How to use a sword

"What is with that creepy smirk on your face, punk?"

Asking Felix the question straight to his face, Maria couldn't help but take a step back from seeing the greedy look in his eyes when he was looking towards her. It was almost the same way a hunter looked towards his prey.

But in which possible scenario was she the prey?!

Thinking about this Maria snorted and stepped forward as if daring Felix to try his best.

"Huh? What look?"

Utterly unaware of he was looking like a greedy pervert until a few seconds back, Felix failed to realise that due to learning of Sheila's intention to support him in building a harem he was looking towards all beautiful women as if they were targets for him to hunt and add in his current non-existent harem.

"Hmmm… Never mind."

Setting the gravity inside the room to fifteen times which was the current limit for Felix who was under a suppression of additional ten times gravity which was stacked and not assimilated with the gravity inside the room, Maria moved to the centre of the room and summoned her weapons.

The next moment, a pair of long blue swords materialised out of thin air and floated in front of her which she instantly grabbed.

Slashing them and filling the room with the sharp sound of the blades cutting through the air, Maria slowly said, "The Flood Dragon's Twin Swords, my weapon."

Sensing that this was his cue to reveal his own sword, Felix stepped forward leisurely while his Astral Force poured into the rune.

"The White Sword."

Saying a name which couldn't be any faker, Felix grabbed onto the simple looking sword which made Maria think that quite suited the name.

"What does it do?"

"Huh?"

"Your sword, what does it do? Or what is its unique feature?"

"Sharpness. What about yours?"

"Dual wielding. My body will move more freely and naturally when using the both of them and strengthen my sword-based skills and techniques."

Nodding his head, Felix could see how the peculiar ability would be great for not just novices but experts as well.

After all, from what Maria said the swords would improve her control over all sword related things due to which regardless of how strong the sword user was or how proficient he was in using them, they'd still be benefited from it.

"One or two? How many do you plan on using?"

"Two."

Not saying anything since using two swords was not just the current trend but something which had been popular for a very long time, Maria began teaching Felix about how to use a sword.

"I'll begin with the most basic things you need to know before you start swinging a sword first."

"To wield a sword properly, just having a strong body is not enough. You need to be both flexible and stable at the same time and prioritise on strengthening your back and waist. Also, your wrists need to be strong as well to make sure you control the sword and not let your sword control you."

Walking around Felix, Maria would tap whichever body part she was talking about as if to emphasise and make sure he understood her correctly.

Like this, she tapped his head and said, "Those who use a sword need to be calm at all times. While rage is a strong emotion, it can never beat the awareness and serenity of a swordsman."

"When using a sword, there's no place for righteousness. Sure it sounds good to be on the moral high ground, but in the end, it is only the one who wins that matters, not how you win."

"Always be confident when wielding a sword, if you look or act uncertain, your enemy will definitely exploit it."

"Never fall into a rhythm when wielding a sword. Continuous moves which build up momentum are good, but you should know how to use them properly so that your enemy doesn't use your rhythm against you."

"As a swordsman never feel intimidated regardless of whom you are facing and how strong he or she is."

"Maintain a distance which lets you dodge your enemy's attacks but at the same time lets you strike back in the right moment."

"Finally, always stay on your toes. I'm not telling you to be timid, I'm telling you to always expect the unexpected so that you are never caught off guard and don't underestimate your opponent. As someone who has been in real life and death battles, I don't need to tell you what will happen in the split second you don't pay attention, do I?"

Shaking his head, Felix engraved every single one of the words which Maria just spoke.

"I'm sure that you won't understand most of what I've said right away, but once you start using your sword to train and fight on a daily basis, you'll very quickly grasp the meaning behind the words I've just said."

"Now moving onto how to wield a sword."

Standing in front of Felix, Maria was now no longer walking around him and instead pointed those sharp swords in her hands towards him.

"I'll slow my movements, so try and react to the best of your ability. Experiencing will let you understand things better than when I use words to explain."

"The most simple and straightforward way to wield a sword is to be fast."

Disappearing the instant she finished her words, Maria executed a seemingly very ordinary strike with her sword moving straight down and aiming to split Felix's head into two.

But, despite how Felix felt like he could see its movement and move out of the way or counter it, he found that due to how fast the sword was he would not be able to do anything to resist against it if Maria wanted to kill him.

Luckily, she had no such intention and stopped the blade exactly when it was literally touching Felix's forehead.

"Simple right? Be fast. As long as you are faster than your enemy, you don't need to do anything else."