Chapter 19: Unarmed Combat Training

"Ah, Rita, welcome. It's good to see you back here as a teacher instead of a student. Who is this that you've brought with you?" The instructor, a small but muscular man in his late forties, asked. Chances are he wasn't part of the elite, he was too old to have been chosen even a decade ago, but if he was a martial arts expert, he would be the perfect person to be training new recruits. They wouldn't be stronger than he was, and they knew basically nothing, unless they happened to have some special training at home, with the hope that they would be in the lucky five percent that managed to gain an affinity to mana from the injection. That was a fairly big risk to take, but some would surely have done it, just in case. "This is Karl, he's an agility type warrior with a ranged magical attack that utilizes the claws on the gauntlets. It has proven quite versatile, and since it's a gauntlet type weapon, he should fit in fairly well in your unarmed combat classes as well." Rita explained. "Well, that sounds like it's a properly versatile skill set. Alright, let's see what you can already do, and what you still need to learn." The instructor agreed. Karl laughed and Rita smirked. They both knew that he knew nothing, but with the enhancement that he had been getting from Hawk, at least he might not embarrass himself. The instructor noticed his uneasy look and smiled. "Don't worry too much, it's unarmed combat. Just leave your gauntlets over there, and we can spar a little. If you're a complete newbie, just do what feels right, and that will tell me what way is best to help you develop." [Yeah, swoop down from above and break his neck.] Hawk added. [Not helpful, I can't fly.] [Then jump or something. I don't know.] Hawk pouted. Karl set his gauntlets off to the side and took a combat stance that he had learned from Rita on the first day. At least he now knew how to throw a punch without hurting himself, but they would have to see how the actual match went. The instructor threw a sudden punch, and Karl swatted it aside as Rita had told him, then counterattacked with a punch of his own, which the instructor simply sidestepped to evade. For a man who couldn't be an elite, he was insanely agile, and Karl's follow-up punch also missed, making him think that Rita had been taking it even easier on him than he had first suspected. The instructor's knee caught Karl in the midsection, forcing him back, but he swung his leg out in a sweep, trying to knock the instructor over. He misjudged the range, but being down low let him block the next knee, and tackle the instructor, who was only a little taller than Karl was. That turned out to be the wrong move, as the man caught him, and then suddenly Karl was spinning through the air to land on his back. Dust puffed up around him as the wind left his lungs and Karl gasped, but rolled to his feet. "Not bad, kid. I've got a good idea of how you like to fight now, so we will put you with the mixed martial arts group. Those stand up fighters do well against soldiers, but it looks like you will be better in bar brawls and nastier fights against monsters. It might seem counterintuitive, but with your speed and power, a punch to the head will stun many Common monsters, and grappling skills can be adapted to keep their claws away from you. It's not an offensive art, you have your ranged attacks for that, but if they get past that, I think we can teach you to defend yourself." Somehow, punching a magical beast in the face seemed like an awful idea, but if the option came down to that or being bitten, he supposed it wasn't all that bad. "Rita, come over here and give us a hand. Your student needs to learn the basics of the style, and we've already got an even number of students." Sergeant Rita looked like she had been prepared to sit this class out, but when she was called, she didn't resist. Not many of these new students would be Karl's match anyhow, and it would just be bullying for him to spar with the ones who didn't receive a large initial physical boost. Once again, Karl found himself headed back to the cafeteria for dinner, totally exhausted, sore in every muscle and barely able to walk. But the memory water was working, and he could recall each of the fifty techniques that he had been shown that day with perfect clarity, along with the proper way to use them. After a few more weeks of training, so his body remembered it as well, he might even be able to consider himself a trained amateur fighter. Karl sat down alone at a table, but he was soon joined by other members of the unarmed combat class. "Man, you won the lottery with that awakening, didn't you? It's the first week, but you're already so fast, and you even got a personal trainer." One of the boys from the mixed martial arts group greeted him. Karl laughed. "I got a personal trainer because my marking is different from any of the others, and they had no idea what sort of skill I was going to get. So, I was tossed a personal trainer, and we're just guessing our way through it. Most of you guys should have gotten the grappler or monk marks, right? The open hand or the staff over the fist?" The small group at the table nodded. "Yeah, the initial skills are crap, but at least it was easy to awaken. All you need to do is punch something, and I managed that before I even got out of bed. I gave a fist pump in joy and hit the shelf, and that was enough to awaken my mark." "Plus, we get a load of extra stamina. Even if we can't get to the most powerful ranks, we can at least grow up to be popular with the ladies." One of the other boys laughed. "It's better than nothing. But sitting around all day talking about magic symbols like the mages sounds like much more fun than working my butt off learning martial arts and body strengthening skills." One of the other students laughed. "Your head hurts trying to do basic math, you'd never survive as a mage." "It has to be easier than getting beat up every day. I'm a lover, not a fighter." The boy complained. "We all know you've never done that either, so you might as well learn to fight."