Zeke tried to raise his shield in time to intercept the blow, but he was too slow. A split-second later, a weighted training sword crashed into his armored shoulder. His armor didn’t clang like metal; instead, it sounded more like plastic. However, it held up to the attack well. There were no dents. No scratches. It was entirely unmarred, despite the punishment it had received over the past few days.

“Too slow,” said Master Silas, standing nearby with his hands in his voluminous sleeves. “You do not utilize your full stats.”

Zeke grit his teeth, but he didn’t refute the man’s claim. Before he’d come under Silas’s tutelage, he had considered himself a capable warrior. After all, he’d massacred whole populations of monsters; didn’t that mean he was powerful and skilled? His one spar with Silas had put the lie to that notion, and his subsequent matches against the men and women training to be Radiant Guards had further disabused him of that assumption.

It wasn’t surprising. He’d never had any formal training. Instead, he’d relied on his overwhelming stats, [Leech Strike] skill, and a certain willingness to take a beating. None of those things made him a skilled warrior. Talented, perhaps, but he’d learned long ago that talent could easily be trumped by hard work. He couldn’t count the number of gifted athletes he’d seen fall by the wayside because they were lazy or unmotivated. Thankfully, he’d never been afflicted with either of those diseases, and even if he had been, his father had been there to push him forward. If the man’s methods hadn’t been so abusive, Zeke might have been thankful.

Zeke sighed. “I know,” he said. “I’ll get it right.”

Indeed, fighting with a shield was so unlike what he’d been doing over the course of the previous few years. Before, he’d spared little thought for defense, save for dodging here and there. But now? Now, he had to pay attention to the slightest of twitches so he could get his shield up in time. It was quite a shift in mindset, and he was admittedly struggling with it. But even without Silas’s insistence, he knew it would be a better way to fight – especially when it came to battles with other people, which he suspected would become more common the longer he stayed attached to civilization.

“You need a break,” the older man said. The nameless guard-in-training backed away at a nod from Silas. “Come with me.”

“I can keep going,” Zeke insisted.

“Perhaps,” Silas allowed. “But sometimes, we need a little distance for certain lessons to sink in. Right now, the only cure for your bad habits and lack of technique is time and practice. It will not come in a day.”

“I know, but –”

“Enough,” Silas cut him off. “I admire your tenacity. If my other trainees had even half your staying power, the guard would be unmatched in all the Radiant Isles.”

Zeke almost blushed at the compliment, but he remained silent.

“You don’t have the foundation for this. Not yet,” he said. “Most of the time, our trainees spend years learning the basics before they’re expected to hold their own in a spar. You want to do it after three days. That you’ve even come close to holding your own is a testament to your talent. But there are limits, and you have a mission to complete.”

Zeke stowed his mace and shield in his spatial storage before running his hand through his sweaty hair. He’d been at it for hours, cycling through four different training partners. In a real fight, he could’ve easily outlasted any of them. But in a spar? He was sorely outmatched by even the greenest of trainees. It was frustrating, even if he knew it was necessary if he ever wanted to harness his own abilities.

It had been three days since Silas had offered them the mission, and they’d used that time well. While he trained with the would-be Radiant Guards, Abby was in the city gathering supplies and intelligence for their trip north to ascertain the fate of Talia Nightingale, the daughter of Lady Constance, who was supposed to be the most powerful woman in the Radiant Isles. When he’d asked why they had been offered such a mission, Silas had only said that they were uniquely suited to infiltrate the Micayne Estate.

In a way, it made sense. Zeke and Abby had cleared out the Nightweb Ravine. The Micayne Estate shouldn’t be much different, save for the flavor of the monsters. Abby had disagreed, but only on the basis that undead were different than any other creature. But due to Zeke’s durability and Abby’s [Cure Disease] skill, they would stand a better chance than most.

Abby hadn’t been convinced, though, and when she pressed, Silas had revealed that there was some sort of conflict between Lady Constance and Abraham Micayne. If she sent Radiant Guards, there was every chance that it would start a war. And no one wanted a war with an undead horde. Such a conflict could easily get out of hand and spread across the entirety of the Radiant Isles.

