BOOK 2: The Path of the Shameless Wanderer

Prologue

– "What am I doing? I'm running away." –

– "Why am I running away? Isn't it obvious? I can't possibly beat that man. He's stronger, faster and well-armored. There's no winning against that." –

– "Yes, I've beaten other men who are faster and stronger than me before. Trust me, this one's an entirely different story. He obviously has a rich battle experience and has probably snuffed the life of better fighters than me in the past. It all starts with that chainmail armor. With it he can trade damage for damage and, having better damage absorption, he'll naturally prevail. Now that, to me, is even more shameless." –

– "Why am I not trying to run as fast as I can? I'm pacing myself, that's why." –

…

– "So what if he had removed his chainmail? He still has that hard leather armor, and he's still faster, stronger and a lot more vicious than I am." –

– "Sheesh! Why should I fight him right now, when I can have a better chance later?" –

– "What am I doing now? I'm letting him catch up a little. You know, giving him false hopes." –

– "Shameless? Is that all you can say? What about brilliant or smart move? Even cunning and sinister sounds much better than your word choice." –

– "There, he's now removing his hard leather armor. Ha! Who told you to be too cowardly you'd have to be wrapped up with two armors before you could begin to fight?" –

– "Alright, in a short while I'm going to slow down my pace a little, let him catch up a little just to encourage him." –

– "That's not shameless! That's tactics." –

– "Why am I not fighting him yet? Because I'm waiting for the perfect opportunity. Like…Right now!"

"Now that you're totally warmed up, let's fight!"