The Last Warlock

The old man kept silent as if thinking or remembering about something until Mack could not hold anymore and asked.

"What now, old man?"

[Stop pestering me, I\'m trying to remember the basic movements. It\'s not like I would need that information again and engraved it into my soul]

Mack waited a few minutes again, but nothing of his ancestor.

"cough cough"

[Geez, ok ok, let\'s see.... Start by correctly using the swords, you will need to hold them both in reverse grip]

"Both? But that way my strikes will be even weaker."

.

[This is not about the power but harassing. Hit the same place a thousand times with a stick and it will collapse]

"hummm.... I\'m not sure about that"

[It\'s just an example for god sake, once you have them both in your hands using reverse grip try to hit the statue again]

Mack slightly threw the two swords up and grabbed them again, but this time, the blades pointed to his back instead of the front.

Reverse grip was akin to suicide in a battle. It was beautiful in movies but didn\'t work in real life. Mack knew that and was waiting to see what his ancestor was planning for him.

[Just try to strike the statue]

Mack moved the right arm and slashed the blade and them again with his left, and repeated a few times.

"Its really odd, my movements are shorter, compared to normal, I need to get half the distance closer to hit because I don\'t have a leverage."

[You are correct, that\'s the main issue with reverse grip.... Now try this.... While you slash with your right arm, twist more your body as if to slingshot the tip of the sword]

Mack did as his ancestor asked but almost fell to the ground because he lost the center of gravity of his body.

But the strike was more stronger than before.

"I lost all the balance now"

[Yes. To regain balance, you had to give your back to your enemy. Did you notice it?]

"Yes, and it\'s a fatal mistake"

[Normally yes, but not for this style, when you give your back strike with your left sword to hit the solar plexus in a bottom to up strike, as if you want to impale your enemy]

Mack slashed with his right and then tried to impale with his left, then he noticed that his body had half turned again and now his left side was been show to the statue, almost making a complete turn.

Noticing that, Mack could not avoid asking.

"Is this fighting style about hitting the enemy where he dosn\'t expect and keeps turning around and around?"

[Yes. It\'s an assassin fighting style. Most assassins rarely fight as their aim is to kill their target without being noticed, but once it fails, they use two daggers as a means of defense. And you know, the best defence is to attack]

"So this style is for two daggers instead of swords?"

Mack wondered where this style came from and how his ancestor was able to learn, but kept himself silent, he knew this old man had already lived a life full of danger and adventures.

[Yes. But is the most suitable and correct for your case, other dual welding styles have different weapons or different sizes of weapons]

"Ok, it indeed makes sense. Whats next?"

[Next? HaHaHa kid, first you need to master this simple moment. This style is not about dragging the fight or see who is stronger, is about flooding the enemy with several attacks and one of them needs to kill your target or you will be dead. Because you have no defense.]

Mack knew his ancestor was correct, only practice makes perfect, and he was barely able to hold the swords a few minutes ago.

~sigh~

"Lets go to the boring part then"

Said Mack, already entering in position to attack the statue again.

Hours passed and Mack continued to do the same movements until his ancestor started to give tips.

[Flex more your legs]

And Mack did as he told.

[Twist more your body, you are hitting like a girl]

Just like that, another hour passed by.

Mack could feel he was improving, but the odd thing was that he was not used to spin so much, so from time to time he had to take breaks to not throw up his own guts.

[Felling better?]

"Yes, I\'m getting used to it already"

Said Mack, but the true was that he almost could feel the burger he ate a few hours ago coming back to haunt him.

[Good, because now come the hard part]

Mack\'s eyes grew with anticipation, because he was sick of doing the same thing.

[You already noticed that reverse grip has a lower center of gravity and you need to get closer to you enemy. Now try to get even closer and even lower, as you need to keep twisting your body to give momentum to the sword]

"That doesn\'t sound too hard"

[Who said it was? The hard part of reverse grip is the fake movements and fake slashes, but you are too green for that]

\'Too green again\'

Thought Mack, but in the end, did as his ancestor instructed.

He knew how smart this old man was. Time proved it. Only smart people can live for thousands of years in a world where your head can roll at any moment.

[Stop thinking useless stuff and focus on the training or I will melt one of those swords and make a potty for you to use because of how many times I will kick your ass for making me lose my time training you]

Mack froze in place, and for the first time, feared his destiny. Not because of hardships, but because this old man was too specific with his words.

"Ok Ok"

And just like that, minutes turned to hours, and hours became days, until Mack finally get used to two swords in reverse grip.

And today was the day for him to test it.