Primordial Expanse: I have the Strongest Talent!

Alex stood in the centre of his garden training area, gripping Virtue's Edge with both hands.

The sword felt lighter than he expected, but considering it was currently only F- rank, he didn't question it.

Professor Will didn't bat an eye at the low ranked sword Alex was using to train with.

He just assumed Alex had purchased a cheap sword to train with, which he thought was wise.

But luckily for Alex, the details panel of his sword could only be accessed by him, and others could only see it if he allowed them to.

It wasn't that Alex didn't trust Professor Will with the knowledge of his new sword, he just wanted to keep it a secret from everyone, excluding Mira who already knew about it, and the Principle who had gifted it to him.

Professor Will stood opposite Alex, his demeanour calm and focused.

He held the simple wooden training sword he had used to sever Alex's hands previously.

Alex knew not to underestimate his enemy's weapon now.

Professor Will's skill made any weapon deadly in his hands.

"Before we begin, remember that swordsmanship is an extension of the Martial Arts principles I've taught you," Professor Will said.

"Your movements must be fluid, your strikes precise. Efficiency, balance and adaptability are even more important with a sword as they are with your bare hands."

Alex nodded, adjusting his grip on Virtue's Edge.

He felt a sudden surge of anticipation come from within.

"Let's start with the basic stances." Professor Will instructed.

"The foundation of swordsmanship is how you position yourself. Each stance has a purpose, whether it's for attack, defence or maneuvrability."

Professor Will demonstrated his first stance — focused on attacking.

His movements were smooth and deliberate; the exact thing Alex was striving to achieve with his own efforts.

Alex mimicked the stance, feeling the strain in his legs as he tried to maintain balance.

Professor Will walked around him, adjusting his posture and correcting his grip.

"Good, now move to the next stance."

Professor Will said, demonstrating a transition.

He seamlessly transitioned from his attacking stance to one of defence, with Alex failing miserably to mirror such a transition.

His stance was… decent at best, but Professor Will couldn't help but chastise him for his transition.

"Remember to breathe," Professor Will reminded him.

After a few hours, Professor Will felt satisfied with Alex's defensive and offensive stances — well, as satisfied as one could get for his first time.

"Now, it's time for the final and hardest stance to master." Professor Will said as he demonstrated once again.

But this time, instead of just showing the stance to Alex, he suddenly broke out into a serious attitude and attacked Alex out of nowhere.

"Profe-!" Alex couldn't get a word in as Professor Will was relentlessly hammering down on him with his simple wooden sword.

'What-'

Alex couldn't even think straight as he had to focus purely on defence.

'Wait, I get it!'

But when he had just a little moment of respite, he understood what Professor Will was doing by suddenly attacking him out of nowhere.

He was putting the two stances that Alex had learned into practice.

This whole time, Alex hadn't been defending the way Professor Will had just spent the last few hours teaching him, courtesy of months of experience in relying purely on instinct to defend.

But after he realised Professor Will's intentions behind this, he switched up his approach instantly.

Alex assumed the defensive stance that he had gotten down to an acceptable degree, and instantly he could tell that his body was feeling less stress from each attack Professor Will sent at him.

The moment Alex switched up, a small smile creeped up on Professor Will's face.

But he didn't speak, nor did he stop his assault.

Instead, he switched up his approach, going on the defensive this time.

He was essentially allowing Alex to take the advantage.

He wanted to see how Alex put the offensive stances into action.

And he wasn't disappointed.

After a few minutes of constant switching between offence and defence, and countless beads of sweat covering Alex, Professor Will suddenly upped his power and disarmed Alex, sending Virtue's Edge flying until it pierced the ground a few metres away.

'That wasn't C+ rank power.'

Alex thought, surprised by the sudden power surge by Professor Will.

"That's it for our little spar."

Professor Will spoke.

"Now, can you tell me if you noticed anything different about our spar just now?" He asked Alex.

'Anything different? Didn't he just show me how to apply the offensive and defensive stances in battle? I don't get what he means.'

Alex shook his head.

He didn't see anything different.

"Well, I would be surprised if you did."

Professor Will chuckled.

"From beginning to end, I had used the last stance, Maneuverability, all throughout the fight." Professor Will revealed.

'Wait, I didn't even notice!'

Alex was shocked that he was completely oblivious to this fact.

It wasn't like Professor Will was going to explicitly tell him that he was going to be demonstrating the Maneuverability stance before the fight, but surely he should have noticed something off when he adjusted his confused mind when it began.

But no.

"That's the point of Maneuverability. Your movements are supposed to be so smooth and fluid that your opponent doesn't even realise you are making them."

"Though a mix of subtlety and years of experience, my movements were completely blind to your eyes even though you were watching me closely this whole time."

"It's not as if you are an expert in fighting, but you are not a bad fighter either."

Professor Will noticed Alex's confusion and smiled.

This was exactly how he wanted Alex to feel and react after he realised what had happened.

The same thing happened with every new student he taught.

And he enjoyed it every time.

"Please teach me, sir!"

Alex, completely enraptured by how Professor Will had completely outplayed him, ignored any pride or ego he had about his own skills, and eagerly requested Professor Will to teach him.

He would get down on his knees and beg if that was what it took.

But Alex wouldn't need to do any of that, as Professor Will was going to teach him the stance after their short sparring session anyway.