The sheriff spent with me for another hour, finished his wine, and left me sitting alone on the platform in front of the Gate to the Salt Cave. I made myself comfortable, leaning my back against a rock, and dozed off.
Clearing such simple dungeons of monsters doesn't take much time, but gathering resources, especially something as fragile and crumbly as salt, is quite time-consuming. I even managed to have a dream when, about three hours before dawn, the Dungeon Gate lit up again.
Lao Fan was the first to come out of the dungeon, and his face was so gloomy that I couldn't help but be overwhelmed by not the most positive thoughts. Getting to my feet, I approached the head of the local tunnellers, who, having moved away from the Door to the side, was putting his baskets of salt on the ground. I had just opened my mouth to ask a question when he threw me a small bag in which a couple of dozen copper coins jingled.
"Oh, nice," I said, surprised, with an involuntary smile. "I didn't make that bet for nothing."
"She just got lucky," Lao Fan said, frowning. "All three of yours attacked the same caveling at once, but it was the busty one who dealt the decisive blow." He raised his hands to the sky. "She struck with her eyes closed! And still, she hit right in the throat with her spear!"
"It happens," I shrugged; I didn't think I would win our bet.
He wanted to say something else, but the Gate lit up again, and Lao Fan immediately adopted an impassive and indifferent expression. First, three tunnellers appeared, followed by earthlings loaded like mules. And I wouldn't say that their faces were happy; they rather reminded me of miners exhausted by work. And this is largely an apt comparison. I looked at them more closely. Despite them being covered head to toe in dried blood, this blood belonged to goblins.
"How are you?" I asked.
"Later," Flavius brushed off and nodded toward the locals.
"We are alive and well," Ilona gave a better answer, understanding what I meant.
While they were unloading, I observed the tunnellers. They were evenly split, three were so happy that their smiles were almost tearing their faces, and three were grim and dissatisfied. From this division alone, it was clear that my suggestion of betting on killing goblins played out fully.
"We need to wash," Miranda said, trying to wipe the dried blood off her cheek, after Lao Fan counted the boxes of salt, looked into each of them and checked their contents, and let the earthlings go.
"I know a good place," I said and led my companions to the water.
At this spot, the stream made a turn, and there was a lot of sand that could be used to scrub off most of the dirt.
"These bastards..." Making sure no one was around, Miranda began to speak indignantly as she took off her chainmail. "They dumped all their work on us!"
"Actually, the tunnellers recruit young people to gather resources instead of them after the dungeon is cleared," I explained how things are arranged here.
"She's not talking about that!" Ilona supported the future sorceress while rinsing her hair. "We also killed all the goblins for them!"
"How come?" I was surprised.
The story of the earthlings seemed amusing to me, and it took quite an effort not to burst out laughing. It all started with the fact that not only Lao Fan and I made a bet on who among my companions would kill the first goblin, but all the other tunnellers also bet against each other. As a result, as soon as the whole group passed through the Gate, the tunnellers left my companions at the entrance. Then they lured the first goblin patrol onto them and left the earthlings to deal with it. As I understood, Ilona was the first to kill an enemy. But it didn't end there. Those who lost their bets were thirsty for revenge. So another patrol was lured onto the earthlings. And again, those who lost the bet remained unsatisfied. And somehow, in the end, all the goblins in the cave were killed by my companions. Moreover, they did it in an incredibly sparing mode. The experienced local tunnellers drove exactly three enemies onto them and also provided cover. Absolutely greenhouse conditions.
"To me, it seems like you guys got lucky," I commented after listening to their story.
"Yeah, it was instructive and interesting, like a dangerous boar hunt with a small-caliber gun," Flavius nodded. "Especially after we got over our initial panic. And we collected a bunch of achievements. By the way, I got way more tired while collecting salt than fighting the goblins."
"So, what are you so unhappy about?" I asked.
"That!" Ilona raised her voice. "We did all the work for them, and they didn't even give us an extra penny for it!"
"Misers!" Miranda agreed.
"Who stopped you from making bets on yourselves and earning that way?" I asked a question that left the earthlings stumped.
Washing off the goblin blood turned out to be far from simple, especially when you only have cold water and river sand at your disposal. At the girls' request, I went to the tavern and bought some soap from the cook. With it, the earthlings' cleaning went much faster. But still, by the time they were washed up, dawn was already breaking on the horizon.
"Armors are dirty," Tuan appeared silently beside us as we lay in the grass, resting. "Cleaning is necessary. Scrub with sand. Otherwise, they will rust. The boss will be displeased. Will fine you."
