04 — Training Part 1: Martial Talent

Time flew by. A whole week had passed since I’d come to the Adventurer’s Guild. I thought I’d gradually get used to the grueling lifestyle, but reality was not so kind.

“Ugh, sore again today.”

That morning, I awoke to pain in my joints yet again. Aside from the first two mornings, they’d been tormenting me throughout the week.

I was in no position to grumble, though. After all, the source of this aching was ultimately my own stupidity... On the second morning, I’d kept up with my independent practice, but the session had consisted of nothing different from day one. After downing Substance X, and given the fact that my muscles weren’t hurting, I’d wondered about stepping it up a notch. I had gotten a bit full of myself, thinking that with this young, new body, I could increase my level of training and become even stronger.

“Coach Brod, yesterday’s session was definitely rough, but I’m not feeling any soreness. Do you think you could lay it on a bit more?” I blurted out like an idiot.

“Hmph, you’re sturdier than I thought, for a healer.”

I’ll never forget those eyes, their intensity, the way they pierced me like a spear. It wasn’t until the beginning of that afternoon’s session that I discovered he had been considerate in his teaching so far, allowing even a healer like me to slowly but surely work up to the hard stuff.

Why, God, why did I have to let it go to my head? As much as I regretted my idiocy, I couldn’t turn back time. We did the same things, that didn’t change, but now there were penalties. For example, if I slowed down while running, he would show no mercy during stretches, no matter how much I cried uncle, or he would start parrying blows during sparring as opposed to simply dodging them. Clumsy punches and kicks got swiped away, this time with additional pain for good measure.

I also started calling him Coach Brod around then. This seemed to make him happy, so I was hoping that it would soften him up, but our training didn’t get any easier. Far from it, in fact. He continued to gradually ramp things up.

My schedule started with twelve hours of instruction, from seven in the morning to seven at night. Including breaks here and there, it was a little over eight hours start-to-finish.

Seventy percent of this time was working out and the remaining time was spent training martial arts. The rest of my day was used for magic training. The little bit of respite I’d felt at the Healer’s Guild was nowhere to be seen. But I had brought it all upon myself. Maybe it was wishful thinking to hope that things would improve after this first month.

“Don’t rest. Don’t think. Just run. As fast as you can.”

And today, I once again found myself doing laps around the training grounds. Not out of obligation but out of desperation to get past this stage as quickly as possible.

“You think those flimsy fists are gonna take down a monster? Lower your stance. Use your hips. Don’t stop after one swing, no monster’s going down that easy!” Brod lectured. “What, you wanna die? Huh?! You’re not answering, so I guess that means you wanna die, don’tcha?!”

Brod’s lambasting once wore on my spirit, but I now took his unbiased viewpoint with gratitude, although that wasn’t to say I was used to it by any means. Any time my speed fell, I got a taste of that menacing aura of his. If he had cranked it up to pure bloodlust, I was positive my legs would be shaking too much to run, but thankfully he kept it toned down to reasonable levels.

How much free time did the guy have on his hands? On the first day, he had only coached me, but today he was running with me. He started out matching his pace to mine, but slowly pulled ahead until he had lapped me, closing in from behind like some kind of vicious predator. I knew it was Brod, sure, but my fight or flight response couldn’t quite tell the difference and screamed at me to keep sprinting.

He’d eventually catch up, shout his sharp-tongued abuse, then pull ahead again, rinse and repeat. It never lost its sting. And throughout all of that, he never even broke a sweat, leading me to doubt whether we were actually the same species.

On the bright side, it made the regular adventurers a whole lot less scary, at least. That progress had to count for something.

Next, we stretched. This routine had changed little throughout the week. It was just a bunch of exercises with me bending my arms in directions they were never meant to go. I was grateful that he at least let me cast Heal the one time I dislocated something.

However, hands down the most crushing part of my training that week was the sparring. All throughout our stand-offs, Brod never let up on the menacing glares and stances that sent shivers down my spine. According to the adventurers I’d been healing, he was a completely different person during training. Everyone avoided that circle of hell like it was the plague.

I very much wished I’d had that information sooner. Thanks to that knowledge, or possibly how intimidating Brod constantly was, my stamina plummeted and my body felt heavy, like an anchor was weighing it down. I forced out trembling punches, barely managing to throw out kicks with stiff poles for legs.

The moment I gave up was the moment Brod would really start coming at me full-on, like a true enemy, or so he had warned me. I couldn’t back out now. I had to keep going.

Every dodged blow drained my energy, but this was nowhere near being my biggest problem. That prize would go to the intense pain that shot through my arms and legs each time he retaliated. Although he did so lightly, the damage kept piling up. How much more unfair could he get? I continued attacking, enduring the pain, until I fell face-first onto the floor. But we weren’t through yet.

