Ericka's grin widened, her eyes gleaming with a mix of mischief and challenge. "Pick your weapon, Nox," she said, her voice carrying a teasing lilt. "Let's see if all that training has made you more than just a scrawny kid with a big mouth."
Glaring at her remark, he snorted and turned towards the weapons. His heart raced as he eyed the array of weapons floating before him, suspended by Ericka's mana. The training hall, a vast space within the mansion, fell silent. The air felt heavier now. Noctis scratched his head, contemplating his choice of weapon.
This would be his first and foremost combat he would have since the time he had transmigrated.
Ericka didn't rush him to choose as she stood there in silence, curious about his choice.
Stepping forward, he chose the greatsword first, thinking of his strength build in other games.
Erika lowered her head; her grin widened into a smirk.
Noctis gripped the greatsword's handle, lifted it all in one go, and placed it on his shoulder, confident in his strength. 'Hmm, this is pre—Huh? Why am I falling backwards? shit,'
It was too late as he fell back with a thud, the greatsword falling beside him with a loud clang. Ericka couldn't help but stifle a laugh as she watched Noctis struggle to get back up, his face turning red with embarrassment. She already expected this the moment he chose the great sword.
"Damn it, stop laughing." looking at his flushed face, Ericka let out a snickering laugh.
The next weapon he chose was a pair of daggers, feeling them quite lightweight and agile, better suited for his correct body specs. He picked them up, one in each hand, and tested them with a few slashes. Taking on a stance he remembered from video games, he glared at his aunt.
Ericka waved her hand, the other weapons fell to the side, and the great sword beside him flew to her hand, casually swinging it to get the hang of it.
"Daggers, huh? Good for speed, but you will need to get closer to your target to land a shot. Attack me however you want Nox, come on let's see if you can land a strike or not." She spoke in a casual tone.
Noctis ran towards her, both daggers in each hand aiming for her midsection.
He made sure his movements were quick while trying random footwork as he circled around Ericka and slashed out quickly with his daggers.
His first slash missed as she stepped to the side easily. As he continued to attack multiple parts of her body, she effortlessly dodged each of his strikes with minimum effort.
"Too predictable, try harder," her playful voice sounded, increasing his frustration.
Noctis groaned, stopping for a second and pointing the dagger at her, "How am I supposed to hit you if you're this fast?" He grumbled at his failed attempt.
"You won't", Ericka replied bluntly. "I lowered my rank to an E, and yet you can't touch me, like I said before, your attacks are too predictable, now try again. this time try focus on your footwork, also you're leaving yourself wide open ".
He nodded, taking a deep breath to steady himself. He rushed forward again with slower speed, planning to be more strategic, using feints with one dagger and another for the real attack. She easily saw through his feint instantly, but she let him get closer. Blocking both of his strikes at the last second.
"Better," she said, with a hint of approval in her voice. The next second she swept his legs out from under him with a swift kick, sending him crashing to the ground. "Daggers don't really suit you; pick another weapon for now.".
Noctis stood up and walked to the pile of weapons. He chose the spear, planning to attack from a distance.
Feeling its weight and grip, he motioned for a few thrusts to familiarize himself with it.
'It's manageable, I guess, although I feel like my movements would be awkward with the thrust and all.'
Ericka raised her eyebrow. "A spear? It's good for attacking from a distance, but you'll need better control over it along with very precise footwork."
Nodding his head, Noctis gripped the spear with both hands while taking a wider stance; he lunged towards Ericka.
She once stepped aside, and her movements blurring as she appeared on his other side, she casually swatted the spear.
Seeing his first attack fail, he once again attacked with swift strikes. Ericka sped up a little as she dodged each of his attacks and slowly came closer to him. Just when he wanted to step back to make some distance, her great sword struck his hands holding his spear, making it fall out of his grip as she waved her sword and knocked Noctis back with a light tap on his chest.
"You were getting the hang of it, but you didn't distance yourself the moment I was heading towards you. Next weapon".
Noctis fell to the ground, catching his breath, glancing at his aunt, "I'm starting to think you just enjoy knocking me down",he muttered, heading back to choose another weapon.
