Vina raced as fast as she dared out of the runed door cave and back to Termily. When she arrived at the wall, her rope was still there. As she climbed up and just crested the wall, a window popped up in her vision.

Stealth is 50% less effective due to light exposure.

She stripped her armor off, hid her lantern away in her backpack, and canceled her stealth skill. Trying to act normal, she stood up and walked back to her house. She could barely believe she had not been detected by the guards in the early morning light. Vina managed to get a couple hours of sleep before being awoken by a knock on her door. She felt incredibly exhausted still, with a pounding headache. Much of her grogginess went away though when she was greeted by Annalina and Etana.

“Good morning Vina!” Ann said excitedly and gave Vina a hug.

Vina was surprised, but the warm hug from her sister quickly made her feel better. Etana kept her distance, but also greeted her warmly. Vina invited them inside, but they declined. “We’re heading to get some breakfast. Do you want to join us?” Ann said with a smile.

“Yes!” Vina agreed emphatically. Soon they were heading straight toward the market. After they had taken a seat at a local teahouse and ordered, Etana grew a serious tone. “After you left last night, Ann and I talked some more. We went over the notes you had a couple more times and we are thinking we should keep our relationship to you secret for now.”

Ann looked sad, “It’s not what we want, Vina, but we are concerned for all our safety. If ‘you know who’ thought it best to keep our identities hidden, maybe we should just abide by that. Just for now at least.”

Vina considered their words, but ultimately agreed that Priya encouraged some discretion, “I think that’s a good idea. I don’t want The Watch to know either. They are already keeping an eye on me, I think. Ebba visits me every night and yesterday she was watching my fights through a window at the institute.”

Etana looked surprised by that, “She was? Can you point her out to me if you see her today?”

Vina nodded in agreement, “Of course.” She turned to Ann, “Speaking of today. Where are you going Ann? Is there a different building for support classes?”

“Yeah. I am spending most of my time developing skills like bandaging and wound care. I am at various clinics around town quite often. I also have started to take steps into herbalism and mixture making. I was hunting for some special plants when I found you outside.”

“I had no idea there was a bandaging skill. I’ve covered my own wounds many times. How did you learn that skill?” Vina said in surprise.

“Sometimes we learn skills based on our intentions. I’m not sure, but maybe covering a wound with cloth and bandaging a wound are two different intentions. There’s an intentionality in the creation of the bandages as well. I could show you if you want.” Ann said, taking a sip of a strange purple drink.

Vina was about to accept her offer when their food was delivered and they all quickly ate, feeling the pressure of classes about to begin. Once they were done, Vina and Etana said goodbye to Ann and they began to walk toward The Institute.

Etana yawned, “How’s your running skill? I hear they are testing for that one later.”

Vina laughed. “It’s really bad. How about yours?”

Etana sighed, “Yeah me too. Should we start doing a run every day?”

“We should probably do some jumping too.” Vina suggested.

Her sister got a far away look that told Vina she was looking at a window and slowly nodded her agreement, seeming to be deep in thought. “Well let’s get started on running now. There’s no use in delaying it.”

Together they ran to The institute. While they ran, Vina suppressed a feeling of guilt. A part of her really wanted to tell her sisters about the runed door that was not too far away. However, she felt she must keep it to herself. They couldn’t all sneak away each night to work on the problem. The more people that went to the cave, the more likely they would be caught leaving town. “What would even happen if they found all three of us outside the walls?” she thought to herself. Vina still struggled to keep information to herself though. Her desire for an honest relationship battled with her logic of the situation.

When they arrived, both of them were out of breath. “Did you skill up?” Etana said between breaths.

“Not yet. Still sitting at level two, but my progress moved up. How about you?” Vina said, sitting on the ground next to the other students.

“Same here. I wonder if putting points into stamina or mastery would help this level up faster.” Etana mused.

“Hey, I guess we’ll see if you’re right about being selected first today.” Vina said to Etana in a teasing manner. Etana just gave her a grin of confidence.

Samire began lecturing and providing guidance on various uses of the weapons they had available. He picked each one up and displayed the various forms and postures one could use. Much to Vina’s displeasure, she noticed there wasn’t a spear on the rack today. After Samire had finished his lecture, he began the live combat duels again. “Today we will be limiting a combatant to five victories. After that you will take a seat. Etana, why don’t you start us off today. We’ll pair you with Tamlin.”

Etana cast a look that told Vina, “Told you so”, and she couldn’t help but laugh. Vina also deeply reconsidered her interpretation of events. She had never considered such intentionality existed in people, but Etana had read the situation perfectly. Just how many things had Vina missed because she wasn’t thinking like Etana did? Vina resolved herself to try to see between the motivations behind what people are doing. “Especially for people in control of me.” Vina thought to herself. Her mind kept drifting toward Ebba’s motivations.

