Chapter Forty Nine
Joe woke in the morning and lay silently, his mind swimming up into consciousness in such a smooth transition that he couldn’t tell when he actually woke up, only knowing that he was now awake and comfortably ready to start the day. He yawned and performed a full body stretch, one of deep satisfaction and complete rest. He sighed in contentment once his full body stretch completed and he lay on his bed for some time, allowing time to flow silently and enjoyed the quiet of the night. His hand scratched his bare chest and then pulled out to brush down the warm, if scratchy, blanket back over his naked torso. His eye’s glanced to the window and saw the bright of false dawn fading in from the edges and sat up to prepare his day.
His covers slipped off and Joe found his blankets sliding from him to pool over his chest and lap before standing to get dressed, tossing his blankets back on the bed. But when he stood, he stopped, realizing that he was nude. I don’t sleep in th… wait a minute! I didn’t… Joe felt his calm leave him as he realized he’d fallen asleep fully clothed and laying on top of his blankets. How did they… I would have woken up if they stripped me and tried to put me under the blankets, right?
Joe’s hands traveled around his body while he glanced, looking for any possible pranks before stepping to the poor glass of the window to try to capture any of his face in the warped glass. He struggled for a bit before frustration pushed him to light the lamp he had and quickly look at his face. He found no obvious marks on his face and quickly blew out the flame to darken the room once again. So, no pranks, I guess. They really tried to put me to sleep then? Wonder why Garnedell or Zilnek would do that? Joe pondered for a few seconds then shrugged, unconcerned as he dressed quickly and put yesterday’s clothing aside to wash. He moved to the center of the room and began his morning exercises, slipping into a simple meditative state while his body reflexively performed the movements it had long memorized.
His thoughts were simple, just remembering the last few days on the new planet and simply existing in those memories. He found his mind mellow throughout the entire time. He continued his movements reflexively the whole morning, finding a mindless peace in it. He did spend time considering the next job, finding the next one was a bit curious, the name something he was unable to quite understand. This began to stir his logical mind as he began picking at it. He spent time pondering what it was while mumbling under his breath to practice its pronunciation during his exercises. Virtus Theorist. Hmm… what IS a virtus, anyway? He shifted his practice, now working much more vigorously in practicing the forms. He found his mind worrying at what a Virtus was throughout the entire time until he soon noticed the other three soon joining his practice.
Joe didn’t really notice when they joined, only that they seemed to fade into awareness, his mind registering that they’d already been there for some time. He didn’t think much of it, used to the practice as he would often have others of his dojo or martial sect joining him in the morning as each joined in at their own time.
When he realized all three had joined, he spent another few rounds practicing, ignoring them for the most part, before then slipping away and taking on the role of teacher instead of meditative student. He strolled around each of them, directing an arm or foot as needed, correcting angles, position, and rotation. This continued until false dawn transitioned to true daylight and the weak sun shown its way into the window. Hm. Sun’s up. Let’s eat! Joe smiled at his reaction, a long ingrained tradition he was used to in all his training.
“Right! I’m hungry! Let’s go eat and maybe we can sneak out before Kukurnal shows up,” Joe exclaimed with a smirk.
The other three looked at his face and found him smiling as they tentatively responded. He shook his head at their hidden shock and explained, “I’m only joking, guys. I like Kukurnal. It’s called ‘teasing.’”
The other three then joined in, laughing politely and Joe could only smile with a shrug. He turned away and toweled off his sweat with a damp wash cloth and cool stagnate water in their shallow bowl which passed for a sink. After cleansing, the other three aped his actions before the three headed out, ready for a meal.
The found themselves at their breakfast relatively earlier than usual, and were soon on their way out the door, Joe’s newest cloak bundled under an arm as he led the way. Huh… I still need to swap to my virtus job, whatever that is. Um…
“Hey. Why don’t you guys head to the dungeon, I’ll meet you there, right?”
