Might as Well

After that, the woman turned around and began striding away to the dismay of everyone watching while Sam followed her with schadenfreude barely visible on his face.

They didn’t walk far, just until they were out of hearing range of the people standing in line and out of sight behind a simple wooden wall.

The woman stopped and gave Sam an expectant look and he bowed a little and handed over the letter.

She took it, ripped it open, and gave it a read.

A minute later, she looked up at him and scanned his body from top to bottom. She made a slight twirl motion with her fingers and Sam, with a reluctant sigh, did a three hundred-sixty. She nodded and went back to the letter.

After some time she looked up again, crumpled the letter, and tossed it aside as it fell apart into dust that was swept away by a convenient gust of wind.

“Name’s Martha,” she grunted while flexing a little with her arms.

Now used to the behavior of the people in the Training Hall, Sam raised his own arms and attempted to flex as well. “Charmed. Sam.”

Based on the look on her face, and the barely restrained laughter, he more than likely failed his attempt at muscle communication.

She snorted, then waved him forward. “Come. The letter speaks highly of you, but I wish to ascertain the truth with my own eyes.”

“Alright…”

He was led to one of the open training fields. All around him, countless players (and a few NPCs) were doing their level best to exhaust themselves under the strict gazes of the trainers who worked at the Hall.

Sam could see absolute beginners sweating under the sun wielding wooden weapons while trying to pretend they knew what they were doing. But he could also see countless players who already had some manner of equipment, wielding their own weapons under the direction of trainers. Some were middling even to his eyes, but he could spot a few gems as he followed his own trainer through the crowd. Sadly, all of them were guarded by their guild mates, who glared at anyone who even thought about going in their direction.

It didn’t help that those players who he could see were talented were either good-looking guys, who made sure to exercise in thin shirts that showed off their glistening torsos to the staring audience, or beautiful women, who would look good even if they were wearing burlap sacks.

‘Man, either they look like that in real life, or they really went ham on the character creation…’ he mused as his eyes took in the sights. ‘Still, a damn good PR move… After all, rule number one of being successful is to be beautiful.’

They left behind the walking, talking advertisement boards and approached one of the corners of the field, far from any of the groups. There were also a few strategically placed shrubs and other plant life that protected whoever used the training field from casual observers.

They stopped in the middle and by the time Sam’s eyes landed back on her, she was holding a simple sword, only adorned by the symbol of the Training Hall, a clenched fist crushing a sword and stave in its grasp.

He simply nodded and unsheathed his own sword, Moonlight. Then he took up the usual stance he used and raised the sword in a position that could be used to either defend or attack, not knowing what the woman, Martha, planned.

She eyed him for a moment, then nodded. “Solid stance. Now, prepare yourself!” she declared, and Sam had only a moment to react.

‘Prepare for wha...’ However, before he could finish his thought, the sword of the woman crashed into his own that he raised in reflex at the incoming attack. “Ugh!” he grunted in exertion as he looked directly into the eyes of the grinning woman who was now in front of him, pushing down on his sword with her own.

“Show me what you can do!”

Sam just grunted and used his mana to enhance his body to throw the woman off.

It didn’t work.

Half an hour later, Sam was lying on the ground, his training clothes in tatters, his sword lying somewhere in the dust, Lucky resting in the shadow of one of the shrubs and utterly exhausted.

Martha, as he expected, beat the literal living shit out of him. No matter what he tried, how he enhanced himself with mana, it was all useless in the face of destruction that Martha was with that simple sword.

And every time she beat him, she grunted a few things that he could improve or pointed out his mistakes before going back to beating him black and blue (and some red from the blood). Still, he was getting better. Probably…

She walked up to him and poked his exhausted body with her boots.

“Get up! We are not finished,” she declared with an imperious tone.

“Ughh…” Sam moaned in pain, but he still used Healing Wind on himself to get some of his stamina back and pulled his drained body into a standing position. A small flex of wind got his sword off the ground, cleaned, and back into his hands. “A-all right! What’s next?”

As he stood there, the woman began to circle him, sword pointed downwards. “While your skills are impressive for someone of your age, you’re still not at the top,” she began explaining while Sam nodded along.

He always knew that sword-wielding wasn’t his strong suit. The only reason he managed to accomplish this much was because of the memories of the other Sam.

“But you substituted talent with hard work, and I can respect that,” she continued with a neutral face. “The letter recommended that I allow you access to our Gauntlet, but with the way you are now, I can’t really do that.”

Sam opened his mouth to argue, but the trainer simply raised a hand to stop him.

“Allow me to finish, please.” Sam nodded, and she continued talking. “You can’t have access now. But I’ll show you a few things, and when you are well-practiced in them, come back and I shall retest you.”

Disappointed a little, Sam nodded once again. “What can I do to improve my chances?”

“You have no talent in sword-fighting,” she told him bluntly. “There is no need for anything fancy. Go with the simple and efficient. Learn a Sword Art that complements your magic and you’ll be a force to be reckoned with.”