Vina snapped her attention back to the duel her sister was about to start. To her surprise, her sister had not selected the same narrow bladed sword she had chosen the day before. Today she had picked a wider and shorter blade. Vina thought it looked a little like a gladius that she had seen in gladiator movies. Etana even used the weapon like she had seen. She held it up near her ear and she seemed to crouch as she approached her opponent. Vina watched in shock as Etana used the weapon to great effect and soon Etana finished all five of her duels.

“That was amazing!” Vina said to Etana when she sat back down. Etana seemed quite winded from her duels, but she was beaming with pride.

“I got my fifth level!” she exclaimed and Vina squealed in delight with her.

“What are your class options? Are you going to choose your class now? What’s your highest skill?” Vina’s excitement for her sister was overflowing.

Etana chuckled and shrugged, “I’ll review my options in more detail after class today. I’m not sure if I’ll share my class with you or Ann though. In general it normally isn’t done. We all keep it to ourselves to be safe.”

Vina blinked in surprise and whispered. “The Watch knows my class. Did I make a mistake in telling them?”

Her sister made a sour face, “Yeah, you did. You could have declined. My guess is they were taking advantage of your ignorance of the way things work here. In the future, don’t tell anyone your skills or your class. If you ever get an aspect, don’t tell anyone that either.”

Vina nodded soberly. Was she too trusting? Priya had warned her of so many things in this world, but she had not thought all of it out. Vina could tell she had an oversharing problem that she would need to get under control.

Vina turned back to the ongoing duel in front of her. She tried to glean any hints about skills or approach, but everyone was still clearly very new. When it came to be her turn, Vina stepped up to the weapon rack. Without her spear, throwing knives, or bow, Vina doubted her ability to pull off a guaranteed win against her opponent. She looked back over at her opponent: Marlu. She was wielding a thick and long sword. She held it with a single hand and nothing in her offhand. Vina mused as she checked the rack. She had already decided to try out the same weapon Etana had used in their duel. She quickly found it among the other swords and examined it.

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Item: Thrusting Sword Common Damage: 3-9 Durability: 30/30 This is a sword designed for thrusting attacks. The sword is longer and thinner than the average sword, but just as heavy. This sword is good at making slashing attacks.

Vina picked that weapon up in her dominant left hand. She wasn’t done however. She walked to a table that had a number of different, smaller weapons. Vina examined a couple different daggers, but one in particular caught her attention. It had a strong backbone that supported numerous teeth. The edges of the teeth were shaped into triangles. The whole thing looked like a comb attached to a dagger hilt.

Item: Sword Breaker Dagger Uncommon Damage: 2-5 Durability: 30/30 This dagger is specially designed to capture the opponent's sword. The teeth can lock the weapon into place if the dagger is twisted at the right time. This dagger may still be used as a dagger due to its sharp point.

Vina picked this dagger up and looked at it more closely. She could imagine how the dagger could capture other blades with the proper movement. She held it in her right hand and tried to figure out whether the teeth should be up or down. She fiddled with it for a moment before Samire gently prodded her.

“Are you ready Vina?” he asked evenly.

Vina decided she would hold the teeth down as if they were a cutting edge. She lifted both weapons and they actually felt pretty good. They were definitely heavier than she was used to, but something felt right. Up to this point, Vina knew she had not used one of her class’s newest skills: ambidexterity. She had felt a difference when she had used her right hand now. There was greater control that she could feel. She couldn’t control her right hand exactly like she could with her left, but undeniably, she knew the skill had done something.

Vina stepped back to the dueling area and prepared herself. She knew these weapons were going to resist her since she lacked any skill with them. “Just don’t drop one. That’s going to be very embarrassing, Vina.” she whispered to herself.

Vina accepted the offer to duel from Marlu. Marlu seemed to take her time and Vina greatly appreciated it. She had no idea what she was doing with these two weapons. Now that things had begun, she feared she had made a bad decision. “Okay, just avoid her for now. Get a feel for these things.” When Marlu did finally take a swing at Vina, she stepped to the side and avoided it. She tried to push her piercing weapon into Marlu’s exposed side, but the weapon squirmed in her hand and she missed. Thankfully the intricate wire guard prevented Vina from dropping the weapon.

Vina and Marlu exchanged a couple more clashes. At one point Vina had raised her piercing weapon to block Marlu’s strike. Vina realized this was a mistake as soon as Marlu’s much heavier weapon came down on her thinner one. To its credit, the thrusting sword did not break, but there was a bend introduced and Vina was knocked off balance. She gritted her teeth and tried to regain her footing. Marlu did not hesitate and tried to do a quick jab at her. Vina activated Mobility, trying to find an escape. To her surprise, the skill told her to not move at all and to use her dagger. Vina swept the dagger downward, catching Marlu’s sword between two teeth. Mobility told Vina to twist the dagger and she obeyed.

