Chapter 231

“I see; that is all you were worried about. I thought you were about to ask for something complicated. Yes, it is okay to use a weapon on top of a shield. Most warriors will, especially Tanks like yourself. But, honestly, that rule was more so put in place to see how Ivar and his brother would react. For you and your sister, the restrictions are more relaxed.” Professor Dennis gave his consent and looked over at Instructor Garrison, raising an eyebrow.

“He is a warrior; I would expect something along the lines of sword and board; I have no issues with it.” Inspector Garrison stepped forward, pushing off the bleachers he had been leaning against since the end of the battle, and started walking towards the center of the field.

“CLEAR THE BATTLE AREA! The next round of Evaluations will begin in 5 minutes,” Professor Dennis shouted, drawing everyone’s attention away from the Headmaster; then, he looked at Benny and spoke softer.

“You will have three minutes to choose your weapon, so go ahead and head over to the racks to make your picks.” However, just as Benny was about to walk away and do as told, Professor Dennis stopped him for a word of advice.

“Benjamin, I recommend you go with a more hefty shield than the one you used during your group battle. The lightweight one you were using didn’t allow you to bring out your full potential, and if you don’t make a change now before you get too used to it, you will be hindered later in life. So give it a shot, test a few of them, and see which one fits you best. I know the brothers are very skilled, but sometimes it’s better to find your own path than to allow others to dictate your every move.”

“Thank you for your advice Professor Dennis; I will take it to heart. The buckler style has been with me for a while now, but after my Evolution, I realized that I couldn’t stop the attacks I should be able to as a tank. Also, its size doesn’t fit my new…body.” Nodding in understanding, Benny jogged off towards the closest weapon rack.

On his way, he passed Cynrik and the others, and they gave him a smack on the back for encouragement and a few words of advice.

“Don’t think, react; use your instinct and battle sense. The more time you waste trying to figure out what attack patterns the guy has, the less you have actually to work on stopping them.” Cynrik said.

“Remember what we taught you, string your sword slashes with your Affinity. Even water can cut through steel when pressurized, don’t forget what you learned in class earlier.” Brance chimed in cheerfully, now back on his feet for the most part.

“Go get ’em, big guy.” Selene waved as she walked away.

Leaving only Gabby, who stood in front of her older brother and scanned him from top to bottom. Leaning forward and adjusting his collar, she patted his broad chest twice and smiled brightly at Benny.

“You got this, brother. If Ivar and my Björn can go all out, so can you. Knock that teacher on his butt.” Giving Benny a thumbs up and some parting words, Gabby hurried off to take her spot next to Brance as the group made their way to the bleachers.

When they made it over, all four remaining members of MyrkLys stood close to the Headmaster and ignored the glittering stares of the other students. The fight between Cynrik and Brance still replaying in their minds.

Some of the girls would peek at Brance before looking down when he turned to see who was staring intensely at him. A flash of his trademark handsome smile was enough to make the young girls turn into blushing messes, much to Gabby’s dissatisfaction. But after remembering he was hers and snuggling against him, she simply ignored the giggling girls.

In contrast, anytime someone would send flirty eyes at Cynrik, Selene would snarl like a female wolf, scaring any potential nuisance trying to steal her man. Her petty actions made Cynrik smirk and whisper for her to stick her left hand into his right back pocket since he knew if she were let loose, Selene would probably tear each of the flirty young girls to pieces.

Once Benny arrived at the first row of train weapons, Instructor Alistar, who had returned to his post in the center of the field, started the three-minute timer.

Strolling, Benny passed by the daggers, short swords, and axes, first heading towards the shields. Knowing time was short, his eyes rapidly flicked around, ignoring the small bucklers and their larger variant, the targe. Then, heading the slight nudge from the Professor, he moved to the kite shields, which ranged in size, with the smaller ones being in the shape of a square or diamond and the larger ones being teardrops, which Brance was known to use. However, after picking up a couple and fitting them in to place on his left arm, Benny realized he didn’t like the way they rested or how clunky they felt, so he walked away from the kites and toward the round shields.

“Two minutes.” Professor Alistar shouted, yet Benny stayed calm and split his attention between the different-sized round shields and a nearby rack with varying length two-handed swords.

Back at the bleachers, Cynrik and Brance narrowed their eyes in thought, witnessing Benny’s actions.

“Interesting, he ditched the buckler and is going for something larger; what do you think, Big Brother?” Brance was the first to comment on how Benny didn’t even bat an eyelash at his usual type of defense.

“With the increase in his bulk and height, it makes more sense to go with a larger shield. Do you see how his eyes are going back and forth between the two-handers and the round shields? He is up to something very interesting.” Giving his observations to the rest of the party, everyone picked up on Benny’s sly actions.

“Really? Why a two-hander Big Bro Ivar?” Confused by her brother’s choices, Gabby tilted her head to the side, questioning Cynrik.

“It shouldn’t be too big an issue to wield one with one hand. But, you have to remember, as a warrior, Benny will eventually have his STR as the highest stat. From what I can tell, he is planning ahead and using this test as an opportunity to break away from our little nest of protection.”

