Punishment never felt so empowering.
No, this didn't just become a situation for 18+, frankly it's already been that in every other way anyhow. No, I'm talking about my current 'nose in the corner' for not securing the last spider infested Pylon, forcing Korbin away from his work around his developing metropolis to claim the pylon. My sentence for such a catastrophic failure to our developing little nation? Simple; leveling my profession.
See, Korbin may have acted all angry at the contract he jotted up for us, however his tune quickly switched when he brought along a fellow with a very niche Ship-Maker profession. He'd come along with a few representatives from the water druids I'd met through Steve, and Korbin's writing hand scribbled expeditiously to get him on a separate contract than the one in place for their people as a whole. That's what he tells me at least, but truth be told? I don't know. Korbin typically plays that type of shit close to the chest, and I'm having too much fun to care.
The bottom line was, my sea-pals I tame throughout my travels could make trade and transport huge for expansion, and a metric fuck-ton of TP too. Of course, this meant me and Steve had to go in search for a lump some of predatory beasts in the ocean to tame.
Turns out, that was relatively easy. Sure, a few giant sharks and orcas refused to play nice, me and Steve made sure every other sentient being in that water within the vicinity knew the repercussions.
It was a new experience, fighting from a mounted position. Especially underwater at that. Though my experience was not as humbling as I'd expected, having zero instability or pressure exerted on me as we dove and jerked around the water. The Orcas tried to fight, but after Steve's Flow Bite landed to anywhere vital, they were simply a fleshy bag for experience for Steve, and Beast Tamer experience for me.
Most every other aquatic beast we stumbled upon were pretty cooperative, and a few were remarkably respectful. At least in the region we hunted, as we'd traveled a mere 8 miles North from the Pylon Docks. Steve hunted the majority of the beasts West and South within a 15 mile radius of his territory, so North felt the most sensible for assembling fins on deck quickly.
After throwing your Patrons name around a few times, beasts like poison-oozing Giant Squid that shoots massive yellow needles made entirely of poison from its arms tend to refrain from attacking. Sword fish the size of whales warmed up to the idea of being your 'worker' all the same. The act of taming was an innate skill given upon receiving the profession, all it took was willing the offer to a target. To be honest though, I enjoyed bantering with the wildlife.
"So does Perunious ever like, check in around here? I mean I don't want to meet him per se. His aura alone would be too much for me. But, throw my name around will you?" The nervously mumbling fanged sperm whale said quickly, its mouth alone large enough to make Steve look like a big candy rope.
"Oh, most definitely. It was Paul, right?" I asked, willing the offer to become a beast under my command.
"Patrick. But yeah, thanks again for the opportunity to earn levels so easily. It really means a lot." 'Patrick' said graciously. He wasn't wrong either, if beasts performed tasks I grant them, be it anything from hunting to just moving things for me, they would receive experience. Of course, the quantity of experience gained depended on the quality of their task, meaning how difficult and/or time consuming it may be.
"Yeah Pat, we're happy to have you aboard. Just head to th-"
"Got it." The utter unit of a fish interrupted, flicking its head into the water and gliding south toward the Docks. From morning to a few hours before sunset, Steve and I voyaged deeper north, recruiting any willing beasts and slaying a few to set examples every couple of miles.
After the oceanic predatory encounters began waning we decided to turn back, cutting west along our return in hopes to pick up any we may have missed. Steve was the first to admit his truly spoiled sorrows.
"Do you not miss just hunting at all?" He asked, as we cut through the water like an oscillating torpedo.
"Fuck yeah I do. But, these fish will help my people and therefore the water druid folks, meaning your people as a result. Plus, we've had a little fun out here, haven't we?" I asked, referring to the more stubborn candidates. For some reason, non-predatory fish just didn't hear me, so we were forced to deal with top of the food chain fish exclusively.
Another boost to my spirits stemmed from having recruited 47 beasts to my little roster today alone. Most were near or at my level, but a couple were even above mine. All of them had been sharks as they were the most common predatory fish along our travels, but one in particular was far more…interesting, based on their race alone.
