One end of the spear tilted wildly and blasted into his upper shin, just below his knee. A massive crack rang out and Joe found himself tilting sideways even as pain crushed his thoughts, his right shin shattered outwards towards the right even as the spear slipped past his shin. That sent the spear off in a wild spin, out and away from him, shout out like a cannon ball from a cannon, his spear simply vanishing from sight. Before Joe could even cry out at having his shin simultaneously blasted out from under him and shattered, half his HP vanished and his right leg reformed.

At the same time, the spear plastered into the ground and tore it to shreds, the ground erupting almost as if an artillery round had hit it. It bounced back into the air, tumbling wildly before it hit a tree and tore through it as well, its trunk blasting apart like someone had drilled a hole in the trunk and lit a chunk of TNT in its core. The tree exploded apart, then began tilting forward towards them, the spear’s force having pushed the base of the tree out away from them with the force of its strike.

All conversation ended, silence reigning for just a time until the tree thunked to the ground, a massive echoing shudder. Joe stared, blinked, then stood and looked back at the Matriarch.

“Uh… I’m sorry?”

The Matriarch stared at him for a while before she began laughing, if a bit wildly. She shook her head.

“It is of no concern, eccentric. I am just wondering what that tree did to offend you?”

Joe blinked, then laughed in return, “No. I apologize. The tree did not offend me. I was just… trying to figure out the skills, as … yeah. Sorry about that.”

The Matriarch said nothing to this for a bit, and Joe grew more uncomfortable until she began speaking.

“Did you learn something?”

Joe nodded and turned to go retrieve his spear, offering the Matriarch to join him, “Yes. I believe so.”

She settled in by his side as they walked, heading up and around the tree, “Was it good?”

Joe grinned, “I believe so. It seems like skills are… trained by the system but also blocked by it. I’m uncertain if… I don’t know. But I think I did learn something.”

The Matriarch nodded, “But you are still... uncertain.”

Joe sighed deeply, “So much about the system is strange to me. I hope to understand it soon.”

The Matriarch nodded but did not reply as they rounded the crown of the downed tree. They walked together in silence as they continued on and Joe found his spear laying on the ground.

The Matriarch remained silent as Joe picked it up and studied it carefully, worried about any damage to it as the forces involved had been insane, but when he picked up and rolled it between his palms, it remained perfect. Joe frowned.

“Is there a concern?”

Joe looked up at that, then shook his head, “No. It’s a good thing, but just one more thing I have to figure out… something else to learn.

She nodded, “Then a good thing.”

Joe grinned and started heading back to their group, “Yes.”

They walked for a time, again with the Matriarch politely silent to allow Joe his thoughts before he interjected when they returned to the group, all now whispering amongst each other but looking at Joe oddly.

“I.. apologize again for the tree. I hope it was... it isn’t a great loss to your clan.”

The Matriarch smiled politely at that, shaking her head, “It was nothing but a decorative tree.”

Joe’s tension melted at that, “Ah.. OK. I feel much better with that. Still, I apologize.”

“Then, I will accept, on behalf of the clan.”

“My thanks, then.”

Joe nodded but said nothing. The Matriarch allowed him his thoughts for a time then finally began speaking again, but did so with some concern that Joe didn’t really catch until after.

“May I know what you learned?”

Joe looked down at the Matriarch then grinned, “I’m really not sure. But, it seems some skills are locked by the system… but others are not. I don’t know why, really… not yet.”

The Matriarch seemed to grow relieved at that and Joe frowned, wondering where her worry came from, “Ah… that is interesting.”

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Joe began focusing on her a bit more, losing a bit of his carefree attitude in seeing her tension, “Hmm… I’m willing to share it when I learn a bit more.”

That seemed to make her brighten and Joe’s own tensions relieved, “Ah, that would be very kind of you.”

Joe nodded, then allowed his frustration to shine through a bit, “The skills on my plane certainly are a bit less… convoluted.”

The Matriarch looked up at him, then nodded, “Yes. Our plane is… a bit odd.”

Joe glanced down at the Matriarch, “This plane… is?”

She nodded, “This is well known, although the secret of it seems to be kept by the upper clans. We know little of it. But almost nothing else is known of this.”

Joe frowned at that but let it go, the Matriarch either truly not knowing or unwilling to reveal clan business. Joe quickly turned the conversation away from the current topic.

“Well, I will do the best with skills that I do know.”

The Matriarch stared up at Joe for a time, thoughtful, “Then… you know many of these skills?”

Joe grinned, glancing at Matriarch, “Really only combat skills, if I were honest.”

She stared at him, thoughtful, “Then any can learn these… skills?”

Joe shrugged, “To some extent. Some are so poor with physical skills that they will not learn very easily or well, while others have natural… ability, and learn it easily and well.”

“Gwenvair… can learn this?”

Joe smiled, “She seems quite capable of doing so, from what I’ve seen. She’s already doing well. She is, what my people would call, gifted. She has a natural ability towards this. She is not quite as capable as Kilniara, but Gwenvair’s strength seems to lie in her magical skills. Despite that, yes, she will do pretty well at martial arts.”