“What, that’s it? You’d rather die? If you say so, kid, guess I’ll start coming at you for real. Keep those eyes open and take your stance. Now, I’m going to start attacking, but I’ll go easy on ya, so block my hits. If you can’t, then dodge.” He wasted no further breath and went on the offensive. How very “Brod-like” of him.

I had no stamina left. I was beaten and bruised. Moving was a chore. In a situation like this, all I could do was rack my brain and try to survive. Brod knew this and began sending out attacks at a slow enough pace for me to watch and use as references. Yeah, that perfect stance, this would definitely—

“Ah!”

I caught myself staring at the fist coming my way a little too late. One hard thud later and I was down for the count. Until another splash of water woke me up again, that is.

“You’re awfully full of yourself if you think you’ve got time to sit on your ass counting daisies when I’m right in front of you, kid.”

“Shorry...” I croaked, cradling my nose. I could’ve fixed this pain with Heal, but he hadn’t given me the go-ahead, so I was out of luck. Guess it was for my own good.

“I’m up now. Please, let’s try again.”

It wasn’t that I enjoyed pain or anything... Coach Brod would just be in a bad mood if I didn’t keep my head up, and that wasn’t conducive to a healthy learning environment. Rather than wasting time moping around, it would be more beneficial to use said time to try to get one over on him instead. He was attacking with my limits in mind, meaning if I somehow pushed past those limits, landing a hit wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility. I closed my fists tight.

“I told you, kid, don’t tense up before a hit. You’ll lose your edge. It makes you slower and your punches lighter.”

“Oh, right, sorry.”

“And don’t forget I’m doing the attacking right now. Get ready.”

I thought I would be able to dodge his slower movements, but his attacks seemed to almost stretch and chase me down. I would manage to jump back, take the hit with my arms, and get knocked into the air slightly after the impact sent electricity shooting through my nerves. We’d repeat this dance over and over.

Every time offensive training turned into defensive training, I felt my spirit wilt a little, but Brod never waited. It took everything I had and more to block each and every blow. Pain always followed, and if I failed, I’d meet with a whole lot more of it and quickly pass out.

“It’s because you’re not thinking. Every attack has an intention behind it and if you misjudge it, you’re gonna hurt,” Brod barked. “Watch how you’re attacking, how I deal with it. Think. Pound it into your head like your life depends on it!”

His heckling, in spite of how harsh it sounded, gave me direction. Brod was an excellent teacher, if a little extreme in his methods.

Pound it into my head like my life depends on it...

Well, that certainly made a lot of sense. My fighting experience consisted of one measly week of training, so now was the time to absorb as much knowledge as physically possible. Thinking of it that way made things a bit easier to swallow. I had a superior to rely on here. My only job right now was to try, fail, learn, repeat.

The fog cleared from my mind. “One more go, Coach Brod. Please.”

“You really creep me out the way you smile after all that pain, y’know that?”

“It keeps me going. I’m going to land a hit on you, just you wait.”

“Hmph, if you’ve got the steam left to talk shit, fine by me. I’m gonna break you just enough not to snap you, kid.”

I laughed nervously. “Just a little joke!”

My dumb mouth and I had opened up a fresh new hell, but right then my salvation came in the form of people descending the stairs: injured adventurers.

After my first few patients, my healing services had spread by word of mouth. Before I knew it, I had droves of timid adventurers coming to test the waters, many of whom would return for particularly bad injuries that hampered their movements. Brod, unsurprisingly, wouldn’t let the lighter wounds fly. He also seemed to be keeping track of who came, and how many times, but I just focused on the task of healing. Obviously, we couldn’t train during this time, so it served as a short breather as well. Injured adventurers were restored and I got a bit of rest—a win-win, really.

The patient in front of me today was a cat beastwoman, a rarity. And she was a girl, at that. On account of the glares from her party, however, casual chat seemed to be out of the question.

“So, what’s bothering you today?”

“Will you...really heal me?” she asked dubiously.

Honestly, the fact that she didn’t throw in a “meow” stole my attention even more than her suspicious tone. Yeah, in my dreams, maybe. People didn’t go out of their way to toss weird words into their speech for no reason. I felt a bit more cultured now.

I nodded. “I will. That’s what I’m here for. What seems to be the matter?”

“I was attacked by a Wererat. It bit my back and legs.”

A wererat, huh? This world had poisoning and paralysis, but what would happen if bacteria infected a wound?

“Heal should close up the wound itself,” I explained, “but it’s possible it could be infected, so I recommend you see a doctor if you start feeling ill. May I heal you?”

“Yes, please.”

I healed up the bite, as offered, and the girl burst into tears. Oh no, did I do something wrong?

“Um, what’s the matter?”

“Hey, healer, what’s your name?” one of the adventurers asked.