[Stone-Shark - Level 6]
It had the body shape of bull shark, only about 3 times its average size, along with stone plating along its head. Nose, sides, and back. We ran into the beast on the way home hugging closer to the shallow portion of the sea in hopes to seek land game as well.
The Stone Shark bursted out from the sandbar directly in front of our path, only to pump the breaks when it saw me and Steve flying toward it at lightning speed. After it turned back into its hole, we spent the next 15 minutes trying to coerce the giant chicken-fish back out.
"Listen, buddy, we're really just trying to talk. You got talent man, this tunnels impressive! We just want to work with you." I willed my thoughts into the hole he'd burrowed back into.
"Yeah man, I mean I fit in these little tracks you know? If we wanted t-" Steve's attempt at reassuring the beast only freaked them out more, as they launched out from a new burrowed tunnel in the sandbar next to us, hightailing it away in the open water.
We easily caught up with them, allowing for a solid conversation on the go.
"Listen dude, we don't want to hurt you! Just slow down and talk for a second! I willed as we swam beside the shark stride for stride.
"Please…please j-just don't…hurt me!" He finally responded.
"I'm not going to, just slow d-"
"I don't wanna die!" He cried out.
"You're not gonna if you JUS-"
"I'll do anything please just let m-"
"STOP."I belted out mentally, my chest having risen like a giant soda-can had a mint dropping into it as my need for this sharks incessant whining to end. The beast abruptly stopped on a dime in the water, completely silent as we shot passed.
Steve whipped around, allowing me to float off and address the suddenly calmed beast. Before I could speak, a ding sounded, followed by a few prompts.
You've unlocked a new skill ->
Wrathful Tamers Subjugation (uncommon) - The Sovereign King of the Storms' first chosen beast tamer has gracefully adopted his Patrons wrathful spirit, their Wills their purpose alike. Users can forcefully tame beasts with lower willpower and wisdom stats. Target must not be willing to harm the user in any way during Subjugation.
*Congratulations!* You've upgraded your Profession.
(Beast Tamer Level - 4)
->
(Beast Tamer Level - 5)
+1 wisdom +1 willpower
(Beast Master skill available)
I'll deal with this later.
"Hey, you ready to talk now?" I asked, ignoring my skill both achieved and now available for my profession. Frankly, my rage was still plentiful having spilled over from a lack of fighting all these formidable beasts. Well, a lot were pretty cool once you got to know them though.
Still…
"I am, my apologies for having been so erratic running about like that. I didn't know your intent, but then I felt it. You simply wish to work together for the benefit of both, yes?" The Stone Shark said, now acting as affable as can be.
"Uhh…yeah, yeah of course. Head to our Pylon docks, they're s-"
"Got it boss." The fish beelined through the water in a straight line towards the docks, burrowing through the walls under water as it traveled.
"…what the fuck just happened?" Steve asked, rightfully confused.
"I guess I got a new skill. Score one for tantrums I guess, you ready to head home now?" My tone a little dismissive.
"Yeah, this day was fuckin' boring. Can we hunt tomorrow?"
"Oh, with all the help headed Korbin's way, I'm sure we filled our quota for at least a day or two on this shit." I answered confidently. Steve took off, clearly not wishing to delay our return home any longer.
Meanwhile I enjoyed the ride, taking my time to select my first choice in Beast Taming skills, and the options were…eh?
Tamers Mark (common) - make a mark only visible to you and your beast companion, giving a 5% boost in damage dealt by your beast to that target. Bonus experience of beast kills target.
Shared Senses (common) - adopt the vision, hearing, taste, or smell of your beast companion. Costs mana over time.
Beast Bolstering (common) - Tamer provides their beast with a shield build of their will for their companion to thrive and grow, giving a +5% resistance to all physical damage.
None of these were terrible by any stretch, and maybe I'd been spoiled with higher tier skills thus far but, I was slightly disappointed there were no uncommons. Maybe there was more merit to not fighting alongside Steve than previously assumed? Or I'm just rationalizing tougher fights, either way it sounds good enough to use when talking to Korbin about more adventures later down the line.
