The experience of leaping to safety and then returning to kill my attacker had given me a confidence boost so that I was able to examine my surroundings calmly. The dirt was broken in places with pebbles and the occasional boulder. The remains of bones, armor, and weapons lay strewn all around. Near me were large numbers of the fallen, and I could see that there were more, if fewer, further away.

Apparently, many had been transported to the same spot on which I stood, only to come to an unfortunate end. Just a few feet from me lay the skeleton of a man wearing what looked to be the remains of either robes or leathers crumbling off his bones. Or maybe her bones.

I knelt at the skeleton and fingered the remains of whatever the adventurer had worn. Just the touch of my fingers caused it to drop off the bones and disintegrate. Whoever this was, they had been here a very long time. Next to the skeleton’s hand was the remnant of something broken and in pieces. Perhaps a bow. That might have been a good weapon against these bats, if the archer had been able to see.

I looked up to the sky. Twisting my head left and right, I saw a bat diving towards me. Calmly, I calculated the speed and angle of the creature and then commanded Veritas to let there be light.

Back to stasis. I turned off Flashpoint and waited a little while for my stamina to max out.

“Take us back,” I commanded silently.

A split second later I was sweeping my blade in a fierce arc directly above me. I was spot on.

You attack Shadow Bat for 42 damage.

I spun and saw that the creature had crashed into the dirt.

You attack Shadow Bat for 33 damage.

Shadow Bat has been defeated! You gain 1250 experience!

Once again I knelt at the side of the fallen adventurer. I brushed aside some dirt and found a ring on the skeletal hand. Anything else this person had had was crumbled and gone. I spun slowly, seeing all the bones...equipment...weapons…

LOOT.

Back to stasis. I examined the ring in my hand.

Identify.

Ring of Eagle Sight.

Eagle sight?

Far becomes near.

No other descriptor appeared before my eyes, but it didn’t seem harmful. With a shrug, I twisted it onto my right ring finger. Glancing around me, I tried to turn on this Eagle Sight, but nothing happened. Hmmm. Was it because we were in stasis? Because there was nothing to see if there was nowhere to go?

Flashpoint on.

“Extinguish.”

Shadows caressed me as a dry wind beat against my chest. I looked up and squinted. Suddenly, a Shadow Bat was clear to my sight as if it was directly in front of me. The midnight skin...pitiless claws...beady angry eyes…hungry fangs... It felt as if I could reach out and touch the horrid thing.

I blinked, and once again I saw a cloud of bats.

Ahhh...Eagle Sight. Yes!

All around me lay the bodies of the slain, but a morbid realization had transformed them from signs of danger and destruction into piles and piles of loot and potential salvation. What else might I find hidden away among these unfortunate trailblazers that I could rip free of death’s cold grasp?

Perhaps salvation?

And the bats? I looked up into the shadowy night, and a fierce grin spread across my face. Bags of experience, zipping around in the air above me just waiting for me to claim them.

Oh my, yes. Experience? Loot?

“This could be very good for me, Veritas,” I said softly.

Well, didn’t I tell you dungeons were good for experience and loot? And there is always a way out.

Shadow Bat has been defeated...Shadow Bat has been defeated…Shadow Bat has been defeated…

Forty-two dead bats later, the swarm finally decided it would be best to leave me alone.

Congratulations! Your Swords skill has increased to Level 8...9...10...11...12...

Congratulations! Your Dodge skill has increased to Level 2...3…4

Congratulations! You are now level 7...8...9... You have 9 attribute and 11 skill points to distribute. Choose wisely as your decisions are irreversible.

I sat in my silent circle of light with a slew of random items spread before me. Veritas was tied to my hand, just in case. I was chewing a piece of goat cheese, and a half-full waterskin rested in my lap.

Congratulations! Your Identify skill has increased to Level 6...7…

Gloves of Dexterity + 2.

Hmmm...perhaps the owner had been a thief? I had nothing to steal at the moment. Still, there was no reason to let them go to waste. I pulled them on.

Breastplate of Protection + 10.

Increases armor by a factor of 10.

Vambraces of Boldness.

You will control your fear. It will not control you.

All right! Now that’s what I’m talking about!

I eagerly took off the awful orc leathers I was still wearing and threw them away. I was never wearing those smelly things again.

Boots of Alacrity.

Speed boost of 5%.

Well, every little bit counts. On my feet went the boots. Into the bag went my shoes.

Bracelet of Allure

Is your beloved in love with someone else? Make her yours again, she won’t be able to resist!

Uh, okay. Not something I needed right now. Into the bag went the bracelet.

Dagger of Bleeding

Wounds from this dagger will cause bleeding damage of 5 hp/minute until bandaged or healed.

That was a particularly nasty effect. Maybe it had belonged to an assassin of some kind. Regardless, in a life or death situation, a person should use anything available to stay alive. The dagger went onto my belt.

