Freelance Saga: Learning Curves Read Free Page B

training whenever he rested for the
evening. Since he was in training mode currently, that process had
been sped up. Usually, this sort of increase would require a full
night’s rest.
    “That is great to know. It seems like
everything but faith and durability has reached ten points.”
    Scott had a strong suspicion that this was
the goal of the training exercise. He would probably reach the ten
point mark in all stats, possibly even reach level ten.
    A new message screen appeared. This one
warned him that he would now have to fight a monster. If he chose
not to fight monsters in the future due to taking up a non-combat
profession, that would be his choice.
    “So, it has come to this?” He followed the
arrow and read the various messages that popped up. Monsters were
elemental creatures that manifested in this world at various points
known as spawning sites. Each monster species had its own territory
and rarely left.
    Monsters were essentially immortal, just like
player characters. They lost a level when defeated but respawned in
their territory. This meant that monsters near human habitats were
often quite weak due to constant hunting, but monsters in distant
locations would be numerous and much stronger.
    He reached a location that reminded him of a
back yard arena. It was a large circular area made of dirt and
sand.
    Scott walked into the arena and a column of
light surrounded the area. He pressed his hand against that light
and realized that it was a barrier. There was no way out.
    The message screen that appeared told him
that he would have to fight a weak monster here. When the monster
was defeated he would be able to leave.
    “What, I’m supposed to punch or kick it?”
What kind of crap was that? Sure, he had unarmed combat skill, but
that’s because he had not found a weapon when he first went to get
the training this stupid tutorial offered!
    Motes of light appeared suddenly in the far
side of the arena. They drew together and formed into a radiant
outline of a four-legged creature. When the light faded a small
turtle-lizard thing had appeared.
    It did not immediately attack, so Scott was
uncertain what to do. It was not in his nature to just walk over
and punch a random lizard. He wasn’t hungry so he didn’t see a
reason to kill it, either.
    The message screen suggested that he use his
observation skill. He did so.
    “This thing is a dragon? It’s so small!” The
thing was the size of a chicken, a small chicken at that!
    The dragon roared, but the sound came out
more like a menacing gurgle. “Graaaoorrrgh!”
    “Bring it, hand bag.”
    The little dragon-thing ran toward him at
breakneck speed … for it. It jumped toward Scott but the man easily
turned to the side. The lizard was faster than any turtle had a
right to be, but it was still not very fast.
    It jumped toward Scott again, and he moved
out of the way once more. This pattern repeated a few more times.
The wanna-be dragon did not seem to have any more talents. Scott
finally decided to try hitting it.
    The next time it jumped at him, he turned
away just like before. This time, however, he kicked at it while it
passed. The hard-shelled monster flipped over from the attack and
landed on its back.
    It tried its best to right itself, but it
wasn’t able to move properly. Scott felt bad for it for a moment.
Then he remembered that it had been trying to kill him this whole
time. His foot stomped down, hard.
    He repeatedly stomped the squealing thing
until it shrilled loudly one final time, then stopped moving. It
quickly dissolved into the same motes of light from before then
faded away. In its place were three coins and a piece of shell.
    A brief fanfare erupted and a new message
popped up. “Congratulations on defeating your first monster! You
have earned three copper coins, and found a piece of loot. Use your
identification skill to learn more.”
    The light barrier disappeared. Scott left the
arena then checked the piece of shell. He learned