I have received complaints that dungeon races, which act intelligently outside dungeons, don’t belong in the To that I say, fuck off! You run into an orc, dwarf, elf, or whatever, inside a dungeon, you need to know how to kill it before it kills you. So, let’s start with orcs.

  Orcs are commonly encountered in dungeons and several different Clans of orcs have settlements in the regions around Lost Angels. They are physically one of the largest and most powerful dungeon races, with adults ranging from seven to eight feet in height and commonly weighing from 300 to over 400 pounds. You can always identify an orc by their green skin, heavy features, height, and powerfully muscular build. Their shoulders are also much broader in proportion to their height than a human’s.

  In dungeons, the majority of orcs favor melee weapons, often wielding what would be a two-handed weapon for a human in a single meaty paw. Be very cautious about engaging them hand-to-hand, for their huge muscles mean that they can overpower most other races at a similar Level.

  - Bonnie, Level 41 Beastmaster,

  We found Wolf and the other instructors at the range, and they led us over to one of the outdoor training areas, not far from the hall where the melee group was. It was on the opposite side of the path from the shooting range. There was one huge ring, perhaps two hundred feet across, which had been sunk into the ground at least twenty feet deep, and a pair of smaller ones maybe a hundred feet wide and a bit shallower.

  In addition, there were four more ‘small’ ones, maybe fifty feet from wall to wall and perhaps ten feet deep. The bottom of each pit was covered in sand, and the walls were smooth stone. The larger pits had a pair of narrow staircases on opposite sides, with a single one for each of the four smallest.

  “These,” Wolf said grandly, gesturing to the circles, “are our fighting pits. The walls are reinforced enough to shrug off anything you can hit them with, so don’t worry about that.

  “I’m sure most of you are wondering just how we handle sparring with ranged weapons and Spells. After all, the meatheads in there,” he pointed at the training hall, “can just grab a blunted weapon and smash away. For the most part. But you can’t blunt a firebolt, so what do do?”

  He held out his hand and what looked like a leather strap appeared in it. It was dyed two different colors, red along one half, and green on the other. He held it up to his neck, with the red strip on the top and the green on the bottom. I noticed that there was a mana crystal embedded in the red part, significantly larger than the ones we’d found in the dungeon.

  “This is a training collar. These little fuckers are expensive, so you’re only allowed to use them under supervision and you’ll return them to your instructor after each fight. It’s enchanted with multiple protection Spells. The red part projects a full shield to protect your head and neck. The red color also means ‘don’t shoot’ – you are to ever intentionally aim at another student’s head, during training or duels.

  “Accidents happen, and many Skills and Spells have a blast radius. That’s why you need this shield in the first place. It’s up to the instructors to determine if a head shot was accidental or intentional, and their judgement is final. Punishment for intentional headshots is immediate demotion to the basic track for the first offense, and expulsion for the second.

  “This applies to , recruits and trainees both. If you hit someone in the body with a fireball, and it explodes up into their face, that’s fine. If you’re aiming for their chest, and they duck into it, that’s fine. But if you’re aiming at their head when you shoot, you lose the match and a whole lot more. Am I clear?”

  We all nodded nervously.

  “Good. The same rule applies to melee and mixed matches, by the way. Remember, even Revive has limits. Destroying the brain makes it much more difficult to bring someone back.”

  I shuddered at the idea of dying, even for a few seconds. I knew that high-Tier Healers could revive someone who’d been recently killed. What little I knew about it was that it wasn’t easy, or pleasant – for either person.

  “The green side of this collar projects a special shield. It’s designed to only block a portion of incoming damage. So there’s a lot less chance of an accidental fatality, but anything that gets through your barrier will still hurt. With this on, you don’t stop just because you see your partner’s barrier shatter. You go until the calls ‘break’, and then you stop instantly. INSTANTLY!” he finished with a shout.

  “Aside from what I’ve just told you, the other rules are set by the instructor supervising the match. You NEVER get in the ring without an instructor and a Healer present!”

  He seemed to be finished when one of the other instructors whispered something that I didn’t catch and Wolf nodded.

  “I almost forgot – there is NO SURRENDERING in the ring! I don’t give a shit if your partner can counter your Skills, or they’re just way fucking better than you are! You get in there and you give it your Wasted best, and the Healer will patch you up afterwards. Monsters don’t fucking know what a white flag is, so from now on, neither do you! This will HURT, and you will pick yourself up afterwards and keep going. Can’t handle it? You can always walk out of the gate and call it quits!”

  “What… what happens if we run out of mana?” asked a clearly nervous Alyssa.

  “What happens in a real fight?!” Wolf countered. “You either spend your last points and pass out, or you start whacking your opponent with that staff of yours! There’s a reason why everyone here is required to take melee fighting classes! Now, if you need a backup weapon, step up and ask – we are fighting with real edges today, since your Spells and arrows aren’t blunted either. Anyone?”

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  A few people requested knives or swords, and one of the instructors disappeared into the armory, returned, and started handing them out. I strapped my shortsword to my thigh and tested the draw. My heart was racing with excitement.

  “First match – Azure and Jayce! Get over here!”

  I projected as much confidence as I could even as I cursed on the inside.

