Frank laughed heartily as he watched the team train their Arcane Resistance. Amy would cast Arcane Explosion, generating a dome-shaped blast of energy that would sweep over the other four members. Being hit by the spell disoriented them for a moment, causing them to either fall or stumble around as if drunk. The spectacle, Frank could now fully appreciate how ridiculous he must've looked, seeing Bill flail his arms trying to keep his balance had Frank in tears.

He couldn't participate since his Arcane Resistance was higher level than Amy's spell, making him immune to it, but as he wiped tears from his eyes, Frank felt no need to complain. Sadly, all good things come to an end, and several minutes later Amy ran out of mana. Next, Margaret and Frank burned through their mana using Fire Bolt and Lightning Bolt. Afterward, Frank and the other men trained their combat skills, while Amy and Margaret meditated.

They followed Kareem's advice and trained specific aspects of combat, rather than just fighting. To start with, they went with one person attacking for 30 seconds, while the other defended, then switching the roles. It proved very effective, and Frank's Parry and Dodge skills increased rapidly. Still, as they went through various training modes, he had to admit that the other men had improved quite a bit, compared to the first day, when he showed them some basics.

Hank was incredibly annoying to land a hit on, his shield offering him easy protection. Plus, he had picked up the Shield Bash skill, forcing Frank to pay extra attention to the shield, in order to avoid getting stunned by the skill. Bill's dual-wielding style continued to bear fruit, as he became increasingly ambidextrous, able to use a weapon in his left hand just as good as in his right. Frank had to push himself, the saber whistling through the air, as he struggled to parry the avalanche of blows Bill sent his way. But the biggest improvement belonged to Kevin. The new spear allowed him to use slashing attacks, which instantly increased his power and variety of attacks several-fold. Frank found it increasingly difficult to block the powerful attacks the spear produced and had to rely on redirecting the weapon's momentum instead. The wide swing did leave Kevin somewhat exposed, but the issue would likely be resolved by increasing his physical attributes.

After two hours of training, the men needed a break as well. Frank slumped to the ground feeling both proud of how far his teammates have come, but also somewhat sad that his own prowess had fallen behind. Just a matter of time until I catch up to them, Frank thought as he settled down and began meditating. It only took him five minutes to get all of his resources to full. He got up and looked at his teammates expectantly, after a while, Kevin waved his arm, and Frank blasted him with three Lightning Bolts. The fun part over, Frank used his active skills to expend his stamina and R mana, before returning to meditation.

Scanning the area around them, Frank noted that there were about seven other teams training, a range was also set up near the base, where a dozen people, including Helen and Demi, were shooting bows. Frank's team continued to train. During breaks for meditation, he would absentmindedly note what the other people did. Most of the groups continued to train, but the archers left the range after just a few hours, all except the two women they rescued. After a while, another dozen people showed up to practice archery. Still, Frank was surprised at how few people were training, and the two or so hours that the first group of archers trained seemed too short. He was so struck by his observation, that he asked Margaret about it.

“Steve has some fifteen people crafting, Carol has like five, then some seventy people are cutting trees, transporting them to the base, working on them here, and building a rampart inside the base as well as setting up some simple shacks. That leaves about sixty people or ten teams, most of them are here training,” she explained as the group returned to the base.

“That is to say, only half the people are training for combat?” Frank asked, arching his eyebrows.

“The others do too, they just don't spend all of their time training. Not everyone is as driven as you,” Margaret shrugged. “Plus, the threat of imminent death has been pushed back.”

“But has it?” Frank mumbled. Their earlier encounter with the Bragarth clearly pointed at the presence of danger. But, the base hasn't been attacked, the threat isn't quite as in your face as it was before, Frank reasoned.

At the base, they filled their plates with food, though it was the same stuff they had yesterday: cooked wolf meat and the various fruits the System created. Frank couldn't complain, he's gotten quite hungry after the hours of training, and he found the food to be delicious. On top of the food that Carol served, the group enjoyed eating the poisonous red berries they've found in the forest. The berries were delicious, a mix of chocolate and mint-like icy sensation, while the poison was rather weak, causing 2 damage every two seconds for ten seconds. Frank smiled as he received a message about obtaining poison resistance, as he threw a handful of berries into his mouth.

You have learned a skill, Poison Resistance, level 1: History is full of powerful figures whose life was cut short by poison. You took the first step to avoid such fate. Make no mistake, there are many magic schools that cause similar effects, this one resistance won’t save you from being “poisoned.” This skill improves your resistance against poison.

