Fight!

I hesitantly faced Instructor Donny as I drew my greatsword ready. Sweat rolled off my brow from his sheer pressure and stature, he was simply standing there menacingly…

Then it began without warning. 

Instructor Donny's fist flew close as I willed my limbs to heave this enormous slab of metal in response. Although it felt just right in my hands, the weight of the weapon still burdened me with my pitiful grade E strength.

Barely unleashing a slash towards the ever approaching attacker, my weapon suddenly jolted upwards almost toppling myself backwards. Looking towards what had happened, my eyes widened.

Feet evenly apart with a side-on view towards me, I could see a sort of smoke waft from his clenched outstretched knuckles. It was very quickly clear to me.

It was an inhuman feat.

I grimaced internally, this was indeed the wake-up call I needed. What he displayed wasn't even impressive, actually mediocre. The powers of this world were crazy like that.

"...You going to hit me or what, Ke-Hell? Show me what you've got." Instructor Donny's face twisted into a smile as if he enjoyed my sudden hopeless realization.

Gritting my teeth, I was never one to back down from a fight! Using the anger of him not even saying my name right, I shifted my center of gravity ever forward and controlled the downswing of my greatsword.

My muscles groaned and my tendons cried with pain, but I persevered. The way my ability worked was to help minimize wasting effort and maximize results.

As my sword passed without purchase on Instructor Donny I felt the feeling of my heart once again pulling at my muscles. Instinctually I gathered the momentum to pull the greatsword backup and into a spinning diagonal slash which pulled at my body weight.

Like hitting a concrete wall my velocity came to an abrupt halt as my momentum came crashing back into my arms. My greatsword attempted its best to cleave the skin of Instructor Donny, but it was no use.

My arms trembled.

"Hmm." It was almost indistinguishable but I could hear it being this close to him. I could see from my peripherals that the classy instructor attempted to end it.

The failure of meeting expectations.

The way his eyes now looked down and not straight.

It was disappointment.

It was in that split second my switch flipped.

Dropping the useless greatsword I recklessly place hope in, I stood before the now eager Donny. As if he recognised my change in nature. Acknowledging how he accidentally triggered something.

Within the confines of my mind, it clicked. It was the muscle memory of my skill, [ Desert Drifter Arts ]. Whether by some trigger or some time after, the memories of the boy I possessed rushed into my head like crashing waves.

It pained me but it would've pained me even more to show that to this guy. Memories flashed and experience flowed into my otherwise useless body.

All of Khael's training.

All of his experiences.

All of his pain.

In that moment of integration, I felt sympathy for the young man whose life I stole. We weren't so different…

With a burst of power I jumped recklessly and smashed my fist against his face. It was as if punching rock but adrenaline and rage fueled my onslaught. 

As Donny let the punch push him back I crept to the floor and held the handle of my weapon. It was different now, much different. There was a conviction I'd never have coming from my world.

Subconsciously my feet began to slither along the arena's floor. As if there was no friction at all or anything stopping me. Similarly my greatsword dragged along the floor like the tail of a snake.

"YES! That's what I want to see!" Instructor Donny found my current state much more appealing, but that was never processed in my mind. I didn't care how his stance was much tighter nor how he now bobbed on the balls of his feet.

With a tunnel vision on him, I advanced and swung my sword. Not caring of control I slashed with a single hand and pivoted against seemingly imaginable footholds in the floor.

Prepared, Donny swung his right arm to punch against the slash. Otherwise ineffective and rash in my regular world, it was a result I didn't want in this crazy one.

Loaded in a ready position the trajectory of my greatsword suddenly changed in an instant. Catching the bewildered instructor off guard, my second arm had joined my first to swing at his feet. 

Almost instinctively disregarding his own 'invulnerability', the instructor withdrew his foot and stumbled back. It was natural since most fights never really focused on non-lethal means in this world's common sense. Perfectly offsetting his center of gravity, my heart pulled at my muscles once against.

Impossibly before the forces of my greatsword broke against the floor, my body slid closer to the floor and caught the momentum into another spinning slash. However this time I wasn't aimlessly striking at a bicep or thigh, it was the side of the knee. 

His joints.

This all occurred in just a few seconds. An attack that had an exponentially increasing lethality as the slab of a blade hunkered down at the vulnerable spot.

Everyone had a weakness, even this hulking beast of muscle had one. It was a limitation of being human, there was nothing else about that. 

It was supposed to be successful. I was supposed to avenge these feelings in my chest and rest my rage. But that's not how things always go.

With a quick jab against the pommel, Instructor Donny broke all momentum in my weapon against the floor and stomped out his foot towards my face.

I could only clench my body together before an imposing force shattered against my bones passing through muscle as if paper. The world blurred and silenced at the same time.

It took a few seconds but my vision eventually cleared and the restlessness of my body fled from me. Replacing it was the stinging and burning sensation of my arms. Like molten lava was poured against my forearms, I was paralyzed with pain.

"...aghn…" A small groan was all I could manage to the now very present Instructor Claire. My lungs continued failing to register air as something I needed at the moment.

Was that also a side effect of my movement art? I… think it is? The memories in my head hadn't fully cleared themselves. The pain and adrenaline fading didn't help either.

As I pondered, the icy instructor knelt before me to check up on me. Her eyes stared into mine and I wondered for a moment what color they were. They seemed almost white. Like a glint of a pearl.

"It's going to be alright now." It was a monotone voice but the interest in the eyes never faded.

Why is that so cliche? Please look at me with consideration…