After Gareth and his men retreated, Elena spent ten minutes pacing around the tavern while muttering things that would have made a sailor blush. Ryo, meanwhile, sat on a wooden crate and tried to process what had just happened to him.
"So let me get this straight," Elena said finally, stopping her pacing to face him. "You've never had any combat training, you don't know any special techniques, and you have no idea why you can fight like that."
"That's about the size of it," Ryo confirmed. "Yesterday was literally the first time I'd ever been in a real fight. Before that, the most violent thing I'd ever done was... well, nothing, really."
"And you expect me to believe that you just naturally developed the ability to dodge attacks you can't see coming and land hits while falling down?"
"I don't expect you to believe anything," Ryo said honestly. "I wouldn't believe it either if I wasn't living it. But I swear on whatever gods this world has, I'm telling you the truth."
Elena studied his face for a long moment, then sighed. "Either you're the best liar I've ever met, or you're dealing with something way beyond normal human capabilities. And since I watched you deflect a crossbow bolt with your bare hand, I'm leaning toward the second option."
"So what does that mean?"
"It means you're either blessed by a god, cursed by a demon, or carrying some kind of magical artifact that's affecting your abilities," Elena said. "None of those are good things, by the way. Gods don't hand out blessings for free, demons always want something in return, and magical artifacts tend to have nasty side effects."
Ryo thought about the system messages that kept appearing in his vision. The blue windows that tracked his skills and gave him experience for everything from walking to accidentally winning fights. Elena hadn't mentioned anything about seeing them, which suggested they were either invisible to everyone else or he was losing his mind.
"What if it's none of those things?" he asked. "What if it's something else entirely?"
"Like what?"
Ryo hesitated. In his old world, he would have said "like a video game system," but that explanation wouldn't make sense to someone from a medieval fantasy setting. "What if I was born with some kind of natural talent that only showed up under stress?"
"Natural talent doesn't work like that," Elena said flatly. "You don't just wake up one day with the ability to fight master swordsmen. That kind of skill takes years to develop, and it requires understanding combat theory, timing, distance management, and about a hundred other things you clearly don't know."
"Then maybe it's something I inherited from my noble bloodline?"
Elena laughed, but it wasn't a pleasant sound. "Trust me, noble blood doesn't make you special. I've known plenty of nobles, and most of them couldn't fight their way out of a wet sack. Whatever's happening to you, it's not genetic."
[SYSTEM ANALYSIS] - Level 1
Experience gained for questioning the nature of your abilities
New skill acquired: [DECEPTION] - Level 2
Warning: Multiple skill progressions detected outside normal parameters
Initiating diagnostic protocol...
Ryo blinked as the blue window appeared, its message different from the usual congratulations. The system was apparently running some kind of self-check, which seemed ominous.
"You're doing it again," Elena observed. "That thing where you look like you're reading something invisible."
"Sorry, just thinking about everything that's happened."
"While we're on the subject of things that have happened," Elena said, settling onto another crate, "we need to talk about Gareth. He's not going to let this go. You humiliated him in front of his men, and that's the kind of thing that gets people killed in his line of work."
"So what's he going to do?"
"Probably gather more men and come back with overwhelming force," Elena said grimly. "Gareth's not stupid, just proud. He'll realize that whatever you can do, you can't fight twenty men at once. And he'll make sure there are no witnesses this time."
"What about you? Won't you stop him?"
Elena was quiet for a moment. "I'm good at what I do, but I'm not superhuman. If Gareth brings enough men, I won't be able to protect the whole village. He knows that, which is why he's never tried a direct assault before. But if he decides you're worth the risk..."
"Then he'll burn down the whole town to get to me," Ryo finished. "Great. I've been here two days and I'm already putting everyone in danger."
"It's not your fault," Elena said. "Gareth's been looking for an excuse to move against Millhaven for months. You just gave him one."
They sat in silence for a while, both lost in their own thoughts. Outside, Ryo could hear the normal sounds of village life continuing—people going about their business, unaware that their new neighbor had just painted a target on their community.
"There is one option," Elena said eventually. "You could leave."
"Run away, you mean."
"Strategically relocate," Elena corrected. "Find another town, start over somewhere else. Gareth's operation is centered around this area. If you went far enough away, he'd probably decide you weren't worth pursuing."
Ryo considered it. The smart move would definitely be to pack up and disappear before things got worse. He had no real ties to Millhaven yet, no obligations beyond a debt for grain that Elena would probably forgive under the circumstances.
But the idea of running away left a bitter taste in his mouth. He'd spent his first life trapped in a job he hated, too afraid of failure to take risks. His second life was supposed to be different. He was supposed to be braver, more decisive, willing to fight for what he wanted.
"No," he said finally. "I'm not running."
"Even if it means people might get hurt?"
"Especially because people might get hurt," Ryo said. "If I run now, Gareth wins. He gets to push around an entire village because one person couldn't stand up to him. That's not the kind of world I want to live in."
Elena smiled for the first time since the fight. "You know, that's either very noble or very stupid."
"Why can't it be both?"
"Fair point." Elena stood up and stretched. "All right, if you're staying, then we need to figure out how to defend this place. Because I guarantee Gareth is already planning his next move."
[DIAGNOSTIC COMPLETE]
Analysis: Subject exhibits impossible skill acquisition rate
Conclusion: Standard system parameters insufficient
Initiating adaptive protocol...
Warning: This adjustment may have unforeseen consequences
[SYSTEM EVOLUTION] - Level 1 activated
"What the hell?" Ryo muttered as the message appeared. The system was apparently rewriting itself in real time, which couldn't be good.
"What's wrong?" Elena asked, noticing his expression.
"Nothing," Ryo lied. "Just thinking about defenses. What do you know about those tunnels under the building?"
"They're extensive," Elena said, apparently accepting the change of subject. "The original mine network connected most of the buildings in the old part of town. If you knew your way around them, you could move from one end of Millhaven to the other without ever going above ground."
"Could an attacking force use them?"
"Maybe, if they had someone who knew the layout. But the tunnels are easy to defend if you know what you're doing. Narrow passages, limited sight lines, plenty of places to set up ambushes."
Ryo nodded, an idea starting to form. "What if we didn't wait for Gareth to come to us? What if we took the fight to him first?"
Elena raised an eyebrow. "That's a significant escalation. Right now, this is a personal dispute. If we attack his camp, it becomes a war."
"It's already a war," Ryo pointed out. "He just hasn't started fighting it yet. The question is whether we want to fight it on our terms or his."
"And what exactly are our terms?"
Ryo looked around his tavern, taking in the solid stone walls and the hidden entrance to the tunnel network. "We know the terrain, we have defensive positions, and we have something he doesn't expect."
"Which is?"
"Me," Ryo said simply. "He thinks he understands what I can do based on one fight. But I don't think I understand it myself yet. Maybe it's time to find out what these abilities are really capable of."
Elena studied him for a long moment. "You're talking about deliberately putting yourself in danger to test powers you don't understand."
"I'm talking about protecting my home," Ryo corrected. "This is where I'm going to build my new life. I'm not giving it up without a fight."
[RESOLVE] has increased to Level 3!
[TACTICAL PLANNING] - Level 2
New skill acquired: [LEADERSHIP] - Level 1
Achievement unlocked: Choosing to Stand and Fight
"All right," Elena said finally. "If we're doing this, we do it smart. No rushing in like heroes in a ballad. We plan, we prepare, and we make sure we have every advantage we can get."
"Agreed. So where do we start?"