CLANK!
A sword struck a gauntlet.
Sparks burst.
CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!
The sounds rang across the training arena of Novice Village #2, sharp and bright beneath the afternoon sun.
A golden-haired beauty moved like a blade wrapped in sunlight. Her sword flashed in clean arcs, every movement elegant enough to make painters weep and perverts forget how to breathe. Long golden hair streamed behind her. Her green eyes remained focused. Her posture was noble, graceful, and utterly misleading as "goddess" swinging the sword was, in fact, a man from the inside.
Opposite him stood William with usual black hair and calm golden eyes.
He moved differently while Aelius moved with grace, he moved with efficiency.
Where Aelius's sword drew glittering lines through the air, William's gauntlets intercepted them with minimal motion. Step. Shift. Parry. Counter. Every movement looked simple but each one arrived exactly where it needed to be.
CLANK!
Aelius twisted his wrist. His sword slid past William's right gauntlet and cut toward his shoulder.
William lowered his stance.
The blade grazed past.
His left fist shot forward.
Aelius pulled back just enough for the punch to brush past his chest. The wind from it tugged at his clothes, causing a scandalous jiggle from his exaggerated chest.
"WOOOOH! GODDESS, YOU GOT THIS!"
"OPPA! GO BEAT HER UP!"
"How dare you tell him to beat our goddess!"
"So what? Do you want to fight?"
"ALRIGHT LETS FIGHT THEN!"
The crowd roared from the side of the arena.
Players lined the training grounds in messy rows. Some wore proper starter gear. Some wore patched armor. Some had formed little fan clubs with flags that looked like they had been made by a toddler.
One group wore crude white outfits marked with a badly stitched sun.
The Guild of the Holy Sun.
Mira stood near them with a palm over her face, already considering whether guild was worth her mental health.
In the arena, Aelius ignored the noise.
His brow however twitched once when someone shouted, "Goddess, step on me after you win!"
"Focus," he muttered through gritted teeth, unsure whether he was telling the crowd or himself.
William stepped in.
A jab came first.
Aelius deflected it with the flat of his sword.
Another punch followed.
He leaned away.
Then suddenly William's foot shifted.
Aelius's pupils contracted but it was too late.
William's gauntlet slammed upward, not at his face, but beneath his sword arm. The impact disrupted his balance for half a breath.
Aelius clicked his tongue.
"Hmph!"
He recovered faster than most could have reacted, using the momentum to spin. His sword swept low, then rose in a sharp diagonal slash aimed at William's chest.
CLANK!
William caught the blade between both gauntlets.
The crowd cheered.
Aelius's eyes gleamed.
He released one hand from the sword and thrust his palm forward, trying to shove William back and reclaim distance.
William did not retreat.
Instead, he stepped closer.
Aelius's eyes widened.
William twisted his torso, parried the sword aside with one gauntlet, and drove his elbow into Aelius's stomach.
"Kuh!"
Air left Aelius's lungs.
His focus faltered only for a second but against William, one second was an entire generous vacation.
A fist descended.
Aelius saw it, he knew he should dodge but his body refused to move in time.
The fist stopped a millimeter from his face.
Wind brushed his skin as a silence fell across the arena.
Aelius stared at the gauntlet before his eyes.
His chest rose and fell. His sword hand trembled slightly. Frustration burned in his gaze.
So close.
He had been so close.
Finally, with all the dignity he had left, he forced out a grimace.
"You win."
William pulled his fist back.
For one beat, silence remained.
Then the crowd exploded.
"KYAAA! I KNEW OUR MALE GOD WOULD WIN!"
"Ptui! Bastard! How could you hit a woman!"
"Dude, do you live in caveman era? Its all about gender equality! Equal rights, equal fights!"
"?!"
William exhaled quietly and walked toward the edge of the arena.
He had won first place in the basic combat training as expected.
That was not arrogance. It was simply the result of years of fighting, a instinct trained beyond normal limits, there was no way he would have lost to bunch of amateurs who only trained for a week.
Still, his gaze lingered briefly on Aelius.
This woman had talent, overwhelming talent at that.
Not only was beauty out of the world, but combat sense was getting stronger day by day. If she gained more experience in this world, she would become a worthy opponent.
With that thought his fist clenched instinctively as his fighting spirit rose.
"Fufu~ Congratulations on winning first place."
