Jonathan was currently fighting against the first wave of monsters in the dungeon. He normally used two different weapons, either a Pole Axe or a Broadsword that were custom-made by Darius.
Both items had the same weight and length, but they were different weapons, so Jonathan could only use one at a time despite his high Strength. Even worse, he also had ambidexterity, but could only use one weapon at a time.
Jonathan had noticed that Ash and Reina had seemed to have found a unique path for themselves, and he too decided that his next target would be having the ability to use a sword in his right and an axe in his left.
This was an incredibly different task, as apart from great ambidexterity, it also required specialized techniques to work. When a person dual-wielded, they always used two of the same weapon.
Both weapons would need to have the same length, specifications, and style for the dual-wielder to be able to sue them competently, like Ash. Jonathan was lucky in this regard as Darius had ordered for the Axe and the Broadsword to have the same length and density, making their weight really close to each other.
This was so Jonathan could switch weapons at any time without being thrown off by the different specifications of the weapon in his hands. Darius had never intended for the lad to try and use both at once, but his decision in the past made things smoother for his third apprentice.
However, there came the second hurdle that Jonathan had to face. Dual-wielding had various requirements for it to not be a detriment to its user, and one of those requirements were specialized techniques in using them.
Seriously, holding two swords and swinging them about looked cool, but if you did not train in a specific set of combat techniques for them, you would end up showing flaws in your stance that could be exploited by enemies at best, and cut yourself open at worst.
Jonathan had an even higher barrier in this regard. He needed to find a set of techniques that could work for one wielding both a poleaxe and a broadsword in either hand, which was obviously a combo that had either never been tried before or was so rare that to get information on it was scarce.
Luckily, Jonathan had the help of the Martin AI. After making his wishes known to the replica of Darius' youngest child, Martin had spent time analyzing Jonathan's body, stats, personality, and the specifications of his two weapons.
After running hundreds of thousands of simulations against foes with different skills, Martin had been able to extract a set of movements that would ensure that Jonathan could attack and defend against any weapon type with some level of competency.
This was what the fellow was practicing currently. In his right hand was a blackish-red broadsword that could probably crush a weaker man to pieces and his right hand held a thick poleaxe with two blade edges that were identical.
Unlike Ash or Reina, Jonathan's bar of entry wasn't as high given his stats and the help from Martin. It wasn't a question of whether or not he could achieve his goal, but how long it would take.
That was why he used both weapons for the first 10 waves without changing his style. He wanted to familiarize himself with the movements Martin showed him, as the true challenge would start from the 11th wave going.
After resting for a bit to recover his stamina - as dual-wielding two heavy yet different weapons took a great toll on him - Jonathan entered the third battle room with a solemn expression.
There, the monsters began showing signs of cooperation and intelligence in their attacks, no longer rushing at him single-mindedly. Jonathan had to both defend and attack this time, pushing his muscles to the brink as he sought to achieve the forms that Martin showed him.
However as one could expect, achieving that was easier said than done. He had to train his proficiency and turn those movements that were implanted into his mind into muscle memory so that his body could move before his mind sent the obvious signals.
This took Jonathan more than a short while to achieve, but nothing helped push a person past their limits like a tough battle. The tall lad was sweaty like a leaky pipe, his arms shaking from the strain of using both weapons as his stamina was slowly bottoming out, but he managed to finish against the 15th wave and stagger into the fourth rest station.
There, he filed his stomach with the restoration fluid that was coming out of a tap installed in the room, sitting down nearby to gather his thoughts and let his aching body relax.
However, the lad couldn't help but smile as he raised his still shaking hands. Jonathan could feel it, the pain in his arms denoted that he was making great strides towards achieving his goal.
As such, he patiently waited for his body to recover so he could challenge the final room and engrave his new technique into his body thoroughly.
Martin observed the lad with interest, tsking in the HoloBrace. The AI had spent only a small amount of its computing power to draw up those techniques, but they were basic at best.
Darius did not want the lads to be given easy answers, so Jonathan would only be able to use these techniques as a foundation currently. Whether he could build upon them and make a name for himself in the future as the ambitious lad dreamed of was still up in the air.
[Name: Jonathan Black
Race: Human
Class: Mage
Subclass: Multi-Elementalist
HP: 2,862/2,862 (2,450)
MP: 940/940 (855)
STA: 1,060/1,060 (950)
Level: 20 (19)
Strength: 54 (49)
Agility: 42 (41)
Endurance: 53 (50)
Intellect: 47 (45)
Charisma: 21 (20)
Luck: 25 (25)
P-Status: Healthy
M-Status: Anticipatory
Affection: Worship lvl 3
Notes: Target has just begun comprehending unranked ability 'Cross-Weapon Dual Wield', a despairingly difficult but not impossible feat. Increasing Talent and Potential grades to A.]
