The days flew by more quickly than I thought possible. Mr. Murdock had taken an interest in me and was my teacher for most combat related lessons. He was helpful, particularly with Enhance in a combat setting.

Although my combat technique and natural aptitude was lacking, becoming twice as strong and fast as everyone else was a bit unfair. Mr. Murdock had me face off against multiple adversaries, and sometimes would participate in a one-on-one fight himself. This went as well as you would expect.

He activated no abilities, no skills, nothing. He would watch me flail, and occasionally counter to try and break my concentration while channeling Enhance. I didn’t advance past tier three, unfortunately. I asked Mr. Murdock why, and he said abilities progressed much slower in a training environment. If this was true combat, the experience gained would be multiplied by several factors.

I tried to help Carter tap into his mana, but we couldn’t achieve any results. He wasn’t mad or jealous of me, on the contrary, he was excited for me. I hoped we could stay in touch after we went our separate ways. Now that his personality was beginning to develop, I was enjoying our conversations. He helped fill the hole I felt when I would think about everyone from back home.

Carter also helped me try and develop more abilities related to mana use, but, we came up empty. I discussed our issues with Mr. Murdock, but he had said I was already an anamoly for even developing this ability before our classes had been chosen, he sincerely doubted I could get another. Like any kid hearing from their parent not to do something, it definitely didn't stop us from trying.

My history classes proved invaluable. I learned that the Humans lands were composed of five “states.” Each had their own king and queen, and all were overseen by an emperor and empress. Much like in America, the states were required to uphold certain laws of the land, but were also given latitude implementing state rules as they saw fit. Johan was in the state called, “Brokis.” The other four were Eroa, Utora, Afane, and Olath. All of them fielded their own armies, flew their own banners, but all would report to the empire if called. And presently they had been, for their combined force was needed to fight the two-front war.

They showed the map of Laria–it reminded me of a lot of typical fantasy maps or what Earth looked like back in the Pangaea days. It was one large land mass with rivers, lakes, mountains, and forests–all surround by an ocean called “The Endless Seas.” We, the humans, had the most land and cities. We also had the most people by a large margin–this was our “racial bonus” in gamer terms. Humans held no special benefits in attributes or experience, but made up for quality issues with quantity. Sounded like Earth, honestly.

The transport process was not mentioned at all, nor how to get back. We were only given some fluff about second chances and Laria being a paradise in comparison to our former selves and former worlds. Sure.

I paid special attention to how experience worked. Apparently, an entire god was dedicated to this. His name was Karadigon, and he was, and I quote, “The god of Experience and Leveling.” Very original stuff. He was also the God that the the lizard humanoids, Fhalines, worshipped. This god gave experience not just for combat, but also handed out quests as he saw fit.

For example, I might ask Carter, “Help me create this sword I need to kill the BBEG.” Karadigon might deem that worthy and grant him some experience or rewards if he accepts the “quest.” It was explained to me that if experience was only given to those in combat, then farmers and crafters would never level up, and would lack motivation to continue their jobs or duties.

The experience system was vast and convoluted, which made sense. This wasn’t a game. For fairness sake, experience distribution wasn't solely based on concrete formulas and set amounts. Karadigon sometimes gave extra experience for a particularly unique way of solving something or killing a certain monster. A rat you caught in the wilderness might earn you five experience, but a rat that had been plaguing the food cellars of a certain town might net you twenty.

At the end of day six, our instructors informed us there would be a tournament held tomorrow. It would be double elimination, and if our scores being impacted wasn’t enough motivation, the top ten would receive a “prize,” with first place getting two prizes. They were ambiguous about what this prize was, but everyone perked up at its mention. None of us had gear besides our uniforms and storage bracelets, so if it was gear or ability scrolls… well, it wasn't necessary for me to elaborate on how valuable that would be.

The tournament would take all day, as our class contained thousands. We were told only to stay close enough to be called, otherwise we were free to do as we wished. I tossed and turned all night, my mind reverberating with nervous tournament thoughts. I was confident I could do well, and possibly even win the whole thing, since no one currently had my ability. Would they even let me use it?

That thought turned out to be a premonition of sorts, because during the morning as thousands of people gathered, someone had asked if abilities could be used, and stared in my general direction. I recognized the man–he was someone that had been in a group of three that I had beat… by myself.

A plump woman, short in stature, stopped giving instructions to answer. “What are you asking?”

Her tone was as cool as ice. She might be short, and maybe fat, but there was zero chance I would fuck with her in any way. Some people had that “it” factor and came across as dangerous or powerful, and in a few words, she had that and then some.

“Well…” the student began, standing up in the crowd so he could be heard. “I don’t think it would really be fair to be able to use abilities when most of us haven’t learned any at all.” He crossed his arms.

This should be good, I thought to myself.

