Insania wandered all over the city and sightsee the community although she wanted to grind but it's practically impossible for her in this city because next to it is an extremely gigantic level 300-500 Grindspot. She also didn't want to buy anything anymore so she counted her remaining coins.
All in all she had 109 gold, 28 silver. Which is still a lot if you ask a random passerby, she could actually just sell all her gold and lived the rest of her life without ever playing this game ever again, but she didn't want that. There are so many things she wants to do in this world, things that she could never possibly do in reality. Strength speaks louder in this world so therefore, she needs to know how to utilize her strength. She went and looked around for a training field.
After finding a wide open space with multiple training dummies in fixed positions she pulled out her Steel swords and began to examine the swords, trying to ascertain its weight, its faults, sharpness and its grip.
She approached a dummy and readied a stance she remembered from an old movie. She swung her right sword at the dummy.
Tang...
Her sword was parried by the wooden stick.
"Watahek?" She yelped.
Gritting her teeth, she swung the sword wantonly at the dummy, but all her attacks were parried left and right. Insania has only fought low leveled mobs, and when she attacks she just shoots at them from a distance, so she's absolutely no idea how to wield a sword properly, how to utilize her stances, use faints and how to properly slash two swords at once. She lacked the basics and fundamentals.
Insania kept attacking the dummy but she couldn't land a single hit... Unknown to her she had a spectator looking at her pathetic struggle.
After 30 minutes of constant attacking, Insania collapsed on the ground.
*Ting you have been inflicted with [Overfatigue] debuff.*
Insania got so tired she fell unconscious.
...
Insania woke up under a shade, she saw leaves overhead, standing upright she glanced left and right trying to comprehend how she got here under a tree, a voice spoke behind her. "You're tenacity amazes me, little one."
"Kuh... thanks for bringing me to this shade, how long was I out?" Gritting her teeth Insania reeled in her disgust at being called a kid.
"5 minutes give or take" The Panthera Pardus grinned and continued. "Do you know why you lost to that dummy?"
"Because I suck?" Insania admitted it, she wasn't a prodigy... She could never master swordsmanship, 5 days ago was the first day she even held a sword in her life.
"Sword Mastery"
"What?" Insania asked in confusion... and looked at him in the eye.
"Im Jackus by the way, what is your name little one?"
"Insania, so Jackus... Can you tell me why I lost miserably?" Insania introduced herself then asked.
"That dummy you fought had a [Two handed Sword-mastery(VI)] Even if its just using a wooden sword, you can never beat it with your current skill and Sword Mastery"
"So Jackus how do I train my Sword Mastery?" she hurriedly asked.
"You understand it, nurture it and then integrate it as one inside your body. I am not an instructor of Dual-wielding so I can't say more but if you really want to learn the way of the sword, I'll be happy to spar, maybe I can even point out your mistakes." Jackus stated with an indifferent expression.
"Please do, let me take up your time, I desperately need guidance, Im even willing to pay in gold." Insania said.
"Haha, no need" Jackus chuckled lightly.
"Stop being humble and take this as payment for a spar." Insania forced the gold coin into Jackus hand and closed it. Scanning Jackus Insania wanted to know what level he was.
*Ting
Name: Jackus
Race: Beastkin(Panthera Pardus)
Class: Elite Fencer(Tier2)
Level: 25
Hitpoints: 960*
Usually when you scan someone they only show ??? question marks in their names until they actually introduce themselves to you. Jackus grinned at Insania and accepted the coins.
"For fairness sake I'll remove my items"
Jackus stored all his item to his dimensional bag and his Hitpoints dropped to 260... The amount of a (Tier2) beastkin which means that just like Insania, he never put any points into his Physique stat.
"Now before you begin to attack, you first have to assess your opponents strengths, the faster you can do that, the faster you'll know the difference between you and your opponent."
"So hears a question, what do you think is my highest attribute?" Insania pondered and answered questioningly. "STR and DEX?"
"Haha beginners luck. Indeed my STR and DEX are equal... Some beastkins would just put everything into STR never realizing the repercussions of having too much strength."
"They're just a bunch of muscle heads" Insania laughed.
Jackus nodded and continued. "Lets start with a warm-up, why don't you attack me and try to hit me." Insania nodded and stood a few meters opposite of Jackus.