For his part, even though he knew there was likely far more to it than what he’d been told, Zeke didn’t need much convincing. He’d already planned on going north at some point, if for no other reason than that he wanted to figure out why the Crystal Spiders were kidnapping people and taking them in that direction. But he also found the idea of having an endless horde of undead from which he could farm experience attractive.

Finally, Silas had pointed out that a couple of people and a bear could sneak around the bulk of the undead horde and arrive at their destination a lot more easily than a group of armed and armored Radiant Guards, who were not known for their stealth or subtlety. That, as much as the offered reward, which was substantial, had tipped the balance for Abby, and she’d immediately started making her plans for the trip. Silas had provided them with as much intelligence as he had at his disposal, but he’d left the supplies up to them.

In the meantime, he’d decided to address Zeke’s weaknesses by training him until they left on the mission. Zeke had jumped at the chance, and though he still wasn’t anywhere close to skilled, he’d latched onto the training like it was a lifeline. It wasn’t really a surprise, considering how integral training and practice had been in his old life.

Silas led him from the training ground and to his office. Once they were inside, he said, “You are already stronger than me. Did you know that? Your stats are ridiculous. But you have no idea how to use them. Nor do you utilize your martial path to its fullest extent.”

Zeke sighed. “I know,” he said. He’d felt as much already. In battle, he wasn’t nearly as agile as his stats suggested he should be; the only stat he managed to truly harness was his strength, and that was only when he found his back against a wall and the adrenaline began to pump through his veins. “I’m trying.”

The man harumphed. “I know, boy,” he said. “You’ve already improved, and in only three days. If I had a year with you…well, you could rival Abdul Rumas himself!”

Over the past few days, Zeke had heard a lot of about Abdul Rumas, who was supposed to be something of a legend. A paladin whose skills made him a powerful defensive warrior, he was what many of the Radiant Guard aspired to become. And he’d been part of the party that had gone missing in the Micayne Estate, which probably should have been a hint at just how dangerous the mission Zeke and Abby had accepted really was.

“We’re going to leave within a day or so,” Zeke said, adjusting in his chair across from Silas. Most of the time, he barely even noticed his armor. It was only when he tried to relax that he was reminded of it. “Is there anything else I need to know before we go?”

“An entire library could be filled with what you need to know,” Silas stated. Ignorance was Zeke’s biggest weakness, and like his battle technique, it was a problem that only time could solve. To that end, Silas had given him a few books detailing the history of humanity on the Radiant Isles, a time frame that extended back more than two thousand years. “But regarding your mission? You’ve got the maps. You have the notes from our explorers. The way is clear; you only need to traverse it without angering too many monsters along the way.”

The plan was a good deal simpler than Zeke might have expected. There were two ways into the Micayne Estate. First, one could traverse the Farindale Forest, which spanned hundreds of miles and was mired in endless gloom. It was also infested with lower-leveled undead and would likely alert the residents of the Micayne Estate that they were coming. The alternative was more dangerous and would require them to swing north and skirt past territory claimed by frost giants, gnolls, and worse before turning east. This was the route Zeke, Abby, and Pudge would take.

Zeke suspected that when Silas suggested it, he had expected some sort of pushback. Or at least complaints. However, it sounded great to Zeke, who was eager to continue leveling. Monsters, he could fight. That was simple. It was only when he had to deal with people that things seemed to get bogged down. Abby was of a similar mind, and Pudge…well, Pudge was just along for the ride. So long as he stayed by Zeke’s side, he was happy enough.

“You’re going to want to avoid the frost giants,” Silas said, leaning back in his chair. “They’re extremely durable, and with their size and strength, they could squash you like a bug.” Silas studied his face for a moment, then sighed. “Why do you look excited about that?”

Zeke shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said. “I guess I’m still not used to this world. The idea of fighting a giant would have been ridiculous to me not that long ago. And now? I can’t help but wonder just how I’d match up.”

“Not well,” said the older man. “They’re stronger than you, and they have quite a bit more mass. That means that when they hit you, there will be a lot more momentum behind it. In a way, the strength stat is kind of relative. For instance, imagine a situation where there are two people with identical strength. One is a dwarf, while the other is a three-hundred-pound man. Which do you think would hit harder?”

“Uh…the same?” Zeke said, completely missing the lesson.

