On the sixth day, Sorp concocted his last potion. This is a poison. It numbs the target and makes them sluggish.

It is not considered deadly, but if it hits the heart or near enough, it might cause deadly results.

Upon finishing the concoction, Sorp has two alerts. One telling indicating that all objectives have been completed and he needs to exit the forest.

The second alert tells him what concoction he made. This particular concoction already has a name, Sudden fatigue.

In addition to the name of the concoction, there are various valuable information. The degree of completion, potency and other miscellaneous information.

This particular information is not valuable, but if we assume Sorp creates hundreds or thousands of these concoctions, they will become valuable.

This has to do with general success rate, increasing potency, creating new variations and other factors that potion makers will find valuable.

Right now achieving success in any profession is related to the situation. Sorp and Daisy have a great opportunity to find otherwise hard to find materials.

The importance of this is not hard to convey. Very few locations actually have free materials to harvest. This is because Perpetuity owns the island.

Every forest, every mire, field of grass, cavern and mountain. While is not really prohibited to harvest materials from these locations, it is taxed.

It’s possible to go to remote locations and steal from the land. But every technology, including the inventory space is given out by Perpetuity. They can monitor such behaviour.

The only option is to craft with materials bought or procured in a legal way. That or keep the materials outside the inventory.

There might be question as to where a person is getting the materials to craft with, but this is harder to monitor and difficult to prove.

These things do not mean that it is impossible to learn a profession and work on in a practical manner. I just means that it has to be done through Perpetuity.

Currently Daisy was taking full advantage of this exact thing. The forest isn’t exactly there for her to gather various herbs, but the herbs are there.

Her bounty is considerable. Perhaps enough to rise in the ranks and become of highest concoction master.

It is a small step but is the first step, that gives it a weight of mountains. Similarly she and Sorp are the first to complete their advancement.

Perpetuity is built as the last hope of a civilization. Threat of an ultimate end has been washed away with the time, but the threat is there.

They have been forced to hole up in this pebble in the river for a thousand years. The city lacks nothing, the people are fed. But that doesn't mean they’ll always be safe.

The beasts outside the island are not only strong but strong as well. There might be civilizations out there, hiding away like Perpetuity, but this is unknown.

What they do know is that there are multiple sites with ancient ruins. These are ruins left by their ancestors or other intelligent beings. These may contain valuable information or relics.

It is Perpetuity’s wish to unearth such sites. They want to do this with the most advanced technology they have, the B.F.M.

It has been said before but worth retelling. B.F.M. works by utilizing a particular part of the brain, this is often called the mind’s eye. The pituitary gland.

The brain is a series of controls. Most of them revolve around controlling what’s inside the body, but the pituitary gland is said to control the external.

To what extent is impossible to say. In real life it does nothing. Perpetual Power found a way to use it to control a virtual reality item. This started as a prosthetic limb.

In Perpetuity lore, it is described as the B.F.M. meaning Bilateral Force Manipulation. As opposed to Perpetual Power’s name, the Brute Force Method.

The bilateral is meant to represent the two dimensional thought pattern used to achieve B.F.M. control.

Included in the lore is that this power is a natural occurrence in all life. Undeveloped in most life but still present.

Humanoids, like humans, are undeveloped. This is in comparison to animals or greater creatures with natural ability to use their own B.F.M.

Being undeveloped, humanoids often resort to creating tools to help them achieve a similar end result. With enough training they might be able to contend with natural beasts.

If anyone is likely to reach such standards, it a person like Sorp. It is only natural for him to sharpen his fighting prowess.

Not because he likes fighting or because of his unruly personality. It is because he finds it interesting and observant enough to feel minor increase in power.

When Sorp returned to camp he was awarded with a token. This token meant he was graduated from this camp.

This did not mean he had to leave, he could take up residence as a tutor. He also three weeks before his contract with the third reinforcement camp runs out.

Sorp was bombarded with questions about the test. Sorp shared his data with the guys but his perspective was useless to them.

“It had two horns. Right here.”

While the way Sorp described the events made them feel exhausted, they were still interested in listening to all of it.

“Like this. And this.”

Sorp is thrusting his B.F.M. spear after having it elongate. It all looks plausible. In practice, few could accomplish such feat of strength and precision.

