Tunnel Rat Chapter 131.2 Rough Draft (Patreon)

Milo was glad he had stayed for dinner. The after effects of dueling had gone away and his belly was full. He planned to check on Larry, and then get some sleep, or log out and check on his various projects in the other world. His first stop was Larry. Larry was usually sitting on the steps to the mess hall until the lights dimmed and most ratkin went off to bed. Milo was surprised, and very happy to see that Larry had made two new friends. The three of them were dancing together and there were even a few people watching. He wondered how things had gone with Larry and Charlotte. He'd ask about that tomorrow. He decided to not intrude on Larry and his friends, and head to the barracks for a nap.

He was just about to open the door to the barracks when a low voice said, "Surprise!" and strong hands gripped him and pulled him off his feet. His attacker pulled him backwards, folded him in half, and then they did some complicated roll that ended with Milo flying through the air trying to get his balance. He failed and belly flopped into the dirt.

He got up to see Gilad laughing at him. "Ah, glad to see I can still do a Flying Back Toss. Good evening, Tallsqueak."

Milo brushed the dust off of himself and bowed, a bit of his annoyance showing. "Good evening, Master Gilad. Do I have to worry about you playing 'surprise' from now on as well?"

Gilad chuckled. "Don't get your tail in a twist, young one. You earned that ambush. I suspected you were holding back on some ability in my classes. Your style has big gaps in it where something is missing. Imagine my surprise to find out you were dueling over at the Tower of Strife and showing off some nice physical enhancement spells. Bone armor and claws I believe they said? And an enhanced tail? No wonder some of your strikes miss, you are used to having more reach!"

The old warriors face became serious. "Why did you hide your abilities?"

"Should I always tell people my secrets? That seems counterproductive. And I wanted to learn to fight better without using my claws. I only used them because the silly students challenged me to duels and started fights. I even had to fight one the Professors!"

Gilad's face turned into a grin. "And beat her from what I am told, with your claw fighting. As to your question, no, don't divulge your advantages. But just as you should train with your natural claws, you should train when using your spells. I checked, and you have a large amount of unused contribution points. Why have you not asked for special classes with me?"

Contribution points? Oh! He kept meaning to check on those! "I would enjoy some extra classes. I learn a lot sparring with you. Not so much sparring with the other students."

Gilad turned and waved for him to follow. "Not surprising. You are nearing the third tier and have experience fighting monsters. And the benefit of fighting monstrous creatures is the points that can make you even stronger. These whelps are a tier behind you and still learning the basics, and with none of your extra skills. You can only be challenged by sending several of them at you." Gilad stopped when they got to the fighting ring. "I suggest we spar for at least a bell each night after dinner, and now that the Hollow knows about your little secrets, you should use your spells that enhance your fighting. Show them to me."

Milo complied. Gilad watched as boney plates covered Tallsqueaks forearms and shins. His toe and finger claws became longer and harder. The tail enhancement surprised him the most. He had never seen that spell before. "You are some type of necromancer? I do not judge; I only seek to understand your bone enchantments." He examined Milo's claws, tested the armor with his own claws, and had Milo show how much control he had over the long, boney tail.

"Not really. My magic uses bones and runes. Old runes." Milo didn't want to have to try to explain things he only half understood, and Gilad seemed satisfied with that answer.

"Very well. Then we will begin sparring, but this time you should use your claws and tail. I want to test your limits. If you don't use exploding skulls, then I won't throw rocks. Agreed?"

"Agreed." Milo went to one end of the arena. Gilad bowed and prepared himself. Milo nodded that he was ready.

Gilad hit him. Milo had seen the old ratkin start to move, and then he was next to him, punching him in the face and tripping him with his tail. He started to press his advantage, but flipped backwards to avoid Milo's tail. He let Milo regain his feet. "The striking distance of your tail is a huge advantage, it made me cautious. Again, and do not blink at the start of a match. Many warriors have skills to aid them in closing the distance between themselves."

This time, Gilad advanced normally. Milo pressed him, slashing with his claws. Gilad deflected them with open palms or his own claws. When Gilad struck, Milo blocked him with claws or forearms. Both were wary of each other's tail and constantly repositioned. Milo feinted with his claws, struck with his tail. Gilad dodge backwards, grabbed Milo's tail and suddenly Milo found himself whirling around and round before sailing through the air and landing in the dirt. "I have found a good use for that long tail of yours, Tallsqueak, it is an excellent handle with which to throw you."

Milo had to agree. The physics of the situation did favor that solution. "I notice that."

Gilad motioned for them to start another round. "You should learn both to make your strikes so fast the opponent can only dodge, or be prepared to cancel that spell if they grab your tail. Especially against higher tier or larger opponents. A cheese fiend would delight in smashing you into the ground over and over. They can't do that to a normal ratkin tail, too fragile. But yours is perfect."

Sparring went on. Gilad giving pointers and pounding Milo into the dirt. The consolation for Milo was that the Tail Master had to work for each victory. He was sweating, and Milo had hit him several times with tail or claw. Gilad brushed off any concerns about Milo slashing him. His regeneration was high enough that he would heal by morning. After an hour, both were breathing hard and drenched with sweat.

Gilad stretched and cracked his back. "This had been very invigorating. I normally have trouble finding sparring partners. Justin says he needs to avoid bruises so he can guard the Hollow, and Brutus is quite clever in his excuses. Only the Old Healer is a match for me, and he is quite busy with his clan. I look forward to a nightly spar with you, Tallsqueak. I will pass on to Old Healer that you will be seeking some lessons from him as well. His style is...well, you'll see. Or maybe you won't."

Milo was just getting his breathing to slow, when something made him turn, and something large and dangerous rushed at him.