Trans-Migration

Wood whipped and cracked as Bria deflected yet another strike. The attacks came slowly, at least to her perception. Fortunately, the instructions on properly swinging and blocking still translated well to her needs, but practical practice was proving less fruitful. She’d worn her full armor, though she left the shield aside for now.

Again a strike came at her, aiming to slip deftly through her guard. It might have worked if her stats were still at human baselines, but as they were now? Still, she wasn’t going to abuse that, instead, she took a moment to study how he had slipped through her guard. It was a clever move, and one she would learn to replicate, but for now, she let it hit rather than use her disparity of attributes to punish him for a genuinely good strike.

It didn’t hurt in the slightest, and barely moved her, but the man still smiled and that was enough of a win. Her father stood; sweat dripping down his face as he panted. Bria was barely worse for wear, but wasn’t about to rub it in.

“You’re getting better,” he said, wiping his forehead. “Better than I was on my first day of lessons, but that’s to be expected.”

Despite healing, the ache of being stabbed hadn’t left her memory. She’d almost died, and entirely because she was outclassed in skill with a blade. Bria refused to go down so easily to someone again, and so, she resumed her ready stance.

“Show me how you did that,” she said.

Father walked over, demonstrating the exact deflection and twist that allowed him to slip through her guard with ease. It took a few tries, but she got it, and began to drill the motions. Father watched as she went through each strike, then joined in as a live dummy for her to practice the move on.

Plus, it had the added benefit of distracting Bria from her morning. She’d woken up entangled with Neth, along with a camera shutter snapping. Mom had shot her a wink, and left the developing image behind on the night stand as she went back to working on food prep, which meant Neth needed to get up if she wanted to help.

So of course she saw the picture first thing and kissed Bria with full intensity for being ‘just too adorable’ which left her a stammering mess for the first bit of practice. Right until Father had cracked her over her head for not paying close enough attention. It took him all of one exchange to realize he didn’t need to pull his hits. She could take the punishment without any bruising, which was both a blessing and a curse.

It made the training more real, which could only help her the next time someone tried to kill her. Knowing her luck, that would be within a day of her return to the other side. Ri-durak didn’t strike her as the type to just give up after taking a swing at someone.

Unfortunately, Father could only help for a few hours before he had to tend to the tourists, which left her alone to drill things until Neth was done helping prepare lunch. She’d only seen a hint of her at a rushed breakfast, and little more. Not even a second kiss shared between them before they were both off dealing with their respective mornings.

“You are not bad,” Boris said after some time.

Mister Ruiz had shown up to watch early, but left after it became clear how unskilled she truly was. He’d been muttering about that tutor he failed to hire as he walked away, but Bria put it out of her mind. Various guests had also come and gone through the morning, but his two bookends had stuck around for the entire session, for reasons that had been unclear to her.

“Stronger as tiny girl,” Nikolai said, leaning close to Boris. “Little runt is growing up.”

“Hey!” Bria shouted, pointing her training sword at them. “I can hear that, you know!”

Boris snorted. “Yes, and what will you do about that?”

Eye twitching, Bria glanced over at the sword that her father had left behind. She hooked a thumb towards it, then smirked.

“You could always try your luck.”

“I think not,” Nikolai said. “Swords are not our thing.” Then, he pulled a knife from somewhere, smirking as he twirled it between his fingers with a deftness that someone like him should not possess. “I am willing to try with proper weapon.”

Bria reflexively swallowed. Sure, she could heal up any damage done, but it was too close to how she had been stabbed for her liking. Yet, she needed to face that fear and learn to stand firm against opponents with blades.

“Alright,” Bria said. “You can use your knives, but I’ll stick with my practice blade.”

Nikolai grimaced. “I do not believe we would survive if you insisted otherwise.”

Hey, that was…probably fair. Bria wasn’t a swordmaster, and didn’t expect to ever be one. She wasn’t someone who could send a thousand slashes but stop a hair’s breadth from cutting flesh. No, she was a bruiser who would use strength to overwhelm, which was part of what the training was meant to overcome. A sword wasn’t a club, it was a weapon meant to stab and slice.

