Even though I barely woke up I was begged by not one not two but three people to train them. I’m fighting well but I’m not the best coach. First I had to check Gelda’s stamina so we tried the training with running and fighting repeatedly again. Dian had no other option than partner up with Basnir. Luckily for Dian, Banir was very slow so after running a lap he was able to rest for a minute. Gelda had gotten better. After running six laps and fighting me three times her speed didn’t drop much and her breathing was stable. Of course, there is still a lot of room for improvement.

[ Verser ]

“Hey, Eric! Come to my office for a second!” Shouted Verser from the window.

[ Eric ]

“I’m coming.”

When I looked down Gelda wasn’t there. She hid behind me for some reason. She didn’t even notice me looking at her. I had to poke her in the head so she would open her eyes.

[ Eric ]

“You scared of Verser or something?”

[ Gelda ]

“No! Well… In a way… Umm… After all, you took my spot!”

[ Eric ]

“That’s why I’m training you right now. That’s part of the deal. Anyway. I’m off.”

When I got to Verser’s office I immediately could tell what his hobby is. He is into fishing. There were many harpoons and fishing rods on the walls as well as puppets that looked like fishes. Right above his desk were the bones of a giant shark that would have no problem swallowing me whole.

[ Eric ]

“Nice office. What might be so special that you summoned me here? For the first time.”

[ Verser ]

“You’re gonna have your next fight tomorrow.”

[ Eric ]

“Who? Number ten? Or maybe someone higher.”

[ Verser ]

“Nope. You’re going to fight against a monster.”

[ Eric ]

“They are always tricky to fight… Couldn’t you find someone in the ranking?”

[ Verser ]

“That’s the problem. They wanted you to fight monster specifically.”

[ Eric ]

“There is always the first time. What kind of monster am I gonna fight?”

[ Verser ]

“That’s the problem… They don’t know. It’s gonna be delivered before your fight.”

[ Eric ]

“Another mystery… I don’t know what I need to prepare… Do I need a hammer for an armored monster or a bow and arrows against something toxic? I need to guess.”

[ Verser ]

“Can’t help you. All I know is that the monster is from someone with higher influence than me since even money couldn’t get the answer from them.”

[ Eric ]

“Higher influence? That can only mean Great Lords.”

[ Verser ]

“One of them definitely. I can only guess who since you defeated his high ranker.”

[ Eric ]

“The same guy that has my friend. Lokth.”

It’s not like I couldn’t say no to that. It came from the arena. If I want to get him without many problems afterward I need to fight. I fought against monsters and survived but each one of them was tricky to fight. I might be able to win without any problems if I figure out this shapeshifting. But I still don’t understand how I did all of that against Goro… I thought that this ability could only change my appearance into someone I know. Much less into animals!

Wait… Why didn’t it come to me earlier? My ability changed! It evolved like Gregor’s! I thought it was a slower process since it took him years. It wasn’t even a week for me. Although I didn’t fully grasp it. I only know I can do that somehow…

The rest of the day I spent instructing Gelda. She can expand her stamina on her own and since it is better I showed her how she should move and where to attack depending on her intentions. Where did I learn all of that? My dream was to become a physiotherapist so I studied a lot of biology but all my other grades were a disaster.

Sometimes I miss the old world. No… When I think of all the bad things… I’m happy that I died… I mean… Got here. Not died.