“I’m Luciel.” Uh-oh, I’d better keep my composure here.

“Luciel...you use magic on beastfolk.”

“Er, I’m not following. Humans, beastpeople, they’re all patients in the end. Is that not a given?”

From the way this man, who appeared to be the leader, spoke, it sounded an awful lot like beastpeople were discriminated against, but I felt no such biases towards the folks who worked at the guild. Was it a problem with the attitudes of healers in particular?

“You’re a good guy, Luciel. Can we come back if we’re ever injured again?”

“Of course. My doors are always open.” I smiled and bowed, when the girl who was crying suddenly hugged me tight and my heart stopped.

“Thank you. I’ll come again next time I’m hurt, okay?” she whispered in my ear before letting go.

“Let us know if you’re ever in a bind,” said the leader as they headed back upstairs.

“Brod, who were they?”

“I’ll look into it later.”

Well, yeah, I guess I couldn’t expect him to have the members of every single party memorized. With our short break over, we resumed sparring. Not once had it crossed my mind that with this one act of healing beastfolk, my number of patients would quickly skyrocket.

“So you made it through your first week.” Brod patted my shoulder as we finished, looking pleased. I supposed not many people lasted that long.

“Somehow. And I do feel my body improving little by little, so I don’t plan on running off.”

“Of course you don’t. Now come on, I don’t wanna see any scraps on that plate today.” He started towards the dining hall and I followed, wondering if he truly was worried that I’d ditch them.

If healing adventurers was a respite, then mealtime was paradise. Even compared to the food I’d eaten in my past life, Gulgar’s cooking was nothing to sneeze at. That wolf-man boasted quite the repertoire and every dish he put out was different from the last. From steak to hamburgers to a kind of hodgepodge of beef stew and pot-au-feu, to something like fried udon, all (to my surprise) making liberal use of spices.

Unfortunately, there were no sweets, but it would be no exaggeration to say that this delicious food was what carried me through the hell of training. If none of it had been palatable, I might very well have booked it by now. I wasn’t sure where I would have gone, exactly, but still.

At any rate, this nirvana that sandwiched my training sessions kept my motivation fairly high. If I had to find something to complain about, it would be just how much food there was, but any time I brought it up, I got the same reply:

“Eating’s part of being an adventurer. Leave nothing on your plate.”

Greens weren’t generally included with the main dishes, but Gulgar was always kind enough to make a warm, nutritious salad for me at breakfast. He was a man of few words but many adventurers often came to him for advice.

“So, how was training today?”

“Hard to say,” Brod answered. “He’s not up to snuff yet... Gonna take a month or so to get to the real stuff.”

“A month, eh? Think he’ll survive your boot camp?”

“Ask the kid yourself.”

They both turned to me.

“All...all I can do for now is my best. It’s only been a week, but I’ve been improving, even if only a little at a time. I really think I have. But to be honest, it’s Gulgar’s food that keeps me going.”

“You’ve got a good mouth on ya. Oh, finished already? How’s about seconds?”

“No, thank you, I’m stuffed.”

“Oh, yeah?” Gulgar went back into the kitchen, leaving Brod and me alone. Awkward...

My instructor took a swig of ale from his mug and thought for a moment. “Listen, kid. Personally, I say it’s still too early to start on weapons, but what do you think? Want to give it a shot?”

Hesitating over which direction to take his teaching in, was he? I’d definitely be worried about having only close-quarters combat options on the off chance I actually left the city. It would be nice to learn some sort of ranged techniques as well.

“I don’t intend to get myself into any fights, but in case I ever get sucked into one, I’d like to have mid- to long-range options on hand so I can escape.”

“Mid- to long-range. Got it. I’m heading back first. Let Gulgar know.”

“I will. Thank you again for today.”

“Yep.”

He left the mess. Not long after, Gulgar returned carrying a mug of Substance X.

“Do I really have to drink all this?”

“Sure do. You wanna get stronger, don’tcha?”

I could say nothing to that, so I accepted the mug and downed its contents.

Gulgar’s food was oh so delicious. It was a shame I never got to savor the tastes seeing as I had to destroy my nose and tongue after every meal. “Disgusting” didn’t even begin to describe it. Drinking the solution took actual physical effort to keep from blacking out and I really could do without it. Although, in a way, this was part of my meal, so if I turned it down, Gulgar would most likely force me to drink it anyway, blowing our relationship to smithereens.

Once, several days earlier, I’d seen a group of adventurers who had failed to polish off the mountains of food stacked on their plates. Gulgar had blown a fuse.

“Look at all these ingredients you’ve wasted! If ya couldn’t eat it, why’d ya order all of it? I’m not letting any o’ you outta this mess hall ’till you eat every last crumb!”

