“I … I know karate?” Randy said as he tried to absorb the new knowledge in his brain, “and wrestling?”
“No, you now have a rudimentary knowledge of fighting basics, that include teachings from multiple forms of martial arts. There are aspects of karate, wrestling, kickboxing, traditional boxing, and jujitsu. The knowledge you received is basically an introduction to multiple forms of self-defense. It isn’t as effective as already having experience in these disciplines, but it will get you started. The main benefit to this training is that it gives you access to skills that normally require finding a trainer for.”
It felt strange, having his brain being treated like a computer and having knowledge uploaded directly into his memory, but it was also very cool. It was too bad that normal school couldn’t be done like this, Randy thought.
“Let’s see if you retained any knowledge or if it just filtered in between those elf ears of yours.”
Randy frowned at the comment. Elwyn was not the kind gentle old soul that he first appeared. “OK, what do you want me to do?”
“Defend yourself,” he said before attacking.
His fist was suddenly flying towards Randy’s face. Normally, Randy’s instincts would’ve had him turtling, but instead, he slipped to the side and the punch missed.
Randy started to grin as he realized what he’d done, but Elwyn wasn’t done attacking. He followed up the punch with a kick that caught Randy in the stomach. When Randy doubled over, he felt a knee coming up into his face.
The blow sent Randy sprawling to the ground. He groaned as he held his bleeding nose.
“Lesson one. Never let your guard down. If a person is willing to throw one punch at you, you must expect that more are coming.” He then cast a spell and the pain in Randy’s body disappeared.
Randy took a second to get over the violent attack, but then he realized it hadn’t been as bad as he’d anticipated. “It didn’t hurt as much as it normally does when I get punched in the face,” he said.
Elwyn laughed. “You make it a habit of getting punched in the face?”
“Not intentionally, I think it is just my natural charismatic personality that draws fists towards my face.”
“I see taking all those punches hasn’t deadened your ability to use sarcasm. Good, perhaps we can make you into a fighter after all. Any injury you receive won’t hurt as much as it would in the real world. It will be unpleasant, but the upside is that you will also get more enjoyment out of pleasurable sensations you feel in the game. Food will taste better and you’ll be able to hear better and see farther, depending on the skills and traits you develop.”
“I’m used to pain. I had a skateboarding phase a few years ago when I was trying to fit in with kids at my first high school. I crashed often. I’m not worried too much about that. It is the idea of dying in the game that worries me.”
Elwyn shrugged. “That is probably unavoidable. But there is an easy solution for that.”
“What is that?”
“Don’t die. You’re a smart kid, learn to adapt to your environment, grow strong, and you’ll get to a point where dying isn’t an issue.”
“And until then?”
“Until then you keep improving. Failure is only a learning opportunity.”
Randy frowned. It sounded like dying in the game was going to happen whether he liked it or not. At least it wasn’t permanent like in the real world. “A painful opportunity.”
Elwyn smiled. “True, but just consider pain a motivator to get better. Now, let’s work on advancing your new skill set. Time to practice.” He led Randy to the forest and pointed to a tree. “Your first sparring partner.”
Randy looked at the tree. It was thick, sturdy, and covered in dense bark. It was easily fifty feet high and had a diameter of almost two feet. It was wider around than him.
“Start with basic punches and kicks. It will hurt at first, but your skin will toughen up soon.”
Randy looked at the tree doubtfully. This was going to hurt, he thought as he threw a stiff jab into the tree. His knuckles slammed into the tree and he winced reflexively as he felt the pain. Actually, it wasn’t as bad as he’d imagined it to be. The pain reduction in the game made it no different than the amount of pain one would get from playing a game of knuckles. He struck the tree a little harder. It hurt, but this time he didn’t wince. He was more interested in the fact that he already understood how to throw a proper punch. The ability of the game to upload skills into his brain was fascinating! Next, he threw a combination of jabs and a hook. The game hadn’t improved his co-ordination though and he almost missed the tree entirely when he threw the hook.
Elwyn didn’t seem bothered by his lack of coordination. He nodded and kept encouraging him. “A good attempt. Remember that balance and footwork are integral to all your attacks. Speed and strength are critical, but accuracy must always be your first priority. Don’t throw a punch at the tree, throw a punch at a particular piece of bark.”
“Aim small, miss small,” Randy said, remembering a line from an old movie.
“Yes, that is a good way of saying it,” Elwyn replied. “Now try again.”
