"The spear serves both as a striking and throwing weapon. Today, we will focus on its striking capability."
Kazuki grasped his spear firmly and raised it with both hands.
"There are three basic techniques. In order of importance: the thrust, the grapple, and the cut. Each has several variations."
"Why in that order?" Priam inquired.
"Because the spear is primarily designed for thrusting. It's a destructive weapon, capable of felling an enemy with a single blow. That's the thrust."
Kazuki's spear briefly vanished and its tip reappeared a ter away. Priam carefully watched the movent.
"However, the other two techniques are equally important, especially against a serious adversary. Its long shaft makes it an interesting weapon for parrying and then for tripping, throwing, or destabilizing an opponent. Hence the importance of the grapple. Finally, even though they're not superb cutters, it's still not to be neglected."
Priam nodded. He had rarely used the spear's ability to unbalance or control an opponent. All this ti, he had not fully explored his weapon's possibilities. Priam realized the importance of receiving instruction from a master. Another advantage was that he could ask questions.
"So, I'm going to unlock three skills, but what is the role of [Spear Strike] in all of this?"
Kazuki groaned upon hearing the question.
"It's a System aid that does you more harm than good. At least, that's how I see it."
The hoplite's hesitation was understandable; the System was a new tool. It was up to them to discover its intricacies. Nevertheless, Priam was not satisfied with this answer; he needed precision.
"How so?"
"Imagine you want to learn how to dance. You watch a few videos, practice on your own, and unlock [Dance - Common], a general skill. It helps you keep up with the music's rhythm and coordinate your movents. But a dancer who has learned just one dance and has the associated skill - a common rank - will be better than you in their discipline."
"I didn't take you for a dancer."
"There are many similarities between dance and combat," Kazuki replied with a smile. Priam would bet that the hoplite was an excellent dancer. "In my opinion, [Spear Strike] prioritizes generality over specialization."
"At higher ranks, the difference will beco more and more pronounced," Priam added, and Kazuki nodded. "It doesn't stop there," Priam continued. "You ntioned three different skills, while I only have one. A generalist can progress faster, but in the end, the specialist will have more attributes and potential..."
"Exactly. But I suppose you can't specialize in everything," Kazuki concluded.
"No... But I want to specialize in spear handling. [Spear Strike] will beco redundant with my new skills. Did this happen to you?"
If they were correct, [Spear Strike] was a mix of various skills that could be learned with a spear. Priam doubted that the System would allow him to increase this skill in addition to the others.
After all, each level allowed him to gain knowledge, automatisms, attributes, and potential. If he could level up skills that did the sa things, he would receive multiple rewards for the sa action.
Priam did not yet understand all the System's chanics, but he was pretty sure it was impossible to have a cake and eat it too...
Kazuki shrugged. "No, I directly unlocked rare and epic spear skills.”
“... Good for you. I know it's possible to rge multiple skills into one. The reverse should be true as well,” Priam theorized.
"Dismantling a general skill into several specialized skills?"
"Seems logical."
"I hope so."
Otherwise, Priam would be slowed down by a suboptimal skill. He refused to accept that possibility. Prosse deserved to be wielded by an exceptional fighter. At worst, I'll use my Potential to forget my skill... Damn it!
Priam did not have so much Potential that he was willing to sacrifice it for nothing.
"Can you show a thrust again? I'm going to try to dismantle my [Spear Strike]," Priam requested.
Kazuki assud a stance, with both hands on the spear's shaft about eighty centiters apart. Priam concentrated to not miss any of the warrior's movents. He was by far the best spearman Priam had ever seen, and he intended to absorb all of his knowledge.
"The thrust has two main variations. The first requires stable and static hands. The thrusting force will be generated with the arms. The movents of the hips and torso are more stable, making them less easily displaced."
Kazuki's right foot unfolded, and his spear pierced the air. "The result is great penetration force but limited range and speed."
[Eidetic mory] didn't miss a beat of the warrior's demonstration. Kazuki's attack was simple but powerful. No energy was wasted, and the majority of his muscles were involved. The result was a perfect attack.
The warrior returned to his initial position. "Second thrust, known as the Pzarth."
Priam frowned upon hearing the unfamiliar word. Sensing his student's uncertainty, Kazuki summoned his helt. An illusion was projected, and Priam understood. The Pzarth was a ga that resembled billiards. Kazuki continued his explanation.
"In this thrust, you start by targeting your opponent and then the rear hand pushes to quickly propel your spear. It's a fast attack with a longer range than the first variation, but it allows your opponent to unbalance you if they parry or knock aside your spear."
Kazuki demonstrated, and Priam was surprised by the attack's range. A spear was a long weapon, capable of reaching three ters, and many opponents could be caught off guard by its reach.
Without his heightened perception or his Domain, this kind of attack would have defeated him outright.
"Your turn."
Priam assud the position, took a deep breath, and copied the first movent. His dexterity and Micro gave him incredible control over his body. Despite the difference in muscle distribution between him and the hoplite, Priam found a way to emulate the attack on his first try.
The power originated from the lower part of his body and traveled up his legs before being amplified by the movent of his pelvis and then his shoulders. His muscles tensed like springs before releasing. The attack sliced through the air with terrifying force.
"Incredible," he murmured.
"Not bad," Kazuki acknowledged. The System seed to agree.
The user has reached a certain level in a specialized skill. General skill already unlocked.
Reading user's intention...
Do you want to learn [Spear Thrust - Common] by disassembling [Spear Strike - Rare]?
Yes!
You have gained the skill: [Spear Thrust - Common].
[Spear Thrust] - The first spears were created by humans over 300,000 years ago. The thrusting spear accompanied your ancestors, allowing them to triumph over fierce beasts. Your heritage is massive; it's up to you to rediscover and perfect it.
Attack summary: pierce your enemies with the pointed end. Multiple tis if necessary.
STR 1
Your experience in [Spear Strike - Rare] level 6 is incorporated into [Spear Thrust - Common].
Update...
[Spear Thrust] level 1 > 16
Unchanged POT. Unchanged attributes.
Kazuki recognized Priam's smile.
"I suppose we were right. Now, your movent was good, but it can be improved. Pay attention to the position of your hands on..."
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