The pair of bodyguards stepped into the impromptu ring, much to the cheers of those watching. One little kid was even waving a stick that she kept brandishing like it was a sword, much to the amusement of her parents. Bria was becoming a bit of a local celebrity due to the showing, and it was only a matter of time before her neighbors figured out who she used to be.

Hopefully she would be back on the other side before that happened, but Bria knew her usual luck wasn’t that good. Neth stood out with her pink hair and violet eyes, and now, so did Bria. Squaring up with the burly men, Bria settled into a stance and kept her eyes on the men’s shoulders. They circled slowly, splitting apart to come at her from different sides.

A choice was presented. She could hold back and make it a proper learning exercise, or Bria could go all out and really show them how it was done. Once the pair were in position to flank her, Bria made sure to let them see that she was watching Boris. Nikolai moved the moment her eyes were off of him. With speed beyond human limits, Bria stepped around the strike and caught his arm with her own. A simple flex would have broken it, but she refrained.

Boris didn’t stay idle, and came at her at the same moment, and she twisted, bringing Nikolai into the path of his strike. He aborted, but not before she shifted, and shoved the big bear into the other, sending them both tumbling.

Standing over them, Bria put her hands on her hips and shook her head like a disappointed teacher might. “Now boys, it isn’t good practice if you’re just going to surround me like that. Not when I’m that much stronger than both of you.”

“Kittens have teeth,” Boris muttered.

“And claws,” Nikolai echoed. “Practice is good.”

Bria helped them up and soon enough they were trying to kill her with their knives while demonstrating how and why they moved the way they did. After the first few minutes, Bria set aside her sword and brought out her own knife. At Nikolai’s prompting, she handed it over for inspection. Both men hummed appreciatively as they held it, checking weight and balance.

“Get a stick or something. We will teach you to use it.”

Someone from the crowd tossed a branch over almost immediately. Bria blinked, then found a little girl waving back at her, now without her stick. Bria waved back, smiling brightly at the girl, and took up her stick. It was close enough in length that she could make it work for the coming practice, and she resolved to give her something nice for her contribution.

“When in knife fight, you will get cut,” Boris said. “Winner go to hospital, loser to morgue.”

“Sometimes both go to morgue,” Nikolai assessed. “Fights are brutal. Movies get it all wrong.”

Boris pulled up his sleeves, revealing arms covered in white lines. “This is resume.”

“Noted,” Bria said, bringing her stick up in a mockery of his own stance. “Show me how little I know.”

Pokes came from all angles, the blades unable to pierce her armor in any meaningful way. Kro-ahnk really had gone out of his way to make sure she had some good stuff even before they became traveling companions. The pair worked her through knife fighting and Bria quickly realized just how brutal it was.

Those scars were definitely earned, and despite her stats, she needed to cast [Heal] by the time Mom stepped out and announced that lunch was ready to be served. The guests had mixed reactions, but rather than split off to dine, Bria blinked as the outdoor seating was carried out and plates delivered.

Neth came out of the kitchen with four of them balanced along her arms. More than that, someone had found her a pair of jeans and a blouse that fit, and she looked stunning in them. Neth sent a wink Bria’s way as she delivered the plates with the finesse of someone with a decade of experience waiting tables. Bria found herself taking a seat while Neth finished helping Mom serve everyone up, then she settled in next to her once the last of the meals were distributed. They shared a short moment staring into one another’s eyes, then Neth gestured for the two Russians to join them.

“That was quite the display,” Neth said, taking a bite. “I can see why you are employed as security with skills like your own.”

“Says the woman who can use magic,” Boris said dryly.

The food was tasty as always when Mom cooked. The group fell into a discussion of knifeplay and how it worked in real world fights as they ate, which some might have found a bit morbid. Bria had to admit that despite English being their third or fourth language, they were really good at explaining things. Plus, it let her show off some of the Russian she had picked up from them over the years.

No matter how much she tried to cram, Bria knew that it would take more than a couple hours of lessons to really drive the motions home. Repetition was how she turned learned movements into muscle memory. She didn’t have time for that, but it didn’t mean that she couldn’t practice each and every day going forward.