While Frank wondered how high he could raise his resistance just by eating berries, someone had come over and called his name. Turning to look at the newcomer, Frank was surprised to see Kareem.

“Hey, Frank. Want to help me with an experiment?” The man asked after Frank greeted him.

“What kind of experiment? And why me?” Frank asked, he planned to train some more, and check with Steve to see what he was able to make out of the Bragarth.

“I'd like to test a few things in regards to HP. And I need you because the tests... involve some pain,” Kareem answered.

“What about HP? It seems pretty straightforward,” Frank said, ignoring Amy, who snorted when Kareem mentioned the tests involving pain.

“Only at first sight. Mm, games use hit points to represent total life. A wolf deals 10 damage, a dragon deals 100 damage. But the System doesn't use hit points, instead, we have Healing Pool, which suggests that the HP doesn't represent damage taken, but rather how much is needed to restore it,” he waited for Frank to nod before continuing. “If that's the case, does it mean that there is no difference between a wolf tearing off your arm and a dragon doing the same, because the injury is identical, and would, therefore, take the same amount of HP to restore? But strength is supposed to increase damage.”

Frank tossed a few berries into his mouth as he considered the man's words. Was strength’s only use in that it allowed one to puncture through tough hide and armor? Or did it somehow increase the damage an injury caused? Frank rubbed his chin as he thought about the issue. But Kareem wasn't expecting an answer, and instead continued to talk.

“Then there is the question of how long it takes to restore an injury, and just how exactly HP works. For instance, during your fight this morning, Bill was injured and it took several minutes before his injury began to heal. Not only that, but he was losing HP all the while. Why? If the HP you lose initially is meant to represent how much is needed to restore the damage, why was he continuously losing HP? Was it just to account for blood loss? And why did it take so long for the healing process to kick in? Is it based on the severity or something else?” Kareem paused for a few seconds, then continued while looking at Frank. “I have some theories, but I need you to help me test them. What do you say, Frank?”

“Well, you've sparked my curiosity, as for pain, I should be able to deal with it,” Frank said as he checked his skills: Pain Tolerance, level 21.

“I am glad to hear it. Come,” Kareem said, as he extended his hand and pulled Frank up.

Frank ignored the teasing comments from his team and followed Kareem out of the base and around it. Soon he saw a group of three men standing near the fence, chatting. The men were distracted enough not to notice them until they got within earshot. As the three turned toward them, Frank recognized one of them as Gabriel, the man facepalming when he saw them.

“Shit, I didn't think he'd find another one,” Gabriel said dejectedly.

“Come on, the old man was the obvious choice,” one of the other men said with a laugh.

“Yea, I shouldn't be surprised to see you,” Gabriel spoke addressing Frank, “still, this guy is a real sadist,” he added, gesturing at Kareem.

“I just want to run some tests. Besides, Frank already had his arm severed,” Kareem replied.

“Um, wait, do you want to cut off my arm?” Frank asked, turning to face Kareem.

“What? No,” Kareem said, his exaggerated tone highlighting the absurdity of the idea. “I shouldn't need more than a hand.”

“Seriously? I don't know, cutting off a hand is a bit much even for me,” Frank shook his head as he started to back away.

“Just think about all the Pain Tolerance skill ups you will get from it. The higher the pain, the higher the gain,” Kareem said while looking Frank in the eyes and nodding his head.

After a short inner struggle Frank agreed, making Gabriel bust in a laugh.

“Haha, tempting him with skill levels is just dirty,” Gabriel laughed, “I guess there is no way out of it now.”

“Good. First, what are your exact stats for constitution, vitality, and endurance?” Kareem asked as a thin plank of wood and a metal pen-like object appeared in his hands.

“Twenty constitution, five vitality, thirty endurance,” Gabriel said.

“Three constitution, twenty-one vitality, and twelve endurance,” Frank said, moving closer to get a better look at the items in Kareem's hands.

“The plank can be used in lieu of paper, and the pen works by channeling D mana through it,” Kareem explained as he wrote down their information, the pen-like item burned the letters into the wooden plank, rather than using ink. “I'll go first, and I have five strength,” he added.

Then he retrieved a three-feet tall and two-feet wide tree trunk from his ring and placed it on the ground. “Alright, let's start by cutting off your left pinky. Just place your hand on the trunk,” Kareem said nonchalantly.

