Boris and I stood in the ring, staring at each other with resolve.
“So, how did your training go?” I asked, breaking the silence before we began our spar.
He grinned, cracking his neck. “Ah, those young fellas have so fire in them. Managed to take down a couple of the tougher ones, but none of them could last more than a few minutes against . Still, good practice. They’ll toughen up eventually.”
“Must’ve been nice to have that kind of sparring,” I replied. “The training dummies were nowhere near enough for .”
Michelle, who was standing just outside the ring, giggled. “You did destroy all of them,” she pointed out, gesturing at the broken remains scattered across the training dummy section.
I shrugged. “Can’t help it. I needed to unlock a certain skill and get used to using it. And to do that, repetition’s key.”
Boris nodded approvingly. “True. Mastery only cos with practice.” He then urged, “Enough chit-chat. Let’s get started, lad. You ready for this?”
I gave a firm nod, cracking my fingers. “Mhm. Don’t hold back. I need to see how well I fare when I fight unard.”
Rather than asking him to go easy on , I wanted to go all out. I was sure that there would be many occasions in the scenario where I wouldn’t be able to fight with weapons. When that ti ca, I’d better have so cards up my sleeve since I didn’t want to depend too much on the power of my class, especially when I didn’t have a lot of plausibility stored up.
Above all, this would be my first ti facing a strong opponent without being ard. Ryan was strong, but it was mostly because his superior stats buffed him up. His skills, while slightly better than mine, were far inferior to Boris’s, particularly in hand-to-hand combat. This was where I was lacking the most.
“Good. I like your spirit.” Boris grinned, taking a fighting stance as he readied himself.
There was no need for more words.
Taking a deep breath, I steadied my stance. My muscles still ached from the previous training, but I pushed the fatigue aside. If I couldn’t even last a spar with Boris after a simple training session, then how could I survive in the dangerous scenarios to co? I would die from ferocious monsters the mont any signs of exhaustion showed up.
“Here I co!” Boris bellowed, charging forward with surprising speed for his size. I barely had ti to react before his fist was already swinging toward . I managed to sidestep, but Boris quickly shifted his stance and swept his leg out, aiming for my feet.
I jumped back, narrowly avoiding the low kick, but Boris wasn’t done. He lunged at , grabbing my shoulder and attempting to throw to the ground using a classic Sambo technique. I twisted my body, breaking free just in ti, but the force of his grip left my shoulder stinging. Ugh… If it weren’t for my fast reflexes, I would have been done in by that attack.
Without giving a chance to recover, Boris closed the distance again, this ti attempting a grappling move straight out of Jiu-Jitsu. His hands latched onto my arm, pulling forward to lock down. I gritted my teeth, pivoting my body just enough to break the hold and retaliate with a punch to his midsection.
To my surprise, he absorbed the hit without flinching in the slightest, using the montum to throw off balance. I could only imagine that my hand would hurt if he had used his signature skill, which ant that Boris was still holding back.
As I stumbled, Boris switched to a more direct approach, delivering a powerful Karate-style straight punch. Thanks to my reflexes and the battle experience I had gained from the scenarios, I barely managed to block it, but the impact still sent a numbing sensation through my forearms and caused to stagger, be pushed back two ters, and almost lose balance.
“Not bad!” Boris praised, clearly enjoying the fight. “You’ve got the basics, but you’re lacking proper training. I’m guessing you’ve never learned martial arts before.”
In my childhood, without any “real” parents to guide , I often got into fights with other kids. Though they were amateurs, those scraps trained my reflexes and balance a bit while also honing my instincts. Still, it was nothing compared to Boris’s fighting skills.
He grinned at my silence. “But if all you can do is go on the defensive, then you’ll break sooner or later. Is this truly all you’ve got?”
I couldn’t help but feel a mix of frustration and determination as he tried to rile up. Boris’s experience in martial arts was a clear advantage—he was a seasoned fighter who seamlessly combined techniques from multiple martial arts. But this was precisely why I needed to keep pushing. If I could learn even a fraction of his skills, it would make significantly stronger.
With renewed resolve, I tightened my fists. “Of course not. I’ll show you what I’ve got.”
Before the words had completely left my mouth, I launched myself forward, going on the offensive. I felt my footwork beco fluid and silent thanks to the Predator’s Step skill, allowing to close the distance in a flash.
“Oh?” Boris raised an eyebrow, surprised by my sudden, elusive movents.
Reacting instantly, he switched from a low grappling stance to a sudden high kick aid at my shoulder. This ti, I was able to dodge easily thanks to the skill and retaliated with a low kick aid at his thigh, hitting the mark.