The adventurers flung back complaints but quickly shut their mouths after the cook glared at them with the rage of a grizzly. Their subsequent sobs were muffled by mouthfuls of food. Ever since, I’ve made it a way of life to never ever leave leftovers.

After carefully turning down Gulgar’s offer for another dose of Substance X, I returned to my room, threw myself onto the bed, opened up my status screen, and reviewed my progress.

“I don’t think I’d have managed to learn even Heal without that Assess Mastery skill. It’s nice to know I’m doing things right.”

At the end of every day, I made full use of the special advantage that one skill afforded me, then practiced Magic Control and Magic Handling before heading off to bed. That was my life now. It was a full one, despite one small problem... I kept getting this feeling like I was being watched. I hadn’t noticed it at first, but every passing day I felt eyes on me more and more.

In the beginning, I’d chalked it up to me overthinking things, until I started suspecting some kind of stalker. In that case, though, I wouldn’t have felt like the gazes on me were increasing, so I abandoned that line of thought. All the same, it made me uneasy. I decided I’d bring it up to Brod tomorrow.

The next morning, I mentioned my concerns.

“Lately, it feels like I’m being watched by someone... No, by several people. It’s always when I leave my room and when I’m on the first floor.”

Neither Brod nor Gulgar said anything. From the way they averted their eyes as opposed to answering me like they usually did, I knew who the culprits were: the guild staff and the adventurers.

“Can you please explain why I’m being put under surveillance?” The only privacy I had at this point was in the confines of my own room, and it was starting to wear on me.

“Sorry, kid. I know it doesn’t excuse it, but I promise no one means anything bad by it,” Brod said. “Folks who become adventurers usually aren’t born into well-off families. They don’t know better, so they take reckless jobs and get themselves hurt. That doesn’t matter to them, though. They need money to live, so they get back up and take more requests because that’s all they can do. Rinse and repeat a few times and before ya know it, you’ve got no choice but to retire young.”

Starting out as an adventurer had a lot of overhead costs for sure, so getting by in the beginning must have taken about as much effort as one could muster. If I weren’t a healer, I’d likely be in the same boat. Was there no training course for newbies? I certainly didn’t recall hearing of anything like that when I registered.

“Does the guild not do any training or guiding of these fresh adventurers?”

“Nothing compulsory.”

The oppressive gloom behind his words made me realize something. For the sake of stabilizing what little, shaky income new and weaker adventurers could make, I, a healer, was a necessity. When they inevitably got hurt, my healing would allow them to get back out into the field and bring in money again the next day. These people’s lives had been forced into my hands without me even realizing it. At the very least, I understood why he didn’t want me to leave. Evidently, the trust in our relationship still had a ways to go.

“It’s not fair of me to say all this. I just wanted you to know the circumstances these greenhorns are in.”

“I’m not going anywhere this month, so please, would you stop all the spying? That’s all I ask.”

Brod paused for a moment before replying. “Sure.”

I had confirmed my intention to remain for the month, but a shadow still lingered over his face. Seeing a man who was normally so merciless during training suddenly look so downtrodden was too much for my heart to bear, so I let my promise be the end of it.

“And I mean it. The next time I feel like someone’s watching me, I’ll make them down a mug of you-know-what with me.”

He cracked a dry smile. “That’s pretty low, kid.”

“Just so you know, that includes you, too,” I grinned back. The look of despair that spread across his face sent me cackling.

Brod looked like he had more to say, but he kept silent. Gulgar clunked a mug of Substance X down in front of me, then promptly disappeared back into the kitchen without a word.

From that point on, my relationships with the staff and my ties to the adventurers would begin to change.

“Hey, thanks for the healin’ earlier, boss. I’ll be back again if I need some more.”

“Just be careful and try to keep that to a minimum, okay?”

The eyes I’d felt on me vanished the day after my talk with Brod. Everyone started coming up to me directly instead. Not to intimidate me or anything, thankfully, but it was going to take some time for me to get used to it. Heck, they even outright apologized to me for their previous hostility. I still couldn’t believe how fast I’d gone from barely managing to ask why I’d been under surveillance to outright telling them to stop.

Not all the adventurers were scary-looking, by any means. Many of them seemed quite gentle, although a particularly obstinate one with a short fuse could have easily put me in my place. Nevertheless, I’d begun to enjoy my time at the Adventurer’s Guild. Clothes and other small trinkets started coming my way as tokens of appreciation.

“Thank you for everything,” they would say.

“I heard you were short on clothes.”

“Thanks for makin’ the guild a nice place to be.”

And so on.

Adventurers weren’t the only ones giving me things, either. Even the guild staff got in on the action. I was sad, however, that not one of these presents came from a girl. Very sad indeed.