“You have to remember Gabby, of all us who made it to Tier-2, Benny had the most significant physical change. During our sparring matches, he struggled to adjust to using a short sword and buckler, which is a sign that he has outgrown them. Try picturing it as using a pencil and couch pillow to fight; it doesn’t match up with his body anymore. Thus, it makes sense to use a different sword and shield type.” Cynrik spoke while rolling his neck around to reduce some of the stiffness from building up.

“Yeah, but why a two-handed sword? That seems like putting the cart before the horse?” Selene asked while rubbing her head tenderly on Cynrik’s shoulder, annoying him slightly.

“That one, you’ll have to take up with Benny when he returns. Honestly, I don’t see why not; his STR is high enough to wield a heavier sword now, but with weight comes greater length. The question will be what type of sword he chooses. If he is hell-bent on using a two-handed sword with only his right hand, I’d prefer he go with an edgeless one, specializing in crushing instead of slashing.”

“I agree with Big Brother on that one, but I am also concerned about his choice in shields. As a Tank, we need to evenly distribute the impact by deflecting the attack or having a wide enough surface area on our shield to distribute the force and weight evenly. The only problem is Benny has always played the dodge and deflect game, kind of like Big Brother does with his swords, but now he seems to want to fuse what the two of us do into his own style. Im all for it, but I just hope he isn’t biting off more than he can chew.” Said Brance as he used his thumb to trace Gabby’s knuckles.

“One minute remaining.”

With time running out, Benny picked up a large round shield, equipped it, and tested its weight with a few swings. Then, unhappy with its performance, he swapped it for a smaller one, provoking a chuckle from Cynrik.

Next, he quickly padded over to the two-handed swords. He started testing them one after another before finding the suitable fitting one, in his opinion, and sprinting to the battlefield.

“TIME! Take your positions.” The Instructor nodded at Benny, who arrived in time and stood holding his two weapons before turning and looking at Instructor Garrison.

“IN THE RED CORNER, COMBATANT TARNIS GARRISON, WEAPON, LONG SWORD AND KITE SHIELD.”

The students in the bleachers clapped loudly, cheering for the stoic and brawny Instructor Garrison. Some girls even commented on how handsome he looked, silently standing there with his weapons.

“IN THE BLUE CORNER, COMBATANT BENJAMIN SANFORD, WEAPON, ESTOC AND ASPIS.”

This time the audience of students was noticeably quieter; however, the members of MyrkLys were highly vocal.

“OIII, YOU BETTER NOT LOSE BENNY; BEAT THAT OLD MAN’S ASS!” Cynrik shouted, drawing an angry glare from Professor Dennis and the Headmaster.

“YOU GOT THIS, BENNY; KEEP CALM AND REMEMBER YOUR TRAINING!” In contrast to his older brother, Brance went into full-on coach mode

“GOOOO BROTHERRR GOOOOO BROTHER!” Jumping up and down beside Brance, Gabby cheered her older brother on.

“FIGHT DIRTY; REMEMBER WHAT IVAR SAYS, THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS CLEAN IN A BRAWL!” Selene hollered with her hands cupped to her mouth, earning another displeased glare from the Headmaster and Professor Dennis.

[[HAHAHHA! Atta girl Selene.]] Cynrik, though, praised her for her verbal assault.

“Alright, you two, I want a clean battle; listen to my orders and protect yourself at all times. For this fight, the rules are the same as for the Ragnarsson brothers, but I will go over them once more. The battle will cease if you are rendered unconscious, unable to continue, or I step in.” Instructor Alistar stood in between Benny and Instructor Garrison and listed out the rules, so they were fresh in everyone’s minds.

“Low blows to the groin are banned. Additionally, if you lose a limb at any time, the fight will be paused for 10 minutes, and a medic will be sent in to reattach the limb before the battle will be restarted, with each combatant taking a similar position when the fight was stopped. If you understand these rules, confirm it with a gesture or verbal acknowledgment.”

“I am ready, Instructor Alistair.” Then, crossing his sword over his chest like a knight and making a polite bow to his opponent and the referee, Benny confirmed.

“On your mark Ali, ready when you are,” Professor Garrison said before looking at Benny and making a final comment.

“I will limit my strength to Mid-Tier-2 for this fight. As an Instructor, it is my job to guide students on the correct path, so I tend to point out flaws and allow students to make corrections throughout the fight, Good luck.” Knocking his longsword against his shield and producing a loud clang, Instructor Garrison took a few steps back and dropped into his combat stance, with his shield raised and the sword resting against the leftmost top edge.

“FIGHTER, ARE YOU READY!”

Benny took a few steps backward and slid his left foot half a step behind his body, holding his shield in front, covering the space from his neck to his knees, and held his sword off to the side in his right hand before nodding.

“FIGHTER, ARE YOU READY!”

Instructor Garrison smiled and slapped his sword on his shield, producing another loud clang.

“FIGHT!!!” Raising his hand into the air, Instructor Alistar jumped back, narrowly avoiding a large [Stone Spike] which tore from the ground heading toward Benny.

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