“No,” Silas said. “But yes, in some ways. The dwarf is smaller, so his strength would be more concentrated. Like a bullet. But the bigger man, he’d pack more force just because of the extra momentum of moving that much mass. Does that make sense to you?”

Again, Zeke shrugged. “I guess,” he said. Indeed, he knew that the reason bullets were so deadly – or at least, they had been in the old world; guns apparently didn’t work in the Radiant Isles, though – was because of how concentrated the force was. The same could be said for his basic understanding of momentum. But what he didn’t know was how that would help him.

“My point is that you don’t want to get hit by a giant,” Silas said. “Or stepped on. In fact, you want to avoid them at all costs. It’s the same with the gnolls.”

“What do they do?”

“Kill everything they find,” Silas said. “They’re pack hunters, like wolves. But they’re not your typical beasts. They’re smart, they use weapons, and they’re very territorial. I’ve even heard about them taking out much larger prey, like thunderbirds and wyverns. The path we’ve laid out for you will let you skirt their territory, but there’s still a chance you’ll run into them. If you do, kill the entire hunting party. Otherwise, you’ll have the whole damned tribe on you in the space of a day.”

“And that’s a bad thing,” Zeke said, wondering how he’d stack up against an entire tribe of gnolls. They’d been described to him as upright, humanoid canines, but that didn’t really tell him what to expect. “Right?”

Silas groaned. “Yes,” he said, shaking his head. “That is a very bad thing.”

“Noted.”

“Why do I get the feeling you’re not going to listen to any of my warnings?” Silas asked.

Zeke shrugged. “I’m not going to go out of my way to fight anything. Not unless there’s a good reason for it. But if they attack us, I’m not going to run away.”

“Because you’re a damned fool,” Silas said. “You remind me of me and my friends, back in the day. We were stupid too. Confident. Powerful. But ultimately, we were idiots. And we paid the price.”

“What happened?”

“Not a story I’m willing to tell right now,” Silas said. “In any case, Lady Constance wants to speak to you before you leave. So, go get cleaned up, and when Abby and that bear get back, I’ll take you to her.”

Zeke nodded. He’d expected that he’d eventually have to meet the woman. It was her daughter they were looking for, after all. Sure, the mission’s parameters were to find the entire party, but he wasn’t so foolish as to believe a mother wouldn’t be more concerned about her daughter.

“Alright,” he said, standing. “Then, we can get back to training, right?”

“You know you have to sleep, don’t you?”

“Not as much as you’d think,” Zeke said with a lopsided grin. He only needed a couple of hours a night to keep going. “And besides, traveling at night is dangerous, so I’ll have to sleep once we get on the road. For now, training is more important. I feel like I’m on the verge of breaking through.”

“Fine,” Silas said. “Now, go. You smell.”

So, Zeke did just that, heading back to the inn where he took a bath and changed into clean clothes. He even took an extra hour to clean Pudge as best he could, commandeering a fountain for his purposes. He got plenty of nasty looks from pedestrians and guards alike, but few wanted to tell someone like him what he could and couldn’t do. And for the others? A clearly grumpy dire bear was plenty to dissuade them from speaking their mind. By the time he was finished, Abby had gotten back to the inn.

Sitting in one of the booths in the common room, she looked him up and down, taking in his soaking wet state, and laughed. “You totally did that in the wrong order, didn’t you?” she said.

Zeke grumpily sat down next to her, saying, “Maybe. I admit no mistakes, though.”

“There was a runner from the temple here a few minutes ago,” Abby said, idly taking a bite out of an apple as she threw her other arm over the back of the booth. “We’re supposed to meet Lady Constance in two hours.”

“I know,” Zeke said. “Silas told me.”

“And I guess you intend to take Pudge along,” she reasoned, glancing at the still wet bear. He still looked huge, but with his fur plastered to his hide, the effect was somewhat diminished. “Hence, the bear bath.”

Zeke nodded. “I thought it was for the best if the whole party showed up,” he said. “Plus, he gets antsy when we leave him cooped up in the room. He’s still giving me crap about not taking him into the sewers with me.”

“Ugh – could you imagine trying to get that smell out of his fur?” she groaned. Reaching down and scratching Pudge behind the ears, she added, “You didn’t miss anything, big guy.”

