Nick Smith

Adventurer Level: 9

Human – American

Thunra walked to the center of one of the training circles and gestured for me to join him. With a small sigh, I trudged to the center of the circle and faced him. There were plenty of reasons that I didn't want to be training today, but I knew that none of them would dissuade the gigantic orc.

"Now, I know you don't really like this kinda trainin'," Thunra said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out some cloth. "So, I came up with a game that'll help."

"A game?" I asked.

"Yup," he replied.

Then he looped the three rags into his belt. One on his right, one on his left, and one in the back. Once he was done he regarded me with a grin.

"All you gotta do is grab these sweat-rags off my belt. I'll be using a mix of defense and offense to keep you from gettin' 'em. When you grab all three, we'll call it a day."

I looked at him, dumbfounded. He'd just reinvented flag football without the ball. His giant grin combined with his orange martial arts styled clothing reminded me of-

"Go!" he shouted.

"Wha-"

I barely managed to dodge the fist that flew at my forehead. Thunra stopped mid-swing, and I realized that he had been holding back. We met eyes and a joke sprang into my head.

"Ku," I said.

"Wha-"

I snatched at the flag nearest to me and the gargantuan orc stepped back with a speed that defied his size. The fabric of the flag tickled my fingers as it eluded my grasp. The extra speed that Thunra had summoned caught him off guard, though, and he stumbled.

Before he could regain his footing, I used Dash to spring forward and grab the flag. With it firm in my grasp, I ripped it from his belt and continued forward with the rest of my dash. Grinning, I raised the flag and turned around.

"That's one!" I exclaimed.

"Without even swingin'! Good job, kid!" Thunra grinned. "Still got a couple more 'fore we're done, though."

"Piece of cake," I said, tossing the rag on the ground. "Guess this training session's gonna be a short one."

There are many, many instances throughout history in which people have rued their words. Like whoever wrote that a heavier-than-air aircraft would take a million years to develop, only to have the Wright brothers prove it could be done a few weeks later. Or when a firefighter complains about it being a slow day only to have half the city try to burn down. Or all the people who said 'what could possibly go wrong' before things went horribly awry.

I had never wondered what that was like, but found myself in that exact position. Thunra practically became a goddamned ballerina. I'd lunge for the flags, he'd dance away. Over and over and over again, for hours.

Finally, I got sick of it and we exchanged blows. I could tell he was holding back on me, but I was completely fine with that. I could swear that I felt my spleen twitch whenever I remembered our last training session.

Getting no closer to the second flag, I paused to catch my breath. Thunra grinned again and flexed. I pounded my knee with my fist in frustration.

'You know, I could get those flags for you,' Ten said.

'Yeah, you probably could,' I replied. 'But that would defeat the purpose of training, wouldn't it?'

'I don't actually know. Your body will still be getting the exercise, and you might even be able to unlock new skills.'

'Doesn't do me much good if I don't know how or when to use them, though.'

'Not a bad point. Fine, suit yourself.'

Thunra and I watched each other closely, waiting for the next move to be made. I'd give almost anything to wipe that childish grin off his fucking face. But there had to be a line, and handing my body off to Ten would definitely be crossing it.

With a growl, I activated Dash and launched myself at Thunra once again. He, of course, launched himself backward. Just before he got out of range, I activated Time Dilation and examined our situation.

Then I saw it, an opening that I could take advantage of. Thunra's arms had shifted to his sides to counteract his momentum and maintain his balance. This also prevented me from grabbing the flag on his flank, but he had left his solar plexus open. With all the strength I could muster, I launched my fist at the spot between his abs and his chest.

-Spear Punch Unlocked-

I connected directly with Thunra's solar plexus and we both flew forward a few feet. He slammed into the ground and we both stared at each other, stunned. As he tried to climb to his feet I grabbed the second flag and dodged back. A five minute cooldown appeared for the new skill.

"That's- That's two," I panted.

"Hrnng," he replied, getting to his feet. "W-well done. Hooooof. W-was that breathtaker strike? Felt more like spear punch."

