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The night passed fast. Being so close to someone you love meant desire was present. They made love in the tent, as silently as possible, hoping the countless other noises and voices aside covered their activities. Five hundred or more people was a lot, so noise was one thing they didn’t lack. Warmth and comfort, yes.
"I need a shower," Regina sulked when morning came, combing her unruly hair with her fingers.
"There are camp showers," Peter pointed.
"With cold water," she wrinkled her nose. "I'd rather stink."
“Let’s see what Alchemy has to say,” Peter suggested, as Melinda was calling everyone to assemble.
“I talked with the rest of the teachers, and decided the best offense is defense,” Melinda yelled before they went out of the tent. “We stay in the camp. Teachers can’t participate in fights, but we can offer advice. The rank two Cultivators will lead the others, and they are to come to the command tent to discuss further tactics. Dismissed.”
“Pff… I have to stay,” Regina sulked. “And I wanted to meet those lions…”
Peter giggled. "Next time. Take care," he pecked her lips and exited the camp, discreetly joining Ariana, Naomi, and Daniel. He convinced the girls to be trained by Redroar and Daniel had heard the conversation and insisted so much to join that Peter had no choice in the end but to allow it.
"OK, it would take too long to walk, so I'll transport you one by one. Hope I don't get a hernia or something. Ariana, hop on my back."
She wrinkled her nose. "I was hoping for a princess carry, but whatever."
Uh… she put on some weight…
Ariana carried a lot of luggage that day. Warping a few times, Peter arrived at the village outskirts, directly on the training ground. Redroar and her cubs were waiting.
"She's our instructor," Peter said. "Wait here, I'll be back with the rest."
His movement skill was now better, he could calculate the best path between two points instinctively, feeling where to Warp within his line of sight. Naomi was easy to transport, but for Daniel, Peter took a five-minute break to get back his breath and take a Mana pill. The cook was heavy.
“Impressive. I didn’t know you’re a Cultivator,” the man said.
“I’m not. I’m a Wild Magic user, but I found an alien manual with a couple of secret skills. By the way, secret means—”
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell,” the cook made a zipping his lips gesture. “We’re partners after all.”
You bastard… You let me carry Daniel for nothing? He weighs like three hundred pounds…
When the two men arrived at their destination, Ariana ran around on the field, chased by Reroar's cubs. Shredder was attempting to stop them by biting their ankles.
"Trip them!" Ariana yelled while running, and the pup waved himself between the cubs' legs, making two of them fall. As soon as he saw Peter, Shredder abandoned his task and came to be scratched.
"Get back into the fight!" Ariana shouted but failed to be obeyed.
"How did he get here?" Peter asked.
"He was in the rucksack," Ariana yelled from the tree. "Melinda let me bring the pup. She's fond of Shreddi."
"Break!" Redroar roared. The cubs stopped in their tracks, still growling, like five buzzing electric saws under tension, ready to jump into action. "You," the mercenary pointed to Naomi. "Help her, she’s outmatched," now the index showed Ariana. "You wait," finger at the stocky man. “Kid, with me."
Peter followed Redroar to the village, and they entered the house behind the bounty screen. The Barbarian's husband was dozing, he opened his eyes for a second and waved an anemic hand.
"Any bounty related to our students' trials?" Peter asked.
"You mean the students you infiltrated to find a way home, from where you were… ahum… Isekaied?"
Fuck! "Sure, that."
"Don't worry, I figured it out the first day. Your secret is safe with me… as long there's no price for your head. And no, there are no bounties about the trials. Only a notification that starting tomorrow, we’re to keep away from the area."
They passed through the house, exited to a courtyard, and entered a workshop, with a small forge and anvil. There were weapons on display, and also armor.
"Your order," she pointed at the work table. Six blades were sitting on it, next to each other. Cleavers, but with a nine-inch spike at the top. "It's a good design," Redroar said. "Cut and stab at the same time. And… a personal touch. The handles are hollow on purpose." Picking a wooden shaft nearby, she fixed it inside the handle of a cleaver. A resort similar to those on folding knives clicked, fixing the blade in place, making it into a pole weapon.