She was about halfway through her plate, and an insightful discussion about the best angles to stick a blade into someone that should translate well enough to many creatures, when Mister Ruiz returned. He looked down at their table, then sighed.

“I see you’ve availed yourself of my men,” he said.

“More we thought to protect investment,” Nikolai countered.

Boris nodded. “Shame if kitten dies because she knows not where pointy end goes.”

Bria had to laugh how much their accent thickened when Mister Ruiz was around. Sure, they played it up when putting on a show, but when it was just them? They barely had an accent and didn’t drop random words just to sell the dumb muscle routine.

She also couldn’t imagine that Mister Ruiz wasn’t aware of their little game.

“Then do it on your own time,” he said, though it didn’t sound like they were actually in trouble. “We have ruins to check and daylight is wasting away.”

Bria shrugged, finishing her last bites. Neth had already finished her own plate and rose primly. Mister Ruiz shot a distrusting glare at the Shrine Priestess as she took their plates away, but there wasn’t much he could do if she decided to join them. Which appeared to be the case, given she had just returned with her staff and Bria’s pack.

“I see no harm in tagging along. I’ve already helped out with supper, and I must say, the way your science can replicate magic is just fascinating.”

Bria grinned. “Like it isn’t impressive that you figured out working toilets that don’t need pipes.”

Pictures were passed along, showing some of those devices in action. She even had a few examples of basic light and fire contraptions, but not one would function without any mana in the air to power them. That made them safe to show the man, as did some of the pictures she took of the Slimes and Bees around the Shrine. The picture of the Basilisk laying dead would remain secure. He didn’t need to know the level of creatures that their group was able to slay.

The conversation didn’t draw in Mister Ruiz nearly as much as she expected, and she felt a bit sorry for his entourage. They seemed interested, but the muscle was expected to remain silent when the boss was working. Heading out into the jungle, they skipped the site that was already open and made their way towards the east point.

Upon arrival, she placed her hand upon the stone door just as she had before. Bria understood how the doors worked now, and had refrained from channeling any mana into the structure. He could deal with it, and stew over the mystery of why things weren’t working for the coming weeks.

As frustration mounted, Bria pulled her hand back and stepped away.

“You, magic girl,” Ruiz snapped, “try it.”

Neth-amii gave the man a passing glare, but she too placed her hand on the door and channeled nothing into the stone. After several seconds, she shrugged, and moved to stand beside Bria as the pair shared a private smirk. They would need to repeat the performance once more, but that wouldn’t be too big of a deal.

That was when she felt something dance through the air.

A sudden cry of elation rang out, accompanied by the grinding of stone as the door slipped open. Bria’s jaw hung slack as she watched it vanish into the stone. How? Was her very presence enough to open the doors? She’d grown stronger, so it was possible that between her and Neth they let enough mana into the air to trigger it.

Much like the prior passage, there was only one way to proceed.

“Well then, magic girls lead the way,” Mister Ruiz said, gesturing towards the darkened entry. “I’ll be right behind you.”

Bria took point, with Neth right behind her. The Russians took their positions around Mister Ruiz, ready to protect him if things grew too dangerous. Despite their skill, she very much doubted that they could do much against any creature that might be lurking within.

The stairs opened up after a few minutes of descent, the room being considerably more expansive than the previous chambers. They were on a raised portion overlooking a lower floor full of roving constructs that zipped along with electricity sparking off of them. Some vanished down ramps that led deeper into the structure, while still more emerged. More than that, there was a hum of mana in the air that Bria just knew would be enough to slowly restore her missing points given enough time.

The source of which was obvious, as on the opposite side of the chamber was a colossal gem suspended over a pedestal. Sparks of raw mana arched off of it, catching on coils of untarnished copper. Some of the machines moved past it, their little arms passing through the air in deliberate patterns.

It was a legitimate dungeon, and this one was on Earth. That shouldn’t have been possible, especially with how there was no naturally occurring mana anywhere on the planet. If there was, science would have already found it. Mister Ruiz would have looked into it by now, especially after her initial return. Speaking of the man, he was stepping forward as he took it all in. The wonderment never left his eyes as he turned a savage grin upon them.

“I daresay we might have just struck gold.”