“Get ready!”

  I was standing inside a small arena. Well, calling it an arena might have been an exaggeration, as it was simply a large, thin metal circle laying on the ground, a couple centimeters high, signifying the borders, and a few wooden stands beside it.

  A dozen meters or so away stood the elf, bow in hand, and a quiver with 11 blunt arrows behind his back.

  “Remember! Do not exit the circles, or use any defensive skills. Your objective is to avoid getting hit by the arrows, which I will shoot ten times. Every arrow dodged will count as one point. Now three, two, one!..”

  whoom

  The arrow pierced the air with its rounded tip, slowly making its way towards me.

  Well, it wasn't actually slow, but from my perspective, it might as well have been.

  ‘This is easier than the pebbles.’

  I effortlessly sidestepped the first projectile, only for the second one to follow right after.

  ‘Still too easy.’

  I didn't even move my legs – rather, I simply twisted my torso ever so slightly, letting the arrow pass by.

  ‘Whoa!’

  The third one nearly got me, if not for me throwing my body to the ground at the very last moment.

  ‘This is getting!..’

  I was no longer relaxed – carefully observing the 4th arrow's trajectory, I rolled to the opposite side, while getting up on my knees, and keeping an eye on the elf’s bow.

  ‘This will go.. wait, what?’

  The 5th arrow looked like it would go in a completely different direction.

  ‘This- no way, will it?..’

  This elf wouldn't shoot a random arrow. With that certainty, I prepared for something I’d only ever seen in anime, and, after a moment, it happened – the arrow curved, rushing towards me while curving towards my chest.

  ‘Still slower than that frost ray!..’

  I was tempted to use my skill here as well, but decided to trust my instincts, which told me it was still manageable.

  A moment before the arrow would hit me, I jumped to the side from my crouching position, while simultaneously twisting my torso.

  I could feel the arrow brush past my chest, curving in an arc, but ultimately failing to hit the target and bumping into the nearby soil.

  The next one was already in the air, with me landing into a crouched position again.

  ‘I need to do better this time!’

  As the arrow was almost upon me, I performed a similar evasive manoeuvre, only this time, I calculated my strength, jumping just barely fast enough to evade the tracking projectiles, but managing to stay standing, bending my knees in a familiar posture.

  The next arrow was already in the air, however…

  ‘Two more?!’

  The elf had just shot a second arrow, preparing the 3rd one in rapid succession, with inhuman speed that would make the whole process seem like a blur to a normal person.

  ‘Dammit! I have no choice but to try this!’

  I waited, each moment stretching endlessly, as the arrows made their way through the air.

  Waiting just until the first one was at arm's reach…

  [Charge] !

  The speed of my movement was comparable to that of the arrow, which passed through the space I occupied a few hundredths of a second ago, I charged straight forward!

  The second arrow couldn't change its trajectory fast enough, and would clearly collide with the ground.

  The third one, however…

  ‘It’s going to hit my shoulder!’

  I didn't have time to use [Charge] again.

  I twisted my body, but the arrow would still graze me.

  In a split second decision, driven by pure instinct, I moved my hand… and swapped the arrow mid flight!

  …or, rather, I managed to barely touch it for a fraction of a moment, but it was enough to turn a near-miss into a complete one.

  ‘What’s he going to do next?’

  My eyes locked on to the elf, who, to my surprise, didn't shoot the next arrow yet.

  However, this was not a relieving scene – rather, the air, visibly pulsating around his bow with increased frequency, and the two shimmering arrows loaded between his fingers, raised my alert level to the max.

  ‘Last one! Let's do this!’

  At that moment, the elf released his bowstring, letting the two arrows fly at extreme speed.

  Their trajectory was not straight – however, it wasn't an arc, either!

  Rather, the two arrows slithered through the air like a pair of snakes. Worse, unlike a snake, their direction changed on all three axes, and the angles were different between each turn.

  The only consistent thing between the two arrows was the distance covered, as both were poised to hit me within moments.

  ‘Fuck!’

  There wasn't enough time to plan, and thus, I decided to trust my instincts.

  [Charge] !!

  I charged to the front-left, and unsurprisingly, the two arrows adjusted their path without problem.

  However, one was now much closer to me.

  [Charge] !!!

