kscans

Chapter 197 - The Old Warrior's Scimitar 2. The Scimitar

After a brief word to Yuri, Amdal drew the "katana" from its scabbard. It was indeed a single-edged curved sword, but the curve was shallower and the blade shorter than the one he used. In contrast, the hilt was longer, apparently designed to be used with two hands. It was an unfamiliar shape, but he could feel a certain refinement to it. It looked like it would cut very well. However...

"It seems to be quite a fine blade, but the fittings are rather plain for what it is."

"My grandfather said he sold off all the decorative pieces that were on the scabbard for travel money."

This was a complete fabrication.

Yuri did not have a grandfather, and this "katana" itself was a brand-new item he had just recently made. The same was true for the scabbard. No "decorative pieces that were originally attached" had ever existed. This was all a cover story that Adon, Kudol, and Old Man Audel had wracked their brains to come up with, and they intended to stick to it with Amdal as well.

"Hmm..."

But that seemed to satisfy him. Amdal sheathed the sword and returned it to Yuri.

"It seems to be of a different lineage from the curved swords I know. I imagine the way you use it is different as well, but did your grandfather not teach you any sword techniques?"

"Only the stances. My grandfather passed away before he could teach me in detail..."

"I see..."

Fortunately, Amdal was not the inquisitive type, and he did not press any further.

"In any case, show me this stance you learned."

"Yes."

Yuri took the returned sword and assumed a stance, then performed a practice swing as if handling a bamboo kendo sword. The "optimization" from the god seemed to be doing its job well, as his swing was quite impressive.

"Hmm... you seem to have the form down... but what is it you want to know?"

"How to cut. With this kind of swing, it feels the same as using a straight sword."

The kendo strike Yuri had learned was literally just a "strike," lacking the "drawing cut" motion. He did not understand how to handle that aspect and had decided to seek guidance from a predecessor.

"I see... in that case, perhaps the way I use my curved sword can be of some help..."

Looking convinced, Amdal took out his own curved sword, a single-edged, curved blade that would have been called a scimitar on his previous world's Earth, and taught Yuri the basic movements. For Yuri, who had been struggling, unable to reconcile the form of a training strike with a practical drawing cut, this guidance was more welcome than anything.

"Judging by the shape of that sword, it's likely meant to be used with two hands, but my curved sword can only be used with one. Teaching you in excessive detail might only get in the way of you using that sword. For now, I'll teach you just the basics, and you can figure out the rest for yourself."

"Yes."

As a teaching method, it might have seemed far too rough, but Amdal had not been in this line of work for so long for nothing. He had also acquired a decent amount of skill with two-handed straight swords, so by incorporating those elements into his teaching, he succeeded in recreating something close to a system of katana swordsmanship. The rest was up to Yuri's knowledge from his past life and the physical abilities "optimized" by the god.

Having learned the basic body movements, Yuri now had a clear path to using the "katana" as a weapon. He asked Amdal to look at his practice swings from time to time in the future and then took his leave.



Later, when Adon showed Amdal the bones of the Rigbear, he understood completely.

Yuri had supposedly defeated it with magic from a distance... but considering the what-ifs, facing a monster like that with a dagger was indeed something one would want to avoid. The desire to fight from even a slightly greater distance must have been a desperate one, he thought.