I'm Just a Nameless Side Character in a Vampire Romance Novel

Chapter 30 - Choosing my future

Heinrick laughed when he heard about me and Eclis' agreement the next day. "Master, what is an impressive number of pull ups anyways." I was really flustered now. Why did I agree to this?

"More than three, lass." I glared at him.

"Three and a half."

"Oho, yes I did forget about that pathetic struggle at the end." He smiled sadistically. Instead of our normal laps, he had walked me towards the training grounds. It was hard to pretend I didn't notice the theatrics the knights would put themselves through the moment they realized they were about to turn my direction. One actually dived to the ground, giving up on his footing when his sparring pushed him to face our way.

On the side of the field were places the knights could rest during tournaments. It was sheltered and blocked the view from the stadium seats so that the knights could celebrate, or morn their loss, in peace. Currently they were being used to store various training weapons for the knights. Swords, axes, maces, staves, and spears all with blunted edges were stored on racks ranging in many different sizes. It was among them that I'd need to choose my weapon to pass the test.

"Whichever you choose will be the weapon you learn first so choose wisely. Don't look for the lightest one," I flinched. He caught me, "Think of what you want to master first. Your first weapon is often the one you become best with."

"Can you give me some direction on what to consider with each weapon? I haven't really given it much thought before." Swords were a safe bet; it was what I'd imagined I'd use when I thought about fighting but being faced with the sheer array of weapons made them seem... Kind of boring. Now that I was really looking, there were sickles and flails, morningstar's, clubs, pikes, glaives, poleaxes, picks, hammers, halberds and weapons I neither recognized nor could name.

I turned back to Heinrick who was sizing me up. "Blunt weapons require strength and endurance to use. Even with our daily training, relying on those qualities will never put you at an advantage in a real fight so no clubs, hammers, axes, maces." He shook his head dismissing that weapon rack. "Staves, Polearms and spears will give you reach and will help you keep enemies at a distance. You mentioned that you were planning to learn offensive magic, right?" I nodded, "Then these will give you an advantage on the field. From afar you can attack with magic, and when they get too close you can keep them out of reach while you prepare your next spell." He moved on to the next rack, "Swords are a staple weapon. You'll either learn them now, or after the other weapon you choose but you will learn them. Among adventurers they'll be the most common weapon you'll face so learning how to wield one will also help you learn how to defend against it." He nodded back at the spears and polearms, "Weapons like those will also give you an advantage against fighting someone with a sword since you can keep them from getting within range." We moved to the final rack full of exotic weapons, "These here are off limits for now. It would be better to learn the basics before moving onto more nuanced weapons."

I considered my options for some time before finally picking up a weapon. Two in fact. They were two short swords with straight double-edged blades and thin pointed guards on them. They were far heavier than they looked and the guard bit into the soft skin on my palm when I tried to push the point of the blade above my wrist. "Would it be wise to learn how to dual wield before I can wield one sword?" Heinrick smiled.

"Perhaps you should learn how to hold one sword before you try for two." My hands were already hurting holding them. "What made you choose to dual wield?"

"Have you heard of Jack Red?" Heinricks expression didn't change so I explained, "He's a famous adventurer. He calls himself a spellsword and fights in the front lines with magic and two swords." I smiled. In this world using mana took a toll on the body. People especially versed in magic normally only fought in the backlines since their body became weaker than that of a martial adept. Jack on the other hand ran a knifes edge, balancing physical strength with his use of mana. Aside from Eclis he was my favourite character. "He's really cool. If I can, I'd love to meet him one day." Eclis was someone I would want to be with, whereas Jack was the person I wanted to become.