But my relationships with everyone were looking up and I was running out of places to put all of my new stuff. When I mentioned this to Brod, he had the spare beds in my room removed and set me up with a chest and a dresser. Such privileged treatment left me dumbfounded. I was determined to do everything I could to repay their kindness.

Within a few days, I had everything I could ever need and realized that I’d lost any and all reason to leave the grounds. Well, aside from hightailing it to escape my training, I suppose, but Coach Brod would undoubtedly come after me, so that’d be the very definition of pointless. I was sitting pretty here, though. Stepping outside of the guild walls no longer seemed necessary.

“They’re not trying to butter me up, are they?” I wondered to myself. “Nah, I’m thinking too much.”

Reconvinced, I finished my morning Heal, Meditation, Magic Control, and Magic Handling practice, then made for the dining hall.

“Hey, kid. You’re early today.” Brod was already sitting at the counter when I arrived.

“Good morning, and same to you, Coach Brod. Oh, good morning, Gulgar. Can I please have breakfast?”

“Comin’ right up. I’m gonna start givin’ ya a bit more from today.”

“Er, I think we’re already at the limit of what I can stomach.”

“You’re ’bout to learn the real definition of ‘limit,’” the wolf-man sneered. After laying out all my plates, he slipped into the kitchen to fetch some Substance X.

Brod slowly began to speak. “Listen, kid, I’ll be honest with you. As far as combat goes, you don’t have a shred of natural talent.”

I didn’t recall ordering a side of depression with my morning meal. My mental fortitude wasn’t all that great to begin with, so his words hit me pretty hard. However, his eyes were sincere and unflinching. There had to be a reason he was telling me this.

“I had a feeling,” I confessed, my voice trembling. My mastery was increasing, therefore I was improving. I had used that line of thought as an excuse to ignore the truth—I had no actual talent. And it wasn’t just an imbalance of offense or defense. I didn’t want to attack. I didn’t want to get hit. My heart and mind were in conflict.

When I first came to this world, I had wanted power—specifically, the power to avoid an unfair death. But in my past life, I’d never once gotten into a single fight. Deep down, I was afraid of harming someone. That much became clear to me during my daily training with Brod. To rub salt into the wound, I couldn’t even try to follow his attacks, nor had I found any semblance of a knack for martial arts myself.

I waited for Brod to continue. He closed his eyes and nodded. “But what you do have a talent for is putting in the effort. You’ve got a tenacious mindset that pushes you to keep going.”

“O-Oh, um, thank you.” I was relieved, if a little embarrassed, that he didn’t come right out and say he was abandoning me. I fidgeted and awkwardly scratched my cheek.

He opened his eyes and looked into mine. “As long as you keep trying, I won’t hang you out to dry, kid. Don’t give up, and at the very least, you’ll learn how to defend yourself. I know you will.”

I turned to him and bowed. “I’m counting on your teaching until then.”

“All right, finish eating and it’s back to training. We’re gonna start building up your body for real from now on. Weapons are joining the curriculum, too.”

“Weapons? You mean the sharp kind?”

“I do. But don’t worry, I’ll be sure to cut shallow,” he said with a glint in his eyes.

I predicted many a near-death experience in my future if I let my guard down. My head started spinning.

“Hurry up and finish that plate, kid,” he pushed.

To be honest, I’d lost my appetite entirely, but fear of Gulgar outweighed that concern. Speaking of the devil, here he comes now, carrying a mug of Substance X.

“Huh? Not done yet? Here, this is what you’re drinkin’ from now on.” He set it on the counter.

The sinister nature of the drink was unchanged, except there was now more of it. A lot more. About one and a half times more than my usual amount, at a glance.

“This is a joke, right?”

“You can drink it, can’tcha? It’d make ya stronger if you did.”

Like I was gonna fall for that. I finished up my breakfast. “I really can’t stand this stuff, so if you could make it the usual—”

“Kid, just drink it. We’ve got work to do.”

“Yes, sir.”

So, Brod was in on it, too. Making these guys my enemies would certainly spell disaster for me. They held the reins when it came to my relaxation time. But this was no simple beer mug, it was a full pitcher! I decided that someday I would give them a taste of their own medicine, and then downed the vile solution. Brod told me he’d be at the training grounds and left.

Substance X wasn’t at all filling, so I wasn’t worried about bloating myself right before our session. In fact, the taste and smell would’ve brought the entire meal right back up if Gulgar’s intense presence hadn’t forced me to keep it down.

“Phew, that was close. You must be pretty strong too, Gulgar, if you’ve got that same crazy aura as Coach Brod.”

“Gimme a shout if you ever feel like testin’ your luck!” he howled as he cleaned up the dishes.

He’s gotta be one tough guy... I swore to myself I would never go toe-to-toe with him for any reason. “I think I’ll pass. See you later.”

Gulgar guffawed again behind me as I made my way out.

