Nick Smith

Adventurer Level: N/A

Human - American

"This is the arena," Nash said, gesturing around him.

When Nash had mentioned where we were going I had expected something shaped like the Colosseum. Instead, it was a dirt patch encircled within a wooden fence. Leaning on the fence were a few orcs who were interested in what we were doing. Great, now I'm going to get my ass kicked in front of an audience.

"I think we should begin unarmed, just in case," Yulk said with his trademark grin. "If he does well, we can move on to practice weapons."

"I agree. Alright, Nick, take a stance. I'm going to try to hit you. You can either dodge or counter-attack," Nash said, widening his stance. "Ready?"

"No," I stated flatly.

"Too bad. BEGIN!"

I dropped into the karate stance I was familiar with and Nash rushed forward. He threw a punch, but as he began to move his fist to my face it slowed down. Even so, I barely managed to move out of the way. The wind from his punch made me blink.

"Good -Time Dilation unlocked- job. You managed to dodge. That's promising," Nash said.

"What did you say?" I asked, rubbing my ears.

"What, have you gone deaf? I didn't even hit you," he replied.

"No, no I... I don't know. I thought I heard something."

"Doesn't matter, let's go again. Try to counterattack this time. Don't hold back, it's not like you can hurt me," he said with a laugh.

"Famous last words," Yulk muttered with a smirk.

Nash glared at Yulk for a moment and then turned back to me. He dropped into his stance, and the moment I did the same he rushed forward. As he threw his punch, time slowed down again. I fought my urge jump out of the way and instead moved my head to the side to avoid the blow. Then I threw a punch of my own.

I meant to hit him in his solar plexus, but my fist went slightly lower. It was as if it were moving by itself. I connected and felt his body tense up as if I had struck his diaphragm, but he rushed past me instead of doubling over.

-Breathtaker Strike unlocked-

What the fuck was that? A voice? No. More like... static in headphones when you have them too loud. Just behind the music. I should ask Nash about it. I turned to him and paused. He was standing up, but rigid and unmoving.

"Nash? You okay?" Yulk asked with a shit-eating grin. "Nick didn't hurt you, right? Cuz you're too big and strong, right?"

Nash glared daggers at Yulk and opened his mouth to retort, but the only sound that escaped was a groan. He snapped his mouth shut and doubled over, placing his hands on his knees to steady himself. Then he began gasping for air. Yulk and the onlookers began laughing uncontrollably. After a few moments, Nash sat down and looked at me with a mixture of anger and confusion.

"What in the HELL was that?" he asked.

"I... I don't know. I think it was called a breathtaker strike," I answered, remember what the distorted voice thingy had said.

"Well, it definitely did that," Nash said as he stood back up. "Okay, I'll admit, you're not bad with hand to hand. When did you learn how to do that?"

"I took karate. I used it more for working out than actual fighting, though."

"Kuh ra teh? You ever heard of that skill, Yulk?" Nash asked, glaring at the still laughing sorcerer.

"No," Yulk said between laughs. "I haven't. Probably something from his world, but maybe an unarmed specialist would know more."

"It's not a skill. Well, not what you mean by skill," I interrupted. "With karate, there's a chance to do it wrong. But when I went to hit you, I thought your solar plexus was higher up but my hand... moved on its own to where it actually is."

"Yeah, that's how skills work. The skill will only activate when the circumstances are right for it to be able to do its thing," Nash explained. "So the name of that skill is karate, huh?"

"No, the skill's called breathtaker strike. Karate is a form of martial art. Like, a style of fighting," I explained to their blank faces.

"Right. Well, nevermind the jargon, you've got both magical and martial prowess," Yulk said with what was quickly becoming a trademark grin.

"I dunno, magicians also have some hand-to-hand combat skills," Nash tapped his chin. "Let's try you out with a sword."

"A sword? Surely a spear would be better?" Yulk asked.

"A spear is too easy to learn. If we really want to know what he can do, we should see if he is able to unlock any sword skills," Nash explained as he grabbed two wooden swords and tossed one to me.

"I'm fine with that," I said as I caught the practice sword.

"You really shouldn't be," Yulk warned. "I fear that Nash is trying to get back at you for embarrassing him."

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Nash grinned widely at me as I took my stance and immediately disappeared from view, leaving only a small cloud of dust in his wake. I panicked and rolled forward, barely managing to avoid the blow that would have... hit me directly on the ass. I glared at Nash as I regained my stance. I swung wildly at him, but he deflected my blow with ease and danced back with a laugh.

I tried to remember something that could help me land a blow, but nothing came to mind. I'd seen plenty of movies with sword fights, but I knew better than to think that those were accurate portrayals. Nash charged at me and swung hard, but I managed to block it and lock blades with him. His smile widened as he grabbed the end of his blade and used the additional leverage to shove me back several feet.

"Hey! That's cheating! You can't grab the blade," I shouted.

"Why not?" He asked, confused.

"Because if it were a real sword, you'd cut yourself!"

I had said it loud enough that every orc watching had heard me. After a second of stunned silence, they all began to laugh at me. I looked at Yulk, Nash, and the onlookers trying to figure out why they were laughing so hard. Nash was laughing so hard that he was doubled over, and I briefly considered smacking him upside the head.

"This is your first time fighting with a sword, isn't it?" Nash finally settled down enough to ask.

"Yeah..."

"Well, you can grab a blade without cutting yourself. The trick is to make sure you don't drag your hand along the sharp bit. How else are you to use the pommel?" He asked with a chuckle.

I looked at the hilt of my sword and saw that it did indeed have a round bulb at the bottom.