Garnedell quickly nodded although Kilniara and Zilnek seemed a bit uncertain despite following Garnedell’s lead and nodding quickly as well. All three nodded their heads and offered farewells before heading on and Joe turned quickly back to his journey to the temple square. Picking another new temple, Joe slipped with another cloak on and changed his job to Virtus Theorist before heading out the door once again almost before the job change priest could react.
After escaping the temple, he headed out into the temple square and paused. Huh… maybe? He turned from heading to the beginner dungeon and took the back alley streets back to where Kukurnal had shown him where he might find healers to join them on their trips into the dungeon. He arrived to find the place bustling a bit more than the time Kukurnal arrived and realized that the place was much like an itinerate workers camp with people showing up hoping to get a day job from anyone coming by. Huh… must have come a bit too late with Kukurnal then? Maybe I can… Joe looked around for healers but found nothing that would really let him differentiate between all the workers and finally ended up shouting out into the small crowd loudly.
“I need healers who can heal. Anyone willing?”
Immediately, several people headed towards him and he acknowledged their arrival.
“Just another moment… let me get everyone here before I explain.”
He shouted out another few times, waiting about a minute to finally get everyone who though they were qualified to join up. A small group of six or seven people crowded around him and Joe grew hopeful.
“So. I dive into the dungeons with my party,” several people began to frown, “and I am looking for people who will go with us…” Joe was interrupted immediately.
“Into the dungeons?”
Joe paused and quirked an eyebrow, checking his irritation carefully before looking at the woman who called out.
“Yes, we are hoping…”
The entire crowd of people immediately turned away, leaving him without anyone willing to listen. As they left, Joe shouted out one last time, desperate to catch the attention.
“We are willing to pay! Please. I will pay…” Joe trailed off as the mention of pay didn’t even cause any of the people to pause. They all simply moved away from him quickly to blend back into the crowd. Joe sighed, the frowned, then cursed and turned away. Well… Kukurnal wasn’t wrong… I need to get going… already spent a long time here… don’t want to make the kids wait too long.
Joe moved with a purpose, heading to the beginner dungeon quickly as he wanted to catch up to the other three. He made it to the gate and line faster than he expected and began glancing up and down the line before he found the three, still only half way to the entrance. Joe smiled as he came forward and joined them, slipping into the line easily enough where all three greeted him before returning to their conversation, although Zilnek and Garnedell quickly dragged him into it as well.
“Joe! Could we also fight a goblin solo? Like Kilniara?” Garnedell quickly interjected.
Joe considered for a moment, before he responded, although he was interrupted by Zilnek’s excited “Me, too!” before he was able to finish.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“Hmm… maybe. You should be able to do a bit better with your staff, Garnedell, although I am worried about your reaction time, Zilnek, because of your low … ah, yeah. You, too, Zilnek, but like I was saying, I’m a bit worried because of your low intelligence, for now.”
Garnedell nodded with some excitement, although Zilnek frowned and dropped his head at the statement after waiting with baited breath a few seconds for Joe’s message to parse. Joe took the time to wait for Zilnek got it before he calmed him down and spent a bent more time cautioning Zilnek while still promising the chance.
The line moved quickly enough and the four soon found themselves in the first floor of the dungeon once again camping the far corner for a place of their own. Joe sent Kilniara out on her own to show how he expected the other two to fight, warning them to watch carefully so they could duplicate Kilniara’s success.
“I’m going to go out and help her now. She needs me near in case something crazy happens. Watch how she fights and how I help her so that you can also do it and follow along, got it?”
“Yes, Joe,” Garnedell called out quickly in excitement with Zilnek’s shout coming as Joe was already out drawing in the next goblin for Kilniara.
Kilniara stood ready, braced with feet wide in the stance Joe had taught her. Joe didn’t move too far from her, only bringing a goblin’s attention by tossing some of the random detritus on the floor at the closest appropriate goblin to bring it running towards them.
