CHRONICLES of a PC Gamer Stuck Inside an RPG (Book One: Duelist)

Chapter 26 - Dexterity Training

After paying for my bodyguard's meal, I quickly left the tavern to return to the dojo. My bodyguard kept her silent vigil behind me. I checked my player status and confirmed that the meal had completely restored my health. It was a relief to see my health was full again before I arrived at the dojo because I knew that I would lose more health during my basic conditioning sessions.

While walking on the street, I encountered a few suspicious looking characters. However, they saw Maisen standing behind me and took note of her butterfly-adorned scabbard; consequently, these would-be pickpockets quickly decided to find other marks instead.

When we stepped inside the dojo again, I saw Kalistra in the courtyard and decided to approach her.

My master saw me and she hissed at me.

Yikes, what did I do wrong?

Sister Maisen grinned and held out her right hand with palm facing up.

Kalistra's ears flattened as she grumpily pulled a gold coin from her pouch. She tossed it over to the human warrior, who caught it.

I turned my head back and forth between the two of them. "What was the bet this time?" I asked Maisen.

"Whether you'll return to the dojo on time," she replied nonchalantly.

I turned back to Kalistra and shrugged. It wasn't my fault that I returned to the dojo from my lunch break on time. If anything, the evil minx deserved to lose for having so little faith in me.

Kalistra motioned for me to come closer.

I obeyed and stood in front of her.

"I'm happy with your progress today," she began.

Uh-oh! I started sweating. The evil minx was setting me up again.

"The only training left is to increase your dexterity. For that, I would like to introduce you to our family pet," Kalistra grinned. She walked over to the pond and peered into the water.

I did the same and what I saw left my mouth wide open. There was a large, sandy-colored catfish in the water. Why would a cat girl have a FISH as a family pet? OH, THE IRONY! There were a few smaller fishes in the pond as well, but I suspected that they were meant to be live food for the larger fish.

"Hello, Mof!" the cat girl greeted.

Suddenly, the catfish jumped out of the water. It opened and closed its jaw repeatedly, making several "mof" sounds. The fish had jumped toward me; when it dived back into the pond, the catfish whacked its tail against the water. SPLAT!

As a result, I was doused by the splash from head to toe. "Hey! What did you do that for?" I complained as I spat the yucky water out of my mouth.

The catfish started swimming in a circle around the pond as if it was laughing at me.

"Just you wait, Mof! I'm going to catch you and have you for dinner!" I threatened and started rolling up my sleeves. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain on my right shoulder and the ensuing pop-up message read, "-2 Health." Ow!

"Mof is our family pet. If you kill him, your life is forfeit," Kalistra threatened.

Maisen put a hand on my shoulder and pulled me away from the angry cat girl. My bodyguard turned her head toward Kalistra. "Please allow me to train him," the senior pupil requested.

"Fine," Kalistra spat out and turned her back on me. Her tail angrily whiplashed back and forth as she walked away.

"Mof is just being playful," the human warrior said. "And he is very helpful in training our students to increase their dexterity."