The moment I walked into the guild hall, Ginny called out from where she stood. “Oi, where the hell have you been? The pointy-eared bastard has been looking for you.” That surprised me a bit. I had thought those three would have left me alone for a little while longer before seeing if I was going to rejoin them or not.

  Stepping up to where she leaned against the pillar at the end of the counter space, I gestured down at myself. “I had to get new clothes.”

  “Did the bunnies do that much damage?” She spoke with a tone that conveyed her doubt. Whether it was doubt directed at my story or my abilities, I had no clue.

  I felt the need to point out something. “You remember how you told me that there was a warren in that direction?”

  “Yeah,” she said, her brows furrowing as she tried to understand what I might be getting at. “There should have been a dozen or so per hill. All relatively low leveled.”

  I nodded, “You are right, they were all at a decent level. Though I don’t think the small army I faced was so few in number.”

  Her face turned red as she tried to hold in a laugh. One of her hands reached up to grab onto the corner of the pillar to help keep her upright. “You…you…you faced an army of bunnies. God, what I would have given to have seen that.” Slowly, she got control over herself before continuing. “Not that you would have been able to. There just isn’t enough of the damn creatures in the surrounding area, let alone the area I sent you to, to form a decent-sized force.”

  Having a bit of an idea, I asked her, “Hey, I have a few things that were being appraised by the guild. Can you take a look?” The sudden change in topic caught her a bit off guard but, being the professional she was, she slid into it with only the barest hint of confusion.

  She grabbed a folder from the counter behind her and started to flip through the pages. “Sure, give me one second to take a look.” A moment later, she lifted her head to look me in the eyes and her eyebrows rose as she started to read the information printed. “Two hundred forty-six Beater Bunny’s in varying states. Most of which are cut to ribbons, making their pelts less than useless. The few that are usable are still in poor condition.”

  “How much?”

  “Fifteen silver. There isn’t much here that can be used and the parts that can will take some work to get to that point.” She put that page down as she looked me in the eye. Her tone was half serious half disbelieving as she asked a question. “So, where did you find so many of the damned things?”

  With a tiny smirk on my face at her disbelief, I shrugged. “Where you told me they would be.”

  “How many hills did you clear?”

  “Define clear?” Would she consider turning a good chunk of one as having cleared it?

  She groaned a bit while pinching the bridge of her nose as she spoke slowly and deliberately. It was as if she was trying not to scream or yell at me. “Tell me everything that happened from the beginning.” So I did. Telling her most of what I could recall from the moment I reached the first hills and fired the spell to when I ran back to town. She cursed throughout the story.

  “Fucking hell. You blew up a hill, killing who knows how many bunnies.” I wanted to stop her and count the number recorded in my interface but she held up her hands. “Some of those kills will be considered environmental and not show up in your interface.” Well, that was good to know. “Only to then have one survive and call out for help. A veritable army showed up and you killed them all, on your own. Does that sound about right?”

  I nodded, not knowing what else to say or add. “No wonder the bodies are all torn up. Thank you for the information.” With that, she nodded and turned away.

  A bit confused at the sudden dismissal, I quickly spoke. “What do you mean? Are you going to do something to lower the population or warn other people about the numbers?”

  “That is guild business. For now, I suggest you focus on training. Maybe with an emphasis on multiple opponents.” That last comment had me rolling my eyes. I had yet to train against a single opponent, let alone multiple.

  Before I could do or ask anything else, she disappeared. She didn’t even fucking pay me for my kills. With a roll of my eyes, I started to turn only to see something on the counter that hadn’t been there before. Sitting there, open for anyone to take, was a single gold coin. I debated leaving it but something told me it wouldn’t even last long enough for me to walk across the room. Instead, I put it into my inventory. If she asked for the coin back then I would give it to her, after she paid me for my kills that is. With a shake of my head at the oddness of my day so far, I made my way to the training room.