First though, skill time. Thus far, I'd seen Steve take very little damage, while he'd delivered more than his fair share in our battles. That being the case, both Tamers Mark and Beast Bolstering were great skills on their own, but currently unnecessary. The dark abyss in which Steve found me in however, could be a very real problem at any given moment if something too strong forced us into the depths.
Plus, who doesn't love night-vision? Yeah, that made my choice pretty easy.
Congratulations! You've unlocked the skill
->
Shared Senses (common) - adopt the vision, hearing, taste, or smell of your beast companion. Costs mana over time.
Feeling rather content with the progress made today, we made our way home after nightfall. Steve went off to his cave back in his territory for the night, agreeing to rendezvous back here tomorrow afternoon. Still too wired to head to bed, I wandered over to Korbin's office, curious if he was still working.
Opening his door a crack seeing Korbin was at his desk still working…I think? Randy was getting belly rubs and words of affirmation as I arrived, however he'd still clearly been writing up contracts with the free hand at his desk. The paper hovered against a small table floating sideways in the air as surface for him to write against. Truly, his office was on some freaky shit.
"Hey Tom! How's my favorite fisherman feeling after the big day you had?" Korbin asked enthusiastically, standing up to greet me.
"Alright, I suppose. Nothing special besides one level up and a pair of skills to show for it." My voice much less excited than his.
"Thats alright, you don't have to worry about that profession of yours for a day or two. Not until the ship-maker I commissioned here gets to working his magic. He arrived soon after you and Steve left." He informed, being strangely honest about his doings.
"Why are you so happy right now?" I asked him, curiosity overwhelming my manners.
'Manners', I've known this fuck for too long for that anyway.
"Well, besides the multiple class levels I got from your contract, 45 plus beasts willing to work pulling up at our docks, Lonni, Zach, and Terra excelling in their professions, AND Kaitlyn earning the caretaker profession today? Well, other than those little things, Cassi has been surprisingly exceptional."
Korbin clearly had too good of a day, otherwise he wouldn't have shared the boons of his schemes I was directly a part of so soon. It's not like it bothered me, I'm glad my friend was growing stronger, and even more so I played a role in that. He needed to be if he was going to solo this Pylon leadership business anyhow, it's just funny seeing the unnecessary veil slip sometimes.
Before I could razz his openness knowing he recognized it the same time I had, the mention of the new girl's name diverted my curiosity.
"What do you mean by that last part?"
"I mean she's a beast. Her fighting style's pretty crazy I won't lie. Without mana she might be pretty fucked, but a little training might go a long way. Besides, we got to bond over wonderful concepts like power and vengeance." Korbin explained.
"Yeah, I noticed she's pretty ruthless, not the whole vengeance part though. Glad to hear you had a good day though, does this mean I get to hunt some more tomorrow?" I asked, joy creeping in my voice.
"Sure, after you forget that Pylon, you think finally doing your part is all good?" He asked in a patronizing tone.
"…no." My eyes rolled in annoyance.
"Tell you what, Tom. You stay here until afternoon. Train or, do whatever the fuck until our ship maker gets his first model up. Then, you summon some fish on-over to guard him, a few others to speed him along, and I could get some more folks and resources over here. Then you can do whatever your greedy heart desires." Korbin proposed, his palms out.
"I was going to hunt at that exact time with Steve, will the ship maker for sure be done by then?" I asked.
"…yeah?" He answered, with a hopeful and deceitful smile.
I was going to refuse when a favor rang through my head, along with an idea to get him off my ass.
"Tell you what, I'll wait until he's done tomorrow before I go fighting shit, if you can get a Pylon to those water people." I counter offered recalling my promise to their leader. Korbin sat in thought for a second, his hand gripped under his chin with a finger across his lips, snapping his fingers having decided a solution.