When I reached the training grounds, Brod was standing right in the middle, menacing as always, but something was different today.

“Sorry for the wait. So, um, why is there a mountain of rocks here?”

And that something was the massive pile of stones next to him.

“Starting today, you’re not gonna be running after breakfast. You’re gonna practice throwing these rocks at the target over there. Get used to it enough and you’ll be able to nab the Throwing skill.”

“This is what I requested before, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. No matter how much we polish your combat skills to the point where you can actually hold your own up close, there’ll still be all sorts of folks—and things—that are stronger than you. So I’m gonna have you get the Throwing skill to a level that’ll at least give ’em pause. Something to look out for.”

He picked up a rock and tossed it lightly. A second later, a loud bang, like a gunshot going off, echoed across the grounds and a hole appeared in the middle of the target. That had to be what the Throwing skill was capable of, but I hadn’t caught so much as a glimpse of it. The sound sent my heart pounding like crazy. It seemed that memories of one’s death weren’t so easily erased.

“You’ll eventually be able to do the same. What’s the matter? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

As worried as he was for me, I couldn’t start talking about another world. They would think I was insane. I forced a smile and shook my head. “It’s nothing. So I’m just throwing rocks?”

“Right. You’ll start with rocks, move on to daggers, then javelins. But for now, just rocks.” He handed me a smooth, round stone. It was light and easy to hold. It must’ve been specially chosen for training purposes.

“Is there anything I should know first?”

“For now, throw it as hard as you can, like you’re actually trying to inflict damage. When you’ve got that down, figure out for yourself how to boost the speed, distance, and power of your throws.”

“Yes, sir.”

I understood that independent practice was important in its own right. Back in the day, I’d been all about playing baseball, so I knew a thing or two about throwing, but it’d take years for me to get to Coach Brod’s level. I already felt my spirits plummeting. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, though.

I pitched the rock, tapping into all those years of playing catch. It drew a parabola through the air towards the target, which it hit less than thirty centimeters from the center.

“You being serious, kid? You think the enemy’s gonna lie down and cry for mommy ’cause you tossed some shit at a bullseye?!”

Yet again, I’d royally ticked off my instructor. Thank God there were no other adventurers here. I could hear the stifled laughter now.

“I’m sorry, I just wanted to get a feel for the weight and distance.”

“We don’t have all day. And rocks aren’t all going to be the same size or weight, anyway. Got it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Like I said, you’ll move up in difficulty slowly. From stones to daggers to javelins. That way, even a healer like you should be able to keep your distance from the enemy if you’re ever attacked.”

“Thank you, I’ll do my best.”

“Now listen. Don’t think about taking anyone down with this. That’s not the goal. Hammer that into your head.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. I want to see all those stones gone in the next hour.”

“This many...?”

“Not enough?”

“No, sir... I’ll get right on it.”

I picked up a piece of the mountainous stone pile and got to work throwing as hard as I could. Some tosses hit their mark, some didn’t. This process repeated, and repeated. Then, something came to me. A month of training wasn’t nearly enough time to learn anything. I was the one who had asked to renew our deal on a monthly basis, but my assumption that I’d get strong enough to handle myself in such a short time was so off base that it hurt.

“I acted like I understood, but somewhere deep down I must’ve still thought I was the protagonist.”

How was I supposed to progress to throwing javelins in only two weeks? I couldn’t. It was impossible. Hell, one month wasn’t even enough time to work out and fully condition my body. Brod had surely known this and gone along with my terms in spite of it. Maybe he hadn’t expected me to be able to withstand the pressure.

“Slow and steady wins the race, I guess,” I said thoughtfully. “Three years... Maybe that’ll be enough for me to learn what I need to get by in this world.”

As the days passed, I spent them going between my room, the dining hall, and the training grounds, and held on to that determination.

I woke up and practiced my Magic Handling while stretching. After throwing practice on my own, I ate my fill of Gulgar’s cooking and downed some Substance X. An hour more of throwing and I started sprinting laps while enduring Coach Brod’s usual pressure.

In place of stretches, our sparring time had increased, along with the number of adventurers coming to me for healing services. Some even timidly came knocking from outside Merratoni itself, swelling the population of adventurers in the city.

I peered at Brod, who was off to the side, cheerfully rattling on about it to Gulgar. Although it left me a bit embarrassed, it made me happy, too. It was like I’d been accepted, in a way. Brod never outright praised me; it was always indirectly, that hardhead.

The other adventurers, too, had begun to see me as an actual guild-affiliated healer because I was practically at his side twenty-four seven. I was glad to have their support. That way, they wouldn’t go baring their fangs at me. For now, at least.

“Now I’m really, truly accepted. Or at least I’d like to think that, but life’s never that simple, is it?” The reason for that acceptance was probably because I was a member of the guild staff.