It hurt a little to hear that he had no talent in it, but even he knew it was the truth.

“Understood. What’s next?”

The woman, still circling him, which started to get a little dizzying, hummed for a few moments, then tilted her head to the side. The action on any other woman would have looked cute, but seeing it on her, Sam felt more like a prime meat being scrutinized to ascertain which method to cook it with.

“We will start with the breathing. You are close to a breakthrough, then we will take a gander at your sword skills to see if we can do something about it. Sounds good?”

Sam thought for a second, then accepted. It wasn’t like he could get a better deal. ‘Probably need to be at least Level 50 to get access to the Gauntlet here… Oh, well…’

“Sounds fine. I’m ready!”

She grinned at him, sending a shiver down his spine. “Then breathe!”

The exercise was rather simple. He had to use his Advanced Breathing Technique while keeping his Active Meditation active, all the while doing whatever the woman told him.

At first, it was just taking simple steps this way and that way, but soon it turned into using his footwork skills to walk along the border of the training field while Martha yelled at him to correct this and that, or simply pelted him with stones which he had to deflect with his sword.

If he took more than the necessary movement to do it, his ‘reward’ was a barrage of stone pellets aimed at his most vulnerable points. It hurt like the dickens.

But slowly and surely, he got into the rhythm.

Step forward, raise the sword, pivot a few degrees, take another step, move the sword into another position, and then take a breath. And so on, until it became a blur, not unlike when he trained back at the Ironwood Training Hall.

It was exhausting and Sam knew that he would be feeling this even in his real-life body, as the focus these actions required would tax his mind to the extreme. At least for him, who had no talent for things like that.

In the future, according to his inherited memories, there were ways to measure the body’s response to the stimuli coming from the game and measure the talent of the players. It wasn’t universal and there were a lot of people it didn’t work with, but by the time the other Sam died, most guilds could tell after a simple test what the player would be capable of in the future with around seventy percent accuracy.

The other Sam also participated in one of those tests, mandated by the guild that ‘owned’ him, only to be told that his talents were trash tier and nothing more. His dimensional twin always maintained deep in his mind that they were jealous of his talents, that’s why they tried to suppress him so hard.

Sam was at least more realistic. The people running the guild probably knew that the other Sam didn’t like them, so they didn’t want to expend the effort to raise him for him to inevitably betray them despite his clear talents with the sword.

Or they were trying to suppress him. It wouldn’t be strange, after all, he himself witnessed several tropes come to life.

Another step, another slight movement with the sword. Pause. Deflect the stone, take a breath, and move again.

And again, and again, and again…

Until he couldn’t even feel anything, he just moved to the rhythm until a voice broke him out of his fugue.

“That’s enough!”

Before he could move, his arm was grabbed, and he was wrenched away from his current position.

For a moment, Sam was confused then he looked around. The sun was clearly on a downward trajectory, and the noises originating from the rest of the training grounds decreased by a good amount.

‘Huh, I must have been doing it for a looong time…’ he mused before looking at his trainer.

Martha gave him a once over and nodded.

“You’re good to go for now. Come back to me when you feel you’re ready,” she told him while also handing over a wooden token engraved with the symbol of the Training Hall as well as a few more symbols that probably were there to prove its authenticity as he could feel mana emanating from it. “Bring this back when you’re ready. Goodbye!”

With that she turned around and began heading toward the building, leaving him standing, exhausted in the middle of the training field with only Lucky looking on with a concerned gaze. He looked around dazed and simply plopped down on the ground, sending up dust in the air.

For a few seconds, he just stared at nothing, still coming back from the fugue as well as marveling at the technology that the developers created, then he shook himself and brought up the notification screens.

[You completed the quest: To the city you go!]

[You were justly rewarded with extra training! However, your access to the Gauntlet was refused. But don’t worry, you will have one more chance to access it!]

[New quest acquired!]

[Returning Champion]

[You were told that your current strength and ability are not enough to attempt the Gauntlet at the Training Hall in the capital city, Vividora. Return when your skills reach the required level. Be careful, you won’t get another chance!]

[Requirements: Reach Level 50, ???, ???]

[Time Limit: None]

[Reward: Even more training]

[Penalty: You can’t access the Gauntlet in Vividora]

The Level 50 requirement was expected, but the other two were a mystery. ‘Probably some kind of skill check,’ he thought while dismissing the quest screen and bringing up the skill screen with hope in his chest. ‘Please, have a breakthrough, please!’

[Mana Tempered Body is now Level 39!]

[Mana Body Enhancement is Level 76!]

[Thanks to your tireless training under the guise of a competent teacher, you gained the subskill, Mana Attuned Body!]

[Mana Attuned Body: Level 0/5 (0%) (Passive) Your body has started to become attuned with your own mana. Increases the effect of the main skill by 20% for each skill level!]

