Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 81 A Novice Grows Through Abuse
Looking at the novice in front of her who was even stammering when he spoke, Nancy really wanted to burst out laughing.

The other person looked to be in their early twenties. Men and women of this age are usually already married and have children who are big enough to run around with snot running down their faces, making them the most troublesome little goblin-like figures in the eyes of the nearby residents.

She herself, being an older unmarried woman, was of course an exception, but the guy opposite her seemed even more eccentric than her. Sometimes he had more tricks up his sleeve than anyone else, and sometimes he was as stupid as an idiot. Sometimes he was as thick-skinned as a city wall, but this morning he was like a virgin.

"Forget it, I don't have time to go out for a meal with you. Anyway, I've already taught you a lesson, so I accept your apology."

Before Zhang Yuan could even be happy, Nancy added, "But training will continue, and I won't hold back."

After saying that, he turned and left, ignoring Zhang Yuan's frozen expression that was a mixture of laughter and tears.

After the lunch break, training had to continue, and one of the instructors' words were only half true.

The truth is, she was absolutely not waterproof at all, and she didn't hold back when it came to what needed to be done.

The lie was that she still seemed to enjoy this behavior of torturing newbies, which convinced Zhang Yuan that she was simply seeking revenge.

Fortunately, Nancy knew her limits. Even when she was teaching the newbie a lesson, she only caused him minor injuries. Besides, the wooden sword used for training meant it couldn't inflict any serious damage on the thick-skinned Zhang Yuan.

In addition to Zhang Yuan's high physique and healing ring, he only looked disheveled and exhausted after a whole day of training, but he didn't have any hidden injuries.

Training is tough, matches are humiliating, being beaten is painful, and life is unbearable.

The training package Nancy provided certainly couldn't be completed in just one or two days. There were many techniques to learn, especially in terms of footwork and body movement. And Nancy's methods were as brutal as ever.

The explanation, demonstration, and a few practice sessions for the newbie—then it jumps to the much-anticipated simulated battles. What infuriates the newbie most is that just when they've mastered the technique enough to defend themselves against this vicious old woman, they hear the following:

"You've pretty much mastered this skill. Now let me tell you about the next one."

Time can sometimes feel incredibly long, like when someone is struggling to withstand Nancy's sword and enduring the long days.

Sometimes it's very short, so short that when you look back on that time it feels like yesterday.

Zhang Yuan devoted himself to special training for a full six weeks—or, in Nancy's eyes, only six weeks—to finally master the advanced footwork techniques, combat stances, and dual-weapon proficiency that Nancy had taught him.

In Nancy's words, "I've taught you all my secrets, so don't embarrass me in the future."

That's what they say, but even the well-informed Nancy found it hard to accept the fact that this newbie had revealed all her secrets at such an astonishing speed.

From the beginning, Nancy only intended to teach the other party some footwork and movement techniques. In her opinion, it would take several months to truly master these things. Mastering them here does not mean just putting on airs or exchanging moves; it means being able to use them in actual combat, or at least in combat practice, and to achieve results rather than having laughable negative effects.

However, in just two weeks, the opponent mastered the skill and was able to use it in their battles. Although it wasn't particularly impressive, it was enough for them to defend themselves.

Seeing that she could no longer gain much advantage over her opponent, and that teaching (training) the newbie could no longer proceed pleasantly, Nancy simply ended the course and put the learning of combat stances on the agenda. Combat stances, in fact, are a form of combat style. When warrior-type professionals accumulate enough skill and experience, in order to better utilize their combat style, or to counter certain types of enemies, they often specifically master one or more combat stances.

For example, warriors specializing in two-handed swords often choose the stance of fierce attack, which reduces accuracy to some extent but greatly increases the lethality of their slashes.

The strategy of combining defense with offense is often favored by shield warriors who are skilled in defense, as it enhances their defensive and evasive abilities, at the cost of sacrificing some of their offensive capabilities.

The combat stance that Nancy has mastered and intends to teach Zhang Yuan is called: Agile Attack. Fighters in this stance can have a faster attack speed, but at the cost of reduced lethality.

It's clear that this specialty is a perfect fit for Nancy's fighting style, and combined with her dual-wielding proficiency, it maximizes her attack speed.

When Nancy wielded two swords and entered a battle stance, unleashing her full fighting power, Zhang Yuan, who was watching from the sidelines, felt that he could barely see her figure clearly.

To better showcase her skills, Nancy even changed into her own weapons. The twin swords in Nancy's hands were already wielded into a ball of white light, coldly enveloping her figure. While it wasn't exactly impenetrable, at least no one could get close to her.

When this "sword and shadow" descended upon the training doll, the flying fragments and wood chips swirled and scattered with the air currents generated by Nancy's wielding of her twin swords. This ordinary slash gave Zhang Yuan the illusion that even a sword storm was nothing special.

It was indeed an illusion. When Nancy stopped, panting slightly, the puppet was still standing there, though it was covered in wounds and its original appearance was unrecognizable, but it hadn't shattered into a pile of wood chips.

Quite surprised, Zhang Yuan stepped forward and examined the wounds carefully. He found that although there were many and densely packed wounds, the deepest sword mark was only an inch deep into the wood.

While Nancy's lack of strength and preference for agility certainly contributed to this, this fighting stance did indeed sacrifice considerable lethality.

Having learned his lesson, Zhang naturally wouldn't be so blind as to say something like, "Your bullshit is probably some kind of skin-peeling/scraping/pedicure sword technique." But its actual flaws are truly baffling.

"This fighting stance can indeed make the user's attacks as swift as a storm, and such sudden strikes can certainly throw the enemy into disarray. But is there any way to balance attack speed and lethality?" With a hint of flattery, Zhang Yuan tried to tactfully raise his question.

"Dream on! You want to balance attack speed and damage? Do you think you're learning a powerful whirlwind attack? I'd love to learn a legendary skill like that too." Nancy, who had just caught her breath, heard someone's dissatisfied remark.

“The damage I dealt just now was indeed a bit weak, but that was because I drastically reduced the attack intensity to demonstrate the attack speed limit in this stance,” Nancy continued. “Techniques are static, but people are dynamic. Isn’t the balance between attack speed and intensity entirely up to you?”

That makes sense, Zhang Yuan thought to himself. Reality is not a game. Activating a combat stance gives you a fixed +5 attack chance and -10 attack damage, which you can adjust and control yourself.

At this moment, Nancy casually tossed out another sentence: "What I used just now was actually a more advanced agile attack. You might not be able to learn it even if you wanted to, and if you can learn dual weapon mastery in the future..."

Nancy said this with a hint of pride: "Then you still have a slight chance to learn the wandering swordsman's signature skills, the spinning attack and spinning defense."

Thank you to fy11766 and Apprentice Royal Knight for the donations. Thank you for your support.



(End of this chapter)