Chapter 71-

Toshio was called out to join the first twelve fighter match for the second round. As he stepped out, he could see that the damages from the first round had been fixed. Especially the crater that Zarele made when she landed. But he didn’t want to let the thought of that distract him. He followed the other competitors into the center of the arena, remembering the words of the man that visited him before the fight.

***

Toshio was about to enter the waiting hall when someone called out to him.

“Boy!”

Toshio saw that it was the short man that he fought in the very first match. He was approaching Toshio quickly, making him think that he too had beef with him. But Toshio was caught off guard when the man got into a wide stance and gave a shout when he bowed.

“Hah!”

“Uh… what?” Toshio asked, confused.

“I'm paying my respects to the young man that beated me.” Lucian said to Toshio. “It's been a while since I've taken a proper punch from another fighter. Most young folk are too afraid to punch a man as old as I. But you didn't hesitate, and for that I must pay my respects.”

“No problem?” Toshio replied. ‘This is the second time someone thanked me for knocking them out.’

“I wish you luck on your match!” Lucian said as he gave another bow. “And may we have another match when the tournament is over. I won't be knocked out as easily as before.”

***

Toshio let out a chuckle.

‘If the humans in this world love combat, then I should do my best to give them what they want.’ Toshio thought to himself as he followed the other fighters.

Most of the other fighters looked like they were wielding weapons. Toshio wanted a bit more practice with Terra Breaker, but he doesn't want to use his Scale Hand ability if he had to block any weapon attacks.

‘This should be the best time to test this new sword out.’ Toshio thought as he made the Twin Metal Sword appear in his hand.

[Nameless Twin Metal Sword: A sword forged over a broken enchanted blade with Runic magic and Earth Mana. The crimson blade underneath was made in the Kingdom of Birehold from unknown metals and Crimson Wyvern Scales. This blade now holds two enchantments from the two metals.]

[Enchantment #1: Allows you to add offensive magic or MP into your attacks.]

[Enchantment #2: Channeling Earth Mana into the weapon allows you to strengthen it, change its shape, or repair it.]

[Durability: 99/100%]

He was excited to test his new weapon out ever since he reforged it. The runes on it gives Toshio a shortcut to use the Azure Flame ability that the Azure Tiger sword style allows by sacrificing some of the sword’s damage. But the runes would hopefully let Toshio channel the other elements in the blade with Runic Magic. He got the idea from Nagishi’s weapon.

“Are the contestants ready?!” The announcers called out.

When each of the contestants let out a shout to confirm, they moved away from each other and readied their weapons.

“10… 9… 8… “

The audience counted down with the announcers. Toshio was preparing himself for when the match started.

‘I haven't fought a large group like this since that one-time Sona made me fight those copper and iron-ranked adventurers.’ Toshio thought to himself. ‘Hope I'm not rusty.’

“3… 2… 1… Begin!”

When the match began, each fighter went to face an opponent that they had an eye on. But four of them all charged at Toshio. This was because they saw how he won his first match with only one punch. So, they wanted to take him out first. Toshio could see that two men that looked like twins were wielding swords, one man had a spear, and the fourth man had a metal gauntlet over one arm. He did his best to parry the spear and sword that were aimed for his legs. But when he blocked the second sword, the man with the gauntlet shoulder tackled him.

*Wham!

As Toshio slid backwards from the impact, the four opponents went in for another combo strike before he could regain his balance. This time the man with the gauntlet was the first to attack by throwing a punch. Toshio regained his balance in time to block the strike with his sword, using earth mana to keep his feet on the ground as he slid back again. He dodged the spear that was aimed for his side, ducked under the first sword slash, and kicked the second swordsman away before he could attack. Seeing that the guy that Toshio kicked was still standing, they went in for another combo. They believed that Toshio’s strike wasn’t strong enough because they were keeping him off balance and distracted with multiple opponents. But they were a bit creeped out when they saw that Toshio was smiling.

‘What is with this guy?’ They thought as they continued with their combos.

