This is so unfair. How come I can't land a proper hit on such a big target? I had such thoughts during our spar with the leader. 

"I have neither the time nor the desire to accompany you and Silas individually," the leader had said to Aurel when Aurel asked him who would go first. 

"Pick your weapons and come at me," he said, turning around to walk towards the weapon rack that stood in the corner. 

Of all the weapons that exist, there is not one that is perfect. All weapons have their pros and cons, but most of the warriors preferred a sword. Even though I used an axe often in battle, I was partial to the sword too. It offered balance. I used an axe most often because it compensated for what I lacked, strength. 

An axe is top-heavy, which means as long as I swing it fast enough, I could do more damage than I would with a sword. The downside is that an axe limits the kinds of movements I could make. Over time I learned to compensate for that with skill. 

For the sparring session with the leader though, I opted for a sword, because I needed the balance and freedom of movement it offered compared to an axe. Aurel also picked a sword. The leader was more adept at using a spear and so he chose a spear. 

"The normal rules apply. We continue until one side falls, no surrender. Jon will heal any injuries sustained, so do not hold back," the leader said. 

I looked at Aurel, and there was a silent agreement between us to attack simultaneously. The leader as a spear user would take advantage of the distance between us, and I was determined to not give him that space. Aurel having sparred with the leader a lot was also well aware of this.  We waited for the signal to begin from the mage called Jon. 

"Start," he said once he confirmed we were all in position. 

I was first to close the distance. My body being lighter wasn't just in my head, after all, my speed was noticeably faster. Aurel was still at his starting position, and the leader hadn't taken a defensive stance yet when I got into striking range. 

His reaction speed and reflexes saved him though. He barely lifted his spear in time to block my swing. But my blow was far heavier than it used to be. There was a loud noise as our weapons clashed, and the leader skidded backward a few meters. For a moment all four of us stood in stunned silence. 

The first to recover was the leader. For the next couple of exchanges, I was forced to defend myself. Aurel jumped in the fray not long after, but my situation didn't change for the better; if anything, it only got worse. 

A spear user has similar limitations to an axe wielder. While a spear has better balance than an axe, it placed the same motion limitations on the wielder. However, the leader compensated for this with his body. 

While most spear users trained to use other weapons in situations where they either couldn't use a spear or lost their spear, the leader trained to use his body. One way spear users attacked was by throwing their spears at their targets, but in such situations, they would be left without their primary weapon, this made them a target. Other spear users would use another weapon in such a situation, but the leader would instead turn his body into his weapon. 

It was this uniqueness that made him a difficult opponent. Most of the warriors in the settlement were heavily dependent on their weapons. Of course, they wouldn't be totally useless without a weapon, but most of them knew only basic grappling and throwing techniques. 

The leader on the other hand was a master of fighting with no weapons. He could strike with his fists, his legs, even his head. This was why I likened him to a dancer. A spear user typically used piercing strikes, sometimes they swiped and used the spear as a blunt weapon. However, the leader didn't strike with his spear alone. 

Despite my increased speed and strength, it didn't take long for me to fall into a disadvantageous position. The leader's strikes with his fists were as heavy as a battering ram. His kicks felt like being stumped on by a wildebeest. I did my best to avoid his spear, but I took a few blows from his legs and fists. Soon, I began to feel the effects of those blows. 

He targeted my shoulders, arms, and legs. Soon enough I could barely hold up my sword properly. I was expending energy just to stay on my feet, as my legs could barely hold up my weight. And barely after fifty exchanges between us, his spear pierced through my stomach. 

Still, I lasted much longer than Aurel, and much longer than I thought I would. The leader had won, but I hadn't made it easy for him. The evidence of this was that I had only one hole put in me, Aurel was pierced multiple times before he could no longer carry on. 

I was clever enough to end it once I was pierced in the stomach, but honestly, I felt like I could keep going. However, I saw no reason to continue. My body was aching so bad, my arms and legs were shaking, I was wobbly on my feet too. If we continued, I would only suffer more pain. So, as soon as his spear went through me, I collapsed immediately. 

I didn't know what it was, but the pain wasn't as intense as I had expected. After years of training, fighting on the battlefield, and sustaining many injuries, I had become very acquainted with pain. I knew to some extent what being pierced through the stomach with a spear was supposed to feel like, this wasn't the first time it was happening to me. Where on all previous occasions the pain was so intense, I could barely stay on my feet, now it didn't even feel like I needed to be healed. I felt like I could carry on with my daily activities with no problems. 

"Silas, I was very impressed. You put up a much better fight than a lot of the old veterans," the leader said to me once I was healed. 

We were cleaning off the blood and sweat from our bodies by the lake that ran through the barracks. There were about fifteen other warriors beside us by the lakeside. It was customary for us to come here every day after our training sessions to clean our bodies, otherwise, we smelled worse than wet dogs. 

"Thank you, leader," I replied.  

To the side, Aurel was sulking. He had been grumbling all the way here. He was very dissatisfied with the fact that he still suffered more than I did, looking at him I couldn't help but snicker a few times. I knew he was looking forward to me experiencing the same amount of pain he had been forced to endure. 