“What’re you mumbling to yourself about, kid?”

“Oh, excuse me. I was just thinking about how fast this first month blew by.” I couldn’t go blurting out that I’d been getting all sentimental while thinking back on everything.

Brod and Gulgar were currently eating breakfast together. Today marked the end of our contract. Anxiety was mixed in with the relief that I felt. I had no idea how things would look going forward, or if I would be able to renew our agreement. The terrifying aura that I felt continuously emanating from my coach didn’t help matters.

“Well, that’s your first month done, kid. You really hung in there,” he said.

“Thank you. Somehow, thanks to Gulgar’s cooking, I managed to make it out without mentally snapping. Really, thank you for everything.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he grinned. “I still can’t believe I got to watch you chug that crap after every meal, so I’m plenty satisfied.”

“Don’t get me wrong, that stuff was rancid. But again, Coach, thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“So, about moving forward... I’m going to go work at a clinic to save up some more money. After that, I’d love to train under you again.”

He paused. “Money?”

“Yes. The guild’s taken care of my every need here, every day, but I have almost nothing to my name. I need to pay my dues at the Healer’s Guild and buy grimoires in order to learn new spells.”

“That’s what you need money for?”

“Right. I can’t let myself get blacklisted from the guild for not paying my dues on time.”

“So, say you had the money. What would you do then?”

“Er, I don’t. That’s why I brought it up.”

“Just suppose someone paid your dues for the year. What then?”

“That’s hard for me to say, but I suppose I would ask if you would continue my training. I still can’t defend myself in the slightest.”

Brod smirked and pulled out a leather bag from his coat pocket. “Oh, yeah? Well, here’s your reward for sticking it out for a month. And for saving all those lives. Take it. Use it to pay your dues, then get your ass back here.”

Inside were twelve silver coins. “Wh—This—What?!” I was a bit dumbfounded, to say the least. I should have been paying them, but I was the one being paid?

“You worked hard, healing all those adventurers. Thanks to you, fewer of them are dying. I figured you deserved a little something.”

Frankly, I wanted to accept, no questions asked, but that would be in poor taste. Declining once out of politeness was the right move here. “I’m extremely grateful, but twelve silver coins is a lot of money, isn’t it? I can’t just accept this from you. Especially after you’ve given me food and a bed for so long.”

Saying it out loud really drove home how ridiculously lucky I’d been this month.

“Just take it. You’ve got a long way to go, twerp, so your training doesn’t end today. Now get to the Healer’s Guild and do what you need to do.” He grinned again, and it goes without saying that the look sent a chill down my spine.

I took the bag. “Understood. I gratefully accept. I’ll head out as soon as I down this pitcher.”

“You do that.”

To mark off the acquisition of my year’s dues thanks to Brod’s goodwill, I chugged the dose of Substance X, then let out a hearty sigh.

“Okay, I’m off.”

“I think you’d better give it thirty minutes, kid.”

Now that he mentioned it, I probably shouldn’t go to the Healer’s Guild with my breath smelling like it currently did, so I took his advice and waited.

Thirty minutes later, my breath cleared up and my enthusiasm slightly dampened, I finally left the Adventurer’s Guild. It had been so long since I last set foot on the streets of Merratoni that I found myself slightly flustered.

“Now that I think about it, I don’t know much about this place, do I? Just the way from the city gates to the Healer’s Guild, and from there to the Adventurer’s Guild. That’s about it.”

I looked up at the sky. The pleasant weather made me want to laze around and just soak it in, but I settled for a nice stretch and started walking. Seeing all the people bustling about the streets reminded me that my fears still remained.

“Well, if it isn’t Luciel!” a fellow staff member called out to me.

“Where ya off to?”

“You’re not leavin’ the guild, are you?” another asked.

“What?!” the rest blurted out in unison.

“Quiet down, everyone. Was today the end of your request, Mister Luciel?”

I knew Nanaella would have a grip on the situation. “That’s right. I’m heading for the Healer’s Guild right now. I’ll be back later.” I cut the explanation short to save time and slipped past them.

“You’d better be!” I heard them call out behind me. It warmed my heart. I silently thanked them and picked up the pace.

Along the way, I met with no adventurers, but the fact that I was still so conscious of those kinds of encounters proved that my phobia was alive and well.

I sighed. “How long’s it gonna take me to talk with these people like a normal person?”

As I entered the healers’ office, a girl’s voice sounded from behind the counter. “Welcome to the Church of Saint Shurule’s Merratoni branch Healer’s Guild!”

I looked over and saw that it was Monica.

“Good morning, Monica.”

“Oh, you’re Mister Luciel, as I recall.”

“I’m flattered that you remember me. When did the guild start welcoming people this way?”

“Just recently, actually.”

