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[Novel: Moshuku Tensei: I acquire skill points every second!]
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***
The morning training with Marcus started the same as always - wooden swords, basic stances, footwork drills. But I couldn't focus properly. Every movement felt wrong, like I was fighting against my own body instead of working with it.
"Stop," Marcus said after watching me stumble through the same sequence badly for the fourth time. "Put the sword down."
I lowered the practice weapon, feeling frustrated and embarrassed.
"What's going on with you?" Marcus asked, crossing his arms. "Yesterday you were making decent progress, today you look like you've never held a sword before."
"I don't know," I said, which wasn't entirely true. "It just... doesn't feel right."
"Doesn't feel right how?"
I struggled to put my feelings into words. How could I explain that after getting used to the Archive's instant skill absorption, learning slowly felt wrong? How could I tell him that sword fighting felt clunky compared to the brutal efficiency I'd developed fighting monsters with my bare hands?
"It's like..." I started, then stopped. "When I was in the forest, before I found the village, I had to fight sometimes. Goblins, wolves. I didn't have a sword then, just whatever I could find. Sticks, rocks, mostly my hands. And it worked better than this does."
Marcus studied my face carefully. "You fought goblins? With your hands?"
I realized I'd said too much, but there was no taking it back now. "A few times. When I had to."
"Kid," Marcus said slowly, "goblins aren't easy opponents. They're vicious, they use weapons, they're stronger than they look. Most grown men wouldn't want to fight one without proper equipment."
"I got lucky," I said weakly.
"Lucky." Marcus didn't sound convinced. "Show me."
"What?"
"Show me how you fought these goblins. No sword, just whatever felt natural."
My heart started beating faster. This was dangerous territory. If I showed him too much, he might start asking questions I couldn't answer. But if I refused, that would be suspicious too.
"I'm not sure I remember exactly..."
"Try," Marcus said firmly. It wasn't a request.
I took a deep breath and moved into a fighting stance that felt more natural - hands up, weight balanced, ready to move quickly. It was similar to what Marcus had shown me with swords, but lower and more compact.
"Like this," I said. "Stay mobile, wait for an opening, then get in close and hit hard."
I demonstrated some of the movements I'd used against the goblins, trying to make them look less polished than they actually were. Basic punches, simple dodges, the kind of thing someone might figure out through desperation rather than training.
Marcus watched intently, his eyes tracking every movement.
"Interesting," he said when I finished. "That's not just random flailing. There's structure there, even if it's rough. Where did you learn to fight like that?"
"I didn't learn it anywhere," I said, which was mostly true. "I just... did what felt right when things got dangerous."
Marcus was quiet for a long moment, studying me with those sharp soldier's eyes.
"Kid, I'm going to be straight with you," he said finally. "I've trained a lot of people over the years. Raw talent exists, sure, but what you just showed me isn't just talent. That's experience. Real fighting experience."
I felt my stomach drop. "I told you, I fought some goblins..."
"And I'm telling you that most people's first fight with a goblin ends with them getting their throat ripped out," Marcus said bluntly. "You move like someone who's been in multiple life-or-death situations and survived them all. Your footwork, your guard position, the way you conserve energy - that's not beginner's luck."
I didn't know what to say to that.
"Look," Marcus continued, "I don't know what happened to you before you lost your memory, and I'm not going to pry. Maybe you had training you don't remember. Maybe you went through something that forced you to learn fast. Either way, it's clear that unarmed combat suits you way better than sword work."
Relief washed over me. He was giving me an out.
"So what do we do?" I asked.
Marcus put down his practice sword and moved to the center of the training area. "We work with what you've got. I know some basic hand-to-hand combat from my army days, but honestly? I think you might already know more about real fighting than I can teach you."
That wasn't what I wanted to hear. I needed to learn more, to get stronger.
"But there are other things I can help you with," Marcus continued. "You mentioned using magic when you fought those goblins?"
"A little. Fireball mostly."
