The Old Man was not fucking around, let me tell you. As soon as I finished my breakfast, he hauled me outside and began pushing the cars with intact tires to the fence. Next, he had me make laps up and down the street. After each lap, he would have me do a set of five push-ups.
"Bring Sally up, Bring Sally Down," he would say slowly, making me have to do it, and if I was a little too fast or slow, he would say it 'Didn't Count' and make me restart the whole set again.
"ONE, TWO THREE, AIN'T ENOUGH FOR ME, ONE TWO THREE NOT ENOUGH FOR YOU OR ME!" I yelled in cadence with each step; my lungs burnt as I kept forcing my body to move in the same cadence. As I got to the area where the Old Man was standing, I dropped to a Push-up position, waiting for him to begin.
Around and around, I went five times until eventually I got to the fourth sally down, and my body told me to Fuck off and refused to get up again.
I heard the pop of a cork, and soon, a very disturbing, vicious liquid splashed on my head.
...
[Potion Effect Detected]
The Potion: [Minor Potion of Helping and Fatigue]
Effects: Heals very small Injuries and rids Level One Rank One Bodies of Fatigue completely.
...
Soon, the liquid displaced, and a feeling of strength surged through me, and I felt completely ready to go. Soon all around me, people began to work together, building up the defenses as much as possible. The sound of construction was all around me, with random sounds of excitement as people made their contribution thresholds.
Unfortunately, my training continued onwards every time my body tried to beg for mercy. Old Man Welton doused me In the potion, and I was back to pushups, running, Pull-ups, and like. Again and again, until finally, Lunchtime came, and I ate 5 sandwiches and two cups of Lemonade. For all my troubles, I was awarded a single tenth of a strength point and 2 tenths of a point in Endurance.
...
[Stat Increased!]
Through constant Physical Training, you have gained a .1 increase in [Strength]. The Physical limits of your Species [Low Human] have Blurred with the introduction of Mana.
...
[Stat Increased]
Through rigorous training, you have gained a .2 Increase in [Endurance]. The Physical limits of your Species [Low Human] have Blurred with the introduction of Mana.
...
I knew that everyone was at a base Stat of one with varying degrees between .9 to 1.4 at the high end. So a .1 and .2 Increase in half a day was extraordinary; the system explained that it was because of the introduction of Mana. So I guess In a magical bullshit way it did kinda make sense. After lunch, the Old Man had me walk over to where a series of Knives, my bat, and the [Flameborn Jacket] lay on a cloth sheet. He clapped his hands together and began to speak.
"Do you know the difference between using a Blunt Weapon like your Slugger here and a knife?" He asked me pointing at the Baseball Bat and then at a Knife. I thought for a moment the baseball bat had a longer reach, lacked an edge, and could be just as deadly as the knife. The knife, on the other hand, had shorter reach, had a Sharp edge, and could kill someone in a single swipe or stab in the right area.
"The Baseball Bat has a longer reach; the knife can be just as deadly; the knife, though, has a really short reach and can slash and stab and, in the right spot, can be instantly fatal." The Old Man thought for a moment, nodded along with what I was saying, and after I finished speaking, he picked up.
"Good, you got something between your ears, and what you said is true; you forgot a crucial part: which one would you rather have against a heavily armored opponent." He asked.
I remembered that dream and how hard it was to Pierce the Knight's Armor, and I had better luck with hitting him with the end of my spear, which was essentially the same as the bat.
"The Bat, the force of the hit will transfer through the Armor" I responded. The Old Man smiled a bit before he continued.
"Correct answer, the Bat, now following that logic, a barely armored opponent would be weak against the Knife, Right?" he asked, jumping one Eyebrow upwards.
"Not necessarily; the knife requires you to get close to your opponent, which, depending on what weapon they have, could be a death sentence," I responded. The Old Man continued to smile as I spoke.
"Yes, precisely; a Knife is a last-case scenario for if an enemy gets too close to you," he said, giving a pause before he blazed on.
"What we're going to be working on is using that skill of yours to keep track of where multiple enemies are and which weapon to choose," he said, pulling out a pool noodle and a makeshift foam dagger clearly made from another pool noodle dull and not a danger.
Looking around, I saw a row of cars completely surrounding the Manor, wood fencing placed intermittently, and the remaining bags of concrete and sandbags piled up around the inside of the fencing. Approaching me was the Scouting Party; clearly, this was training for both of us. They Wielded pool noodles like Spears, along with Nets, no doubt, to trap me.
The Old Man threw me my 'weapons,' and I began to move closer to a hole in the circle formation. My skill [Flow of Combat] kicked in for the first time, and it was like a sixth sense of where everyone was. I lunged forward with the Pool noodle and tried to Strike Mr. Jones; however, he stepped forward and tried to ensnare me with his net. I quickly backed up in the process. I felt Mr. Brown step forward and thrust the end of his pool noodle spear at me. I tried to dodge but Mr. Johnson stepped up from behind me and cast his net. I saw a shadow as it spread out above me, locking me in my fate. Quickly, I grabbed my knife and lunged around the pool noodle, shocking Mr. Brown with a swift line across his neck. He stepped back, taken out of the Fight. However, even though I got Mr. Brown out of the fight, I lost soon afterward as Mr. Jones got me in the side.
