Chapter 21: First Swordsmanship Lesson The wooden sword felt awkward in his grip. Based on its looks, he had expected it to be easy to handle. But it was anything but easy. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂 It’s heavier than it looks. Looks really are deceiving. It was also difficult to balance, completely different from anything he’d handled before. "Stand like this." Valeria demonstrated a stance. Feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, sword held at a diagonal across her body. Noah tried to mimic her, feeling like a child playing pretend. "No, no, no." She strode over, physically adjusting his posture with her hands. He blushed instantly as he felt her touch all over his body. Damn it, you can instruct me without touching! "Wider stance. Bend your knees more. You’re not a statue." "I’m just a shopkeeper," he reminded her. "Not today." She circled him, prodding his form with the tip of her wooden sword. "Today, you’re a swordsman. Or trying to be." For the next hour, Valeria drilled Noah through basic stances and strikes. Each movement repeated dozens of times until his arms trembled with fatigue. "Again," she commanded after his fiftieth diagonal cut. "Fifty more." "Are you serious?" Sweat dripped from Noah’s forehead, stinging his eyes. "The body learns through repetition. Or would you prefer fighting demons with that sloppy technique?" Noah grumbled but resumed the exercise. High strike. Middle strike. Low strike. Over and over and over. The guild members watching had lost interest after the first twenty minutes, wandering off to more exciting activities. Only one remained—a young man taking notes with scholarly attention. "Who’s that?" Noah asked during a water break. "Finn. He is a newbie; he has no talent in swordsmanship, but alas, he is always trying to defy his fate. Ignore him." Finn waved cheerfully. Noah returned the gesture before Valeria smacked his hand down. "No fraternising. Back to work. Now we attack the dummy." She pointed to a straw-filled figure wearing scraps of leather armour. "That dummy has killed more new recruits than any demon," she said casually. "His name is Harold." "The dummy has a name?" "And a personality. He’s judging you right now." Noah approached Harold with appropriate caution. The straw figure stared back with button eyes that did indeed seem unnervingly judgmental. "Alright, the first combo you will be learning is," Valeria commanded. "High, middle, low, then step back. Understood?" Noah nodded, sweating his butt off. "Understood." "Good. I want twenty repetitions." His first attempts were awkward, his wooden blade bouncing ineffectively off Harold’s stuffed body. "You’re tickling him!" "Strike through the target, not at it. Imagine your blade continuing past the point of contact." Noah tried again, focusing on the follow-through. His blade connected with a solid thwack. "Better!" Valeria sounded genuinely surprised. "Again." By the twentieth repetition, Noah’s strikes had developed something resembling consistency. It wasn’t graceful, and certainly not powerful, but at least it held the same trajectory. "Last exercise," Valeria announced. "This will be a defensive stance." She demonstrated a stance designed to ward off incoming attacks, the sword angled to protect vital areas, such as the chest, neck and liver. "Hold this for five minutes. Don’t move." The first minute wasn’t bad; it felt like a breeze. However, by minute two, his muscles decided that it was time for him to stop, screaming in protest. At the third minute, he was certain his arms would detach from his body. When Valeria finally called time, he collapsed onto the dirt. "Congratulations," she said, looking down at his prone form. "You survived lesson one." "Barely," Noah gasped. "You did better than expected," she admitted, offering a hand up. "Most first-timers quit after the initial strike series." "I’m not a quitter." He accepted her help, rising on shaky legs. ’Just a masochist...probably.’ [You have learned the new skill: Swordsmanship Lvl.1] His exhaustion was instantly forgotten. Noah fought to keep his expression neutral. A real skill! With levels and everything! Valeria caught his poorly concealed excitement. "Don’t get too pleased with yourself. You’re somewhere between ’danger to yourself’ and ’slightly less dangerous to yourself’ now." "Progress is progress," Noah countered. "Next lesson tomorrow," They parted at the guild entrance, Noah heading back toward his shop with muscles screaming in protest at every step. But despite the pain, he felt oddly accomplished. I learnt an actual swordmanship skill...it was worth it. — Host: Noah Carter Age: 28 Shops: 1 Daily Revenue: $1,300 Current Assets: $1400.42 Shop Points: 130 Attributes: Strength: 4, Vitality: 4, Intelligence: 7, Agility: 3 Skills: Swordsmanship (Level 1), Programming (Level 2), Finance (Level 1), Surviving on Ramen (Level 3) —