The combat course, of course took place inside of a dojo. Everyone was wearing white martial arts Gi's, and the teacher who was known as awakened Orum, was standing in the middle while around 40 students were on the sides.
Epsilon was sweating bullets, not from how menacing the teacher was, but from the students he was surrounded by.
'Why????'
Coincidentally, the boy and girl that he watched fight in here the other day, just so happened to be in the same class as he was. There were multiple combat classes taking place at this time since it was the most popular course, but why did he end up with them???
And it wasn't even just that, the strange boy that kept asking to fight him was here too!
'And why the heck does he keep calling me white demon????'
Previously, he refused to fight him, but he was rather persistent. In the end, he decided to just run away after finishing his food. But of course, fate just had to be a rather fickle thing.
He was staring at him with a devious smile on his face, regardless if people were giving him weird looks..
That wasn't the only oddity in this class though, the students sitting next to him on the floor were being weird too. Although it wasn't obvious, they were incredibly tense.
'Is this whole school just weird?? Coming here was a mistake...'
Orum then began his lesson, demanding the attention from everyone in the room.
"There are a few newbies in here, and most of you have learnt all you need and practiced all you can, however, the best way to improve is to always go back to the basics."
His eyes scanned the room, and then he asked,
"New comers in here that have never wielded a weapon before, raise your hand."
There was only 2 other people in Epsilons batch of sleepers that was in this group with him, so all three of them raised their hands. In the end, Orum pointed his finger at Epsilon.
"You there, what weapon do you think suits you the most?"
Epsilon really didn't know. He had used a dagger once or twice, but that was just to threaten other people off. He never actually fought with it.
"I don't know."
Orum nodded.
"Great, you'll make a perfect example."
Epsilon shivered. Orum ended up tossing one of the many wooden practice swords at him, and commanded him to come up to the front.
"The weapon that suits you the most can be decided by a multitude of things, but it mostly comes down to Talent, and your build. For example, you don't see towering giants walk around with daggers do you? Those weapons are meant for close, quick and precise strikes. However, their builds make them slow, and those weapons could barely fit in their hands. For them, a great sword, spear, or even just their fists paired with gauntlets would work nicely."
He then pointed his own wooden sword at Epsilon.
"But look at this boy! He's of average height, and a little light weight. For him, a dagger, bow, or sword will do. Although, he might even be able to handle a spear if he does have the talent for it."
He then scanned the crowd once more, and his eyes locked onto a boy that many people recognised.
"Sylas, what do you think?"
Epsilon froze. Sylas was the one sparring with that girl the other day, and he was even ranked 5th on the leader boards? Why does he keep finding annoying people to deal with...
"I agree, but mastering just one weapon won't be enough. Although you will be able to trade and buy memories as you go, us sleepers don't have that luxury unless your being supported by others(legacy clans)."
Orum nodded.
"Thank you Sylas. By chance, if you were to earn a memory weapon in your first nightmare, whose to say that it will be the one that suits you? And even if you do enter the dream realm, kill Nightmare Creatures without dying and earn more memories, whose to say the weapon it gives will suit you then? And the one after that? And the one after that? I don't like leaving things up to luck, and luck will not be enough to survive in the dream realm. If you want to survive, you need not just to know how to handle one type of weapon, but all the types that your physique can handle."
He then looked back at Epsilon.
"A sword is the most basic of all weapons. It can be used not just offensively, but defensively, and its the root of most close combat weapons. If you want to learn which weapon fits you the most, always start with the sword and then diverge from there."
Epsilon understood. Back in the dungeons of darkness, all the knights he saw that came to give him food, had a sword strapped to their waist. If he had a talent for any weapon, it was most likely the sword.
"But that isn't all. A little further along the way, your weapon of choice will ultimately have strengths and weaknesses, and so they will perform worse against other weapons. A sword will do terribly against a bow at a long range, but in close range, the sword will dominate. But that's just against humans, when it comes to Nightmare creatures, they may not just wield weapons, but their whole bodies.
Claws, teeth, tail, and even strange powers, everything is a weapon for them, but those too have weakness which can be exploited by your weapon type. In the end, its just another reason why partnership is important in the dream realm, as a wide variety of people with mastery over different weapons can cover your weaknesses."
Orum scanned the crowd, and noticed that someone was grinning especially hard. He then got a bright idea.
"Sleeper Galahad, why don't you spar with him a little? The best way to learn quickly is by fighting others."
Galahads smile grew even wider, while Epsilons face paled. Why is everything in this school out to kill him?
"Can I fight someone else?", Epsilon asked.
"Your about to practice with a high ranking senior! And someone from a legacy clan no less! Be a little more cheerful!"
'Amazing!'
Galahad walked over to the armoury of wooden weapons, and took a staff that was a little taller than himself. Although it wasn't very obvious, he had instantly grown a hundred times more dangerous.
"So it looks like we get to fight after all, white demon."
"RR—R.. right..."
Orum then declared.
"To make this a little more fair, No Aspect abilities on either side, and sleeper Galahad, don't use any of that pole bending nonsense."
The two kept a pace or two away from each other, before taking their respective stances. The stance you took at the start of a fight was important, as it maximised agility and balance, allowing for optimal counter attacks or defence depending on the swordsman's preferred style.
Right now, Epsilon needed to defend as much as he could, and then counter attack the moment he got a chance. Right now, there was only one stance that he knew which fit both of those conditions.
Sylas's eyes widened, as he saw Epsilon copy his own swords stance.