"Eugh! This is so bad, I give up. " (J)
"You had it coming." (K)
The cafeteria was filled with discontent expressions of the trainees, lighting up the place's ambiance for Captain Henry. At least the trainees thought so. After finishing their bland breakfast the trainees gathered in the training grounds again.
"This week's practical training will be about weapon mastery and team coordination. Right now, you're just bunch of randoms put together; it is very detrimental to your safety in missions. Now state and pick your weapons from the armoury.
Starting from Group A-1 team leader Sherryl Anderson, everyone came forward and stated their preferred weapons. She chose sword and shield, a pretty common choice amongst those with no experience. Soon enough it was Group A-2's turn. As the team leader Latoya came forward first.
"Group A-2, Team Leader Latoya Dobtson. My preferred weapon is the greatsword."
It was unexpected to some, a petite young woman carrying a sword that is bigger than her was something they did not see much. Meanwhile Group A-2 was not fazed with this choice, they had talked about it during the breakfast after all. Their group was mostly balanced; not lacking ranged, close quarters and tanking. Next was Tyson.
"Group A-2, Tyson Nite. My preferred weapon is the glaive."
"Group A-2, Klein Harold. Longbow."
"Group A-2, Jayden Jarrick. I'm a sharpshooter."
"Group A-2, Samantha Covett. My preferred weapon is the mace and shield.
"Group A-2, Sean Mcgrath. My preferred weapon is gauntlet, fixed on my Uni-form*."
Sean had always been the guy to use his fists more, so he ran with it. His choice did not sit well with the officer.
"Are you sure you want gauntlets? It would be too close range for starters."
"Yes, I'm sure."
"Alright then, go on."
After getting the approval, Sean walked to the armoury. Armoury had all kinds of cold weapons, from flying knives to halbreds. It didn't take long to find where the gauntlets were. The real problem was finding a suitable one. Most of the gauntlets here were heavy, before Engraving either arms or legs he would not be able to use them. After sifting through bunch of gauntlets he finally found something he was content with. It was a light pair of gauntlents with slight protrusions on the knuckles. They were like gloves more than gauntlets, but one had to do with what they get. By the time he returned to his group, the weapon selection was nearly over. Realising how long he took to pick his weapons, Sean felt a bit emberrassed.
After everyone chose their weapons Captain Henry appeared and led everyone to a large arena.Captain Henry, along with other officers, stood on a raised platform overlooking the trainees.
"Alright, trainees," Captain Henry called out. "We'll start with some team sparring to see each others' mistakes. Split into two teams of three. You'll be facing off against each other. Now I will call out the teams but you will fight everyone later on."
The teams for Group A-2 were: Sean, Latoya, Jayden vs. Tyson, Samantha, Klein. The two teams assembled on opposite sides of the arena. Sean clenched his fists, feeling the snug fit of his gauntlets. Latoya hefted her greatsword onto her shoulder, her eyes narrowed in concentration. Jayden, the chatterbox, was uncharacteristically silent. It seemed he was serious about sharshooting.
On the other side, Tyson spun his glaive in a practiced arc, the blade cutting through the air with a whistle. Samantha tightened her grip on her mace and shield, ready to charge. Klein stood at the back, his longbow already strung, and an arrow resting lightly on the string.
"Start" Captain Henry's voice echoed across the arena, and every team sprang into action.
Sean dashed forward, his gauntlets ready, it was Tyson who matched him with his glaive. Everyone wanted to keep it simple for the first spar, so similar positions was against each other. The two met in the center of the arena, Tyson swinging his glaive in a wide arc to keep Sean at bay. Sean ducked under the swing and moved in closer, aiming a punch at Tyson's midsection.
While Sean and Tyson clashed, Latoya and Samantha engaged in their own battle. Samantha charged forward, her shield raised and mace ready to strike. Latoya, despite her small stature, swung her greatsword with surprising speed and precision.
Samantha's shield absorbed the first heavy blow, but the force behind it made her stagger. She quickly recovered and tried to bash Latoya with her shield, but Latoya anticipated the move and stepped back, using the reach of her greatsword to keep Samantha at a distance.
Meanwhile, Jayden and Klein were locked in a battle of precision. Klein fired a series of arrows from his longbow, each one aimed with deadly accuracy. Jayden, however, was no easy target. He moved swiftly, using the terrain to his advantage, ducking behind obstacles and returning fire with his own rifle. Even though his bullets were made of plastic, they were sure to hurt if hit.