When the goblin started charging at Joe, he shifted back smoothly behind and to the side of Kilniara to allow her to take the charging goblin and grab its attention. Kilniara did well enough, smacking the goblin hard as it single mindedly charged past her, dizzying it with a well thought hard swing to its head. Joe watched a bit, making sure she’d settled well into the fight before beginning to offer soft non-distracting critiques and advice.
“Turn a bit so the two boys can see you fighting, good,” Joe spoke softly.
Kilniara responded with a nod but said nothing as she slid around the goblin and allowed the other two to watch her fight the goblin side on. Joe stood behind Kilniara and the goblin with his back to the main room behind, which made him a bit uncomfortable, having him toss concerned looks backwards regularly. He considered asking Garnedell to watch for him, but realized that would defeat the purpose of allowing him to watch and learn. Joe finally settled with standing with his back to the corner but just behind the goblin so that the other two could watch Kilniara’s fight but still allow him to be close enough to pull the goblin off her in case she was unable to defend or even possibly interject his spear with his longer reach.
Kilniara said little, but Garnedell and Zilnek cried out encouragement and passion as they watch her do well. This continued for another couple gobblin fights as Joe interjected comments and advice, rarely physically interjecting although he did reach in to correct her thrust a few times, pressing it slightly lower with a firm hand from the top until she learned the correct height to aim her thrust at. Doing good! Center of mass. Thrusting, controlled. No wild swings, except the first one. Nice! Although sometimes...
"No! No. Don't try to hit their limbs. Not a good idea. Just back up and keep focusing on center of mass."
Kilniara nodded and returned to striking the core of the creature, pounding the ribs and stomach. Joe grinned and the strikes soon wore out the goblin and Joe nodded when the fight finally came to an end.
“You did well. Remember, though, you do not want a thrust that is too high. Aim for the torso, not the head, so if you combat a taller fighter, you will need to raise your thrust. But against these goblins, you do not want to go for the head. It will do more damage or even take them out of the fight, but it is too easy to dodge. The torso is better. Aim for the chest to push them back, although, unless you thrust very hard, it will only bruise. Aim for the gut if you want to wind them and knock them out of the fight for a few moments, although someone taking a hit to the gut can protect themselves better and take the hit better, especially if they know how to fight. They also can take advantage of the low strike, letting the strike hit and fold over the top of your thrust to take a swipe at your head or upper torso, even your arms and hands; that can be deadly with a bladed weapon and you will exchange some, most likely, impermanent bruising to the enemy versus a permanent wound to yourself!” Joe ended his lesson as Kilniara hunched over, gasping from her half a dozen fights or so.
“Yes, Joe. Thank you for teaching me,” panted Kilniara.
“Good. Go rest with your brother,” Joe nodded with a smile to Kilniara before turning to Garnedell and shouting, “Your turn, Garnedell. Get out here and get ready.”
Joe waited, as he had for Kilniara, for Garnedell to settle his stance, preparing for the fight, although Joe was more cautious with Garnedell’s first time and straightened a few of his limbs before nodding in satisfaction.
“OK. Looks like you’re ready. I’m going to piss off a goblin and bring it back. Turn to the side like Kilniara did, but a bit more. I’m going to stand beside you to protect you, since this is your first time, and I still want the siblings to be able to see what you are doing with the goblin. Maybe a thirty degree angle, with your back half way to the open room? I’ll keep an eye on the room to keep you safe.”
“Ah… yes, Joe. But what is thirty… degree … angle?”
“Oh… um… right,” Joe took a moment to try to figure out how to describe angles but then just decided to show what he meant, physically positioning Garnedell and taking the location of the goblin to show what he wanted Garnedell to do. Garnedell accepted quickly enough and Joe then stepped out to smack another goblin over.
He found an easy one quickly enough, and soon had it scrabbling over the floor towards them. Garnedell’s panting increased slightly as he began fidgeting with the closing charge of the goblin.
“Hey, calm down. Just hit it hard when it gets close. It’s coming for me, not you.”
