Richard was paired with Fang, and Leylah and Amber were together.

  “We are going over the basics in weapons. We’ll start with wooden swords for now. You all just jumped to level four, and you’re lucky you’ve got some time to get used to it here with Lucy so close,” Jace said.

  Fang took the wooden sword but held it at arm’s length. “Are we… actually fighting each other?”

  “Just practicing. Your body is still figuring out the system. Accidents might happen,” Jace said.

  Fang stared at Richard with slightly wide eyes.

  Richard tried to give him a calming smile. “Don’t worry, Fang. I’m… just as nervous as you.”

  “Some people assume when they enter this room that I’ll be teaching you some techniques, but I’m not. I am giving you an experience to unlock what the system has already given you. Everyone here, when they come to this planet, is already given knowledge of how to use every single weapon at our disposal. It’s just a matter of practicing it long enough for it to awaken inside you. Even if you never touched a sword before in your past life, the skills have already been given to you.” Jace folded his arms and leaned against the wall. “So go ahead. Practice.”

  Silence as the four newbies studied Jace. Richard had no idea what this man was talking about. He did not feel any different with a wooden sword in his hand.

  Leylah shrugged, then swiped with her sword. Amber, without even thinking about it, raised her wooden sword to block it. Both of them stared at their swords, eyes wide. Amber then shoved Leylah’s sword off in a skilled maneuver that Richard would have never guessed she knew.

  Richard watched Fang, knowing that the poor man had been scared way more than any of the others. “Come on, Fang. If you want, I won’t attack you at all today. You just try to get me.”

  Fang nodded. “Okay.” He lifted his sword, giving the barest attempt at a strike. Richard raised an eyebrow.

  “Really?”

  “I… don’t know what it is. I have an aversion to hurting people. It’s deep in my soul.”

  Richard nodded. “I get it.”

  “You don’t want to hurt people either?”

  “No, it’s more… the thing I sense deep in my soul about myself.”

  “What is it?” Fang asked.

  Richard didn’t know if he wanted to reveal such an intimate thing about himself, but opened his mouth anyway. “I… don’t want people to leave. I don’t want to be lonely.”

  Fang cocked his head to one side. “Oh. Interesting.”

  “It’ll be alright, Fang. These are wooden swords. Even if you hurt me, I’ve seen what these healing potions can do. I promise we’ll be fine.”

  Fang closed his eyes. “Alright. I’ll push through.”

  Fang then attempted a better strike, but Richard still parried it easily. It was slow, and since Fang admitted how deeply he didn’t want to hurt people, Richard saw it in every held back blow he made.

  Richard understood what Jace meant. With every block and parry, he felt the limit of his new skill. This truly was the basic of basics, even though it was a hell of a lot better than what he remembered he could do at home. No doubt the guard class had abilities specific for weapons, but for now, Richard was happy with the basics. He got better at dodging, better at parrying. His mind ached for a chance to strike back, but he refused. He had promised Fang, and he wouldn’t break a promise.

  Richard wasn’t sure how long they had practiced fighting, but Jace eventually switched the partners. Leylah with Fang, and Amber with Richard. He wondered if Jace did that because of Richard’s refusal to attack Fang.

  Richard tried to strike. He had been itching to attack, and was happy when Amber blocked it.

  “I think it’s really sweet of you to help Fang out,” Amber said.

  “Entering an apocalyptic world is pretty crazy. Anyone would be scared.” Richard was surprised he could have a casual conversation after sword fighting for so long.

  “Are you?” Amber asked.

  “What?”

  “Scared?” Amber asked.

  She swung, and Richard blocked it. His blocking was excellent, so he wasn’t too worried.

  “Yeah,” Richard said.

  “I respect your honesty,” Amber said.

  The corner of Richard’s mouth lifted. “Would you have believed me if I had said no?”

  “I might have.” Amber’s brows furrowed as their wooden swords clashed. “I would have placed you as someone to avoid, like Elias.”

  Richard snorted. “That’s probably smart.”

  Amber smiled right before she struck. Richard held up his sword to block it, and they were locked, holding each other back. Richard realized not only how strong he had become, but how strong Amber was. Their swords shivered as they tried to wrestle each other.