"Got it. I'll move the Pylon you forgot to get since it's pretty basic and should be relatively cheap to reposition. Buuuut…" Korbin said, before a contract flashed in my HUD.
"You know me, I get it in writing."
"Korbin, this is so much wording for a simple task." I said, looking at the 2 page front and back attachment in my face.
"Don't worry, I can't lie about the rules, and there's nothing you don't know about in there. You're just helping a brother level, okay?" He answered, making me wonder what the fuck class levels like that.
"Fine." I relented, accepting the terms.
"Cool, then you're all good. I'm headed home so, get out of here." Korbin said, shuffling to the door, Randy scampering behind him. The absolutely foul odor that thing exhumed was repulsing, causing me to gag. Korbin gave me dirty look as I shuffled passed him to get away from the toxic aroma.
"Ignore him Randy, he smells like fish and he don't get laid." Korbin said to Randy, purposefully loud.
"Do you have any idea how awful that thing your petting i-ARGH"
The familiar pricking of a thousands needles in the form of a headache cut my words short, a wave of regret for having just signed another contract with my most trusted friend washing over me. It's too late now, so my resolve was to quickly head to the docks try on some Flow Meditation to alleviate this headache.
Heading to the end of the walkway along the pier, I sat down in my Meditation position and began swaying as my mind opened inwardly. The time it took to enter a deep state of meditation was exponentially shorter using this skill, with the memories of my fights and experiences more vivid than ever. It was like I was in a dark room, with a television playing whatever I Willed it to, so long as the experience was mine.
My mind harped on the spider ordeal, mainly fighting alongside Steve. Our styles clicked almost immediately, his motions feeling so akin to mine, even if we used completely different methods to fight, dodge, even move for that matter.
The Flow moving along his giant snake body was so easy to see it damn near had a literal shine to it. Anytime I'd stepped off his tail or slid along his actively curving body, the energy borrowed felt immense, allowing me to enter each engagement with a shit-pile of Flow stockpiled in my body.
This allowed for much quicker first attacks, which I'd combo using the same Flow until there wasn't anything in reach to transfer it to via violence. Having the system confirm the existence of Flow, I made a mental note to try and look for it actively in all fights for research purposes. With any luck, more Flow skills will be waiting.
The snake had also begun sweating out water mana, possibly on purpose as a protective coating to travel through.
That's not a bad idea.
It was too bad I have no water manipulation abilities quite yet, something I hoped the water folks would assist in. Maybe even Cassi, if she's cool trading some notes. Until everyone was up and moving though, that didn't matter. Resolved in my progress, I gave my stat sheet a once over before heading to my assigned home.
Name: Tom Murphy
Race: [Human(H) - level 4]
Class: [Rogue level-4]
Profession: [Beast Tamer - Level 5]
Health: 96/96
Mana: 74/74
Stamina: 211/211
Strength: 12 (+2)
Agility: 19 (+12) +10%
Endurance: 20 (+7)
Perception: 10 +10%
Vitality: 12 (+2) +6%
Toughness: 12 (+2)
Intelligence: 8
Wisdom: 20 (+4)
Willpower: 13
Titles:
(Of Earth's Finest) - You've proven yourself among the pinnacle of your worlds greatest warriors before even leveling up.
+5% to all stats.
(Chosen of the Wrathful God) - One of the multiverse's most ancient and mightiest forces of nature has struck far more than interest in you, naming you his Champion of your grade across the multiverse. Let all who oppose you feel the rumbling of his presence wherever you strike.
+10% potential to all stats through killing enemies with higher stats in a category. Rewarded the difference maximum +10%.
Earn more experience points for enemies stronger than you
(Cardinal Conqueror) - You were the first of the tutorial to Conquer another leaders Pylon, claiming your intent on becoming the Wrathful usurper to all who claim power that belongs to you rightfully.
+2% experience gained in professions to all aligned with you within your pylons area of control
(Chosen Beast Master of the Ocean's Wrath) - The Sovereign God of the Storm and Sea's have deemed your potential exceptional, allowing his trust in your path to reflect in the power gained from your trust. One beastly companion of your choosing that levels up will also level up your profession, as a direct result of your command watering the fruits of their own growth through obedience.
