
‘Though, I shouldn’t give Eleanor the material to pick upon me.’
Since that woman was rather annoying to deal with when she wanted to, I grabbed the sword and observed the movements shown in the figure.
‘Also, my occupation is a weapon master. There is no way a sword is not included in all those weapons, so it is not a completely bad thing.’
After all, at the end of the day, one way or another, I was going to learn how to use swords.
As I observed the holographic display showing the technique of the ‘Stripe,’ I couldn’t help but feel a bit apprehensive.
Sure, I had some experience with other weapons like daggers, but swordsmanship was a whole different ball game.
However, Eleanor’s piercing gaze sweeping over the room reminded me that there was no room for hesitation. With a determined nod to myself, I tightened my grip on the sword and stepped forward towards the dummy.
Taking a deep breath to steady my nerves, I mirrored the movements I had just witnessed in the hologram.
SLASH! The first strike felt awkward, lacking the fluidity and precision I had seen in Eleanor’s demonstration.
‘Hmm…The feeling of the sword is a lot different than chakrams or daggers. The center of gravity is drastically different.’
My body had already been trained with daggers, and my muscles were most likely adapted to them optimally. Therefore, using a slightly longer weapon proved to be a little challenging at first.
But, well….[Perceptive Insight] was clearly a cheat.
Focusing on the physical force behind each swing and coating the blade with mana as instructed, I slashed once again.
THUD! The mana rippled around the space as the sword moved. And then, it struck the dummy, slashing it down.
‘That is passable.’
It was more satisfactory than the previous one. I was grasping the basics of it rapidly, and I could see the progress with my own eyes.
Yet, before I could think any further, suddenly, I sensed a presence.
“Student Astron.”
It was Eleanor.