After a breakfast of meat and eggs, I considered hanging around the room so that I didn’t miss anyone. I lasted five minutes, and then set off to the gym. Fuck ‘em all. I waited on no one, wealthy alien terrorist or otherwise.
At the gym, I resumed pummeling the bag in the same way I had before. Working though my old routines, I focused on speed, accuracy, and power, along with consistency of form. I normally liked to mix it up whenever I trained, keep myself guessing so that I could keep my opponents guessing. But this method was apparently going to have visible results on my stats, and that was something I could get behind.
And the simple truth was that no amount of repetition in training would make me more predictable. Some people were just born crazy, as so many people had already told me. I was one of them.
The thought brought a grin to my face as I battered ten kinds of hell out of the padded training dummy, my fists thudding like a metronome on overdrive. And just like always when training, my mind was a clear as a bell. I didn’t even think about my visit last night again until I broke for lunch.
I set off back to my room with a small twinge of intrigue to see if anyone had been to my room with news.
I scanned the table and the bed for a note of any kind, but there was nothing other than a tray of steaming meat and gravy, two meat pies, plus a pitcher of water. Not a bad trade off.
I devoured the food like I’d been starved, and then lay down. As soon as my head touched the pillow, the meal rebelled. I lay there, clutching at my chest and considered swapping the meal and the nap around next time. But maybe through toughness, or maybe through tiredness, it didn’t matter much to the end result as I drifted off to sleep without much trouble.
My post-nap routine didn’t differ too much from the morning. I headed back to the gym, leathered the shit out of the ridiculously durable bag for four hours, before returning to my room for my evening meal. Then I went to bed again.
This time, however, I lay awake, despite the fatigue. My mind was alive, though not on anything specific. It flickered from the sponsorship deal and the gear I might get my hands on, to whom I might be fighting next.
I even spared a thought or two for what Adam might be up to, if he was still alive. He was most likely in an arena as well with the skills he had. After watching his last few fights on YouTube, I was in no doubt that he’d do well. He wasn’t as aggressive as me, but he moved like a greased eel, and his mind was fast when it came to solving problems.
After an hour of tossing and turning, I gave up and headed over to my door and opened it to get the guard’s attention.
“Oi, dickhead.”
The guard jumped up, scowling, but our relationship was awkward, and he knew it.
“I need a drink. Alcohol. The stronger the better.”
“Alcohol?”
“Yes. Whisky, vodka. Fuck it, I’ll drink wine if that’s all you’ve got.”
“You think me a servant, Earther?”
“Of course you fucking are. I’m pretty sure you’re not guarding an empty corridor because it’s your lifelong ambition.”
He growled.
I laughed. “Pretty sure you didn’t sit there as a baby hippopotamus thinking, oh I can’t wait to achieve my dream of guarding an empty, cold stone corridor at night. I mean, your parents must be so proud.”
If steam could come from his ears, it would have. “You overstep the mark.”
“You want to fight about it?” I asked casually.
“Do not let your victories in the arena lull you into a false sense of strength. You are no match for me.”
I was of a differing frame of mind, but I’d already riled him up enough, and I was more interested in a drink than the fight. “So, about that drink. Where can I get one at this time?”
He was visibly trying to collect himself and took a hot second to answer. “I will have a servant attend you. The last thing we need is for one of your appetites wandering the halls inebriated at night.”
“You,” I said, shooting him with a finger pistol, “are cleverer than you look.”
I turned back into my room and dropped onto the bed to wait. It seemed a waste of time to just lie there, so I started doing leg raises until the servant came by. They arrived with a pitcher of what tasted like a pitcher of watery vodka. It was disappointing, but I found if I downed the whole jug fast, it had the desired effect.
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But it wouldn’t last long, so I popped my head out of the door and shouted at the guard. “Hey, if you’re fast, you’ll be able to catch that servant. I need another two pitchers of that shit.”
He glowered pure poison at me, but angry looks couldn’t hurt wooden doors. After slamming the door shut, I got back to doing my leg raises.
For the next six days, that became my routine, though I added some sprints in to help with explosive power. Getting the alcohol became a little easier too, as they started bringing the pitchers with my evening meal. If I wasn’t eating or sleeping, I was training like a maniac.
The thought did cross my mind that the alcohol might affect my growth, but by the time the dossier for my next fight arrived, I’d already gone up another two levels in Toughness alone and was on the brink of Level 13.
Name: Earl Henshaw
Title: Pool Fighter of the Velkyn Arena
Level: 12
Class: Warrior
Stats:
- Toughness: 23
- Mental Acuity: 15
- Harmony: 0
- Total: 38
Progress in Class:
Warrior, Level 8: 15/80
Tradesman, Level 0: 0/10
Mage: 0
I could feel each point as it settled in my muscles, and I reveled in it. I was faster, stronger, more durable, and more accurate than I’d ever been in my entire life. I was truly beginning to love this world and the new lease of life I’d gotten here.
