Chapter 12: Immersive training

“You call that a stab?” Arthur sighs as he grabs my training spear. “Put more of your weight in to it, but don’t lean your body in any direction!” I hear some recruits off to the other side of the training grounds.

“He’s still at it? I’ve been here for a month, he’s been here almost every day.”

“He’s put it more work than most of us.”

“If you guys have time to gossip, you have time to train!”

“Don’t be like Phillip, at least, don’t train until you die!”

I swing my spear in a slice towards Arthur. He quickly uses his hands to swat my spear appear.

I lower my body and stab forwards at Arthur, the tip of the spear aiming directly at his throat. My vision blurs and I hear Arthur speak from beside me.

“No, you moved your body too much. Try again.” He hands the stolen spear back to me. “You make your attacks too obvious. All you do is put strength in to your attacks, try putting in some technique.”

I nod my head and collect myself. I take a few deep breaths with my eyes closed to gather my thoughts before the final bout. I clear my head and raise my body to stand tall.

I swing my spear aiming for Arthur’s head. He moves the same way in order to swat my spear to the ground. I make the same movement with my spear as last time, but keep my body in place.

Suddenly, time feels slow as I thrust my spear towards Arthur’s throat. I push my spear at a normal speed, but everything else has slowed down. I see him immediately move his hand. He grabs my spear and time feels like it resumes at normal speed.

Arthur smiles as he pulls the spear out of the armor on his hand guard.

“Congratulations!” Arthur starts to clap and I tilt my head with a confused look on my face. “You managed to pierce a small amount of my cheapest armor!”

“I see.” I nod my head. “Um… what just happened though?”

“Magic.” Arthur smiles. “What just happened was magic. Magecraft, sorcery. Whatever you would like to call it. However, it was a phenomenon that is not likely to happen in the regular world. An anomaly.”

“I… I don’t think I’m following. Isn’t magic supposed to be flashy? It’s supposed to be fireballs and shields made of mana.”

“Mana? Surely you jest. That is a concept that has long since been lost with time. Magic is not all flashy. Like you’ve already learned, magic is separated in to Assault, Defensive, Support, and Special class magics. It is separated like that, mostly for sorting purposes and has no real meaning behind it.” He stretches as he places my spear back on the rack and motions for me to follow him.

“Where are we going?” I follow him, still curious about the subject. Looking back, I see a bunch of recruits with their jaws on the ground.

“To a friend.” Arthur opens a door in front of him, “Anyways, magic isn’t about being the best, or even the most powerful, it is about being the most resourceful. What you just used was a support class magic: Accelerate.”

“Support class?” I follow Arthur up a set of stairs.

“Yes, you used support class magic. My goal was to teach it to you. I’m glad you finally learned it, well, I say finally, but you learned it much faster than I thought you would. Some take years to properly learn magic because they believe the fantasy stories they have read as children are the way magic should be. They are called fiction for a reason.”

“Okay, I’m starting to understand, I think. Magic is the art of changing what is around you and yourself, but can you use the magics endlessly then, since mana is a concept that no one believes exists?”

“Yes and no.” Arthur moves down a long hallway, “Some magic has conditions that need to be met, some have a price, and others, you can use until you go blue in the face. Accelerate. It is a magic that almost everyone past level two hundred can use. If you learn how to control it, you can theoretically use it endlessly, even when you are not in combat.”

“Why teach this one to me in particular?” I tilt my head as I sit down in a chair at a table. Arthur sits across from me. We had entered in to a very large room with a glass chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

“I was aiming to teach you magic, not any path in particular. You could have easily developed an Assault class magic while training as well. It would have done more damage, but I’m sure I could have handled it. The Assault class magic you would have learned would be called: Piercing Strike. It is a forward strike that is extremely powerful, it is a conditional magic. It needs you to be using a strong weapon, striking forwards, and be extremely calm.”

“I see. So your goal was not to teach me a particular magic, but to make me learn magic. I still am confused about the spell: Accelerate.”

