The best way to learn to fight is through combat.

Davies - Head of Climber Academy

The good thing about having guards escort you through the city is everybody moves out of your way. Of course I probably look like some sort of mass murderer as there were half a dozen guards surrounding me.

“Do you mind answering an odd question?” I asked the guard who looked like he was in charge.

“Seeing as this may be your last day alive I'll humor you.”

“What city is this and what country are we in?”

“They really did have to cast a wide net to find a new messenger. Can't say I would want the job. You are in the city of Princip in the country of Mills.”

“Got it, city of Princip, country of Mills. How many sects are there?”

“We only have the Ice Hammer Sect here in Princip. I get a feeling that many of the sects don't play nice with each other. As such the only other sect in Mills is on the southern tip of the continent. They are called the Water Dragon Sect.”

“Is it just me or are their names a little ridiculous?”

The guards all laughed at my question.

“I have to agree with you, but I wouldn't let any cultivator hear you say that. That's a good way to get you and your family killed. Best thing to say about any name they tell you is that it sounds like a strong and proud name. That’s what I tell every guard to answer when they are asked what they think of the sect. ‘With a strong and proud name like that the sect must be amazing’. Isn't that right Lou?”

“That's right Captain,” said one of the guards from my other side. “We are truly blessed to have such a strong and proud sect so close to our city.”

“Damn right and don't let anybody else hear you say otherwise,'' said the captain with a smile.

The rest of the time was spent in silence as we marched out of the city towards a large complex down the road. As we got closer I could see the sect. There was no way to see inside as a large wall surrounded the entire area. Interestingly there was no one else on the road to this sect. Once we were a hundred feet from the entrance the captain pulled out a scroll and handed it to me.

“Don't open the scroll. Don't run away. Take it straight to the doors of the sect. You seem like a nice guy and I'd hate to have to run you down and kill you if you don't follow my directions.”

I gave him a reassuring nod and walked up to the doors of the sect. The doors were massive, at least three stories tall, and seemed to be made of solid iron. I expected there to be some sort of detailed carvings as I got closer but instead there was just an emblem with a hammer on each door. When I arrived at the doors, I knocked twice and stepped back.

Then I waited. And nothing happened. I was tempted to knock again but the butler's words rang through my head and I didn't want to seem rude. Time dragged on until after 20 minutes the door finally cracked open and a man stuck his head out.

“What business do you have with the Ice Hammer Sect?” Even though he had a pompous attitude it was hard to take him seriously as he was five or six years younger than me.

“This one greets the honored member of the Ice Hammer Sect.” I clasped my hands together and bowed. Honestly the words and gestures felt dumb but this is what I was told to do. “This one bears a message from the leaders of Princip.” I held out the message with both hands on my palms upward while still bowing.

“You dogs are always troubling us with your requests. Stay here and I will see if we are to accept your message.” And with that he shut the door in my face.

For people who apparently prided themselves on respect and courtesy, they sure didn't give any. This was complete bullshit.

Ten minutes later another young man opened the door. This time the door was opened wide enough for me to see his whole body. This guy was about my age and had an even greater sneer on his face as he looked me over. His muscles were large and bulky and he seemed to like showing off his arms as he had no sleeves. He wore some sort of fighting outfit that I swore was made from silk. Judging by his fine clothing and showing off his bare arms and muscles, I was willing to bet he had never fought a day in his life. I had seen others like him back home. Guys who liked to lift weights to bulk up but could never put those muscles to use in a fight.

“You are the messenger? You will come with me and we will see what use I can put you to.”

“I really don't think that's necessary,'' I said. Everything they had told me about other cultivators was that they were all insane and would kill anybody for the slightest insult. Why would I want to enter a compound full of them?

“But it is necessary, because I told you it's necessary. You will follow me.”

I turned back to see if the guards were going to say anything and I could see the captain was frowning while he waved me forward. Clearly he didn't like the idea of me going in either, but he cared more about the message being delivered than my safety.

I followed the young man and we made our way through the gate and wall. We entered a large courtyard. There were surprisingly few people in the courtyard. I was used to cities where there tended to be merchants and businesses right inside the gate, but this area was deserted. In fact the only ones in the area were a dozen other young men who seemed to be waiting for us.

