“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“Dodge! No, the other way- you’ve landed on your sword!”

“Hey, it’s harder than it looks!”

“Young one, I am controlling a rock and still managing to land strikes! You are fortunate this blade is blunted.”

---

“Parry. Harder! No, no. Would it help if I made the fighter larger, to emphasize its strength? Measure the strength of a blow before it touches your sword. After is far too late!”

“FINE.”

“Now you’re wasting energy! Committing too much!”

“Decide, damn you!”

“Language, child.”

---

“This sword -huff- is more durable than I would have thought.”

“It should be. It belonged to Gox the Mighty. He could not wield an unenchanted weapon for fear of shattering it immediately.”

“This thing is magic?”

“-Sigh- Truly, you are hopeless.”

“Try me.”

---

The blunted sword smashes me in the side, sending me careening across the ground.

Again.

But I was closer that time. Better. Where his golem puppet used to easily disarm and smack me around, now I am able to last several clashes before losing to his superior skill. He’s even changed it up a few times, revealing different weapons of different lengths and styles, projectiles, and even obstacles. Ground magic is a remarkable thing, and Zathis is second to none.

At least, I hope so. I don’t want to fight anything more powerful than him.

This training, however, also paid massive dividends in the form of skill levels:

[Congratulations! Skill levels gained: Transfuse Energy +1 (9); Imbue Energy +2 (5); Energy Manipulation +1 (7); Combat Proficiency +2 (4); Blunt Weapons Proficiency +2 (3)]

During the training, I found myself unconsciously tapping into the same boost of power I got when I was running to save Lauren when I thought she was Rav. Little by little, I discovered that I was not just imagining it (or getting pumped up like I thought), but I was using Energy inside my body the same way I use it in a weapon. By ‘Imbuing’ parts of my body with Energy, I experienced a massive increase in strength and durability in that area.

However, it came at a substantial Energy drain of 1 Energy point per second, roughly. Because my Energy recovery is 3/minute at best (and seemingly less the more I’m damaged), it’s definitely a risky choice.

On the one hand, I can easily end a fight based on Strength, or tank a hit that should easily put me down, but on the other, I won’t have Energy left to heal if I overdo it. That, combined with lower Energy recovery at low Health, could easily put me in dire straits.

With the help of the game, though, I think I can maximize the utility and minimize the detriments.

[Your actions have created a rare Secondary Skill: Fortify. Learn (Y/N)? Cost: 75] [Congratulations! You have learned the Secondary Skill: Fortify!]

Annnd back to 0 Power again. But hey, large gains, so I can’t complain too much. It did mean that I was unable to take ‘Greatsword Proficiency’ when it popped up, and I’m slightly regretting taking ‘Blunt Weapons Proficiency’ instead, but… c'est la vie.

It isn’t that important that the game assist me with my swordsmanship. Despite not getting any levels in it, I learned a lot about how to hold the larger weapon and make use of footwork and changing grips to allow complicated attacks and defence. It’s actually really fun to fight with a greatsword, almost like dancing. Never lose your grip, never hit your partner, and you’ll be fine. Step on her toes, and you’ll be missing yours.

Fortunately, having lessons beaten into you both helps you learn them faster and gives you the chance to work on healing mid combat.

It works just as badly as you can imagine.

But, I’m getting better. Slowly but surely. I feel slightly less terrified about taking on enemies now.

Thank the dwarf god for Zathis. Or the giant god.

Whichever.

Name: Amadeus (Anthony)

Power: 0

Fragments: 15

HP: 30/34

H Recovery: + 6 / hr

Stamina: 34/34

S Recovery: + 12 / min

Energy: 12/30

E Recovery: + 2.65 / min

Primary skills:

Dexterity 20 (+1)

Strength 22

Endurance 24

Toughness 24

Intelligence 28

Perception 25 + (+2)

Will 3

Secondary Skills:

-Active

Transfuse Energy [Active] (9) Move Energy through physical contact into living objects.

Imbue Energy [Active] (5) - Move Energy through physical contact into non-living objects.

Energetic Attack [Active] (2) - Attempt to destroy the spirit of a target using your own.