The reason why his attack wasn’t that strong and why Toshio was smiling was because he managed to hold back enough to not injure the man. The quest that he got when the tournament started would only boost the learning speed of any martial arts that he used. So, if he kept knocking opponents out quickly, he wouldn’t be able to get much time using his martial arts and improving them. Part of the reason why he entered this tournament was to improve the Terra-Breaker style that he got rusty with and improve the Azure Tiger sword style that he just started learning. So he wanted to stretch his fights long enough to improve those two.

‘I’m also impressed with their combos and how well they were doing it without any orders or signals.’ Toshio thought as he parried two swords and side rolled out of the way from a punch from the gauntlet wielder. ‘If my Dex wasn’t a thousand right now, this would make me worried.’

[HP: 12,845/12,852]

The few strikes that he took from the gauntlet wielder only dealt two points of damage each, while the single cut that he took from one of the swordsmen only left a scratch and took one point of damage. But he didn’t want to stay on defense for too long. So, Toshio quickly switched into offense.

*Slam!

Toshio slammed a foot into the ground, channeling earth mana into it to loosen the ground around him. This now made his four opponents off balanced, allowing him to gain some distance. Activating the earth rune on his sword, Toshio pierced the ground with it and swung it forward. This sent a chunk of dirt the size of a cannonball towards the man with the spear, knocking him back and knocking the wind out of him in the process.

“Oof!”

Toshio quickly launched another towards the man with the gauntlet, who blocked it by punching it. But this caused some dirt to get in his eyes, so he had to spend time to wipe them away. So the two twins rushed at him, giving Toshio a sour taste from remembering the last twins that he fought. Toshio blocked the first one’s strike and kicked him away. The second one leapt over the first one and swung his sword down at Toshio. But he was surprised to see that Toshio dropped his sword and caught the blade with his bare hands.

[HP: 12,844/12,852]

Toshio hooked the sword pommel underneath the man’s armpit and used the man’s sword to slam him down into the ground. This maneuver seemed to make Elisa excited and let out a cheer when she saw Toshio use it. This was because it was a maneuver that those in the mercenary camp used against opponents that jumped towards them. As the second twin rushed in to attack Toshio, he used a evasive stance that Yaku taught him and evaded the man’s attacks. This allowed Toshio to get close enough to land an uppercut on the man, then quickly followed it with a few quick strikes until the man got knocked down. When the man with the gauntlet got the dirt out of his eyes, he saw that the twins were both knocked out and that Toshio was waiting for him.

“You ready?”

The man didn’t respond and charged at Toshio. So, Toshio kicked his sword across the ground towards the man, causing him to slip over it. Toshio caught the man by the arm before he fell onto his face. But this was only so he could pull the man towards him and land an elbow into his face, knocking him down into the ground.

*Wham!

Toshio looked around and saw that he had already taken out his opponents. He was glad that he beated those four by himself, but he felt like he didn’t make that fight last long enough. Some of the other fights were still going on, so Toshio decided to wait a bit before fighting them. He looked at his daily quest and saw that he hadn't completed it yet.

[To help improve your [Medis’s Terra-Breaker Style] and [Azure Tiger Sword style], perform 1,000 bare knuckled punches on a 1-ton boulder and 1,000 sword slashes with [Friction] on the blade every day.]

[(0/1,000) boulder punches and (0/1,000) Friction enchanted slashes completed today.]

“Might as well work on my daily quest before my next fight.” Toshio said to himself.

Since he wasn’t using the friction spell on the blade when he swung it around, it didn’t count as part of his required thousand swings. So he started practicing some friction enchanted sword swings since he didn’t have access to a one-ton boulder.

[MP: 4,793/4,803]

[MP: 4,783/4,803]

[MP: 4,773/4,803]

The crowd was a bit confused by Toshio’s sudden desire to train during the match. But some people in the front row near Toshio wondered why there was the sound of scraping metal coming from Toshio’s sword as he swung it around.

“What is he doing?” One person asked.

“Is he actually training during the match?” Another person asked.

“What’s wrong with his sword? Why is it making that awful sound?” One guy asked as he covered his ears.

