Immediately, all the students started excitedly looking through the menu for their favorite weapon. Each one was accustomed to something different. Some went with the typical long swords, some wanted speed so light swords were their choice, and others wanted heavy-hitting weapons like hammers and greatswords.
Since everyone there was more or less the best of the best when it comes to Divinity Online, they didn’t take long to find what they were looking for. Upon clicking on the option, the weapon would manifest in their hands.
Arthur chose the type of sword he used which was the normal sword. Although his sanguine blade was a little different from normal long swords, this was the closest thing he could imagine to what he was using.
‘Hmm, this is almost exactly what I’m accustomed to. Maybe a little light for my liking but it should do the job.’ Moving his arm around for a moment, he finally looked up. Isla had picked up a weapon close to hers.
‘Isla is already really good at using swords. I don’t think this lesson is going to benefit her much.’ Arthur thought to himself. ‘I’ve seen her fight and I’m almost sure she had received professional training and not for a short period of time either.’
Isla’s fighting style was arguably far more dangerous than her raw power. Her sword technique and her ability to overpower the enemy through sheer skill made her a horrifying enemy. Arthur, on the other hand, used his stats to crush his enemies without having any real technique with the sword.
Seeing Isla’s amazing abilities made him even more eager to actually learn and become like her.
“It seems everyone has chosen their weapons. Now, please, spread across the entire place. Each one of you should leave a minimum of 20 meters between one another. The ones who use ranged weapons like bows should be at the first row while those who use close combat weapons stand behind them.” Theodore ordered them.
Without much questioning, the students quickly did what he asked. Standing in wide rows, they held into their weapons and waited for the professor.
“Good.” Saying that, Theodore opened his menu and tapped on several things before suddenly, things started appearing in front of every single student.
The object was a wooden figure that looked like a training dummy except the wood looked far more sturdy than normal wood.
Arthur curiously approached the one in front of him and touched it. ‘What kind of wood even is this? It almost feels like I’m touching iron not wood. It must be indestructible considering it’s inside a sandbox realm.’ He thought to himself.
Then, his eyes shifted up, the students carrying bows didn’t get a training dummy and instead, they were given circular targets that were floating mid-air a good distance away from them.
“Now, as you can see, we are going to start with very simple things. For those with swords of any type, we are going to begin with simple horizontal slashes…”
Then, Theodore proceeded to give instructions to every single student there. They were ordered to start with the basic movements of each weapon.
Everyone understood that basics were the very first step when it came to sword training. However, some of them were naturally displeased since most of them had already received training beforehand when the game was announced and they knew how to do the basics well.
That was why Theodore continued. “I shall be watching every single one of you and what you’re capable of. Then, based on your level, we shall move to more complicated techniques.” He said.
“Great! I was worried I might waste time just swinging the sword like a rookie.”
“I’m good at archery so I’m not going to just learn how to handle a bow.”
‘I’m so screwed. I have no basics at all.’ Arthur facepalmed. ‘Everyone here seems to have some level of knowledge unlike me.’
Arthur wasn’t ashamed of his lack of knowledge, but he was certainly not a fan of being the only clueless person there. After all, everyone there was the best of the best.
Unbeknownst to him, Isla was seeing the change in his expression and she squinted her eyes. She understood what was going through his head.
“Don’t even think about it.” She said calmly.
“Huh?”
“You’re already above everyone here. Focus on learning and nobody will shame you… I will make sure they don’t.”
“… Thank you.” Arthur was completely stunned as he stared at his friend. Seeing the composed look on her face and her unwavering voice, he could only think of one thing.
‘So cool!’ He mused. ‘She’s right… I shouldn’t be focused on my shortcomings. I just need to work hard and do my best to get better. I don’t need to feel like I’m inferior… Well, not completely at least.’
With that, the students took their positions and waited for Theodore to give them the signal to begin.
“Begin.”
The training began.
***
‘A sword swing… How hard could that be? I just need to swing the sword and hit the target.’ Arthur thought to himself as he grabbed the weapon with two hands and then focused on his target. Without realizing it, he entered a state of deep focus almost instantly. All the world around him and the noise the other students were making vanished, leaving only him and the target.
Taking a deep breath, he exhaled. His brain imagined the wooden dummy to be a real monster that he was fighting. That surprisingly helped him get into the usual fighting state that he was accustomed to.
Then, out of nowhere, he swung the sword horizontally, slashing down toward the dummy. His speed was way less than usual and so was his power. All the stats he had in his normal character were not present there. But, Arthur still felt it…
*BANG*
The sword hit the dummy’s head, making a loud ringing sound. But, Arthur didn’t stop there and retracted his weapon to start again. He swung the sword with all his power. He used every piece of knowledge and experience he garnered into his swings.
He didn’t know if he was doing things right, but he didn’t care. His mind focused on the rhythmic swings. One after the other, he hit the dummy in the head, shoulders, and neck.
‘I haven’t actually trained on using the sword before… This is actually pretty fun.’ Arthur thought to himself. Before, he had the idea that simply practicing the same thing again and again and again was insanely boring. After all, what merit would one gain from repeating the same action countless times?
But, now, standing in front of this dummy, he found himself completely focused on this simple task he was given. A simple task that proved to be way harder than he expected.
‘Maybe if I do it a thousand times, I will get better. I need to just swing.’
*BANG*
‘Swing.’
*BANG*
‘Swing!’
*BANG*
Each time he moved his arms, he heard the sound of the hit through his ears and through his bones as the impact reverberated across his entire body. Arthur felt like he was truly learning with each swing.
‘I might be getting good at this actually. This might not be too ba-‘
At that very moment, he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder that completely broke the world he created around himself. Looking up, he blinked as he realized that someone had just approached him. That person was Theodore.
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3