  Wolf put the collar on me and it tightened to a mostly-comfortable fit. I felt a pressure around me as it activated, then I was climbing down the stairs into one of the middle-sized pits. Jayce moved to the other side and everyone else crowded around the sides to watch. The sand was fairly firm, but it wasn’t going to be the best footing, so I was going to have to be careful. At least it would hurt a lot less to fall on than bare rock.

  I summoned my gun and held it at the ready as Jayce took their position opposite me. Wolf had us each stand about ten feet from the wall behind us, so we were probably around eighty feet apart. I had my standard ammo loaded and the choke on full. I had considered infusing Force or Fire, but I really wanted to keep some tricks to myself in case I needed them later.

  “BEGIN!” Wolf roared, and Jayce’s scepter snapped up to point at me. I sent my gun into my Inventory and dived out of the way, rolling onto my knees as a Sonic Bolt blasted through the air where I’d been standing. My gun flashed back into my hands, and I pulled the trigger.

  BOOM!click-clickBOOM!

  I aimed at their exposed metal arm, since their flesh one was holding their shield and I wasn’t sure if my pellets could penetrate that. I was sure I’d scored hits, as I saw a green flare envelope them momentarily. I exploded into a sprint at an angle towards the cyborg.

  whomp!

  Their Spell cracked past me, and I felt my barrier take the glancing hit easily. Apparently they’d decided to stay in one place and try to tank my shots, maybe believing that their shield would protect them. I sent my next shot low, crashing into their shins, and then vanished my gun again as I dove into another roll. This time Jayce anticipated me, and their next Spell caught me in the chest just as I came up to shoot.

  WHOMP!

  The sound was incredibly loud when it hit, even louder than when I fired my gun. It briefly disoriented me, despite my barrier taking the blow. Instead of shooting I rolled to the side, getting my balance and springing back to my feet. I could how much stronger and quicker I was since I’d gotten all those bonus Stats at Level 5, and my speed surprised Jayce because I was just ahead of their next bolt.

  I summoned my gun and aimed at their legs again, but they surprised me by dropping into a crouch. Hiding behind their shield, only their head was really exposed. It would have been a terrible defensive position in a real fight, but since I couldn’t aim at their head, it was actually kind of brilliant.

  I charged at an angle, then dodged back the other direction as another Spell shot past me. I had closed half of the distance to them. I was only vaguely aware of the people watching, my focus solely on the cyborg trying to blast me from behind their shield. I ate their next Spell to the chest, and stumbled into a dive, landing hard on my belly. I barely managed to store my gun before I hit.

  My ears were ringing as I desperately rolled to my right, sand exploding next to me, then I was scrambling back to my feet, still moving forward. Twenty-five feet to go, and my barrier was barely hanging on. I thought I could take one more hit, but the Spell I expected didn’t come. I made it one step, two, and then I realized what was happening and pushed off hard at an angle as I Quick Stepped.

  My dodge was barely in time as their Skill-enhanced Spell just clipped me. The noise was indescribable and I was pretty sure my ears were going to need healing. I stumbled, falling forward from my momentum. I landed on my hands and grabbed two fistfuls of sand, driving forward and flinging both towards their face. They flinched, coughing, and I crashed into their shield, driving them back onto the ground and landing on top of them.

  Their shield went flying as they flung me off with surprising force, but now they were exposed and I was only a half dozen feet away. I snatched my gun out of my Inventory, my weapon appearing pointed at their belly.

  boom!-WHOMP!

  My barrier and eardrums shattered, but my first shot had taken their barrier out as well and my second shot blasted through, catching them in the gap below their breastplate and above any thigh armor they might be wearing under their robes. I saw their face contort in pain even as I racked another shell into my gun. I could feel blood trickling out of my ears and I couldn’t hear anything as I aimed and pulled the trigger.

  Something crashed into the sand between us, and my shot flashed off a barrier. Then my gun was knocked clean out of my hands and I realized dazedly that Wolf was grabbing me by the shoulders. His mouth was moving but I couldn’t hear what he was saying. He frowned, then gently pushed me down to sit on the sandy ground.

  My heart was still pounding as I watched the Healer tend to Jayce for perhaps a minute before coming over to me. I felt her Spell rush through me and suddenly my sense of hearing was working again. The excited shouts of the other students sent a sudden spike of pain through my head. I must have cried out, because the Healer frowned and did something else, and the pain subsided. I climbed slowly back to my feet as Wolf and the Healer exchanged a few words.

  “The winner is Azure!” Wolf announced, and I could hear my friends cheering me on. I managed to wave at them, though my head was still aching. I realized belatedly,

  I looked at Jayce, and from the pained expression on their face – at least the flesh half of it – and the way they were gently massaging their upper thigh, I assumed they were still feeling the phantom pain of the wound I’d given them.

  I extended my hand towards them and shook their metal one. It was warm to the touch but hard, and I wondered what it felt like for them.

  “Good fight,” I said, and they nodded. We both trudged off towards the set of stairs I’d come down, and Wolf had to stop me to hand me my gun back. I pushed mana into it, cleaning off the sand and fixing up some damage, then stored it away. My heart was barely starting to slow down as I reached the top of the stairs and found my friends waiting for me with wide grins.