"So what does that all have to do with sword fighting, master?" Amari asked, the adrenaline wearing off and the confusion setting in.
The General looked at him through the visor of his white helmet and reached his side, grabbing the unassuming sword that lay on the floor all this while. Amari's brows furrowed, having just noticed it.
Its whole body was wrapped around in tattered black cloth, but the one observation Amari could make was its length. The blade was bloody long. It kind of reminded him of a Katana from Japan but with a slightly thinner blade and more Western features.
"Look at my sword carefully, don't take your eyes off it. Tell me what you see," The General said, placing the blade directly in front of Amari.
There wasn't a lot to mention, and it would be rude to lie just to flatter the man.
"It's unassuming and has a long blade. I am not able to tell whether it can cut or not," Amari pointed out.
The man in armour nodded.
"Close, but not quite." he retrieved the blade and began unwrapping the black cloth from around it.
It didn't take very long to completely unwrap the blade and its full appearance was there for him to see.
Contrary to the previous sword which was nondescript, this looked like a sword that one would only see in exaggerated works of fiction.
As soon as all the pieces of cloth left its body the large arena was suddenly filled with a strange gloominess, and the distinct iron taste of blood filled his mouth.
Its blade was a strange black colour with multiple blue lines that resembled sparks of lightning running down it. The thin blade was connected to a short hilt of red fabric.
And Amari could barely see it, but it was there. The small words in the demon language were engraved at the bottom of the blade.
'From the ashes, we rise,'
He raised an eyebrow, that quote sounded oddly familiar, but he shrugged it off, paying more attention to the other parts of the sword.
"What do you see now?" The General asked, tracing its sharp blade with his gloved hands.
"It's sharp. Meant for killing. The creator of this blade intended it for war and killing, and it's also quite eye-catching."
The other man shook his head.
"You're still not quite there, young demon," the general said, then retrieved the sword once and for all, covering it with the pieces of black cloth once mor. The taste of blood soon disappeared.
"While you seem to have gotten it on the surface, that simply isn't the case. Not all swords have to be mine to achieve this same effect. But what exactly distinguishes my sword and sword style from a normal bloke wielding a sword?"
Without waiting for Amari to answer, he punched the air once and a deafening explosion bounced off the walls of the arena immediately after.
"It is killing intent. Properly infused one, of course. What you need to understand is that sword skills are useless without sword intent or killing intent. And sword intent is useless without skill. In your case, you lack both.
"And that is why you're here. To supplement that absolute lack of intent and skill."
Amari paused to digest everything the General had just said.
Skill. Killing intent. Sword intent.
Everything sounded like something he read in novels in his past life. They were his favourite types of novels to read, much to Ed and Jaz' dismay.
'No, can't think of them just yet. I'm too weak. Too weak.'
So he pushed the thought down like a million others, hoping it wouldn't come back to bite him mentally.
"Yes, master. Please instruct me on the way of the sword."
A moment of silence passed between them once more until finally the general spoke.
The man waved him away slightly. "No need to be so formal, first let me see your sword."
Amari did as he was instructed and brought out the golden sword that had been kept in his spatial bracelet for a while now.
"What the?"
The words came out before he could control himself, as he took another look at the sword to make sure he wasn't seeing things.
"Hmm."
His master, on the other hand, seemed less concerned than Amari himself.
It was a shocking transformation. The massive golden sword he'd wielded was almost three times smaller, now resembling the width of a normal sword. Its golden painted blade had also lost most of its sheen despite that being lacking in the first place.
A colour that resembled his shadows had now almost completely replaced it.
'What happened to the sword? Was it destroyed by the spatial bracelet? Or did something else happen to it?'
A multitude of thoughts rang out in his mind quickly, leaving him with no time to even comprehend the answer to a single question.
But eventually, he thought of one question that was easily verifiable.
'Can I use Observation on objects?'
Well, there was only one way to find out
'Observation!'
[Name: Unknown (Badly damaged)]
[Weapon Rank: Legendary]
[Attributes: ???]
[Skills]
[Dawn Slash (Active)] now [Shadow Slash (Active)]
[Effect: Unleashes a bright energy resembling sunlight. This attack has an extra 60% effect on dark-element beings. Opposite goes for shadow slash]
[Perfect Fit (Passive)]
[Effect: The sword is customised to the user's skills and abilities with each use]
Amari gulped as he stared at the words on the sword over and over again. Who knew a random weapon he looted off an opponent's body would be a Legendary weapon?
Legendary weapons were close enough to the top of weapons that they were considered myths, things of fiction that ordinary people would never have access to.
And the more that he thought about it, the more sense it made.
'Is that how I killed that Scourge guy? With the Dawn Slash skill?'
He never put much thought into it until now.
And this second skill. It was perhaps the most overpowered skill that he'd ever heard of. A sword that adjusted itself to fit the user's skills, abilities and preferences? All in the same weapon.
He gulped for the tenth time in that minute, then turned to the General.
"Master-"
But the man in armour raised a gloved hand.
"Don't worry about it. I'm as confused as you are, so I would recommend going back to familiarize yourself with the sword.
"Come back on Moonday and I'll impart my skills to you. Is that clear? Don't slack off in getting used to the blade. It's balances and weight will be entirely different from what you're used to,"
Amari nodded and quickly scrambled out of the arena, unaware of the strange look his master wore behind the helmet.
He stared at the boy's back in a mixture of amusement and worry.
"I never thought I'd see it here again…"
* * *
Author's note: The previous offer about characters still stands with some additions. You can still suggest new characters but they have to be non-OP mercenaries. Other than that, you can pick the rest of the details.