  This time, despite the painful protests of my leg muscles, I managed to charge before the arrow hit me – straight towards it!

  The arrow dove from above, trying to reach me, however, I was just fast enough to avoid it, hearing the whistling sound pass right behind my head and the arrowhead striking the ground.

  But, I was now right in front of the second arrow!

  ‘Fuck.’

  There was nothing I could do to avoid it.

  Instead, I threw my arms forward, placing them in front of my face while tracking the arrow's twisted path with every shred of focus I had.

  thud!

  I managed to ‘block’ the arrow with my left arm, as it came at a diagonal angle from the top left toward my chest.

  “Agh..”

  Had my arm shield been strapped to it, perhaps the painful blow could be mitigated. However, I was wearing a set of training leather armor, and the leather bracers did not do anywhere as good of a job.

  ‘This will leave a bruise.’

  As I recovered my footing, while rubbing my left arm, I raised my eyes to look at the elf.

  “By Ordion's beard! What was that!”

  The dwarf rose from the stands and approached the sparring arena.

  “I’ve seen rock cats jump with less swiftness! Oi, Molly! Is this lad really first level?”

  “Y-yes.”

  The dwarf looked at me with mild suspicion.

  “He’s a Slayer, remember? With a good enough foundation, he might have crossed the 1st Agility threshold upon stepping on his Path. Plus, he had a mobility technique.”

  “Sir elf is right. On both counts.”

  The elf gave me a strange look, before suddenly remembering something.

  “Oh, right! We haven't introduced ourselves. My name is Oxilor, and this here is Girmel. Both of us are peak Silver rank Adventurers.”

  “I’m the Guardian instructor and trainer, and he is the Archer one.”

  “Anyway, good job, Sebastian. Your reflexes are sharp – swiping that arrow was an interesting move. Awfully close to a block, but since the tip hadn't touched the body, I'll give it full points.”

  “It’s the first time this year someone got a 10 from this guy. If you actually dodged both arrows back there, I’d have to suspect foul play!”

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  I couldn't tell from the dwarf's tone whether he was joking about the last part.

  “This is indeed a 10. Now, time for you to do some work, too.”

  “Ha! Thought you'd never ask. Go on, kid! Go grab that training sword.”

  One of the advantages of the closed training grounds, where we now were, were the complimentary facilities. One such facility was a small armory, giving out training gear.

  Of course, it was only for the duration of the visit, had to be registered upon pickup, couldn't be taken outside, and you'd have to pay for any significant damage. However, the variety and quality of the free equipment was impressive, and you could also rent more durable equipment for a small fee.

  There wasn't a hand shield to attach to my forearm, but I managed to get an open steel helmet, the chainmail and leather armor I was currently wearing, and the two-handed sword, slightly heavier, wider, and much less durable than my real one, but good enough for me to use here.

  During the first trial, it was peacefully leaning against the stands, but now, it had to finally serve its purpose.

  “Altight! The rules are simple – I have to make you leave this circle, and you may try to do the same, or simply survive for as long as you can.”

  “Of course, no blows to the head, especially the eyes. Anything else, even a broken spine, can be mended by the Sun Priest over there, which the temple graciously assigned to our guild.”

  “Now, ready your weapon!”

  The moment I raised my sword, the dwarf placed his large (training) shield, which covered most of his body, in front of him.

  The air around the shield began to shift, ever so faintly.

  ‘Shield Skill?..’

  I prepared for something like [Shield Charge], bending my knees and ready to dodge at any moment, but the dwarf simply advanced forward, step by step, holding his mace in the other hand.

  ‘Is he predicting my [Charge]? Well, he did see it. Hmm… It could also be a continuous skill, something that fully activates upon an enemy's attack.’

  I had no way of knowing the truth, so I pointed my sword forward in a familiar stance.

  If I didn't know what he was planning, I’d have to check!..

  ‘Wait…’

  I lowered my sword once again. The dwarf had already crossed half the arena, coming closer and closer.

  When he was 2 meters away from me, still withholding his skill…

  [Charge] !

  I charged slightly to his right, just out of the range of his mace swing.

  He reacted almost instantly, turning around toward my flashing figure with his shield.

  His rotation was slower than my movement, but I knew I couldn't chain [Charge]’s fast enough to get behind him this way.

