t was the first time that he was alone since arriving in the chamber, the young man mused. He was seated in the ground, armor stained and scratched, with his greataxe in his lap. It had been a little more than a month since Gamaliel took him here and he honestly felt better about the whole dying and going to a fantasy world to build a dungeon thing now that he vented some frustrations on some monsters, his battling had opened his eyes to the beauty of combat, something he would have never experienced in his old life, and every time he found himself resting left him with the itch for an exchange of blows.

The first few days had been the worst so far, he had no idea how to move in armor nor how to use the greataxe in an efficient manner, this resulted in most of his battles consisting of just flailing his axe till he hit one of the things the Training Grounds threw at him, mannequin-like things wearing cloth armor and armed with crappy weapons that started with only one but increased in number as he progressed and got better at fighting, but didn't really coordinate well enough to capitalize their numerical advantage. In the second week the same monsters appeared except they had gotten upgrades, metal could be seen in their armor and the cloth that made most of it looked sturdier and thicker than the one previously worn, also their weapons looked to be of a better quality.

He died on the first day of the second week, honestly the worst part about dying was the road and not the destination, as in being beaten and having your bones broken is worse than the weird cessation of being that was death. Upon his demise the day had apparently reset, something he somehow grasped immediately and labeled a quirk of the Training Grounds. Another thing that stood out to him was how he felt a connection to his armor and weapon, when he was in combat he felt them guide him in correcting mistakes with the gentle hand of a caring teacher he was led to a further mastery of a dance of steel and blood, beautiful in its simplicity and breathtaking with its brutality.

And so with the sound of multiple footsteps coming closer he stood up and readied himself for another fight.

//

Gamaliel was nervous, something she was not really accustomed to thanks to her nature as one of God's messengers, there was little that could threaten the Heavens and the strength of an angel was something to be respected no matter how young the angel in question was, and her inexperience in dealing with the type of challenges that would undoubtedly come, although centuries old most of her time was spent cooped up in desk jobs and when she did venture forth into other realms it was usually to places that either did not possess something that would be a threat to her or were guarded against does that did.

Trying to distract herself she decided to evaluate her soon-to-be partner, she refused to let the possibility of him dropping out for the sake of her nerves, using the information given to her along with their, admittedly short, interaction and found that there was not a lot to be excited about, his school life along with his grades were the slight bit above average but nothing that could not be outside the range of normalcy and his personal one was not much different; as for their interaction, he seemed to be respectful and was pretty stoic, though should this be a negative or not would become apparent with time.

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While the lack of outstanding qualities could be considered disheartening, Gamaliel did not really give it importance, it was the absence of any overly negative traits that was more important to her, some of the stories that went around were truly nightmarish. In fact, now that she thought more about it, guiding an average dungeon lord was perfect to her goal of quietly and peacefully ascending the ladder of power until she reached a comfortable position to spend the rest of her days in, and hopefully her partner would agree.

She just hoped that her charge would not be suffering more than necessary and came back shortly after fulfilling the required month. After all, once that milestone is reached the difficulty increases daily and at an accelerated rate.

//

The striking of metal was heard across miles, the terrain that once was a plain displayed deep punctures and gashes. Blood poured into craters and one could think the very earth was bleeding from mortal wounds.

In the middle of bloody mud and corpses dissipating in motes of golden light was a fight. In one side a towering behemoth of a man was garbed in a cloak stained deep crimson in appearance, the combination of rips, tears and stench of blood made it a garment fit only to a warrior baptized in grand slaughter, beneath the bloodied cloth was an armor that covered the goliath from head to toe in plate and mail, gray metal adorned with fabrics of faded golds, deep reds and dark purples. It's weapon a greataxe that was as tall as its wielder with a bearded head that had a single edge reaching to a third of its metal shaft littered with scratches, the instrument of war’s head was an almost black crimson that brightened at the edge and its handle a mix of dark golds and purples highlighting an engraving of a battlefield filled with the mad cries of warriors longing for ash and blood.

Engaging the giant were three identical beings that resembled angels, each wore golden armor broken up by white cloth and wielded spears and shields, the most attention grabbing characteristic were the pure white wings that adorn their backs and allowed them to surround their foe in the safety of the air. After ensuring that at least one of them was in a blindspot all three charged their enemy, spears ready to skewer the man. When they almost reached him the metal clad warrior burst into action, his axe moving and biting into the angel in front of him batting him a distance away and leaving a mortal gash upon its side, following the momentum it swatted another of his opponents like a fly incapacitating it for a few moments, to late to deal with the third foe or dodge he moved to minimize the damage he received. Luckily the spear merely glanced of his armor, capitalizing in the opportunity the man grabbed the angel’s head with one hand, and despite its attempt at breaking his grip, wrapped his other arm around its neck and broke it; the fight largely finished he threw the disappearing corpse to the side and leapt at the barely moving enemy he had knocked out of the air, quickly cleaving it in two.

The man looked at the battlefield in contemplation, after ending the third week he had rapidly lost himself in the rapidly increasing fights, the likely dozens of deaths that he suffered did not help in keeping track of time but did serve as an incentive to keep improving. Many times he had gotten lost in a trance of blood, ash and metal only to regain awareness days later, his body improved and changed along with his equipment; the ties between him and his weapon and armor only deepend, their presence slowly healing and filling the void left by his family and he could feel that they were approaching an important milestone the more he killed and connected with them, but he also felt as if they would not be able to reach it in this place.

And so, with a final observation of the destruction he wrecked he finally willed to exit at last.

//

When the time the young man would come back was near Gamaliel found herself having a sudden rise of nervousness and doubt, her heart started beating loudly in her chest and with great difficulty she steeled herself. And just in time for the golden glow to come, revealing what would be her partner for millenia to come.