At that moment a soft, melodic voice drifted from his side.
William turned.
Roxana stood a respectable distance away, pink hair falling over her shoulders like silk, charming pink eyes curved into a gentle smile. The afternoon light seemed to soften around her, as if even the sun had signed a contract to improve her presentation.
"Although," she continued sweetly, "it is what you expected, no?"
"Thank you," William said.
His voice came out stiffer than intended.
Without realizing it, he took half a step back.
Roxana's eyes flickered.
Her smile did not change.
William who noticed the distance only after creating it felt…strange.
Normally, when familiar people congratulated him, he gave a polite nod, maybe a simple answer, and moved on. Roxana was beautiful, yes, and her talent was something he had reason to be wary of, but that was not the source of this feeling.
Her talent and beauty couldn't affect him. He was not a type of person who would look at appearances alone and his talent was almost like a natural counter to hers. So she is not really a threat.
So why?
Why did he instinctively feel concious every time she approached?
For the past week, whenever he spoke with her, a dull headache would press behind his eyes.
Like an old wound reacting to weather.
His golden eyes flickered slightly.
Roxana tilted her head.
"Will?"
At that unfamiliar?? form of address the headache pulsed.
William's brows drew together tightly but before either of them could continue, another voice rang out from above the arena.
"Congratulations otherworlders, for completing your basic one-week course training~"
All eyes turned upward.
At the podium above the training grounds sat Inahime, the village chief of Novice Village #2. Her orange tail swayed lazily behind her. Kitsunarian guards stood around her with dignified expressions.
Inahime rested both palms on her thigh, posture dignified, eyes curved with amusement.
"As village chief, I commend all of you," she said. "Over the past week, I have taught you how to gather life energy, basic combat, party coordination, simple survival knowledge, and the most important lesson of all, to enjoy your stay at Gaia~"
Inahime chuckled elegantly.
"You are now ready for the wider world. I will not keep you hostage any longer."
"WOOOO! WE'RE FINALLY FREE!"
"TIME TO GET REVENGE ON THOSE BASTARDS!"
"MOMMY, STEP ON ME!"
"Ptui! Thirsty motherfucker!"
"Don't spit at my dream!"
Inahime's smile brightened as the comments below descended into the usual otherworlder madness.
She had learned much this week.
At first, she had believed otherworlders were merely strange, then she had realized they were shameless.
In the end she had concluded they were both strange and shameless, but also surprisingly useful once properly trained, motivated, and occasionally threatened with being denied access to rewards.
A truly fascinating species.
Her gaze moved toward the three players who had stepped forward below the podium.
"But before everyone leaves to do whatever thing you intend to do…" Inahime paused, then placed one finger against her lips. "As promised, the top three performers in combat training will receive…"
She leaned forward slightly.
"A~ special~ reward~"
The effect was immediate.
Several players who had failed to enter the top three collapsed to their knees.
"NOOO…IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME! NOT HIM!"
"I trained so hard…"
"I should have abandoned sleep!"
"Brother, it seems you abandoned bathing instead. You stinks!"
Inahime puffed out her chest with pride.
Roxana's lessons were indeed effective.
Her ideas were becoming more and more lethal.
Slowly, Inahime reached into her bosom and pulled out three small items.
Half the crowd stopped breathing.
The other half started breathing too loudly.
"Third place, Lars, please come forward~"
A burly man stepped forward, chest puffed out proudly. Lars looked as if he had been carved from muscle and stubbornness, wearing a starter outfit provided by a village with a sewn picture of a sun on it.
"You said you wanted a shield, correct?" Inahime said.
"Yes, Chief!"
With a smile she handed him a small token.
The moment Lars accepted it, the item expanded in his hands. Metal unfolded with a clean mechanical click, becoming a large shield that covered nearly half his body.
Gasps spread.
"E- rank shield equipment," Inahime said. "Use it well."
Lars's eyes shone.
"Thank you!"
He walked down, holding the shield like a sacred artifact, already imagining himself standing before enemies as an unbreakable wall.
"Second place, Aelius~"
Cheers erupted.
"GODDESS!"
"OUR HOLY SUN!"
"STEP ON-"
Mira kicked the guild member in the shin before the sentence could finish.
Aelius walked forward step by step under the roaring admiration. Golden hair swayed. His expression was calm, noble, and only slightly smug.