"Damn it!" Flavius, who had just fallen asleep, gritted his teeth. "We'll clean it!"
"Alright," the ranger indifferently nodded at him, then turned and walked away, but before disappearing around the bend of the path, he said, "Training starts in an hour. No one has canceled it!"
At this point, even the girls wailed.
"What training?!" Miranda exclaimed, picking up her chainmail from the grass. "We have a new dungeon this evening!"
"Go catch him and refuse then," Ilona immediately jibed at her.
"Just watch," the future sorceress twitched her shoulder, annoyed. "I can easily handle both training and the new dungeon."
"First, get your chainmail in order if you don't want to pay a fine," the healer didn't let her off so easily.
Flavius looked helplessly at me as if asking for support in calming the girls down. But he was mistaken; instead, I waved to the earthlings and said:
"Glad everything's alright with you. I'm going to catch an hour of sleep. See you at training."
The guy, not expecting such "betrayal" from me, almost burned my back with his gaze.
Reaching the tavern, I realized that I didn't even want to sleep. So instead of that, I ordered a hearty breakfast and ate my fill. Afterward, I went to the sea and spent half an hour just watching the waves gently roll onto the shore. This sight always calmed me and put me in a working mood.
To my surprise, the earthlings managed to clean their armor and not be late for training. True, they missed breakfast, but that can be endured. The sheriff scrutinized the chainmail and was dissatisfied, noticing several blood stains. As a result, the first training session today for the earthlings turned out to be a lesson in armor care under the guidance of Ximi. Actually, it's a very useful skill that will definitely come in handy for them, so Miranda frowning and Flavius rolling his eyes was for no reason.
The sheriff and I moved to the other side of the hill, and Ender began to bully me. He made me stand still and just parry again. He himself started to circle around and hit me, aiming at the softest and most painful spots. He didn't shut up for a second, lecturing me. Apparently, he did not sleep this night but studied some treatise by a distinguished mentor, and now he was sprinkling quotes from it. It seemed very much like that. After warming up, Ender put me in the lotus position again, and I began to practice "Discharge."
Today I was doing much better than yesterday. The sheriff was even pleased with my progress in mastering this spell. It was still a long way from using "Discharge" in real combat, but if my advancement doesn't slow down, I will be ready for it in a week or even earlier.
After noon, Tuan appeared on our side of the hill with two short poles the length of my spear. It turned out that Ender was just waiting for him, immediately stopping my Basic Cross practice.
"Here you go," said the sheriff, tossing me one of the poles. "Tuan is pretty good with a spear. Three Talent stars, two of which are already filled." At these words of his boss, the ranger puffed up a bit with importance.
Talent without practice is nothing. It's not enough to be talented, for example, in shooting, if you've never held a weapon in your life. Talent Stars only show a person's potential in a particular area, and whether they will develop this potential or not depends on the person themselves. Speaking of filled Stars, Ender meant that Tuan's spear-wielding skill is that developed. In a real duel, a fighter with two filled Stars will easily defeat someone who has five Talent Stars but has had no practice with this weapon.
Stolen novel; please report.
"Training duel. Just weapons, no skills, special attacks, or spells; Basic Cross can be used. Do not hit the eyes or neck!" said the sheriff and commanded, "Begin!"
The ranger started relaxed, leisurely. His first strikes were even slower than Ender's lunges during the morning warm-up. Nevertheless, I was initially wary of attacking the sheriff's aide. Having parried two quick lunges aimed at my knees, I broke the distance and stood in the "Scottish stance," where the spear's tip looks down and is extended as far as possible toward the opponent. Tuan immediately understood that I was going to use my advantage in arm length fully and switched to a low position.
The attacking impulse of the ranger was cut off by my sharp counterattack, but this turned out to be a trap. It was annoying that I saw this trap almost immediately but didn't figure out how to avoid it in time. I got confused in three response variants and took a hit to the thigh.
"One-zero," Ender immediately said.
Clenching my teeth, I assumed the fighting stance again. It wasn't painful, but rather embarrassing. Tuan didn't show anything special, and yet he got me easily. I parried a new series of attacks from the sheriff's assistant, but it turned out to be just a distraction. Waiting for me to lower my hands too much, the ranger launched a sharp attack on my head. Before landing the blow, his spear mockingly, smoothly, and languidly bypassed my block. It was like an adult giving a child, who is covering himself with his hand, a slap on the back of the head.
"Two-zero."
