How do I get myself into these situations?

“Switch!” yells Torrdok, and the second group of 5 students including Logan swaps in, entering the open training room through the force field door. They dive straight into trying to kill me with enthusiasm and youthful energy. I dodge, spin, and take punishment like only I can. We’re not using Skills, so most of their strikes or spells are unable to bypass my Resistances significantly and any annoying damage is healed almost as fast as I take it.

I’m not sure what I expected Logan’s first class to look like. Part of me was thinking a classroom session for exploration of tactics and strategy for fights between different Classes and in different environments. Part of me thought maybe it would be a bit like Hogwarts, a relaxed tutorial on different subjects. Part of me thought maybe it would be an all-out slugfest like the training Kapila put me through.

In some ways, Torrdok has managed to combine all three by matching the students up in different solo contests or teams and instructing as they go along. None of them have the kind of healing rates I do, including Torrdok, and he doesn’t even seem to feel bad about exploiting the opportunity.

I duck and spin to sweep the legs out from under a draconic student that looks like a smaller version of Torrdok. Even though the impact is greater than I anticipated, the student is still swept from her feet and lands heavily. Over top of her a green male dragonkin leaps, small wings unfurling from his back and claws extended. My Agility is a lot higher than theirs even without Acceleration so I bat one powerful claw across his body and roll with it, then pound my fist into its ribcage at about half Strength. Ribs break and the student flies away only to crash into another one of his teammates.

Including Logan there are ten students, all Mythic Class, which makes most of them very experienced from working their way up right through Basic and Advanced Class. Perhaps one or two of them started with an Advanced Class, who knows? There’s no doubt they have a lot of combat skill and many of them have Enhanced Classes, but that doesn’t make up for the huge Attribute gains my Enhanced Classes have given me to get to where I am now.

There are seven draconian people, Logan, a Tauran who looks truly like the massive minotaurs of legend, and one fairy-like creature that looks like a cross between an anteater and a butterfly. Even with how difficult it is to determine the age of Galactics, nevermind humans, I’m sure Logan is the youngest and least able to hold his own in combat.

Just as I think that, it’s Logan who has read the flow of battle and drives a surprise kidney punch into my back and slices a dagger across the back of my legs, to no effect whatsoever. I’m proud of him as I whack him with a casual backhand that sends him flying into the surrounding force field to then crumple to the ground. I can feel his Kinetic Affinity absorb some of the energy as I do it, blunting the blow, but it’s far too little a percentage reduction at this point to keep him out of harm’s way.

There are no Skills being used at the moment, but without his armor Logan’s Attributes and combat capability are far below others of the same Level. No surprise, I experienced exactly the same when I started out and that’s fine - it was my Class and my ability to designate a Personal Weapon that were all that kept me alive getting out of MIlford Sound.

Double checking for an instant that Logan is ok costs me a raking claw across my neck from a stout, black dragonkin and a fireball directly to my face from an agile, serpentine one that seems hard to locate unless I focus my Perception. Those two blows are trumped only by the wicked sting from a heavy axe that bites marginally into my knee from a gleaming white dragonkin, lightning crackling in her eyes. These three seem to have fought together a lot and never miss a beat, no matter what happens. None of the attacks really penetrates my defences so I elbow, head butt, and strike my way out of theoretical trouble again. I’m sure if I just stood still and didn’t defend myself it would be painful, but they probably couldn’t put me down.

“Halt! Stand down!” barks Torrdok, and the group disengages from me instantly. It’s a bit harder than I’d like to admit to resist the desire I have to launch into them. Instead I glance at Logan, who is lined up with the rest of them as Torrdok gives them a brutal assessment of their performance. He throws a few specific good things in as recognition while I swap out my jumpsuit for another one in my Inventory since the one I’m wearing is now hanging open and torn up in a lot of places.

What a strange transition, to go from fighting for my life against a catastrophic threat and almost ending up dead, to sparring with a bunch of young women and men who mostly have more combat experience than me on an alien planet.

When Tarrdok is finished he dismisses them to get something to eat and I’m relieved to see that a couple of them motion to Logan, so it looks like he won’t be the odd one out. Logan has a way of just fitting in wherever he is that I envy. I blink and look over at Tarrdok when I realize he’s fixed his gaze on me.

“I have half a mind to come in there myself and knock you around a bit,” he rumbles. “Nobody here has the Health, Resistances, and regeneration to let me go full out.”

I shrug and gesture to the ground a few feet away from me. Maybe what I need to recover is to give myself a good test and work out some anger.

“Sadly, it’s time for us to see your Mana Interface specialist.” He seems genuinely disappointed and I feel myself rise to the challenge even though I know it’s stupid and doesn’t really mean anything.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“Us?” I ask instead. I don’t distrust Torrdok in particular. An appointment with a Mana Interface specialist about my issues just doesn’t seem like something I’m keen to have other people along to.

Torrdok huffs, steam billowing out from his nostrils.

“I suppose I can just mark it on your minimap,” he rumbles. “If you don’t dawdle afterward, we’ve got time for a round.”

I gesture again to him and he joins me inside the area covered by a force field.

“What’s this thing rated?” I ask, gesturing at it.

“High enough as long as we’re in control,” he replies with certainty. In other words, probably not strong enough to stop a direct, purposeful attack. Maybe Mythic Class.

