By the Grace of the Gods (LN) - Volume 11 - Chapter 9

Chapter 7, Episode 29: The Match against Hudom

“I’m sorry to call you up on such short notice.”

“I’m always down for a bit of sparring.”

Hudom had traveled the lands in pursuit of mastering his martial artistry, and I had once promised him a sparring match. Even if Hudom had invented this backstory, it worked in my favor. I had called him to the courtyard, asking him to help with my training. Now, we faced each other in our street clothes, empty handed. Of course, my street clothes were a blade-proof shirt made from sticky slime silk, a hidden iron slime (weapon) in my belt, and safety boots in preparation for the worst.

“How’s this for rules?” he asked. “No weapons, and no offensive or defensive magic. Enhancement spells and energy are allowed.”

“Sounds good. Let’s get started.” I shook my limbs and stood in a comfortable stance as Hudom stood ten feet away, holding up both fists. It looked like a boxing stance, but his legs were spread a bit wider and his feet were firmly on the ground.

“Let’s start!” As soon as he said so, he closed the distance between us in a leap, keeping the momentum in his punch.

But no magic or energy. I wondered for a moment whether he was going easy or just waiting to see what I would do.

“You’d throw a punch like that at a child...?”

“That’s rich, since you dodged it like it was nothing!”

He was as fast and powerful as anything I’d seen on TV in my previous life. He threw punch after punch, becoming faster and in more complex combinations.

A fist came straight for my face, to which I stepped back barely out of reach. He immediately pulled back his right fist, and I followed it to get close. His other fist came at me, which I deflected with my right hand, turning myself ninety degrees in the process to try and strike him with my left fist. I timed the attack so he had no time to parry, but Hudom coolly put more distance between us to regroup.

From that point, we continued exchanging strikes. When he pushed, I pushed back, and when I pushed, he pushed back. Once in a while we mixed in kicks, but neither of us reached for big moves that would give the other an opening. Boring was one way to put it, but our exchanges were honest and straightforward. Just when we had gotten into a routine of taking turns attacking and responding...

Hudom’s stance changed; his center of gravity lowered and his fists unfurled. Then, he leapt at me like a carnivore pouncing on its prey. I reflexively grabbed his hands, locking us into a grapple. He immediately used his height advantage to try and pin me to the ground; I relaxed for a second and took half a step back. Bending my elbows, I twisted his arms outwards as I ducked under him...

That was close. I had almost locked his joints, which would have limited his movement. Hudom had torn his hands free at the last second and put more distance between us.

“I wasn’t holding back...” he said.

“I know a few grapples and throws myself.”

“That’s great to hear from my training partner.”

The air about Hudom changed. I sensed his physical energy enveloping him as he took deep breaths. I showed my intent to retaliate by wearing my own energy.

Hudom smiled. “Here I come!”

His attacks became far more unpredictable; sometimes he transitioned from strikes to grapples or throws, and other times he mixed in strikes in a series of grapples and throws. He had so much variety in his attacks that it was fun to watch and parry. I also acknowledged that he must have trained for a long time to master those moves. At the very least, I was now sure that his experience and passion for martial arts was not just a backstory.

Out of respect, I decided to give this match my all. When he grabbed me, I pulled his arm to throw him off balance. When he low kicked me, I kicked back with the same leg to make him trip... I used the muscle memory from my previous life as much as I could. Hudom ended up deflected, thrown, and tossed to the ground over and over again. But, the light never faded from Hudom’s eyes, nor did he ever stop moving.

Then, something strange happened. We had exchanged a series of strikes, creating a bit of distance between us. On his next punch, I sensed the energy around his fist strengthen, and I felt the fist that should never have reached me strike my shoulder. While the impact wasn’t too strong, it was enough to stun me for an instant, combined with the surprise that the punch had reached me. Hudom, of course, did not miss that opportunity. He grappled me to the ground. I managed to kick and toss him behind me, still befuddled by the mysterious punch.

As we continued our match, I discovered that the attack was a kind of energy shot, where he could send and hit me with his energy. With renewed interest and excitement, I became lost in the match before I knew it...

■ ■ ■

The match ended with Hudom running out of stamina. Apparently, using energy for direct attacks used a lot more stamina than enhancing his strength. He was doing fine at first, but he started to lose speed with every energy shot towards the end.

Finally, Hudom fell to his knees, surrendered, and fell on his back, gazing up at the sky. He looked like he was happy with the match, having given it his all.

I handed Hudom a towel and a drink from my Item Box; he was almost wheezing. “There’s a barrier to keep some of the cold out, but stay like that for too long and you’ll catch your death.”

Hudom waited a few seconds before answering, “Thanks...” He wiped his sweat with the towel and downed the contents of the cup. I assumed he was a little dazed from exhaustion. “That’s good!”

“I’m glad to hear.” I took out my own cup and the pitcher and served myself a glass of citrus-infused water. Its aroma was refreshing after that great exercise. I served Hudom and myself a second glass, allowing him to slowly hydrate and recuperate. “Better?” I asked.

