Gods Of Olympus.

Day 55, year 3000.

"Pay attention."

Chest forward, back straight.

"Posture stability. Stances only work when you can acclimate your body to suit them."

Short shield.

"3... 2... 1... Parry!"

Joan sent a strike towards his shield.

'Crackle.'

A soft but accurate blow was aimed right at the center. He slightly tilted his shield towards the left and pushed forward.

"Compensate for your lack of strength with your mind."

He used his legs to propel himself towards the blow. A strong push.

"Be smart. Don't act like an idiot."

Without any issues, Joan took her sword away from the shield and let Gawain rush himself forward. A twist of her wrist and the wooden sword was directed towards his neck. His reflexes kicked in. The shield rose towards his neck, blocking her blow just in time.

'Huh?'

He could feel a loss of balance as soon as the sword hit the shield.

"Fall."

Joan announced his defeat. For some bizarre reason, his legs weren't able to handle the power of her second blow.

"Here."

She extended her hand to help him up. He grabbed it and said,

"Thanks."

"Your lower body should always be ready to absorb the impact of a strike. Especially when there is a chance of a surprise attack. As a sword and shield user, you can never afford to fall."

When the attacks were predictable, his body would adapt more confidently. Getting pushed to the brink tests the real viability and muscle memory against a proper challenge.

"Take your stance."

He bent his right leg forward at a 90-degree angle, while his left leg was extended backward, creating a gap with a lower bend and a proper foothold. The round shield was placed below and ahead of his chest, and he tightly gripped the enarmes to complete the stance.

"Here, here, and here."

arm joint, right knee, and left ankle.

"Pressure points. When you raised your shield to block my attack in a hurry, your ankle and knee were not stable. They were the reason for your fall."

It was the first day of his training, but she was holding nothing back.

"Friction between your boots and the ground is essential. The gap cannot be small, as that could create an awkward blind spot in your stance."

She placed her sword at some length behind his left angle.

"Place it here."

He extended his left leg.

"Your muscles will be prone to cramping up more. For this, we will commence 7 different types of stretching exercises along with a 2 kilometer run every day."

She walked to his side and grabbed his forehand.

"Your arms are strong, but they have to be better."

Shield training was essential to strengthen his form.

"Celia will aid you in that. Blocking at least 200 sword strikes every day."

"What about the attack?"

"An arming sword is meant to be used with a small shield. Using heavy weapons will be detrimental unless you can handle a bigger shield size. For now, focus on your shield. Once you become somewhat proficient in your shield stance, we will begin your sword training. Chin up and look forward."

She tapped his head with her sword.

"Your physical examination scores were?"

"9, 9, 8, 10, 9."

9 in Flexibility, Strength, and Endurance. 8 in speed, and 10 in agility.

Natural fitness.

"Good. Then I can give you this. In your spare time, go through it. Stand at ease."

She walked to her desk and pulled out a book from its drawer.

"A manual on reflexive intuition and agility."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Gods of Olympus."

A book on the mythology of all the gods that the people of Euphemia have descended from.

There was no one except for the old academy librarian around. In complete silence, Gawain started to flip through the book.

"The Knight Guardians of the Heavenly Manor."

Thanatos, Ulysses, Ares, Hephaestus, and Perseus.

"Thanatos. Protector of the Afterlife."

The Knight Guardian of the War Goddess Astarte

"Ulysses. The Noble King."

In Zeus' absence, the Knight took over responsibility for Olympus. The wisest of all half-mortals.

"Ares. The Warmonger."

He is known to have won all of his battles as the leader of the Armies of Olympus.

"Hephaestus. The Unbreakable Sword."

A deformed warrior that was able to slay a god with a sword that he forged from the core of Olympus.

And finally,

"Perseus. The Knight of Aegis."

The Knight, who served as Astarte's servant and protected her from the other gods while she created Euphemia from the shattered remains of the gods' abode.

Religion and mythology share some roots while abandoning others.

Astarte, Zeus, Hades, Aphrodite, and Achilles were well-known patron gods that were worshipped all over the kingdom. The Knight Guardians, however, were not as popular among the common folk due to their half-immortal status.

'Perseus.'

There were only three books in the library that mentioned his name. All of them had vague depictions of his life and contradictions that made it difficult to figure out his true origins.

He closed the book.

"I'll continue this tomorrow."