Hold on! Stop! Don't get angry! I can't lose control. He outplayed me; I believed too much that he would continue to attack the legs. I need to take a broader view of the fight and not focus on a single moment happening here and now. This decision partially helped. I was able to dodge and parry the subsequent six attacks but still missed the seventh, right in the center of my chest. And again, almost a second before the blow, I knew what would happen but chose the wrong block, which Tuan simply pushed through with his onslaught.
"Three-zero."
Stay calm! I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. And when I opened my eyelids, I saw a training spear flying at my forehead.
"Four-zero."
Now that really hurt. If not for the "Fortified Body," I would have gotten a huge bump in the center of my forehead. And I have nothing to complain about. He's right. For some reason, I decided I would not be attacked until I was ready. Silly. That kind of behavior might have been fine on Earth, but Ain does not tolerate such laxity.
"Thank you for the lesson," I said, getting up.
Tuan just nodded and immediately launched another attack. Retreating into a deep defense, I parried, dodged, and squirmed like a snake on a frying pan, but all I achieved was:
"Five-zero," which sounded a little later than before.
"Tuan, work with Flavius for now," the sheriff said. "I expect you back in an hour."
"Yes, shifu," the ranger replied, bowing to his boss, and immediately left us.
I thought Ender would give me a severe reprimand as soon as the aide left. But no, instead, he ordered me to set aside the training spear and return to meditation and mastering auras without saying a word about my crushing defeat.
At first, due to the overwhelming anger and resentment towards myself, even maintaining "Acceleration" posed immense difficulties. Only after a quarter of an hour was I able to calm down enough to properly maintain the aura and simultaneously create sparks of electricity on my fingers.
"Get up," Ender interrupted me just as I was almost able to support two auras at once.
An hour flew by unnoticed, and Tuan returned, immediately raising his spear and assuming an inviting stance.
"Same rules. Begin!"
As soon as that command was given, I attacked. Swiftly, with a carefully planned series of strikes. And I almost succeeded. Almost... But when Tuan parried my third strike differently than I had anticipated, my attack failed. And a blow to my liver was the inevitable conclusion to this failure.
"One-zero."
Am I really that bad, despite the memory of the future and a full five Talent Stars in the spear?
And the subsequent:
"Two-zero" sounded like an answer to this thought after the failure of my next attack.
I understand that my knowledge is theoretical and can't be called real skill, but it's still infuriating to the point that adrenaline makes my hands shake. The ranger immediately takes advantage of this after giving me the illusion that his defense has an opening.
"Three-zero," the sheriff announced, adding, "Raven, stay calm."
He's right. Anger won't help. Tuan's advantage lies in his reflexive body reactions. I can only get to him by rising above the fight. Outsmarting the ranger in terms of strategy rather than in split-second strikes, parries, and evasions. The thought is essentially correct, but I couldn't implement it.
"Four-zero."
And again, it didn't work.
"Five-zero. Tuan, again in an hour."
"Yes, shifu."
I would have preferred if Ender scolded or yelled at me rather than this silence. It seems like he's not even surprised by the outcome, and that's what hurts the most. Again, meditation and practicing "Discharge." This time, I can hardly accomplish anything; I'm too anxious for the next duel, and it keeps me from focusing. And Ender just smiles broadly when he thinks I'm not looking at him. What a teacher. Mentor! He's just a jerk who takes pleasure in his student's suffering.
"Get up. Same rules. Begin."
This time, I don't rush headlong into battle. No. A duel of the mind, of thoughts and intellect, not the body - that's my plan.
"One-zero."
...
"Two-zero."
...
"Five-zero. Tuan, in an hour. Again."
I'm ready to scream at the heavens and curse myself. It's so humiliating, so infuriating when you see everything, understand everything, and know how to evade the strike! But you either just don't make it in time or get confused at the last moment.
"Better already," Ender says before I start my meditation.
Did he say better? Better in what? This attempt was the most pathetic. Even the first time, I showed more than I did now. Tuan simply tore me apart like an experienced wolfhound dealing with a jackal pup.
This won't do. And it's not about the losses but rather my reactions to them. Why am I so furious? It's as if a newcomer walked into a gymnastics training session and effortlessly performed what took me years of diligent practice. In this case, it's logical - Tuan is far more experienced. And such experience cannot be fully conveyed by the "memory of the future." The ranger has gone through dozens, if not hundreds, of dungeons, has trained diligently for years, and I want to outdo him right off the bat, based purely on theory? One cannot be so naive. These thoughts brought my mind to a calm state, which immediately reflected in my success in mastering auras.
I am already developing much faster than in the previous Cycle, and at this stage, I am significantly ahead of the initial plan, having already reached Iron! There's no need to rush until a quester appears with a new task, and I need to take full advantage of this break. This includes accepting the lessons Tuan is teaching me without anger. It is necessary not only to learn new skills and spells but to master them. Reinforcing what has already been learned is no less important, if not more so.