I eye Torrdok up as he steps in and wonder if he’s at a disadvantage in his current form compared to his dragon form. His Health and Mana appear to be the same. Is it rude to ask?

I discard the idea of using my Swords immediately since there’s no way Torrdok’s going to be able to block them based on what I’ve seen so far. Instead I pull the same warhammers out of my Inventory I used in Derinkuyu, then designate them as my Personal Weapon. Each has base damage of 956 without any enhancements from Critical Strike, but they’ll get some benefit from my enhanced Penetration Skill and of course where I end up landing my blows. I heft them and consider Torrdok’s Level, what Resistances he might have, and his Health of just over six thousand. How much do I have to pull my punches? Do I need to? I decide to swap out my warhammers for gauntlets and designate them as my Personal Weapons so I have more control over the force and placement. Focus on strikes to limbs only, if I can get away with it, until I find out how it all stacks up. I’ve also not yet used Psychic Eruption and maybe this is a handy time to try the non-lethal variant.

“I can see you wondering whether you’re about to kill me by accident,” laughs Torrdok. “I assure you that despite your reputation and results at the KCC, I am not easy to put down. Instructors at the Academy are not chosen by accident.”

Torrdok seals the force field around us. It’s a half sphere with a radius of only ten meters, so not a lot of room at the speeds we move at. I know from Torrdok’s previous explanation to the students and my own experience with them that this one is meant to help students build their teamwork and defending in close quarters combat. Other training areas deal in more expansive battlefields and ranged combat, and then there are the areas with actual Monsters for them to really test out their capabilities.

“Skills? Items? Armor?” I ask. It feels like a long preamble when we could already be trading blows, but I don’t want to use Psychic Eruption on him if he’s not going to use any Skills.

“Non-lethal only. Let’s leave the armor,” he rumbles with a show of his sharp teeth.

“Any time,” I say and Torrdok activates the random timer that gives us between 5 and 10 seconds until a red light will appear floating at the top of the force field to signal the start. That’s an eternity for combat preparation at our Level.

I trigger Elemental Aegis and Acceleration, just in case Torrdok has something particularly dangerous up his sleeve. Elemental Aegis wavers and flares out in a small explosion of light and the smell of burning hair without manifesting. I grunt in frustration, but at least Acceleration has taken hold. The extra Agility I’ve just gained, doubled by Acceleration, hits me in a good way and my reactions feel significantly sharper, my readiness to move in any way I need to is opened up even further. My newly increased Strength grounds me, making me feel more solid and able to exert my will on the world. In contrast, my Danger Sense feels sluggish and distant which is hard to get used to. I hope we can find a way past this problem soon, it’s become a sense that I rely on as much as my hearing or sight in some ways and the unreliable triggering of my Skills is an easy way to get myself into deep trouble quickly considering what I tend to try to take on.

Torrdok ignores the fireworks from my Elemental Aegis and triggers his own set of Skills. His presence grows even further as he puts on more bulk, perhaps some kind of Strength modifier, while his scales and skin take on a more rigid, metallic appearance and his eyes emit an ethereal glow. I remind myself Torrdok is one Level higher than me, and he’s done it without getting to this point through skipping ahead, plus he’s got access to his Tier 4 Legendary Skills.

A couple more seconds is all we have to wait until the light appears and we flash into motion.

I move to avoid being a sitting duck but wait to see what will happen rather than making an offensive gambit right off the bat. Torrdok slams me with a Skill that must be similar to Jeff’s Shock and Awe; it hammers me back a few inches before I can react, but I manage to exert my Strength and hold myself firm. He follows up behind the Skill with no hesitation and leads with some Skills that try to weaken me and make me submit to his dominant presence.

Mental influence resisted

Movement speed reduced by 20%

No chance. In the split second before he reaches me with his powerful talons I trigger Unbound to counter his movement debuff, but it scatters and fails to form. Frustrated, I trigger Psychic Eruption for the first time, unsure of what to expect against an opponent like Torrdok and knowing if it misfires or doesn’t do anything, whatever follows from him is going to hurt. Instantly I feel a connection with Torrdok’s mind and blast it with a stunning, non-lethal force. My pulse of energy slows down before it takes hold and strikes him through his Resistances, much reduced. Despite that it causes him to freeze up for almost ten seconds, at our speed of combat that’s more than enough to give me the upper hand a hundred times over. I don’t take the opportunity, instead using my Accelerated Agility to slide away from his broken charge and face him again from across the area.

Torrdok halts his momentum and turns around slowly, knowing the fight is over without a blow being struck. I can see it in his eyes and his cautious demeanor, wondering when I will surge forward and strike him to end it.

“What about no Skills or spells? Just instinct and power?” I ask, partly because I can’t rely on my Skills. Mostly because I’ve got a lot of fear, anger, and uncertainty to punch out like I used to on the ice. Even if I’m a lot worse than him, my regeneration will keep me on my feet and there’s no chance I won’t get some good shots of my own in.

Tarrdok grins, most likely thinking I’ve only really been a fighter since the Influx arrived on Earth while he’s probably been fighting intensely and instructing for decades or more. I’m confident he’s never seen a hockey fight or a bench clearing brawl before though. Hopefully we’ll call it even.