“Sounds like you guys are hard at work.”

“That we are.” She forced a smile, then put her work face right back on, just like a receptionist. “So, what can I do for you?”

“I’d like to pay my dues. For the remaining eleven months, to be exact, if that’s all right.”

“Yes, sir, thank you very much. Can I have your guild card, please?”

“Here.” I handed it over.

“Mister Luciel, G-rank healer. The remaining year’s dues will be eleven silver pieces.”

“Right.” I set the silver that I’d gotten from Brod onto the counter.

“Thank you. However, I should ask, are you certain? Your rank is still low, and if you are promoted within the year, we’ll need an additional tax from you.”

How kind of her to caution me. The value of a healer changes with one’s rank, and paying my full year at the lowest rung was akin to saying I had no intention of improving or moving up. I also had to consider the fact that I needed to reach higher ranks to learn more magic. Because a healer’s rank and Holy Magic skill are proportional, my level two skill could get me up to F-rank, but this would also mean an increase in my taxes. Seeing as I wanted to bide my time at the Adventurer’s Guild for at least a year, increasing my expenses didn’t sound too appealing. Although I was certainly intrigued by the idea of acquiring new magic.

“Yes, I’m sure. Learning more magic is important, but I need to be able to stand on my own two feet first.”

“Understandable. Opening a clinic is rather costly, but I do have to recommend that you learn new spells regardless.”

“I’ll take you up on that once I’ve saved enough to handle a promotion.”

She giggled. “You’re awfully interesting, Mister Luciel. I understand. Thank you for your payment and here’s your card back.”

“Thank you.”

“Keep working hard, okay?” She saw me off with a smile.

On my way back to the Adventurer’s Guild, I thought about how dead silent the healers’ base had been. Sitting in there, not a soul to be found, had to be harsh. There’d always been a kind of energy around the office in my past life, but there was none to be found here.

Maybe I’ll bring a little something with me next time.

When I’d first arrived in this world, I didn’t have the slightest awareness of any of that. Maybe that was thanks to Lumina or Kururu. More likely, it was thanks to how little time and room I’d had to think about it. Even less than I had now.

I hurried back to the Adventurer’s Guild.

“Well, you made it,” Brod smirked. This was the first thing out of his mouth, the moment that I returned. He’d totally been hanging out to see when I returned.

“Um, were you waiting on me this whole time?”

Behind him, Nanaella and two other human receptionists, Melina and Mernell, were giggling like schoolgirls.

“Not really. Come on, we’ve got training to do.”

“Shouldn’t we set up a new agreement first?”

“Nanaella, his card?”

“Got it right here!” she bubbled.

“Go renew it.”

“Roger that!”

“Is consent a part of this equation?” I asked.

“There, contract’s taken care of.” Brod grabbed my arm and dragged me towards the training grounds.

“Ow, hey, Coach! That hurts!”

I searched for someone, any kind soul, to save me, but they had all abandoned me. The receptionists waved goodbye.

After I somehow endured the far-worse-than-usual training and finished up my lunch, Brod pulled a grimoire from his bag: “A Guide to Low-Level Holy Magic.” It looked a little worn, but this was the first grimoire I had seen outside of the Healer’s Guild, where I’d learned my first spell. I was kind of excited.

“Thought I’d give you something for making it back, kid. Should come in handy.”

“What am I, some lost puppy?!” I quipped. “Why do you have a Holy Magic grimoire?”

By “low-level,” I could assume it wasn’t all that expensive, but it was still strange for an Adventurer’s Guild to have such a thing.

“The Heal spell for wounds and the Cure spell for poison are a healer’s bread and butter. Right now, you’ve only got Heal. Study this and complete the set.”

He hadn’t answered my question, but at least I’d found out that this book tackled the Cure spell. Gulgar was over at the counter, chuckling to himself about Brod’s huffy attitude, but if I did the same, I’d be seeing stars at evening training.

“Thank you. I’m happy you thought of me. I’m going to keep doing my best, so I appreciate your continuing instruction,” I said with a bow.

“Right,” he answered curtly, causing Gulgar to burst out laughing.

“You’re raring to go, aren’tcha? Down this and get on with it!” The wolf-man clunked a mug of Substance X down in front of me, as he did with every meal, then disappeared into the kitchen to escape the smell.

“Drink,” Brod ordered. “We’ve got work to do.”

“Easy for you to say when you’re not the one who has to taste it,” I grumbled.

“No reason for me to. I’m heading out first.” With that, he was gone.

“Well, if I’m late, I’ll never hear the end of it...” I heaved a sigh. “Down the hatch, I suppose.”

I stomached the nasty goop and then hurried after Brod, certain that I would manage to land a hit on him within the year.

And so began my life at the Adventurer’s Guild in earnest.