  Instead, I crouched at the very end of my movement, picking something from the ground with my left hand.

  For a moment, my back was turned to the dwarf, and I was crouching.

  I peeled my ears, focusing every fiber of my being on his footsteps.

  …however, he didn't seem to charge forward, even after I pretended to lose my footing, clumsily stretching my legs once again, back still turned.

  ‘He is patient.’

  Instead, he simply advanced at the same pace as before, like a turtle, his shield in front of him – an impenetrable shell.

  ‘Alright, let's test this!’

  When he was 4 roughly meters away from me, I sharply turned around, using the momentum to throw the rock in my hand straight at the shield.

  CRASH!

  The moment my makeshift ranged attack reached the shield - or rather, just before it touched it - the latter shot forward in an immensely powerful swing, turning the rock into a cloud of dust and a bunch of tiny debris flying to the dwarf's left.

  ‘Damn.. this training sword would be done for if I used my [Charge Thrust] into that skill.’

  “Ha! Not bad, kid.”

  The dwarf, having his skill seen through, showed no signs of being disheartened. Rather, an amused smile shone through from under his black beard.

  “How about this, then?!”

  This time, the dwarf’s skin became shinier, attaining a light gray hue.

  ‘This is probably some defensive skill. Either it's a fire-and-forget type of buff, or a skill that requires constant maintenance. In the first case, it can probably absorb or mitigate a certain amount of damage before breaking, while in the second case, the amount it can absorb depends on his stamina.’

  If it was the former, I'd consider using a fixed-value skill against an opponent that uses weapon-scaling attacks, while wielding training weapons, a bit unfair.

  ‘Oh well. What’cha gonna do?’

  If this was unfair, I'd have to deal with it. And perhaps I could think of an unfairness of my own.

  “[Iron Skin] drains my stamina while active, and even more so when my body gets hit. If you can avoid me long enough, it'll be your win.”

  ‘Seems like this dwarf values fairness, after all.’

  It didn't mean I could take it easy – far from it.

  ‘I’m sure his Endurance is in the 2nd Realm, too. Actually, being a Silver rank Guardian dwarf, it could be 18 or 19.’

  In fact, it could even be 20, but I refused to consider it.

  Partially, it was because the regular traits of this world seemed to be too balanced to allow crossing the 2nd threshold before the 2nd Realm, at least in most cases.

  In part because, if this was indeed such a rare case, my chances of victory would likely be 0, so there was no point considering that possibility – after all, I intended to win.

  ‘He has the advantage in Endurance, and either equal or slightly higher Strength. That leaves me with an advantage in Agility. Ah, and two mental Attributes as well, probably.’

  However, this contest was designed with an emphasis on Endurance and Strength.

  So far, Agility has helped me run literal circles around the dwarf. However, this wasn't a good thing – I was clearly expending more energy, even considering the dwarf's skill, only to buy more time for myself to formulate a plan. No, not even that – just to come up with a potential win condition.

  ‘That shield counterattack seemed to take nearly a second to fully charge, so it’s likely useful against slow, telegraphed attacks. Well, slow by Path-bearer standards, at least.’

  He also had [Iron Skin].

  ‘His level is 4 to 5, likely the latter. He probably has at least a few more skills, maybe even an ability or two. However, he is a Guardian, so most of his stuff is focused on defense, while his more offensive skills are likely related to control.’

  The more I thought about it, the worse it seemed.

  ‘No point in delaying – I have to test this at least once.’

  After jogging yet another half-circle around the dwarf, as he reached the center of the arena, I suddenly turned around, bringing my sword into position.

  The dwarf's reaction was relatively fast, raising his shield right away, but by the time my skill was ready, the air around his shield was still calm.

  [Charge Thrust] !

  The dwarf, realizing he wouldn't have time to fully charge his counterattack, released the skill in its infancy, lowering his shield's angle and bracing for impact.

  CLING!

  My sword struck his shield, as I tried to adjust its angle as well, but even though it managed to deliver most of its kinetic force, the dwarf hadn't taken a step back, his body tilting back for a moment before returning back to his previous stance.

  On the other hand, the impact sent me reeling back, my sword vibrating dangerously fast, my arms turning numb for a moment.

  “Hua!”

  The dwarf’s mace came flying at me, as he advanced forward with a rock-steady step.

