Sorry about taking forever to post this. I had writers block and actually kinda gave up on the story. Looking at the comments asking for more revitalized me though.
Please comment with any suggestions, criticisms, or really anything you think I should do better at.
Also if anyone could comment with how to unlock a thread. I want to unlock the old chapters so I can edit them.
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Loor enters the training hall only to find that Rari is nowhere in sight.
Huh, that might explain why there was no crowd.
Looking around, Loor sees the same quarterstaff he was training with before (at least he thinks it’s the same one) leaning against the wall. He decides to have fun whacking a dummy for a bit before Rari gets back.
He stands in front of the dummy and starts hitting it rhythmically. Without realizing it, he strikes the dummy with the exact same pattern and tempo as the practice he did earlier.
Loor falls into a bit of a trance while he is doing this and time passes without his noticing. After about three hours, he stops training as his grumbling stomach notifies him that he should probably eat if he doesn’t want to collapse.
“Very good, you’ve gotten much better than before.” A voice says from behind him.
Loor jumps and whirls in surprise. Unfortunately, his legs get tangled up in the staff and he falls to the ground.
Rari who had arrived some time ago, helps Loor up from the floor. Grinning he says “But I guess there is still some room to improve.”
Blushing Loor nods and thanks Rari for the help.
“Very good, that was your next stage of training. I’m glad to see you working without me being around to make sure.” Rari says as he walks over to the weapon rack to pick up another quarterstaff. “Are you ready for some more practice?”
“Actually, I was just about to get something to eat.” Loor replies nervously.
“Would you like to share some of mine? My sister usually packs me far more food than I am able to eat.” Rari offers.
Loor nods eagerly “Yes please!”
Rari beckons to Loor and they walk over to a large sack in the corner of the room.
Rari opens it up and begins pulling packages of food out. By the time he is done, the sack is completely empty and there is enough to comfortably feed a large household spread out on the floor.
Loor stares, amazed, at the sheer quantity of food littering the ground. “Uh…Your sister is really enthusiastic about cooking, huh?”
Rari nods “Help yourself.”
Loor wastes no time unwrapping the packages and eating one after another. Even with the copious amounts he is eating it barely makes a dent in the amount on the ground.
Gourmet Meal
You have eaten a high protein meal cooked by a talented chef.
Stamina regeneration tripled for two hours
Overstuffed
You have overeaten by quite a bit.
Stamina consumption doubled for 20 minutes
“That was amazing.” Loor enthuses.
Rari blushes a little but nods “Thank you, I will be sure to tell my sister that you approve.”
Rari grabs his quarterstaff and stands “All right, let us get back to training.”
Groaning good naturedly, Loor stands and readies his staff.
“This time, we will have a sort of slow motion battle in which I will call out what I am going to do. You are to either attack or defend with the counterpart.” Rari explains “A quick quiz, if I were to do this” Rari holds his staff in the middle block position “you would…?”
Loor makes a middle strike with his staff.
“Good! Remember, while practicing we don’t want anyone to get injured so you use the attack that would be blocked. However in a real fight, you would obviously use some other strike.”
Rari stands in a ready position “Now, let us begin.”
“High strike……Middle strike……Middle block……Low strike………”
After roughly an hour of practice Rari calls for a pause.
“Now I will call out a sequence of moves that I will do, and you must remember the sequence and counter it. If you get it wrong, I will tap you lightly with the staff to remind you of the correct technique.”
Tap lightly...That doesn’t sound too bad.
“All right, begin.”
“High strike, Middle strike, Low block, Middle block.”
High block, Middle block, Low strike, Middle strike
Loor grins as he successfully counters the sequence. After a few more sequences he makes a mistake.
“Ah!” That was NOT a light tap!
Flustered by the unexpected pain, Loor messes up again.
“Focus!”
After a few more mistakes, Loor finally gets it down pat. By the time Rari stops for a break, he is able to remember and counter sequences of ten at a time.
“Good, you did well after that rough patch near the beginning.”
Loor sags with relief as he realizes they are done. He collapses on the ground to rest and notices he has quite the backlog of system messages.
Strength +1
Agility +1
Stolen novel; please report.
Agility +1
Stamina +1
Stamina +1
You have learned a new skill: Cringe
Cringe
By shrinking back from a blow as it hits, you can mitigate any pain received.
Pain reduced by 5%
“Are you ready for the last stage of staff training?”
Loor shakes his head, panicking “I—uh—have something I need to do first.” and quickly logs out.
One day (four days game time) later, Loor appears in the training hall, refreshed and ready to finish training.
Rari is standing in the center of the room.
“Ah good, I’ve been waiting for you.” Rari’s face brightens as he notices Loor. “Are you ready for the final stage?”
Loor nods confidently “Bring it on!”
Rari grins “Now we’re going to try sparring for real. Come at me with everything you have.”
“What if I hurt you?” Loor asks, worried.
“Hurt me?” Rari smirks.
“…forget I asked.”
“Alright, begin!”
Loor immediately snaps a quick high strike at Rari’s face. He blocks with almost contemptuous ease and counters with a swipe at Loor’s kidney. Loor blocks it and performs a low strike at Rari’s groin, which is avoided with a quick pivot. He then swings his staff down at Loor’s head. Loor sidesteps the attack and tries to quickly trip Rari by sticking the staff between his legs. Rari kicks it away as he turns and swipes at Loor’s leg. Loor jumps and uses gravity to aim a powerful strike at Rari’s head. The instructor blocks it with his pole and diverts the force down to his side. Off-balance, Loor falls, attempting to turn it into a roll to easily get back on his feet.
He failed.
Rari holds his staff against Loor’s throat as he lands flat on his back “Your dead.”
Loor sighs, disappointed in his dismal (he thinks) performance.
Pulling back his staff, Rari grins and holds out his hand “That was quite good for your first fight. I was expecting you to panic the moment my staff came at you.”
Loor grabs the hand and is yanked to his feet. Much stronger than he looks. “So I didn’t fail?”
“Failed? On the contrary you passed with high marks.” Rari assures him. “Of course there is some room for improvement, but considering that you’ve only practiced for a few days, you did very well.”
Loor grins in relief. Finally I finished. Having completely forgotten why he was doing this in the first place.
“So, are you ready to learn how to wield a sword now?” Rari asks.
Losing the grin instantly, Loor starts shaking his head. “I think I’ll stick with just the staff. I’d rather practice that and master it than learn a whole new weapon.”
Rari smiles faintly “In that case…” He walks over to the weapon rack and looks carefully at the various staves on display. Selecting one, he grabs it, walks back, and holds it out. “Here, you should have a weapon you can use.”
Loor takes it and thanks Rari profusely.
Seasoned Oak Staff Damage 10 – 20 Durability 50/50
A standard quarterstaff made of well-seasoned oak. Very resilient.
Agility +2
You have learned a Skill: Staff Mastery
Loor thanks Rari again, and leaves.
NameLoorRaceHybrid ElfHealth90/90Mana170/170Level1Experience0.00%Strength8Agility12+2Wisdom18Intelligence16Dexterity10Vitality9Innocence14Stamina90/90Characteristics—Androgynous—
—Elemental Connection—
—Animal Magnetism—
—Natural Camouflage—
—Infravision—
—Maker’s Skill—Skills—Campfire—
—Handicraft—
—Meditation—
—Cringe—
—Staff Mastery—
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