Garnedell quickly nodded, even though he didn’t seem to calm but he did prepare his strike well enough. Joe decided to let him take the chance but he still brought up his buckler and sword just in case, having swapped his spear for the spear and shield when he’d shifted to standing beside his apprentice instead of on the far side as he’d felt uncomfortable with his reaction times with the heavier weapon and longer distance.
Garnedell’s staff proved a bit less wieldy, and so he opted for a thrust instead a swing, thrusting hard at the head of the incoming goblin. Joe sighed, unhappy with the poor target choice, but Garnedell struck true enough, and Joe said nothing as, in this case, it was the best choice considering the stupid actions of the dungeon mobs with their hyper focus only on those who’d struck them. It was basically a guaranteed hit, and it was right for Garnedell to take it, but it concerned Joe as he didn’t wish for Garnedell to treat sapient opponents in the same manner, as charging bandits or other intelligent opponents would not mindlessly pass such an obvious enemy. After that first hit, however, Garnedell shifted to center of mass strikes, thrusting at the abdomen and chest, and Joe reconsidered Garnedell’s attacks. Huh! Not bad.
Settling in, Joe continued to tutor Garnedell, spending much more time in explanations between fights and quick subtle adjustments to limbs while he fought. He found Garnedell also tended to attack the limbs as well, which Joe found a bit confusing, but pushed him to focus on conserving strikes and only actually striking at center of mass. Joe allowed Garnedell to fight until exhaustion, worry over Zilnek’s prowess delaying him as Garnedell fought another dozen or so more monsters than Kilniara before sending Garnedell to the corner and bringing Zilnek out with much greater trepidation.
He spent quite a bit more time setting Zilnek up, opting for physical placement, movement, and preparation in contrast to verbal instruction, since the verbal instruction would take significantly longer for Zilnek to parse. With a lot of nods and pointing, Zilnek was soon nodding his readiness with excited passion vibrating through his body. Joe smiled with some resignation before throwing another discarded weapon at another goblin before quirking an eyebrow as he saw the goblin pick up the weapon he’d thrown. Huh… that might be an option? Don’t have to worry about goblin’s picking up a bad weapon from now on?
Joe stepped back, but he was a bit concerned, as he’d tossed a longer reaching staff, and the goblin, if it knew how to use it, would be a much more dangerous opponent than one with a simple poorly balanced but sturdy and thick stick. Joe heightened his awareness, eyes flickering over the goblin’s movements and body tensed to react immediately. Despite Joe’s concern, Zilnek did well enough, his movements only slightly slower but still barely adequate for dealing with the goblin. All his strikes, like Garnedell’s and Kilniara’s, were center of mass thrusts aiming for the torso. Joe nodded, happy with all three of their skills. No wild haymakers. Nice! But if there was one thing that was odd, was their willingness to strike at limbs instead of just blocking or stepping back. A habit to break...
After picking up the weakest weapon in the area to use as a goblin fish hook, Joe took the time over the next couple of fights to carefully judge Zilnek’s fight and noticed he was just generally slower in his movements, speed, and strikes as well as also being weaker and staggering a bit more often under the goblin’s strikes. After watching a few more fights, Joe was pretty certain that intelligence then didn’t seem to have much to do with reaction times in relation any senses, unless it was speech. So everyone can react pretty quickly, or reaction time is due to the agility stat maybe? And intelligence just be able to make … hmm… maybe think of more options and choose a better one? Maybe gives more hmm… Joe found his mind wandering a bit as he considered the options and he quickly dropped the idea until, not wanting to be lost in thought while he needed to protect Zilnek.
Zilnek exhausted himself quite a bit more quickly, in only about a half a dozen fights or so, and Joe sent him back to rest with Garnedell before calling out Kilniara once again. He didn’t allow his mind wander back to what intelligence was until Kilniara had fought another couple goblins again and he looked back to find Zilnek and Garnedell seeming well rested between one of Kilniara’s fights.