"Right. Well, combining magic with close combat is something most people never even attempt. It's difficult, requires a lot of practice, and can be dangerous if you do it wrong. But if you can pull it off..."
He trailed off, seeming to think about something.
"What?" I asked.
"Well, there are legends about fighters who could channel magic directly into their attacks. Make their punches hit like hammers, move faster than the eye could follow, that sort of thing. Most people dismiss it as fantasy, but I've seen some strange things in my time."
My pulse quickened. Magic-enhanced combat. That sounded exactly like what I needed to push my skills toward expert level.
"Could you teach me that?"
Marcus shook his head. "I'm not skilled enough with magic to show you the advanced stuff. What I can do is teach you the theory, help you practice safely, and give you a foundation to build on. But beyond that, you'd be figuring things out on your own."
On my own. That was both exciting and terrifying. Without the Archive recording new techniques, I'd have to develop everything through trial and error.
"I'm willing to try," I said.
"Alright then. Let's start with the basics."
Marcus spent the rest of the morning showing me how to channel small amounts of mana while maintaining a fighting stance. It was harder than it sounded - magic required concentration, but fighting required staying alert to your surroundings. Trying to do both at once was like patting your head and rubbing your stomach.
*Ding.*
⟨Archive Status: Storage Full. Cannot record new skills⟩
The familiar frustration hit, but I pushed through it. Even without the Archive's help, I could feel myself making tiny improvements.
"The key is not to think of magic and fighting as separate things," Marcus explained. "They need to flow together, become part of the same action. Like breathing and walking - you don't consciously control them both, they just happen."
I tried channeling mana into a simple punch, the way I'd done with my fireball spell. For a moment, I felt heat building in my fist, but then I lost concentration and it fizzled out.
"Good start," Marcus said. "That's further than most people get on their first try. But be careful - if you channel too much mana too fast, you could hurt yourself."
We practiced for another hour, with me making slow, gradual progress. Sometimes I could maintain a small flame around my fist for a few seconds. Once, I managed to throw a punch that left scorch marks on the practice dummy.
But it was exhausting work, and by the end of the session I was dripping with sweat and barely able to maintain my balance.
"That's enough for today," Marcus said. "This kind of training is harder on your body than regular combat practice. You need to build up your tolerance gradually."
As we packed up the equipment, he gave me some final advice.
"Look, kid, what you're trying to learn isn't something I can really teach you. I can give you the basics, help you avoid the most dangerous mistakes, but beyond that you're going to have to experiment and find your own way."
"Is that... normal?" I asked.
Marcus shrugged. "Every really skilled fighter develops their own style eventually. The techniques I learned in the army work for soldiers fighting in formation with standard equipment. What you're trying to do is something else entirely. You'll have to figure out what works for you."
That evening, I sat in my room thinking about what Marcus had said. Developing my own fighting style, combining magic and martial arts in ways that felt natural to me rather than copying someone else's techniques.
It was daunting, but also exciting. Without the Archive instantly perfecting everything I learned, I'd have to rely on my own creativity and intuition.
I practiced some basic movements, trying to flow between punches and small magical effects. It was clumsy at first, but gradually I started to see possibilities. What if I could use fire magic to add power to my strikes? What if I could use my mana perception to predict enemy attacks? What if I could combine my intimidation skill with magical pressure?
⟨Skill Progress: Fireball (Efficient) - 82% toward Expert level⟩
⟨Note: Skill synthesis detected. Fireball showing integration with combat techniques⟩
The Archive was tracking my progress, even if it couldn't record new skills. And it seemed like my existing abilities were starting to evolve in interesting directions.
Maybe this was exactly what I needed. Not a master to teach me someone else's techniques, but the freedom to develop something uniquely my own.
A fighting style that combined everything I'd learned - the brutal efficiency of monster combat, the precision of human martial arts, and the power of magic all flowing together into something new.
It would take time. Lots of trial and error. Probably some painful mistakes along the way.
But for the first time since the Archive filled up, I felt genuinely excited about my training.