Joshua looked over the man who was like a father to him. Smith was not a name given out lightly despite the number of people who took up the trade. Smith was only given as the last name of a tradesman who reached D rank in their skill. One in a million smiths might reach that level, and their weapons, armor, and tools were of a quality unsurpassed by dungeon drops or lesser tradespeople. His forefathers held a place in the history of the human kingdoms and Duke Janus's lands; he made the armor and weapons of heroes.
He went against tradition and chose to become a soldier. Lord Fist taught him the ways of the fist and helped him develop strong fist skills. He looked less than pleased with the hospitality as he pushed at the plate of pickled eggs Joshua gave him.
"Your bastard seems to be weak. Are you sure he's yours?"
"I only started his training four days ago. So, I would say his gains are exceptional. The boy knew how to take on skills that would benefit his training. I didn't have to tell him what to do; I just pointed him at a field and told him to plow." Joshua said.
"With his fists, you understand he's in the G- rank." Lord Fist said.
"I do," Joshua sipped his water. It tasted like blood, and there was only a hint of rotten rat.
Lord Fist stared at his cup of well water like it was poison. "Would you rather have fresh milk?"
Lord Fist tossed back the rancid water like a shot. "Those are fighting words, boy. I'm not here to rough house with you. I need someone I can trust, a tough-as-nails killer, that I can send at a problem and know it will be solved." Joshua felt his mana rise, exposing a deep violet to the air with specks of black mixed in it. "Scary, that boy isn't ready for the battlefield. Why haven't you gone inland away from this distant outpost? Do you want him to see his friends die when the Goths invade? I'm sure they'll take that centaur girl, chop her human half off, and cook up the horse flesh. Is that what you want him to see?"
"I hate him. Looking at him, I don't see myself; I see myself as a weakness that needs to be beaten. I thought teaching him my skill would make the feelings disappear, but seeing him only brings back old memories. Sometimes, I see myself snapping his neck and tossing him in the old well a few miles south of here." Joshua smiled, revealing big, blocky teeth. "Then I see him crushing boulders with his bare knuckles and feel the faintest sparks of pride. So I stay my hand and wait."
"Your skill Betrayal is F rank. It's your final skill to rank up to reach the E rank. Why not find some bandits, join them for a while, then kill them in their sleep or lead them into an ambush?" Lord Fist said.
"That option lacks the personal impact needed to cross the final threshold into the E rank. I can feel it when I've taught my son and formed a bond with him. It will be the best time to betray him and reach the next rank. That's why I'm teaching him, so he believes he can fight the Goths and survive."
"Why not get rid of the skill and rank up?" Lord Fist said.
Joshua smirked. "Why would I give up the skill that ensures I always have a choice? It doesn't matter what mind magics your mages try to inflict on me. I can always betray them."
"You were always loyal to the cause in your way. There are agents from the other world here scattered across the kingdom. We know their mission is to kill the hero before she can reach her full potential. I want you to train her beside your son. We'll extract her long before the Goths invade, but we want you to teach her your Strong Fist skill." Lord Fist said.
"Now, why would I train a child something like that? How old is she? 3 or 4? I would rather not deal with a kid barely out of diapers."
"You're right then. Why don't you come with us and teach her for about six months? We have a tamed dungeon where time passes differently. Six months can be three years inside it." Lord Fist said.
Joshua did the calculations. She was 9, not 3, and she would be 12 by the time they were done with the power of his signature skill behind her. Joshua was close to his son; the boy had already relied upon him and looked up to him like a hero. After he had protected the boy, it wouldn't be long before he trusted him as much as possible. That would be the perfect time to strike and finally reach the E rank.
"Before we go, I need to show the boy something. Which would you rather lose, a barbarian or a knight?"
Lord Fist gulped.
…
A solid hand gripped his shoulder, and Zack looked up to see Joshua Smith, who thought he was Zack's father. He might feel wrong about this, but the man barely cared about Zack anyway. They mostly avoided each other.
"Son, let me show you something. I want to broaden your horizons."
The retinue leader pointed to a man in yellow and grey armor with dark clouds and a yellow bird flying among them on his tower shield. "Ser Cloud of house Thunder and Ganon, the boulder defense formation." The two jogged out of line, and Ser Cloud pointed his tower shield in their direction while Ganon helped brace it. A yellow and grey glow of what Zack thought was visible mana covered the shield.
"You know how to slash and pulverize. But did you know a fist can pierce? I learned this after running a man through with my fist for the first time. Son, please pay attention to the way my mana moves. It's important if you want to jump ranks."