“It’s not a spell, it is a magic. There’s not really a difference, but it will be easier for you to keep track of if you keep the words the same.” Arthur looks at the door, “He should be here soon.”

“He? Who’s this ‘He’?” I look to the same door.

“It would be I.” Jacob comes in to the room with a gentle smile on his face. “Nice to see you again, Sir Phillip.”

“It’s been a little while, Jacob.” I nod my head politely. I look back to Arthur and he just smiles.

“So, I’m guessing Arthur has once again skimped on explanations.” Jacob sighs as he sits beside Arthur, across from me. “My name is Jacob Argyle, I am a mage who was once down on his luck after an unfortunate mishap.”

“Mage? You once said you were homeless. How does a mage become homeless?”

“A mishap. I once lost my ability to use magic. I was arrogant and was knocked down a step and a half by a mage more powerful than myself. I do not seek revenge, for I have seen my wrongdoings, but the mage restricted my ability to use magics for a long amount of time.”

“This is a lot to take in… why tell me all of this?” I hold my head in my hands.

“You see, I was the one in charge of the slave’s healing for a while. I healed your wife, Cecilia.”

“Not my wife.” I raise my head and shake my hand in front of my face, “We are, however, in a relationship now.”

“Congratulations, please invite me to the wedding.” Arthur interjects. “Even, thought it will probably happen in your world, at least have a small ceremony here as well.” Arthur stands up and sighs, “I have somewhere I need to be at this moment, I hope you’ll forgive me for leaving so soon.”

“I’ll think about it.” I wave Arthur off. “Have fun at whatever boring meeting you have today.”

Jacob waits for Arthur to leave the room before he begins talking.

“As I was saying, I was there healing the slaves that tried to kill themselves. I then learned it was a large group of people from another world, so it was possible for them to leave and never come back. That is irrelevant though. I know how to use one of the most complex Support class spells: Fast Healing.”

“So… you are going to teach me magic?”

“No.” Jacob sighs, “One does not simply teach another person magic immediately. It takes years, centuries. Magic is an art, an art that one has to study themselves to be able to understand. I will guide you though.”

“Okay, you aren’t going to actively help me, but you will answer some of my questions involving magic?”

“Indeed.” Jacob nods his head. “As always, you catch on quickly.”

“Someone has to, otherwise, we’d be here all day.” I sigh as I lower my head to the table, “What’s the difference between Assault, Defense, Support and Special class magics?”

“That’s easy. Assault class magic is defined by the fact that they usually affect other things and do damage to an object. Defense class magic is used to defend from attacks, be it speeding up blocking, or making a block more effective. Support class magic gives aid to the user or to others, sometimes both. Special class magic is where things get complicated.”

“Why is it complicated? Wouldn’t it just be an ‘everything else’ type of category?”

“No, it isn’t. All magic will fit in to a category. Special magics usually have a list of conditions so long that you need to study them for centuries to understand even the smallest bits of them. These magics include summoning, materialization, and general badassery.”

“That last one sounds suspicious.”

“Just an example.” Jacob folds his hands. “Do you have any other questions?”

“Yeah,” I raise my head, “I was wondering, what would be my chances of defeating that Devil Bear that chased me in to the city at my current level?”

“Hmm.” He scratches his head, “What is your current level?”

“My current level is eighty-two.” I look down at my Assistant to confirm. “Yep, eighty-two.”

“If you planned it out, and fought in an open area with a half decent weapon… You would have an eighty percent chance of winning. I think. Maybe higher, it’s been a while since I have tried to actually fight a Devil Bear on my own.”

“I see… so, magic is… a phenomenon?”

“Yes. It is an unnatural event brought on by a being.”

“How does that work? How is this event brought on?”

“It works quite simply actually. This phenomenon is brought on by the willpower of the person, however, no matter how much you will it, you will not learn a magic just by trying to do it. It is something you need to learn through actions and studying.”

“Then, how does one learn any magic at all?”