"So I just attack?"
"Yup..." Jackus nodded, he put his left arm behind his back and held his Two-handed longsword with his right one. Insania was angered seeing Jackus taking her lightly.. He's suppose to be a Two-handed Fencer!
Insania made a fast straight lunge, with her right sword and used the force to swing her left one.
"You're fast..."
"But thats all you'll amount to"
Saying so Jackus dodged Insania's Initial thrust and kicked her. Making her roll over the dirt. Spitting blood Insania tried again but with a different approach. Despite knowing that she's superior in terms of speed, she couldn't connect any of her relentless slashes.
She was frustrated, she directed all her focus just to land a good blow, any blow at all would make her happy right now. Meanwhile Jackus kept taunting Insania while parrying, blocking and dodging her attacks.
"You're swings are weak, like a toddler"
"Your thrusts are too open, and your stance while attacking is completely wrong"
"Even a goblin hits harder than you, put some back into it! Its as if you're not even trying"
With all the taunts Insania couldn't connect her attacks and got beaten up left and right. She got kicked, elbowed and sometimes even hit in the head by Jackus pommel.
The result was Insania laying face first on the dirt without an ounce of strength, looking at her stats, she saw a whooping 38 HP left, the numbing pain all over her body was excruciating for any average joe, but Onille was familiar with this sensation.
Once upon a time during his childhood, Onille always pushed himself to his limits on any sports he partakes in and collapses due to overexertion.. His trainings were harsh but he learned at an unbelievable pace thanks to it. This feeling was somewhat nostalgic. It was always gratifying to know you're learning something new.
"You don't look like you're resting, so why don't we continue? Don't worry, I won't kill you" Jackus didn't give Insania the luxury to rest.
"Kuh... Let me rest" Insania growled, her body was sore, her face was covered in dirt and bruises.
"If you don't stand up in five I'll leave"
"Four"
"Three"
"Two"
As if possessed Insania pushed the ground with her hands, instantly standing up.
"If I were a real enemy, I wouldn't count..."
"The fastest way to learn is through constant pressure" Jackus said in a low voice.
Insania nodded, approaching Jackus slowly she slashed her blades once more and danced around with Jackus.
"You're improving by a tiny bit"
"Thanks." Insania didn't let a single second go, she attacked relentlessly and sometimes even precisely at Jackus openings. She even performed a roundhouse kick, that took Jackus by surprise.
Jackus furrowed his brows at the pace Insania was improving. He has trained for 5 years in order to get his [Two-handed Sword Mastery(III)] and rank up to become an Elite Fencer(Tier2), and as he gazed at Insania's movements. Its baffling for him at the rate she's learning and improving.
Throughout Onille's life, he kept physically and mentally improving through all the beatings, losses and failures he accumulated. Only by pushing himself to his absolute limit can he convert all the excruciating pain, all over his body into something PURER. Allowing him to improve at a pace so rapid. You might even think he's the mc of some overpowered novel.
As Insania was attacking non-stop, she also managed to avoid some of Jackus retaliation. In the midst of Insania's constant attacks, her hand rebounded due to being blocked, then she dropped her right sword and used with all the speed she could muster clawed Jackus, faint blood trickled and she couldn't believe she actually landed a hit.
Jackus smiled a bit but knee kicked Insania right in the gut, making her slouch down and puke blood.
"Not bad"
Giving Insania a hand, Jackus dragged her body near the tree.
"Your rate of improvement is truly a sight to behold, Tell me what is going on in that mind of yours"
"Well... I never had a teacher that can teach me the things I needed to survive, so I thought myself. Everytime I get battered, bruised or even knocked out, all of that pain will be imprinted in me, or maybe my body, it then helps me formulate plans to counteract the pain, and slowly makes me learn." Insania honestly said.
"Slow is an understatement, what kind of masochist are you?" Jackus didn't expect an actual honest reply.
"Hahahahaha! I actually get that a lot" Insania smiled brightly reminiscing of Onille's nostalgic memories. And so, they continued to spar for the next 5 hours, taking short breaks in between spars.
"We'll meet back here in an hour to train again" Saying so Jackus left the training field, leaving Insania half-dead on the ground with a wide smile on her face.