by Pirateaba
Of course. Ryoka stared into murky green eyes and cursed herself for not remembering. Another trick mean girls liked to use when they couldn’t solve things with words and nasty tricks. Run to the biggest boy in the room.
“I don’t know who you are, but you’re in my face. Go away, and take Persua and her crew with you.”
The adventurer blinked. He was doing the classic male trick of crowding Ryoka and it wasn’t working. She wasn’t even leaning back and they were nearly nose to nose.
“This is Arnel. He’s a Bronze-ranked adventurer in Celum.”
Persua smiled from behind the adventurer. She patted Arnel on the shoulder and he straightened and smiled back at her. She made a face when he turned back to glare at Ryoka. It was almost sad to see how obvious her contempt for him was, and how much Arnel was being played. Almost. Ryoka had little sympathy for any guy playing the bully part.
Arnel leaned forwards again, this time towards Garia who shrank back. He glared at Ryoka who stared back at him until he blinked.
“I think you should be a little more respectful for Miss Persua. An apology would be a good start, and I’d insist on it.”
“Or what?”
Garia kicked Ryoka again, hard.
“Or what?”
Arnel looked back at Persua, who laughed shrilly. He smiled hostilely at Ryoka.
“I guess then I’d have to teach you a lesson in manners, Runner.”
“Really? That would be amusing to watch.”
The adventurer’s face went blank for a moment. Again, this wasn’t going according to how his brain had plotted the conversation out. But Persua stepped in to help him. She glared down at Ryoka.
“Arnel’s an adventurer. He’s fought monsters, and slain countless Goblins. You don’t have that oaf of a Minotaur and that freak half-elf to protect you now, Ryoka.”
“Who says I need backup?”
This was too much for the impressionable Arnel. He was aware some of the other inn goers were snickering at him, and even the fat innkeeper was working up the nerve to order him to take the fight outside. He snarled and pushed Ryoka roughly in her seat.
“Look you idiot. I’m giving you only one warning—”
Ryoka stood up. She was actually taller than Arnel, and when she pushed back her chair, the inn went silent. She still had her mug in her hands. Arnel was trying to come up with a good threat, but Persua backed away as Ryoka raised her mug to her lips.
She took a sip of her drink – mainly just for show – and then tossed the rest of her mug’s contents in the adventurer’s face. He blinked as watery ale ran down his face. Garia’s face was a waxwork. Persua smiled evilly.
The adventurer was still shifting from shock to outrage when Ryoka decked him with a spinning backhand. He crashed to the ground and she tossed the mug at Persua. Not hard – well, okay, hard enough that the other girl had to duck before the container broke her nose, but not hard as Ryoka could have tossed it. The cheap pottery shattered to bits and Ryoka waited for Arnel to stand back up.
“You craven whore!”
He shouted as he rushed at her. Ryoka waited patiently as he came at her. She’d already moved far enough away from the table and cleared the chair from behind her.
The adventurer rushed at her, over a hundred—maybe two hundred pounds of angry guy. Ryoka shifted her weight and timed her strike. When the adventurer was only a few feet away she moved.
Ryoka balanced on one leg while her other extended. She didn’t quite kick—it was more like a push. A powerful push that broke the adventurer’s charge and sent him stumbling back.
He came back, of course. They always did. But by that point Ryoka had the room, leverage, and timing to set up her roundhouse. It came up and across his chest, making a dull thudding sound as it struck him.
The adventurer gasped, lost the air in his lungs and stumbled back. But he didn’t fall down.
Ryoka tried not to wince. She’d hit him hard, but he was wearing something hard underneath his clothing. Chain mail? It felt like she’d kicked that.
Quickly, before he could move she snap-kicked him in the chest. It wasn’t a Muay Thai move – but she didn’t have enough room for anything else.
This time Arnel fell down, but he got up at once. Ryoka grimaced and hopped back as he swung at her. She threw a punch, but he caught it and lashed out at her face.
