"Hello, I'm Ken, and I can turn into a beast!"
"Hello, I'm..."
"Hello!"
"Hello!"
As the people one by one introduced themselves, Erik listened to their introduction with interest once his turn came.
"I'm Erik. I actually have two powers. The first allows me to make plants grow faster and stronger, the second to sharpen everything I want."
Master Rook looked at Erik with an interested look on his face. "So, you are the rumored awakener, am I right?"
"I am..."
"Well, do not think that I will treat you better than the others just because you are an awakener. You may have two powers, but in the end, you are just but a fledgling who doesn't know how the world works." Master Rook said.
"I don't want preferential treatment, sir," Erik replied.
"Good then..."
Then it was Benedict's turn to speak.
"Hello, I'm Benedict. I can summon a halberd!"
<Ah, that solves the mystery...> Erik thought. He never asked his roommate what his power was, but he was curious about it.
"Ah, then you are a lucky one. The guy who teaches the halberd is a great fighter. I bet you will learn a lot from him," Master Rook said, and Benedict nodded energetically.
After that, the other masters arrived inside the room.
"Welcome, guys!" Master Rook said to the newcomers.
At least a hundred teachers arrived inside the room, each and everyone specializing in some fighting style or weapons. There was even the burly man who tested the new students the previous day. They were all wearing golden uniforms, contrasting with the students' uniforms.
The teachers began to introduce themselves. Since he read about them on the computer, many names sounded familiar to Erik. Others, however, were utterly unknown to him. They were all weapons masters, and most of those present were famous fighters known throughout the nation. It appeared that the burly man was the halberd weapon master and that his name was Maximilian Walker.
The students finished their introduction, and after that, Master Rook asked all of them to show them their powers. It was easy to do for the weapon-conjuring students, but for people like Floyd or Amber, it wasn't.
Floyd had to actually ask one of the teachers to run toward him, and he used his power to stop him from doing so. While the second one released a little of her corrosive gasses, trying not to harm the others. Clearly, Anderson had to explain his power rather than show it; while Nathaniel left the people flabbergasted.
As the students showed their powers, they also showed their martial arts to the teachers. They also told them their weapon preference, and the teacher took notes. After all the students were done, the masters went out of the room to talk. After more than half an hour, they finally returned with their test results.
"Okay, let us get down to business. Everyone has different abilities; some are well suited to be used with weapons, while others are not. Regardless, we will still say what we believe will be the best-suited weapon for you. You have no say in the matter!"
One by one, the students got told what they had to learn. Benedict obviously had to learn how to use a halberd; Floyd was apparently well-suited for the spear.
Gwen was assigned the war hammer, which complimented her armor and her strength well. At the same time, Erik got the Flyssa, a type of sword, precisely as the burly man suggested the previous day.
For Amber, it was a little bit different. She was the most balanced out there among the students, as she was good in martial arts, had a power that stopped people from engaging melee, and only missed something that would allow her to fight long-ranged.
A ranged weapon would have been the best choice for the young woman, but since she couldn't imbue mana into the arrows, and since guns and laser weapons became useless against high leveled thaids, the Masters decided that the best thing she could do was to increase her melee strength.
The goal of the Red Palace was to give the students the means to defend themselves without mana. Since they were bound to learn to shoot once they were in the military, she got daggers assigned to her to take advantage of her small build and agility.
However, For Nathaniel and Anderson, the choice had been hard, mainly because the two were very gifted fighters, and whatever they chose for them would have been good. In the end, Anderson got the Claymore since he had a very huge build, while Nathaniel got the trident.
"All right guys, the ones who got assigned to the halberd must go with Master Walker, the ones who got assigned to..." Master Rook told who the students had to follow. Erik was assigned to Master Doris Nieminen, the Flyssa teacher.
Actually, the young man was the only one who got this weapon, so he was the only student in Master Nieminen's class. That wasn't that bad since it meant she could entirely focus on him.
"Well, let's go, guys!" A teacher said.
"Let's go!" Another one shouted.
One by one, the masters and their students went to other rooms, and as they did, Master Nieminen approached Erik, "Follow me," she said.
The young man did as instructed, and they went into an adjacent room. The place had several dummies set up, and next to those was a chair where the woman sat.
The room was not that big, but some mirrors covered the walls. It seemed like the whole wall was a giant mirror, giving the illusion that the space was more extensive than it actually was. Erik saw himself reflected in the glass.
Master Nieminen introduced herself: "Hi, my name is Doris, and I'll teach you how to wield a sword called flyssa."
The woman was short, with brown eyes and long raven hair that she wore in dreadlocks. Her skin was dark chocolate, and her figure was thin, but she appeared to be somewhat muscular. She also had tattoos running along her right shoulder, which could be seen since she wore a sleeveless jacket and some leather pants. She didn't look much older than forty years old, though.
After introductions, she started explaining things about the weapon. She looked at the student, and after having observed him for a bit, she asked, "Do you know what a flyssa is?"
"No, sir," Erik replied.
"Well, the flyssa is a type of sword; the blade varies in length between 30 to 90 centimeters, making them suitable to be considered from long knives to swords. Flyssas always have thin blades and straight-backed edges, regardless of the weapon's size. This guardless weapon is well suited for stabbing but also good at slashing. Do you know why we have selected this sword for you?"
"No, sir, why?" Erik asked.
"Because, with your power and the blade length, you can maximize the damage, and it is light enough to be used with fast moves," Master Nieminen said.
"Ah, I get it."
The Master then showed the young man the weapon. It had a red grip whose pommel represented a falcon, while the blade was straight and at least a meter long with engravings on both sides. The blade was sharpened only by one side and broadened near a pointy tip.
It was a magnificent weapon, and he quite liked it. He couldn't wait to use it! But first...he needed to learn how to wield it, especially using his powers.
"Since we have many things to do and I don't want to waste time, let's head back to the Red Palace to pick your personal weapon. After that, we can start practicing..."
"What am I going to learn today?" Erik asked.
"Just some basic things, like thrusting and slashing, stances, and the like. When you are ready, I will teach you a sword style specifically thought for the Flyssa."
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