  The moment I opened the door, a body slammed into me. “You came back!” Mindi cried out as her arms crushed me to her while something wet dripped onto my cheek. Given how her body was pressed against me, I was a bit taken aback. The feeling of which was causing some parts of my anatomy to react.

  Not wanting to bring attention to my growing issue, I looked from her to the room beyond. Tindi leaned on the door frame with her arms crossed while Barti gave the scene an indifferent look before returning to whatever he was doing to the ground.

  With a gentle pat on Mindi’s back, I said, “I just needed some time to think about everything.” She nodded but didn’t say anything.

  Tindi rolled her eyes when Mindi refused to speak. “And?”

  “I found that I needed your training. I don’t think I quite knew how weak I was until yesterday. Well, I did but not like this.”

  “We could have told you that, but tell me, what clued you in?” Barti spoke up from where he was working.

  “The fact that I nearly got my ass handed to me by a bunch of Beater Bunnies.” I nearly laughed as I said it. It just sounded so stupid to say that I had been nearly killed by something so fluffy and cute.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Given the laughs that erupted from the two inside the room, I wasn’t the only one who found it hilarious. Even Mindi’s body shook. “Guess we need to work on more practical stuff. Now that you have the basics down that is.” Barti said as soon as he could do so without issue.

  That sounded great. Of course, the moment I looked forward to something, someone had to remind me of a sore point. Mindi pulled back to give me a once-over. She pouted a bit at something. “You got rid of the skirt.” I winced at the reminder of my previous outfit. Though at least they didn’t see me in any of the damn dresses.

  “Yeah, it kinda got torn to pieces.”

  Turning around, Tindi walked into the room, calling over her shoulder. “Well, get in here so we can get started on your training.” Mindi’s grip on my arm was iron-clad as she pulled me inside. If I didn’t know better I would have thought that she was afraid that I would run away a second time. The moment the door closed, she continued. “Run and get warmed up.”

  Sighing, I pried Mindi off me and started to run laps. Barti chose that moment to start his lecture. “Most fighting comes down to biding your time and waiting for the right moment to strike. All while not leaving an opening for your opponent to use. This applies to both the physical and the magical. As such, there are rules when fighting with each. Today, each of us will go over rules that relate to our disciplines. All while giving a hands-on demonstration, starting with Tindi.”

  Tindi joined me in my jog. “We will start with one of the easiest rules to remember in hand-to-hand combat. Stay off the ground.” Without breaking her stride, one of her feet swept at mine just as I lifted the other. Off balance, my forward momentum sent me tumbling. “While it is the easiest to remember, it is one of the hardest to achieve. Now, back to running.”

  I scrambled to my feet and took off in a light jog while I kept an eye on her leg. “Rule two, never underestimate your opponent.” That was the only warning I got before I was shoved forward. My face met the floor and stayed there as I slid to a stop. “Just because one attack was from my feet does not mean I will always use my feet.”

  Not willing to give her a target, I quickly got back up and started to run even faster as I tried to put some distance between the two of us. Not that it did any good. She kept up without seeming to break a sweat. A foot slid in my direction but missed as I jerked to the side. Next came an arm aimed at my back.

  I barely had time to drop to the ground and slide on one knee before the arm passed overhead. Her eyebrows rose as I started to get back up. Somehow I managed to get up fast enough that her arm was still within reach. Unable to turn up a golden opportunity like this, I grabbed on. She didn’t seem all that worried as she asked, “What are you going to do now?”

  That was a damn good question given that I had not expected her to let me get ahold of her. Maybe get close enough to think I had a chance, but not actually grab ahold of her. Just as I started to think of something I could do, she gave a sharp tug on her arm, sending me flying, again.

  “Rule three, don’t fight unless you have to. You had the opportunity to keep running but decided to take me on. A fight that every one of us knows that you have no chance of winning.” She curled two fingers at me. “But since you decided to fight, let us fight.”