Ericka didn't say anything as she just smiled at him.
He chose a one-handed longsword, gripping it at the hilt feeling its weight, and performed a few slashes. "It's heavy, but just enough for me." If it were him a few weeks ago, he probably wouldn't even be able to swing this around after a few slashes.
Noctis smirked as he instantly turned around and running towards his Ericka before she speak, planning on a surprise attack.
Seeing him already in front of her, she raised her greatsword and blocked his attack, she looked amused with his surprise attack.
He lunged forward again as both of them exchanged a few blows. Most of his attacks being parried, he tried from every angle and couldn't get past her defense, let alone land a single strike.
'There's got to be a way. Think, think, you slow-ass brain, think.' He glanced at her and back to his hands while backing away a little, and seeing his free hand, his eyes flashed.
"Tch", clicking his tongue, Noctis having backed away, ran towards her from the side as he swung the sword to her right side quickly, trying to catch her off guard, but she anticipated his move and parried with ease, leaving her other side open as he smirked, raising his free hand, he punched towards her stomach.
"It's not that easy, Nox, but I've got to admit that was quite the clever move", she whispered near his ear as she was leaning towards him.
Noctis looked down at his hand, which was stopped by her other. The next second he panicked, trying to break free and back off.
Glancing back to the sword, he tried to strike again within the close range, but to no avail; Ericka's great sword once again swatted it away.
"Here's a little advice: never let your eyes wander away; watch the hands." He felt his hand being pushed back before he felt a light punch land on his stomach, knocking the wind out of him and sending him crashing down to the ground.
Noctis coughed as he clutched his stomach, feeling the pain; he slowly stood up from the floor. 'Damn, that hurts.'
"Slowly but surely you're improving; that last attack surprised me, quite the unexpected move you pulled off." Her voice sounded as he turned towards her, walking towards him and stopping right in front of him.
"Looks like you got your dad's sword talent", she said with a proud smile. "Don't you want to try other weapons?".
"Yeah, its worth the try and maybe I might a talent in another weapon too, doesn't hurt to learn different weapons", he replied confidently.
He picked up the bow, testing the string's strength, and he swung the quiver over his shoulder with a few arrows already in it. "Let's go with this," he said, nocking an arrow.
Ericka walked back to a certain distance and swung her greatsword over her shoulder, her stance relaxed. "Range, huh? Good for long distance, but now bows are a bit outdated. Anyways, you'll need to be quick and accurate."
Noctis took a few steps back, giving himself some distance as he took a deep breath. He drew the bowstring, aiming for her shoulder, and released. The arrow flew quickly, missing her by a good few meters, Ericka didn't even flinch.
He felt his face turn red as he quickly reached for the second arrow.
Ericka closed the gap between them in a heartbeat. Before he could nock another arrow, her sword was at his throat, the cold metal grazing his skin. "What do you think?" she said, stepping back with a chuckle.
Noctis didn't respond as he let out a sigh while throwing the bow and quiver to the pile. "What about firearms?"
"they are much easier to use than bows, they also come in many different kinds, learning them would be a good choice",She thought for a while before answering his question.
Noctis looked once again back at the weapons. He spotted the unique weapon he had commissioned. Taking it into his hands, he showed it to his aunt. "What about this? It's called a segmented sword." The sword looked the same as any one-handed longsword except it had several lines across it, as it was divided into many segments.
He let his mana flow into the sword as the sword started to loosen, as he swung the sword around, The sword turned into a whip-like weapon; it didn't have a predictable trajectory.
Ericka looked at the sword as Noctis was swinging it around,"Hmm, it's quite an unpredictable weapon, although if someone is of higher rank then, the weapon would be pretty useless. And there's another glaring flaw- its fragile; the chains connecting each segment would break easily during a combat."
Noctis agreed with her assessment, "Yes, the unique design of the sword may offer versatility in combat, but its structural weakness could prove to be a significant disadvantage in prolonged battles."
"It might not be as useful much like a normal sword, but I want to learn how to properly wield this" his voice was firm. Another reason to it was that it matched quite well with his unique skill; it might be useful for him due to its nature of unpredictability.