Elsewhere

“I’m Duke and I’m here because Ergo shoved me through the door. Presumably, for some training.”

“A fair enough answer. I am Jablach and I teach all of you idiots how to fight. I don’t care if you’re a Duke or a King, you’re all equally useless in a fight.” He smiled, showing off his too-sharp teeth. “Now come with me over to the practice arena. We’ll fight a little to see what you can do and what I have to work with. Do not hold back. Use everything you have. Do you understand?”

“You want me to try and kill you. No holds barred.”

“Clever way to put it. No holds barred. Hmm. Yes, no holds barred. Try and kill me.”

He stepped onto the arena floor. It was much smaller than the true arena, perhaps ten meters across and there was only one set of stands, but it did look similar. Duke followed him and took a ready stance. Jablach nodded at Duke to indicate that he was to begin. And so, Duke did.

Duke launched himself at the demon with every striking pattern and physical attack he could think of. Punches, kicks, elbows, knees. He threw everything he had at the demon. The demon slipped every attack, not even bothering to strike back. Duke never laid a hand on him.

Jabalch stood back from Duke’s panting form. “So, you have no magic whatsoever? If that is how you would try to kill even a menial foe, I find it perplexing why you are even here. Is that your best?”

Duke shook his head. “I do have a touch of magic I can throw at you but the last foe I used it on is rather quite dead.”

“Do not be concerned with my survival, I assure you that I will be just fine.”

Duke shrugged, “You asked for it.” He launched a lightning bolt at the demon. It arced and struck right at his chest. The demon smiled in response. “That killed your opponent? What were you fighting, a housefly?”

Duke shook his head and approached Jablach. The demon only watched him come with a look of patience. When Duke was in arm’s reach, he looked the demon dead in the eyes. “Are you sure you want this?”

The demon smiled broadly. “Oh yes, human. Truly give me your best shot. Everything you have.”

Duke gritted his teeth and gathered all his mana like he had done in the arena, activating his OVERCHANNEL Ability. He felt the power well up from deep inside of himself and build to an angry, sharp pain behind his eyes. He channeled his Mana until he couldn’t take the pain anymore and released it in a single LIGHTNING-charged punch.

Once again, Duke was blinded and deafened by the explosion of energy, falling to a knee as his head swam from dizziness and disorientation. His REGENERATION went to work immediately, healing his eyes and ears in a few seconds. At the same time, his head started to clear as his Mana also started to rebuild.

As his eyes cleared and came back into focus, he saw the demon standing four meters away. He had an enormous scorch mark dead center in his chest, but he was still standing there, grinning from ear to ear.

“Oh, Duke, that was spectacular! I can work with that for sure. The rest too, I suppose, but that is a flashy and powerful finisher. What are your limiting parameters?”

Duke just stared back in stunned silence. That had absolutely killed his opponent in the arena, practically burning a hole clean through and Duke was sure that, if the strike had been more concentrated like the punch he had just delivered, it would have bored clean through.

“Limiting parameters?” was all Duke could process at that moment.

Jablach helped Duke to his feet as he explained. “Yes, limiting factors. How often can you do that? Can you make it smaller? Does it always leave you in such a vulnerable state? Anything you can tell me so I can show you how to improve it. What you have is good, but if you don’t finish your foe with it, you seem to be finished yourself.”

Duke was starting to get his mana back and his own injuries were all healed so he was feeling himself again. “I’ve only done it twice, and each time, I poured everything into it. So, that said, I really don’t know all that much about the Ability other than it lets me pour all my mana into a single attack.”

“You can’t put in less, say half?”

“Haven’t tried.”

“Well?” Jablash’s flat stare was the perfect catalyst for Duke to get into experimental mode.

Together, they spent the next three hours working the OVERCHANNEL Ability to discern its parameters. Duke learned more than he had imagined he would. By the end he knew a few things for sure and was fairly certain of others.

For example, Duke now knew that the Ability seemed to work in factors of other Ability’s base cost. So, a regular LIGHTNING bolt that cost 10 mana could be OVERCHANNELED in increments of 10 mana up to and including all of his Mana. If he tried it for less than double the normal Ability cost, it failed. He also was fairly certain he could use it with any of his other Abilities that used Mana. The results were wildly variant but most clear with the LIGHTNING Ability. If he used OVERCHANNEL at its maximum with LIGHTNING, he increased the damage of the bolt to over 300 times its regular damage output.

