Chris
"You need to trust your armor!" I shouted as I watched the two fighters go at it. "I put a Rune of Protection on that chest piece myself, I know it can take that hit!"
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The man's great sword came around for another blow and instead of jumping away, the woman allowed it to land on her plate armor which deflected it easily.
The two weren't going all out as this was a spar, but it was still enough for the blow to hurt but she powered through without even a grunt.
"Good!"
Teaching was something completely novel to me. I'd never had to do it before which made the first day a learning curve. How I fought came from experience and instinct, not through someone teaching me how.
Finding where to start had been the hardest part.
I basically had them spar and watched from the side evaluating how I would do it differently.
I didn't know any weapon forms or specific techniques to teach, and with everyone's weapon choice being varied, it wouldn't have done any good. Teaching hammer techniques to someone with a two-handed sword wouldn't have gone over well.
Axes would've been fine, but even those would've had trouble applying it to their own weapon.
Instead, I boiled down how I fought to the base building blocks. Ones that any weapon wielder could use.
The first lesson was trust your armor.
I noticed it quickly and sought to fix it immediately. Whether it was because I made my own armor at the start or because I would've picked it up anyway, the lesson was one I wholeheartedly believed in.
Everyone in my little 'training group' was heavily armed and armored. The way we split up the groups made sure of that. Lighter armor and quicker attacks were training with Austin, as that was how he fought.
Shields and dedicated defenders with skills leaning that way rather than offense were with Jonathan.
I was the one who trained the heavy hitters. The ones swinging around two-handers or giant battle axes. I wasn't qualified to teach sword techniques, as if I would wield one like a giant club, but I could teach the flow of the fight.
Which was what I was trying to instill in the group now.
"Alright, stop and rest," I called to the two fighters. "Everyone, gather 'round!"
The sounds of weapons clashing ceased and footfalls filled in before falling silent as well.
"Elliot, come help me demonstrate for a second," I called out to the man.
Elliot's fighting style was somewhat of a special case as he didn't fall into a set category. He wore heavy plate, but it could morph and change if he wished. If he needed more speed and was alright with less protection, he could shift the metal around.
His weapon of choice was a shield and sword, but that could also change depending on the situation. He could lean more defensive if he wished, but he could also forgo defense and go full attack.
That being the case, we gave him the choice of who to train under and he chose, me, which was perfect. I knew him well enough that using him as a demonstration partner wasn't awkward.
"Now, I know all of you learned early to dodge an attack if you could. That much was common sense, right?" a chorus of nods answered me, "The 'No be there' rule. While that's all well and good, it doesn't really apply to us." I knocked firmly on my breastplate producing a heavy tink, "This isn't just for show. It's what allows us to fight like we do.
"These," I waved my heavy hammer, "Take a while to swing, and this," tapping my armor, "Buys us that. If we had to jump around and dodge every little attack, we'd never get any swings in."
"Elliot, hit me," I ordered.
Without hesitation, he swung his sword and I made no move to block. I could tell it wasn't his full power, but it was most of it. His weapon whipped through the air with nothing but a shrill whistle in its wake before impacting my breastplate heavily.
The blow would've staggered most of the group and down right sent the weakest flying, but it was barely enough to draw my attention. Being braced for it helped, but even if I hadn't been, the blow would've been one I ignored in a real battle.
"The point of this exercise is for you all to learn what kind of blows your armor can take and which it can't." I pointed toward the dull scratch that Elliot's blow created. One I would have to buff out later, "Additionally, you need to know how it changes. Throughout the course of a fight, the blows will add up and things will change. A dent, scratch, hole, or any other deformity will alter how it holds up. A dent could cause a sword swing that would have skittered off, to instead grab hold and slice through."
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I pointed toward the newly made scratch, "How do you think a second blow in the same spot will go?"
"It will penetrate deeper because of the weakness." One of the trainees answered.
"Yes, it will. You need to stay conscious of where your armors been compromised as well as where it hasn't." At the end of my speech, a hand rose from amidst the crowd and I had to fight against smiling. Most of the Guards had been around me long enough not to be scared, but that didn't mean they openly voiced questions.
It was annoying at first and made me frustrated, but forcing the issue would only make it worse. Which made seeing someone willing to ask a question excited me.
"Yes?"
"What about those of us with armor skills?" A man I wasn't quite sure what his name was asked.
I need to learn all the Guard's names. I'd been too busy.
"Good question," I said, "Different skills will interact in different ways and it's up to you to learn them. My skill, [Frost Armor], creates an extra layer of defense that can regenerate. A hit that cracks it means nothing if the ice regenerates quicker than they can destroy it.
