Chapter 63: The Art of Versatile Combat 1

Selene crossed the Adventurers’ Guild’s grand hall without slowing down.

Adam followed her, under the curious gazes of several female adventurers.

Some already recognized him.

Others were mainly focused on the four Progressive Charge Bracelets fastened around his wrists and ankles.

Adam now felt as if their weight had become part of his body.

They were still extremely restrictive.

Each step required more effort.

Every movement strained his muscles.

Yet, unlike the day before, he no longer needed to constantly think about how to walk correctly.

His body compensated almost automatically for the load.

Adaptation continued its work.

Selene opened a heavy door at the back of the building.

They descended several flights of stairs before reaching a vast underground training room.

Adam recognized the room immediately.

The floor was made of large enchanted tiles.

The walls were reinforced with several layers of metal and magical stone.

Glowing crystals floated near the ceiling.

Weapon racks lined the sides of the room.

But unlike the day before, the center had been completely cleared.

Selene closed the door behind them.

"We’re going to use the entire room today."

Adam looked at the numerous racks.

"You’re actually planning to have me test all these weapons?"

"Not just test them."

Selene stepped toward the center.

"You’re going to learn how to switch between them during combat."

Adam frowned slightly.

"Change weapons mid-fight?"

"Yes."

She turned to him.

"Your new skills make you versatile. But that versatility is useless if you have to stop for several seconds every time you want to switch weapons." "

Adam examined the weapon racks.

"I could simply carry multiple weapons on me."

Selene shook her head.

"Too heavy. Too cumbersome. And your opponent would always know which weapons you possess."

Her gaze shifted to Adam’s Ring of Promise.

"Your inventory allows you to avoid these problems."

Adam immediately understood what she had in mind.

"I store all the weapons in my inventory and summon them when needed."

"Exactly."

Selene smiled.

"A dagger for close combat. A sword for balanced exchanges. A spear for maintaining distance. A mace against armor. A heavy weapon to break through defenses."

She raised a hand.

"Your opponent will never know what will appear in your hands."

Adam thought for a few seconds.

The idea was excellent.

In his old world, a fighter constantly switching weapons would have been limited by what he could carry.

His inventory completely eliminated that constraint.

He could theoretically carry dozens of weapons.

And summon them almost instantly.

"There’s still one problem."

Selene nodded.

"The transition."

Adam looked at his hands.

"Each weapon has a different weight, length, and balance. Switching from a dagger to a warhammer without adjusting my stance could throw me off balance."

Selene’s smile widened.

"Very well. You understand the main objective."

She headed toward the weapon racks.

"Today, you’re going to learn how to adjust your stance even before the new weapon appears."

Adam followed her.

Selene selected a dagger.

Then a longsword.

A staff.

A spear.

A mace.

A warhammer.

A great axe.

A halberd.

And finally, an enormous swordfish, a little over two meters long.

She laid them out in a line on the ground.

Adam looked at the last weapon.

Its blade was almost as wide as his torso.

"Are you sure this isn’t just for decoration?"

Selene grasped the swordfish with one hand and lifted it effortlessly.

"No."

She handed it to him.

Adam placed both hands on the hilt.

As soon as Selene released him, the tip of the blade fell sharply to the ground.

Adam tensed his entire body to catch it.

The bracelets were already adding to his physical strain.

The weight of the swordfish made the situation even more difficult.

He managed to straighten the blade nonetheless.

"It’s much heavier than my knowledge of the skill led me to believe."

"Knowledge doesn’t feel fatigue for you."

Selene folded her arms.

"Put them all in your inventory."

Adam touched each weapon in turn.

They disappeared one after the other.

A few seconds later, they were all visible in his personal space.

Selene took several steps back.

"Before we begin, compress your mana."

Adam turned his eyes toward her.

"Now?"

"Vespera sent me a message this morning."

Adam sighed.

"Of course."

Selene’s tone became slightly calmer.

"She wants you to maintain the compression throughout the day. Not just during your magic lessons."

"She wants me to maintain it even during combat."

"Yes."

Adam closed his eyes.

He took a deep breath.

His mana was already flowing much more naturally than the day before.

He gradually gathered the energy toward his center.