"I'm pretty sure it was spear punch."

"When did you unlock that?"

"Just now."

"See? The trainin's workin'," Thunra grinned. "I think we're ready to kick it up a notch."

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

A cold horror gripped me as I realized that the massive mound of muscle had already shaken off the sucker punch. Then I realized that Thunra was being literal as his foot snapped at my thigh. The impact caused my leg to buckle, and I barely managed to avoid a fist to my head. As I dodged the fist, though, a knee connected with my ribs hard enough to lift me into the air.

My eyes seemed to stop working for a moment, but I managed to instinctively lash out with a kick of my own and send myself flying backward. I crumpled into the ground and immediately leapt to my feet, guarding against further strikes. I had difficulty focusing on the big-ass orc as he walked toward me, and swear I saw Yulk eagerly taking notes in the sidelines.

'Three fractured ribs and a concussion,' Ten said.

'It doesn't feel like my eggs are cracked,' I think I replied.

'Of course it doesn't feel like your ribs have been fractured,' Ten sighed. 'I'm inhibiting the pain. Just stay on the defensive while I make repairs.'

Easy for the Artificial Intelligence with fuckin' cheats to say. I felt like my body isn't nearly strong enough to get anywhere near actually fighting Thunra. But Ten had used my body to defeat the man turned monster that had nearly killed Thunra in the dungeon. How did it do that? Releasing my inhibitions?

Do I need to feel the rain on my skin? No one else can feel it fo- No, this isn't the time for music. No matter how catchy the song is. I did my best to focus on Thunra, but he looked at me and suddenly stopped.

"Shit, how'd your head take a knock?" he asked.

"Dunno."

'Inertia from the impact to your ribs slammed the side of your brain against your skull,' Ten helpfully explained.

"Yeah, what he said."

"What who said?" Thunra asked. "Are you o- Oh! Right, the robot in your head. I can't hear him, buddy."

"Oh, yeah... I uh... Um..."

"Well, shit. Alright, let's go 'head and call it for the day."

"You still got a flag on," I argued for some reason.

"Yeah, but concussions aren't something you wanna fuck around with."

"Ten can fix it."

"Don't argue with me, boy. This is a hard line, non-negotiate-able. Your bean gets banged, training's done for the day."

"I- Okay," I said, somehow disappointed.

"Don't feel too down, kid. You learned a new skill!" Thunra grinned and patted my shoulder. "Just think of how many you're gonna pick up tomorrow!"

It felt like my brain was trying to fight a fog, but something about what Thunra had said filled me with dread. It took a few moments to realize what it was, though.

"We're doing this again tomorrow?" I asked.

"Might as well train every day until you head off to the magic school or whatever, right?" He grinned.

"I... I guess so," I replied.

Shit.

Chapter 90.5

Nash Alta

Adventurer Level: 11

Orc - Nulevan

With a deep breath, I steeled myself and gathered my courage. The last time I'd felt this nervous walking into the adventurer's guild was the first time I had done so. But back then I didn't have an angry woman to worry about.

How could I have been so damned dumb? I'd had a plan and everything. I was going to give her a sixteen inch hunting knife with an engraving of the symbols of love on it then take her on a date. But something just came over me when I'd heard my new level.

Greed, probably. I wanted her right then and there, to hells with working for it. I'd convinced myself that it was a romantic notion, but she cut through all that bullshit even without the knife. Her words had cut me to the bone, and I'd never felt so unworthy of someone in my entire life.

Part of me wanted to just go back home, to let a better orc than I try to win her heart. This part of me whispered that she deserves someone better, but I knew what it really was. Cowardice. The thought of facing up to what I had done seemed like an insurmountable wall. But Nima had decided to give me a second chance, and my mother didn't raise a quitter.

I straightened my posture and stepped into the guild-hall with my chin held high. It fell silent as every single eye in the place turned to watch me. This didn't phase me, though. I'd been getting these kind of looks all morning. Word travels fast in a village, and I'd be surprised if there was a single person who didn't know that I'd made a damn fool out of myself last night.

