Chapter 55: Brute Vs Finesse.

“My motto is elegance and finesse. I will teach you how to fight like you’re dancing. Now what we need to determine is what weapon to use.”

“Do you have a specific weapon in mind? If not, I can list the weapons I can teach you to master.”

Alexander didn’t take long to think about the question before saying, “Do you have something easy to learn? I mean, what is the absolute easiest weapon to learn?”

Lancelot immediately snorted and said, “That would be a club. That’s one of the reasons it was so popular with cavemen.”

“But you’re not a caveman like Frank, who only knows how to use hammers, clubs, and spears. You’re more refined than that, right?”

“Right,” Alexander said, hesitating.

Lancelot saw that he was not convinced, so he said, “You shouldn’t go for a weapon that doesn’t need much mental power. That would only make you a brute.”

“What you should pick is a weapon that can disable the enemy with as little effort as possible and in the shortest amount of time.”

“Take a sword, for example. One clean strike to the neck and you would decapitate your enemy.”

“Or a whip. You could use it to tie up the enemy, trip them, or beat them to pieces from afar. What could be better than that?”

“And there is the weapon that fellow wants to use,” he said, jutting his chin at Robert in the distance.

“He wants to use a clawed gauntlet. That kind of weapon will have slicing and piercing capabilities. It is unlike a club, which only has blunt damage.”

“Plus, we Apostles usually wear heavy plate armor. When you combine armor with the metallic body of titans, that level of defensive capability will render your club nearly useless.”

“You need something sharp to pierce through heavy armor,” Lancelot said earnestly.

“What about chain mail? It can block sharp weapons, right?” Alexander asked, unconvinced.

Before Lancelot could reply, he said, “Plus, a spiked club or a morningstar would also have piercing capabilities and do well against plate armor.”

“But that would make you a brute who only knows how to swing weapons around and wish for the best. Is that what you want?” Lancelot asked, his eyes narrowed in scrutiny again.

Under his heavy gaze, Alexander remained unmoved and said, “Here is the situation. I only have a month to train and compete with the new Apostles.”

“I heard they’ve trained all of their lives. I am not a genius, and I don’t have much experience fighting, so there is no way I can match them in skill in just one month of training.”

“So I need something easy to learn and use right now. I don’t have time to learn anything more complicated,” he said, explaining his situation.

But Lancelot scoffed and said, “Forget about the competition. You can’t win anyway.”

“You should think long-term like a true warrior. Prioritize learning the basics of efficiency and becoming a skillful fighter.”

Alexander frowned as he said, “I thought you would support my decision since you prioritize efficiency so much. What could be a more efficient way to win the competition or at least come out in the top three?”

In response, Lancelot shook his head and insisted, “That’s why I said you should forget about the competition.”

“The truth is that you’re severely lacking as a fighter. Choosing the easy way will only exacerbate your incompetence.”

“So what you should do is focus on your basics. You’re not as good as they are. Accept that and move on.”

“I will only accept it after I’ve tried and failed, not before,” Alexander said, his voice solemn and his eyes full of determination.

He remembered what he saw earlier. To be honest, those Squires intimidated him a little, especially since he knew they were the true Apostles while he, Robert, and Barnabas were charity cases.

However, even though he knew that there was a gap between him and the Squires, it didn’t discourage me. At least, he wanted to see the gap and understand his weakness before giving up.

“I might not be as good as the older Small Bosses who used to be Squires, but I can at least compete with the new ones,” he said inwardly, his mind made up.

The worm agreed, too, but for another reason. It said, “Don’t listen to this guy. I don’t think he knows what he is talking about.”

“You must fight in that competition and do well. Win the flesh of an Apostle for me, or I will try to make your life a living hell for making me miss out on that reward.”

The rewards for the top three were extraordinary flesh, weapons, and armor. Alexander didn’t think he could win, but he would still try and would do his best while he was at it.

Meanwhile, Lancelot was staring at him. The red-skinned Small Boss stared at him in silence for a while, as if hoping to change his mind with a staring contest.

Alexander refused to give up and stared back, unblinking. They stared at each other like that for up to 30 seconds.

Lancelot finally broke the silence and said, “It seems we’re at an impasse.”

“It would seem so,” Alexander agreed.

Then Lancelot turned away from him and said, “In that case, I cannot train you. Begone from me, brute sympathizer.”

Alexander didn’t try anymore to convince Lancelot. He only shook his head and walked away.

As he walked away, he heard Lancelot say, “When you waste your time on this nonsense and fail the competition, realizing that it was all for naught, I will be here waiting for you.”

“I am nothing if not forgiving. As long as you admit that you were wrong and beg for my guidance with utmost sincerity, I will forgive you.”

“Thank you for the offer. I hope it won’t come to that, but I’m sure I will be grateful for the opportunity,” he said sincerely without turning back.