Jayden took a shot that clipped Klein's arm, trying to throwing off his aim. Klein knew he would do something like this, so he rolled to the side and quickly shot three arrows at once right as he stopped. Seeing nowhere to dodge Jayden dashed forward, closing the distance between them. Klein was okay with going meelee though, he had better options for meele right now. Jayden had no melee weapons on him, but Klein could use his arrows.
Not wanting his opponent to realise the mistake he did, Klein faked trying to gain distance by quickly shooting arrows. Jayden dodged all of them with incredible swiftness, and reached Klein before he could nock another arrow. Jayden was sure he would win now, he had caught him mid nocking and was unprepared. But why was it that Klein was smiling? Just then a chill run down his spine. Klein wasn't nocking an arrow, but was swinging it! Jayden tried to dodge, but it was too late. Klein stopped his arrow just before it could pierce Jayden's neck, solidifying his win.
"I lose." Jayden was downcast from the blunder he made. While the first fight had ended, Samantha and Latoya were still engaged in battle. Every time Samantha tried to gain an advantage, Latoya would increase the distance.
Samantha attempted to close the gap, swinging her mace in a wide arc. Latoya parried the blow with her greatsword, the clash of metal ringing out. Samantha pushed forward, trying to overpower Latoya with her shield, but Latoya was quicker. She sidestepped and delivered a powerful horizontal slash using the momentum of her dash, knocking Samantha's shield aside, forcing her to drop to one knee to avoid a follow-up strike.
Before Samantha could recover, Latoya brought the flat of her greatsword down on Samantha's shoulder, signaling the end of their bout. "Yield," Latoya said calmly. Samantha nodded in defeat, lowering her mace. It was a rare sight, watching two girls fight each other in heavy weapons.
Now the only fight remaining was Sean and Tyson, which was going similar to Samantha and Latoya. Sean was trying to get closer while Tyson was trying to make space. Sean leaned forward, dodging Tyson's ferocious swing. Not wanting to give his opponent time to reposition, Sean punched towards Tyson's chest.
Tyson was forced to block the punch with the shaft of his glaive, but the force of Sean's strike pushed him back a step. He retaliated with a quick jab, the tip of the glaive aimed at Sean's chest. Sean sidestepped the thrust and delivered a powerful uppercut, catching Tyson on the chin and sending him stumbling.
Sean grinned as he pressed his advantage, launching a flurry of blows aimed at Tyson's torso. Tyson tried to parry and counter with his glaive, but Sean's relentless attacks kept him on the defensive. Finally, with a well-timed feint, Sean forced Tyson to overextend his reach, leaving him open for a decisive strike. Sean landed a solid punch to Tyson's ribs, knocking the wind out of him and sending him crashing to the ground.
Tyson struggled to get back on his feet, but Sean was already standing over him, gauntlets ready for another blow. "You win," Tyson said. With everyone done with their fights, the group descended from the arena. There an officer was waiting for them with a notepad.
"Now that you've fought with each other, what can you tell about your opponent's weaknesses?"
"I will start first. Samantha, your mace and shield was in disarray. You used your shield more offensively than your mace, which lead me to doing whatever I want. I don't even know how many shield bashes I disrupted." (L)
"Seems about right. Actually I used shield and mace separate before, but felt it was lacking somehow so figured I would just use them together. Still working on that though. And if I were to say your weakness, you rely on too much on swings. Sure, greatsword and swings are synonyms at this point but that doesn't mean there is no other way to use it." (S)
"What about you, Klein, Jayden?"
"Well, I'm not sure. I don't think I've noticed anything. You know, if I did, I would be the winner probably. Right! You dunce! How come you are slower than me when I have a big ass rifle? You clearly lack fitness!" (J)
"And this supposed to be your big find? Let me tell you what's wrong with you, then. You see the environment, and can take cover but you can't lead your opponent into a corner. You see all these fields yet fail to recognise what is a threat. Too bad your mouth takes much of your brain capacity, leaving only crumbs for other things!" (K)
"Ouch, that hurt." (J)
"What about you two?" Officer didn't seem to focus on the quarrel.
"I think Tyson is indecisive. He always pulled back from attacking, giving me much space to work with." (Sean)
"Haha... I'm not used to fighting, that's all. I believe I will overcome it with more experience. And although I'm not used to fighting myself, I know how to. Sean, you stay too close during combat. It's fine against a human like me but it will be dangerous against an Abomination." (T)
"Yeah, will work on it." (Sean)
"Alright, it seems you're aware. Then, go back to the training grounds and complete the obstacle course."
"Shit! We are running again..." (J)