Jace stared up at the sky above him and let it sink in that he just had his ass handed to him by a sixty year old-ish lady. Within a split second even, he still hadn't processed what exactly happened. Well if she was the standard of strength in this world he was royally screwed. But he doubted everyone was THAT strong, she must be in charge for a reason right? He saw a suntanned face appear in view with a cheeky grin. Damn granny, she's making fun of him for sure. She stuck out her hand, he took it and she pulled him to his feet.

The guards and other passerby's who had been watching were chuckling. He rolled his eyes, making fun of the new guy. A time on honored tradition even in entirely new worlds it seemed. The elder tapped his shoulder to get his attention and made some odd gestures, then she started holding up fingers for numbers and asked a question. He just stared at her blankly, he had no idea what she was talking about. The elder tapped her chin for a second before she made some movements with her hand.

[Trishla Hillmorr has asked for permission to view your character sheet, grant it? Y/N]

Jace shrugged, he was pretty sure letting someone access your sheet was a huge sign of trust. It was filled with all your personal information,strengths and weaknesses. Well he needed information and this woman seemed a likely source. Go big or go home, He pressed yes and watched as the character sheet unfolded before his eyes.

[Jace Shimmer

[Age : 25

[Class : None

[Profession : None

[Titles : None

[Strength : 10 Agility : 10 Dexterity : 10

[Endurance : 11 Vitality : 10 Constitution : 10

[Wisdom : 10 Intelligence : 10 Charisma : 10

[Luck : 10

[Skills :

[Mastery :

Well his sheet was blank for sure, he kept his eyes on the Elder. He got anxious for a bit when a deep frown appeared on her face. These stats and lack of anything substantial must really stand out in a world like this. If people had been working on stats, skills, levels and mastery since birth then he was behind by miles.

The Elder nodded to herself and then shouted something to the guards, they seemed surprised, but ran off to do her bidding regardless. A few minutes later they returned with a girl in tow. The girl had a sullen look on her face and while the people around her did not treat her differently there was a slight air of pity permeating the air. Something must be wrong with the girl, the elder approached her and told her something. The girl's eyes widened as she glanced at him and then at the ring. She raised an eyebrow at the Elder who nodded to her. The girl showed a small smile and climbed in the ring.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Jace understood what they wanted so he settled into position across from her. He studied the girl, she was taller than he had at first thought, six feet if he was guessing right. That was an inch taller than he was. She worked out a great deal as well, her muscles were well defined. She had her dirty blond hair in a braid. Her hair and her musculature painted the picture of a viking woman in his head. Even though he was pretty sure she wasn't one.

Jace readied his stance as the girl did the same. She raised her fists and like the Elder before her was unarmed. He hesitated briefly before he discarded his knife and settled into his own stance. He shuffled forwards, keeping his stance grounded and center of gravity low. The girl let him approach her, her eyes following him and her stance subtly shifting to prepare for his engagement. He felt no confidence in overpowering her, not in a world of stats. Honestly based purely on her build he wouldn't even feel confident in a world without them.

In a sudden burst of movement he dove forward, one of the girls fists snapped towards his head, he tilted it to the side, narrowly dodging. He slipped inside her range and sent a short punch towards her liver. A fist descended towards his temple, he ducked beneath it but had to cancel his own punch to do so. He slipped a foot behind hers and shoved his shoulder into her in an attempt to knock her down. She took the chance to grab hold, He slithered out of her grasp and sent a quick kick into the back of her knee. Only to be tackled into the dirt, they wrestled for a few tense minutes. It occurred to him that the girl was not at all used of having equal or greater strength than her opponent, she kept contesting with him in skill instead of raw strength.

Jace tried to use it to his advantage but she was more skilled and more experienced in close quarters combat than he was. It still took her awhile to get the better of him but once she did she was sitting on top of him breathing heavily and grinning. He rolled his eyes and then smiled. He made a shooing motion to get her off him. He let her help him to his feet and rolled his shoulders. He congratulated her on her victory, she might not understand the words but he was sure his meaning got across. She grinned widely and said something in return. I'm pretty sure it meant something like good fight. He nodded and grinned back.

The elder walked up to us and spoke a few words to her then turned to Jace. Asking to see his sheet again. He agreed and blinked when he saw a few additions, he got unarmed combat mastery up to intermediate and a couple of stats. The elders brows scrunched together before she shrugged and motioned him to follow. She showed him the way to a bed inside that big house of hers and made a series of motions that he took as this bed is yours, use it when you want. The viking girl had followed us inside and seemed to be the resident of the room next to him, she winked at him playfully before she entered her own room.