The place was a dimly lit tavern with a strong greasy smell in the air. Kayra slid into a rickety booth like she owned it. Riku sat opposite, the wooden bench squeaking under his weight.
A huge man with a scarred apron walked over to them and slammed two mugs of some murky liquid on the table followed by two plates of lumpy pies. That was supposedly the meat pie… yeah, it looked nothing like what he knew.
Kayra picked up her mug and took a long swig. "Ah, that's the spot," she mused, picking up her meat pie and taking a bite.
Riku looked at her, feeling a bit uneasy.
"What? Trust me when I say you'll hate it if it gets cold," Kayra explained with a mouthful. "Also, don't judge what's inside."
Riku nodded and picked up the fork, cutting a portion of the meat pie. A forced act to show dignity. He slowly took a bite and chewed on it as if trying to judge for a cooking competition. Well… it did taste like beef, if beef had given up on life a long time ago.
"So," Kayra spoke up, wanting to start a conversation. "what were your plans after getting failed on the evaluation?"
"Hm?" Riku looked up, already enjoying whatever liquid was inside the mug and the meat pie. "Oh, I honestly had no major plans. Just wanted to understand the power and utilize it to it's highest capacity."
"Hmm. Sounds interesting, eh?" Kayra replied, taking another bite of her pie. "That explains why you have the 'I'm going to show them' look."
Riku let out a low chuckle, "Hehehe."
"Now, you can't possibly be thinking of doing that with those noodle arms, do you?" she asked.
Riku looked at his arms. They were not in the best shape for someone his age and he knew it, but wouldn't admit they were "noodle arms" in front of a lady. "These arms have done a lot of hardworking, you know," he voiced, barely above a whisper.
"Hit me," Kayra requested with a bored look.
"What?"
"Right here," she pointed at her shoulder. "Go on."
"No. Why should I? It's… quite disrespectful to hit a lady," he muttered.
Hearing that, Kayra burst into laughter, slamming her hand on the table. "You really are a funny one, aren't you?"
Riku blinked, confused.
"Disrespectful, huh? Are you even sure you're from this world?" Kayra continued to laugh.
"No I'm not," Riku replied flatly, but that only added more fuel to the fire of her laughter. He had to sit, watching her almost a minute before she stopped.
"Oh, gods. You're so funny," she breathed out, catching her breath. "I won't be the one telling you to attack when a girl, half your size, beats the ghosts out of you."
"Consider this your first training." Kayra added. "Stand up."
"First training? Here?"
"What? You see a training yard somewhere? Get up."
"We're in a tavern with lots of people, and the owner—" Riku didn't get to complete his explanation when a man from across the room picked up a mug and smashed it into another's head. No one budge or seemed to care. Not even the owner.
"Going to keep acting like you got some dignity?" Kayra scoffed, getting frustrated by his actions.
Riku sighed and stood up, but she remained sitting. "You're not going to stand up?"
"Now, again, hit me," she tapped on her shoulder, ignoring his question.
Riku exhaled deeply before throwing a weak punch at her. It connected, but she didn't even budge nor blink. "Mhmm, noodle arms," Kayra noted. "Again,"
Riku felt insulted and decided to put more of his strength into the next one. Kayra barely moved back, his arm flying harmlessly past her shoulder, the momentum pulling him forward as he stumbled onto the table.
She shook her head in disappeared. "You have a long way to go, Riku," Kayra sighed. "Alright, I'm going to try hit you, so try not to get hit."
'Not get hit. Got it," he thought. Kayra's hand slowly came for his ribs and blocked it halfway.
"Wrong," Kayra shook her head. "You're thinking like a brawler when you're not one. Think, let me see… efficiency, yes. Minimum effort, maximum result. Try to redirect and parry them rather than meeting it head on. Read your opponents movement and use it to the best of your advantage. Your brain is good enough to understand that." She attacked again, this time her movements faster.
The increase in speed caught Riku off guard and he hesitated, earning a small hit on his ribs. It was light, but it stung.
"Again," she said.
This time around he focused on the bend in her shoulder and the increased speed she was coming with, gently pushing her hand, making it go harmlessly past.
"Wow," Kayra raised an eyebrow, a bit surprised. "You learn fast. Weirdly fast. But that's good actually. So, let's continue."
The next hour passed in a series of miscalculated redirections and blocking. Riku had learnt a lot, but his muscles screamed in protest. He wasn't one for exercises or workout back in the normal world. This was, in fact, his first workout in a really long time. Probably since middle school.
"Your learning speed is something to acknowledge, really," Kayra admitted as he slumped back onto the bench which groaned in protest. "The Ascendancy actually thinks your power is unreliable and useless, but they aren't wrong in their perspective."
"Gee, thank you?" Riku scoffed in annoyance.
"Well, I'm here, aren't I?" Kayra waved a dismissive hand. "With that head, you have a shot at making this useless class less useless. And I'm going to be there till it gets interesting."
Riku remained silent, his fingers drumming on the table.
"Anyways, you might get a second chance at the tower trials coming in two days. That is if you can sneak in, or just beg like an idiot until they let you," she explained, dropping a small pouch of bronze coins on the table and standing up. "Go give the tower a shot if that's what you want." With that, she left him alone at the table, sound of the door reaching his ears as she stepped out.
'Two days. A second chance in two days, huh?' he thought. There was still a chance for him to show he wasn't completely useless to the Ascendancy just because he got a bad class.
"Let's make this work then," Riku muttered.