Metem: A LitRPG Progression Fantasy

Sweat flowed from Kopius's brow as he stabbed, slashed and chopped with all the force he could generate. He moved from one technique to the next, using left and right-handed attacks, piecing each move together synergistically, and then repeating the motions to no end. While he burned through his stamina reserves attempting to assault the witch, Salem thwarted every strike as though she were battling a young niece or nephew. She swatted away each blow with a wooden sword that she insisted was for his protection.

The witch parried, deflected and dodged with the grace of a dancer. Her fluid motions moved her into positions and out of strikes, repelling each of Kopius's swings. After his third round of attacks, she could anticipate his next three strikes which only frustrated Kopius further. As his limbs drained of energy his swings became more erratic, choppy and weak.

"It's crude," Salem stated once she had seen enough. "You lack grace and creativity. It is like someone would approach chopping down a tree. Swinging harder or faster might work with a bludgeon but a sword requires a certain level of style and elegance. Perhaps you would be better suited with a mace, or a maul; a dense club possibly," Salem offered.

"Swords are all I have," Kopius pointed out between deep breaths, while wondering if he could get his hands on a bat.

"You have the technique," Salem continued, "it is just basic, raw. I can see your potential to be fluid but you are rigid and tense. Swords are used instinctually, without thought or malice. They are opportunists seeking a flaw to exploit."

"Ok, so how do I make it fluid?" Kopius asked.

"You don't make it fluid," Salem corrected, her southern drawl keeping the words from biting. "It becomes fluid. It flows naturally without thinking. You need to free your mind of distraction in order to free your blade's potential."

Kopius took a moment to let the words sink in. There was a Morpheus/Neo moment happening and he wanted to grab a hold of the lesson before it slipped away. Being honest with himself, his ego had just assumed he would pick up swordsmanship with no issues. It was like swinging a bat with sharp edges so why wouldn't he be able to learn it quickly? He was athletic and capable, evidenced by his ability to play most sports back on Earth with little to no effort. Yet he only excelled when he regularly practiced and that's when a miniature light bulb flickered in the back of his mind.

He shook his head and chuckled at the realization. Even in his brief college experience, when they had batting practice, a tee was used to ensure a consistent form. He hadn't learned to hit a baseball by stepping up to the plate and swinging as hard as he could. Hell, his swing changed from pitch to pitch depending on the count, outs, how many base runners there were and which base they were on; not to mention if the coach had something in mind. A baseball tee was the most basic of tools used from the time he was five years old until he had stopped playing.

A recent lecture from Yamabu popped into his mind and he was able to relax further. She had insisted on the 'walk before you run' method when approaching magic and he could see that it also applied here; well, to most things really. Athletic or not, using a sword was new territory and learning it would require his ego to take several steps back.

"Figure something out did ya?" Salem asked as she observed Kopius go through his internal discussions.

"I think so," Kopius admitted. " I completed the first set of Drills I was given but haven't used them against anyone until now; with you."

"How long ago did you finish?"

"I don't know, maybe ten days ago."

"And you haven't practiced them since?"

"No," Kopius admitted sheepishly. "That's what I was thinking about."

"It's one thing to learn the steps, if you don't practice you will continue to have a disjointed approach. This Drill you completed, what is the title?"

"Stab, Slash, Chop," Kopius answered.

"You are new to this," Salem said in jest. "That's for beginners."

Kopius just half-smiled and shrugged.

"And your instructor, are they flesh or Holo?"

"What?" Kopius asked in confusion.

"Are you being taught by a physical being or a Holostone?" Salem replied slowly.

"Ummm, it's a Pugil Staff," Kopius answered honestly.

"You–you have a Pugil Staff?" Salem inquired as if she had heard incorrectly.

"Uh–I mean that's what Oh-jin called it," Kopius said, looking over to Cici for confirmation.

"Is Oh-jin your instructor?" Salem inquired.

"It's a Holo," Cici blurted from the sidelines.

A brief look of concern flashed across the bard's face but disappeared before Salem could look over at him. Cici played it off with a laugh and came to stand next to Kopius. He patted his friend on the shoulder with one hand while waiving off the question with the other.