“Ah, yes, I see.” She mockingly stroked her chin in thought. “You mean to tell me, that someone’s natural aptitude for learning an ability is unfair, because you yourself do not have the same gift. Correct?”

Snickers could be heard across the field while the man began to mumble some kind of unintelligible defense.

“We aren’t training you to be fair,” she interrupted. Pointing to the other instructors lined up at various points around the students, she continued. “Do you think that these instructors, who have lived many years, and have fought many fights, tried to make sure their power was as equal to their opponent as possible?” It was clearly rhetorical. The crowd was shamed into silence.

“Of course not. You fight to win, and if you can beat your opponent into the ground without taking a hit, then do so.” As Forrest Gump would say, that’s all she had to say about that.

The rules were simple. No weapons would be allowed. This elicited murmurs of dismay from a number in the crowd. The fights would mimic the arena duels we had been used to so far. If the fight lasted longer than five minutes, it would go to an instructor’s judgment call, like in boxing or the UFC.

Admittedly, the first few fights for me were rather boring. I would start the fight without enhance activated, so I could gauge my ability against theirs before turning Super Saiyan. Unfortunately, I had gotten so used to finishing fights with my ability, that my natural fighting progression slowed in comparison to the others. I felt like that tall kid playing basketball, never having to practice the fundamentals because he could just blow by everyone and dunk on their faces whenever he wanted.

I noticed the instructors writing in identical scrolls periodically during the fights. They called participants seemingly at random. I assumed the scrolls were enchanted somehow to keep track of our scores and records. After my first six matches were a snooze-fest, the seventh kicked things up a notch.

I stood in the arena against a skinny woman at least six feet tall. Above piercing blue eyes her hair was buzzed. I vaguely recalled seeing her throughout the week, but was pretty sure she had long hair at one point. I guess she decided it was getting in her way.

Having never fought her or seen her fight, I took my usual approach and engaged normally. We were even, surprisingly, trading a few blows back and forward, with the majority of the fight being dodges or blocks. We both remained standing, the fight never being brought to the ground.

After what seemed like a minute, I decided to end the fight. I leaped back and activated enhance. I found I needed a moment to collect myself to maintain concentration and not lose myself in the bloodlust. The retreat was part of that strategy.

My opponent changed her stance. She faced me directly, her feet spread wide, hands before her, but close to her body.

I paused before rushing forward. I had just under 18 seconds before having to cut the ability due to mana depletion. Even that was pushing it. The closer I got the 0 mana, the more fatigue I felt and the more sluggish my thoughts became. I felt having at least 20 mana left me more or less myself, so I shot for keeping it activated no longer than 15 seconds.

I was still nervous that if I attacked too aggressively, or too violently, that my thoughts would begin to drift into the “murder” mindset, so I stuck to throwing my opponent out of the ring if I could. With that in mind, I went for a tackle to pick her up .

She dodged at the last minute, hitting the ground in a roll. I had expected as much, and quickly put my foot into the ground at superhuman speed, stopped on a dime and changed direction. My thought was to be there as soon as she came out of her roll, and with no time to react, grab her uniform and throw her out of the ring. The space was just under 1,000 square feet, just slightly bigger than a UFC arena. We were already away from the center, so throwing her with my increased strength would be relatively easy.

I wasn’t facing an ordinary fighter, unfortunately. Once she had came out of her roll, she immediately dodged toward the center of the ring, not even looking where I was coming from. It was this sudden reaction that caused me to grab nothing but empty space, as I saw her launch back onto her feet coming out of the second dodge.

Huh. Seems like I wasn’t the only one sandbagging at the beginning of our little skirmish

Wasting no time, precious seconds already ticking away, I made a rush toward the girl.

She held up her hands and screamed at the top of her lungs, “NO! PLEASE! STOP!”

The sheer panic and fear in her voice caused me to stutter step and pause. Had I gone into a battle frenzy? Was she that scared of me?

That pause in the fight made me scared of whatever I was portraying, and my concentration slipped. Enhance flickered and ceased. I felt the rush of mana releasing from my mind and muscles.

I paused. “What’s wrong?”

The woman’s face changed from terror, to a sheepish grin, with perhaps a hint of guilt as well.

“I guess my instructor was right.” She took a few steps toward me.

“What?” I regained my composure and got into my fighting stance.

The woman stopped and shook her head, laughing to herself.

“I had watched you for the last few days, including some fights today. You never try to hurt someone, if you can manage it. My instructor had pointed this out, noting your passive fighting style. He also explained how the spell Enhance worked, as he had deduced that was what you had going for you up to this point.” She shrugged her shoulders. “My instructor also told me how long you would be able to keep the ability up, and how you have to maintain some level of concentration.” Her hands went to her hips. “I took to heart what that badass bitch of a lady said this morning, ‘We aren’t training to be fair.’ So, I spent my morning coming up with a plan. If you were too quick for me, I’d go after your soft spot.” She got into her fighting position. “Sorry!”