The Old Man who had been watching the interaction between us. Stepped up and began to speak.
"Most obviously, Mr. Brown, you need to be careful. You should have moved your spear sideways, batting him away and moving backward. However, Kien, you need to move with the speed that you hit Mr. Brown with all the time and break out of the circle.
"Again," Once again, I stood at the center of the Circle; this time, another group surrounded me, one I didn't know nearly as well. This time, I decided to be risky. I threw the Foam dagger at one of them as I Dashed in the opposite direction. The person who I had aimed the dagger at simply dodged out of the way. The person who I was heading towards levied their Foam Spear at me. The woman who sat at a shorter stature, whom I knew as Ms. Cat Lady, tried to get me while her partner, the one I hadn't thrown the dagger at, tried to Net me. I batted Ms. Cat Lady's Spear aside and bonked her on the head, signaling a defeat for her. Dodging to the right from another attempt at a casted net, I moved as fast as my feet would carry me, and I bonked the third person, Mr. Geriad, on the head. Leaving me and the person that I had thrown my knife at, an average-sized guy that was the mailman whose name I didn't know. Throwing his net as a distraction, he lunged forward; moving to my right, I dodged his net and his Spear. He quickly recovered and swung his spear sideways. I took a step back, causing the spear to miss me before I rushed in, and with a strike to his exposed Midriff, I won that fight.
Once again the Old Geezer gave his notes on the fight. Throwing the knife was a trick that only worked once as a distraction causing me to be down in option. The Mailman should have coordinated better with the others.
There were three more fights after that fight, leading To two more losses and one more victory against Mr. Johnson, Mr. Brown, and Mr. Jones. By that time, though, we stopped as we all received a notification from the system about our quest.
...
[Quest Completed]
The Quest [Fortify The Manor] has been completed, and the area Designated by the vast majority of [Low Humans] in this Group has Designated [John Welton] a Level One Rank One [Low Human] [Antique Collector] as the Owner of the Territory [Welton Manor] and has become its leader and granted the Rank [Chief]
[Welton Manor] has become the first fortified Settlement in this Area, granting greater Records to those involved and an Achievement [Homebase] along with an award based on Contribution.
[Contribution Rank Ladder]
1st: [Fredrick Johnson]
2nd:[Mary Gonzalez]
3rd:[Kien Noble]
4th: [Martin Brown]
5th:[Jack Smith]
6th:[John Welton]
7th:[Susana Johnson] & [Patricia Brown]
8th: [Denise Smith]
9th: [Arnold Nise]
10th:[ Michael Geriad]
[Press Here to See Full List]
...
[Achievement Received]
You have received an Achievement [Home Base] when Defending an area designated as your home you gain +10% Strength and Regeneration
...
[Quest Reward Received]
For being Ranked 3rd in the Quest [Fortify The Manor your class has been upgraded from
[Squire]→[Squire-Prodigy] an Uncommon Rank One Class.
...
[Squire-Prodigy]
Rank One Uncommon Class.
[Squire-Prodigy]
Rank One Uncommon
This class signifies the Owner as beginning the path to true Knighthood and a prodigy in the path. The Most Important Skill: Maintaining Armor and Weapons. If you take care of them, they will take care of you. In this regard, you have been Instrumental in an important Quest of defending your home base, marking you as a self-made Prodigy. Allowing you to gain a combat skill, the second most important skill for an aspiring Knight.
Inherent Skills: [Prodigy's Arms Maintenance] and [Weapons Training]
...
[Skill Upgraded]
Your Skill [Arms Maintenance] has upgraded to [Prodigy's Arms Maintenance]. Level retained.
...
-Prodigy's Arms Maintenance: Lvl: 3
You have proven yourself to be a self-made Prodigy in the realm of Maintaining Weapons, Clothes, and Tools. You now have an instinctual understanding of how to Maintain more advanced Gear. Any mundane Basic Gear you maintain for 10 days in a row that's In pristine condition will have their Innate Records awakened and any already awakened gear will begin slowly mold itself to your purpose.
...
[Skill Gained]
You have Gained the Skill [Weapons Training] due to it being an Inherent Skill of your class [Squire-Prodigy]
--Weapons Training Lvl:1
You have begun to progress in realm of martial prowess. Any training you undertake will be more effect if you have a more skilled instructor. You also began to understand the flow of combat around you.
...
The slew of Notifications took some time to read through and digest. The Achievement [Home Base] would be instrumental in actually helping with tomorrow. The Class upgrade was fucking epic, [Weapons Training] was going to be worth my weight in bacon if we all made it out tomorrow. The upgrade to [Arms Maintenance] was honestly my favorite part especially considering gear I used to mold itself to be more useful and I guessed that awakening 'Records' was going to make them like the [Louisville Slugger(Copy)], the [Flameborn Jacket], and hopefully like [Persephone's Timepiece].