Hide [Active] (1) - Utilize stamina to decrease your presence. Audio generated reduced. Light reflection reduced. Reduces effectivity of olfactory tracking used on you. Stamina usage increases with movement. Efficiency of Stamina usage and Perception required to detect user increased 5% and 1 respectively per level.

Fortify [Active] (1) - Enhance one’s own body with Energetic traits. Efficiency and efficacy of Energy usage increased by 10% per level.

-Passive

Energy Manipulation [Passive] (7) Medium - general ability to move and understand Energy. Improves through use.

Combat Proficiency [Passive] (2) Hard - General combat ability. Improves through not using it in training/combat.

Cold Resistance [Passive] (2) Medium - General resistance to the effects of cold.

Tamer [Passive] (2) ??? - Rare skill. Tame and forge bonds with monsters.

Hand to Hand Proficiency (2) Hard - Unarmed competence. Improves through practice using the body as a weapon.

Blunt Weapons Proficiency(1) Medium - Competence using weapons designed to crush and sunder.

Traits:

[Basic Energy User (10/10): Increases efficiency of all Energy use by 1%/point. Bonus doubles once the trait is complete.]

[Novice Energy Healer (10/10): Speeds active healing effects by 10%/point. Reduces concentration required for active healing once the trait is complete.]

[The Selfless (5/5): Reward trait. Saving one of your own at great personal risk has gained you the interest of the Administrator. Gain one free Primary Skill for every point. Reduced cost of Ascending once the trait is complete.]

[Path of Denial (1/25): Does absolutely nothing. Effect doubles once the trait is complete.]

[Novice Energetic Weaponry - Functional increase for combat using Energy enhanced weaponry] OR [Novice Energetic Presence - Functional increase for objects enhanced with Energy.]

Trait points: 7/33

Peripherals:

Dominations - 34% Cathid(3 Energy rate)

Exhaustions - 3

Status - Burned Channels: ---;

Inventory: Basic Clothing (cloth); stick; 4 of each flower (red, green, purple, white, orange, green(bud); 4 Bon nuts; small Mana battery (2); Worn satchel (broken strap); Crown (unidentified); Zweihander (unidentified); Bronze ring;

-----

When Lauren had first woken up in the darkness of the Catacombs, she had thought she was dead. This was hammered home by the stone around her looking very much like a coffin. She felt peaceful for the first time in… she couldn’t say how long. Long before the game started, that’s for sure. She was sure she could only feel this ok when she was dead. It was fine, though. Things would be better now. Oblivion was preferable to the pain she had felt every day. A pain she could only truly appreciate the magnitude of now that it was gone.

Long moments passed, and very quickly, the novelty of her newfound comfort passed. Could she still move? Yes. And with it came a different kind of pain. A more manageable feeling of being literally torn open. All at once she remembered: she had been stabbed by a shade, and she had fallen in the middle of nowhere… where was she now? Someplace called The Catacombs, if the notification was to be believed. She immediately jerked upright and regretted everything the moment she did. The pain flared, and she instinctively grabbed her side to ease the pain…

Her side, that was whole. No hole. It hurt like there was one, but she was healed. Her regeneration must be better than she had thought…

Looking around, she noted she was in a very dark cave. There were other coffins around, made entirely of stone, and sitting on one of them-

HIM?! She felt an old anger flare in her, but much less strong than before. She disregarded the strangeness and chalked it up to her being badly hurt.

If he was here, totally fine, and she was here, hurt, that meant he…

How fucking dare he save her! How dare he touch her!

It was no matter, though. He was clearly distracted, so she decided she would end him then and there. No witnesses to her weakness.

But she felt… wrong. Every time she thought about using the dagger on him, it felt like the wound inside her was opening again. Like the bad feelings would come back.

She hissed and tried to get up, finding that she needed to lean on the coffins to keep on her feet.

The stupid worm thing noticed her and started to warn him, but she was just able to throw one of her poisoned daggers at it, stopping it short. The throw was terrible, entirely due to her injuries, but the poison quickly stopped its movement. Or so she thought. It managed to make a small sound while she was making her way towards him, forcing her to rush the rest of the way, badly aggravating her wound.

----

Whatever he had done to her, that soul poison or whatever, was the worst thing she had ever felt. She no longer believed oblivion was preferable to life.