Zeke leaned back, then asked, “So, what should I expect from this?”

“Like I know,” Abby responded, shaking her head. “Just mind your manners. Don’t pick a fight. And answer anything she asks as truthfully as you can. Chances are, she already knows, anyway, and she’s just testing you.”

“Even about Oberon?” he asked.

“Yes,” Abby said. “That woman could roast you in like two seconds flat. And she’s got a temper, too.”

“Really?” Zeke asked.

Abby leaned in close, whispering, “She’s got another name. You know, outside of Beacon. They call her the Sun Bitch. Not where she might ever find out, but still…”

“That sounds a little unimaginative,” Zeke said. “As insults go, I mean.”

“Whatever,” Abby said, rolling her eyes. “My point is that you don’t want to offend her. Okay? Just do what she says. Answer her questions. And then, we’ll do what we have to do.”

“You still don’t want to take the mission,” Zeke reasoned.

“I don’t.”

“Why not?” he asked.

“Because none of it makes sense,” Abby stated, and not for the first time. “One – why did they send the girl up there in the first place? Two – if someone like Abdul Rumas can’t protect her, then what’re we going to do? Three – why us? I’m not special. You are, but you’re only level fifteen. Sure, Pudge is probably unique, but he’s under-leveled, too. It would’ve been better to send the Radiant Guards. Or just hire it out to one of the guilds. That’s why they’re there. But no – they want to send us. An unaffiliated level fifteen and a newly-evolved woman who’s on her way out of her guild.”

“You think they know about all of that?” Zeke asked.

“Of course they do,” she answered. “How could they not? I’m sure anyone with any sort of power already knows. That’s how Beacon is. Information spreads. Nothing stays secret for long, especially when there’s no real reason to keep it that way. Besides, we’re probably hot commodities right now. Other guilds are going to be knocking down our doors and trying to recruit us soon. Especially you.”

“I didn’t really want any attention while we’re here,” Zeke said with a sigh. The last thing he needed was to be hounded by a bunch of recruiters. It had been bad enough when he’d had to go through it with college recruiters back on Earth, but something told him it would be immeasurably worse in the Radiant Isles. After all, there was a lot more at stake in the new world than in the old.

“That was never going to happen,” Abby stated. “Seriously, the best we could’ve hoped for was to delay it. My point is that this whole thing stinks. Something else is going on here, but I’ll be damned if I have any idea what it is. I’ve been trying to look into it, but it’s like everywhere I turn, I’ve hit a brick wall.”

“So, that’s what you’ve been doing for the past three days?” he asked. “I’ve barely seen you.”

She shrugged. “Among other things,” she said. “I know we’re probably going to end up taking this mission, whether we like it or not. So, I’ve been making preparations and tying up some loose ends. But that’s mostly done, now.”

“What kind of loose ends?” asked Zeke.

“Nothing important,” was her response. “Call it a surprise. You gave me the bow a few days ago, so it’s my turn to give you something.”

“You don’t have to –”

“I know I don’t have to,” she said, reaching across the table to rest her hand on his. Zeke felt a shudder of anticipation run up his spine. It was just a simple touch, not unlike they’d shared on a hundred other occasions, but it felt like something more. Or perhaps it was just his imagination running wild. “I want to.”

Zeke didn’t dare flinch, lest she pull away. “Okay,” he said. Then, glancing at the window, he said, “If we don’t leave soon, we’re going to be late. Hopefully, Pudge will finish drying out along the way.”

Abby agreed, and the pair set off through Beacon. As always, Zeke was in awe of the city, its populace, and the obviously magical nature of his new world. Everywhere he looked, he saw more evidence that Earth’s natural laws didn’t apply to the Radiant Isles. A self-motivated cart, a floating lamp, a man with a glowing sword – and those were just the beginning of Beacon’s wonders. However, after his time alone in the caves, Zeke couldn’t help but feel a little nervous around such large crowds. Thankfully, it wasn’t debilitating, but the presence of so many people left him on edge. The result was that, by the time they reached the Temple Tier, he felt both wrung out and keyed up for a fight.