Inahime looked at him and felt a complicated emotion.
Roxana was already a beauty comparable to her mother, which was rare enough to make even someone like Inahime blink twice.
But another one?
In the same village?
This was incomprehensible.
And worse…
Inahime thought as she looked down.
Aelius puffed out his chest with pride as he accepted the E rank sword, causing certain parts of his body jiggled wildly, defying gravity.
Inahime's mouth twitched.
The sword in her hand almost snapped.
'Calm down, Inahime,' she told herself. 'You are a dignified village chief. A dignified village chief.'
She forced out a smile.
"Use it well."
Then she almost shoved Aelius off the stage.
"And finally, first place, William~"
The cheers erupted again.
William walked up the podium with measured steps. Inahime's smile became a little brighter than before.
This man was, after all, a rare specimen.
Strong, disciplined and calm.
If not for the mandatory training assigned by the Will of the World, she would not have wasted a whole week of his time drilling basics into him. He was already far ahead of most of the otherworlders in combat mentality.
Besides…he was quite handsome.
The thought had barely crossed her mind when a chill ran down Inahime's spine.
Her ears shot upright.
Her tail stiffened.
She whipped her head toward the crowd...but she found nothing?
Only players who continued to cheer with enthusiasm.
And her friend Roxana standing below with a gentle smile, a very gentle smile.
Inahime blinked.
'Was that… an illusion?'
Sweat slid down her cheek.
She had been getting many of these illusions lately.
Especially whenever she looked at William for slightly too long.
Strange.
Very strange.
Perhaps the village was haunted.
By the time Inahime recovered, William had already stepped before her.
She cleared her throat and handed him a pair of compact gauntlets.
"E+ rank gauntlets," she said. "A little better than the others. Consider it the privilege of first place."
William accepted them with a nod.
"Thank you."
The gauntlets expanded around his hands, fitting smoothly over his fingers and forearms. He flexed once. The weight settled naturally.
Inahime watched him walk down the podium.
Roxana watched him too.
Aelius crossed his arms, still annoyed.
Lars admired his shield while giving William a thumbs up.
The crowd buzzed with excitement and with that, the ceremony ended.
And so did the mandatory training period.
For one week, the players of Novice Village #2 had been kept inside the village under the excuse of basic survival education. They had learned how to gather life energy, how to use their talents properly, how to avoid dying to glowing mushrooms, how to form parties, and how to not scream every time a Kitsunarian instructor threw them into the dirt.
Most importantly, they had learned one truth.
This game was not like other games they played before.
"Man, they're finally letting us explore outside the village now," said a player wearing a white outfit with a crudely sewn sun on his chest.
Another player in the same uniform clenched his fists. "It was boring, but now we're ready, bro. We've gotten so much stronger!"
A third raised his weapon high.
"IT'S TIME TO FOLLOW GODDESS AND TAKE REVENGE ON THOSE BASTARDS!"
"OOOOOO!"
The shout spread across the gathered players, clearly they had not forgotten the humiliation from a week ago.
"REVENGE!"
"FOR THE HOLY SUN!"
"FOR OUR LOST EXP!"
"FOR MY DIGNITY!"
"Bro what dignity?"
"..."
Aelius stood before the Guild of the Holy Sun, new sword at his waist, face glowing beneath the cheers.
Mira stood behind him together with Lars like proud parents.
Nearby, William adjusted his gauntlets in silence.
His eyes drifted beyond the village gate, toward the forest, and beyond that.
He remembered being torn apart by the black-scaled lizard, how the creatures' coordinated.
And behind all that, he remembered the rooster who made him powerless in one glance.
His fist clenched with anticipation and fighting spirit.
Roxana stepped beside him, smiling softly.
"Fufu~ Are you that eager to fight?"
William glanced at her, how did this woman always know exactly what he was thinking?
The headache returned, faint and dull.
"Yes," he said. "But we need to prepare first or the result might not be much different from before"
Roxana's smile deepened.
"Fufu~ how reliable."
William looked toward the gate again.
Beyond the barrier, the wider world waited.
The players cheered as they gathered.
The newly trained otherworlders burned with confidence, excitement, greed, curiosity, and the uniquely suicidal enthusiasm of the players.
The first week had ended.
The second battle was about to begin.