The next day comes, and it has its own beauty. Today, the weather was nice - gray clouds comfortably covered the sky, dimming the blue-violet of the Aethelgard skies, making them look like an autumn morning on Earth. Nevertheless, Mark is asleep before dawn. The military school’s clockwork in his soul keeps him from sleeping after 0500 hours, despite the comfortable feather beds of the Boar’s Head Inn. He gets up, freshens up, throwing away the swampy mud and dry crocodile blood from the previous night’s adventures, and waits for breakfast in the dining room of the hotel. The tavern part of the inn is empty - there are no rowdy mercenaries and farmers who spent the night in the floor beds. Minutes later, Mark is eating eggs, porridge, coffee, and boiled potatoes. The food is delicious - the carbohydrates and caffeine are already giving him a nice passive boost from the System.
[System Message: Nutrition is optimal. Health and Mana restored by 10% for the next 2 hours.]
Mark wipes his mouth, checks the sheath of his short iron sword, and heads to the fighting club of Mr. Smith.
The streets of Oakhaven are just waking up when Mark arrives at the large wooden doors of the fighting club. They are open - the morning air freely floats through the large crack, and the mat inside the hall is empty. Mr. Smith is already here, powerfully sweeping the floor with a broom.
“Your first lesson is learning to fight when you are on the back,” says Mr. Smith, throwing the broom aside and stepping on the mat. “I have seen how you fought yesterday, Vance. Your experience is evident in how tightly you hold your shoulders. Nevertheless, when I watched you, I saw that you relied almost exclusively on your ability to evade attacks. Rolling on the floor is an excellent move when you are in a low-level fight or a chaotic brawl. But if a master of grappling or a high-level beast is waiting for you, such a fight will end in a heartbeat. Today, we start learning from the bottom, so to speak.”
Mr. Smith beckons Mark to the mat. “In a fight, you will be thrown to the floor, and if you do not know how to get up, your level will be of no use to you. I am going to teach you the basics of how to get out of the worst situations. Escaping from a Pin (Pin Defense)” Smith ordered, lying on his back. Mark hastily followed his order, but the Jitsu Master’s hands, pressing his hips, were as heavy as lead. The military training in Mark’s body screamed in protest, trying to lift his back and throw the instructor off himself.
“Do not push me,” growled Smith, ignoring Mark’s attempts to get up and put his palms on Mark’s palms. “If you push me, I will break your arm, or, while you are pushing, I will choke you. Bridge and Roll (Upa Mount Escape): If you are thrown on your back and are in danger of being smothered, do not push the opponent, but hook one of his arms, turn to the side on your back, and use your leg to push the opponent’s arm, which is bent over your body, and slide on your back, turning the opponent on his back. Use the movement of the hips to throw the opponent over your body.
Mark was silent for a moment, analyzing the movement. He tightly wrapped his right arm around the left arm of Mr. Smith, which rested on his hips, and bent it. At the same time, he bent his right knee, placing it on the floor, next to the leg of the Jitsu Master, and, pushing his feet, he raised his hips, and, with a powerful movement, he threw the instructor on his back, turning over him.
A blue message flickered at the edge of Mark’s vision.
[System Message: The maneuver has been successfully completed. ‘Bridge and Roll’ has been added to the World Combat Registry.]
“Good,” said Smith, quickly turning over and sitting on Mark’s chest, pressing his arm to his throat. “Now, if the enemy is on your side, you need to use the Shrimp (Side Control Escape): if the opponent is on your side, you need to make a movement with your feet, creating space between your body and the opponent’s, and turn back on your side, blocking the opponent’s body with your knees. In other words, the movements are similar to the movement when an athlete turns to the side, creating space between his body and the opponent.
Mark felt the pressure on his neck and slowly turned to his side, blocking Mr. Smith’s hip with his elbow. At the same time, he bent his legs, planting them on the floor, and, pushing his shoulders, he turned to his side, creating space between his body and the Jitsu Master. This movement is called Shrimping, and it is a fantastic way to turn to the side, creating space. The next step was to use the right knee to block the opponent, creating a trap for the next movement. Having crossed his legs, Mark turned to his side, blocking the body of Mr. Smith with his knees, after which he turned back, sitting on his chest.
Defending Against Strikes on the Ground
“Excellent,” said Smith, sitting on Mark’s chest. He raised his arms, and his aura, flickering in yellow, surrounded his hands. “Listen carefully to Punch Block 1 & 2: when you are on the back and the opponent is using ground-and-pound, you need to bring your elbows to your ribs and raise your hands to his shoulders or the back of his head. By doing this, you create a solid barrier, which will stop the opponent’s punches, preventing him from driving you into the floor.