“Why bother telling me all this?” I asked.

“Just wanted to make sure you knew why I had to trick you. I’m not a bad person, but I’m definitely a sore loser.” She smiled.

Oh, I’m soo fucked.

And I was. The fight lasted about thirty more seconds, before my hit points reached 1/100. I didn’t even tag her once. Just like that, I was down to my final elimination.

I sat on the ground in the arena as my bruises and cuts healed. In a matter of moments my hit points rose back up to their maximum. I had lost and had no one to blame but myself.

I looked up to the sound of an approach. The tall amazon of a woman was reaching her hand out to help me up. Swallowing my pride, I accepted the gesture and stood.

Analyze

Name – Amanda (level 1)

Class – Processing

“Thanks, Amanda.” I gave her a firm handshake.

“No problem.” She gave me a slap on the arm. “Don’t take it too hard, I’m sure you’ll never let it happen again, right?”

I gave out a short, sharp laugh. “No shit. Thanks for the wake-up call.” I smiled begrudgingly. She could have wiped my face in the mess I had made, but took the higher road. “You’re good.”

“I had a good instructor.” She pointed to none other than Mr. Murdock.

That son of a bitch!

“Yeah… he’s been my instructor mainly as well. Come to think of it, he’s been with me for the majority of the time.” I raised my eyebrows. This gave the girl a similar pause and bewildered look.

“Uh… he’s been with me almost every second of the way.”

We both looked at him, then back to each other, and laughed to ourselves.

“I guess he’s got some secrets he has failed to mention.” I commented. We walked off the arena to make room for the next fighters. “Think he will tell us?”

“Have you met him?” she scoffed. “Doubtful, but let’s give it a shot.”

We approached together and stood like two defiant teenage kids before their father.

He held his arms out wide in welcome. “Ah if it isn’t my two favorite students.” His jolly smile and booming tone was like rubbing salt in the wound.

“Cut the shit,” I said. His face grew serious before I added a nice, “Sir.” A moment later he grinned.

“I don’t think I have any shit to be cutting.” He pressed to his check in mock pain.

“Teacher, sir, how did you teach us both at the same time?” Amanda asked with more tact than I had managed.

“A mentor has to keep some tricks up his sleeve, right? I had to give Vince here a lesson in humility and a dose of realism, and what better way than to use my other prized protégé.”

“How did you know? Why not say anything?” I pointed at Amanda, “Why use her as your way of telling me something you could have just said yourself?” I was getting a little heated - I had always listened to him, never once coming off as a student that would need a lesson being taught this way. He had never criticized me for my peaceful fighting style before, and I was confused why he couldn’t just come out and say that to begin with.

“Vince… I have seen a lot of battles in my years.” Mr. Murdock gestured for us to walk with him as we gandered at some of the fights currently on display. “Seeing you fight, it reminded me a lot of myself.” We stopped in front of a particularly intense fight, the two individuals yelling, kicking, punching, all like their life depended on it. He motioned to the fighters, “See here? They are trying their hardest to kill the other, holding nothing back.” He looked back toward me. “Have you ever fought like that? Even once?”

“Well… no.” I admitted.

“Why?” He asked.

“I’m not sure.” I replied honestly. “I suppose I was worried about hurting someone, or having them mad at me for hurting them.”

He snorted. “You were worried about someone’s feelings in a fighting tournament where it is actually impossible to kill someone?”

“Well… I, uh.” I began to stammer, looking for a come back.

“And if I were to have said something in our training, would it have made an impact on you? Or did the sting of losing and feeling like your teacher betrayed you stir the fighting spirit inside you?”

Silence was my answer, having nothing to retort back to… he was right. I hated losing, and I really hated letting people down.

“I didn’t say anything, Vince, because I thought being in the tournament would light a fire in you. I hoped to see you grow as a fighter, on your own, coming to terms with the world you find yourself in. After seeing your first battle, it was clear that wouldn’t happen, so I had Amanda here help me teach you what happens when you half-ass fight, even when you have the advantage.” He crossed his arms, waiting for my response.

This was an arena where it was impossible for me to kill anyone. I shouldn’t have been so soft; it didn’t even make sense given my current scenario. Which is probably what had Mr. Murdock worried in the first place. If I acted this way now, given the hand holding and reassurances of safety, what would I do when I got out into the real world?

I bowed slightly, looking toward the ground. “Thank you for the valuable lesson, teacher. I’ll try to not disappoint you.”

Amanda followed suit, thanking him for the wisdom, and the opportunity to teach me a valuable lesson. The second part of her sentence had a bit more sarcasm than the wisdom portion.

Touché.