Of course, using his entire mana pool like that would leave him nearly helpless from the Mana fatigue headache that accompanied that situation. It seemed that as long as he kept at least 10 Mana in his pool, the strain was bearable. Any less than that and the pain spiked up. He had experienced it before with using his TELEPORTATION Ability nearly continually. But, adding in OVERCHANNEL seemed to tax him even more strenuously. And, of course, TELEPORTATION still wasn’t working.

Duke was starting to grow concerned that TELEPORTATION would be gone forever if it didn’t return soon. The messages he kept receiving didn’t say anything like that, but he was growing increasingly concerned. He really wanted that Ability back.

For the next several hours, Jablach worked with Duke on his actual fighting style. Duke was a fairly quick study and progressed from “Where did you learn how to fight? In a bar?” to “At least that didn’t completely suck.”

The most intensive learning came when the two sparred. Jablach outmatched Duke in hand-to-hand combat that Duke couldn’t even figure out how much the demon was holding back but he felt like a child squaring off against an MMA champion. But it was from these bouts that Duke could see what worked and what failed. He was able to put ideas into motion and see the results directly.

After most of the day spent in the arena, Duke was thoroughly drained and exhausted. His body was still raring to go thanks to his REGENERATION, but his mind was worn thin from the stress of learning and experimenting. Still, he refused to give in and stop. The demon seemed willing to go the entire day and then keep going, so Duke stubbornly matched him.

The sparring and training came to an end when Ergo came to collect Duke. “You two have been at it for much longer than expected. I was expecting an introduction and a few demonstrations not…this” He spoke, gesturing at all of the damaged equipment scattered around the area. “Did you even stop for a meal?”

Jablach looked quizzically at Ergo. “I ate three days ago. Why would I need to stop for a meal?”

Ergo shouted back, surprising Duke and Jablach both. “You are training an unevolved, Tier one human! It never occurred to you that he would need to eat, to even take a break?”

Jablach snapped his head back to Duke. “Tier one? Truly?”

Duke had no idea what they were talking about but when he quickly pulled up his character sheet, he saw the Tier 1 right next to his Level 2. He responded carefully. “Yes, I am a Tier 1 human.”

Jablach seemed confused. “How did you manage to last so long with me with you being only a Tier one? That should just not be possible. I thought you were Tier two or maybe even three.”

Ergo responded. “That is one of the reasons I recruited him. His capabilities seem to far exceed what they should. If he can do this at Tier one, just picture what he could do as a Tier Five. He might be able to – “

Jablach interrupted aggressively, “DO NOT say that. Those words are not to be spoken aloud. You know better.”

Ergo snapped his mouth shut with a look of chagrin and nodded back to Jabalch. “Yes, you are quite correct. But imagine it.”

Duke decided he had enough of being talked around. “Either one of you want to fill me in on what all this Tier stuff means? And why you two are freaking out over it?”

Ergo started out slowly and calmly, as if speaking to a frightened child. “Duke, you are a Tier one human. Everyone, well, almost everyone.” Ergo glared at Jablach pointedly. “Virtually everyone starts off as Tier one. As we gain experience and level, we grow stronger. When someone reaches level fifty, they get the opportunity to move to Tier two. It’s like a reset, but keeping all your previous Characteristics, Abilities, Spells, Skills, and other stuff. You return to level 1 and gain experience again as a level one with significant added benefits.”

Jablach joined in. “So, you see, there’s no way that as a Tier one, you should have been able to keep up with me for any length of time. You should have collapsed from exhaustion and strain hours ago. What are your Characteristic scores?” Curiosity swelled in Jablach’s voice as he asked.

Duke hesitated for a moment before sharing his Characteristic screen with the two of them.

“A Tier one, Level 2 with 92 Characteristic points? My god! What is your class, boy?” Jablach exclaimed.

Duke really paused, not sure how to answer this question. He did not want to share any more of his secrets. Thankfully, he was unwittingly rescued by Ergo. For a moment.

“Forget the class. How on Teldin have you grown up not knowing any of this?”

The questions were getting harder to answer without revealing things he really didn’t want to talk about. He quickly came up with a response that he hoped would work. “My parents sheltered me from the whole of Teldin. I grew up knowing nothing about how this world works. I only started to piece it together when I came to this city. And you see how well that has worked out for me.”

“What, robbed, beaten, convicted of vagrancy, sentenced to a term in the arena entertaining the elites of the kingdom?” Ergo responded coldly.

“Yes, exactly that. Plus having no real clue what I’m doing with any of my Abilities or how to properly fight.”

