I thought about what she said, and nodded. Our systems did indeed seem promising together. I suddenly remembered the chest I received earlier. I went to my inventory and opened it. Hailey stopped talking and watched me open my chest in anticipation. The same bright light appeared and disappeared after a brief moment.
[100 gold obtained.]
[Novice Leather Bracers (Grey) obtained.]
[Identifying Goggles (Grey) obtained.]
The Bracers increased my strength by a small .01 but any increase was acceptable. The Goggles would allow me to inspect 10 creatures, before they would break. They also added a .02 increase to my intelligence, however I couldn't know the effect that would have for now, since it seemed minimal.
"You can close your mouth, Hailey. I only received arm Bracers and some [Identifying Goggles]." I put the Goggles on, and Hailey explained that you can choose to hide your gear so it's invisible. I did, since I would be ridiculed if I were to walk around with Goggles everywhere.
"Have you... um... Thought about going back into the dungeon anytime soon?" Hailey asked, seemingly nervous.
"I was planning to exercise then train my swordplay a bit. Since you're here, do you want to spar with me? I've never used a sword before so I need practice if I'm going to use it, and I figure you wouldn't mind practice too. I'm going to go back into the dungeon later tonight, I want to get stronger and see what I can get with my talent." I said, getting up and stretching. I was in some shorts and a t-shirt so I just turned on the TV to the yoga program from yesterday.
"Um, Theodore, you're pretty young now that I look at you, how did you manage to buy my father's house? It's not the most expensive but you must have a pretty good job if you bought it." Hailey said, a little red in the face for an unknown reason.
"You can exchange gold you earn for money. It is in the shop feature, you can buy $10,000 for 10 gold. I had a lump sum of cash on hand before, so I used that to pay for the house and everything else is money I've earned from the dungeon. You should save your gold for items if you can. Potions are expensive so if you find one be sure to hold on to it."
After sharing things we found about the system together, we both were a little sweaty from the yoga program. Hailey realized that yoga was much harder than it seemed, and after we ordered some food to be delivered, we began to practice our swordplay together.
Hailey was also an amateur like me, she did not adhere to the basics, and the theory of how to fight with a shortsword and shield. She continued to rush at me, being extremely aggressive but not mindful of her own defense. As we exchanged blows, the both of us came to the same realization: we were terribly mismatched with our weapons. We took a look at each other, and handed our weapons over without a word.
I was too defensive, the rapier was not a good choice for me at this point in time. From there the fight was much more productive. She raced around me, looking for weak points while I slowly advanced. As I began to get more accustomed to the style, I became aware of my shield positioning, as I moved and attacked. I could use the shield to guard my vitals as I went forward aggressively, allowing me to put the pressure on her.
**** Hailey's POV ****
'I thought this dude was supposed to be an amateur! He's so tough to deal with, he continues to walk forward, playing only to his strengths and not relying on openings. It's so hard to feint him because he moves his sword to attack whenever he is going to guard, which allows him to do both simultaneously.'
Hailey took a step back to catch her breath, she knew she was also improving greatly. Her footwork had gotten better since they started and exchanged weapons. She was paying closer attention to the step placement she needed to circle an enemy. Which steps she can attack from, and which steps her balance wouldn't allow her to attack from.
The two of them stopped once the food arrived, and so they both sat down in the backyard to eat.
'Theodore really is talented though. He started at the same time as me, and he's improved this much. He's young, kind, and talented. He's not that bad looking either!' Hailey began to blush a bit, taking a sip of her water to mask it.
"So what do you think of me?" Theodore suddenly said. Causing Hailey to choke on her water.
'What do I think of him?! Can he read my mind? Maybe I was making it too obvious with how much I was looking at him.'
As Hailey had these thoughts, Theodore spoke again. "I think the sword and shield are good for me now, and I'm pretty comfortable using them in combat. I feel much better going into the dungeon tonight after this practice. I just wanted to know what you think my weak points are, so I can pay attention to them until I resolve the problems."
'Oh. Well, of course he wasn't talking about that kind of stuff... He really can't read a girl though, or maybe he just sees me as a child since I'm only 19..'
Hailey shook her head to clear her thoughts before answering Theodore seriously.
"You're good at it all, your biggest weakness would be your unfamiliarity with swords. Also, you can use your shield as a weapon, not just to block. Other than that, I think you're pretty good by amateur standards. I wonder if we will have any chance to find a teacher for ourselves, it would be nice to learn some actual techniques."
"There are skill books sold in the shop. They're expensive though, the lowest ones being several hundred to 5,000 gold. Weapon styles are sold for even more, being tens of thousands with (Mythical) ranked books being worth millions of gold. I was looking at the shop when you brought up techniques so I figured I'd look." Theodore replied, fiddling in the air.
As he was looking in his shop, Hailey continued to steal glances at his face. 'I'm sure there's nothing wrong with me just looking at him casually, right?'
Hailey was lost in thought while Theodore was oblivious to the girl's feelings.