Lair by Carl Stubblefield (recommended reading TXT) 📕

stand on a circular disc in front of a console. Gus was scanned again.

Assessing…

A holograph of a tall, lithe figure with pinched eyes materialized in front of Gus. “Which martial skill do you wish to train?” he stated gruffly, then lifted his chin and folded his arms while waiting for the response. Gus thought he looked like a clean-shaven Genghis Khan.

“The spear. Or polearms, I guess.” Gus offhandedly decided while looking at the variety of weapons encircling the place.

“BE PRECISE!” the trainer bellowed. “Do you wish to train in the spear or learn the fundamentals of all polearms? Which type of spear do you wish to use? Without focus, there is no power!” the trainer barked, then returned to his folded arm pose.

Gus’ eyes snapped back to look directly at the teacher and his posture became rigid as it had been trained to assume when at attention. The abruptness of the instructor shocked him, partly because it was so reminiscent of his father’s brutal nature when training. Not wasting time, Gus spied a basic vanilla spear without any elaborate embellishments or fancy blades. He pointed at it and stated, “I will start with this spear, but am unfamiliar in even the basics of its use.”

Quest Granted: Shake spears!

Quest Conditions:

1) Reach level 2 with polearms and level 3 in spear subspecialty

Time Requirements: Limited to 3 hours or less

Quest Rewards: New skill unlock. If unable to meet quest requirements in time allotted, opportunity for new skill will be lost. 500 XP

Do you want to accept this quest? (Y/N)

Gus mentally punched the yes prompt.

“First, you must learn a battle stance.” The virtual instructor came to life and assumed a ready pose with a slight crouch and one leg extended backward. He flung his leading hand back and the area above and behind was illuminated with moving figures. After a second, Gus recognized them as a replay of his movements and the Shamblers in his battle the day before.

His mouth dropped open. He hadn’t known the manor had the ability to scan the island to that degree, or even that it had recorded him in such a way as to reproduce what had taken place. In watching his own movements, Gus realized that if he had not experienced the battle first hand, he would have guessed he was watching someone incredibly drunk harassing individuals walking home after a tough day at work. His stumbles and falls were brutal to watch, and he was embarrassed to see it from this vantage.

“In this conflict you were inefficient and unbalanced. We will correct that,” the instructor grunted.

I had no idea I was that bad, I’m lucky I didn’t get killed out there. Gus leaned in, trying to absorb what he had missed.

“Assume this stance,” the instructor demonstrated. Gus saw his own form move again in the area above and behind the instructor. He tried his best to adopt the same stance, but could see where his front foot was rotated too far outward and his back leg was too close, making the stance too narrow. He made the adjustments he thought he needed and once he thought he was in position he held still. He noticed a subtle tingling in those areas out of place on the display and he let the sensation guide him. When he finally got it, the tingling went away and he knew he was mimicking the correct form.

A padded robot with what looked like a pillow for a head and two cylindrical pillows for hands appeared from a panel that slid away from the wall. It merged with the hologram and mimicked the instructor’s movement.

“Now, maintain your balance without moving your feet.” The pillowbot rotated around Gus and poked at him with its padded arms. One hit let Gus know these were not pillows. More like baseball bats made of rubber, covered with a canvas-like material.

Not expecting the strength of the prodding pokes the pillowbot would give, Gus stumbled and the tingling reasserted itself. A couple times he deviated from the correct form more than usual, and he found that the slight tingle ramped up to a painful pins-and-needles sensation, prompting him to quickly return to the appropriate stance.

The robot spun and attacked from various angles and directions, challenging Gus to shift his weight in different ways to maintain his balance and not be knocked over. Two more times he was knocked down, but after thirty minutes or so, he could sense some improvement in his recognition of how to react with the different types of shoves the pillowbot attempted.

“Rest now.” The instructor-pillowbot hybrid froze in a standby pose. Gus caught his breath and noticed his stamina bar was a few points from empty. He jumped around and shook his legs to get a little circulation back and relieve the strain of standing in one spot for too long. A couple stretches of his arms and back relieved a bit more tension. When the green bar was nearing full, the instructor assumed ready position again and ordered, “Again!”

“Let’s do this, Chop Chop Master Onion!” Gus challenged back and he resumed his stance. The drill continued, this time with pillowbot speeding up and then adding attacks from both arms. Gus found it was much less fatiguing to avoid getting pushed by dodging than trying to absorb each hit and shift his weight. The hardest shoves to avoid were those that came from behind, as it was more difficult to twist and visualize the attacks, compared to frontal assaults. In a real battle, it would be so much easier with the ability to move his feet. Eventually, a chime sounded and his display showed a new notice:

You have leveled up the skill: Polearms to Level 2!

50 XP awarded

100 FP awarded

2525 XP to level 6, 1300 FP total

Gus found that a little odd, as he hadn’t even touched a spear yet, but wasn’t going to argue with the system.

“Enough!” the instructor assessed. “Procure a spear.”

Gus jogged to the tier above and grabbed three identical spears,