This time Randy did the exact same combination of attacks, but he did them just a little slower, trying to be more precise as he picked a target. This time he connected every strike on the tree without almost falling over.
“Good. Mix in kicks now. Learn to use your entire body as a weapon. Your head, your elbows, your knees, they are all weapons to be used.”
Randy wasn’t keen on trying to headbutt a tree, so he did everything else. His newfound knowledge of striking allowed him to instinctively move in ways that he’d never imagined before.
After an hour of training, his entire body hurt, but he kept at it. He wasn’t keen on the idea of fighting at all, but he was even less keen on the idea of dying in the game. He would learn to defend himself using the new skills that had been entered into his brain.
He struck the tree with a kick and got a notification on his display.
You have increased agility by 1.
He grinned and turned to Elwyn. “My agility just increased!”
“Good. You can stop hitting the tree now. It is time for you to learn a new skill.” Elwyn handed him a small object.
“What’s this?”
“Flint. It is time for some basic survival training.”
Randy eyed the flint. He knew the basic concept; strike the flint against steel or minerals like iron pyrite to create a small flame. “I just get the flint?”
“Yes,” Elwyn said.
Randy sighed. This was obviously one of those lessons where he wasn’t going to be given any help to start. He’d have to figure it out on my own. He looked back at the firepit. There was no wood so he’d have to gather dry sticks and some fire-starter while looking for an appropriate companion for his flint.
He walked through the woods, picking up dead branches and leaves and then took them to the fire pit. After two quick trips, he had plenty of dry wood along with leaves and twigs to start the fire with, but he still had nothing to use with the flint. Randy kept walking through the woods until he came upon a large outcropping of rock. He stared at it, trying to think of what iron pyrite looked like. Then he saw a few gold specks in the rock and his memory clicked in. Fool’s gold, that was what some people called iron pyrite because of its resemblance to the real thing.
Congrats! You have learned the skill Identify Items. This skill allows you to identify items, minerals, and magical objects. Does not work on people or monsters or other organic materials.
Interesting, he thought. He would learn skills just by doing the right activity long enough. He wondered what other skills he could learn.
Randy found a good chunk of the fool’s gold and struck it with his flint. He had to do it a couple times, but he did get a spark.
He headed back to the firepit and organized his dried leaves and twigs together. He struck his fire-starter until a spark caught and started to burn a leaf. He packed more leaves on top of it and waited for it to burn, but the flame fizzled out. He frowned and tried it again. This time he packed a little more moss and twigs on top of the leaves. This time when the leaves caught on fire, he gently blew on them to encourage them to spread.
Congrats! You have learned the skill Fire Starter. Fires are now 5% easier to start.
As the fire spread, Randy pumped his fist, Yes!
“Good job,” Elwyn said. “I think you might be ready to enter the game.”
Randy frowned, his elation at his latest accomplishment gone. “Before you mentioned that I would have restrictions. What are they?”
“Ah yes, I almost forgot about that. We normally give every player a weapon, some even receive unique weapons. You won’t be receiving one. The skill training you’ve received here is the only advantage you’ll get. You will also start the game with no coins. The only things you will start with are the clothing on your back and a bag of holding.”
“A bag of holding?”
“A small bag that uses magic. It can hold almost anything in it without weighing you down.” Elwyn then pulled a massive sword out of a pouch on his side.
There was no way the sword could have fit in the pouch, but there it was. Randy loved the idea of having his own magical bag. No heavy backpacks for him! Of course, the news that he wasn’t receiving a weapon was disturbing. “Why no weapons?”
“Part of your rehab. You will use your new martial arts training to defeat the enemies you face. You can use weapons to your heart's content as you find them, but that will not be easy. The second part of your restrictions is you’re starting in a unique wilderness setting and not a village or city. You’ll have to survive on your own. There will be no guilds, players or NPCs to assist you.”
Randy sighed. “I’m being thrown into the deep part of the pool after one lesson on how to doggy paddle.”
“More like a large lake. It will take some work to reach civilization, but it is a goal worth striving for.”
“Why the restrictions?”
“To teach you new life skills. You’ve learned to deal with bullies and ridicule by avoidance and talking your way out of dangerous situations. Those skills won’t help you in New Realm Online, at least not at first. You’ll have to face your fears and the dangers around you head on if you want to survive.”
Randy nodded. He didn’t like the plan, but at least he could understand the logic behind it. He wasn’t being punished; he was being given an opportunity to grow. Maybe it wasn’t going to be so bad after all. He stood taller. “I’m ready.”