Race Skills:
n/a
Class Skills:
duel swordsman (uncommon) -
+2 agility + 3 endurance, proficiency for duel short swords
Water stance (common) -+3 agility +3% perception when in perpetual motion using this stance, -6% debuff endurance
Lightning Strike (uncommon) -Wielder is able to add Lightning mana into an attack, amplifying its speed depending on the total mana spent while using it. User gets a +4 agility when using this strike.
Water Step (common) - your devotion to your style has awakened your body to what your mind and spirit have already known as an fundamental law, allowing you to channel your affinity into any step omni-directionally so long as you're in Flow, further connecting your physical body to your mind and soul.
+3 agility while active.
Flow Inverse (uncommon) - when activated, the user will respond to an attack with another, even their own, as water has no limit to where it can fill if it's where it must go. User strikes a Flow point, reversing the Flow and movements completely. Effectiveness varies based on % advantage in agility to foes. +2 agility, +4 perception when active.
Profession skills:
Wrathful Tamers Subjugation (uncommon) - The Sovereign King of the Storms' first chosen beast tamer has gracefully adopted his Patrons wrathful spirit, their Wills their purpose alike. Users can forcefully tame beasts with lower willpower and wisdom stats. Target must not be willing to harm the user in any way during Subjugation.
Shared Senses (common) - adopt the vision, hearing, taste, or smell of your beast companion. Costs mana over time.
…Well, hot-damn?!
It'd been quite a while since I'd last checked my stat sheet in totality. For no particular reason either, I just preferred the chase over reveling in dated rewards I suppose. It was pretty damn nice to see how far I'd actually come in such a short time though. I questioned if anyone was as fortunate as I had been thus far.
The different plus signs and parentheses were confusing until I checked the descriptions under every boost I got from skills and equipment. From what I gathered, the parenthesized additions were equipment based, while the others were skill boosted, a few being conditional. With those added on top, it made sense now why I'd yet to really have much of an issue with dealing damage or avoiding strikes. Or just fighting in general, but that didn't mean there wasn't a worthy opponents waiting for me, with an exuberant amount of experience packed in them.
Then again, I wasn't even a top 5 competitor in the tournament. For all I knew, there's more than a couple absolute monsters who didn't absolve their priorities to leadership, and instead took my route. The good one, where you get strong and ignore everyone else's path. Only, I don't expect life to lack nuance, allowing for some exceptions, the beast collecting today being an example. Certainly, there was someone who didn't care for literally anyone else enough to always hunt. Someone I'd have to fight eventually, if all continues to roll smoothly.
Good, I'll be ready.
Feeling a bit tired for the first time in a long while, I shuffled back to my assigned home placed inconveniently next door to the Smithery. Lonni wasn't tinkering around tonight, thank Perunious. Nevertheless, it was tough getting to sleep. After an hour of tossing uncomfortably, I tried to meditate while lying down after some frustrated pillow flips and blanked tosses.
The next morning, at the incredibly rational hour of sunrise, Lonni was right back to smashing away with his potentially extremely profitable steel toy set. The fact I fell asleep in the first place hadn't quite registered yet, making the rude awakening honestly not so bad. It felt more like a noise scaring you walking along the street, rather than being woken so unceremoniously.
The morning fog drifting in from the ocean hovered over the settlement, the water mana like a shot of coffee to my system. Recognizing how early it's been, I set out toward the training area to play around with some concepts I had been cooking up for my twinblade.
Entering the large open training arena, a prompt popped up with some training options. There were all types of courses categorized by classes, but I only cared about rogue training. Therefore, there were really one some. The majority of rogue training was different creative way to sneak up on different multiples of enemies, something I'd yet to even consider doing. Finally spotting 'singles combat simulation', my choice had never been easier.
