Serah takes a small step to the right. Seven daggers fly past her. Then Serah leaps backwards, to her left hand side. Nine daggers fly past her. Then, following her senses, she jumps forward, doing a flip in the air, and passing over a bladed boomerang, and landing on her feet, before bolting forward. She rushes to her left hand side, and an explosion rocks her, flames expanding out and burning her clothes, forcing her to cover her face with her arms.

Serah lands on her back and stares at the ceiling with wide eyes. “Holy fuck.” She exclaims.

“You’re still alive. Keep going.” A voice calls out.

Serah stands up once again and takes a deep breath, preparing herself to rush forward again. She had been training for the last year and she no longer had her skill point knowledge from her previous world. She retained some knowledge, considering she used her skills quite a bit, but there was a haze around most of it. One thing’s for sure, she was no longer a sword master. She still retained some magical abilities but it was incomplete in comparison.

So, for the last year, the Shadow Order taught her a new way to survive. She trained to enhance her senses in a very weird way. They taught her to associate items that she viewed and her feelings with ideas. If Serah looked at a room, she could easily associate various ideas and emotions to the random items in the room. It was a way of memorizing the layout of the room, but it also worked in a weird way that she would call magical… For some things, she instinctively knew to associate them with feelings such as danger or precarious, or treat with caution; there was no real reason for it, but the feelings were still there.

In this way, eventually, she could walk in a room that was hidden by darkness, a room hidden with traps and various pitfalls, and she had some confidence that she could walk through relatively unharmed.

When Serah asked about it, her instructor simply smiled. “There’s no science behind it. It works based on a universal law that operates behind our reality. No one has any idea exactly what that is, but for things like this, it can be used to our advantage.” The man said.

Serah continues to run forward, avoiding various traps, and eventually… She made it out the hallway.

Her instructor was there to greet her with a smile. “Good job. You got a little burnt, but that’s fine. You pass. I’ll give my recommendation for your mission-ready status.” He says.

Serah smiles. “Awesome. How’d the others do?” She asks.

“They did fine. I think they’re waiting for you back in the common area.” He says before turning. “Anyways. Have fun out there.” He says with a chuckle before leaving.

Serah lets out a sigh. Out there? I wonder what kind of stuff I can see out there… She wonders before moving to find her friends.

…

…

“Hey! You’re here!” Nickie says with a smile. “We already received our first mission!” She says excitedly.

“What is it?” Serah asks.

Samantha lets out a sigh. “It seems to be something tedious…” She says, somewhat disappointed.

Serah raises an eyebrow. “It can’t be that bad?” She says.

“See for yourself.” Samantha says, handing a piece of paper to Serah.

Serah takes a look. “Setup a trade store in the Ashland world? What does that mean?” She asks.

“It means we’re on standby. We have to spend a few years out there, just working! Like normal people!” Samantha exclaims.

“What? Is that it?” Serah asks with wide eyes.

“Well, they’re planning a coup in the kingdom. But for now we have to setup a trade business, and we can’t leave until we’re successful.” Samantha says, disappointed.

“What kind of trade are we even going to do?” Serah asks, somewhat dreading a boring lifestyle.

“I don’t know. Probably something like a network of bars. That’s probably best for setting up an information network.” Samantha says.

A man, walking by, happened to hear this and stopped. He lets out a chuckle as he approaches the girls. “Let me guess. Newbies, right?” He says, pretty confident.

Serah’s brows furrow. “So what!?” She asks, annoyed.

The man smiles. “Hey, easy there, girl. I’m not here to make fun of you. Just wanted to offer some advice.” He says as he makes a calming gesture with his hands.

Serah raises an eyebrow. “What is it?” She asks.

The man continues to smile. “If you’re being asked to setup a trade, I suggest you pick up something that you can continue to use. This job won’t last forever, and eventually you’ll be asked to do something else. So… While you can, pick up a skill that you can carry forward. Even the most mundane jobs can offer various things; skills, and even character development. Even a dude who’s asked to stack boxes for seven hours, six days a week, will at least learn patience. If you choose to be a bartender, you can learn social cues and body language. Everything's something. So don’t waste it.” The man says with a serious face.

Serah’s eyes widen. She hadn't thought of it that way. “What’s your name?” She asks.

The man smiles. “Just a random passersby. See ya.” He says before leaving.