As Toshio continued to work on his daily quest, the remaining fighters finished their own fights. Some were finished quickly by one person seriously injuring another, while some lasted a while due to some skilled fighters waiting until their opponents tired themselves out before they used more of their strength to win. In the end there were only four opponents left, including Toshio. Toshio managed to do a few swings for the daily quest when the other fighters finished their fights.

[(0/1,000) boulder punches and (150/1,000) Friction enchanted slashes completed today.]

By the time Toshio did his one hundred and fiftieth sword swing, he had worked up a bit of sweat and spent a bit over a thousand MP.

[MP: 3,303/4,803]

While two fighters decided to fight with each other, the largest of the three decided to face Toshio. The man was tall and broad, his armor crafted from the finest steel, inlaid with gold and silver. He had a cruel, arrogant look about him, as if he believed himself invincible. This attitude was probably due to his armor, the large tower shield that he easily carried as if it weighed nothing, and the long chain flail with spikes all over it.

*Whoosh!

The man immediately sent his flail swinging towards Toshio. But before it reached him, it came to a screeching stop before it reached him.

[MP: 3,293/4,803]

“Huh?”

*Wham!

Before the man could realize what was going on, Toshio got up close and sent a kick to the man’s face. The man was sent flying back a few feet and landed with a loud thud. The man let out a groan before he passed out.

‘I really didn't like the way he looked at me. Reminded me too much of Lavont with a smile like that.’ Toshio thought as he checked the man's face.

He was glad that he didn't injure him too badly. Toshio was then caught off guard by a kick to the face that knocked him to the ground. He quickly recovered by pushing himself to his feet. Toshio saw that the last person had finished her fight and had immediately gone to fight him when he was distracted. She was a woman with a metal breastplate and greaves that explained why that kick stung a bit.

Toshio didn't like hitting girls, so he avoided her attacks for a while. Weaving around her punches and ducking under her kicks with ease. His main reason for dodging her attacks, so he could get an idea of her fighting style. He could tell that her build was similar to that of someone in the army and her speed was close to his own.

‘She must have trained mostly on agility?’ Toshio thought as he observed her movements.

Other than her quick fighting style, Toshio noticed a strange bunch of sharp pieces of metal wrapped around her waist with some sort of leather strap. They tab against each other when she moved, making sounds similar to a windchime.

“I saw how you quickly took down the guy on your first match and those guys that fought you just now.” The woman said as she sent a kick towards Toshio’s head. “You’re just like me, right?”

“What do you mean by that?” Toshio said after he blocked the kick with his forearm.

“You’re from Earth, right?” She replied. “You’re a traveler too.”

Toshio was surprised when she said that.

“You’re also from earth?” Toshio asked as he continued to block her attacks.

“Yeah.” She said as she landed a quick surprise knee strike on Toshio’s jaw. “I’m Lucy by the way.”

[HP: 12,840/12,852]

Unlike the people that Toshio fought before, Lucy’s attacks dealt two points of damage.

“Damn, you must’ve trained your Dex a lot?” Lucy said as she rubbed her knee. “Feels like I’m hitting a bag of rocks.”

She then gained some distance and pulled the leather strap off of her waist, revealing that it was a bladed whip. She then gave it a quick whip in the air.

*Crack!

“Let’s step this fight up a notch!”

*****

Back at the stalls Lura had helped Zarele to a seat to watch the fight. She had found a spot away from others to have a quick talk with her friend. She then placed a small pinch of herbs into her waterskin and handed it to Zarele to drink.

“Here. I only have my emergency stash of those herbs.” Lura said as she helped Zarele drink it. “It should be enough to alleviate the worst of it.”

Zarele drank the water and made a face when she finished it.

“Why does it have to taste like a moldy piece of sh*t?” Zarele said as she wiped her mouth with her sleeve.

“I already told you why. Just be glad that it works.” Lura said as she put the waterskin back into her bag. “So why do you no longer have the ones that I gave you?”

“I got into some trouble at my last job.” Zarele replied. “I got hurt and it made my symptoms return. So, I had to use the rest when I drank some whiskey that the healers gave me to keep Toshio from finding out.”