“You learn magic through repetition. If you want to learn an Assault class magic, you will need to find a book describing how it is used, the emotions you need to feel, the position you need to take, the conditions involved, be it an item, or physical.”

“So, if I believe enough, and I read about it, I will learn magic?”

“No. Not at all. You need to feel magic, despite there not being mana or anything of the like, you can feel magic. You can feel its omnipresence around you. The more you learn, the more you feel it, and the faster you will be able to understand different magics within a class.”

“So, I need to understand the essence of magic, to use different magics… then how did I learn Accelerate?”

“You haven’t learned it yet. You used it. Truly learning a magic lets you use it almost freely. It would feel like second nature. When you truly learn Accelerate, you would be able to use it when you were folding your laundry at home.”

I sigh, placing my head back on the table. I think to myself; if I learn this in the real world, no, my world, what good would it do?

[Oh, you finally used magic. I’m so proud of you!] I hear Ireina happily shout in my head, [Though, I do have to go again. I have a game to manage. Some guy is harassing the residents of this world using the strength he received from training within the guild.]

Ha! Get nerfed, scrub.

[The same would happen to you if you started committing crimes. You are the strongest person from your world, but maybe not for long, there is another rising star, but he is using his influence in the real world, getting people to join the game and spread word of him all over.]

Makes sense, what are you going to do to the bastard that’s committing crimes?

[Standard protocol is to alert the guards to his crimes, set a bounty, and force him in to slavery.]

Wow, that’s awfully dark. I guess he deserves it though.

“I have something else to add, I apologize for interrupting your thoughts.” He bows slightly, “Some people will be completely unable to learn certain magics, even if all of the magic they know comes from the same class. A person will have a limit, a soft limit and a hard limit.”

“Soft limit?” I tilt my head, “I understand the hard limit. The hard limit would probably be the absolute end of your path.”

“You are correct. Then the soft limit, what do you think it would be?” Jacob smiles. When did this turn in to a class situation?

“Hmm. I think that the soft limit would be a self-imposed limit. Something wired in to your head telling you that you can step no further forwards.”

“Close enough. A soft limit is indeed a self-imposed limit. Where your mind will tell you that there is nothing further. Everyone has both the soft and hard limit. The soft limit will constantly change, and some people hit this limit more than once. No one can even necessarily say there is even a hard limit, just people who cannot break through their next soft limit.”

“So.” I close my eyes tightly and rub my face. “Magic is something that you need to study and understand. How does one create new magic then?”

“Aha, that’s something very, very few people ever come to comprehend. I myself have yet to understand how magic can be created, finding the conditions, creating the phenomenon from nothing. It requires a level of understanding that not many people are willing to put the time and effort in to.”

“I see.” I nod my head as I take a deep breath. “This is a lot of information to digest.”

“It sure is. Not many books around here will tell you the information I just told you. Also, a mage is not always a robe wearing, beard growing, old man. Sometimes, they are burly men that wear heavy armor. Like Sir Arthur.”

“Figures.” I stand up and bow to Jacob, “Thank you for teaching me all of this valuable information. I am going to go to my room in the inn now. I need to check up on Cecilia and make sure she’s properly doing what I’ve told her to.”

“It was my pleasure. It’s great to see new people learning magic.” Jacob smiles happily as he stands up to walk with me out of the room. “Is Miss Cecilia still a slave?”

“Nope. Shortly after my break of those few days, I took her to the guild and paid to have her slave job removed. I bought her an Assistant so she could skip the proving quest, and now she should be fulfilling easy quests, making money and getting guild levels.”

“Smart man.” Jacob rushes in front of me smoothly and opens the door in front of me.

“Yeah, I was going to get her in to a job where she can be useful without going in to combat, she is still learning from the basics I show her. I can’t leave her completely defenseless.”

“You going to join a merchant group when you travel to the Capital? It may take a bit longer than if you were to travel alone, but I am assuming you want to bring Miss Cecilia with you.”

“Yeah, she says she wants to come along. I’m worried about a few of the monsters, I’d like to train a bit more before I have to go.”