It surprised Sorp that Ret and Kom were already taking their test. The rest of the guys would follow in the next days.

After Sorp went to do the test, a fire was lit under them. The feeling of being left behind made them rise to the occasion.

They still made time for entertainment, mainly picking up women, but when they practised, they did it with dedication.

There is a qualitative difference when B.F.M. practice is considered. Pushing yourself to the edge was like digging the ground.

If the ground had a small pool of water and every shoveling threw out some of the water, but the hole grew wider and deeper. It can now contain more water.

This type of practice is useful when increasing endurance. For actual control, it might instead be detrimental. This is why the Third wave reinforcement camp didn’t teach control.

The follow days continued on as normal. Sorp continued training. Daisy was still hasn't returned from the forest.

This has to do with her excessive caution but also her obsession with gathering herbs and concocting.

The guys were much more brazen in the forest. Their step not too reckless but not careful enough. Numerous times they were almost attacked by hidden beasts.

These hidden beasts don’t cause to much damage but they can cause enough to be detrimental to the rest of the test.

Soon only Sorp was left in the camp. Daisy finally returned. She didn’t wait for the guys and said her goodbyes to Sorp. She was going to head to the Second wave reinforcement camp.

Daisy isn’t a cold person but she also understood the six guys have their own dynamic, it would be difficult for her to integrate into that group.

Instead of worrying about it, she instead opted to race towards the next destination, she can still be considered in a lead of some sorts.

There are multiple venues of progression, but she was ahead in this particular case. This gave her viewers, that gave her fame. People have begun showering her with donations.

In reality, the accumulated Vcoin doesn’t mean much to her, but the recognition and affirmation is something she is reveling in.

Her lead might not last too long. There are many people now taking the test. Talented people with a drive to succeed. Unlike the guys, Sorp excluded.

The Third wave reinforcement campgrounds is much more lively now. There are hundreds of people on the camp. It is most evident during late evening entertainment.

In Perpetuity, like in the virtual world, there is a certain sense of abandon. People are ready to cast themselves in danger or deperevity.

Men aside, the women are allowed far greater freedom, this causes a large influx of very forward women. Aggressive and promiscuous.

Daisy is already a rather confident woman, adding to the nature of virtual reality, she is almost completely free of social fears.

Men aren’t as free, but they are more likely to be aggressive. Depending on the person this can be a bit forward or something extravagant like Sorp and his friends.

Though Sorp’s idea of forwardness is less towards social encounters and more towards violent ones. If Dart and Kom had not repeatedly told him of Perpetuity’s rules, he might have started a massacre.

Most of Sorp’s frustration is now being vented in his training. His endurance continues to rise and his proficiency with various weapons increases by the day.

It might be smarter to focus on a single weapon, rather than every variation there is. Sorp’s thoughts are different. He enjoys the feel of new fighting experiences.

Sorp isn’t a trainer in the camp but he has found himself repeatedly helping people.

A week into his wait, every one of the guys is taking the test and Sorp has become a martial arts trainer in the eyes of many camp members.

Most of the believe his a virtual human. He doesn’t speak much, from what they can tell, he only responds when people talk to him.

The few times he has spoken without being addressed is when he is trying to challenge one of the senior trainers. These are the only people able to keep up with Sorp.

That they are able to put up a fight is somewhat unbelievable. Sorp has proven himself to be a fighter, strong, vicious and merciless.

It can be argued that Sorp never had to fight any professional fighter. This would be true in most cases, he has encountered pseudo professionals though.

The main issue is that Sorp’s weight class is difficult to find. Most in his weight class are overweight, not towering monsters.

This caused any resemblance to a professional fighter to be somewhat off balance. Longer reach and overwhelming power leaves little in the way of technique.

Not to forget that Sorp’s body is not rigid but flexible. A physique made for violent movements.

The trainers manage to put up a fight because of their B.F.M.’s. With the B.F.M. they are granted more powerful blows, this added to their superior fighting techniques allows them to contend with Sorp.

“The trainers are fighting again!”

“Why are they fighting two versus one?”

“That’s Sorp. He’s the strongest trainer here. He challenges someone everyday!”

“Why do I feel like i recognize him?”

“He’s the strongest trainer, you probably heard people talking about him.”

“No, I only came here two days ago, I’d remember. I’ve seen him somewhere else.”