Lura pinched the area between her eyes as she let out a sigh.

“Zarele… you know that I told you to avoid danger.” Lura said in a disappointing tone. “The herbs are meant to stabilize your condition as long as you don't put too much stress on your body. I was fine with you becoming an Explorer because I thought that it was the least dangerous job. But if you keep getting into situations like that…”

“I didn’t look for trouble. It just so happened to find me.” Zarele replied.

“Now you’re sounding like Toshio.” Lura said as she took a seat beside her. “You are right. You both have things in common. I can’t look away one moment without one of you getting hurt.”

“Relax Mom. I made it out of there alive.” Zarele said sarcastically.

Lura pinched her cheek.

“If I was your mother, I would’ve put you up for adoption.” Lura said as she let go. “You don’t get a long life. So don’t act like risking it is nothing.”

“Ow.” Zarele said as she rubbed her cheek. “I said that I was sorry.”

Zarele looked down towards the arena to see Toshio fighting.

“I only made it out because Toshio saved me.” Zarele said as she looked at the dagger that he gave her. “He was the only one that went out of his way to get me out of there. Even when it resulted in him losing his friend and getting hurt badly. You should’ve seen the condition he was in when I tried to save him.”

Zarele thought back when she saw Lavont’s hand inside Toshio’s gut. The look of fear on Toshio’s face and the blood that he shed in the fight.

“I would’ve given up if I was in his situation. But in the end, he somehow won that fight and got me out of danger. He even went back into that place to make sure there was no more danger.”

Lura looked at Toshio and thought about how he acted when she met him again.

“I never knew.” Lura said as she looked back at Zarele. “Does he have any scars?”

“No.” Zarele replied. “But I wouldn't blame him if he got emotional scars from that experience.”

The two sat there for a few seconds.

“Who was his friend?” Lura asked.

“A pet fox.” Zarele answered. “He met him when he was in a dark place. So, he was a close friend of his that he cared for.”

“I see.” Lura replied. “He’s completely different from the last time I met him. He changed so much in such a short time.”

Back at the arena Toshio was doing his best to avoid Lucy’s whip strikes. As a traveler herself, Lucy’s special gift gives her a boost of speed to her attacks. Combine this with the natural speed of a whip, all the audience sees that her whip is a blur as she swings it around her. Toshio kept his distance and stayed out of the whip’s range. While the audience was having trouble keeping their eyes on the whip, Toshio saw it clearly. This was because he had fought something like this before.

Toshio noticed that the way she was swinging the whip was similar to the countless giant scorpions with blades on the end of their stingers. Toshio had to spend many years fighting them and hunting them for food. He had their fighting patterns memorized well enough to tell that Lucy was fighting with a similar style.

‘This brings back memories. I wonder if that's how she learned how to fight with a whip?’

Lucy was surprised to see that someone was dodging her attacks. At first she thought that she was pushing Toshio back with her attacks. But after seeing him dodge her attacks for a whole minute, she figured out that he wasn't doing it by luck. But before she could do anything with this info, Toshio rushed in when she was in the middle of an attack and threw a few quick jabs. One on her stomach, one on her side, and one on the side of her head. The strikes left Lucy in a daze, then she felt herself get flipped over as Toshio threw her over his shoulder and slammed her down on the ground.

“Ack!”

When she didn’t move for a few seconds, that’s when the announcers declared the end of the match.

“Ladies and Gentlemen! This match ends with Contestant Z-45’s victory!”

Toshio was standing over Lucy. He was panting a bit and felt a bit of pain from the few strikes that he took. But he felt more excited than injured. In the end he won thanks to his high dexterity.

[HP: 8,070/12,852]

“Lucy, was it?” Toshio said as he held a hand out to her. “That was a pretty good fight there. You were pretty tough with that whip of yours.”

She grabbed his hand and pulled herself up, wincing a bit.

“You were not so bad yourself.” She said as she clutched her side.

The crowd cheered as Toshio helped Lucy walk to one of the staff members to check up on her. Before leaving the arena, Toshio saw Lucy give him a quick wink before she left with the staff. Toshio blushed a bit as he followed the rest of the injured.