The flows tightened.

The density increased.

A familiar pressure appeared inside his body.

Adam used his breath to stabilize the process.

Inhale.

Collapse.

Exhale.

Compression.

The mana gradually became denser.

After a few minutes, it reached the level Vespera had asked him to maintain.

Adam opened his eyes.

"Ready."

Selene tilted her head slightly.

She had probably sensed the density of his mana.

"Don’t release it, no matter what happens."

"Even if you hit me?"

"Especially if I hit you." "

Adam had a bad feeling.

Selene smiled.

"First weapon. Dagger."

Adam conjured the dagger in his right hand.

The transition was almost instantaneous.

Selene rushed toward him.

Adam barely had time to raise the weapon.

She struck his wrist with two fingers.

The dagger flew.

Before it hit the ground, Adam sent it flying back into his inventory.

Selene swept her legs.

Adam fell heavily onto his back.

The compression of his mana fluctuated.

He corrected it immediately.

Selene placed a foot near his face.

"First mistake?"

Adam caught his breath.

"I looked at my hand when I summoned it."

"Correct."

She stepped back.

"You must know the weapon is present without visually checking. Your gaze must remain on your opponent."

Adam stood up.

"Again."

"Sword."

A longsword appeared in his hands.

This time, Adam didn’t look down.

Selene attacked.

Adam blocked her first blow.

But the force of the impact knocked his arms back.

He tried to counterattack.

Selene pivoted and elbowed him in the ribs.

Adam recoiled.

His mana briefly expanded in pain.

He immediately tightened the grip.

"Second mistake," Selene said.

Adam gritted his teeth slightly.

"I maintained the dagger stance." My feet were too close together.

"Yes. A longsword requires a more stable base and a different distance."

She raised two fingers.

"You need to start adjusting your stance before the summoning."

Adam nodded.

"Staff."

The sword vanished.

A long staff appeared in his hands.

Adam moved his right foot back before the weapon had fully materialized.

He spun the staff around to keep Selene at bay.

The first attack was correct.

The second was too.

But when he attempted a sweeping strike, the weight of the bracelets slowed his shoulders.

Selene entered his guard.

Her fist stopped inches from his stomach.

Then she truly struck.

Adam was thrown backward.

He slid several meters.

"You only used your arms," ​​Selene explained. "A long staff is wielded with the whole body. The hips produce the rotation. The hands only direct the trajectory."

Adam stood up slowly.

"I understand."

"Spear."

The staff disappeared.

A spear appeared.

Adam immediately widened his stance.

He placed his right hand near the end and his left higher up on the shaft.

Selene attacked.

Adam executed a direct thrust.

She dodged.

He immediately brought the spear back and used the shaft to block her attack.

Selene took a step back.

Adam continued.

A thrust toward the torso.

A feint toward the shoulder.

Then a low strike.

For the first time, Selene didn’t connect with him immediately.

A smile appeared on his lips.

"Better."

Adam tried to take advantage of this opening.

He moved forward.

Selene grasped the shaft.

She pulled sharply.

Adam lost his balance.

A moment later, his knee struck him in the stomach.

The air left his lungs.

The compression of his mana collapsed almost completely.

Adam fell to his knees.

Selene released the spear.

"Your mana."

Adam closed his eyes.

He ignored the pain.

He gathered the flows again.

Then he rebuilt the lost density.

It took him almost thirty seconds.

Selene watched him without intervening.

When he had finished, she asked:

"Why did you lose it?"

Adam stood up.

"I focused all my attention on catching my breath."

"In a real fight, you can’t stop an internal technique every time you’re hit."

"I know."

"Then learn to suffer without interrupting what you’re doing."

Adam looked at her.

"You have a very particular way of encouraging people."

"It works."

"Unfortunately."

Selene resumed her position.

"Mass."

The spear vanished.

A heavy mace appeared in Adam’s right hand.

His wrist immediately dropped under the weight.

He corrected his movement.

Selene approached.

Adam struck horizontally.

The mace produced a heavy hiss through the air.

Selene ducked.

The momentum carried Adam’s arm too far.

Selene struck him in the back.

He stumbled.

"Don’t fight the weight of the weapon," she said. "Use it."