The trip through the temple itself was uneventful; by that point, Zeke had seen plenty of their wealth on display, so while he was impressed, he wasn’t awestruck by the rich décor. They were escorted through a handful of checkpoints as they traversed the maze of hallways until they reached a set of wooden doors embossed with the same stylized sun that decorated the guards’ tabards. A pair of level twenty-two guards stood on either side of the door, unmoving and armed with long, wicked-looking spears. Their escort knocked twice on the imposing door, and after a feminine voice bade them enter, the man pushed through, revealing an austere office with only a single painting for decoration.

But what a painting it was! Depicting an inhumanly beautiful woman who seemed to radiate warmth and light, it was clearly magical. As Zeke followed the escort into the office, he felt like the painting’s eyes were boring into him, watching and waiting until he made the wrong move. If he did, Zeke had no doubt that it would react, which prompted more than a little trepidation on his part. He was already anxious enough as it was, and now he had to worry about a magical painting that doubled as a security measure? It was exasperating enough that he hardly noticed the stern-looking woman sitting at the desk.

“You may leave us, Colin,” she said, her voice raspy and deep-throated. It was as if she’d been a lifelong smoker. Or, given her rumored propensity to play with fire, like her lungs and throat had been burned to a crisp and never recovered. Either way, it set Zeke’s teeth on edge.

The rest of the woman’s appearance was unremarkable. Even seated, Zeke could tell that she was short and muscular, like a gymnast. Her eyes, though – they were just as unnerving as those in the painting, with tiny firelights dancing through the irises.

“Welcome,” Constance said, standing to her full height. If she was more than a few inches above five feet, Zeke would’ve been surprised. “Over the course of my life, I have found that it does little good to beat around the bush, so to speak. So, I will just come right out and say it – I have had my eye on you two – no, three – since you entered Beacon, and I like what I’ve seen. So, I wish to formally offer you an opportunity in the form of a mission. Whether or not you choose to accept is, of course, up to you. I am certain Silas made that much clear. In addition, he has told me that he has relayed the parameters of the mission as well. Is that true?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Zeke answered without hesitation. Indeed, the task was simple enough. Go north to the Micayne Estate, ascertain the fate of Talia Nightingale, and then relay that fate to Lady Constance. If necessary and possible, recover the girl’s body. “He told us what you want us to do.”

“And yet, you have not accepted,” Constance stated.

He shook his head, saying, “Because it doesn’t make sense. Why us?”

“Why not you?” the leader of Beacon asked. “I know what you did on the road between Beacon and Bastion. I know that you avenged those people. I am also aware of what you three did in Nightweb Ravine.”

“H-how?”

“The Sun Goddess sees all,” was Constance’s reply. Accompanying that statement was a flare of power that far exceeded anything Zeke had ever felt before. The weight of it nearly drove him to his knees. Beside him, Abby dropped like a sack of bricks, and Pudge cowered close to the floor, whimpering. But Zeke held strong. It took every ounce of his own power, but he managed to keep his back straight under the onslaught of Constance’s aura.

Then, as suddenly as it had erupted into the air, it ceased, leaving Abby and Pudge gasping for air. Zeke swallowed hard, but he didn’t give the woman the satisfaction of any other response.

“You are stronger than I expected,” Constance said, breaking the silence that had stretched between them. “That is another reason I want you to accept this mission. It will require strength to rescue my daughter.”

“Why not go yourself, then?” Zeke asked. Speaking at all had taken almost all his willpower.

“Because Abraham Micayne was once a friend, and if I go, I will destroy him,” she said. “Even sending the Radiant Guard will risk war. Thousands, if not millions, will die. A small, unaffiliated group like yours can infiltrate the Micayne Estate much more easily than an army, and you will be undetected. If you are found, you are just adventurers who made the wrong turn. I love my daughter, but I will not risk war with an undead horde for the mere possibility of saving her.”

That made sense to Zeke. Even as Abby and Pudge regained their feet, Zeke said, “I can’t speak for Abby, but Pudge and I will go. If we can save your daughter, we will. If not, we’ll bring home her remains so you can have closure.”

“That is all I ask,” said the woman. “If you need anything at all, speak to Silas.”

It was as clear of a dismissal as they were likely to get, so Zeke turned on his heel and left the woman’s office and her painting behind.