“Where? In a trailer for Perpetuity? You know he’s a virtual human, right?”

“He is?”

“Just talk to him later, you’ll see. No way is he a normal human.”

“I’ve met plenty of virtual humans that look real as every other person.”

“Huh. When you mention it, your right. But…”

A group of people have gathered around the sparring arena. People are already shouting over each other and placing bets.

Sorp has just over thirty percent of a the bets on him. Even though he’s been undefeated so far, this time he’s fighting two skilled trainers.

“Begin!”

There is not hesitation in Sorp’s movements. He dashes forward with his thick staff in one hand and a smaller bludgeoning weapon in the other.

Before he can strike a trainer leaps to the right and thrusts his spear. This blow is threat enough for Sorp. he lifts he left hand, wielding his stout budgeting tool.

Mid swipe the other trainer tries to close in on Sorp, the wooden sword swipes midway, aiming for the ribcage.

Instead of defending from both strikes, Sorp steps with his bludgeon and swipes the spear’s end, causing the spear to jot passed his shoulders.

Seeing the blow miss and having Sorp closing in on him, the trainer lets go of his spears and retreats.

The sword wielding trainer chases after Sorp, allow the spear wielder to summon another weapon from their inventory.

This clash happens in a short second. The crowd lets out a roar of excitement.

The two trainers continue their two pronged attack. One forces Sorp to defend, while the other follows with a deadly blow.

Despite being on the defensive, the outsiders feel like the battle is even and that Sorp is attacking as much as he is defending.

This is because of Sorp’s aggressive stance, his tactics leave no room for mistake. Every strike he redirects or dodge is follow by another, aiming for a weakness.

Thirty seconds into the fight, Sorp is sweating profusely. The two trainers are in much better state, their attacks calm.

They are biting their time, whittling down Sorp’s stamina. In such a battle, every second is mile. And Sorp is the only one running it.

Backed into a corner, Sorp has to finally resort to blocking an attack. The two-handed staff is not ideal for this situation.

In a desperate situation Sorp continues to smile a charming smile. If people didn't know the situation, they might believe he’s just having a boyish quarrel.

Left with few choices, Sorp decides he might as well lose an arm to take the tree. After blocking one attack he doesn't defend against the following spear thrust but attacks the sword wielder.

The trainers are fast and their technique is more refined than Sorp’s, but Sorp is viscous not only to others, but himself as well.

Just as the spear thrust into his shoulder blades, a staff strike lands on the sword wielder. The strike hits just below the left breast, causing the trainer to lose their breath and stagger backwards.

When the spear thrusts into his shoulder blades the pain almost causes a convulsion. Sorp can't help but to go with the blow and fall forward on top of the other trainer.

Instead of using him as a shield, he continues to roll. After getting back his feet is obvious see that his right hand from the shoulder down is useless.

One trainer lies on the ground, gasping for breath and coughing up blood. The trainer left doesn’t allow Sorp to rest and continues to thrust with patience.

The spear is fast and hard to block with a bludgeon but Sorp doesn´t switch weapons.

The thrust keep repeating in a calm rhythm. The current Sorp can only dodge, deflect or block the assault.

Seconds become minutes. Three minutes in Sorp loses his ground and falls to one knee. The spear thrust continue.

The spear wielding trainer is also tiered. The spear thrust become slower as a result, but the tempo only slowed down, not stopped.

Despite having no way to recover Sorp continues to block. Until a strike makes its way through hit his right shoulder again. The agonizing pain is revitalized.

Only the adrenaline is keeping Sorp up now, his breathing heavy, like a wind trying to strong wind trying to make passed the gap beneath a door.

Sorp grunts in response to the strike but continues to amount a defence. The trainer show now mercy and continues striking.

When Sorp finally loses strength in his feet and falls face down onto the arena flow, the trainer finally stops.

Once he’s stopped attacking the spear slips his grip. He tries to reach the arena’s ropes but fails to stand upright. Soon there are three people lying on the arena floor.

The crowd has long since stopped shouting. This was much more intense than they had initially expected. Only a few gambling addicts are celebrating their gains.

The three fighters are moved to the infirmary where their wounds are mended.

They used blunt non deadly weapons but the wounds are still very real. If this was the real world, there is no doubt that Sorp would have rest for weeks to recover.