  “I don’t see how this is possible,” Amber said.

  Richard tried to shrug. “Right? You should have been able to beat me in my past life.”

  Amber laughed, and Richard smiled slightly at the joke. It didn’t feel like much of a joke. Despite what everyone else knew, he remembered the last few minutes of his life and how sick he was.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Richard got a little distracted at the fact that Amber had laughed at his joke that he missed when she broke from the wrestle and hit his stomach. Richard grunted, taking a few steps back. Amber’s eyes widened, but Richard raised a hand, brushing away her concerns.

  “It’s fine; let’s keep going.”

  “But—”

  Richard didn’t let her continue. He lunged, which she parried at the last second. She hid her smile as she shook her head. “You’re being stubborn.”

  “Just let me save face,” Richard said.

  Amber nodded, then resumed fighting, their wooden swords clanking together. Despite his joke, Richard had to wrap his mind around the equality of the system. It didn’t matter that Amber was shorter than both him and Fang. She was fighting with equal skill. And from what he noticed between Leylah and Fang, Leylah was holding her own.

  Sweat formed on Richard’s brow, but there was something exhilarating about the whole thing. He knew he had died of cancer. Sick in bed, bald head, IV, machines keeping him alive. He had been given a second chance at life in a body not riddled with disease. He didn’t know this was his second chance, but he realized the gift that it was.

  A sickening thunk filled the air, and both Amber and Richard paused. Despite his sword clashing with Amber’s, he still checked to make sure he didn’t accidentally hit her somewhere. It wasn’t until they heard Fang howling with pain that they both jerked their heads over to see Leylah staring wide-eyed at her sword.

  Richard flinched. Despite being a wooden sword, Leylah had somehow broken Fang’s arm.

  “It happens,” was all Jace said as he walked over.

  Fang kept howling in pain, and Richard couldn’t help but notice how similar it sounded to a dog’s howl.

  “Do you have a healing potion?” Jace asked Fang.

  Fang was too distracted to answer. Instead, a wide-eyed Leylah pulled out one of her potions and handed it to Jace. He nodded his thanks as he uncorked it.

  “I’m not sure if Lucy’s taught you this yet, but these potions are not to be consumed.” Jace poured the potion onto Fang’s arm. “Nor is it to be poured over the top of clothing. It must be on the wound itself.”

  Fang’s cries turned into whimpers, then pants, then a surprised silence. “That… was fast.”

  “That was a regular break from a wooden sword.” Jace handed Fang back the empty bottle. Fang flexed his arm, moving it around before grabbing the bottle and placing it in his inventory. “Give Leylah one of your potions, then go visit Lucy to get another one. We want our newbies to have two basic healing potions at all times. Come back when you’ve got it.”

  Fang nodded, perhaps a bit relieved to be done fighting Leylah. He pulled out a potion and handed it to Leylah before slipping out of the building. Jace then turned toward Richard.

  “And you? How are you?” Jace asked.

  Richard frowned. “Sorry?”

  Jace didn’t elaborate. He simply waited with a small smile on his face. It was only a few moments afterwards that Richard sensed the bruise on his stomach. He lifted his shirt to see a dark purple bruise across his stomach. He stared at it, then at Amber.

  “You said… you said it didn’t hurt.” Amber covered her mouth to stifle her gasp.

  “It… doesn’t. Not like it should,” Richard said. “Not until Jace mentioned it.”

  “Welcome to level four.” Jace still had his arms folded and was smiling. “All bruises no longer hurt. The nasty ones only hurt after the fighting’s done. You all made a tremendous leap to level four, so I wanted to practice it now.”

  Back home, a bruise like this would have made him double over in pain. Even now, this dark bruise should have hurt worse. He poked at it, and Amber tried too late to stop him. His stomach tingled, but it wasn’t bad.

  “I don’t get it. How is this different from the skill of ignoring pain in our skill tree? How can we fight with swords even though I don’t remember ever picking one up in my past life?” Richard asked.