“ANY of your abilities?” Jablach asked, his black eyebrows raised and his red pupils flashing in interest. “Just how many Abilities do you have? You know that you only get one per tier normally, so this will be enlightening.”

Duke paused, realizing that he had just revealed more than he wanted to…again. He really needed to learn when to keep his mouth shut. “I, um, have three Abilities. REGENRATION, LIGHTNING, and OVERCHANNEL.” Duke decided to lie with what they had already seen.

“Three Abilities? That’s Tier two, at least. You really are an enigma, my pale student.” Jablach shook his head slowly while holding a wry grin that displayed his overly large canines.

Duke wasn’t sure if the display was on purpose or intended as an intimidation tactic. Duke didn’t care either way. His frustration at his situation was mounting and the gnawing growl in his stomach that reminded him that he had skipped breakfast AND lunch was not helping his mood. He could feel himself getting hangry.

“Can we discuss this over food? I’m starving to death here.” Duke looked to both Ergo and Jablach to gauge their responses.

Their responses were simultaneous looks for chagrin. Ergo looked at Jablach while Jablach looked at Ergo. “You gotta feed your fighters!” They both shouted at each other in unison, as if it was some sort of inside joke or credo that, once again, Duke was completely out-of-the-loop on.

“You should have fed him before bringing him to me.” Jablach growled.

“He’s been with you for the entire day, you should have at lease gotten lunch for him.” Ergo countered.

“I don’t care who didn’t get me breakfast or lunch, but will one of you get me dinner? I find it insane that I was actually fed better sitting in that damned cage.”

“Oh, that’s low.” Ergo responded.

“Unfortunately, true though it seems.” Jablach added.

“Well, enough of that. Come with me. Let’s get you fed, Duke.” Ergo turned to leave, reaching for the door.

Duke turned to Jablach and offered a “This is how Hollywood depicts it” martial bow. He tried to hide his smirk as he addressed Jablach, “Until tomorrow, then teacher.” He then turned on his heel and followed Ergo out the door.

Dinner was served in a dining hall that reminded Duke of every school cafeteria he had ever been in. The tables and chairs were made of thick wood and looked quite sturdy. It looked to him that you could comfortably seat up to 8 individuals at each of the ten tables. Right now, there were only three other unlikely individuals sitting at table together. They all looked up as he came in with curiosity, but none made a move to get up. They did, however, offer nods of greeting to Ergo.

“This is the dining hall. Meals are served here at specific times, but you can always find something to eat here regardless of the time. You can take as much food as you like, but you will eat everything you take. Going back for more is expected for our fighters so don’t be shy. You’ll burn off any food you eat, and it takes a lot of fuel to build and maintain a proper build.” Ergo flexed his arm to demonstrate his idea of a proper build.

“Just go over to the counter, take a tray, and load up with whatever you like.” Ergo pointed Duke in the direction of the counter and Duke’s stomach led the way, homing in on some delicious smells.

Duke quickly grabbed a tray and a plate off their respective stacks and stepped up to the counter. He proceeded to fill his plate with all he could fit on it. Meats, vegetables, some sort of starchy-looking root vegetable all found a place on his plate. Then he went back for more meat – you can never have too much meat.

All loaded up, he found a seat at a table by himself, Ergo having disappeared while Duke loaded up his plate. It didn’t take long for him to learn that the food tasted even better than it smelled. He devoured everything on his plate and even went back for more. He had no idea how he was able to eat so much but he didn’t really care. It all tasted so good, and he was ravenous.

As he looked up from his third plate, he noticed that he was no longer alone at his table. The three individuals that had been sitting had come over and were standing on the other side of the table. Now that they were closer, Duke got a much better look at them.

The first was a short, thin man with midnight dark hair and eyes to match. His pointed ears screamed “fantasy elf” to Duke but he wasn’t about to make such an assumption about this bone-pale individual.

If the first was short, the second was shorter, barely able to see over the table. She stood further back as if to give the other two space to act. Her short flame-red hair was quite the accent to her dark skin.

The third, and largest by a significant margin, was a man that stood a full two meters tall and was built like a powerlifter. His muscles were tremendous, if not fully defined. He smiled as Duke assessed him.

The “elf” spoke first. “You didn’t come join us for dinner. You too good for us?”

Duke forcibly did not roll his eyes. Oh great, here comes the harass the new guy routine. Duke opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by the tiny girl.

