Next day

Mallory woke up the next day and drew another talisman as she had found that her current limit was two a day if she took a break to rest and eat in between writing one and the next.

She started to attend the lessons and found that her learning speed towards the languages and symbols was very quick.

Different symbols and languages are a basic requirement for chanting or inscribing and would receive a bonus from her skill just like several others.

Monster studies, studies of the dungeon, combat studies, languages, symbols, calculation, calligraphy, magic studies, curse studies, item creation, astronomy and astrology should be the most suited to her skill to allow her a quicker growth in them but she also guessed that crafting or building in some ways could be influenced by her skill and she could learn quickly if she could get the opportunity.

In her old world and probably in the present one, Seshat was the goddess who performed a ritual which laid the foundations for temples and other important structures in order to determine and assure the sacred alignments and precision of the dimensions.

In some of the knowledge which Mallory had learned in her old world about Feng Shui and Astrology, there was still a need to refresh her knowledge with what fit more with her present world as what she had learned in her old world may not match up to the level of a goddess even if her old world had progressed greatly, it still lacked knowledge of the supernatural and other things.

While she was in the need of knowledge to try and help increase the use of her own skill and discover its full potential, she did not rush herself and chose to focus on the few lessons which she had.

The first lesson was writing the common language, the second was learning mathematics then there were many optional lessons so she took the combat and training lesson.

Oars was the one to lead the lesson and displayed a quick thrust of his spear as it was very fast and precise. "You all are doing well. Keep practicing this single thrust forward and gain familiarity with your spear or whatever weapon you have. Whether it is a spear, a sword or something else, you have to be comfortable with them in your hands and have to know the strengths and weaknesses of each weapon as well as take into account what they are best suited for."

He looked over towards where Mallory was stood and practicing. "You over there, you look like you have some experience but your form is still off by a lot. Watch me as I do it, I will show you slowly."

Although he moved much slower, his body used all the muscle in it to thrust the spear forward without wasting any strength. "If you have a good spear, good precision and judgement then all you should need is one good thrust to end an enemy but having a good defence is also important so we will soon begin practicing with wooden staffs to get you used to it. Most already have some experience but not everyone does."

Mallory copied his posture and movements slowly and then thrust forward but she did not get her intended result right away but she was not discouraged.

Oars continued to comment on many others. "Lower your stance more and position your legs so you can move back and forward more easily."

"Your grip is not firm enough!"

"Front foot forward to gain more reach as you thrust, step back with your front foot to your original position again as you pull back your spear."

"Control yourself! Do not thrust too far forward. You will open yourself up for your opponent."

He kept showing example of thrusts using two hands on the spear where one hand gripped a little further up the bottom end of the spear while the other was in the middle and there was no change as he thrust the spear and took it back to his hand placement. "This is a more stable thrust to also allow more ability to act against armour or your opponents parries because of the better structure of your ending position but by doing so you will not be able to make full use of the spears full length."

He then changed his hand placement as he thrust again, his hand was at the bottom of the spear at the end while his other rested in the middle area so when he thrust forward, his hand that rested in the middle had slid downward and returned to the middle as it came back. "This thrust will help you gain more reach in exchange for some structure.

The final move that he showed was when he was using a similar hand positioning as the second but as he aimed and thrust forward, he released the spear from his grip on the middle area and held the bottom in his single hand.

As the spear was pulled back, it came back into his second hand again. "This may not look as fancy as the others but it is a devastating move used when your opponent is least expecting it. By doing so you exchange all of your structure for more reach as you retain most of your power. While it is a good move to use, it could also lead to a fast defeat so it must be used with good time and measured choice. As the saying goes, it is a high risk and high reward choice of move."

He then added. "As always.. distance management is very important. Now is for parrying and footwork. Then you can all begin sparring."

Soon Mallory was facing a teen which seemed a little older than herself and they exchanged several spears. 'He has obviously had more training but…'

If there was one thing which she had then it would be her own experiences fighting against faster and stronger opponents.

Not many humans her own age or a little older could possibly match up to the people from her own tribe but she had got to experience it many times and had tried to overcome the overall difference in strength she had because she was half human.

As she got used to her opponents movements, she was able to parry several thrusts accurately without suffering any losses and then counterattack.

Although she was still new to the basic forms, she still had her previous experience and familiarity with the spear but there was also the her growth rate that was to be considered too.

Using her quicker speed and dexterity, Mallory avoided a thrust and countered as the wooden pole hit her opponent in the chest as she used the third move without warning. 'Hmm.. this is very useful but I can see why it can be problematic to use.'

Oars went around giving some tips on the spear or staff but also went around giving comments on others weapon choices as they switched to their preferred wooden weapon.

The lesson came to an end and Mallory went to fill up her stomach before heading outside.

She went to the market place to sell her two talismans but she was soon confronted with a mob of people. "Uh.. what is.."

"It is her!"

"It is all her fault!"

"She is behind it all!"

"Damn kid has been messing with us!"

It was a group of people which she had warned the day before but did not listen but they were not the same as they were before.

Some had bandages on their heads, splints on their legs and other displays of their misfortune.

Instead of recognising their faults and accepting that Mallory was trying to help and warn them, they came back and blamed her as if she had been behind those events as if she was arranging them to happen so that she could make people fearful enough to buy her talismans.

Although most of them were fully grown adults, they had no shame as they tried to group together and pick on a young child.

Mallory frowned and her vision went onto them all. "Ah it seems that your misfortunes have happened, if you bought the talisman then you could have possibly avoided it. I did try to help you but this is the result. Sigh. Though for one or two of you, your misfortune is not yet over. You, you and you, if you want to buy a talisman then it is seventy Valis and there are only two."

Her words instantly enraged the group who started to berate her publicly in the street but Mallory was long used to being called all sorts of names in her previous life as many called her a scammer and similar things.

Just as the crowd were causing a public disturbance and attracting bad attention towards her, two men pushed through and Mallory saw a familiar face.

The man who bought the talisman the day before had reached the front of the crowd then walked towards her and bowed. "Thank you! Thanks to your talisman, me and my companion were able to live."

The other man bowed too. "If there is not too much trouble then we do not mind taking them ofd your hands."

Mallory observed them and nodded. "While there is no longer the aura of death on you, it would be wise to have one on you just incase you encounter any kind of harm or misfortune in the future."

The two men looked delighted. "We will pay the seventy Valis for them but I will just round it up to one hundred and fifty Valis as thanks for saving our lives."

As they accepted the talismans they began laughing and raising their voices. "I benefitted from the talisman and can live to tell you all the tale! Last night.. this is what happened…. And so now we are the only survivors of our group because I took her warning seriously. If this kid warns you then take it seriously. No wonder you are all like this."

The two left smugly while Mallory slipped away with her Valis. 'Hmm.. how many days has it been since I have had my status? It should be approaching a week now so I can expect an update soon.'