Crim approached Maria cautiously. He knew that Clark had said this was training, but it felt that he had been placed in front of a training dummy instead of another tamer. Lit wasn't even able to do anything since the floating jellyfish movements it could make were too slow.
"You're too focused on one thing. Keep your eyes open." Clark threw a black needle at Crim and watched it fall right to the dirt. "Or you have nothing to worry about." The mental kick he gave himself was a serious blow to his self esteem. He hadn't expected to be so bad at feeling the balance of such weapons.
The poor throw did cause Maria to get the nerve up to attack. Her movements were rough and sporadic, but that was actually a good thing for Crim. Since Crim had recently hatched and only been in one battle where he was told what to do, he had to learn to move on his own.
While Crim began to jump side to side dodging the frantic slashes from Maria, Clark focused. He held the black throwing needles in his hand to understand the balance. They were not some small frail sewing needles. They had decent weight to them so that they would have penetration force against monsters.
Along with this, they were sharpened to a perfect point, if Clark was not careful he would constantly cut himself while throwing them. The small scratch from his failed throw was barely a papercut, yet that still taught him a lesson.
"I need to transfer the force better…" Clark mumbled to himself while he walked to pick up the needle he had thrown. There was no way he would be showing off the fact that he could use their rune carved skill to return to him. It was another trump card in his pocket for when he needed it the most.
"Keep your momentum up and use that to roll if you have to. Just because you would lose footing doesn't mean you are done." Clark caught Crim stumble and hesitate. It nearly caused him a slash to the face. Clark didn't worry that Crim would be hurt, but instead that he would end up training poor technique.
What was also noticeable while Clark slowly moved through the motions of throwing the needles, was the fact that Crim used his wings to add speed to his movements. This was not unusual but it presents a very strange way of moving to Clark. One that twisted the body while using the air as a cushion. In theory, Clark could use the flexibility to mimic the dodging and twisting movements.
Seeing that Maria was tiring from her constant slashes, Clark rushed in to the battle again. This time he was going to attempt a close combat attack with the black throwing needles. He wasn't sure if it would be viable and this was the chance to test it.
Crim felt Clark coming and dodged easily, but when Clark tried to stab the knee joint on Crim's front leg, he was left wide open. A simple tail swing back at Clark was enough to knock him over. Crim had won out using sheer instinct. It was insulting and a bit enlightening.
"I can't use this in close combat. I will be wide open every time I miss an attack." Clark was annoyed with himself. He had forgotten such an important aspect of using a long ranged weapon, specifically the throwing needles. It was even worse that he had encouraged Maria to use a close ranged weapon in training because she would have the same problem with the bow and arrow.
"Why did you only want to use the needles? They seem precise and you are smart enough to do that…But shouldn't you use something else too?" Maria was more curious than anything to learn where Clark's thinking went when it came to his choice of weaponry. She was certain that she would learn a thing or two from hearing his thoughts.
"If I use these I can take down large monsters with only a few attacks. You are right, precise and deadly. It's perfect for my speed. I need more though." Clark looked around the training arena and saw a few other groups of students training.
"I doubt I will like swords, they have never struck me as something I would be comfortable with. Plus, lots of spirit tamers use swords." Clark was sure the generic choice would fail him.
"I avoid swords too. I know people that used them and they were always brutal but predictable." Maria nearly whispered the end of her sentence. However, it supported Clark's thinking so he continued on.
"I can't do a whip or something. They lack the damage needed against brutal and tough beasts." One girl was using a whip to his mid range target. In theory, the whip would be good for taming wild beasts. But in practice, it was a terrible defensive weapon. Clark would need many more attacks to do the same damage with any other bladed weapon.
"Why not be more unique. You can use a weapon not used often?" Maria had chosen the bow and dagger combination because she felt it was right for her. Yet, she knew Clark was unique and should have unique weapons.
"Hmm, mace? Never…brass knuckles? Not my style…I could look cool with a scythe or a large executioner's ax…but I would lose some mobility with the ax and a scythe is hard to use. But the range is great…Wait, I got it." Maria perked her head up hearing Clark having an idea.
"I will use a spear. It can have long reach and closer combat abilities. Especially if I have an adjustable spear made with tough materials. Fewer people use them because they are a challenge to learn but also a challenge to fight against. It would also help me learn how to wield other similar weapons like a halberd and scythe, I could still be cool looking if I wanted." The cool looking part was just a fantasy from when Clark was younger. However, the spear idea was golden.
"I have never seen someone use a spear before. It sounds like you can take advantage of it because I don't see anyone else on the field using it." Maria looked around and spotted many swords, bows, and even some hammers. But there was not a single spear user.
"Then I will use a spear after I find one with a manual." Clark swung his arm out in a wide motion allowing the needle to gain momentum. Crim, who had just started to sit down was forced to jump back. "You can't let yourself get too distracted and easy going. You could get beaten easily." Just as Clark said this, Maria slashed out at him. She had taken the chance of distraction to train her movements' speed.
Clark rolled back and on to his feet looking at her wide eyed. He had nearly been taken out in the same way he had done to Crim. This was real training. Not some time to fool around. They would be in the wilds soon with an older class. That meant real danger that could end their lives. This was serious.