The metal walls and floor of the training aria shifted as I selected the option, the floor folding in on itself into different cubic and triangular shapes. A bubble of thick red energy manifested around me, as a wooden mannequin emerged in front of me on a pole from a hole in the floor. I felt the structures under me shifting as more of the metallic flooring around me folded and shifted, moving my bubble platform and settling about 10 feet below where I'd started.
The mannequin leapt off its waiting stick, a wooden sword forming from its hand from thin air. It assumed a ready pose, moving incredibly lifelike for something so featureless. Excited, I split my twinblade, lightning mana crackling throughout my weapon. Lowering my pinkies, I placed the blades' chains between my first fingers' knuckles, allowing for more control over the chain length and maneuverability.
My animated wooden sparring partner stabbed forward, allowing me to parry with my lead blade. My wrist spun around twisting its wooden weapon with my own. Stepping forward, I wrapped my chain around his sword, holding one blade down at the knot locking its weapon in place. The mannequin tried to pull his weapon around to get it out to no avail. When it pulled back, however, it yanked my sword right to its body. Flexing forward, my blade stabbed through its chest, piercing through the back sending splintering wood shards into the air.
It fell, presumably dead. After a few seconds however it got back up, assuming the same ready stance while its chest sealed in realtime. Butterflies tickled my stomach at the implications of a deathless sparring partner. Returning the favor of assuming my stance, we began again. This time, it tried a diagonal downward slash.
Spreading my chains, I let the wooden blade hit the middle of them as I stepped to the side. It fell into the chain like a net before stopping its descent. Seeing my moment, I wrapped my chain around the top of its blade with one blade hilt. Pulling hard on chain, the mannequin wooden arms yanked forward trying desperately to hang on.
My elbow slammed into the mannequins wooden jaw, with my blade twisting and stabbing into its chest after. It fell lifeless once again before resetting, readying for another round in little time. It charged forward for an overhand slam almost immediately, moving notably quicker.
My chains pulled tight above my head, landing the strike at its center. As the wooden sword fell, I rolled my body to the side, letting go of the furthest blade handle. The wooden sword slammed into the chains, the weight on the chains launching my blade back toward me. My hand snatched it by the hilt in stride as I slashed the mannequin's head off with both blades like a pair of scissors.
My experimenting with the twinblade continued for quite a while, going so far as to throw my blade in the air and fling it like a flail or nunchucks, causing the mannequin to block. Each time it did, the chains wrapped around its wooden weapon. Whipping down the other twinblade ripped back on the mannequin's grip as the weapon would clatter to the floor.
At one point I decided to drop mine as well, my fist erupting with mana as a Lightning Strike exploded its head. I was offered prompt for another round, which would only pop every fights, when Korbin's voice rang out as the arena began rising back up.
"You know, Tom. I did expect you to be present at some point today while our shipmaker works. It's midday you violent hermit." His voiced mocked, not getting passed my reading my latest notification.
Class skill evolved:
Duel Bladesman (uncommon)
->
Twinbladesman (uncommon) - +3 agility + 3 endurance, proficiency in twinblade
Damn, bittersweet.
After a flood of knowledge regarding twinblade forms entered my mind, along with one more point into agility holding them, it hurt to see the skill I started with from day one just change like that. No knowledge left my mind regarding dual-wielding swords, in fact it felt more like the new skill would still trigger if I had my old pair of Wakizashi brandished. It was more the sentiment of the skill name that made the adjustment a little sour, but sorely needed in retrospect.
The sunlight beaded on me, my eyes burning as the glare pierced through the currently opening wall of shifting geometric shapes above. Korbin stood waiting with his arms crossed, Cassi and a group of warriors I'd recognized from the Water people behind him.
"Mornin' sunshine! You havin' fun not being ready for the ship to be constructed?" Korbin announced sarcastically.
"Class, we have a special guest today. I'm sure you've heard of him by now, but this is Tom, Chosen of Perunious." Korbin exclaimed, turning to the 6 others. Cassi's eyes hadn't moved from me.