"With skills like those you shouldn't have any problems training the new unit," the leader said, drying up his body with a cloth and putting his clothes back on. Aurel and I had already finished cleaning by the time he was done. 

We made our way back to the barracks to meet the warriors that would make up the new unit. There were things we had to settle today, and the leader was also supposed to assign us a new training ground, so the warriors that we would be training were told to wait on the assembly grounds in the barracks. 

"You guys need not do too much," the leader said on our way back, "for now, just find out what the primary weapons of those you'll be training are. Ion and Grigore are working to mass-produce the enchanted weapons, but you'll still have to put in an order." Grigore was the name of the chief blacksmith. 

Aurel and I simply nodded our heads as we walked alongside the leader. I made a mental note of his instructions, and an outline of how to arrange our sessions was already forming in my head. 

When we arrived at the assembly grounds there were about thirty warriors waiting for us. Among them, three females stood out to me. Female warriors were a rarity, so when these bunch had joined us about two months ago, they were the subject of gossip among us. Their names spread like wildfire, so I was aware of who they were. 

It was surprising however to see them here. On our way here the leader had told us of the composition of the new unit, and among the requirements for the warriors joining, they needed to have been training for at least a year, but these three hadn't been with us that long.  I turned to look at the leader, my face must've given away what I wanted to ask because before I opened my mouth, he answered. 

"They were sent here by Ion. They apparently trained initially to be mages, but they had poor concentration and chose to become warriors instead. Ion said they should meet the requirement to use the enchanted weapons," was his answer. 

The leader introduced Aurel and me to the warriors, gave a speech to encourage morale, and then assigned us our training ground. 

Today would be our first day of training, but no actual training would be taking place. We would all be getting to know each other first. So, once we got to our new training ground, Aurel asked everyone to introduce themselves. 

I recognized a lot of their faces and names. I also remembered some of their stories. Everyone here it would seem had lost a loved one to the brutality of the Lycans, there were people who had lost a parent, both parents, a sibling, a spouse, or a friend; they were extra motivated to train hard to get an opportunity to exact revenge. 

Once the self-introductions were done, I asked everyone what their primary weapons were. Since the weapons would have to be enchanted, it would take a while to make. While we waited for the weapons to be made, we could start training them on mental focus. 

Once we were done, Aurel asked everyone to disperse. The plan was, starting the next day, by the time the rooster crowed a third time, we were all to meet here. Before the new weapons arrived, Aurel wouldn't have much to do, as we would be training them on mental focus, I would be the one in charge of the training since I was better at it than Aurel. 

Aurel and I made our way to the smithy. It was loud, as usual. Father wasn't here, but I could see Grigore barking orders as usual. I waved at him when he noticed us, and he nodded his head to acknowledge us. We made our way outside to discuss. 

About twenty-five of the warriors we would be training were sword users, of the other five, four were bow users and the last one was a mace user. For the bow users, we also had to order daggers. 

"I do not see father here today," I asked once I had finished telling Grigore what weapons we would need. 

"Ion should be at the library. Said he needed to find out more about the enchanting process, he wants to enchant the weapons with more advanced magic," Grigore answered. 

"Oh, do you know what kinds of magic he has in mind?" I asked out of curiosity. 

"No, Ion isn't the type to let others know what he has in mind, you know. If you're curious you can go ask him yourself," Grigore replied. 

Father and I weren't close enough for me to do that, so I simply nodded my head. I decided to ask my sister instead. If father was at the library, chances are he would run into my sister as she spent most of her time there. She wasn't the type to contain her curiosity and she was close enough to father that if she asked, he would tell her. 

I was a little bit excited thinking about what it was father was working on. For me in particular, enchanted weapons were like treasures. I had trained to use magic ever since I was little, but I ultimately failed. Enchanted weapons were a way for me to use magic, and the more advanced they got, the better. 

The prospects were endless. Thinking about it, there were already prototypes that were enchanted with more than one magic. Logically, there would be limitations to the number of magic a weapon could be enchanted with, but the type of magic could vary considerably. I got excited thinking about it. 

morhamza

So, I was told recently that my story wasn't popular. *sigh* It is disheartening. This is my first story, so I was expecting much, but to hear that really affected my motivation to continue. I am pushing forward however thanks to the few readers I have managed to gather.

I will start writing a new story soon, but I won't stop this one. I won't change my upload schedule either. This one is still too much fun to write. However, my page looks barren with this one being the only story I have. So, I decided to add more stories.

Also, I have been thinking of ways to introduce users to different aspects of this world without doing info dumps, I hear many readers don't like when authors spend too much time on minor details. Also, since I want this to be a character-focused story I can't do too much exposition without completely destroying the pace of the story.

So far I have two ideas. The first one is to use prologues and epilogues. The limitation of this is that I still won't change the narrator's perspective, Silas will still be the narrator.

The other idea is to write side stories. With this, I can write from the POV of other characters. I am partial to this idea, as it allows me more freedom. It can be a story within the story.

You guys let me know which one you would prefer in the comments.