Gordanus had told him that was the strategy that the true elites of this world used, as the benefits added up over time. It did mean that he would have to place them manually, but with his enhanced intelligence, he could select the points very quickly. It was a very simple trick, but one that took advantage of the System’s hatred of decimals. Because it rounded up when any points were taken into account with a multiplier attached, you would always end up getting a little bit more than you bargained for. However, that additional bit could be increased even further by a little bit of intelligent usage.

Sam’s distraction ended up with him taking a powerful blow from Manarox straight onto his hammer, which knocked him off his feet, and almost fractured his ribs. The alien warlord charged, trying to strike before he even hit the floor, but Sam righted himself with his superior strength, using Mjolnir as a fulcrum, and was on his feet just in time to strike.

Manarox growled softly and powered his sword towards Sam, using his quite impressive strength. Sam parried the blow, but it was still strong enough to stagger him. He used the momentum to whirl around, and landed a hit on Manarox, sending him to one knee. The blows hurt, but neither man was using any of their skills, which meant that they did no real damage. However, Sam could feel his control over his weapon increasing ever so slightly as he battled his skilled opponent, and he smiled at the feeling, as it meant that for the first time, he had found a way to further his mastery of his weapon effectively.

Fighting against Gordanus had helped, but an element of progression that was necessary to increase a skill was, well, actual progression. An opponent who could beat you into the ground effortlessly with one hand tied behind their back might have been able to force you to refine your technique, but it certainly wasn't something that you could actually win against. All aspects of progression within the System relied on some form of upwards momentum, in that the user would have to prove themselves in order to achieve it.

As Sam dodged and weaved around the flitting strikes of Manarox’s greatsword, he started to use the many techniques continued within his weapon imprint, blending themselves together with his weapon mastery. The first one he tried was one that had been used as a gatebreaker technique by its original owner, and he had imbed the imprint with a memory of him smashing down a city wall with it, without using any sort of power beyond his elemental energy and weapon mastery. Sam would not use any of his elemental energy here, as he did not want to actually hurt his opponent, but he still wanted to use as much of his skills as he could.

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Embodying the memory, he surged forwards, and the blunt part of his hammer, as in the wide base of the head, surged forwards with him, crashing into Manarox’s upraised sword. Sam widened his stance and then sent vibrations through the hammer with his strength and speed, causing Manarox to fumble slightly with his grasp of his sword. By then it was already too late. Sam powered past the faltering guard and slammed his hammer into Manarox’s face, sending the man crashing to the ground, stunned. Sam took a deep breath and waited for Manarox to rise. He did so a few moments later, a perplexed look on his face.

“What in the name of the Ancestors was that technique? It didn’t seem like a skill, but it still was effective enough to break through my guard.”

Sam didn't want to have to explain the whole story behind his weapon imprint, so he instead offered the man an alternative explanation.

“Weapon mastery at this level is not just about technique. It's about using your strength and speed as effectively as possible, in all situations. Believe it or not, I didn’t actually use any sort of System enhanced skill back there. I simply used the power of my stats to unbalance you.”

“Interesting. Would you care to go for another round?” Manarox asked, a glint of resolve in his eyes. Sam could tell that the man did not like the idea of Sam knowing a technique that he did not. The motivation was purely friendly, and there was no anger in it, but for a man who was used to always being the strongest, it must have been galling for him to be the weaker one in any situation. In any case, Sam was only too happy to oblige.

A few hours later, both men were sitting on the floor of the training area, sweating heavily from their efforts. Sam had actually managed to rank up his weapon mastery by using all of his stored insights from the battles between reaching Brotherhood rank, as well as his tortuous training with Gordanus. Manarox had managed to learn a semblance of the technique that Sam had used but he would have been stunned to learn that Sam had an entire repertoire of such techniques simply stored within his mind. In any case, they had both gotten enough out of this training session for now.

A few moments later, a Grakoth aide burst into the training area, and bowed low to Manarox.

“General. Our forces have breached another one of the forts, but we need the support of a being like you to break through the enemy lines. There are dozens of those Dao abominations guarding the inner part of the fort, and I fear that we cannot prevail unless we strike with overwhelming force.”

With a single nod, Manarox dismissed the aide, and got to his feet, heading over to his armor, which was lying on the ground. Sam’s was in the other room, and he quickly headed over to it as well, donning it in the blink of an eye. With Mjolnir clutched firmly in his fist, he was as ready as he could be for what was to come. He was eager to gain some more levels, and his eyes blazed with excitement for the battle to come.