Chapter 3

Hours late Daniel lies on his back groaning in pain, unwilling to move another inch. He hadn’t felt this tired in years, not since his first year as a miner. For hours he had been put through various exercises, at first starting with basic fitness tests and weight carrying before moving on to intricate forms with both mace and shield. Amazingly, once he had spent the first 15 minutes with both, he was ordered to return the set that he had been working with and provided even heavier equipment.

Hours of drills then came, at first beginning with simple tasks such as stepping and striking and evolving into more and more complicated sequences as Litzburn realised Daniel wasn’t a complete novice. Every time Daniel flagged, Litzburn was at his side, barking at him to pick it up and move faster, driving the young man on. Still, he can’t complain as he stares at the blue notification window floating in front of his eyes.

Skill Increase

Clubs: Level 3 (27/100) +3

He’s interrupted in his thoughts by a shadow falling over his still form and a booted foot prodding him. He turns his head to meet the gaze of his smiling tormentor, “You did well today. Litzburn tells me you have good stamina for a beginner and some adequate training.”

“Thanks…” Daniel mutters before pulling himself up from the ground shakily. Normally he’d heal himself slightly with his gift but after this morning’s events, he had nothing left to draw upon.

“Come on. We’re heading back to the Top. Tomorrow, Litzburn will have you work with some of the other students and I’ll train with you in the evening,” Mary is already walking off and the bemused Daniel follows along, accepting that the young lady didn’t seem to have any desire to waste time.

“Mary, thank you for the training. But, don’t we have to pay or something?” he gestures backwards, indicating the training grounds they have just left.

Mary snorts, before she stops, realising of course Daniel wouldn’t know, “I own those training grounds. Well, my sister and I do.” she corrects herself, before continuing, “Litzburn is the Master-at-Arms my father hired and he runs it, but we do own it.”

“Oh,” pondering the news for a moment Daniel continues, “Is that where you learnt?”

A nod confirms his guess which makes Daniel fall silent as he regards Mary once again. They reach the Top soon after where Elise seems to have been joined by a pair of waitresses. Spotting her sister, Elise waves them over before directing Daniel to a seat and placing a tankard of beer and food in front of him. Leaving the man to eat, she drags her sister off and begins a furious conversation with her.

Daniel just stares at the two for a time before his growling stomach reminds him that lunch was hours ago. He digs in, casting occasional glances at the arguing pair but is soon lost in his food. It’s a surprise then when he hears Elise speaking to him.

“I know it’s been a hectic day Daniel, but you really should have stayed for me to say thank you.”

“I’m sorry, Mary dragged me off and then…”

“I know,” she gestures with the dirty washcloth in her hand “She told me. She says she’ll be teaching you for the rest of the week you’re here too. Good.”

“Yeah, about that….”

“Daniel, just accept it. You saved my son’s life. The least we can do is increase your chances of surviving in the dungeon.” She suddenly snorts, shaking” her head. “I don’t believe you intended to use that hammer in there. You wouldn’t make it past the second floor with that thing.”

“Come on, it’s not that bad!” protests Daniel.

“Yes, it is. Daniel, even with the right equipment and training, 1 in 4 Adventurer’s die on their first foray into a Beginner dungeon. Of those that make it past the first zone, only 1 in 10 ever complete the dungeon. Being an Adventurer is dangerous.” As she speaks, Elise holds Daniel’s gaze. Though she’s telling the truth, she leaves out that many Adventurer’s never see a reason to complete the Dungeon, happy to ‘farm’ the early levels of a dungeon in relative safety.

“That bad?’ Daniel’s eyes widen. He hadn’t realised the numbers were that bad. Obviously, he knew it had been dangerous, but never that dangerous. For a moment, doubt creeps in before he forces his spine to straighten and he pushes it away. No, he needed to become stronger. “Thank you then. For the advice. And thank Mary for the training.”

Satisfied with his words, Elise bestows a smile on Daniel before she hurries off to her patiently waiting patrons.