“Oh, shut up, Lester. Why do you have to be such a dick?” She gave Lester a pointed stare and Duke saw him visibly back down from her. “Now, hello stranger. My name is Lasandra. And as you likely have already guessed, the pointy-eared asshole to my left is Lester. This mountain of muscle is Lysander.”

Duke stood up. “Duke. Nice to meet you all.”

Lasandra slapped Lester in the back of the head. “He’s a Duke, you moron. He actually IS too good to sit with you.” She turned back to Duke. “My apologies, your grace, for our ignorance.”

Duke held up a hand, trying not to wince at his name causing trouble again. “I am not a Duke. My name is Duke. Yes, I know it’s confusing and trust me, it’s more of a pain in the ass on my end. Everyone is always making that assumption. Screws everything up.”

Lysander laughed, slapping his hand down on the table. His voice reverberated around the room like a standing stone struck with an enormous hammer, lending an otherworldly depth to his words. “You were right, Lasandra. This one is fun. I like him. Do you think he’s our fourth?”

Lester looked Duke up and down, nodding. “Look at all the tears in his uniform. He’s been with Jablach all day. I’d wager much on that.”

Duke nodded at Lester. “And you’d win that wager. I’ve been training with Jablach all day long. What’s this about a ‘fourth’?”

Lasandra responded, “For the arena. Individual fights are all well and good, but the real top-billed fights are the team fights. Teams of four fight it out in the arena. They are not supposed to be to the death, but we lost our fourth to a bizarre accident. Ergo’s been looking for a replacement ever since. Our guess is that he dropped you off here so we could all meet.”

Duke chuckled. “I don’t know about being your fourth just yet. I can’t fight for shit.”

“Bullshit! A voice shouted from the doorway.” They all turned to see Ergo standing there, arms folded. “Duke here was tossed into the arena on his second day here to fight Graza.”

The group reacted to the name with some reverence. Apparently Graza had a reputation.

Ergo continued. “He was sent in completely unarmed, in an unrestricted match.”

Gasps and quick looks spread around the three. Ergo took the pause to walk up to the four.

“And he outright killed the fucker!”

“By the Seven.”

“Killed him?”

“Unarmed?”

Duke stood a bit dumbfounded, not sure what to say. Finally, he shrugged. “I got lucky. Dude should have chopped me in half.”

Ergo smiled at the group and gave a very pointed look at Lester. “I’m glad you all met, and no one got utterly stupid. My plan is for the four of you to take the field together at the end of the week. It will likely be against a team from Stone or Zephyr. The details are being worked out, but the most important thing is that you four be ready to fight as a team.”

Lasandra sat down at the table and gestured for everyone to join her, which they all did, even Ergo. “OK, Duke, I am the team’s healer. I can swing a staff if needed, but healing is my primary thing.”

Lysander spoke next, “I am our front line. Not much can hurt me so I’m happy to take two hits to deliver one. I love to see the look in their eyes when they realize I just took their best shot and am still standing there.”

Lester followed. “I am our speedster. I get behind our foes’ front-line fighters and take out their healers and casters before they know what hit them.”

Duke responded. “Guess it’s my turn. I’m not entirely sure what I’m good at in a group fight. I can take some pretty big hits if they don’t kill me outright, I’ll heal up from them. But, I guess, the most effective thing I have right now is my LIGHTNING. It’s what I killed Graza with. Mind you, I had to drain myself almost completely to take him out, so don’t count on me to zap all our opponents in one shot.”

Lester smiled, excitement coming to his eyes. “Can you really take a big hit like a sword through your gut and keep going? If so, you could be the perfect speed-trap. They think they can take out our spellcaster but find out that you’re a whole lot more durable than they bargained for. Could take one of theirs out while I disrupt their casters.”

Ergo nodded. “Yes, that’s exactly what I was thinking. We will have to test just how durable you are though, Duke so be prepared for a painful next few days.”

Duke groaned, shrugged, and resigned himself to the pain. “Yeah, I kinda asked for that, didn’t I?”

Lysander reached over the table and patted Duke on the shoulder. His hand was like granite, cold and solid. “You sure did but don’t worry, I’ll step in if it gets to be too much for you.”

Ergo stood up. “OK, everyone, Duke’s had a long day. He fought Jablach all day without even taking a break for lunch. Let’s let the man get some sleep and I suggest you all do as well. Training starts early tomorrow morning.”

With that, they all got up, said their goodbyes, and filtered off to their own rooms. Upon arriving, Duke took another heavenly “shower” and then collapsed into bed, rapidly falling into the sleep of the truly exhausted.