"I forgot about that… I suppose it can't be helped," Ethan shrugged.
Instead of seeing his status, Ethan used Heal when he felt that his life was in danger. So, it was only natural that such a thing would happen. Fortunately, he managed to level up his Martial Arts a few times, and he also obtained a new skill.
Congratulations! You learned the skill Iron Fist!
Effects: Passively increases the power of your punches when fighting unarmed by ten percent per level.
Lv 01 – 0/100
"Not bad," Ethan nodded to himself in satisfaction. "That is exactly what I need for a good basis for this next fighting style."
With that skill, Ethan certainly would be able to pass by the golem's stage without suffering a game over. However, he was forced to stop since it was time for the classes. It was a pain, and it would be very weird if he was the only student in the courses he had to take that day. Still, it would be better than just coming to the school to use the simulator… at least Ethan wouldn't feel like he would be lying to his parents. Fortunately, all the teachers were at school. Unfortunately, none of them felt like giving lessons to a single student.
"Sorry about that, Ethan," Lyla said after explaining the situation to Ethan. "Some people here… are a bit difficult, but you are smart enough to understand that they want to see this whole situation to the very end, at least for today."
"Well, I can understand that," Ethan said. "In any case, have a good day."
Time was of the essence now that weird things began to happen on Earth, so Ethan was planning to spend the entire day inside the simulator. However, much to his surprise, Lyla stopped him.
"I also don't like to watch such incidents, I feel bad for the people in those countries, but I do know that I can't do anything for them, so I would rather use my time with something productive," Lyla said. "If you want to, I can give show you the things you will learn in the future classes."
"I am grateful for the offer, but I am going to refuse," Ethan said, imagining how annoying Ian would be if he learned that Ethan trained alone with Lyla.
"You really don't like the sword dance style, huh," Lyla said.
"It isn't a matter of liking it or not," Ethan said. "I just want to train today without relying on weapons."
"Unarmed combat, huh," Lyla frowned. "It looks like you got interested in something new. While that is good for someone of your age, I would recommend you focus on improving your current strengths. Strive to become a master and not a jack of all trades."
Fortunately, Lyla didn't insist on the private lessons and finally left. Ethan, more than anyone else, knew that she was right. Unfortunately, he was so clumsy that it didn't matter how many years he trained with a sword. Ethan knew that he would never become a master. The only thing he could do was to focus on sheer speed and brute strength to solve every single problem. It was sad, but it was the irrefutable truth.
"Now that I think about it… even against the elemental golems, Harden might come in handy. If my fists got hard enough, I wouldn't suffer damage, and the simulation won't end. The cost is a problem, but if I limit the use, maybe I can use it to defeat fifty golems without using mana potions."
Much to his surprise, when Ethan arrived on the simulators' floor, he noticed that he wasn't the only student that had come to school. A blond, blue-eyed girl left one of the simulators and also noticed Ethan's presence. However, she had the nerve to snort at him for some reason.
"Kids these days… she looks familiar… ah, she was the girl who was with Dante. What was her name again? Beautiful Princess? No, that was the nickname she uses on the rank… she never said her name."
Regardless, Dante and that girl seemed like trouble, so Ethan decided just to forget about it. His life was already troublesome as it is, after all. In the end, Ethan managed to level Iron Fists quite a bit on the lower stages of the simulator, and when he fought the golems, he indeed defeated them. However, he felt like something was missing. Although his progress could be seen through his skill list, he didn't feel like his fighting style was improving. All what he was doing was punching the monsters hard and dodging their attacks when a single hit wasn't enough to take them down.
"Well, it is only natural that I wouldn't be able to have a good practice with weak monsters… hopefully, the boss on the tenth stage will help me with that."
In the end, Ethan's predictions were correct, and the boss raised the tension level several times. However, the difference in speed was clear since the monster was specialized in receiving damage, and at the same time, it was good at long-ranged attacks. Ethan managed to dodge its attacks, but he ended up suffering some damage while attacking… to the point where even Heal wasn't enough to counter it.
"I guess this is it… to be able to fight without relying on certain weapons, my defensive skills will have to level up as well. I was planning to do it from the very beginning, but… this will take some time here in the simulator."
Since he could obtain coins and a lot of experience points, the simulator was very useful. However, in terms of helping to level Ethan's skills, they weren't that useful since they were made to avoid their users getting seriously hurt. Ethan tried to use his head and a find a solution to that problem for quite a while, but the only he found was to use skill points. Those were his trump card for certain situations, so it was no good. In the end, Ethan would have to see and follow the difficult path to the very end. That was probably for the best...
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