Adam turned around.

"If I stop each attack with force, I waste my energy."

"Yes. Transform the end of the movement into the beginning of the next."

Adam tried again.

He struck vertically.

The mace descended.

Instead of grabbing her roughly, he followed her trajectory, pivoted his hips, and brought her back with an upward strike.

Selene dodged both attacks.

But the movement was smoother.

"There."

She immediately struck Adam on the shoulder.

"But you forgot to defend your left side."

Adam grimaced.

"I was almost starting to think you were just going to congratulate me."

"A mistake is a mistake."

"Hammer."

The mace vanished.

A warhammer appeared.

The weight was concentrated almost entirely in his head.

Adam immediately felt the difference.

The Blunt Weapon Mastery skill told him how to deliver the impact.

But his body still needed to adjust to the unusual balance.

He struck.

Selene blocked the handle with her forearm.

Adam tried to pull the weapon away.

She placed a foot behind his and knocked him over.

"Too predictable."

Adam rolled to the ground and retrieved the hammer from his inventory.

"Great axe."

A heavy axe appeared in his hands.

This time, Adam prepared his stance before the summoning.

His feet spread apart.

His knees bent.

His center of gravity lowered.

The axe appeared.

His weight was immediately distributed between his arms, back, and legs.

Selene smiled.

"You’re starting to understand."

She rushed forward.

Adam launched a wide, sweeping attack.

Selene backed away, out of range.

The axe continued its swing.

Adam used the rotation to follow up with the opposite side.

Selene dodged again.

Adam brought the weapon back to him.

Then he made it vanish.

A dagger instantly appeared in his left hand.

He leaped toward Selene.

For the first time, the weapon change was swift enough to create genuine surprise.

The dagger moved toward his side.

Selene raised an eyebrow.

Then she grabbed Adam’s wrist.

She twisted it.

A moment later, Adam was thrown to the ground.

His arm was pinned behind his back.

"Good idea," Selene acknowledged.

Adam’s face was pressed against the ground.

"You could have said that before you threw me."

"If your idea was perfect, you wouldn’t be on the ground."

She released him.

Adam got to his feet, rubbing his shoulder.

Selene continued:

"The transition from the axe to the dagger was correct. But you attacked immediately in the same direction."

Adam thought for a moment.

"My opponent was already tracking the axe’s movement. I just had to keep watching that trajectory to see the dagger coming."

"Exactly." After switching weapons, also change your rhythm, height, or angle.

Adam nodded.

"Halberd."

The dagger vanished.

A long halberd materialized in his hands.

It had a spear point, an axe blade, and a blunt edge on the back.

Adam immediately felt several of his bending techniques react simultaneously.

The point relied on the principles of the spear.

The blade utilized certain principles of swords and heavy weapons.

The opposite side belonged to the blunt weapon category.

The whole thing was long, complex, and difficult to balance.

But the techniques complemented each other.

Adam swung the weapon around his body.

The movement narrowly missed hitting the ground.

He adjusted his grip.

Selene watched him intently.

"Don’t think of the halberd as just one weapon."

Adam understood.

"I have to choose which part to use depending on the situation."

"Yes."

She stepped forward.

Adam used the point to keep her at bay.

Selene deflected the shaft.

He immediately transformed the thrust into a sweeping strike with the blade.

She leaned back.

Adam reversed the weapon and used the blunt part.

This time, Selene raised her arm to block.

A sharp crack echoed.

She barely flinched.

But her smile widened.

"Good."

Adam continued his attack.

He shortened his grip to use the halberd at medium range.

Selene suddenly entered her guard.

Adam made the weapon vanish.

A short sword appeared in her right hand.

He changed the angle of his attack.

Selene narrowly dodged.

Adam took another step.

Then he recalled a dagger to his left hand.

The two blades attacked from opposite directions.

Selene blocked the first.

Dodged the second.

Then her foot struck Adam in the chest.

He was thrown backward.

But this time, he landed on his feet.

He slid for nearly a meter.

His mana fluctuated slightly.

However, the compression did not collapse.

Adam inhaled.

He stabilized the density without taking his eyes off Selene.

The tiger-woman nodded slowly.

"You’re making progress."