“I’m sorry to say, but training against Arthur will no longer give you the same explosive results. You need real world experience from this point on.” Jacob opens one last door, but doesn’t follow me through, “This is where we part for now. If I don’t see you again before you head for the Capital, good luck. Safe travels.”

“Thanks Jacob, you’ve really helped me… no, everyone has really helped me.” I bow deeply to show my respect.

“You’ve also helped the guards as well, crimes have dropped since news spread that a royal guard, plus his only student are in town.”

I wave to Jacob as I start to walk away, he bows slightly before closing the door behind me. I can’t believe all of this is real though.

I’ve trained for a month. I’ve trained almost every day for a month. My body isn’t sore anymore, my mind isn’t tired, in fact, I feel refreshed. Though, is Cecilia going to be at the inn, or off somewhere else? She probably isn’t in the real world.

I make my way to the inn and open the door with my key. I long ago had a copy made so Cecilia could get in as well. It was complimentary after I mentioned we’d be staying a while longer.

“Welcome back, Phillip. You’re done training early today.” Cecilia wanders over from the bed.

“Yeah. I needed to take a break.” I sigh as I hug Cecilia. I make my way over to the soft bed and lay down face first. I made them upgrade it. “How goes your questing?”

“Pretty good actually. I’m starting to get some easy kill quests nearby the city.” Cecilia laughs, “I managed to hit level twenty today too.”

“Congratulations.” I roll over and face the ceiling. “Any merchant groups heading towards the capital?”

“Not for another week. They really spread them out, apparently the monsters have slowed down and this is the busy season.”

“Once every other week is the busy season? That’s amazing. I can’t imagine the slow season then.”

“Supposedly, there is mating season where all of the monsters are very, very aggressive. Nothing travels during that time. Only royal guards and strong adventurers dare to travel during that season.”

“Okay, that’s frightening. I’m worried for the future of this game.” I sit up and carefully take the cup of water Cecilia brought over for me. “I have good news though.”

“Oh?” Cecilia tilts her head then laughs, “Does it have to do with you asking when the next merchant group is going to leave the city?”

“Yes.” I nod my head and set my cup down. “I’ve finally had an encounter with magic. I quote unquote, used magic. I have not learned it, but I have used it.”

“The way you emphasize it, makes it seem complicated.” Cecilia sits in a chair opening a container of food.

“So complicated. I don’t even think I was explained half of it. My mind hurts from how many different things I’ll have to keep in mind from this moment forwards.”

“But that’s great! You are probably the first person to use magic from our world!” Cecilia claps while eating food, not forgetting to prepare mine for me.

“Thanks. For the amount of work I’ve put in to achieving this goal… I almost feel gipped.” I sigh, “But beggars can’t be choosers. I should just be grateful that I was able to use magic at all. How goes our real world stuff?”

“Oh, real world now? I can’t believe you want to stay in our small home.”

“I can’t believe you think moving everything is a good idea!”

“You’re just lazy!”

“Damn right I am!” I sit down and start to eat my food. “Anyways. I was talking about your family. I know they probably put up with you during the whole fiasco with deceiving me.”

“Are you still mad that I lied to you?”

“It’s not that I’m mad. I’m just worried that if you lied about something like that, what else is there that you’ve told me is a lie.”

“Well… I guess I did dig my own grave.” Cecilia sighs as she starts to clean up her food. “But you know, I love you Phillip, and I’m a little crazy, so I will do anything to keep you.”

“Great, now my girlfriend is openly psychotic. Oh joy.” I laugh, then clean up my food and sit down beside Cecilia. “How’s about we head to the real world now? Maybe watch some TV or something, and just relax. Maybe tomorrow, I’ll join you on a quest, since my training program is done.”

“Sure.” Cecilia sighs as she lays down. “See you in the real world.”

“Yep, see you there.” I sigh as I log out of virtual reality.

Well… it isn’t all that virtual considering the changes in real life.