  I didn’t know which part of this training irked me more; the constant face-to-face meeting with the ground, the fact that I had no chance in hell of winning, or her constant taunts about both. As I got up, I faced her while making sure that my feet were spaced a bit apart. The instant she moved, I reacted.

  My limbs moved to block her attacks. One leg blocked a low kick while an arm deflected the punch aimed at my throat. Suddenly, she spun in place. The leg I had blocked hit me hard on the other side with enough force to lift me off the ground and toss me a short distance.

  I didn’t have time to get my breath up, let alone get up and prepare to defend myself before she reached me. Her fist hovered in front of my face. “Rule four. Fight to win. Do not fight to stall your opponent. Do not fight to disable. Fight to kill because you can be sure your opponent will be doing the same.”

  Fucking hell, and here I was thinking that we were just training. Now she was telling me to try and kill her. Of course, it wasn’t like I would be able to, not with her skills and speed, but still. As she pulled back, I got up. Tindi led me back to the center of the room as I messaged the spot she had hit.

  Barti was still there but as we got closer I got a better look at what he was working on. It was a large and intricate circle drawn with a piece of chalk or something similar. “Ignore the circle. He is just getting something ready for later. Now, focus on me.” As I didn’t want to know about yet another form of torture, I did as she bade.

  This time, instead of letting her attack first, I charged her. Making sure to bend my knees to lower my center of gravity as I charged in with my fists raised. One of which was already heading toward the center of her chest. She didn’t hesitate to grab it and twist. Tossing me away as if I weighed nothing.

  When I landed on my back right next to Barti, he didn’t say a word. He simply lifted an eyebrow. Before I could ask him what was going on, Tindi spoke up, “Rule one!” She didn’t give me more than a second before she grabbed my leg and tossed me to the other side of the circle.

  While I might be a bit new to fighting, I can learn. For example, the moment I landed I got up and ready to defend myself as fast as I could. I even managed to do so before I stopped sliding. By the time she reached me, I was ready for her. Blocking punch after punch. Kick after kick. Until she did something unexpected.

  Her chest lowered as she stretched her arms out before she charged directly at me. The suddenness of it let her get past my guard and get her arms wrapped around my stomach. I started to punch and pull at her but her grip was tight as hell. Tight enough that I was having issues even breathing.

  Just as black spots started to appear, she tossed me down to the ground. “You failed to remember rules two and four. But that is understandable. After all, you don’t know rule five. Throw a striker, strike a grappler. If someone is coming in to grab you, strike them. Keep them from getting a hold of you. If they are trying to keep their distance and only ever hitting you, get inside their range. Keep them off balance. If they switch tactics, switch with them. Keep going until they are down.”

  Jumping up, we squared off. The moment she went to strike me, I grabbed it. Getting out of the way of the strike while adding momentum. The move must have caught her by surprise because she stumbled in my direction. Said surprise didn’t last more than a moment as her body twisted around.

  Letting her arm go, I kicked out. The heel of my foot caught one of her knees and sent her to the ground with a soft but definite snapping sound. Her face was filled with shock and pain. Instantly I felt bad. She told me to go at her with everything I had and she had gotten hurt. Concerned, I rushed toward her to offer what help I could. Of course, the moment I got within arm's length, the arm that had been behind her, shot forward.

  I froze just as the tip of a finger-sized blade poked my skin. A drop of something ran down my skin from the contact site. “Rule six. Watch out for weapons.” She said as she got up. Her leg moved as if it had not just been hit hard enough to make a snapping sound. “Just because you might be a gentleman and following rules doesn’t mean your opponent will be.”

  As my heart tried to beat its way out of my chest, I thought over that last rule. They were completely right and something I would always have to follow or I would inevitably find myself dead. Of course, remembering six rules would be nothing, but how many rules would the other two beat into my head and how much pain would I be in afterward?

  “Now,” she called out as she turned to face me. Her knife was no longer visible. “Ready?” Before I had time to nod, her foot flew at my head.