Frank hesitated for a moment, prompting Gabriel to move. “The sooner we get started, the sooner it will be over,” he said, kneeling by the trunk and placing his left hand with the pinky finger extended on top of it.

“OK, what I am looking for is how much damage is done initially, how much damage is taken afterward, and how long it takes until the injury starts to heal. I'll keep the count for the latter, so just pay attention to the first two things, alright?” Kareem asked, as he knelt beside the trunk, a knife appearing in his hand.

He placed the tip of the knife an inch away from Gabriel's finger and looked at the man expectantly. After an affirmative nod, he rolled the knife on its side, severing the finger in one smooth motion. Gabriel let out a groan through clenched teeth, his whole body trembling for a moment. For a few seconds, the muscles on his jaws twitched, as he drew labored breaths, then the pain seemed to subside. He opened his mouth and exhaled, and wiped the sweat from his forehead. His shoulders continued to heave up and down as his breathing returned to normal, as they waited for the healing process to kick in.

“Hmm, sixteen seconds before it started to heal,” Kareem noted on his wooden plank once the restorative process began.

“Two HP initially, nothing after,” Gabriel informed.

Now, it was Frank's turn. He placed his hand on the top of the trunk, and Kareem severed his finger with the same move. That seems way too practiced, Frank noted of the man's technique, as he groaned through clenched teeth. Hmm, the pain isn't too bad, other than the initial shock, it's about the same as stubbing your toe.

“Fifteen seconds, interesting,” Kareem noted the time.

“Two HP initially, then one HP at the very end,” Frank reported.

“Alright! Getting results already. The time before healing must be influenced by Vitality. OK, now let's test a normal attack for the same damage,” Kareem exclaimed, as he recorded the findings.

For this one, they simply extended their arms, allowing Kareem to slash them lightly. He couldn't quite control the damage of the attacks, but after a few tries they had the reading for three, four, and five damage.

“In both cases injuries began to heal after five seconds. Strange, did I miscount the first time?” Kareem wondered as he rubbed his chin. “Anyway, Gabriel took no subsequent damage, while Frank lost one HP from each of the three attacks,” Kareem summed up the results. “Looks like severed parts result in a longer timer before the healing kicks in.”

The next test involved Kareem chopping off their left wrist. This one was much more painful, and Frank nearly blacked out as he squeezed his bleeding arm with his right hand, groaning through clenched teeth. The pain didn't let up until the healing kicked in, allowing Frank to breathe a sigh of relief. He was also pleased to see a message about his Pain Tolerance leveling to 22.

“Hmm, sixteen seconds, ten HP initially, and around one HP lost every two seconds for Frank. Twenty seconds, the same initial and no further damage for Gabriel,” Kareem said, looking at the new notes. He looked at the two test subjects in deep thought, before continuing. “I know I said your hand should be enough, but I need more data points. How about having your arm cut off at the elbow?”

“This fucking guy,” Gabriel said shaking his head. Frank couldn't agree more. It was one thing to stick a sword through his arm, the dull pain was quite easy to manage. But getting extremities severed? That was truly painful.

“For science? Don't you guys want to know what sort of damage to inflict on your foes?” Kareem pleaded.

“I just hit things,” Gabriel shrugged.

“Cutting things off seems to be the way to go, that's good enough for me,” Frank concurred.

Kareem threw his arms in the air, in an exaggerated gesture of giving up. But the pain didn't stop. Next, they tried to first cut off a finger, then sever the whole wrist. Surprisingly, the severed wrist resulted in only losing eight HP, instead of ten. This discovery had some serious implications for combat, as it meant that overlapping damage only counted the first time. Their curiosity sparked by this discovery, both Gabriel and Frank experienced a short lapse in judgment and agreed to provide Kareem with more data points. He seemed quite ecstatic at the chance to cut off their arms.

Once the metal sliced through his flesh, Frank immediately regretted his decision. The pain was on the same level as when he lost his arm to the Bragarth, leaving him a quivering mess. He was still clenching his teeth, a low groan escaping from his lips when the healing process began. As the bones, tendons, tissue, and skin began to grow back, one of the two unnamed men doubled down and vomited, unable to bear the sight.

“That's fucking disgusting. Why are we doing this after dinner?” He complained as he wiped his mouth. No one answered him, as Kareem recorded the new info.