The rest of the assumed 'students' murmured quietly amongst each other. Most sounded like jumbled nonsense, but I did catch "solo'd two Pylons" and "snake tamer" between the whispers.
"Uh, hi everyone. My apologies for my disheveled appearance," my kind eyes formed into a glare as I peered toward Korbin, speaking through clenched teeth, "I wasn't expecting a training session here today."
Korbin grinned toothily at me, speaking loudly to the students without looking.
"Class! As a treat for the semi-rare occurrence we run into Tom between missions, we're going to have a gauntlet style sparring session. Everyone drop their weapons, it will be hand to hand combat." The students' reactions were mixed. Some had appeared elated at the chance to spar, maybe to pick up some free knowledge. The others looked, well… pretty scared. Many couldn't even look me in the eye without trembling and darting their head away. Honestly, I wasn't even sure why.
Korbin leaned in close as he walked by me toward the sparring platform, the water warrior students shuffling on as well.
"No kill shots. These are their best, they die fighting for us." He whispered, patting my shoulder and heading onto the platform.
Great, I'm babysitting today.
Taking my place beside him on the platform, the ground beginning to fold in all its odd geometric shapes. Cassi casually stepped next me.
"Hey" she said, after a brief pause.
"Hi"
"…thanks. For saving my skin back there. You probably didn't mean to at first but, bringing me here was a choice." She eventually blurted in a hushed tone. She looked down at me, having been 4 inches taller. Truth be told, the disparity in height combined with the fury she fought with, her apprehensive nature was strange to me.
"Oh, yeah of course. You're pretty damn strong by the way, that spider got lucky you we-" the image of my lightning surge stunning her before getting stabbed through her shoulder flashed in my mind. I fumbled on my words before she smiled, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"I probably shouldn't have touched an electrified spider limb. It's okay. Just help me kill those disgusting vermin responsible for…all of that, and we're more than square." She said, lightly punching my shoulder. She had a laid back tone, but her energy painted a different picture. There was something else, I couldn't put my finger on it.
"Yeah, I mean free levels anyway you know?" I said, laughing a bit. She didn't return the giggle, only remaining still with a kind smile.
"I'm excited to see what you got first hand, Tom." She said, as the platform thumped loudly finishing its transition to the bottom. Korbin approached the center before staring blankly, his eyes darting a few times as he assuredly selected the training settings. The room then expanded out, the walls snapping in chorus as they folded into place.
"Alright, who wants to go first?" Korbin asked, looking at the group. Cassi stepped forward, only for Korbin's extended arm halted her at her stomach. Not sure how to take that, I chose to ignore it entirely.
A shorter fellow, about 5'9, stepped up first. He had dark hair, deep blue eyes, and his skin even carried a light blue hue under the top layer. He appeared to be changing from all that water exposure, so early in the tutorial as well. Meaning, he has more water time than me, already pissing me off.
"Looks like we got a confident one! We warmed up this morning, no need for 5%. We're in a sim here that only heals over time, so go until your opponents down." Korbin announced, his first arm up in the air between us.
"Ready?" He looked at us both for a nod. I readied my stance and obliged.
"Fight" Korbin called, throwing his arm down between he and backing away.
The trainee immediately began advancing, his footwork sloppier than macaroni art. Water stepping to the side, his arms raised to preemptively block an attack I hadn't thrown yet. His midsection was left wide open, so naturally I roundhouse kicked it. The trainer hunched over before crumbling to the floor, gasping for air.
Korbin looked at me with his eyes wide, hands flung up in the air.
"I said no kill shots?!"
"He's not dead?" I argued. A few students giggled in the back of the group.
"Oh, okay. How about you, chuckles? You fight Tom next. Go ahead Tom, since we're not 'teaching' today we're just bullying, hit a bully." Korbin said, grabbing his student by his shoulders and shoving him across from me. Remembering this is a class, I made note to pull my punches more.
The guy was nervous, though he looked in better shape than the last. His form was much worse though, hinting he's a strength guy in most fights. He kept over-committing to grabbing at my arm, leaving a step and jab wide open each time. His body gave it away, all of his Flow building from his legs and throwing outward at me so lazily.