*Ping!

Then a notification appeared.

[You have completed a full match for the quest (Boy’s 1st Tournament).]

[Calculating rewards…]

[Congratulations! (Medis’s Terra-Breaker Style) increased to level 13 and (Azure Tiger Sword style) increased to level 3!]

‘Sweet. This quest is really helping me improve.’ Toshio thought as he could feel more knowledge of the two martial arts get wired into his mind. When he improves his stats, he feels changes in his body as it gets stronger. But whenever his skills or martial arts improve, he feels like he understands them more. With skills like magic or crafting, he feels like knowledge of those things become clearer to him. With his martial arts he could feel like his mind and body both could understand things like; proper battle stances, what movements are needed to do proper strikes and blocks, and his mind could decide what moves must be made at the right time. It’s almost like he is learning months of practice with each increase of the martial arts.

*Ping!

[(Medis’s Terra-Breaker Style) is getting close to its level cap.]

‘Level cap?’

Zarele was cheering with the rest of the crowd. She was amazed with how Toshio dodged those fast whip strikes.

“Did you see that?” Zarele said as she looked at Lura.

But Lura wasn’t in her seat. When she looked around, Zarele couldn’t find her. She then waved a hand over her empty seat in case she was invisible.

“Must’ve gone to the bathroom?”

*****

Toshio was sitting shirtless in the medical wing getting his few wounds treated. He could’ve healed them by laying on a bed, but he wanted to get his wounds treated just like the other fighters. It’s been a while since he last experienced healing magic. The one that the healers of Xamera were using numbed the pain completely as the small bruises faded away. Toshio felt his body relax as his HP had fully recovered.

[HP: 12,852/12,852]

Toshio saw that Zarele was no longer in the medical wing.

‘She might have gone to watch the fights from the stands?’ Toshio thought as he put his shirt back on.

Toshio thought about the information of terra-breaker’s level cap again when the nurse got his attention.

“Sir? There’s an elf that wishes to meet you near the exit.”

‘Elf?’ Toshio thought as he knew of only two and a half people that are elves.

When he looked over to the exit, he saw that it was Lura. She was waving him over as if she was an upset mother. It sent chills up his spine.

‘She must be angry about something again?’

When Toshio walked up to her, she gestured for them to talk in a quiet area. When the two found a spot away from everyone, Lura grabbed the front of Toshio’s shirt and pulled him down to eye level with her.

“Tell me. What is it that you want at the end of all of this?” She asked.

“At the end of what?” Toshio asked back.

“At the end of this tournament and whatever you want to do afterwards.” Lura replied. “Whenever I see you, you always get into some sort of trouble. The boar, that roc that snatched you when you came back, and now with Adleth.”

“I already said that it’s not like I’m not asking to get into these situations. They just end up finding me.” Toshio said with a groan.

“That’s fine if it only happens to you. But now that you have others around you, you need to think about how it’ll affect them.” Lura said as she let go of Toshio. “Especially if Hazelroar is one of those people.”

“I know. I don’t want anything like that to happen again.” Toshio replied. “Look, I’m still new to this world and I just want to live this new life the best way I could. I don’t want to bring others into my issues. That’s why I left you when you offered to help.”

“...”

“I went into a dangerous area to fix my arm. If you got hurt or died because of me… I wouldn’t know what to do with myself.” Toshio explained. “I nearly died multiple times in that place and I almost came back out a mess. I don’t want to think what would’ve happened if you went with me there.”

Lura was quiet as she realized why Toshio left her on that cliff the last time they met.

“I want to live a normal life now. But Adleth knows something about that place and thinks that I might be a bad person because I came out of there.” Toshio said as he leaned his back against the wall. “If bad things happen to me. Maybe she’s right?”

“You aren’t a bad person.” Lura replied. “You’re reckless, an idiot, and one of the biggest weirdos that I know. But not a bad person. Bad people don’t worry about others like you do. You’re just… unguided.”

“Unguided?” Toshio asked as he raised an eyebrow.