[You achieved a breakthrough with Active Mediation!]

[Active Meditation is now Level 50!]

[You learned the skill Battle Meditation!]

[Battle Meditation: Level 0/100 (0%) (Active/Passive) You mastered mediation and have taken it to the next level. You are always meditating, but when the time comes to raise your weapon, you can immerse yourself in the feeling even deeper. Grants you increased mana and stamina regeneration passively. When activated your stamina and endurance consumption decreases, and your mana regeneration increases even more.]

[You achieved a breakthrough with Advanced Sword Mastery!]

[Advanced Sword Mastery is now Level 20!]

[Advanced Sword Mastery has reached Level 20 and can be upgraded into Epic Sword Mastery. However, thanks to immersing yourself in the shadows and the very wind, you are capable of upgrading the skill into either Silent Shadow (Sword Mastery) or Elegant Wind (Sword Mastery).]

[Upgrading into either of them will leave you with the abilities granted by the Advanced Sword Mastery, but you will not be able to learn Epic Sword Mastery and above, locking you into the path of Shadows or Wind.]

[Upgrade into Silent Shadow (Sword Mastery) or Elegant Wind (Sword Mastery)?]

Sam stared at his choices for a minute, then made a quick decision. Wind was his sorcery element while he used shadows more for the physical aspects of his fights.

[Advanced Sword Mastery has been upgraded into Silent Shadow Sword Mastery!]

[Silent Shadow (Sword Mastery): Level 0/100 (0%) (Passive) Your sword has become one with the shadows, becoming just as silent and deadly. Striking from the shadows is silent and grants you bonus damage. Decrease the mana and stamina required for sword-related skills while increasing the damage of shadow-natured skills cast or used through the sword.]

Satisfied with the gains related to the sword, he looked over the rest.

[You achieved a breakthrough with Advanced Breathing Technique!]

[Advanced Breathing Technique is now Level 10!]

[You learned the Epic Breathing Technique!]

[Epic Breathing Technique: Level 0/10 (0%) (Passive) You breathe, and the world breathes with you. You move along your own rhythm. Decreases stamina consumption even more during any activity and further increases stamina regeneration when not in a fight. Gain +2 Stamina Regeneration for every skill level.]

The skill wasn’t the best, but he didn’t have access to anything rare that he could use to supplant it. Breathing techniques were always guarded jealously thanks to their effects, so the other Sam only knew how to get a few of them and none of them were great for his build. For now, he would need to go with the basic skill-line and find something later.

Closing the screen, he put away the sword, motioned Lucky to get back to his shadow, and dusted off his clothing, grimacing as he saw the myriad tears on it. Heading toward the exit, he had to come to a halt immediately as he left the covering of the bushes around the training field.

In front of him was an extremely attractive woman, wearing tight training pants and a black shirt with enough space to show off her cleavage. Her skin was shining brightly with sweat, while a few strands of hair escaped her ponytail, giving her a rather charming look. She was a little shorter than him and as he stood there staring at her she smiled impishly, leaning forward with her arms behind her back, inadvertently pushing her breasts upward.

“Hello!” she chirped, ignoring how his eyes dipped below her own.

“Er, hi,” he replied awkwardly. “Can I help you?”

“Sure!” she replied cheerfully. “Saw your training and I was wondering if you’re interested in joining our guild?”

Sam didn’t think anymore that her actions were accidental.

“Which guild?” he asked carefully.

She straightened out, jumping a little, her movement drawing his eyes to a certain part of her, and she clapped her hands together. “Oh, we are the Eternal Light! Great guild, super friendly! Like a family, really…”

‘And it gets better and better…’ Sam thought morosely. Eternal Light was famous for being one of the most aggressive guilds that wouldn't take no for an answer. You were either with them or dead soon. They were not an evil guild, and everyone agreed that they paid fairly and well, even those who were counted as foot soldiers. They took loyalty to the guild seriously, but they had plans for the game, and damn anybody who opposed them.

Looking deep into her earnest blue eyes he shook his head.

“I’m sorry, but I already have a guild.”

She pouted but didn’t give up. “Oh, don’t worry! We can pay any penalty if you’re worried!”

Sam gave her an apologetic smile. “That’s very nice, but I’m playing with my friends, so…”

Her pout increased, and she leaned forward. “Are you sure?”

He managed to keep his eyes looking into her eyes and nodded. “Pretty sure! Sorry! Bye!” Then he stepped around her and hastily made it toward the exit of the training grounds.

Behind Sam, the woman stood like a statue, her earlier playful nature nowhere to be seen, a frown on her beautiful face.

Soon another woman joined her, maybe a little less beautiful, but still gorgeous.

“Yes, ma’am?”

“I want him.”

“Him? Why?” she asked curiously.

“You didn’t see him train. I want that dedication.”

“Of course, ma’am. What if he says no?”

The first woman shook her head and also began walking away.

“Nobody says no to me. Especially not twice.”