  I managed to dodge the strike by leaping to the right, only to notice the air around his shield start to swirl again.

  ‘No, it's different! Shit-’

  On instinct alone, I turned my sword sideways, flat sides facing the Guardian dwarf and myself, with my left hand on the hilt and the right one behind the blade’s broad side near its midpoint.

  CLANG!!

  The sound of metal crushing into metal shot through the yard, as my right hand nearly buckled under the sheer force of the strike.

  I was sent flying backwards, rolling several meters on the ground before stopping myself – right at the edge of the arena.

  For the first time, the dwarf was actually running at me, aiming to finish what he started.

  The gears in my head were turning at incredible speeds, trying desperately to come up with something - anything - to turn this fight around.

  I was still on the ground – I was already standing up, but by the time he'd be upon me, I wouldn't have time to use any skill except [Charge].

  My stamina was getting dangerously low, too, so using too many skills in a row would risk my body giving out at the most critical moment.

  I was already at the edge of the arena – even a small push would be the end of this match.

  ‘Wait! Edge of the arena! Push!’

  A very risky plan formulated in my mind. I was already standing up, my knees bent, ready to dodge to the side upon the dwarf's [Shield Push], or whatever that skill was called.

  ‘This.. if he falls for it, this might work!’

  It was very risky, and required the dwarf making two specific choices, but the chances of my victory were already very low, and based on what I've observed so far, those choices seemed to match the dwarf's fighting style.

  I raised my sword vertically in front of me, [Charge] still ready.

  ‘Come on… make the safe choice…’

  My senses were fully focused on the dwarf, who would enter his own attack range in a moment.

  With my exceptional perception, and the familiarity with the dwarf’s movements - which I gained during the fight - I could predict his moves based on the subtle shifts in his stance and movements, up to a few tenths’ of a second ahead. And his following move would be…

  ‘Yes!’

  [Stamina Burst] !

  I needed every bit of strength and energy for what would come next.

  I moved my sword to block the mighty swing of his mace – he probably decided my refusal to move from the spot was either a trap, or a ploy to make him waste extra stamina using his skill. And why would he do that, if a single swing of his mace, coupled with his superior strength, could finish the job this close to the edge?

  Using my swordsmanship, I managed to angle the sword so that the mace would lose some of its force, sliding downwards.

  In addition, I myself leapt to the left, aiming to circle the Guardian.

  The blow, even partially mitigated, was still heavy. However, with my own Strength in the 2nd realm, I managed to avoid getting pushed back, if only barely. Moreover, as both weapons interlocked, I used my superior Agility to circle around the dwarf.

  Of course, he managed to follow my movement, his weapon still locked with mine.

  ”Ha!”

  He swung his mace back, breaking the stalemate, while raising his shield to defend against a potential shallow swing from my sword.

  However, this was exactly what I was waiting for.

  “Wha-”

  The dwarf’s eyes opened wide as my feet left the ground. At that moment, it looked as if I was going to dropkick the shield, trying to push the dwarf back and snatch the victory.

  The dwarf began angling his shield, one of his legs already sliding backwards to solidify his stance even further.

  However, to his even greater surprise, rather than kicking, both of my legs landed on the slightly angled metal surface, my knees slightly bent…

  In the last week or so, during my training, I tried using [Charge] to run on walls.

  While it didn't work as intended, leaving the awesome wall-running scene as a distant fantasy (at least for now), I did leap off the walls into the air in different angles, depending on the angle of the walls themselves – often being natural stone cliffs or large boulders, rather than man-made ones.

  And, given the force with which I was sent soaring through the air, often towards a nearby bush or tree trunk, the same and opposite force must have been applied to those walls.

  [Charge] !!!

  I used every bit of strength left in my legs to activate the skill, soaring nearly 6 meters in a 90 degree angle.

  To my left, on the stands, I could see the elf jumping to his feet, his eyes open in bewilderment.

  Molly, likely being a regular human, was only now - slowly, in my current perception - opening her eyes and mouth in shock.

  Below me, the dwarf stumbled a single step back, before losing his balance and tumbling to the ground.

  While the fall didn't cause him any damage, the thing that made him stumble was a 5-centimeter high metal barrier, stretching over the ground in a wide arc.

  That barrier was the edge of the arena.