Chapter 28: Chapter 28 — An impressive sparring partner
I dropped into a fighting stance, bending my knees slightly and raising my fists in front of my face. The system had boosted my physical stats considerably since I’d arrived in this world, but going up against a five-star orc in hand-to-hand combat was still a hell of a gamble. Even so, I needed to measure his real capabilities without filters.
"I’m ready, Dorko. Come at me with everything you’ve got," I said, motioning with my hand.
The young orc nodded and tightened his grip on his club with both hands. His muscles tensed beneath his green skin as he settled into a charging stance. For a moment, the forest clearing fell into absolute silence. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
Then Dorko attacked.
WHOOSH.
His first move was a horizontal sweep aimed at my waist. The club tore through the air with a violent whistle. I leapt backward on instinct, feeling the gust of wind graze my stomach. If that blow had connected, I would have been sent flying into the trees.
"Alright, alright," I muttered to myself, a grin spreading across my face. "He’s got raw power. But the speed..."
I couldn’t finish the thought. Dorko gave me no room to breathe. The moment my feet touched the ground, he was already on top of me with a direct thrust aimed at my chest. I twisted my torso to the right, dodging by mere centimeters, and used the momentum to throw a punch at his exposed side.
CRACK.
My knuckle slammed against his forearm. Dorko had thrown up an improvised defense at the last possible instant, blocking my attack with the solidity of a stone wall. The impact sent a painful vibration all the way up to my shoulder. Damn it, his physical resistance was absurd.
"Not bad, Master!" Dorko shouted, retreating a couple of steps with a fang-filled grin. "But this is just getting started!"
Suddenly, the orc shifted his stance. His feet spread wider apart, his center of gravity dropped low, and his club came to rest in a vertical position in front of his torso. This wasn’t the posture of a savage berserker. It was a disciplined guard, polished, built on solid fundamentals.
"Domack-ham taught me this," he announced with pride. "The Ash Warriors’ combat formation!"
He charged again, but this time his attack pattern was completely different. Instead of a single devastating blow, he unleashed a sequence of three fast, precise thrusts: one to the face, one to the ribs, one to the knees. I dodged the first by tilting my head. I blocked the second with both forearms, though the impact drove me back several meters. I jumped over the third, pulling my legs up just in time.
"What do you think, Master?" he asked without pausing his offensive.
"Impressive!" I answered honestly, landing and rolling to the side to gain distance. "You’ve improved a ton these past few days."
And I meant it. The Dorko from a week ago would have attacked like an out-of-control berserker, relying purely on brute strength. This Dorko, on the other hand, was combining power with precision. Domack had done an excellent job as a mentor.
But he could still give more.
---
"However," I added, getting to my feet and dusting off my clothes, "you’re still too predictable. Your attacks form a pattern. Watch."
I extended my right hand and summoned Runi, who momentarily abandoned her post next to Lia to float toward me.
"Master, do you need me?" the little flame asked in her childlike voice.
"Just for a moment, Runi. I want to test something."
I channeled ether into my palm, and Runi’s fire responded instantly, expanding into a brilliant spiral that condensed into the shape of my flame bow. Dorko’s eyes went wide at the sight of the weapon materializing.
"You’re going to shoot me, Master?" he asked, a barely perceptible hint of nervousness creeping into his deep voice.
"Just a practice arrow. No real power behind it. I want to see how you react."
I drew the bow’s invisible string, and a low-intensity flaming arrow appeared between my fingers. I aimed at the center of his chest. Dorko clenched his jaw and raised his club into a defensive position, ready to intercept the projectile.
I fired.
FWOOSH.
The fire arrow streaked through the air in a straight trajectory—fast, but not lethal. Just when it was about to slam into his defense, Dorko did something that froze me in place.
He didn’t block.
Instead, he spun on his axis with a speed that should have been impossible for someone his size. The arrow passed within centimeters of his shoulder as he used the momentum of the spin to launch a diagonal slash with his club straight toward my position.
The move was too fast to dodge completely. Instinctively, I raised the flame bow to absorb the impact.
CRASH.
The club struck the fiery structure with brutal force. The bow shattered in an explosion of sparks, and Runi let out a startled squeal before retreating through the air. The remaining force sent me flying backward, and I landed flat on my back with a heavy thud that knocked the wind clean out of my lungs.
I lay there on the ground, staring up at the sky through the gaps in the treetops. My chest rose and fell in rapid heaves.
"Master!" Dorko shouted, running toward me with an alarmed expression. "I’m so sorry! Are you okay? I didn’t measure my strength properly!"
"I’m fine, I’m fine," I said, letting out a hoarse laugh as I propped myself up on my elbows. "Don’t apologize. That was... incredible."
And I meant it with all my heart. Dorko hadn’t just anticipated my attack—he’d improvised a counteroffensive in the exact same instant he dodged. That took reflexes, creativity, and a combat instinct he definitely didn’t possess when I first summoned him. Domack, watching from the edge of the clearing, gave a slight nod, a flicker of pride crossing his stone-carved face.
"Good work, young Dorko," he said in his deep, gravelly voice. "You have correctly applied lesson number seven: turning defense into attack."
---
I hauled myself upright and brushed the dirt off my clothes while Runi floated back to my side, letting out little crackling noises of complaint over the scare she’d gotten. I gave her warm surface a few reassuring pats.
"Alright, Dorko. You’ve shown me enormous progress," I said, catching my breath. "Now I want to run one last test. This time I’m going to summon—"
"Not so fast, Master!"
The interruption caught me completely off guard. Dorko, in a burst of youthful enthusiasm, had already snapped back into his combat stance without waiting for me to finish speaking. His club was raised high, his eyes blazed with the thrill of battle, and it was painfully clear he intended to keep the training session going right then and there.
"Wait, Dorko, I didn’t say—"
But the young orc was already charging at me with another one of his trademark horizontal sweeps. This time, though, his technique was even more refined. The blow came with a small wrist twist that widened the attack arc, making it far harder to avoid. I had to throw myself to the ground in a graceless dive to escape the impact.
"Domack!" I yelled as I rolled across the grass. "A little help here!"
The ash orc let out a heavy sigh, like a father long accustomed to his hyperactive son’s antics.
"Dorko-hym, the Master was trying to give you an order," he said, striding toward the center of the clearing. "What have I taught you about listening before attacking?"
Dorko stopped mid-motion, his club hanging frozen in the air. He blinked a couple of times, processing his mentor’s words, and then an expression of deep shame spread across his green face.
"Oh... oh no. I did it again, didn’t I?"
"Yes, you did it again," I confirmed, standing up and brushing off my clothes for the second time in less than five minutes. "I was going to summon a lesser containment spirit for a tactical test, but it looks like that’ll have to wait."
"I’m really sorry, Master," Dorko apologized, hanging his head and scratching the back of his neck with his enormous hand. "It’s just... I get excited."
"I know, I know. No harm done."
I shook the grass blades off my pants. The training session had been productive despite the small incident. Now I knew exactly where Dorko stood, and I could plan our future battle formations more effectively. The kid had definitely gone from being a simple meat-shield tank to a versatile warrior with serious growth potential.
Comments