'I am Ed. I am your champion, your duty is to defend me' Ed told the listless skeletons.
They were all looking around dazed until they heard Ed's voice through transmission. At that point, all of them turned to look at him.
Ed had a confident and upright posture that could instill a sense of loyalty into the skeletons. But realistically, he had just felt a cold chill.
'Damn, if you all look at me at the same time with teeth like that I have no choice but to feel perturbed' This was just a passing thought however as more than anything, this satisfied him. If he could feel a cold chill then what would the adventurers feel? Wouldn't they soil themselves on the spot?
The skeletons all knelt after feeling his majestic aura that radiated respect. And just as they had stood up, Ed sent them a message.
'Grab the swords at your feet. Use them to fight the skeleton next to you. The winners will be granted a name as well as a position' Ed transmitted his thoughts to all of the skeletons spouting complete bullsh*t. Position? There were none! A name? You call that a reward…?
Regardless it was all he could offer. In the future, it might be possible to provide actual perks like enhancing their bodies and mind. For now, setting up a basic army hierarchy would suffice.
There were 36 anti-skeletons1 including Pioneer. They could all go a round and the winner would be moved forward to battle the other winners. It was a simple tournament bracket.
The numbers didn't add up however since after the second round there would be nine skeletons left. Luckily, Pioneer was bound to snatch one of the spots meaning he could just exclude him past that point and finally settle for the remaining four.
'Well, this means whoever faces Pioneer is plain unlucky' Ed decided he would give those losers a chance later on but for now, this was the system he would settle for.
The anti-skeletons analyzed Ed's words before reaching out for the swords at their feet. This was the best part of the transmission skill. Since it transmitted intention rather than actual words it functioned as a sort of universal translator. The skeletons without any memories would obviously not be able to understand any words.
After picking up their weapons, the skeletons once more seemed a bit confused. They pick them up and fight, how did that work?
Luckily things without memories tend to follow by example. Babies already proved this point. Once they saw how Pioneer, who had picked the only skeleton without a partner, fought his opponent they understood what to do.
Whack them with it!
It was a bit primitive but that was all Pioneer had the freedom to learn by following Ed with his limited time and subpar opponents.
There were soon sounds of swordplay. The sound of metal clashing against metal resounded the sealed room. Ed observed from a distance, like a master gauging his students.
He soon noticed a problem.
'These guys are too sturdy…' The crappy rusted swords weren't doing much for them.
Still, Ed didn't stop them to create an actual set of rules. The reason was that he could see improvements in some of the skeletons.
Some would strike out at the same time and inadvertently block each other. They would instantly learn that this was something they could do, that they could intercept their opponents' attack to protect themselves!
That is to say, the anti-skeletons were learning common sense! This was the hardest thing to teach as it tended to come by naturally through experience. With something to compare and logical thinking, one would earn common sense.
This was also why education was important. Only with the necessary knowledge would one be able to make inferences and forge their own path.
Ed only watched for a couple of minutes. It would be a complete waste of time to stay there watching over them so he simply instructed them to continue until instructed otherwise. With their limited weaponry and skill, there was most likely not going to be a single victor.
He took that time to continue forging more skeletons and consciousnesses. Everything was going rather smoothly.
By the time he returned with twelve new skeletons, the anti-skeletons' swordsmanship seemed more refined than Ed's own. To be fair, he had only held a sword before.
'Quick learners' Ed could only make this judgment from his own perspective though considering that he didn't know how to swordfight. To others, their moves might seem completely amateurish.
Ed assembled the twelve new skeletons and prepared to do the tournament. The twelve would participate on one of their own before being reintroduced on the third round. Ed felt this was a good way to go about it although the new ones would definitely be defeated.
'Stop.' Ed told all of the skeletons. The sound of sword fighting instantly stopped as Ed swept his gaze past the skeletons and their weapons. He was actually worried that the rusted equipment would break.
'There must be some sort of weapon ranking I am unaware of' Ed made this conjecture based on the fact that the rusted weapons didn't destroy one another. The ranking might only be used in regards to dungeon spawned items or maybe it was the sign of a good blacksmith. Regardless, he had no way to know for the moment.
'After 10 hits, you will be declared a victor. Victors will face one another and declare a new victor. Afterward, await further instruction.' As soon as Ed finished this transmission, the room had once more turned lively with the sounds of swordplay.
One of the anti-skeletons slashed horizontally only to be blocked amateurishly by his opponent. Similar things were happening all over.
After letting the newbies observe for a bit, Ed instructed them to do the same. They obliged and more sword fighting could be heard all around the room.
Ed only observed for a while once more while thinking up names. He needed to come up with three since there would be three victors.
The sounds of sword fighting started to slowly diminish as more and more anti-skeletons finished their rounds. It all happened in less than 5 minutes which was barely enough time for Ed's thoughts to settle.
'Join them' Ed instructed the three newbie winners and another round soon started. Ed once more observed, mainly focused on who he thought was Pioneer. The system had done too good a job so he could only base off who was who on the feeling they gave off.
Pioneer seemed to be struggling with his opponent but ultimately emerged victorious after performing a final swift strike that struck his opponent's rib. The orcs' consciousnesses hadn't been much larger than Pioneers' own so it was fair that he wasn't in an underwhelming disadvantage. It was very well possible that he would win one of the three spots.
Ed didn't intervene.
With a swoosh, the final six started their fights. Cleaving strikes, tricky thrusts, there was none of it. The whole scene was lacking in finesse but Ed still somehow became invested.
'Would this make for a good betting sport?' He asked inwardly as he saw Pioneer fail to block a strike. The score was currently 4-3 with the situation seemingly turning for the worse.
If Ed hadn't given the others enough time to practice then Pioneer would undoubtedly be a winner. But since he had, Pioneer's minor advantage which was time, became obsolete. His first opponents weren't quite bright either so he couldn't learn much.
Pioneer's sword was smacked out of his hand. The score became 4-7, he had lost his momentum.
'A pity' Ed was pitying the fact that he would need to provide three names now.
After another minute, the victors were decided.
'Come' Ed told the three winners. They marched their way over silently.
'You are Prairie' Ed transmitted to one.
Prairie, a vast field of grass. Ed thought of this name due to the skeleton's brilliant green eyes which reminded him of an open field along with its boundless potential that made you green with envy!
Well, no it was completely random, they don't have eyes.
'Congratulations, Brutus' The brutish way that Brutus smacked away Pioneer's sword was the reason for this name.
Pioneer had eventually found his pace turning the score 8-9 just as one had started to expect Brutus to win! But unfortunately, this comeback was all for naught as Brutus managed to once more smack the sword out of his hand clinching victory.
'And you, Iron, performed fantastically' Iron was named as such due to his metallic luster. The way he sheened was unique and steady, the dark catacombs failed to hide his brilliance.
Yeah, Ed ran out names…
He then proceeded to the next rewards. Armor! He wouldn't know who was who otherwise and he needed to keep his skelepals safe as well.
Prairie received a simple light set of armor. A stylish green emblem was painted on its side, it was a thorny rose.
Brutus received something heavier to accompany his brutish methods. The helmet had horns which certainly augmented his devilish image when coupled with the teeth. The armor's color was black.
Iron received a basic set of iron armor. It was the easiest way to remember his name, it was not in any way unfair.
As for Pioneer, although he lost, Ed handed him a set of leather armor. It suited the idea of an adventurer in Ed's mind. Someone traveling light to explore the unknown and be the first to discover its quirks.