Ryoka caught his fist on an arm and felt the heavy blow. Damn. This wasn’t good. Now Arnel was really mad, and he was swinging wildly at her. She dodged and weaved backwards, but she had little room to maneuver. Plus, Ryoka was on the wrong foot mentally.
She wasn’t used to people getting up after she hit them.
Dodge, dodge—Ryoka threw a counter and hit him squarely on the jaw. But he was tough, and when he struck back he finally landed a blow.
Ryoka felt the impact on her head and twisted her neck, but it still hurt. She backed up, and the adventurer came at her. She tried to keep him back with punches, but he was more than willing to trade hits.
He kept rushing her, and the tables and chairs made it nearly impossible for Ryoka to weave and dodge like she’d been taught. She instead raised her hands up around her head, forming a guard on both sides of her head. It was a traditional Muay Thai guard, but the problem was the adventurer wasn’t trying to hit or kick her that much.
He was a guy, and she had the definite sense he didn’t want to hit her so much as take her down. He kept trying to go for the bear hug. She let him get close, but grabbed his shoulders and swept his feet out as he lunged.
Again he went down. Ryoka wanted to stomp on his face or kick him in the nuts or both—but something flew at her head. She struck the mug down with one hand and glanced up. Persua glared and threw another glass which missed Ryoka by miles.
Her moment of inattention cost Ryoka. Arnel surged upwards and she was too slow to get away. He seized her left and began punching at Ryoka. She hammered at his face, but he wouldn’t let go.
He was strong. She couldn’t break free just by pulling, not that she had any intention to. Arnel hit Ryoka twice in the side of the face—not hard because he couldn’t get a good angle. She’d bloodied his nose and got him twice on the face, but he now pulled back for a big punch.
There was no way to get away. Ryoka got ready. She’d take the punch and then hit him with a knee. Hopefully she wouldn’t kill him or break anything too vital, but enough was enough.
She braced herself for a hit to her ribs. Arnel swung—
And Garia grabbed his hand.
All of the man’s momentum carried him forwards, but Garia was a tree that he crashed into. He fought to get her to let go, but Garia had hold of his hand with her own and her grip was like steel.
It was a three way tug-of-war with Arnel holding Ryoka and Garia holding him. Not for long, though. The instant his attention shifted to Garia, Ryoka acted. She clocked the man with a downwards elbow so fast he’d let go and she was away before he could blink.
“Calm down! Everyone calm down!”
At last Ryoka could hear what Garia was saying over the roaring of blood in her ears. Arnel was still cursing at her, tugging at Garia’s arm and Persua was shouting for her friends to help him. But the other Runners didn’t want to get close, especially once they saw how Garia was effortlessly holding the bigger man back.
“Let go, damn you!”
“Come on, we can work this out—”
Ryoka tried to move to block, but Arnel’s fist caught Garia on the mouth even as she was talking. The bigger girl stumbled and he wrenched his hand free. Triumphantly, Arnel turned on Ryoka and raised his fists.
Garia stumbled, put her hand to her face, and looked up at the other man as Ryoka danced back. Her eyes burned, and she stood up. Garia made a clumsy fist, and then moved forwards.
Ryoka was playing tag with her fist, and Arnel’s face was it. He still wasn’t going down or even slowing, but then a planet interposed itself between her and the adventurer.
Garia. Arnel raised his hands for a hammer blow, but too late. Slow as she was, the other Runner was in the way. And then it happened.
Garia threw a punch.
It was slow. Ryoka saw the other girl telegraph the motion, and she had terrible form. But when she hit the adventurer he made a sound. Or rather his body made a sound.
Wumph.
Ryoka had never seen someone’s feet leave the floor from a punch. Arnel levitated for a second, and then touched the ground as Garia’s fist let him down back to earth. He folded up and down like a sack of potatoes.
He was out. Completely out, without even a chance to object. Ryoka blinked down at the adventurer and saw the chain mail had deformed around Garia’s punch. The other girl rubbed at her hand and shook her head as the noise died down.