Vina could feel the weapon get locked into her dagger and Marlu tried to free herself by yanking. Instead, Vina forced the weapon down and to the side. She thrust her sword forward and activated Scarlet Dance at the same time. The piercing weapon entered Marlu’s chest between two ribs. Vina, still holding Marlu’s sword with her dagger, pulled the piercing weapon out and started to thrust it back in again. She never got a chance.

Marlu dropped her weapon and fell to her knees gasping and coughing up blood. She held the wounded area where she had been struck as her blood flowed out of the wound. Her face was one of shock as she fell face forward.

Vina stood there shocked. Had she hit something vital? How could someone die from a single wound, especially in this world?

Marlu soon stood back up, perfectly healed and Samire declared Vina the victor. Vina’s clearly puzzled face of confusion caused him to explain. “As you can see, Vina’s perfect aim struck Marlu’s heart. Keep this in mind. Your vitality may strengthen your bones, give you more blood, and increase your durability, but it doesn’t matter how much health you have if your heart stops working. Protect your vital areas such as your throat, eyes, and chest at all points in time.”

Samire whispered to her, “I’ve seen a lot of deaths here. That was a faster than normal death due to heart strikes. Are you using an active skill I don’t know?”

Vina’s eyes opened in understanding. Scarlet Dance enhanced her bleeding effects. There must have been a combined effect from the skill and where she struck her opponent. If she struck veins, arteries, or the heart, would her opponents die faster?

Vina shrugged, avoiding answering Samire’s question. She did not want to try lying and get caught if she failed. Vina quickly swapped out her now bent sword and Samire called up her next opponent. Vina took her time through each battle, remembering Etana had suggested she focus on developing her skills.. By the end of her five duels, Vina had learned and improved three new skills.

New Skill Learned: Thrusting Swords. Thrusting swords has reached level 3. Thrusting swords ignore 2% of armor and inflict 6% more damage. New Skill Learned: Parry. Parry has reached level 2. You are 2% more likely to see a parrying opportunity and a parried opponent is 2% more likely to have their stance broken. New Skill Learned: Daggers. Daggers has reached level 2. Daggers attack 3% faster and inflict 3% more damage. Quest updated: Learn Skills 3 31/75 You have earned 140 experience from leveling skills. You have earned 1550 experience points from winning duels.

At the end of her duels, Vina checked her progress toward her next level.

You have earned 4545 out of 6000 experience points toward your next level

Vina sighed. It felt like her leveling speed had dropped significantly since earning her class. She added up some quick numbers and felt she should level again in two more days if she kept dueling and winning.

Her day of learning did not end there, however. She was soon in a class about the creatures of the world and was given a large empty book. Samire instructed the class to focus on the book and think of the word Compendium. Vina focused and had a window pop up in her view.

What kind of compendium would you like to create?

Vina looked through the options, seeing creatures, skills, aspects, and maps. The list was rather extensive though and she saw other options like people and politics. Vina was impressed at what knowledge she could create in an instant. However, she followed the directions Samire gave her and selected Creatures from the list.

The book's cover shifted and the title read “Vina’s Creature Compendium”. Vina opened the book to the first page. There she saw an entry for Spinerlings.

Creature Compendium Entry: Spinerlings

Spinerlings are creatures of the dark. They live in dark areas away from the light. At night time they are naturally attracted to fire much like moths. Much like those insects, spinerlings are weak to all forms of fire or heat. Spinerlings are opportunistic hunters, but mostly scavengers. They seek out dead or dying creatures and attach their youngest members, sometimes called feeders, to the bodies. The feeders eat the bodies and generate a waste product that serves as food for the adult spinerlings. Adult spinerlings are fiercely protective of their young feeders and will attack in packs when provoked.

Feeder health: 4

Adult Spinerling health: 8

Six Eyed Spinerling health: 14

Samire continued his lecture while Vina processed what was in her new book. “I suggest you all go to the stores tonight to buy books. Fill out various compendiums that make sense based on your life experiences. I urge caution in making a compendium about your class or your skills. If someone were to obtain these, they could be used against you when you start adventuring for real.”

His eyes snapped back to Vina as he continued, “For some of you, even making a map could be unwise at this point in your life.” Samire looked away from her again and said, “I don’t say this to scare you. I know that gaining experience and power is enjoyable. I want you to know that doing so does not come without consequences.” He looked back toward Vina again, “My hope is you’ll become more aware of the ways to mitigate those consequences.”