Harem Online: My Party Is Full of Beautiful Celebrities-Chapter 13: Training

Hell no. I wasn’t going to listen to Thorn’Shield.

It was too early to give up. This hidden dungeon was exactly what I’d been worried about when the game had already been online for twelve hours. People could get a huge head start, and now I had a chance to get one too. I’d keep going as long as my Damage Taken kept rising steadily.

[Welcome to the Monster Hunter Academy Online.]

[You have logged in as Emperoar Lv. 1]

Martin appeared near the entrance to the training grounds. He’d logged out inside, but spawning in the middle of an active area could disturb other players, so the system respawned him at the entrance instead. It threw him off. He glanced around.

He spotted NukEncore practicing her skills on another tank. The man had a different shield and actual armor, which meant he’d probably completed the tutorial quests and leveled up to at least five. Martin wasn’t planning to jump straight into the dungeon today, so he watched them for a few minutes.

NukEncore’s attacks hit straight into the center of the man’s shield. Next, she cast a spell that stretched into a bolt. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Arcane Mana Bolt.

It landed with a heavier thud on the tank’s shield, but that was it.

She doesn’t look like she’s having much fun.

Martin didn’t think he was wrong. When he remembered her expression from when he’d practiced with her, she definitely hadn’t looked this bored.

Before he could call out to her, someone else entered the corner of his eye.

"Oh, Chaosgraphy," Martin muttered.

She heard him and turned to face him.

"You also need to practice to get an edge against the lake monster?" Chaosgraphy asked, flashing her confident smile.

That smile told him she’d already practiced new moves, was ahead of him, and was ready to beat him.

His hands clenched. "Yeah. Want to practice with me?"

A strange, melancholy look flickered across Chaosgraphy’s face, as if she were staring back into the past. A moment later, she shook her head and took a few steps forward. Martin offered a faint smile, and she stopped and looked at him again.

"What do you want to practice?" she asked.

Martin answered, "More sword work. Grip, posture, and attacks. I need to raise my damage as much as possible without skills."

He grinned. "I’m not giving up on the lake monster."

"I see." Chaosgraphy’s eyes flicked to his shield. "Show me your usual swing. The one you do when you’re tired."

Martin drew his sword and demonstrated. It was safe and guarded, but stiff. The shield’s weight pulled his shoulder forward.

The way Chaosgraphy watched his stance made it obvious she’d studied swordsmanship long before she ever logged into the game.

Chaosgraphy stepped closer. "Stop powering it with your arm. Use your hips. Your arm guides, your body drives."

Martin tried again. The cut looked the same.

Chaosgraphy clicked her tongue. "Feet. Plant. Then turn."

He adjusted. This time the blade moved cleaner, and the recovery back to guard was faster.

Chaosgraphy paused, watching him like she was recalculating. "Again."

Martin repeated it. Then again.

By the fourth try, the stiffness was gone. The strike was shorter, sharper, and it returned to guard without dragging his shoulder.

Chaosgraphy’s eyes narrowed. "You learn fast."

Martin frowned. "I’m just copying."

"No," she said. "Copying is easy. Changing is not."

Martin exhaled and lowered his sword. "Thanks."

Chaosgraphy gave him a small, confident smile. "No need. You’re a fast learner, and I’m fond of fast learners."

"Best of luck," Chaosgraphy added, then left the training grounds for the solo dungeon.

As Martin turned her advice over in his head, NukEncore ran over.

"Emperoar!" she shouted, loud enough to draw attention.

This time, however, NukEncore slipped out of it by dipping her head and standing close to Martin without moving. Since no one stood out, people lost interest and looked away.

He glanced at her. "Good evening. I saw you practicing with someone else."

"Jealous?" she asked, winking.

Martin tilted his head. "Why would I be jealous?"

NukEncore hesitated, then coughed and whispered, "Never mind. I think I’m the one who keeps coming back to you. I practiced with other tanks, but I couldn’t land a critical hit on any of them. I want to hear that note again. That ding when a critical strike lands. Please, practice with me again."

He smiled. "Yeah. I want to practice with you too. There’s something I researched back at work. Come on, I want to test it now."

"Oh, sure. What do you want me to do?" NukEncore asked as they walked side by side to the empty ring.

He looked at her. "Just throw your normal attacks and that bolt at me."

"M’kay."

She started with a normal attack that split into four strands that shot toward Martin. For a split second, it looked like NukEncore had aimed well. Then the strands swirled off their trajectory and drifted aside. Just as she was about to sigh and look at Martin, she saw him jump to the side like a goalkeeper, his shield awkwardly in front of him.

The magic strands missed.

But his landing was ugly. The sudden stop sent a jolt up his arm, and a sharp burn flared through his shoulder. His stamina dipped hard from the failed Shield Roll.

So that was the price. If I mistimed it, it wasn’t free.

NukEncore blinked. "Um..."

Other players and NPCs stared at Martin with mixed reactions. Most players saw a clown. Only a handful saw the intent. The NPCs, however, understood exactly what he was trying to learn.

Shield Roll.

"Brilliant," Martin said. "Your staff points at me, and it makes no sense for your attack to drift that far. And yet you do it every single time. It makes you a great practice partner. I like that flaw of yours."

NukEncore froze.

"You... like my flaw?" she whispered, too quiet for anyone else to hear.

Martin stood and brushed off his pants. "Come on. Let’s practice more. Then I’ll use Threat on you so you can learn more, too."

He kept smiling, completely ignoring the weird looks.

He wanted more of NukEncore’s flaw.

"Sure," NukEncore replied, her voice so sweet it tugged at Martin’s heartstrings for a split second.

Damn, I could feel her pick-me-girl energy from here.

Anyway, once I nailed Shield Roll and a few other moves, I’d be much stronger. Strong enough to go back to the lake boss ready.