His face got bloodied up pretty bad after landing 10+ jabs, leading to one finally forcing him take a knee after his nose made a loud crunching sound under my fist.
"Okay, death by a thousand cuts, not even gonna tell him what to do to defend himself. That's fine, great teaching." Korbin admonished, as if he wasn't their fucking teacher. Annoyed, I readied my stance once more for another student.
After a few more sparring session my temper relented, as I'd decided to just block and dodge until Korbins students tuckered out. Korbin was pretty quiet for those ones, allowing me to simmer down and consider how fucked up it was to beat on the first two like that.
I'd grown so accustomed to fighting either to the death or somebody competent until it's over, my mind let the beginning stages of learning escape me. You're not supposed to just damn near murder people to teach them to defend themselves. They just have to figure out why they can't murder you.
About 30 minutes went by before they'd all tuckered out, besides the two now nursing their wounds. Honestly, the body kick guy was in pretty good shape compared to the most everyone else. Makes you think, you know?
Now, Cassi was up to bat. She smirked confidently as she readied her stance, her form looking more sound now by a wide margin than it had when I'd seen her rampaging through giant spiders. Her hands were glowing as water accrued drop by drop from the air, surrounding her hands like watery gauntlets.
"That's a cool trick, you'll have to show me how." I said, returning the grin.
"You need a high intelligence for that and…well, you tell me if that's an option for you?" She retorted, her eyebrows furrowing as her smirk turned devious. She stepped forward, commencing the fight officially.
Her feet slid across the floor as she approached like a skateboarder or a surfer, her legs firm in their position outside of adjusting her body position. Her fist flew forward, my diagonal step barely pulling my head away from the edge of her enlarged watery hands. Landing a body shot as I passed, I stepped around her shoulder, kneeing her in the ribs before she found turn face me.
She stumbled back a couple feet before gathering her balance. She now wore a determined face, one that befitted her the most. She stepped forward showing a jab, only to throw a lead side-kick to my ribs instead. I stepped horizontal avoiding her boot and lifted her leg, causing her to flip backwards. Seeing her falling head first, I pushed her shoulder with my leg, causing her to land on her side instead.
Issue is, she fell for longer now, amplifying the loud thud making me cringe in remorse.
"My bad, I didn't think you'd do that. It was a great move too, that's my fault." I said, feeling genuinely sorry.
"Don't be, I'll get you back." She replied smiling as she rose off the canvas, rolling her neck and shoulders loose. The water bursted out of her hand straight at me, my head easily dodging the fist shaped water projectile. Her opposite leg flew up at my skull as I lurched toward its side. Of course, deception is vital to all water forms of fighting. Seeing the Flow change in her hips before her leg raised, I Flow Inverse'd her knee just my elbow as I swayed away.
Her leg spun around, allowing me to land a calf kick on her planted leg. Honestly, I could have landed anything, but I wanted to be nice. Her planted leg gave out, causing her to crash down to the floor again. This time she got up angrily, slapping the canvas on her way up.
"Again!" She yelled, before Korbin stepped in.
"Woaaah woah woah. No, no angry sparring, not when you get dropped twice, Cassi. You two will one on one train from time to time later." He reassured her, his arm between her and me.
"I have no beef Cass, you're a great fighter! And I am super curious how y-"
"You too. And you need a high intelligence stat, like a mage." She cut off dismissively.
"We'll find out." I answered, not content with that answer. There's always a way, so long as you care to look. Nothing's that complicated.
"Alright tough guy Tom, now it's my turn. You ready?" Korbin asked, removing his thin jacket that matched his whole 'sensei' get up he had on. To be honest, I wasn't ready either. It'd be a while since I fought unarmed, and it felt a little awkward even if I had been winning.
"Sure, I could use the practice honestly. It's been a while, I feel rusty." I answered, his face confused.
"How are you r-…whatever, you ready?" He asked, readying himself.
"When you are."