The Matriarch seemed surprised, “She… already knows?”

Joe nodded, “Yup. Only the basics, but she is learning.”

She paused, thoughtful and asked nervously, “How long will she require?”

Joe cocked his head, “What do you mean?”

“How long to learn your cultivation method?”

“Hmm… well, I guess I could teach all the forms in about a day or two, but perfecting them will take years, so…”

“Then Garnedell… he has trained for years?”

“Oh, no. Maybe three… six months? I’m not sure.”

This gave the Matriarch pause and she stared at Joe in shock, “He beat a clan elite with only six months of cultivation?”

Joe looked at Matriarch with his own shock, “That’s a clan elite?!”

The Matriarch flushed red, embarrassed and she looked away. She cleared her throat and turned away a bit and Joe grimaced.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be offensive, but I… I am sorry.”

The Matriarch looked up at him and shook her head, “No. You are exactly correct. If your apprentice of six months could so easily defeat our best… I might be as belittling as well.”

Joe sighed, “I wasn’t trying to be… belittling. I was simply … very shocked.”

The Matriarch grimaced and sighed, “Our clan is very weak. As are our cultivation options and methods. This is why I am so… honored that you are willing to teach ours and especially Gwenvair.”

Joe shrugged at that, offering an embarrassed smile, “It doesn’t bother me. I’m glad that I am useful.”

Their conversation paused for a bit, enjoying a contented silence that was not uncomfortable for several moments until Toulnaria began their conversation again.

“May I ask you a question about the young clan boy, Tougallandar, that Garnedell dueled?”

“Of course?”

“Could you tell me your impressions of him?”

“What specifically do you wish to know? I’m not going to know much of him but his fighting skills.”

“I understand that and that is what I am seeking.”

“Hmm. His instincts are incredibly poor. He has no combat experience at all, from what I have seen. Nor does he have any training in how to stand, strike, defend, or even move. He has no sense for combat, not because he’s bad but because he simply has had little to no experience in real combat, from what I have seen.”

The Matriarch grimaced and nodded, “We care for our clan members. To throw them into combat would be … it would lead to many dead.”

Joe cocked his head with a bit of confusion, “Really? The goblins on the first floor are quite easy to combat, especially if there is a good fighter there to protect them. Bring a healer and there would be no fear for the trainees.”

Matriarch sighed, “We do not have enough … or any warriors strong enough to defend our youth in a dungeon. Many would still die.”

Joe frowned, “Even with a healer?”

“We have very few healers and those that we do have will never enter a dungeon.”

“They won’t join?”

“No.”

“And you cannot… ask… them firmly?”

She chuckled and grimaced while replying softly, “They care too much for their lives.”

“Mercenaries? Or guilders? Some adventurers? Some priests?”

Toulnaria shook her head, “How could we reveal clan secrets and methods to outsiders.”

Joe raised an eye at that, but nodded, ignoring the statement while not accepting it. That’s… really extreme. Hoarding knowledge to the point they cripple themselves. Not the time… is it the time? Should I… no… not the time.

Joe frowned and continued, “Then couldn’t the clan healers be protected by a second group of warriors while the strong protect the young practicing?”

Toulnaria shook her head, “Healers are too precious to waste in a dungeons, even with strong protectors.”

Joe stifled his reaction, nodding once again and letting the topic die, “Well, I’m willing to teach Gwenvair. I’ve already promised to do so. I’m willing to train you as well, if you are willing, to learn how to protect your youth while they train. But, just as a warning, even I still might lose someone. It is rare but possible. We almost lost Kilniara but for a healer at the entrance.”

“I heard the tale, but you saved her.”

Joe looked at Toulnaria with a soft smile of apology, “After bribing the guards.”

Toulnaria’s eyebrows rose, “Willing to admit it? I will forgive you now, but…”

“I am grateful, but might I offer a possible… solution?”

“A solution? How so?”

“Allow the healers at the dungeon entrances to offer healing. The beginner dungeon would be quite easy to do. You already send a squad of soldiers in every day. Simply add three healers or some set of three and leave each healer in the safe zone on each floor. They cannot be attacked in the safe zone and they don’t even have to leave the safe zone if you wish. Let people know that they can bring their injured to the healer at the safe zone.

“If you do this, then you will have many more adventurers surviving. These adventurers will be stronger with higher stats. Stronger adventurers mean stronger people for your city, giving you greater wealth, taxes, and materials for your craftsmen. Craftsmen now able to make greater materials and materials of higher quality which make better items sold for more, bringing even more wealth. It seems like a … smart deal to me.”

Toulnaria had listened politely at the beginning but grew more intrigued as Joe continued explaining. By the end, she was pondering it quite carefully, “That… seems like an excellent idea, but it is unlikely that the healers would enjoy sitting in the dungeons. And it is unlikely that they would be willing to.”