"Damascus steel?" Peter nodded with satisfaction. "You're a better blacksmith than I thought."
"Then I deserve a better pay. It will be two ounces of gold for six blades and six shafts. They're also enchanted for sturdiness and sharpness."
"Uh… you're milking me dry…" Peter said. "One and a half."
"Two and a half, because what you just said is considered offensive here."
"Fine, two it is, but only if you make me an extra item."
"What kind of item?"
"A shoulder bag for gathering ingredients, with several slots."
"I’m no leatherworker, but our doctors have something similar for carrying potions… I'll see if I can find one around after we train."
Returning to the meadow after sending the weapons in storage, Peter found both girls up in a tree, kicking their legs to keep Redroar's cubs away. Shredder was now on the evil side, barking at the two young women.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
"Don't ask," Ariana said.
"They bribed him with a cookie," Naomi explained. “Shreddi thinks it’s a game.”
"Break!" came the roar. "Get down from the tree, princesses. And you, the fatso," she yelled at Daniel. "Come here and show me your wrestling skills." Redroar knelt to be at the same height as him. "Grab me by the shoulders, and try to make me trip." Daniel put his arms on hers, trying his best to find a hold with his stubby fingers. The next second, Reroar's jaws wrapped around the man's neck.
"Mercy!" Daniel begged.
"You're stupid?" the Barbarian asked, letting Daniel go. "It was a test. You have eyes, right? You see me, right? You think going close combat with me is a good idea?"
"She's so hot," Daniel whispered to Peter.
"Shut up idiot, she might hear."
"Bluebrow, an alien thinks I'm hot!" Redroar yelled, extremely loud.
"He can have you. I'll have a party!" a faint scream replied from the village.
"Mom! Dad!" the cubs protested.
"It’s our twentieth marriage anniversary today, and he forgot, and I broke a bottle of beer on his head," Redroar said.
"Hey, kid, isn't today your anniversary?" Daniel asked.
"Yeah… I'm twenty-two…"
"Happy anniversary!" everybody yelled.
"Now that the celebration is over, let's train," Redoar said. "Give chubby one of the polearms."
“Wow, that looks cool! Can I have one? I’ll pay,” the cook exclaimed, seeing the weapon.
"Sure. She made six," Peter said, giving Daniel the blade with the shaft. "You can take out the blade, and it's like a cleaver."
"Can I have two? Name your price."
"Sure. It’s… pfff… two ounces divided by six…”
“Here’s an ounce,” the cook forwarded a coin.
"The break is over. You," Redroar pointed at Daniel, "Stay six feet away from him and do a simple forward stabbing motion. Aim for his shoulder or a limb, like you stick the spike, and pull it out. One, two, one, two,” she exemplified. “Do it slowly at first. And you, my friend," she turned toward Peter, "Avoid the hit by using your moving skill to jump back on the smallest distance you can. Inches, if possible."
“But—”
“No buts or I’ll kick your butt. Do it while I teach the girls the basics of hand-to-hand combat.”
David took the simplest attack stance, the Plow. Peter had seen it countless times in his father's HEMA camps, and millions of WW1 soldiers had also used it unknowingly in their bayonet attacks. It was simple but dangerous.
“Move a step back,” Peter asked.
“Sorry. Sexy lion lady says six feet, six feet it is.”
“At least be careful where you aim…”
“Ready? Here I go.”
Daniel's movement was slow, but Peter’s instincts made him jump back.
“C’mon, man, concentrate,” Daniel scolded him.
How can I Warp back when I need to see where I go?
For the second pass, Peter tried his best but jumped far behind Daniel, tens of yards away. He walked back, to spare his Mana but also tried to think of a solution. The third time wasn’t the charm, he Warped, but forward, likewise behind Daniel, but only a few feet away.
“Whoa!” Surprised, the cook tried to swipe the spear at Peter. “Sorry! Instinct.”
