8 First lesson

Eisen stumbled over himself for a second, barely registering the short knife stabbing towards his chest.

However, before he could unsheathe his sword and attempt to deflect the blade, the knife was already hilt-deep into his chest.

A sharp pain in between his ribs was accompanied with glowing damage numbers.

(Critical hit!) [-36]

[You have been attacked! You will not face any penalty for attacking or killing the attacker for 1 hour.]

[Time left: 59 minutes, 58 seconds]

Eisen stared at the knife rammed into his chest. Then, he looked up at the cloaked figure, who was shocked motionless by Eisen's absurd health bar, which had only decreased by about a fifth. Eisen's expression hardened. His hand shot out, grabbing the attacker's wrist and preventing them from escaping .

The cloaked attacker quickly came to his senses and attempted to break free from Eisen's grip. However, Eisen's Strength stat was over 10 thanks to his equipment. The unknown player couldn't escape his iron-fingered grip, no matter how hard they struggled and fought.

[You have been Grappled! A movement speed reduction will be applied based on the difference between Strength stats. Attacks against Grappled targets deal an additional 10% damage!]

The mysterious man still struggled-- an exercise in futility -- while Eisen removed his sword from his scabbard. He immediately activated his Skill, and his blade began humming with faint energy.

'Power Strike!'

Eisen's sword became an arc of light, before crashing and cleaving into the cloaked attacker's torso. His blade shredded through armor and flesh, leaving a bloody wound stretching from the shoulder to the pelvis.

[-54]

While the difference between the attacker's and Eisen's gear wasn't insurmountable, Eisen's base stats completely outclassed the other player. The unknown attacker's health bar dropped by nearly half, turning into a sickly yellow from just one single attack.

Eisen brandished his sword once more, before attacking the mystery man with a flurry of strikes. Obscene damage numbers repeatedly appeared above the attacker's head.

[-35]

[-34]

[-34]

The player dropped to the ground, dead. Their identity would remain a mystery, since their body quickly dissolved into fragments of light.

After taking a moment to gather his very few wits, Eisen began counting his spoils from the short battle.

"Why did they attack me?" Eisen wondered aloud, while grabbing the coins left on the ground.

"What would I do in their place?" he began asking himself. "Ah! They probably thought they could kill and rob me for my Common-ranked equipment!"

"Little did they know that I was a hidden dragon!" he arrogantly boasted, despite the decrepit building being empty. Even Eisen paused, realizing how pathetic the display was.

After a moment of awkward, lonely silence, he continued collecting the dead player's drops. His small, feeble mind quickly turned his attention back towards the unknown player. 'Robbery does seem like a rather smart idea. Maybe I should consider becoming a red-name?'

Abruptly, he remembered the town guards. His body involuntarily shuddered as he remembered the last time he ran afoul of the law: quick death.

The sharp pain in his abdomen and his subsequent beheading was still fresh in his memory. Eisen had died a total of seven times in Gigantomachia, and every single time felt deeply uncomfortable.

Eisen turned his attention towards less gruesome matters, shaking off the foreboding and fearful feeling. 'What a profitable harvest: a Common-ranked dagger and another Trash-ranked ring.'

He equipped the ring, since he still had 4 free ring slots. He made rough plans to continue advertising and selling Common-ranked equipment in Mudbrick Town, before logging out.

Once he felt his rumpled bedsheets underneath his flabby body, he removed his VR headset and slowly stood up.

"What a refreshing sleep," he mumbled. Eisen was somewhat surprised how rested he felt, since he had never entered full-dive virtual reality for such a long period of time before.

Eisen groggily stumbled into the cramped bathroom to have a quick shower; his air conditioner broke and until recently, he didn't have the cash to pay for repairs.

'That should be the next thing I do,' he grumbled internally as cold, refreshing water banished the drowsiness from his body.

Once he was feeling less muggy and sweaty, Eisen changed into some decent, albeit rumpled, clothes. He emerged from his apartment as an animal does from their den after hibernation: uncomfortable and disoriented.

Eisen winced at the bright, piercing sunlight, shaking his head as he tried to adapt to his surroundings. After his eyes adjusted to the brightness outside, he walked towards the shopping and business district.

As soon as he arrived, he quickly bought several nutrients-balanced meals from the supermarket, before buying a higher-quality virtual reality headset from the store.

His most important priorities-- food and improving his source of income --now covered, he began to consider his future goals.

"Sword training would surely help me become a better player in-game," he mused. "Where would I find kendo classes?"

Japanese culture had always appealed to him, since his parents were also from Eastern Asia. Eisen definitely preferred kendo over fencing.

He promptly scheduled a private lesson with a highly-regarded instructor. While the class was expensive, the excellent ratings and reviews fully convinced him that he was getting his money's worth.

After two hours of idly occupying his time and waiting for his appointment, Eisen now stood outside the door of a large, Japanese-style building. An ornate, wooden signboard with golden Japanese calligraphy hung over the mahogany doorway. "Gedatsu Kendo" was written in English slight underneath the foreign Japanese.

Within, the spacious dojo had smooth wooden floors and a wall-length, floor to ceiling mirror. Multiple square areas were outlined onto the floor with white tape, equally spaced around the training hall. Several beautiful wooden swords leaned against the furthest wall. Every training blade had the handle against the ground and the tip of the blade leaning on the wall.

A middle-aged man stood firmly and emitted an experienced and powerful aura. The man wore a keikogi, a traditional uniform worn in Japanese martial arts. Eisen could feel that the man's body was muscled; he simply felt lean and strong. His long, raven-black hair flowed down his back. His eyes were as calm as a crystal-clear pond.

The man studied him intently. His gaze made Eisen shiver, as though a large tiger was staring at him hungrily.

"Take off your shoes," the man said. His voice was flat and hard.

Eisen trembled and quickly did as the presumed kendo teacher said-- no, demanded.

The raven-haired martial artist stowed Eisen's raggedy, well-worn shoes within a small cabinet, before turning back towards the pudgier, slightly pathetic man.

"My name is Mitsurugi Haruki. While within these halls, you will call me Sensei."

Earlier, Eisen had been wondering why this man was so well-rated. Now, he could feel the heavy aura pressing down on him and could completely and utterly agree that every review had been right. While the man was truly intimidating, he completely trusted that Haruki-- no, Sensei --was an expert.

Eisen's upper lip quivered like frightened rabbit. "Y-yes, Sensei."

The man's presence simply demanded respect. Eisen's pride was crippled while before his newfound teacher.

CURRENTLY, EDITING IS IN PROGRESS

Once Eisen was home, he hurriedly heated up one of the meals he previously bought. After shoving the food into his mouth, he quickly logged into Gigantomachia.

He was greeted with the sight of Mudbrick Town's familiar cobbled streets.

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