  “Mmm, good questions. The weapons? We have no idea. We think there is more to the abilities in our skill tree, like hidden features that come with it. All we know is everyone has a basic grasp of weapon use. Maybe it’s the synergy of the abilities. We don’t have time to study it, though. We go through the traditions. Perhaps when the monsters stop attacking us so much, we’ll be able to research it. Who knows? I’ve heard some of the older folks talk about a scholar class.”

  Richard raised an eyebrow at that. More classes? Ones that hadn’t appeared in a while? That was fascinating.

  “As for your bruise, your body now is far stronger than it ever was before. Bruises, especially from wooden swords, will hardly feel like anything.” Jace leaned down to get a better look at the injury on Richard’s stomach. He then nodded, smiling at Amber. “Nice.”

  Amber’s face burned in embarrassment. “Th-thank you.”

  Richard smiled and made sure Amber knew it didn’t hurt. He wasn’t saving face this time. Jace pulled out one of his own healing potions.

  “I can sacrifice a bit of potion. Hold out your hands,” Jace said. Richard did, and Jace dropped a small amount of potion into his palms. “Just rub it in there. I don’t see any cuts, so it should be fine.”

  The potion moved like clear liquid slime. Richard did his best to rub it on his belly and watched in amazement as the bruise lessened with every rub. He kept going until it disappeared entirely.

  “Perfect.” Jace picked up a wooden sword and turned toward Leylah. “So you’re considering becoming a guard?”

  Leylah smiled. “Yeah. It feels right.”

  “Good. You don’t mind if I fight you for a bit? To make sure this is the class you’d like to choose?”

  Leylah’s eyes shone with excitement. “Yes, please!”

  Jace chuckled, then began his attack. Richard, for his part, watched for a few minutes in awe of the insane skill Jace had. Leylah, though she was excited, was barely keeping up. Jace wasn’t even trying, and yet Leylah was soon soaked with sweat.

  Richard pulled his attention away, figuring he ought to keep training with Amber. Amber nodded at him, and the two of them dropped to a much slower pace.

  Fang came back soon after, but seemed content to watch for a while. Even though Richard and Amber pushed themselves harder than he thought was possible, Jace went at a superhuman speed, and Leylah struggled to keep up. Despite all this, Jace still seemed to hold back. It didn’t stop him from getting a few hits on Leylah, which she brushed off as easily as Richard had brushed off his.

  After ten minutes, Jace held up a hand to stop. Leylah was panting, sweat pouring down her face. Richard and Amber slowed to a stop as well. Fang was leaning against the wall, watching in awe.

  “What do you think?” Jace asked.

  “Good,” Leylah got out. “Great, even. I want this.”

  Jace gave her a genuine smile. “Excellent. Absolutely excellent. We need spirit like yours.”

  The door opened, and Elwyndor walked inside. Jace gave her a wave. “Before you move on to the next group, I have something I need to warn you all.” Jace began gathering up the wooden swords. “Today we did person versus person. We do that only within the confines of this building. We are a team here at Base Two.” Jace sighed, a somber look on his face. “There are some people who start getting what I call the leveling bug. They see what they can unlock in the skill tree before them, and they get too excited.” Jace sighed again. “As uncomfortable a conversation as this is to have, I need you all to know that killing another member of base two will not give you experience points.”

  Richard couldn’t help shooting a glance at Amber, his eyes slightly wide. Jace absently swung a sword.

  “Not only will you get no experience points, but it’s against the rules. Dmitri will punish you, and it usually ends in banishment from base two, and subsequently, a visit from Death. Don’t do it. Don’t even try.” Jace slipped the wooden swords in his inventory and smiled. “Despite how awkward this conversation is, at least I don’t have to give you apocalypse sex ed. I’ll leave that to Lucy.”

  “We’ve heard it already,” Fang mumbled.

  Richard managed to chuckle. He needed that release. Jace nodded toward Elwyndor. “Go ahead. Elywendor will lead you to lunch and explain what she needs from you for the rest of the day.”

  Richard held in a sigh as he turned around, following Elwyndor out of the training building. He was glad Jace had told them this. He wasn’t worried about anyone in the newbie group, but he realized the necessity of knowing this. It was kind of nice to know that certain people wouldn’t try to smother him with a pillow in his sleep.