“Hey, dude, be careful!” Peter yelled, ducking under the shaft.
The fourth time Peter yelled at Daniel to stop, because he wasn’t ready, but the fifth one was the charm, finally.
“Yes!” Peter cheered.
“Good!” Redroar roared. “Now play together, the girls have a lot to learn.”
The two men proceeded to repeat the exercise, but after ten or so repetitions, Peter felt the move becoming second nature.
Encouraged, Peter started experimenting. He moved laterally, obliquely, then backward anew, but changing orientation and turning his back at Daniel, like a new opponent was coming from the rear. "I want to try something," he asked after a few minutes. “Aim for my upper left shoulder, I don’t want to get hurt too much if I fail. Trust and pull with the same speed as before.”
“Want me to count?”
“Would be great.”
“Three… Two… One… Go.”
Daniel thrust the polearm, the spike entering three inches into Peter’s body, only he was now only a blur.
“What the fuck!” Daniel screamed, stepping back.
“I’m OK,” Peter heaved. Maintaining the Warp state for the duration of the attack had been costly. All the training had taken a toll on his Mana, but the last move had taken half of that. He took another Mana pill, the minimum time had passed.
Of course, it is. Haven’t you said the Cultivators phased into place when the US nuked them? I tried to replicate that. I thought: What if one day I found myself with my back to a wall or something?
I dunno, man… I moved, but in place. I just did it.
“Are you sure you’re OK?” Daniel waved his hand in front of Peter’s eyes. “You phased out.”
“I’m fine… About phasing… Can I try something on you?”
“Try what?” Daniel frowned.
“Stick a finger in your shoulder.”
“Ew…”
“I’ll give you back your ounce of gold,” Peter proposed.
“Well…” Daniel shrugged. “Go for it… but take care of what you’re doing.”
“I will,” Peter nodded. Warping in place for a second, he pushed his index two inches deep into Daniel’s deltoid muscle, then exited the blurred state. “Ouch!” Peter yelled as soon as he was back in the real world. His finger was stuck, he wasn’t able to pull it out, and Daniel’s muscle was contracted all around it.
“Ouch!” Daniel screamed too. He was bleeding, and tried to pull himself free, only to snatch Peter forward.
Could I pass through walls with it?
“Maaaan…” Daniel wailed once free. “It hurts a lot.” The wound was bleeding profusely.
“Hey, I’m hurt too,” Peter showed him his swollen finger.
Why isn’t the wound closing? Peter panicked.
“Hm… next time we’ll test that thing on me,” the mercenary said. “You’re not half-bad, kid.”
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They returned to the camp in the late evening. Alchemy frowned at them. Checking his phone, Peter observed some chores appeared while they were out. He apologized, and fortunately, was spared sermons or punishments. During the training, the two girls had advanced two levels, and Peter one. Shredder was level eight.
"We won't be able to hide from Melinda Shreddi's a warg. He’s growing fast," Ariana said.
"I'll think of an excuse," Peter said.
"Let's just stick with 'we didn't know, it looked like a dog'. She likes him enough to let him stay."
The group broke apart, with Peter beelining for his tent. Regina wasn't there.
Are there any benefits to raising all stats, or is it better to focus on one? he asked.
Now, there are competing philosophies behind builds. For instance, raising all stats as high as possible, as Jacks-of-all-Trades do.> “Sounds useful.” As for you… For now, you have high Physical stats but yet average martial skills, and promising magical skills but low Mind stats. With your high-tiered Class, chances are you’ll be able to cap four stats, but my advice would be to cap three and raise the other stats as much as you can.> Sighing, Peter summoned his Character Sheet and put five APs in Strength, to get it into the Journeyman tier, and two into Concentration, to reach Apprentice. Peter Hillden, age: 22, Class: Impulse, Lvl. 22 Strength: 61 / Dexterity: 70 / Constitution: 32 Intelligence: 27 / Will: 39 / Concentration: 21 Charisma: 40 / Luck: variable / Magic Power: 25 I have yet to decide where I want to go with my fighting style, he sighed.