Putting all my strength into the kick, I saw Boris flinch slightly. A surge of satisfaction welled up within , but before I was able to rejoice, Boris’s hand shot out, grabbing my leg in a tight grip. In a swift motion, he nearly flipped over. It turned out the opening had been a deliberate bait to lure in.
Instinctively, I pushed off his torso with my free leg, but it wasn’t enough to break free. In one powerful motion, Boris threw to the ground.
“Oof.” The impact knocked the air out of my lungs, and I found myself staring up at the ceiling, montarily disoriented.
Boris stood over , offering a hand. “Great footwork there. You’re getting better at reacting as well, but don’t let a small success make you careless. Always be ready for a follow-up.”
Taking his hand, I pulled myself up, wiping the sweat from my forehead. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
He gave a hearty pat on the back, almost knocking forward again. “Good. You’ve got potential. We’ll keep working on your counters and breaking out of holds. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be a lot harder to pin down.”
I nodded, catching my breath.
“Wow, Maxim, Boris! You two are amazing!” Michelle called out from below the stage, her eyes wide with admiration.
“It’s not really amazing when I’m the one getting beaten up.” I shrugged. “But hey, learning martial arts is useful in many situations. Plus, it’s one of the prerequisites for the skill I’ll be teaching you later.”
Her eyes lit up. “Really? Can I join?”
“Of course!” Boris laughed heartily, his booming voice echoing through the training ground.
“Then please teach !” Michelle bowed slightly.
After that, we continued sparring, with Boris teaching both and Michelle how to fight like street fighters. As painful as it was, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of progress.
You have acquired a skill: [Basic Hand-to-Hand Combat Lv.1].
Basic Hand-to-Hand Combat has leveled up.
Without a weapon, it was clear that I was outmatched against Boris, even with the passive footwork skill aiding . However, by the end of the spar, I had started to get a better grasp of unard combat. Boris even looked slightly challenged when Michelle joined in to assist . Against weaker opponents, we would have undoubtedly secured an easy victory.
Satisfied with the progress, I opened my status screen to check my current stats:
Maximillian Anderson Lv. 4/40 (EXP 46/460)
Rank: Bet [2]
Patron God: Istellia (Goddess of Imagination)
Class: Paradox Incarnate
Title: Foul Play (2)
Status: Exhausted
Strength: 80 | Dexterity: 62 10 | Stamina: 56 2
Mind: 48 | Magic Power: 45 | Luck: 54
Plausibility: 109
Free Attributes: 61
Signature Skill(s): [@!$# Creation], [Fabled Vessel], [Grant Plausibility], [Scenario Manipulation]
Skill(s): [Basic Alchemy Lv.4], [Basic Hand-to-Hand Combat Lv.2], [Basic Spearmanship Lv.8], [Basic Swordsmanship Lv.9], [Desperate Willpower Lv.5], [Fast Reading Lv.1], [Heavy Slash Lv.2], [Inventory], [ntal Tolerance Lv.4], [Negotiation Lv.4], [Pain Tolerance Lv.4], [Predator’s Step Lv.1]
“Not bad at all,” I muttered with satisfaction.
The truth was, if we had been using weapons, not even Boris would have been able to hold his ground. But that wouldn’t have been fair, considering he was unard and had already made it clear that he always fought without a weapon.
“We should train for another day before challenging the next scenario. Better to be prepared than sorry.”
“Mhm.” Michelle nodded with enthusiasm. I could tell she was looking forward to learning the skill I had promised to teach her.
Tomorrow or the day after, I’d focus on that. For now, it was already late afternoon, and while there was still so ti left, both Michelle and I were exhausted, and even Boris seed content to wrap up the day’s training. With that, we left the training ground to rest and recharge.
As soon as I stepped out of the training area, a blue holographic screen flashed before my eyes.
You have destroyed 160 training dummies.
As compensation for repairing the damaged facilities, 160 Soul Coins have been deducted from your balance.
I imdiately checked my remaining soul coins.
Soul Coins: 1310
With the 160 soul coin deduction, along with 50 for lodging and 100 for the daily tribute, it left with exactly 1,310 from my initial 1,620 soul coins. It had only just been a day after we completed the second scenario, and I’d already used more than three hundred on miscellaneous expenses rather than investing in equipnt or skill books, which would have made more sense, technically speaking.
Speaking of soul coins, I was reminded of the debt I promised to repay back in District F. Now that I had a few items to sell, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to head back there.
With that in mind, I asked both Boris and Michelle to go with to Hussein’s store.
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