She had experienced oblivion. Her arm still felt strange, like it wasn’t all the way there… like it wasn’t hers anymore. She found herself unconsciously clenching it, just to make sure.

But worse than that, the second she had cut him, the bad feelings had rushed back. Combined with whatever he did, she was entirely helpless, physically and emotionally… and she deserved it. She deserved the fate worse than living.

Then he had helped her. Stopped the poison. He could have let it go. Let it kill her.

He should have, she thought, with a half hearted fury. She should have died. Part of her still wanted to.

But… the thing he used to stop it, whatever it was… it dampened the feelings again. Pushed away the bad stuff.

She didn’t know what to do. What to think.

Maybe he could heal more than just flesh.

Maybe he could heal… her.

She needed to know.

----

The moment she saw the giant, she had no intention of waiting around. She had run, wasting no time getting back across the pit and navigating the traps. The thundering voice almost made her trip and trigger them.

Almost.

It was only when she was most of the way down the hall that she realized Anthony wasn’t following. He had stayed. To give her the chance to escape?

No, he wouldn’t. He was content to save her life when he was able… but he didn’t like her.

She didn’t blame him. She didn’t like herself right now.

She knew she should go back, but the sounds of fighting pushed her further away.

It didn’t make sense. She loved fighting. It was her thing. She should be rejoicing at having such a powerful opponent.

But she hurriedly walked toward the entrance. What was left of her pride kept her from running.

The entrance. Yes, she would be needed here to point out the traps, help people get inside safely.

Did they want to be inside? She didn’t know.

Why did she care about helping them? Her brain wasn’t working right. She felt vulnerable. The wall of bad emotion that had kept her conscience at bay was almost entirely gone, and she didn’t know how to handle it. The guilt weighed on her.

She really couldn’t be around people. Not until she fixed this. But she longed for someone to care.

She was scared and alone, wanted company and knew no one would want to be around her.

It hurt.

She wanted to crawl back into the coffin and stay there.

---

“Are you… alright?” Anthony.

She didn’t want to be seen like this.

-”I’m f- *hic* fine.” she managed to get out, her uneven breathing betraying the lie.

“You don’t need to be afraid of Zathis. He’s pretty friendly, knows a lot.”

She tried to speak, but the words caught in her throat. She shook her head, covering her eyes with her hands.

He didn’t speak, but took a seat on one of the other coffins. Lauren tried with everything she had to muffle her crying, quietly shaking instead.

A long while passed before she was able to speak, and the only thing on her mind was

-“How… did you make me feel better…?”

Her face still buried in her hands, she hid what she could from him. She didn’t want him to know how hopeful she was. How close to the edge.

“I meant to ask you, actually. When I was healing you… I found a hole in your… core. Your self. Any of my healing that got close to it was sucked in and vanished. It kinda made things close there for a minute, like I wouldn’t have enough to stop the bleeding.”

The healing? So Mana was the answer?

-”Can you… fix that hole?” She couldn’t hide the hope in her voice anymore.

He hesitated, wary… as he should be. She wouldn’t trust her either.

So she did something she could only do now, with whatever emotional band-aid he had put on her, and talked.

She opened the floodgates, explaining to him just how bad of a person she was: the people she had killed, poisoned, stolen from, left for dead, spit on and hurt just because she could. She even told him why she came here.

He said nothing the entire time, listening with his eyes fixed solely on her.

-”... for everything… I know it’s fucked up. I’m fucked up, broken, and people are right to h-hate me. I know. I’m so, so sorry.” She couldn’t hold back the sobs, taking a moment to just hurt and prepare to get out the hardest part. “But… will you help me?”

And his only response was… to laugh?

Her face burned in shame, tears flowing anew and she no longer cared for decorum.

This was ok. This was how it should be. She would walk towards the monster camp while she still had her sanity and kill until she died-

Warm arms wrapped around her, pinning her arms to her chest. She hadn’t known how cold she was until she felt him so close. It was… happy. Comforting.

“I will help.” Her sobs only worsened as hope rejoined the warring emotions in her chest.

She heard a clack, which she could swear was a warning, but Anthony didn’t loosen his hug, rocking her gently.

She heard him whisper: “Shh Kaythe. It’s ok.

It’s ok.”