Once Arnel fell, the other Runners realized it was time to go. Persua had slipped out the door before the fight had even ended. Her minions made to follow suit, but Ryoka caught one of them and threw him into a table. She managed to punch another girl hard enough to bruise her cheek, and then they were gone.
—-
The aftermath of a tavern brawl was never fun, especially when you had an innkeeper screaming at you. But Arnel had money – barely enough to cover the costs – and Ryoka wasn’t about to pay for something she hadn’t started. Well, she had started it, but she still wasn’t going to pay.
The upshot of it was that Garia and Ryoka were kicked out of the inn, at least for the rest of dinner. They walked down the street, Garia talking excitedly to Ryoka.
“You were amazing! He barely touched you the entire time!”
“Eh. I should have knocked him out in the first few moments. He was tougher than I thought. Got me a few times.”
Gingerly, Ryoka touched at her cheek and arms. Bruises. Not too deep, but annoying. She deserved them, though, for being so sloppy.
“But the way you moved! He was an adventurer, and you treated him like some kind of Level 1 [Thug]! How’d you do it?”
“Oh, it’s just martial arts. A bit of Muay Thai and other styles.”
Ryoka glanced at Garia’s blank face and elaborated.
“It’s a way to fight unarmed. You learn how to kick, punch, throw, etc. properly.”
“Really? This Muy—muy tai thing is good? Is it a Skill?”
Ryoka wanted to groan or roll her eyes.
“Not a skill. It’s something you learn, not a class or anything. I learned it when I was a kid. You could learn it too.”
“Really? Well, I mean, I’d love to know how to move like that. You were amazing back there! You’re practically good as an adventurer yourself!”
Ryoka laughed shortly.
“He wasn’t that great. And martial arts don’t work on monsters. Believe me, I figured that out the hard way.”
“Still, I couldn’t believe it. When you threw the mug in his face I thought we’d have to run for sure. But you took him down!”
Ryoka stopped. She eyed Garia and shook her head with a frown.
“You took him down. With one punch.”
“Yeah, but…”
Garia blushed and shook her head.
“I was just angry. You hit him way more than I did.”
This time it was Ryoka’s turn to object.
“Don’t sell yourself short. That last punch was serious business. I hit that guy several times and he didn’t fall down, but you went right through his chainmail shirt. You’re far stronger than both of us. That last punch you threw was harder than my kick.”
“Well, you know…I carry a lot of heavy things…”
Ryoka realized Garia was turning red, and not because she was happy. The barefoot girl stopped in the nearly empty street and eyed Garia.
“What’s wrong? It was a great punch. Your form was terrible, but being strong’s not a problem.”
“It’s just—it’s just a bit embarrassing, that’s all. You know?”
“No. Explain it to me.”
Garia clearly didn’t want to, but Ryoka wouldn’t let her off the hook. She sighed.
“I’m a [Runner]. And—I know I’m bigger than most girls. I just don’t like talking about my size.”
“You’re fine.”
“I’m glad you think so but—it’s because of my class. And the way I eat, but my class is part of it. That’s why I’m so strong, too, but it’s embarrassing.”
“Why?”
There was no getting out of it. Garia looked around, but there was no one around to hear her. Even so, she lowered her voice.
“Um, I was a [Farm Worker] before I became a [Runner]. I got to Level 14 before I changed classes. That’s why I’m so…so…”
She blushed deeply red. Ryoka looked blankly at Garia.
“So strong? What’s the problem.”
“I’m big, Ryoka! I don’t want to be, but [Farm Workers] bulk up and it’s impossible to lose weight! I don’t want to be big. I want to be small and light like you and—”
Garia looked like she was about to cry. Her face was red and she was starting to stammer. After a moment Ryoka patted her on the shoulder.
“I’m not light. Well, I am in shape but so are you. What’s wrong with being that strong? Anyways a [Farm Worker] doesn’t sound like that bad a job—class. Why do you care?”
Garia shook her head despairingly. She didn’t know how to explain it.
