Edward lets go of Arthur's leg and his weight disappears from my chest. I look up at Arthur and see Edward appear behind him like a phantom.
My instructor's assessment skill tells me that the skill he just used is called phantom movement. And the skill is only at level two.
Despite being level two the skill's effects are amazing. Arthur has no idea that Edward is behind him as he pulls back his leg. As I look on in horror Edward's hand flashes and Arthur sails through the air.
As he looks away from Arthur his gaze falls on me. He vanishes again and I immediately roll to the side. There's a loud bang on the boxing ring floor where I was lying. Edward has appeared there and attempted to stomp me.
I jump back to my feet trying to ignore the lethargic feeling that assaults my body. Edward flashes and I jump to the side avoiding another jab at my side. I can't tell when he's behind me at all! I'm completely relying on luck to just jump whenever I lose sight of him.
"Dodging won't save you."
The next time I dodge there is no one behind me and I feel a sharp pain from my lower back as I fly through the air. Edward must have predicted where I would go and moved to where I would be.
My back feels like it's literally on fire. Instructor's assessment tells me that Edward has a skill called deadly acupressure and I fear he just used it.
Hold up! Why the hell am I only looking at his skills after he uses them? Edward's level is higher than mine so I can't see his entire status but I can see a whole lot.
Before I can continue this train of thought any further an energy sword streaks past me and Edward vanishes to avoid it. Bearing the pain I turn my head and see Arthur climb back into the ring with a wooden training sword.
He must have used the time Edward was distracted with my dodging maneuvers to get to the rack of training weapons. I'm glad that he is back and looks more confident but I doubt Edward will let this slide. He clearly stated that this training was to be bare-handed.
"Using a weapon, eh? I guess we can elevate this sparring session to an armed one. However, do not complain about what happens now. Guy, you'd better get yourself a weapon too."
As expected Edward doesn't look too pleased. Out of nowhere, he pulls out two guns and starts firing at Arthur.
I drag my hurting body off the ring and sprint over to the weapon rack. I grab two wooden daggers and sprint back to the ring panting with exhaustion. Damn those poisoned drinks!
"Actually, the ring is a little small for armed combat. Seeing as the gym is currently not being used by anyone else I think we'll use the additional space to our advantage."
I'm grateful that I don't have to climb into the boxing ring again but giving Edward who is using long-ranged weapons more space to move around in isn't positive at all.
He somersaults off the ring and pelts Arthur with a few more bullets as he tries to follow. I take a moment to assess Edward hoping to familiarize myself with some of his abilities.
I can't see a complete status or anything but random skills pop into my head. It seems that when a skill is used I can tell what it is more easily.
He has a spatial pocket skill where he must gave gotten the guns from. Considering that he has that skill he probably won't run out of ammo anytime soon. He also has the gun mastery skill on level two which is the twice evolved form of gun use. He has the perception skill on level 24 so sneak attacks are a waste of time.
I want to look more but Edward has noticed that I'm assessing him. He must have heard about my instructor's assessment skill or at least be aware that I can see people's skills because he starts to focus his fire on me.
He's still firing the odd shot in Arthur's direction but I appear to have become the main target of his wrath. The bullets aren't real ones. They are made from some rubbery substance that prevents penetration but maximizes pain.
I try to slash the bullets with my wooden daggers but that seems to only ever work in movies.
What now?
That explanation is really useful and all but kind of useless right now. I keep getting pelted by rubber bullets as I try to dodge and hide around the gym.
I try to launch a counterattack a few times but Edward just creates some distance between us and sends me packing with another hail of bullets.
When the training ends I feel like someone I have been standing in the hail for hours. Edward puts away his guns and the doors to the gym unlock. Arthur had tried to leave midway so we found out that they were locked. Now that they are open Arthur sprints through them like his life depends on it.
"You aren't running away like that spineless fool? Looks like you are tougher than you look."
"As are you. I never would have taken you for a gunner. And to think your skill with the gun has evolved twice. It's very impressive."
"It's nothing to brag about. Before I died and became a monster I was an army gunner. Handling these things had been the content of half my life. Still failed me when I needed them most though."