In the afternoon, Shiba went out with the three family members and started to teach them how to use Earth Step.
The problem was that Shiba didn't have the slightest idea about how to teach others, so his explanations were really difficult to understand.
After a while, the middle-aged man said that maybe it was better to call everyone in the town. In the case that someone managed to learn it, maybe it would be able to explain to them better, but he didn't dare to say that bluntly, so the official reason was that it would be easier if they all tried to learn together.
Everyone in the town was overjoyed by the news. They all thought that the town reaped the karma they sowed for the second time since it was created.
They all knew that Shiba was a good guy who was trying to teach them earnestly, but he definitely had no idea about how to teach others.
"I succeeded!"
A man in his twenties was the first one to shout that.
"As expected of him."
Shiba heard several voices saying similar sentences after that man succeeded.
"Little brother, this skill is really easy to learn. I think that the problem you have is that others have worse affinity than you, so they can't have the same sensations as you. Your talent in this element is probably better than mine, given the time I needed to understand it."
The man walked to Shiba and just said what he thought.
Shiba was really bad at teaching, but with enough affinity to the earth element, it was possible to understand him. The problem was that although Shiba's overall talent wasn't considered good by Master Liye, that was on Master Liye's standards, and Master Liye even considered that his talent on the earth element wasn't bad, so he definitely was more suited to the earth element than most people.
Those at the town had worse talent than Shiba, and their affinities weren't the same, so learning Earth Step wasn't as easy for them as it had been for Shiba.
After all, the system gave Shiba a skill suiting him and his situation, which didn't mean that it was the best for others.
"You are?"
Everyone seemed to know who that man was, but Shiba had no idea. He had only interacted directly with the three members of the family that gave him a place to sleep.
"Young friend. He is the strongest in this town. Although he is still a Level 1 Mortal like the rest of us, his martial arts and swordsmanship are those of an expert. He usually is in charge of teaching the kids some self-defense."
The one who explained that was the middle-aged man.
The man in his twenties was like a hero for the people in the town. Since they couldn't advance to Level 2 Mortal, being an expert in martial arts and swordsmanship was already incredible.
"I see. No wonder he had been the first to learn Earth Step."
After muttering, he turned to the man in his twenties.
"I am not too sure about how talents work, but if you can help me to teach the rest, that will be for the best."
Shiba had no idea about how strong an expert on swordsmanship and martial arts was, but the name made it sound powerful.
Anyway, since the man in his twenties had experience teaching others, Shiba wouldn't reject his help.
He felt that a town with the tradition of helping anyone in need deserved to obtain a better life.
"Of course! I am always ready to teach them. It is just sad that what I had to teach was so limited before."
Although he was an expert in martial arts and swordsmanship, he never managed to teach someone else until that level. He had been only able to teach them the basic combat skills for surviving if one day, they faced danger.
He learned everything by himself when he went to travel like the eldest son of that family did. However, he returned in just a couple of years once he noticed that he wouldn't be able to obtain a skill and reach Rank 1 anyway.
He wanted to get strong to protect the people in his town, so returning to teach them how to defend themselves and act as the guard of the town easy enough for him.
After the change of teacher, the rest started to learn it slowly. Shiba couldn't help to feel a bit useless seeing that, but he couldn't be blamed for his lack of experience.
The man in his twenties knew about it, so he started to send those who learned it with Shiba. Once they had learned the skill, Shiba was able to explain to them how to use it efficiently.
The teaching season finished at dusk when the last person managed to learn it.
"This is enough for today. Let's go back before the weather worsens. Tomorrow more."
The man had enough authority to make everyone obey despite not having any official authority in the town, it was just that he earned the respect of the people. If he hadn't been born in that place, it wouldn't have been difficult for him to become someone important.
"Little brother, wait. I really want to thank you for wanting to teach this skill to us. We will never be able to pay you back, but we will remember this for generations."
As the only one in the town who had gone outside the town to travel, he knew better than anyone else how difficult it was that someone was willing to teach a skill to a random person.
Of course, there were academies willing to accept disciples, but they asked for exceptionally talented students or had very expensive fees, so there was no way someone with such a humble background could afford it.
"I was given a place to rest when I needed it. It was fate that made this possible."
Shiba didn't understand too much about fate, but he felt that it was cool to use the word since Master Liye used it. He really believed that was fate, but he wasn't Master Liye, who was versed on the topic, so Shiba's beliefs on that matter meant nothing.
He felt that since they could help him and he could help them and they met, it was a work of fate.
"We call this karma, but regardless of this matter, do you want to come to my house tonight? I have a huge room made for training."
Shiba didn't expect the invitation, and the same applied to the middle-aged man that was waiting for Shiba to finish speaking.
"Earth Step won't work well inside a house due to the floor."
Although the floor in the houses wasn't comparable to the artificial one used by his owners, it wasn't like the floor on the outside either. Moreover, Shiba feared that the floor would be damaged by using the skill there.
"I already guessed that much. Using it in that kind of terrain can work, but the floor will be harmed if not completely broken. No, I am not asking you for a private lesson. I want to teach you some martial arts. I can tell just with a sight that you don't have any battle experience, although you seem to have experienced being hit by others."
As someone considered an expert on martial arts, just by looking at how Shiba moved and his unconscious reaction, he was able to guess Shiba's complete lack of experience. As for why Shiba had been hit so much and not tried to defend, the man knew very well that for weaklings like them, some people shouldn't be offended, so enduring in silence was the wisest option.
A Level 2 Mortal like Shiba and an expert on martial arts and swordsmanship like that man were considered the strongest in that town, but in the outside world, they were too weak.
"I can't deny that. I also wanted to gain some battle experience, so I accept your offer."
There weren't so many hours in a day that they could be outside without suffering. Shiba had a stronger body than others, so he would be able to endure it, but for others, if they wanted to train at other hours, making a training room was the best they could do.
That man had reached the limits of his level long ago, so he could also resist quite a bit, but he didn't want the kids to imitate him.
Shiba followed that man while the middle-aged man returned to his home alone. He wanted Shiba to return with him, but he knew that it would be good for Shiba to learn how to battle.
Shiba was their benefactor for letting them learn Earth Step, so no one would be against Shiba managing to learn some martial arts. No matter how much Shiba learned, it wouldn't be comparable to the meaning Earth Step had for them.