"Oh-jin's the merchant Kopius purchased the Holo from, love," Cici began, his voice confident and convincing. "The old chap said it was akin to a Pugil Staff but the thing turned out to be a bit impotent. Broke right after my boy here completed the Drill."

"Oh, I see," Salem responded, giving a curious glance between the two men.

Kopius gave another shrug trying to convey that he had been swindled.

"Quite a few fakes out there," she continued. "Hopefully it didn't cost you too much."

"I told Kopius here the price seemed a bit low," Cici responded, squeezing Kopius's shoulder this time..

"I keep a small collection of them in the back, if you're in the market," Salem offered. "Mine are quality. You interested?"

"Sure," Kopius answered, wiggling out of Cici's grip. "Maybe you can give me a demonstration? You know, since mine was a dud."

"I can show you what they are capable of, for a price that is," Salem said with a smirk. "A day of training will cost you fifty copper and the Holo's themselves are three silver each."

Cici whistled at the cost.

"The Holo's have great resale value," Salem bargained. "Think of them as an investment."

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Do you take grafeen?" Kopius asked, hoping to work on his negotiating.

"Grafeen?" Salem laughed. "Do I strike you as a blacksmith or some wand bearer? Yama's the only one around here that takes that kind of currency. I take copper, silver, gold or nothing. And nothing for me means nothing for you."

Kopius hadn't gotten a breakdown on how money worked on Metem. He didn't know if the price she was asking was a lot or not. Hell, he didn't even know how one piece of silver translated to copper. Was ten copper one silver or did they go a hundred copper for a silver. There was an ingot of silver sitting in his ring but that still meant nothing to him. Thankfully, while Kopius internalized his dilemma Cici spoke up.

"We've got some silver," Cici mentioned. "Just need to mint it down into coin. I can get that handled while you show our boy the ropes?"

"I can do that," Salem agreed. "Let me go and pull out the ones I have."

The two men watch the warrior walk back into her building before anything was said.

"What was that all about?" Kopius asked in a hushed tone.

"Didn't Oh-jin say the staff was rare?" Cici whispered back.

"No, he left that part out."

"Well they are practically non-existent. Only the noblest of nobles are said to possess them and even that is disputed. Most folks think of them as some kind of myth. It's probably the most valuable item we have amongst us… I mean to say, besides Celeste here." Cici reached back over his shoulder and patted his weapon as if the thing had been insulted.

"Why didn't you say something? You didn't seem all that impressed when I pulled it out."

"It takes more than a stiff rod to impress me," Cici whispered with a smirk and elbow to Kopius.

"That's gross man."

"Besides," Cici continued, ignoring his friend's words. "I figured the old man said something."

"Well he didn't. At least I know to keep it to myself now."

"Yeah, keep it in your pants, lad."

"Is that what we're doing now?" Kopius asked in a deadpan tone.

"Doing what?" Cici responded innocently.

"Dick jokes?"

"Just trying to lighten the mood. You'll want to be relaxed, loose when Salem starts your training."

"Why, she didn't seem very aggressive."

"That's because you haven't paid her fee yet. She was just observing you, for the most part."

"Does she turn into some kind of sadist or something?" Kopius inquired with no small amount of concern.

"Salem is the next best thing to Quinn that you're going to find. How does that guy treat you?"

"Fucking puckerpot," Kopius growled under his breath.

"Exactly," Cici pointed out.

"Fuck. Ok, fine," Kopius uttered as he ran a hand down his face in an attempt to remove his growing concern. "What about the price? Is she ripping me off or what?"

"You have to negotiate, my friend. She's reasonable enough but like I said, never take the first offer from these women. They are as shrewd as they are talented."

"Well at least tell me how many coins we are getting from the silver."

"Oh, yes of course," Cici chuckled. "You'll want to know what you are working with. That ingot will get us one hundred and fifty coins; so seventy-five split. One hundred copper to a silver; why don't you hand that over while we have the privacy, eh?"

Kopius removed the silver from his ring and handed it over. Cici looked it over once before placing it in his sack. The big man explained that he would find a place to exchange the ingot for coins but that it may take some time, especially if the bar needed to be smelted down. He also mentioned that if Kopius were paying for a full day's training he would want to stay as long as possible, so it didn't matter how long the bard took as long as he returned before closing.

