Chapter 5

Moving with a spring in his step, Frank approached Bill, who was slashing at imaginary foes with wide, powerful swings of his axe. Seeing the old man approach, he stopped and nodded.

"Ready for our spar, old man?"

"I am. Let's try to avoid hitting each other, don't want you to split me in two," Frank said seriously.

"We should also take a break once we are down to half stamina, in case monsters attack again," Bill suggested. "Now, let's see what you got." He added as he got in position.

Frank smiled. This will be fun, he thought, as he turned sideways to his opponent, legs slightly bent and ready to explode, left arm hung relaxed by his side, right arm bent at the elbow, the forearm nearly parallel to the ground.

Bill made a chuckling noise, upon seeing him take such a technical stance. Then he bent his knees getting ready to rush forward, his eyes looking closely at Frank's response. There wasn't any, as Frank continued to stand still. A few seconds passed, then Bill exploded forward. He saw it quite clearly in his head, he would quickly cover the distance between them and attack. There was no way that flimsy saber could stop his swing, the biggest worry in Bill's mind was to make sure he didn't actually hit the old man.

Bill took two steps forward and suddenly reeled back, the point of the saber hovered dangerously less than a foot away from his face. What the hell? Bill thought, his brows furrowed. We were ten steps apart, what happened?

He backed away, and they started over. This time he didn't rush forward, choosing to carefully approach instead. He saw it clearly this time. When there were only five yards between them, Frank moved forward with a half-step, then his left leg pushed hard against the ground, as he took a large step with his right leg. At the same time, his balance shifted from the center of the stance to his right foot. Simultaneously, he straightened his arm, and the saber, which was pointing at the sky before, swooshed through the air as it was rapidly lowered. Startled, Bill realized that the saber would slash only a foot away from him. Since they agreed not to hit each other, such proximity could even be considered as a hit.

Bill jumped back, his axe at the ready. Frank brought up his left foot under him, returning to his balanced stance, then took two quick steps, forcing Bill to retreat further. Unwilling to back down anymore, Bill roared and jumped forward. Unperturbed, Frank took a step back, while slashing at Bill's left shoulder. Here's my chance, Bill thought as he swung at the saber. If I can knock his blade away and make him lose his balance... His weapon hit nothing, as he watched, half-in-disbelief, the saber loop away and around the trajectory of his attack, before lightly slashing him on his right shoulder.

"Again?" Frank asked Bill, who was just standing there, rubbing his head.

After getting a node, they continued. It felt unfair, but Frank needed to get experience fighting with a saber against powerful, slow weapons. Besides, it's better that he realizes his problem now and not when we are facing monsters, he's our strongest fighter, Frank told himself, as he once again scored a strike.

They continued to spar for about fifteen minutes before Bill called for a break. The training was evidently much more draining on him, as Frank's stamina was still at a healthy 28/30. Still, it was time well spent, as Frank's Fitness went up by a level, in addition, he received Saber Mastery skill, which rose to level 3. Apparently training with a purpose gives much better results than just swinging wildly, Frank thought.

"Oh Bill, that was quite a sad display. Being bested by a senior citizen," Margaret called out from the side, as the two men moved closer to talk.

"Ha, I told you. This old timer is a crafty one. First, figuring out how to learn skills, and now this," he let out a sigh and rubbed his bald head. "How did you do it? Are you some master swordsman or something? I know I am faster than you, yet I couldn't do shit," he asked, looking at Frank.

"I wish. I did fencing in my younger days, but that's not the reason for these results. Part of it is your stance, the bigger part though is our weapons," Frank's reply was ready, as he had given this question some thought already.

"What's wrong with my stance?"

"Um, you are basically using a fighting stance, just with an axe in your right hand. However, unlike normal fighting, you can't use your left hand to attack, nor block. Leading with your left side simply gives me a large area to attack. Additionally, this means your weapon is behind you, while mine is in front of me. I can strike by simply extending my arm, while you need a long swing to bring your weapon upon a target," Frank explained.

"Damn, I didn't even think of that," Bill chuckled. "And the weapons?"

"They serve different purposes and are frankly from different eras. A saber is designed for fast-paced skirmishes against unarmored targets. Whereas an axe sacrifices speed and maneuverability but can inflict damage on someone wearing heavy armor. It makes our spar rather unfair. But as far as fighting monsters, I am not sure who'd come out ahead. If we run into an armored foe, my attacks will be nearly useless."

"Then, how would you deal with an armored monster?" Bill asked, nodding to the old man's explanation.

"Magic," Frank smiled at him, shooting a Lightning Bolt toward the sky.

"Hahaha, that simple huh? And here I expected some tactical gem," Bill let out a loud laugh.

"There might be ways to do it via skills or high attributes, but that's the same as magic anyway," Frank shrugged.

"That it is. It all feels like a dream to me, still," Bill nodded. "Before I go meditate, what would you suggest I do to make up for my stance's and weapon's shortcomings?"