“Much.” Suddenly, he looked at me with a serious expression I hadn’t seen on him before. “Thank you. I’m having trouble getting the words out... But that was a great experience.” I felt sincere respect from him, as one martial artist shows another.

“Likewise. That was a great experience for me. I had never seen those energy moves before.”

“Really? I’m glad you had something to gain from it.”

“Would you like to have regular matches like this? I would like to learn more about those energy techniques.”

“That would be awesome! There’s plenty of things I want to learn from you too! Like...” He went on, more like himself but still just as passionate about martial arts.

We spent some time discussing what aspects we wanted to study. He said he had considered calling me “master” to learn from me, but that wasn’t my style, so I proposed that we help each other grow. According to Hudom, that was a generous offer.

“Fighting techniques are the livelihood of many people. Most wouldn’t give away that information to someone who isn’t your apprentice.”

Classes and training sessions were open to all at the Adventurers’ Guild; those served the purpose of improving the survival and success rates of the local adventurers. Even then, most training only covered the basics unless some instructors or veteran adventurers decided to provide further instruction for personal reasons. There was pretty much no chance that anyone would give away proprietary techniques.

Even on Earth, I had heard that many martial arts dojos were very secretive about their techniques, even going as far as banning their students from training with anyone outside of the dojo and having them sign an oath upon their joining. There were plenty of other measures they took, from designing a set of “show” techniques for anyone outside of the dojo, teaching techniques that require oral instruction from the master to fully understand, etc. Considering how much importance martial arts of yesteryear placed on secrecy, it felt a bit unfair that anyone in the modern day could look up most martial arts forms or techniques in books or online.

I understood Hudom’s point, but felt I must share the open-information philosophy of modern-day Earth.

“Just keep it in the back of your mind,” he said. “It’s a great deal for me, and there are some martial arts that are very open about their techniques.”

“Right... Wait, that reminds me.”

“Something wrong?”

I had completely forgotten the real reason I was here. “I didn’t ask you to come here just to train, you know.”

“Oh?”

“There’s something I want to ask you.”

“I’ll answer anything I can.”

“Wonderful. You’re selling information on me, aren’t you? Who are you selling it to?”

Hudom was happening to be finishing his glass of citrus water, and the question caused the drink to go down his windpipe.

“How do you—”

“You may know that the recent rise in crime in the city has been manufactured. Nobles who oppose the duke are surely behind it. So, we’d been laying a trap to catch their agents red handed.”

“And I stepped in the trap.”

“More importantly, the person you were giving the information to.”

Hudom instantly looked deflated, then, perhaps from guilt, determination lit up his face.

“Um... I don’t think I’m about to do what you’re expecting me to.”

“What?”

“Truth be told, there were suggestions to capture you without having this conversation, but I insisted on giving us this opportunity. I had this feeling... And the training session was just an excuse, but I got carried away... I’m sorry about that.”

I looked up at the roof and saw a small, owl-like monster there; I had been told it was Lilian’s familiar. I had only found out the previous day that Lilian was a tamer.

“It’s true that I’ve been giving away information on you, so why talk to me?”

“Oh, yes. We know you have, and I trust the report I received. I just don’t know who you are giving the information to, so I don’t necessarily see you as an enemy yet.”

“Still, most people would see you that way for blabbing about you behind your back.”

“I suppose so.” That’s why it took me a long time to convince the room yesterday. On top of Lilian’s familiar keeping watch, I had set up the slime security this morning, and made sure to wear my full-armor street clothes. There were other tricks set up in the courtyard as well, and I could duck out at any time with space magic. In that case, Hughes and the security instructor would come rushing in.

“I had to propose all of these safety measures just to be allowed to do this. And everyone only reluctantly agreed.”

“That’s the normal reaction. Why did you go through the trouble?”

I didn’t exactly know why. “I might not have known you for long, so I can only say that I felt like you weren’t an enemy. Just an intuition. I was actually just given advice from someone that I was too logical in my decision-making and I had to trust my instinct.” While it was true that it didn’t feel like Hudom was an enemy, I couldn’t help but think of things logically. When I did, I felt like I was trying to use logic to convince myself he wasn’t a threat. “Anyway! I don’t know exactly why, but I followed my intuition. That’s why I set this conversation up.”

“You’re pretty wild...”

“I’ve had all of that and meaningful looks from people already, so there’s no use telling me that now.” I was trained for this in my previous life! You need thick skin and brazenness to survive an abusive work environment. “So, I would like to hear your side of the story, but please make it quick. I’m keeping them waiting, worried about me. They could come storming in any minute without waiting for my signal. Tell me now! Please!”

“All right, all right! I don’t need this pressure on me!” Once I stopped rushing him, Hudom sighed.

“So, what do you want to know...” he muttered.

“Who’s paying you, or rather, who’s seeking information on me. Just tell me what you know.”

“That’s easy.”

He proceeded to give me the name and title of the individual in question; for a moment, I thought my ears were failing me.

“Did I just hear that right? Who were you giving my information to?”

“His Majesty, Erias De Rifall.”