Chapter 34

Back before Tenet, Natalie’s fights had been with blunted weapons and thick sparring pads. Because, obviously, prior to her unlocking, a sword’s blade to the neck would’ve meant a quick end to her career, and the same for a blunt impact hitting just right, thrown by a competent fighter.

Now, having received her class, she had been granted an invisible defense. ‘Hitpoints’. She could take previously career ending blows and walk away not much worse for wear. Most of the time. It wasn’t a perfect defense. Empowered by a skill, serious damage could be done even to a person full on HP. The dungeon wasn’t the only way students ‘became a statistic’ at Tenet. But it wasn’t a common event, either. Tenet hardly wanted their students dropping like flies.

But while it wouldn’t be pleasant taking a direct blow to the head, even a level one combat class was many times more durable than their unclassed or other-classed counterparts.

So, fighting with real weapons was the standard at Tenet.

She adjusted her grip on her hammer, watching her opponents. She itched for the fight to start. It’d happen any second now—as soon as Instructor Robin called it.

This class period—from nine thirty to eleven—wasn’t cordoned off for sparring specifically, though spars of various sorts did happen often. The overall intent was to be training students in the many situations an aspirant delver could find themselves in. This included one-on-ones, but most commonly, of various composition: two on twos, three on theres, or even mismatched fights.

Today, coincidentally, she’d gotten Liz as her partner. Their two opponents were, of course, classmates: the first, a tall boy with shaggy brown hair wielding a spear, and the second, a willowy-looking girl with a long staff. The boy was some kind of fighter, at a guess, and the girl, a mage.

Natalie wasn’t sure who’d win, compositionally speaking. It was anyone’s game. Most fights were, besides the worst combinations—like two healers.

It was unfortunate that she’d gotten Liz as a partner, though. Not because a fighter and healer was bad—the opposite; it was close to ideal—but because it meant Natalie had to prove herself. If there was a fast way to destroy Liz’s interest in partying up, it would be floundering in a spar. And sure, Natalie had explained to Liz that she’d gotten her class just a few days before the semester, but excuses were excuses: it didn’t matter the reason she got her ass handed to her, just that if it happened, it meant Liz might see her as an unsuitable delving partner.

She took a steadying breath. She felt naked without armor. Tenet students trained without it, relying on hitpoints to save them. So, she wore only the tight Tenet uniform. The skirt was actually pretty flexible. It didn’t get in the way during her movement. Still, it felt flimsy. Even knowing HP would save her from real injury, seeing her opponent wield a real, honest-to-gods spear ... well, it was hard to just ignore that.

To her side, Instructor Robin swiped her hand down, signaling the start of the fight.

Finally.

Natalie charged forward. Not more than two steps forward, and Liz’s empowering skill hit her. A surge of warmth spread from her stomach outward, washing across her like a powerful liquor. She’d known to expect it. She and Liz had had a brief—emphasis on brief—moment to discuss each other’s skills and strategy. The same for their two opponents.

In the same manner Natalie had, the boy with a spear—Elliot, Natalie thought she remembered—rushed forward. The two spellcasters, Liz and Camille, happily stayed on the outskirts. Though, by the way Camille strafed sideways, lining her staff toward Natalie, her second opponent wasn’t a support mage, like Liz.

So, the bulk of the fighting would be on Natalie.

Which she was fine with, especially considering the intoxicating, glowing strength that had suffused her. Liz might not contribute directly, in the form of combat magic or swinging a weapon, but she would more than pull her weight.

Natalie’s class had already made her faster, stronger, and more flexible than she’d ever been before—to an extent she wasn’t entirely used to it—but even that difference was inconsequential to Liz’s empowerment buff. She surged across the sparring ring, arriving to her spear-bearing opponent with a speed that surprised even her.

Back when Natalie had first gotten her class, Jordan had made a joke: that since she was bad at spellcasting, she would ‘just have to be extra good at punching stuff’.