"Hmm, I'd suggest a shield. That way you can defend while getting close enough to attack. Maybe try dual-wielding, a sword in your left hand, so you can parry and stab with it?" Frank said as he caressed his chin in thought.

"None of the goblins had shields, but there are plenty of swords. Might as well get the extra skills from the different weapon types. Speaking of weapons, where did you get yours?"

"A reward for Completing Trailblazer grid," Frank replied, then seeing the confused look in the man's eyes he added, "which I got for being first to learn a skill."

"Ah, guess I am stuck with the junk the goblins used," Bill sighed, "going to go grab a sword from the weapon pile."

"Hold on," Frank called out as a thought crossed his mind, "do you have the Front Pack grid?" After getting a negative answer, he looked towards Margaret: "How about you Margaret? Do you have it?"

"Yes, got it from killing one of the goblins."

"I killed goblins too, why don't I have it?" Bill asked, glancing at the two of them.

"You had to be among the first 10,000 people to kill a monster in this zone to get it," Frank explained.

"... which means..." Bill began.

"That there are more people than that in this zone. Can you let the Marshall know about this, while you grab a sword?"

"Yea, sure," Bill nodded and began to walk toward the stack of weapons some distance away.

Frank saw Margaret join her husband, teasing him about his performance, only to get rebuked and told to train harder to get enough GP to finish the Healing grid. Chuckling softly at their bickering, Frank turned around, only to see that Kevin had approached him, and was shifting nervously.

"Um, would you mind giving me some pointers?" Kevin asked after Frank gave him a questioning nod.

"I know very little about fighting with a spear but sure."

They got into position and began. Frank let Kevin attack for a while, as he observed the other man's form. While he knew nothing about spears, elements like movement, balance, and attack patterns were universal. After a few minutes, he had a good list of things Kevin was doing wrong. The next time he was attacked, Frank moved his arm slightly, his blade collided with the shaft of the spear, forcing it to slide beside his body, instead of through it. Then he took a quick step forward while slashing horizontally, stopping his blade a short distance away from Kevin's face.

"I've seen enough," Frank said, gesturing for the other man to approach. "Hmm, where to begin? You stand with your legs straight, meaning you have to bend your knees before you can move. You should already stand with your knees bent, like so. This way you can move right away," Frank began to explain, as he showed a more appropriate stance.

"Your attacks are too stiff, and you have no follow-up. You just thrust your spear forward, aiming at my chest. That's good enough to hit a dummy, but it won't cut it against an actual opponent. For once, you don't need to always aim for the chest, go for the head or legs sometimes, it will make defending against your attacks much harder. And, you don't need to always attack, add some feints. Pretend like you are going for the head, then when I move to parry it, hit my legs instead," he continued.

"Also, you can change the point of attack by simply moving your right hand. Here," Frank took the spear from Kevin and got into a stance. He showed how rotating his right hand resulted in the spear's point moving left and right, up and down. Then he executed a few stabs, demonstrating how to shift one's balance during attack and recovery, as well as how to move with the spear in general.

"That should be enough to get you started. After that you'll just have to rely on Spear Mastery and your own experience to improve," Frank concluded, returning the weapon.

"Thank you for your guidance, um, senior," Kevin said respectfully.

"Now, now, no need for that. You make it sound like I am some sort of martial arts sensei," Frank waved his hands in protest.

"Still, thank you," Kevin replied in a serious tone.

Frank scratched his head, watching the man walk away and begin to practice. He didn't think his advice was all that great, but everyone's experience was different, to an office worker who never paid attention to combat sports, Frank's insights were quite revolutionary. Shrugging, Frank began his own training. The saber blurred in his hand as he executed the basic attacks and parries, then he started to think of how to fight against multiple foes, armed with various weapons and possessing different physical attributes.

After a while, Bill joined him for another spar, this time the bald man dual-wielded an axe and a short sword. The change was highly beneficial, and Frank had his hands full trying to get his attacks through while avoiding a counter strike. When Bill got low on stamina, Kevin approached him again, asking some more pointers on his stance and proper movement.

Time passed as Frank continued to train, by himself, with Bill, and Kevin. Even Hank asked for his advice at some point. His skills were slowly increasing as well, especially Saber mastery, additionally, he learned the Parry skill. Everyone kept training, and finally, Margaret made an announcement.

"Finally finished it," she said, as she got up and started to stretch her arms and legs. "I've got a healing skill now."

"Well, what does it do?" Kevin asked after everyone converged around her.

"Healing Touch, restore (15+ 3*level + R affinity) HP to target for (5 + level) R mana. Must physically touch someone to use it, 10 seconds cool down," she read the description.

"Not bad. How much R mana do you have? Frank asked. Better efficiency than my Mana Shield, though Shield can block more damage.

"Sixty," Margaret replied proudly. "As long as you don't get killed right away, I'll be able to patch you up."