That was what I was thinking as Captain Estwin entered my room at afternoon break.
“Earl,” he said with his usual seriousness. “I have the dossier for your next fight.”
“Is that all?” I asked, snatching the paper file on my next opponent. “Nothing moving on the sponsor front?”
While he built up to whatever he was about to say, I scanned over the first page.
Last 32
Oblesi Harak
Race: Unalar
Level: 20
Path: Warrior
Favored weapon: Sword and shield
Height: 7 ft 9
Style sword and board.
Tournament Ranking: 17
“Nothing,” he replied as I read. “I know there is interest in you from numerous other sources now, though I do not know details. If you want my advice, I suggest you focus on the fights ahead of you and let’s see how far you can go. This next opponent is a tough one.”
“They’re all tough until they end up with my foot up their arses.”
“True. But this one is particularly tough for you. He’s strong and fast and capable, but he’s also cautious. Not overly cautious, but he won’t come at you like all of your other opponents. He won’t underestimate you. Unalarans are great warriors, but they are famed for their patience and cool head. It’s why they have done so well as hunters.”
“Well thanks for letting me know. I look forward to it.”
“I’m serious, Earl. He will have watched both of your tournament fights. He’ll know you’re clever and vicious. He’ll know the styles you favor.”
“You really think I need to be worried?”
He gave a derisive snort. “You should always be worried and use your worry as the fuel to feed the flames of your will. Just try not to allow too much fuel on the fire with this one, or you will burn yourself.”
I grimaced. “Fuck me, Estwin. Did you make that one up yourself? Because it was bloody awful. Maybe stick to being the strong, silent type, eh?”
He nodded. “As you wish. I will keep my empowering speeches for people who are appreciative of the truths I highlight.”
“Have you watched any of his fights?”
“I have.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“Any tips?”
“Yes. He will test you without risking himself. If he decides to attack, it will be to walk you down, shield high, sword probing. Fast, strong, powerful, and relentless.”
“That’s what she said,” I replied with a smirk. In the silence that followed, I pushed for more information. “When do I fight?”
“Tomorrow. Mid-morning fight.”
“Good. I like a little time to wake up properly, but I hate fights late at night. That was always the bad thing with boxing.”
“You have a plan?”
I tapped my nose. “That’s for me to know and you to find out tomorrow.”
“So you don’t have a plan.”
I chuckled at that. “You’re all right, Estwin. I know that doesn’t mean much coming from me, but you’re all right.”
I did have a plan. Well, more of a half-formed idea, and that would have to be enough for now. But I wasn’t going to tell him that, because I didn’t trust him. I didn’t trust anyone. Plus, talking wasn’t fighting and plans failed as soon as the first punch was thrown.
When Estwin left, I hit the gym and got to work on those ideas by spending the rest of the day smashing the shit out of the training dummy with a maul.
It was a two-handed weapon for a human, that much was obvious, but I chose it carefully from the selection with the single requirement being that I could lift and swing it with one arm. No matter how ungainly.
After an hour of smashing the training dummy one-handed with the two-handed maul, Estwin appeared, and he didn’t look amused.
“A maul, Earl? Why? In what universe would the obvious choice to fight this opponent be a two-handed war hammer?”
I shrugged. “In the vague notion, I trust.”
He sighed. “I have no words. I’m sure you know what you’re doing.” His brow rose and he pointed at my head. “You leveled again?”
“Did I?” I quickly checked my stats/
Name: Earl Henshaw
Title: Pool Fighter of the Velkyn Arena
Level: 13
Class: Warrior
Stats:
- Toughness: 24
- Mental Acuity: 15
- Harmony: 0
- Total: 39
Progress in Class:
Warrior, Level 8: 15/80
Tradesman, Level 0: 0/10
Mage: 0
Sure enough, I’d hit Level 24 in Toughness and Level 13 overall. “Is that normal?”
“It’s certainly a lot easier to level in the lower levels. Your growth will always drop off as you develop, but even so, that is a remarkable rise. Whatever dossier your opponent will have on you will most likely have you at Level 11 still.”
“Good. A surprise I don’t even have to plan out myself. Did you come for anything in particular?”
He looked a little furtive then nodded. “One of the strongest Archon houses is planning to send a scout. They will watch your fight, so it could be a good opportunity for you. I don’t know any more than that, but you should know, getting into a powerful Archon house is a huge honor. You will be set for life if they put an offer in.”
I stood and thought about it for a moment, then shook my head. “I wanna hear their offer and the offer from the ones who came for me first before I agree to anything.”