"I thought that was impossible."
"You know so little about me. Well, let me enlighten you. I am Joshua Smith, the strongest fist. Violet and black mana concentrated around his fist, and he punched the air."
Joshua's mana rippled and spun for a split second. If he had blinked, he would have missed it.
Zack watched as the fist paused in the air, and a hole the size of a basketball ripped through the tower shield. The bird and clouds were gone. The head of the man behind the knight rolled on the ground while bits of splintered bone stood up on the ground, twisted and warped along with pieces of metal. The knight's body fell in a twisted heap, and the barbarian's powerful legs landed beside him.
That was a single blow. An F rank had killed two E-rank defensive fighters effortlessly with one blow.
"Do you understand what makes a fist strong?" Joshua asked.
Zack stared at his scarred and slow-healing hand. Given enough time, it would eventually return to its proper shape. His fist was strong, and no matter how broken it was, it would return to its original shape. That was another part of the strong fist that slipped into the skill. Zack had known that it was powerful, but this confirmed that Joshua wasn't normal by any means. Were the soldiers here to protect the man in the carriage from Joshua?
No, he knew they were guards and not a parade, but would their numbers be enough to take on a man who could punch and turn people into meat."
"Can I have their corpses for the fields?" Zack asked.
Joshua paused at that and then smiled. The men looked at him astonished, and then they seemed to conclude.
"This is Zack, my son." Joshua fell to a knee to look Zack in the eyes. He rubbed Zack's bald head. It was strange how the gods made his body appear like Joshua's. "Listen, well, you may not have inherited my name, but my fist is the only thing I have worth anything in this world. I'm leaving for a job at the Duke. You're in charge until I get back. Keep up with your training and grow strong in my absence. The dungeon will open soon. You have my permission to enter it. Don't hold back or lower your head to those weak adventurers. Do what you like and show them what being a man is all about."
With that, Joshua stood up and entered the carriage. The men filed up, missing two of their numbers, and left. He watched them go with Thistle beside him until they were truly gone. Then he turned to the corpses.
"What do you plan to do with them? Their E rank, so their mana will be strong." Zack formed a portal using up a large amount of his mana.
He grabbed one of the barbarian's legs and tossed it inside. "I have my private field that grows larger, and the more mana I feed it. With these people to fertilize it, I can only imagine the growth." Zack said.
"Was that your birth skill?"
"Pretty nice, right?"
"Buck, yeah, it is. How large is it."
"About a meter, it needs lots of mana to grow," Zack said.
He tossed the body parts in and felt them degrade as he buried them with the monsters' guts. That was good. It hit the spot.
…
Three days later, he stared at his demi-plane.
Primordial World (Seed)
Level: 20/9999
Rank: G
Range: 59 cubic meters.
Zack converted the mana the rotten human flesh produced into more dirt and even added a small pond. Then, he grabbed the seeds from various trees and planted them. It worked out better than expected, especially after they caught some fish and added them to the other pond. They produced mana, further feeding his world simply by living. Excess mana produced could be directed to expand in any way he wanted. Zack grabbed a few rabbits from a burrow and added a breeding pair of foxes he found.
He was able to step up the time manipulation to just 10x with the amount of mana inside. When he wanted to view the inside, he could slow it down or speed it up. The range had begun increasing by a meter a day.
Zack was excited. His Demeter's Blessing allowed him to use the mana in space to hasten growth, and he did. Towering pop berry bushes filled the spaces with vast fields of clover and wildflowers. The rabbits were learning not to eat the electric flowers, causing natural selection to occur. The foxes seemed to learn how to tell when a rabbit had been shocked.
More rabbits and foxes were born, fish spawned, and time marched forward. He found more things to add to the demi-plane in the pond and fields. Zack had even added various bugs, and ecosystems were formed based on the traits of the plants. He loved to watch it every time he took a break from plowing a field. Zack was getting better every day and nearly completed his first field.
At the end of the week, he planned to go on a date with Thistle to the tavern to find anyone willing to join their party. He planned to add many monsters to his demi-plane in the dungeon and greatly expand it. Then, he would start hunting the creatures within and grill them. He sewed, and so too shall he reap.
Zack had many plans and had just begun his adventure in the new world. He had crossed one milestone and planned to cross another. He used a piece of root to clean his teeth and checked his boots. It took some time to clean and shine them for the night. He was a little nervous because Thistle would introduce him to one of her friends. She spoke of her before Milly, a hellhound that had made her home in town.