“Now before I take the message, I think it would be good to trade some pointers with you,” the man said smiling.

“What sort of pointers are you wanting to trade? I don't really have any advice I could give you about the city.” All the people around us laughed at my comment which I did not find very reassuring.

“Fighting pointers,” he said, looking at me like I was an idiot. “I will fight and you will learn from your better. After I'm done teaching you, I will take the message.”

“And then I'm free to go?”

“And then you're free to go.”

Name: Will Truman

Level 52 Cultivator

Sect: Ice Hammer

Disposition: Amused

For once my Enhanced Scan actually provided the full details on a person. He was the most powerful human I had seen besides myself. I was still a dozen levels higher than him, but I had little desire to fight him. After the last floor and the Klawm Aerd I had no stomach for fighting. For the first time in a long while I was more than willing to walk away from a fight. The thought of fighting another human made me feel nauseous.

But I knew I didn’t have a choice. Already the other young men had formed a circle around us and this Will guy was not going to accept the message without a fight. Luckily it looked like he was unarmed so it would be a fist fight. There was less change for me to seriously harm him in a fight without weapons.

While unarmed combat was not my greatest strength, the Climber’s Academy had taught me how. I was the highest ranked in all of our combat training including unarmed fighting. Before the Tower I had fought over 50 people during my training both armed and unarmed. Needless to say I was no novice. The key to unarmed combat was fast driving strikes that would disable your opponent. Against a slow bulky fighter like him, I would have an easy victory even if we were the same level.

Reluctantly I took up a fighting stance.

He bowed slightly to me while not taking his eyes off me and then assumed a fighting stance. Belatedly, I returned his bow and as I stood upright from the bow he was already almost to me. The bastard had attacked when I wasn't looking.

He was fast, far faster than I expected. I've been fighting monsters for a while but haven't fought anything this fast. Nothing even came close, not even the bats in the Secret Monster Horde Dungeon. I was also clearly wrong about him not having any fighting experience as he punched at me with a lightning fast jab.

Moving my head out of the way of his initial strike, I punched out with my own strike. His arm moved and managed to deflect my attack, while he turned his body to kick at me. I was used to the slow powerful kicks that the instructors had taught me, but this kick was different. I tried anticipating the movement of the kick to catch his leg, but the kick was so swift that I was already flying backward before I realized he had landed the hit.

I managed to stay upright even though the kick had pushed my back about five feet. Pain blossomed on my side indicating the ribs were likely bruised. How powerful was that kick to hurt me through my leather armor? I didn’t pause and pushed off with all my strength, charging straight at him to once more close the distance. I tried a quick combo to see if it would throw off his fighting style, but he slipped around my attacks and quickly landed two punches on the same ribs he had kicked. Ignoring the pain I stepped forward again trying to get even further inside his guard, but he somehow managed to kick me while moving backward.

I made a mistake. It was clear that he had plenty of experience and technique. Hell, I was willing to admit that he was a better fighter than me. I could see from the gleam in his eye that he was enjoying the fight and that I had actually managed to take a few of his hits. Unfortunately for him, my stats were still greater. He may be better at utilizing his strength and speed, but I was still technically faster and stronger.

I moved forward once more, taking a few more hits until he failed to pull back his arm fast enough. Grabbing his wrist with all my strength, I drove my other fist into his gut. Wasting no time, I followed up by pulling him closer and delivering a hard jab to his temple. He tried twisting with the blow but I was still holding on to him and he could not move away.

The guy crumbled to the ground, unconscious. I knelt next to him and checked his pulse and breathing. Everything looked alright but he would likely have a headache for a day unless he had a healing potion. I took out the message scroll and turned to ask one of the men to get some water to splash on him.

A punch hit me squarely in the jaw.

The sucker punch drove me to the ground and the scroll fell from my hand. It was now my turn to be dazed. I tried to push myself back up, but the guys watching the fight rushed towards me. A flurry of kicks and punches rained down on me and I decided to pass out.