“Yes! So let your first party leader give you some tips free of charge!” Lura said with a smile. “Don’t expect any sugar coating from me. I’ll give it to you straight, no matter how bitter the taste. Got it?”

“I’m not a kid anymore. I could take it.” Toshio replied.

“Good. I like a little backbone in those that I trust.” Lura replied. “Here are my four lessons/tips for you.”

Lura counted her fingers as she told each lesson.

“First lesson: When looking for employment, never trust a person who’s too eager to please. They’re either hiding something or desperate enough to get themselves killed. And always, always watch your back. The moment you let your guard down, that’s when the knives come out.”

“Lesson two: Don’t get too overly attached to anyone, kid. In this line of work, friends are a luxury that you can’t afford if you aren’t careful. The ones who get you into trusting them too quickly with false promises, they’re the ones who’ll either get you killed or hurt you the most when they get themselves killed. Lose too many that you get too attached to and you’ll just be hurting yourself.” Lura explained. “Keep your emotions in check, and never show weakness. That’s the only way to survive in this world.”

“How will I know which people are good and which people are acting good?” Toshio asked.

“That’s where lesson three comes in. The way to tell who’s trustworthy and that’ll serve you well is by trusting your instinct. Watch how they react under pressure. Do they panic, or do they keep their wits about them? And never, ever trust someone who’s too quick to make promises. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. So trust your gut, kid. If something feels off, it probably is.”

“And now the final and most important lesson. Lesson four: don’t get too full of yourself, kid. I’ve been in this business long enough to know that everyone has a weakness. Even me.” Lura said as she jabbed a finger on Toshio’s chest. “I didn’t spend my many years of life braiding my hair and living in trees. You get much farther in life if you keep finding flaws in yourself, spending your time wisely, admitting and owing to your mistakes, learning from others, picking up skills that could help yourself and those around you, and learning from your mistakes. Follow these rules and you’ll be somewhat of a decent person.”

“Somewhat of a decent person?” Toshio asked.

“The rules alone don’t make you a good person. Actions speak louder than words.” Lura explained. “The real goal is to combine these rules with your actions to become what my people call, Ess Ath’thar.”

Toshio could understand the elvish word that she just said. It translates to ‘a person of good standing’. He doesn’t know why, but that word spreaded a warmth across Toshio’s chest.

“You’ve surprised me once by saving my life. Twice by coming back stronger from death. And now a third time by showing me how much you have improved in such a short time.” Lura said with a smile. “Maybe when we meet again you’ll surprise me a fourth time?”

“Where are you going?” Toshio asked.

“I need to acquire some more herbs from my homeland.” Lura explained. “Don’t worry about letting Tim know. I already let him know before talking to you.”

Lura then gave Toshio a hug. Toshio was surprised, but he hugged her back.

“Man, It feels like I’m hugging a statue.” Lura said.

“Sorry.” Toshio replied.

“Don’t apologize. It just means that you could protect others with this dense body of yours.” Lura replied back.

After saying her goodbye, Lura left. Even though Toshio doesn’t know when they’ll meet again, she left him with words that strengthened his desire to live in this world.

‘Ess Ath’thar, huh?’ Toshio thought to himself. ‘A person of good standing. That sounds like a goal that I could try to reach.’

As Toshio made his way back to the waiting hall, he thought about today’s events and everything that he had encountered since he first came to this world. He first thought that he couldn’t do much since misfortune keeps following him. But after meeting so many people that helped him acquire new skills and offer encouraging words, he is grateful that he comes out of those unfortunate events stronger. Now he wants to do as much good as he could do for those that helped him and to not let those unfortunate events bring him down again.

Toshio doesn’t notice it again. But the necklace of Xamera had a dull glow for a few seconds.

—---

Message from the author: To those that are still reading, sorry again for the long wait. Events outside of my control had kept me busy from writing for so long. The results of those events made it difficult to have a clear head whenever I do have some time to write. But instead of letting those get me down, I want to become a better person to focus on the few good things I have. To those facing their own issues, remember that you could learn from them and do your best each day. Even if any progress feels slow, just do your best so you won't have any regrets.