“Initial damage is thirty. Gabriel's healing time is thirty-three seconds and no further damage. Twenty-one seconds for healing to kick in, along with an alternating loss of one or two HP every second for Frank. Wow, the follow-up damage almost doubled the HP lost,” Kareem summed up the new results before falling silent for a while. “Looks like Frank's injuries result in a continued loss of roughly five percent of the initial damage.”

“And Gabriel? Why isn't he taking any further damage?” Frank asked.

“Have you checked the description for Metal Shards? It mentions something called a Buffer and provides the formula to calculate it, constitution times two, minus strength. Given our attributes, his Buffer would be thirty-five, assuming that Buffer absorbs the initial damage to reduce the follow-up loss...” he started to mumble something incoherent, seemingly deep in thought, “Gabriel, let's do it again, this time I will use Power Attack to boost my strength.”

The sound of gnashing teeth came from Gabriel, but he nonetheless complied. Frank felt bad for the guy, as he watched him suffer through the painful ordeal. Still, the results were worth it. This time, Gabriel finally suffered damage after the initial one, losing one HP every four seconds. Seemingly confirming Kareem's theories.

True to his sadistic nature, Kareem wanted to test more things, but they decided to take a small break to let Frank and Gabriel recover from their suffering. While they tried to relax, Frank asked Gabriel where his team went after lunch.

“The scouting team found a camp of about two dozen level 20 goblins, around five miles away from here. They didn't feel confident attacking them on their own, so they returned and grabbed a couple teams to help with the monsters,” he explained.

They continued to chat for half an hour, then the pain returned. They tested regular, high-damage injuries by getting stabbed through the shoulder. They tested the difference in damage from having their wrist severed first, before getting the arm cut off. Lastly, they tested if the severed parts could be reattached.

Frank sighed in relief when Kareem said that he was done, but his peace was short-lived. Next, Kareem had the two men that were with them the whole time, do the cutting as they repeated about half of the tests. Both men had ten strength, while one had Bleeding Wounds, and the other didn't. More gnashing of teeth and low-voiced curses followed as the severed extremities formed a small mound beside the blood-drenched tree trunk. The only things that kept Frank from leaving were his curiosity and the frequent level-ups of Pain Tolerance.

More than two hours later they were finally done.

“If we ever start giving out nicknames, yours should be the Butcher,” Gabriel told Kareem sincerely.

“Abusing a senior citizen is a federal crime, you know,” Frank added, glaring at the man.

“Fine, I probably went overboard,” Kareem conceded.

“Probably?!” Frank said, his voice filled with outrage, but Kareem just waved him off.

“But we've learned many things. The effects of strength, constitution, and vitality on follow up damage and time before recovery begins. That severed parts can't be reattached, that overlapping damage only counts the first time, and that Bleeding Wounds boosts the follow-up damage, rather than actually causing the target to bleed more. And finally, that healing works on first in, first out basis, and each injury has its own timer before restoration begins. That's very important for combat, no?” Kareem listed all the results of their suffering.

“Be that as it may, I won't be assisting you in any further tests,” Frank assured him. Gabriel nodded energetically as well.

“That's fine, I've learned enough already. Although, I did want to test how magic damage works...” Kareem stopped speaking as the faces of his test subjects darkened. “But I'll find someone else for that! Thank you two for the help, I know it was hard on you,” he added quickly, bowing his head lightly. “Well, I am off.”

Kareem left, and the two men quickly followed him, leaving Frank alone with Gabriel.

“Fucking Butcher,” Gabriel sighed, looking at retreating Kareem.

“Yeah, that was quite painful. Mind you, not as bad as the back pain I had a few years ago,” Frank nodded. “What should we do with these?” He asked, gesturing at a small mound of fingers, hands, and arms laying beside the tree trunk.

“Burn them? Though the smell would be bad. Bury them then?” Gabriel asked.

Frank nodded, and the two of them quickly dug a hole to bury their severed body parts.

“If only we had alcohol. I could use a drink,” Gabriel said with a sigh. Frank grunted affirmatively as he wholeheartedly agreed. “Hmm, do you want to spar? It's the next best thing to help you clear up one's mind,” Gabriel offered.

Frank gave it some thought, before nodding slowly. “Alright, let's do it. But go easy on me, I only have 108 HP.”

“Got to up your constitution, old man. Especially now that we know what it does,” Gabriel said as he got into a stance. “Ready?”

Frank held his saber in his right hand, pointing it at the ground, he extended his left hand and beckoned.