And that was the extent of what I had found that I could Identify. The rest I dropped into my bag: three rings, a necklace, seven knives, two pairs of boots, two cloaks, a cestus, three swords, a toe ring, one matched set of earrings, one single earring, a shirt made of a strangely shimmering material that had somehow survived the passage of time, a pair of very dirty socks which I would have ignored except that they had no holes in them, and a skullcap. Every single one of those items resisted my Identification attempts, which told me that they held power of some type. Even a lack of information was informative.

Many more weapons and armor had been left behind on the bodies of the fallen. I had only taken what I could wear or what would fit in the bag of holding. If it couldn’t get through the mouth of the bag, I couldn’t keep it.

Shall we move to your notifications?

I had come to realize that I could set aside until later the information--the words--that kept bombarding me when I was in the middle of something that required my undivided attention. Combat, for example. Now it was time to review them and make some decisions.

You’ve gained three levels. You should assign some of your points. Remember, unused points will be lost if you die.

“Do you have any suggestions? I want to use all of the attribute points now. They’ll help me survive. The skill points? I want to spend some of them. Saving too many feels risky to me.”

Nine attribute and eleven skill points. Just awash with opportunity, aren’t you?

“Yes, but how do I use them?”

Do you have any desire to become a mage?

“I...it sounds interesting to me, but I’m not sure how it can help me right now.”

Hmmm...let’s hold on for just a moment then. You’ve exceeded level 10 in Swords. Are there any abilities being made available to you?

I focused inwardly at my Swords skill.

You have reached Level 10 in Swords. New abilities are now available to you. Choose one:

Power Strike

Mana's Infusion

Blade Wall

Power Strike - If your blow lands, do double damage. 1% chance per level of bypassing armor.

Cost: 10 stamina

Cooldown: 60 seconds

Mana’s Infusion - Magic is the bane of all melee fighters. Your deep understanding of the blade grants you power in the arcane realm. The effects of this ability will grow as you grow.

Cost: 10 mana/minute

Cooldown: none

Blade Wall - Your sword blurs through the air, with a chance to defend you from all attackers. The effects of this ability will grow as you grow.

Cost: Variable

Cooldown: none

“Can you give me some advice?” I requested humbly.

You already know that Power Strike is offered quite commonly to swordsmen. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth taking. A single powerful blow at just the right moment can end a fight decisively.

Blade Wall is an excellent defensive ability. It enables you to fight multiple opponents without being immediately overwhelmed. It’s not perfect--the more attackers you face, the more likely it is that an attack will get through your defenses--but you’ll find that you can withstand a far greater number of opponents than you could ever have imagined if this ability is active. It should also synergize with Flashpoint. The added speed you get from Flashpoint will be like a force multiplier, making Blade Wall even more effective than before. To be offered Blade Wall so early is remarkable. It is usually offered only to a master of the sword.

Mana’s Infusion is rarely, if ever, offered to a melee fighter. It grants you the ability to respond to magical attacks with a mundane sword. You will be able to deflect some attacks and cut through others. The ability to fight magic without being a formal magic user is quite powerful.

Your affinity for the blade must be remarkable for the Paraclete to offer you such as these.

“Okay. That’s...a tough choice then.”

I thought about what she had said before asking, “You said that Blade Wall is usually offered only to a master.”

That’s correct.

“If I keep improving my Swords skill, would it be offered to me again?”

I think there’s a fair chance that it would.

“And Mana’s Infusion--is there a good chance it would be offered to me again?”

She hesitated.

It’s difficult to say. It is not as if anyone has a record of how many times any given ability has been offered. However, I can say that while many masters of the sword--or of any other weapon for that matter--have been seen to use Blade Wall or some facsimile thereof, the number of melee warriors of any kind that have Mana’s Infusion is vanishingly small. Whether that’s because it is offered less or because people simply do not choose it is impossible to know.

“How exactly does it work?” I asked with my brow furrowed.

It comes in many aspects, sometimes quite unique to the warrior, but there are characteristics to the ability that are common in every form. You would be able to defend against certain kinds of magical attacks. For example, you might deflect a fireball that was thrown at you or maybe slice it in half and destroy it completely before it reaches you. You would also have better luck against sorcerous defenses. If a wizard threw up a wall of force to defend herself from physical attack, Mana’s Infusion might allow you to pierce the wall, depending on the power of the wall and your skill with the sword.

“Surely there are items or powers that can give regular warriors similar abilities? Otherwise, everyone would be at the mercy of magic users,” I protested.

Certainly, that’s true. For instance, there are swords that can do those things for you as well.

I sensed a certain smugness to her tone before she became business-like once again.

However, even with items like those, Mana’s Infusion will give a boost to any such attempt at defense or attack against a magic user.

I was torn. Blade Wall would enable me to fight against groups. Mana’s Infusion would let me fight against magic. Which one did I need more? My face scrunched up in indecision. This choice could mean the difference between life and death as we searched for an exit from this nightmare realm.

“Veritas,” I asked, “are there a lot of magical monsters in the Realm of Shadow?”

There are magical monsters everywhere, Paol. However, creatures from the Realm of Shadow are rarely mundane. The Shadow Bats had no magic, but they are among the weakest of all creatures in the Realm of Shadow.

Okay then.

Mana’s Infusion.