"Skills like [Steady Defense], [Robust Defense], or others similar don't create that extra layer, but they improve what's already there. The key there is to use them when it's needed, not for every paltry blow as that will drain your mana." I lectured.
"I implore you to test them in the Dungeons when you get the chance. Both what your base armor can do, and how far your skills can push it."
I let that settle in before I moved on, "Now that we've covered that, it's time to plan for the inevitability of being injured. I know everyone's armor is strong, I know the man who made it and enchanted it myself, but no armor is impenetrable.
"How many here have Fortitude over a thousand?"
A paltry two people raised their hands. I schooled my look of surprise before I insulted those who didn't. It was easy to forget that not everyone had the same amount of stats that I did.
My Legendary Class along with my two stat boosting passives really put me in a different league when it came to Strength and Fortitude. Hell, my Fortitude without [Frozen Fortitude] would be half what it was.
"Okay, who all has a Body of Wood." Thankfully, a lot more hands went up. "Anyone go further and get a Body of Stone?" All the hands fell.
Figures. "I won't make it mandatory, but I strongly recommend going through the process before we leave. I know I will be."
I pointedly ignored the looks I was getting. I knew how painful the process was! I went through it myself, I didn't need them to remind me of that.
"I don't mean to disparage those who don't have a high fortitude or a Body of Wood, but I strongly recommend changing that. Fighting up close and personal with the besties will result in injury. A wound that can tear off an arm or a leg could've been a scratch if your body was stronger. Trusting your armor is one thing but you should still be prepared for when metal meets flesh.
"Being able to fight like I do is more than just fancy armor. It takes a strong body to shrug off attacks that would cripple others. To look at an attack and do nothing while it lands on your bare flesh is difficult at first, but I will hopefully beat the instinct to dodge out of you."
"Now, who wants to get beat up first?"
Having one-on-one fights with everyone present wasn't on my list of things to do, but I went with the natural flow that I felt. Distilling my fighting style down into something I could convey was difficult at first, but it felt good to pass it on.
It put things into perspective.
I was worried at first. Teaching people how to fight was a responsibility for their safety. If they went into battle unprepared, a portion of the fault lay with the teacher.
Which was me.
But that was just negative thoughts gathering. Refusing to teach them was harsher than being a bad one. Well, teaching objectively wrong things would've been worse, but I wasn't doing that.
It took longer than I thought it would to work through the entire group. Some were more resilient than I pegged them for, which extended how long the fights went, but by the end of it, I could tell they were trying.
The instinct to flinch away was still there, but they were fighting it. Enough time would kill that instinct completely.
"Alright, that's enough for today. Get out of here." Some straight up dropped to the ground at my dismissal. Others limped away slowly.
There's no need to be dramatic. I tsked.
"It seems you were rather harsh on them," Austin said. I'd noticed him walking over which was why I remembered to dismiss them in the first place. I had lost track of time but seeing that he was done brought it back.
"They're being dramatic. I only roughed them up a bit." I waved away.
Austin looked hesitant to say something but marched on anyway, "It's not my place to tell you what to do, but are you sure teaching them that is the right thing to do?"
The question took me by surprise, "What do you mean? I'm teaching them to fight?"
"Yes, but you forget that they don't have Anchors like we do." He said. "I only just recently got my own, but it makes fighting an entirely different experience. Someone like you, who has one that makes you tougher, can power through attacks on an entirely different level than those who don't have one."
"Sure, that's true, but the principles are sound." I defended.
"The principles?" He said, "What you just taught them could be reworded to 'take an attack to the face and power through it'."
I scoffed, "That isn't remotely what I said."
"Oh, really? Tell me where I'm wrong then." Austin challenged.
Thinking for a moment, I rephrased his comment, "'Know which attacks you can take to the face and power through.'"
Austin laughed, "That's the same thing!"
I shook my head, "No, it's not. I added a few words."
"You're impossible." He scoffed. "Anyway, I didn't come to debate your teachings. I heard whispers that a tavern here has mead!" The excitement in his voice was clear, "Do you know how long it's been since I last got drunk?!"
I opened my mouth to answer but was cut off, "Too long! That's how long!"
I waited until he wouldn't cut me off again, "Yes, but I don't know if it will work."
"You knew about it already?" He asked like he was offended I didn't tell him.
I laughed, "Did you think I wouldn't know if someone made drinks in my own City?"
"Wait, what do you mean it won't work?" he asked questioningly, just now comprehending the second part of what I said.
"Technically, alcohol is a poison. How does that work with my stats being what they are? Yours aren't low either, are you sure you can even get drunk?" I questioned.
His steps faltered for a second before he resumed his march out of the courtyard at pace. "There's an easy solution for that." He turned to me with a smirk, "Drink so much it doesn't matter!"
Something tells me there won't be enough.