"I'd prefer not to need it," Kevin said, pushing up his glasses, "but it's nice to have it. Thank you for taking on the role of a healer."

"Come on, don't be so serious. We are just doing what we can to improve our chances of survival," Bill boomed, slapping Kevin on the back. He must've increased his Strength attribute, as the friendly slap sent Kevin stumbling. Which made Bill burst with laughter.

"Can you train it on someone at full HP?" Amy asked, ignoring Bill's antics.

"Yes, it just misfires, but the mana is consumed, I think it will count," Margaret explained.

"Alright, back to training then. Come on, Frank, I got a new skill I want to try on you," Bill said in an excited voice.

"A new skill, interesting. Give me a minute to check my own gains first," Frank said, waving him away. Looking through his notifications, his results were quite pleasing.

You have learned a new skill: Saber Mastery level 1: Riding his trusty steed, the Saber Master rushes into the enemy formation, slashing right and left, leaving naught but death in his path. That's all fine and dandy, but what are you going to do when you run into an armored golem? Golems are immune to magic, you know. This skill improves your handling of sabers, your attacks, parries, and movements become faster.

You have learned a new skill: Parry level 1: Using your weapon to deflect and redirect incoming attacks, you are able to stand your ground against your enemies. Does your saber really look like something that can stop a two-handed mace swung by a troll? This skill improves your ability to parry and redirect attacks, the impact on your body and weapon from parrying decreases with level.

The two new skills aside, Franks skills experienced the following improvements: Mana Shield and Lightning Bolt increased by 1, Fitness went up by 3, Parry got to level 2, while Saber Mastery improved to an impressive level 7. In total, he now had 14 GP, just one shy of having enough to finish the Front Pack grid.

Frank sighed at being one GP short, but it was just a temporary delay. I should get a skill level in five, ten minutes max, he mused. He put the 14 GP into the Front Pack grid, which netted him 4 Attribute points, which he decided not to spend for now. With that done, he began to make his way toward Bill.

Suddenly, he heard the Marshall calling everyone to come over. Frank spun around, scanning his surroundings, but didn't see any threats. I wonder what this is about, he thought as he joined the rest of his team, before moving towards the Marshall. The man waited patiently for everyone to gather before he spoke.

"I hope everyone's training is going well. Aside from increasing our combat strength, I believe our main priorities are water, food, and shelter. I had sent out several teams to scout our surroundings, they have returned and brought some news with them. There is a river some three miles that way," he pointed in a direction along the nearby forest. "I believe we should move close to the river. The area there is the same as here, grassy plain, and shouldn't be any more dangerous than this location. If there is anyone opposed to moving to the river, please speak up."

No one was opposed. Their extreme circumstances, as well as attributes, might've made them forget about thirst, but now that it was pointed out, quite a few people found themselves wanting.

"Alright. We'll move at a moderate speed. Stay together with your group, and try not to spread out. If we run into monsters on the way, we'll form a defensive line and fight them. If the monsters hit us from behind, then face them while sending word ahead, we'll return and reinforce you. Does anyone have any other suggestions?" He asked, scanning the crowd and waiting a few seconds for anyone to speak up. "Then let's move!" He finished after no one offered any other ideas..

The pile of goblin weapons was stashed into Spatial Rings, and then they began to march. The speed wasn't too fast, yet after walking for a mile Frank's group was dead last. The reason for their laggard speed was Hank. The poor guy had put all his attribute points into Constitution, leaving the rest of his physical attributes at baseline levels. And unlike Frank, whose physical attributes were also dismal, but who had high regeneration, Hank's regeneration was also at a baseline level, and he had to take frequent breaks to recover during training. Unable to gain skill levels fast, and with grids rewarding fewer attributes, it would take him a while to increase his lackluster attributes.

"Sorry," he apologized yet again, as he huffed.

"It's fine, you just need to put a few points into Strength and Quickness, and Endurance," Bill boomed.

Hank nodded and continued to plow forward. I wonder if you can die from a heart attack, of it HP would heal you back up, Frank thought absentmindedly as he glanced at the red-faced man. Turning the other way, he looked at the forest that stretched as far as the eyes could see. A movement caught his eyes, and he squinted, trying to get a better look.

A group of humanoids stepped out of the forest in silence, then they began to run after the humans.

"We are under attack!" Frank hollered at the top of his lungs, as he spun around. Damn it, he cursed. There were several hundred monsters, approaching their group from the side and behind.

"Kevin, run ahead while yelling that the rear is under attack and needs help. We'll try to hold them off," Frank gave the order.

"OK," Kevin said, his voice shaky, then he was off.

"Form the line! Fighters to the front, mages and healers behind!" Bill joined in, his voice booming over the column.

"Sorry, it's all my fault," Hank said quietly.

"Apologize to us after we survive," Frank grinned at him. If we survive.