Harem Online: My Party Is Full of Beautiful Celebrities-Chapter 56: Robert’s Advice

"Advice, eh?" Robert pondered aloud. "Aye, I can give you a few good tips. Let’s go outside."

"Ah, yeah, sure." Martin hadn’t expected the blacksmith to take him outside, but he gladly welcomed it, since the inside of the smithy was getting too hot to bear.

Scunko didn’t bother following them out. More accurately, he knew better than to try.

If he wandered around the yard, he would definitely go after the fire mushrooms growing near the smithy, and Robert had scolded him enough times that the little guy no longer wanted to make the same mistake. So he headed back to the furnace and lazed around there instead.

Outside, Robert took in the cold breeze after the sauna-like heat of his smithy.

He glanced at Martin and told him to equip his shield, because he was about to drill the differences between the sword, warhammer, and spear into him, all while fighting like a proper guardian.

"Which weapon have ye wielded the most?" Robert asked.

"The sword, for sure. It’s still the one that feels the most natural," Martin replied.

The sword came with the standard guardian loadout and was considered one of the easiest weapons to use. Of course, using a weapon and mastering it were two entirely different things.

The reason new guardians were paired with a sword and shield was simple.

"A sword is a very adaptable weapon. Ye can thrust, slash, and cut with it easily, and the shield covers its biggest weakness, which is positioning. It’s your best choice against unknown enemies until ye learn what kind of bastard you’re dealing with," Robert explained.

He sounded calmer than usual, and that alone made Martin listen more closely.

I see. This really is the best way to learn the strengths of each weapon and compare them. It makes a lot more sense like this.

"A warhammer’s main attraction is its crushing strength and the way it smashes through armor and anything else tough. It does terribly against fast, slippery opponents, but that’s where your shield comes in. Once ye block them and throw them off balance, ye can punish them with a heavy hit."

Martin nodded.

"A spear’s biggest strengths are reach and control. If ye’re serious about protecting your allies, it’s one of the best weapons ye can carry. Its weakness is simple enough. Once enemies get too close, it gets awkward fast. But again, the shield helps cover that weakness and buys ye time to reposition."

A weapon built around protecting his allies sounded like exactly what Martin wanted.

At the same time, though, he recalled Kill Clause’s words about everyone needing to finish the boss themselves. On their next runs, each of them would need a chance to shine against the Goblin Boss so the weekly rewards could better match what they individually needed.

In that case, which weapon suited that goal best?

Martin turned the thought over in his head and eventually arrived at a single answer.

"A spear. If I want the cleanest finisher, it has to be."

Even though Robert had framed it as the best weapon for protecting allies and controlling the battlefield, Martin could also see how strong it would be against charging opponents. Given the unique mechanic of his Control Devil’s Shield, which his party had already learned to exploit so well, the spear suddenly looked like the best weapon for delivering the final blow.

He could picture it clearly now. The Goblin Boss charged in, the tether pulled him into the opening, and his spear shot forward in one clean thrust straight through the window they had created for him.

It would not be the sword finishing the fight, but the long, sharp spear that could skewer the Goblin Boss.

It would also pair well with Solitary Edge for additional damage, though that really required him to be alone. For a finishing strike, he could actually see that happening.

On top of that, the tether mechanic could be controlled for a stronger burst of damage with a spear, since the weapon was built for thrusting in the first place.

"Then the spear’s the better finisher, right?" Martin asked.

Robert’s grin widened. "You’re very right. That tether mechanic is fun, too. Our Light Tree truly bestowed a powerful shield upon ye. I’d love to meet the devil who crafted it. Ha!"

Martin chuckled.

Under Robert’s guidance, he started with the sword.

Robert made him raise his shield higher, then smacked the rim with the back of his hand when Martin let it drift too low. When Martin slashed, Robert told him to stop reaching with his arm first and move his front foot with the cut instead.

"Don’t fight in pieces," Robert said. "Your shield, feet, and blade ought to move together."

The warhammer came next.

That one felt more natural after everything Martin had already done with it, but Robert still caught flaws Martin had missed. Twice, he stepped in too early, and Robert shoved his shoulder with one thick hand to show how badly that would get him punished against anything fast.

"Don’t go chasing with a hammer," Robert warned. "Make the enemy hate coming near ye, then crush them for it."

By the time Martin switched to the spear, the difference was obvious at once.

His stance had to open up more. His shield had to stay active without crowding the shaft, and his grip felt awkward whenever he tried to force the weapon to move like a sword.

Robert noticed it instantly. "There. That’s your mistake. Ye keep trying to make the spear behave like your sword. Let it be a spear."

"Yeah, I can feel that," Martin admitted. "Every time I rush it, it starts feeling wrong."

Martin exhaled and reset his footing. "Alright. Then I’ll stop forcing it."

This time, he kept the point leveled, his shield tight, and his weight steadier under him. The motion still felt strange, but not wrong anymore. It felt like he was learning a different kind of frontline fighting, one built around denying space instead of simply holding it.