Nima stood behind her counter, and the orc she was helping gracefully stepped aside as I approached. I nodded at him with appreciation.

"Good morning, Nima," I said. "Is this a good time?"

She glanced at the bouquet of flowers I'd brought and gave it a little smile, making my heart flutter.

"Just fill out those forms and leave them on the counter when you're done," she said to the orc who she had been helping. "Hello, Nash. It's as good a time as any."

"These are for you," I said, passing the flowers over the counter.

"Thank you, that's so sweet. Just like the ones in the flower crown you made me when we were kids."

I had completely forgotten about that, but nodded anyway, happy for the lucky coincidence. As she found a vase for the flowers, I grabbed her next gift from my belt and placed it on the counter. She turned back to me and raised an eyebrow at the knife.

"Open it," I said with a solemn expression.

She withdrew the sixteen inch blade from its sheath and gasped. My original idea was to have it engraved with symbols promising eternal love and devotion. However, after my fuck-up last night I'd decided to go with a different, much riskier approach.

"This is..." she trailed off.

"When we were kids your dad gave you a knife," I explained.

"Then he left and never came back," a slight chill entered her voice.

"Yeah. I remember how sad you were that he left," I said, gathering my courage. "I remember holding you when you cried for him. I remember wishing with all of my might that I could take that pain away for you, and how I would have given anything to see you happy again. And I remember how utterly devastated you were when the knife he gave you broke."

She placed the blade on its sheath and looked at me, tears of anguish waiting behind a facade of anger and confusion.

"I know there are many ways that you could interpret this, but to me, the knife breaking was symbolic of the promise he broke by not returning. You threw it away a few months later, symbolizing throwing away your relationship with him, but I found that broken blade and kept it safe in case you ever changed your mind. This morning, I went to a smith and bought their best, most durable hunting knife and had it engraved with the same markings that were on your father's blade."

"Wh-why?" she asked.

"Because I'm making the very same promise to you that he did. Whenever I leave, I will return. And the knife I'm giving you won't break, just like my promise won't. It is my pledge of everlasting love and care for you, Nima."

Tears streamed down her cheeks and she grabbed a handkerchief to dab at them. We stood in silence for a few moments as she regained her composure. Much to my relief, the anger and pain had left her expression.

"Gods damn it, Nash," she said. "Why couldn't you have been this romantic last night?"

"Cuz I'm just a big, dumb orc," I chuckled. "Speaking of last night, though, I got you something else."

I opened my coin pouch and pulled out a small box. Nima gently took the box and opened it, revealing a pendant with an enchanted gemstone. She held it up to the light. The gem was deep blue in the center, gradually progressing to green on the outer edges, just like her eyes.

"Wha-I... How?" she asked.

"Well, I've been on the lookout for jewelry that matches your eyes but haven't had any luck finding anything nearly as beautiful. So I got this gem enchanted," I explained. "It's not quite as magnificent as your eyes are, but I hope that it's close enough to serve as an apology for last night."

"I thought that's what the flowers were for."

"I didn't think the flowers fully express how sorry I am for how dumb I was."

She let out a laugh that melted my heart in ways that the most beautiful bird-song could never hope to accomplish. Then, she turned around and lifted her hair so that I could put the pendant on her. I had to stand on my toes to do so, but I managed to reach over the counter and clasp the chain without strangling her. She turned to face me, the beautiful gemstone resting on the top of her bountiful breasts.

I gave it an appreciative glance and returned my attention to the gemstone's inspiration. The tears had gone from her eyes, and a warm expression greeted me. I couldn't help but smile.

"Lady Maxim, will you do me the honor of accompanying me?" I asked, a lump forming in my throat.

"Oh, Nash..."

The lump in my throat threatened to suffocate me as she paused. Everyone else in the guild seemed to hold their breath, awaiting her reply. She gently grabbed the pendant and bit her lip, then looked back at me.

"Of course I will!"

The guild-hall erupted in cheers as she stepped around the counter and took my arm.