After Cici took off Kopius was left to twiddle his thumbs while he waited for Salem to return. He just wandered about the yard inspecting each of the sparring dummies and their attire. His musing didn't last long as Salem emerged from her space carrying a small wooden box. She gave Kopius a head nod towards a section of the bleachers indicating to meet her there and he complied. She placed the wooden box on the row behind them and opened it to display the contents.

Six black discs, each the size of a hockey puck, sat inside the felt lined box presented like fine jewelry to an eager customer. Each puck had a fifty-cent sized circular gem embedded in the center along with four metallic squares evenly placed around the jewel. Though the colors of the stones were different, they were each identical in their shapes and sizes.

"These Holo's come from my special collection," Salem began. "They each provide instruction for a single form such as yours did. These ones have three functions. You may already know this but I prefer to be thorough in my instructions."

Kopius made a 'please continue' hand motion, while silently thanking the Universe that she was not going to test his non-existent knowledge.

"The device is activated by pushing a small amount of mana into a receiver," she pointed at metallic gems. "Once active, you can choose one of the three options: Teach, Attempt, and Spar. Teach guides the student through the steps, Attempt displays the movements for the student to follow and Spar allows for a limited type of combat with the instructor. Do you understand?"

"Nope," Kopius admitted. "I was just shown the forms and copied them the best I could."

"I believe you," Salem responded with a bit more sarcasm than was needed. "I can demonstrate before you purchase. At least you will know what you're buying."

Salem removed the puck with a light blue gem in its center and walked out into the arena. She went through the activation process and placed the device on the ground before backing up a few spaces. A blue aurora surrounded the Holo for a few moments and then laser beams of the same color shot into the space above it reaching at least six feet in the air. The beams multiplied and pulsed in a rapid fashion, spinning in some places while adjusting heights in others. It wasn't long before the commotion finished and left Kopius with his mouth wide open.

Projected above the Holostone was a life-sized version of the weapons master himself; Quinntrain Erostrata Di-jin. It took a moment for Kopius to make sense of it all as the holographic image seemed straight out of a space opera, scifi movie. It was clearer than the message loaded into R2 and as life-like as the assistant from Quantum Leap. The fact that it was Quinn was the strangest detail of it all.

"Quinn?" Kopius said with a squinting 'I don't believe it' tone.

"Well," Salem stated, somewhat impressed, "at least you know your history."

"But… how?" Kopius didn't know what to ask or what to say for that matter.

"Impressive, I know," the witch replied with a grin. "I've made a habit of buying these as I come across them. Not rare but rare enough. What do you know about the man?"

"That he's an asshole," Kopius said in a kneejerk type of response.

"A what?"

"I mean, he was a weapons guy," Kopius blurted, coming back to the present. "He was an instructor or a soldier."

"He was both," Salem insisted. "One of the greatest Metem has ever known. He made his fame on the battlefield and his fortune with his Holostones. Many have forgotten his name but history still whispers to those who listen. Oh, if only I could have been his pupil–what a glorious experience that would have been."

Kopius silently winced at the statement.

"At least he left behind these," Salem continued, unaware of his reaction. "Such a kind, thoughtful, forward thinking man. Something we sorely lack in this day and age."

Kopius stifled a laugh, opting to cough it out rather than catch Salem's ire.

"Now watch and learn!"

The device worked in a similar fashion to the picture book instructions except the holographic image of Quinn performing the moves in the space above the Holostone. Salem had picked the same Stab, Slash, Chop lesson he had gone through himself, so each move was already familiar. When she changed to the Attempt function, the image pieced the three moves together. The student could allow the hologram to be superimposed over them so that they could copy the moves in unison in order to see where mistakes were made.

Last was the Spar function, which made the Holostones uniquely valuable. Using the technique–in this instance Stab, Slash, Chop–the student was able to strike the hologram and meet resistance. The image of Quinn was able to block and deflect strikes while the student received real world experience instead of slashing at empty air. Once the Holostone was satisfied with the students' technique, the image of Quinn would disengage, bow and then disappear.

When Salem had finished her demonstration she picked up the device and returned to the bleachers. She had the thinnest sheen of sweat on her brow but other than that showed no sign of fatigue. "Now let's see you try it and then we can talk about price."