"Did you get a lot weaker, Deed? Even a toddler would be far stronger than you." Erica said. "I even held myself back... or did you miss being hit by me like the old days?"
Just how strong are the people living in this world? I thought to myself.
"Come on, stand up. You really shouldn't slack off on your training." Erica said, reaching for my hands.
"At this rate, I'm gonna be the one that ends up protecting you, despite you being my bodyguard." Erica teased... but somehow that hit deep inside Deed.
"Can we spar and train more before going?" I asked.
"Well, if you say so. The food festival will be held in three weeks, but just so you know, I like arriving early." Erica said. She clearly didn't want to miss the event.
"But young lady, isn't your time precious? Why waste time on this peasant trash can?" One of her bodyguards said.
"I'm still the employer, and I hired him formally as my bodyguard. If Father or the head butler sees this, they might catch onto something." Erica said. "Besides, I'm still a noble. Helping the weak is still my duty... and it's not often for this slacker to be this motivated to train." She said, side-eyeing me with a smile.
"Prepare yourself, Deed." Erica said, readying herself to give me another beating.
'Null, listen. With the strength of my body at this age, my observation skills are still high. Since you're still getting used to it, focus more on using your eyes rather than trying to stop her attacks.' Deed said.
Observation. Erica right now only used her fan, and this wasn't even her main weapon from Deed's memories.
Deed mainly used a sword and he was a lefty. I'd seen the swordplay memories. I didn't notice it before, but despite being my first time holding a sharp sword like this, I wasn't scared. As Null, I was much more familiar with guns and rifles.
I sheathed my sword and got ready for hand-to-hand combat. Since I needed to get familiar with Deed's observation, holding a weapon I wasn't used to would only disturb my focus.
"Hoh, this is unusual. Are you looking down on me?" Erica said.
In this world, hand-to-hand combat was mainly used for duels. If your opponent held a weapon and you didn't, it was a sign of disrespect. The knowledge of this world seemed to flow right into me, but that didn't matter to me right now. I had to adapt fast so I could get stronger and protect her.
'Interesting. Perhaps due to Deed's memories merging with Null, he actually did something that we've never seen in his life before.' Zeroze said, noticing the changes in Null.
I changed? I asked myself.
If it were me as Null, without the memories of Deed... would I do this? In my world, I often avoided fighting because I hated pain. Everyone could be an agent, but not everyone dared to take the risk. In a realistic world, who the heck would choose to fight monsters as a full-time job and risk their life?
As a photographer, I only took pictures from a very safe distance. It was boring. It was a mediocre life. But compared to a job with a 90% death rate, it was a better choice. I saw it now... as Null, I wouldn't really take the risk to even spar or train.
What about as Deed? In this medieval world, he had no choice but to be stronger in order to survive. Not everyone here was kind, and being a peasant commoner meant your life was far less significant.
'But Deed only trained just enough to be strong.' Zeronoz said. 'The two of you don't have that much of a difference.' He continued, chuckling.
'If you were placed in his situation, you would do the same, right, Deed?' Roh said.
'If it was the younger version of me, it's obvious. In a modern world without any force making me be stronger, I would just leave it to all the agents to handle all that stuff.' Deed said, putting himself in Null's shoes.
'And don't you have the drive to be stronger now?' Zeronoz said. 'The enemy of your past lives is hunting you. Me!' He said like a maniac.
I recalled the scene that almost killed me. My situation was direr than ever. Being killed without fighting back... I didn't want that.
Half an hour passed. An hour. Two hours. Three. It all ended with me on the ground. I still couldn't see or react to any of Erica's or her bodyguard's attacks. They actually took turns training me, even having a tea party while doing so.
Aren't I just being bullied here?
Looking into the sky while lying on the ground, I unconsciously asked myself: How? Being a photographer, I was very confident with my eyes. Yet the way Erica and her bodyguards moved still couldn't be grasped. It was like time just stopped and they disappeared.
'Bingo.' Zeroze said.
'Eh? Did they stop time?' I asked curiously.
'Not quite.' Roh said.
'Shouldn't you tell him already, Deed? This is getting boring.' Zeronoz said, yawning.
'Tell what?' Deed said, genuinely confused.
'Wait, you don't know yourself?' Zeronoz asked.
'Yeah, I don't understand what you mean.' Deed said.
'Perhaps it's due to the world difference.' Roh said. 'For him, it's already normal in this world.'
'Well, what happened was, every time you tried to hit them, they dodged.' Zeroze explained.
'I don't see the problem there.' Deed said.
'Time slows down for them when they dodge, you idiot knight.' Zeronoz said, frustrated.
'Isn't that normal? I mean, Null saw my memories already.' Deed said.
'Time slows down?' I asked.
'Yeah. Look into my memories so far... don't you find it?' Deed said.
'Hmm...' I tried to remember.
'Just remember back when Deed possessed your body. How time slowed down when he dodged the attack from the eldritch monster.' Roh said.
'Ahh, that time.' I said, remembering the scene.
'In this world, every dodge will slow down time for the dodger.' Zeroze said. 'You know, like those hack-and-slash games?'
'Ahh, I get it now.' I said.
'Hack-and-slash games? Isn't that a game where Null is quite good but almost never finishes it?' Deed said.
'Instead of being the one that rushes first and attacks...' Roh said.
'They won't even try to attack me first.' I said.
'Just be patient.' Roh said.
'Now that you say it, it's just so natural for us to never attack first so we can dodge and counterattack during that time.' Deed explained.
'You're an awful teacher, Deed.' Zeronoz complained.
Deed scratched his head.
'Remember, never try to attack first. Be the one that dodges instead.' Roh said.
"One more time." I said, standing up and facing Erica and the others.
"Don't you get tired already?" One of her bodyguards said.
"It's fine. I'm sure this'll be a good workout for him before we try a lot more food after this." Erica said, readying her fan again.
This time, however, I just readied myself to dodge if she attacked.
I waited...
Erica waited...
I waited longer...
Erica waited longer...
"So you're not gonna attack first? Then don't mind if I do." Erica rushed toward me.
I could see it! I was filled with such excitement that I almost forgot to dodge. It wasn't too fast. I rolled on the ground to avoid her attack.
"Donkey roll?!" One of her guards said.
When rolling, I felt as though time slowed down, but I couldn't really see where she was since I was rolling away from her.
'3... 2... 1...' Zeroze counted.
Suddenly, time started moving properly again and, as usual, I got hit.
Time did slow down... but what's the use if I'm also slowed down? I criticized myself.
'It seems like it'll take more time for him to get used to this world.' Roh said.
As I lay on the ground, Erica looked at me, dissatisfied.
"Seriously? A donkey roll? Have you no pride, Deed!" Erica said, pointing her weapon toward me.
'Did I do anything wrong?' I asked my other self.
'Well, it's just an etiquette thing. You don't need to worry much about it.' Deed said. 'For an honorable person in this world, a donkey roll is the most humiliating thing you could do in a fight.'