"I... I thought this bit was to make sure your hand doesn't slip," I said.

"No, it's to bash armor. Like a mace," Nash explained, demonstrating a swing while holding the blade. "The secret to sword fighting is knowing how you CAN hold your weapon, not how you SHOULD hold it. Whatever grip works is the one you should use in any given situation."

"I see."

"Let's go again!" he shouted as he charged me.

I managed to duck his swing and went for a stab to his midriff. He spun to avoid the stab and GRABBED MY GODDAMNED BLADE!

"OH COME THE FUCK ON!" I shouted.

He grinned as he pointed the tip of his sword at my face. I pulled hard on my sword but it didn't budge, and then I felt the tip of his sword poke me in the forehead. I sighed as the orcs once again laughed at my efforts. I began to get frustrated as Nash pushed me back and gestured for me to try again.

Again and again he outwitted and outmaneuvered me, but I was learning. The tricks he was using weren't going to work twice. Then I felt... something. Is this what they call an opening? I knew what to do, how to hold my sword, where to put my feet, and how fast to move. I pushed myself as fast as I could, and I was finally able to put the tip of my sword on his chest.

-Dash Unlocked-

"Well would you look at that," Nash said with a look of shock.

"Was that the Dash skill?" Yulk asked.

"I think so," I answered.

"Ha! He DOES have martial and magic prowess after all!" Yulk said excitedly. "That's really rare, you know."

"It sure is," Nash added. "Well, for us, anyway. For all we know all 'humans' are able to use both magic and martial skills. Although, the only way to find out for sure is to find more humans and ask them."

"Speaking of which, are we able to go into the dungeon?" I asked.

"No," both orcs replied in unison.

I was stunned by the rapid and uniform response for a moment. The brothers looked at each other and then back to me. Nash squatted down to my height to make eye contact. I suppose he was trying to relate, but it felt infantilizing.

"There are a lot of things we need to do before you're able to go into the dungeon, Nick. First we need to register you with the adventurer's guild to see what level you are. Then we'd need to train you up a bit more. Getting a sucker punch in on me is impressive in a way, but there's many things in the dungeon that your... breathtaker strike won't work on."

"Indeed. It would be better to start you off with the wastes. The monsters there can be tough at times, but it's much easier to get away from them than it is to escape the ones in the dungeon," Yulk explained.

I opened my mouth to protest before I realized that I was about to act like the young punks in movies that cause trouble for everyone by not realizing their very obvious limitations. I closed my mouth and nodded sullenly instead. I don't know how time passes in this world in relation to mine, but if I rush things and end up dying then I won't get to see Cass again. Even if I were to reincarnate again, what would be the odds of ending up back on my world in my body?

"That being said, you've met the chief and been adopted into Clan Alta. There really isn't anything stopping us from registering you as an adventurer right now," Yulk said while tapping his chin.

"Yeah, chief probably can't get mad at us for getting our brother registered, right?" Nash asked.

"True. I don't recall anyone having to get permission from the chief before," Yulk grinned as he stood. "Let's go."

"Are y'all talkin' about registering that thing with the guild?" One of orcs shouted.

"What about it?" Nash replied.

"The guild rep's out right now. Family trouble. She'll be back in a week or two. It'll have to either wait or register as freelance."

Both Yulk and Nash winced at this. It seems that the thought of registering as a freelancer didn't sit well with them. They mumbled to each other for a bit and then turned to look at me with grim faces.

"We're gonna have to wait," Nash stated.

"What? Why? What's so bad about being a freelancer?" I demanded.

"Being a freelancer isn't bad," Yulk said as he placed a hand on my shoulder. "It's terrible. The various organizations that allow registration as an adventurer all have one thing in common. They're employee operated. When you join a guild, union, militia, or whatever other name the organization goes by you are working for and with your fellow adventurers. When you register as a freelancer, you are working directly for your customers."

"That's how it is back home," I explained. "That's not so bad, you know."

"No, you don't understand," Nash said, crossing his arms. "When you're with an org you get access to benefits like healers, days off, mental health checks, specialized equipment for jobs, and all sorts of things that make adventuring bearable. Even if you're a member of a nation's military you're taken care of to some extent. But when you're a freelancer, you have to pay for those benefits on an individual basis. You have to buy your own gear and pay for its maintenance. You can only take days off if you've worked long enough to be able to eat the next few days. To top it off you only make about half what other adventurers make, if you can even find work at all."

"He's right, Nick. Usually, if someone goes freelance it's because they've committed a crime that has resulted in being barred from org membership," Yulk squeezed my shoulder a little. "On top of that, the most frequent customers of freelancers are those whose jobs have been rejected by orgs. Usually because the customer can't pay a fair price for the work, or the work is illegal. You want to go into the dungeon, right?"

"Yes, as soon as possible," I answered.

"Well there you have it. Entering the dungeon simply won't be possible as a freelancer. Guilds don't work with freelancers as a rule, and even the chief would be hard-pressed to convince them to allow you to tag along. If Nash and I were able to get permission to enter, we wouldn't be able to bring you along without getting censured."

"And getting censured sucks," Nash added. "Very bad for your career."

I sighed at the prospect of waiting two weeks before being able to register as an adventurer. I had hoped that I could register as a freelancer and then join a guild, but not only does that sound impossible, it sounds like it wouldn't speed things up at all.

"So what do I do?" I raised my hands in a shrug.

"You train," Nash said. "Magic and martial in equal portions. We'll work on figuring out which weapons you'll be best at, and unlocking new spells for you to cast."

Great, more training with Nash.