“It’s not a great class. Or a job, really. Even [Farmers] get more respect since they actually know how to till the land and take care of it properly. I just helped out with the plowing, lifting, and so on. But when I used to tell people what class I was they’d laugh—or they’d figure it out because of how I looked.”
Ryoka didn’t get it. She really didn’t, but it sounded like there was some elitism amongst classes. Class warfare in the literal sense? But she understood the general problem.
“People are bastards no matter what world you’re in. Look, forget about it. That class helped you out if you’re that strong without needing any training, right?”
Garia nodded and sniffed.
“It was helpful. Even if no one likes the class, we get some useful skills. [Lesser Strength] is the first skill most warriors get, but [Farm Workers] get it too. Um, I got that on my second level up. But then there’s [Enhanced Strength] which is what I have, and I’ve heard if you reach really high levels, some people get [Greater Strength].”
“And that’s rare?”
“I’ve never seen anyone with it. But yeah, [Enhanced Strength] only comes to warrior classes around Level 30. The fact that I got it so early on means I’m a lot stronger than normal. I barely feel thirty kilograms of weight.”
“Whoa.”
That was impressive. Ryoka had always guessed Garia was strong, but this afternoon had confirmed it for her. She paused, and thought before asking another question.
“If this skill is so good, why doesn’t everyone become a [Farm Worker] for a while before becoming an adventurer? That seems like the smartest move.”
Garia looked surprised.
“Why would they do that? No one wants to work on a farm. It’s boring and tiring, Ryoka.”
“But for the Skill—”
“You don’t know you’ll get it right away. I just got lucky. Okay, a lot of workers like me get at least [Lesser Strength] quickly, but it depends. Anyways, I worked on my father’s farm until I was eighteen and I only hit Level 14 even though I worked every day from dawn till dusk. It’s not worth it.”
“Ah.”
It sounded—well, it sounded like there was some inefficiency in the way people thought about skills. Ryoka didn’t play many video games, but if she could get this [Enhanced Strength] from working on a farm as a kid, she’d do that. But then again—18 years was a long time it was true.
It was a moot point anyways since Ryoka didn’t intend to level, even if she was jealous of Garia’s strength. But the other girl was clearly embarrassed by her body and her class, so Ryoka let the topic drop.
“At least Persua got taught a lesson, although I missed my chance to break her arm. I’ll have to do it next time I see her.”
Garia winced. She knew Ryoka wasn’t kidding.
“Please don’t. If you do she’ll try something worse.”
“Worse than getting an adventurer to beat the crap out of me? I think I’ll take my chances.”
Ryoka shook her head. She’d have to do something about that girl. Killing her was tempting, but she probably couldn’t get away with it.
“Never mind. I appreciate the help. But I’ve got bigger fish to fry.”
“You’re hungry? I know a good place to eat if you want—”
“I mean, I’ve got stuff to do. Look, you said Ceria’s at Esthelm, right? Where’s that?”
Garia scratched her head as she tried to remember.
“Near the road that goes to Liscor. It’s down south, about sixty miles away?”
Ryoka nodded. She could do that in a single night. She eyed the rooftops surreptitiously and looked around. Casually, she raised her voice as she talked to Garia.
“I’ll sleep here for the night. Then I might go and head on down. If you want to learn how to fight properly, visit me there.”
“Maybe. I’m not sure what I’ll be doing—or if I want to fight. I don’t like violence.”
Ryoka clapped Garia on the shoulder.
“It’s your choice. But with a punch like that, it would be a shame not to learn how to hit the right way. I’ll teach you next time we meet, how about that?”
It was the first time Garia had ever seen Ryoka being pushy about—anything, really. She agreed she might give it a shot and watched as the barefoot girl jogged back to her inn for the night.
“Martial arts?”
Garia stared down at her fist. It was still callused from her days of long work out in the sun. She made a fist experimentally. It felt clumsy. But Ryoka had been impressed. That was rare enough.
“But all the way to Esthelm. That’s a far…”
But she didn’t have anything else she was committed to doing, and there was always work for someone willing to haul heavy goods long distance. More to the point, it might be better for Garia to skip town as well.
