"I can already tell by your face that you're thinking of something bad."
Seraph sighed and patted Elias's head gently, messing up his golden hair.
"Nevertheless, before I can teach you anything, you need to be able to use the weapon you wish to."
Seraph said, looking at the white sword hanging on the wall, the pretty sword.
'Yeah, I guess I can't really learn shit unless I can wield a weapon.'
"So, get to trying to wield it. Whenever you are ready, I will come back. However, until then, you mustn't focus on anything else."
He slowly walked out of the training room with measured steps, leaving Elias alone.
His walking stick echoed down the hallway in Elias's eardrums.
However, the pressure came back even though he was away. It was still a struggle to move, but he had to manage.
'I need to focus on somehow using my mana..'
Yes, Elias HAD mana, he didn't know how to use it at all.
'System, can you help?'
No response at all. He slowly stood up instead, still struggling against the pressure, and he walked towards the sword.
"Let's see…I choose you…white sword."
He pointed at it, however, nothing happened. If there had been anyone else around him, he would have probably looked like a fool.
'Let's try something else..'
He took a sitting lotus position slowly and closed his eyes, focusing on something he had no idea how to do.
So instead, he focused on memories of his past, his previous life, Froir, and the words of Seraph. The way he died in his past.
'I must get strong to fulfill my goal.'
Time passed quickly, he had no idea how much, however, he got lost in his memories.
When all of a sudden, he felt a warm energy enveloping him.
He opened his eyes and slowly looked down at his hands, which were enveloped in a golden color, this was mana…well, probably.
He could smell the metal in the air due to the weapons.
His back was twitching, and his body was covered in sweat and goosebumps, he could even feel the surrounding dust particles around his body.
His fingers twitched a little, and his mouth felt like a desert, insanely dry.
But instead of letting the moment go, he quickly stood up, and the pressure seemed way less than before.
With a swift motion, he grabbed the sword.
'Please god damn it.'
And he finally managed to lift it off the wall.
The sword moved smoothly like butter as he swung it in a straight motion. He wasn't a swordsman, well, at least not yet.
He didn't have a clue how to use the thing, so he just tried to mimic the movements he'd seen in movies from his previous life.
Suddenly, he heard wooden taps echoing through the hallway.
'I guess he isn't strong for nothing.'
Seraph already probably sensed that Elias had used mana, so he made his way back to the training room.
"After 5 days, you managed to awaken it."
He clapped slowly, his wooden stick floating beside him.
'5 days?! I spent 5 days sitting still?'
As soon as he even thought about it, his stomach grumbled, and he dropped onto the ground. His body was sweating profusely, and the sword dropped next to him, lying still.
His entire body went numb, and his legs and fingers twitched.
He could even feel a slight metallic taste in his mouth.
"I will teach you now, then."
Seraph snapped, and Elias's hunger and fatigue seemed to disappear instantly, his body was completely dry.
'Cool..I guess he can do this as well.'
Elias stood up in a swift motion, and now he was able to lift the sword without using mana as well. The pressure also felt way lighter.
'My body probably got better after unlocking mana properly.'
"I will teach you all the way from basics to techniques and expert moves. However, I can only teach you the way I wield the sword."
Elias nodded, and Seraph gripped his stick properly.
He swung the stick in a simple upward motion.
However, as soon as he finished the swing, the air seemed to whistle, despite the movement being slow.
'I guess he is insanely strong after all..'
"Try it now. I will give you pointers."
Seraph stood still, and Elias nodded without hesitation.
He concentrated, readied his legs, his arms, and his fingers, which were now tightly wrapped around the hilt of his sword.
He swung in an upward motion and stood still with the sword at the top point of the swing.
"It was horrible."
'…'
Seraph's remark made Elias's smile twitch as his whole body shook, the bitter smile on his face slowly faded away.
As Seraph walked closer, the pressure increased drastically.
'What the hell?!'
However, even as Elias's body twitched, he didn't falter, he kept his pose.
The stick touched his shoulder, then his knees, then his wrist, then his fingers, then his back. All under one second. It felt like a train had hit him, but he endured it and slowly lowered the sword.
"Relax your shoulders, straighten your knees more, keep your wrist flexed and steady, and relax your fingers. You also need to keep your back straight. You have to act like you own the sword and your opponent."
Seraph's explanation made perfect sense, well, in theory it did, when it came to applying it in action, Elias failed multiple times, perhaps even hundreds of times, before he finally managed to do it perfectly, for a beginner that is.
"Not bad, you are progressing fast."
Seraph was sitting on the ground now, as hours had passed. Every time Elias got tired or felt muscle pain, Seraph would use some kind of technique on him to make it go away. Which meant he could train infinitely, at least for now.
'I need to get stronger anyway, at least I have an overpowered teacher.'
"Let's move on to other basic moves."
Elias nodded whilst wiping his forehead with his robe.
Hours turned into days, days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months as Elias kept mastering the basic sword techniques taught to him by Seraph.
Many of the techniques required extreme precision and focus from the wielder.
However, he never gave up and kept going, his mindset never changing or faltering.
He was swinging his sword, precise stabs and slashes whistling through the air whilst Seraph was watching from the side of the training room.
After finishing the final movement, Seraph cleared his throat.
"You got the basics now, we will be moving on to specific sword techniques today."
Elias's smile widened as his panting came to a stop, beads of sweat gleaming on his forehead, those words were like music to his ears.