Mark bent his arms, bringing them to his chest, and, instead of trying to catch the punches, he raised his arms, catching Mr. Smith’s neck and pressing him to his chest. By doing this, he took away the Jitsu Master’s ability to freely move and, consequently, to deliver powerful punches. Smith’s blows, imitating punches, were falling on Mark’s arms, breaking on his bones, but the young man did not feel any pain - the System helped him, distributing the load.
Creating Space and Escaping Grips
Breaking the lock, Smith grabbed Mark’s wrists, squeezing them with a vice-like grip. “Listen, now you have to learn how to get out of the grip. If you are in a fight on your feet or, if the enemy is throwing you to the floor, he will try to hold your arms. A heavy monster or a high-level vanguard will be able to drag you to the floor by your arms. Learn the Grip Break: if the opponent takes your wrist, do not try to break the grip by force, but turn your arm so that the bone rolls on the opponent’s thumb and index finger. The place where the thumb and index finger meet is the weakest part of the hand, so this trick will allow you to get out of the grip much easier.
Mark looked at the place where the thumb and index finger meet. Trying to break the grip, he would have to use his free hand to break the Jitsu Master’s grip, but with Smith’s level 12 strength, it would be impossible. Mark turned his arm, and, with a movement of his forearm, he sent the radius bone of his right arm right to the place where the thumb and index finger meet.
Smith’s grip on Mark’s wrist was broken, and he looked surprised. “That’s right. And the moment you break the grip, you need to use Guard Recovery: the moment you have an inch of space, you need to use your shins to push the opponent and, at the same time, hold his waist with your legs so that he cannot get any closer.
Mark used the Guard Recovery, but Smith, anticipating this, took a step back. Mark took a step back too, using his shins to push the Jitsu Master, and, at the same time, he held his waist with his legs, trying to keep the distance.
Returning to a Safe Standing Position
“Remember the Tactical Stand-up: when you are in a fight on the floor and need to return to a fighting stance, do not roll on your back, but sit up, placing one leg in front of you and the other perpendicular to the first. Then, you have to put one hand on the floor, opposite the leg that is perpendicular to the second, and, using it, raise your hips to a horizontal position, after which you have to bring the leg, which is perpendicular to the other, to the floor and return to a fighting stance.
Mark sat up, looking at Smith. He bent his left leg, placing it perpendicular to his right, which was in front of him, and, putting his right hand on the floor, he raised his hips, after which he brought his right leg to the floor and returned to a fighting stance. All of this happened so quickly that Smith was surprised.
With each movement, his strength factors were increasing - the number of repetitions, plus the correction of the movements using the tactics of a Level 12 fighter, had a tremendous impact on Mark’s unspent stat points. A cascade of system messages in gold letters flowed through Mark’s vision, notifying him of stat changes.
[System Message: The skill has been successfully mastered. The World Grappling Fundamentals skill has been added to the user’s account.]
[Stat Message: Strength +1, Agility +1, Constitution +1. Increased by 1 point due to physical activity.]
Mark has mastered all the movements described by Mr. Smith in one day, and his strength has grown. The System has rewarded him with 10 silver coins for the lesson.
[Character Sheet Updated]
Strength: 20 (19 base + 1 training)
Agility: 19 (18 base + 1 training)
Constitution: 20 (19 base + 1 training)
[System Message: The ‘Diligent Student’ achievement has been earned. 10 silver coins have been added to the account.]
Mr. Smith stood on the edge of the mat, wiping sweat from his brow, and looked at Mark with a strange look. “I have trained hundreds of guards, mercenaries, and adventurers in my time, Vance. But I have never seen anyone learn the mechanical data of leverage so quickly. Your mind seems to be made of clockwork.
Mark looked at his hands and felt his strength, which, after mastering the useful techniques, seemed to be growing. His health and mana were filling, and his body’s physical parameters were harmonizing with his strategic mind. He looked at the blue message about selecting the class and the Level 5 class selection window that floated before his eyes.
His choice of class had not yet been made, but as he looked out the window of the fighting hall at the bustling square of Oakhaven, he realized that the first step to understanding the world had been made. The wilderness still waited, the mysterious forces of evil that had appeared in Aethelgard were getting stronger, and the local factions were watching Mark’s every move. But now he was no longer afraid - the new Mark Vance was learning to control the world around him.
ns216.73.216.176da2
and then Add to home screen.