I took the following visit of the sheriff's assistant much calmer.
"Same rules. Begin!"
Ender was right: the last time was the best. It was so not because of the result but because of the main idea: to fight with the head. I retreat, break the distance, study my opponent.
"One-zero."
My collarbone hurts a lot, but I am not angry. I missed a strike; it's my fault.
"Two-zero."
Progress! I forced Tuan to make this thrust exactly where I was exposing myself. Trivial? No. It's the beginning.
"Three-zero."
I admit, he surprised me here; from a low stance, he unexpectedly twirled my spear and hit me with the butt of his. I need to take that into account.
"Four-zero."
Too early. My mistake. I went on the counterattack too early. But I understood my main miscalculation. I am fighting by someone else's rules.
The local fighting schools are different from those on Earth. The main principle of combat on Ain is to inflict deadly or irreparable damage on the opponent as quickly as possible. And it makes sense because the primary enemy of a tunneller is not another human but a monster. And monsters can be different. A blow to the arm would make some, like, for example, a goblin, drop their weapon, while a stone golem wouldn't even notice the hit. That's why the local art of weapon mastery is focused on strikes that should incapacitate the enemy here and now.
On Earth, fencing took a different path, and its main principle is: to attack the part of the opponent you can reach. And if your strike is not fatal but only slightly injures the enemy, that's not a problem. A wound tires them and brings you closer to victory. Couldn't hit the neck? Is the enemy guarding it? Then hack at the arm! Managed to hit only a finger? That's still good! The enemy barely noticed your thrust to the shoulder? Just wait - they'll weaken in a minute. If you compare it in boxing terms, Ain's school is like a school of punchers, masters of knockout. While the Earth approach is about wearing down with jabs and betting not on a quick victory but simply on victory, even if it's by points and takes twelve rounds.
Different approaches. And I am a product of the fusion of both schools. So why am I fighting the way the ranger is leading me?
"Four-one!"
Ender exclaims in surprise, while Tuan rubs the fingers of his right hand and looks puzzled at his spear lying at his feet.
"Four-two!"
He fell for it again. He extended his hands too far forward and immediately got hit on his fingertips.
Still:
"Five-two."
It's my fault. Repeating the same technique three times. The ranger is not foolish enough to fall for the same trick again. As a result, he caught me off guard and successfully counterattacked.
The next hour flew by unnoticed.
And once again, a sparring session. This time, I don't retreat into deep defense. I bite back. Tuan no longer rushes forward, either. He protects his hands. But hand defense is a foundation of the Earth style, not a habit of Ain fighters. The ranger gets distracted, trying to protect his fingers, and in return, he receives a strike to the armpit.
"Zero-one."
Realizing that giving me time to build up the momentum was a mistake, Tuan sharply attacked. And he succeeded, timely moving his wrist away from my counter-thrust. It happens; once again, I became too overconfident and was punished for it.
"One-one."
I smile. I've found a way to apply my theory. Apply it here and now. A double attack to the legs, but it's only a feint. Instead of the third, finishing strike, I sweep the ranger's spear from below and give him a light poke in the elbow.
"One-two."
Externally, the sheriff's assistant is impassive. But I can see his eyelashes twitch. There will be a rapid attack now! Just as I thought!
But I am ready.
The strike to the shoulder after a successful block may be glancing, but if I had a yari in my hands, it would have been a long, possibly non-life-threatening, but heavily bleeding wound.
"One-three!"
I grip the training spear like a pole, which confuses Tuan. He becomes excessively cautious, suspecting a trap. And he is right. But the trap is not where he expects, and the ranger gets hit on the fingers again, dropping his weapon.
"One-four!!!"
And then Tuan stopped playing around. He accelerated to the limits of Bronze. He enhanced himself with the aura of acceleration and only then launched his attack.
"Two-four."
…
"Three-four."
…
"Four-four!"
And again, everything is as before. I see. I know. I can't keep up.
So what's the matter? My Core in saturation is not inferior to Bronze, which means my aura will not be weaker than his!
Activation of "Acceleration" Aura.
Activation of "Perception" Aura.
…
"Five-Five! Draw!"
Ender is right: we struck simultaneously.
"Tuan, that's enough for today."
"Yes, shifu."
"Thank you for the lesson." I bow deeply before the ranger.
"Thank you for the lesson." He repeats after me, and there is not a hint of anger or irritation in his gesture; the sheriff's aide is sincere.