(Zack)

"Alright, boys!" I clap my hands together, startling everyone on my team but Luca, who was staring at me intently. "Training time!"

We just finished the morning exercises, which included martial arts and knives for everyone, with staff training for Luca and Max and sword training for Gavin, extra martial arts and knife training for Braden.

"Before we go, however," I open up my Inventory and pull out a basic steel sword sheathed in a simple, hard leather scabbard. "Gavin, this is for you."

"A new sword?" He looks at it skeptically.

"Money slimes," I say. "Are a type of Special Monster. They're more difficult to kill, and will wear through your training swords much, much faster than regular slimes or rats, especially since they have the same effect as any Stone Slimes. That said, if you see a Stone Slime-"

"Boss Kill!" Max exclaims.

"What?" Gavin looks at Max.

"He said to let me kill it," I say. "I have a certain grudge against Stone Slimes. Anyway, Stone Slimes and money slimes have a tendency to wear at metals, so this increases the acidic effect they have on metal weapons. This sword is enchanted for stronger durability, but other than that, it's a basic sword. I know Peter made sure you know how to properly care for a sword, in addition to my own training of you in that. This should last you more than a day or two. You're the only person here who would lose your weapon within a kill or two, so this is a necessary upgrade."

"Oh," he accepts the sword, then switches the training one for it. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," I say. "You can leave the training sword wherever, I know it won't fit in your Inventory."

He walks over to the storage room and puts it in there, then rejoins us.

"Now," I say. "As you all know, money slimes leave money equal to their Level and type. So a Level 1 Copper Slime gives you 1 copper, a Level 5 Copper Slime gives you 5 copper, a Level 1 Silver Slime gives you 1 silver, and so on. Max can fight Silver Slimes, but Gavin, Braden, you two will be attacking Copper Slimes. Luca will act as healer and buffer-"

Luca puffs out his chest, mostly because of the 'buffer' part. He wasn't aware I knew about his Blessing of [Stat].

"And he will remember," I continue. "That it only lasts for five seconds at its current Level, and takes up nearly a quarter of his Mana to cast. So only do it if and when they need it, Luca. You aren't being supplied with Mana Potions."

Luca nods, but keeps his chest puffed out, looking proud of the fact that he can help his team in that way, too.

I want to add something else on to the rest of this, but Nik told me to tell them after we finish, because it would stick better.

"Finally," I look at Gavin again. "Which element do you think would be most effective against Stone Slimes and Money Slimes?"

"Boss! Boss!" Max raises a hand and hops up and down as he waves it, tail wagging.

"Hush, Max," I say. "Let Gavin answer the question. You're an Elementalist, so it's natural you'd know."

"Max know!" Max continues hopping up and down. "Pick Max! Pick Max! Max! Max!"

Luca whacks him on the head with his staff.

"Ow!" Max rubs his head.

"Thank you, Luca," I say, and Luca nods. "So, Gavin?"

"Fire and water are opposites," Gavin says. "And earth and air are opposites. I remember you teaching that. So it would be air."

"Correct," I say. "Ice is also somewhat effective, but air is better. And so, I am going to teach you a new Skill once we leave. This will help you fight the Money Slimes."

"A new Skill?" He asks. "One which will help me against the Money Slimes?"

"Yes," I nod. "Max is a magician, which means he uses magic, and he has a decent Intellect, allowing him to deal some decent damage. Luca, well, he's not a fighter. Braden uses magical arrows. Magic is more effective on slimes than physical attacks, even though Slimes technically have no Endurance in their ooze, since physical attacks don't actually damage the ooze. This attack works with swords while allowing you to damage magic-based creatures like slimes.

"Alright!" I say. "Let's move out!"

As we leave, Aurum joins us, and I give him a curious look. He tells me that he has food for our lunch, since Nathan isn't back yet and he's been getting bored and wants to help. Part of it's that he has a lot of money leftover from when I gave him the money to make the pies for Max, and he didn't really know what to do it with.

But he also has a staff, and a magician's staff at that. So I talk with him fully in the beastborn way, though a bit slower, and find out that he doesn't want to get left behind when the battle begins. It seems he found out from his brother that the ones serving the Dark Knights have all been training, and that even though they won't be too much use against things with the System, they're still going to give it their all.

It's not so much a case of 'they're doing it, so should I', but a case of 'I found out others are, and that made me realize I want to, too'. He didn't think that those without Access to the System could actually make a difference in the battle against monsters with Levels and Skills.

He says that he practiced this morning to learn Wind Spike as the spell itself just for this. Since he doesn't have Access to the System, he has to actually train the spell, rather than using it as a Skill over and over against monsters.

I wish him luck on that, and he nods seriously.

The group of us exit the City through the north gate, as usual, and I lead the team into the fields, Aurum going off on his own as we walk further out. Aurum will be fine, he has several other beastborn secretly stalking him to make sure he'll not come to harm, and he hasn't noticed them.

"Alright, Gavin," I say. "The Skill I'm going to teach you falls under the Skills of the Mystic Knights. Their Skills focus on adding effects to their attacks. Dark Strike, a Dark Knight Skill, can be considered one, though it's not something they can learn.

"This Skill," I grip the hilt of my sword. "Is Wind Blade!"

I spin, slashing with my sword into a Level 4 Gold Slime that was hopping towards us, and cut it in half, the ooze melting away as its core drops to the ground, cut cleanly into two pieces, then I hold my sword out in front of me so that my team can see the wind swirling around it. Since my wind magics possess a purplish tinge due to my heritage as a Child of Existence, they can actually see it without a high Perception.

New Skill! Wind Blade Active Enchant your sword with the power of wind, sheathing your blade in it for several seconds. Air Damage: 5% of your Intellect per Level of this Skill Duration: 20 seconds per Level of this Skill Cost: 50 Mana

I probably didn't need to actually acquire the Skill, and could have just walked him through it, but I will be taking on Mystic Knight when I reach Ascension 2, so why not start working on some of its things now? Or at least, just whenever I end up using them?

"Luckily for you," I tell Gavin. "You'll be able to cast it once per full Mana until you raise your Wisdom some more. The four base elemental Blade Attacks only cost 50 Mana. However, they last for 20 seconds."

"Does this require Intellect?" He asks.

"Yes," I nod. "Five percent of your Intellect per Level of the Skill becomes the air damage."

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"I only have 4 Intellect."

"Wind Blade," I reactivate the Skill and hold my sword up again. "Look along the edges of the blade. What do you see?"

He looks at the edges of the blade, where a thin layer of purple wind coats the sharpness of it.

"That purple layer," I say. "Is the actual enchantment. This means that your physical attack is imbued with it. The Air Damage from the wind flowing around the blade is additional damage. You have 16 Strength, yes?"

"I do," he confirms.

"That means," I say. "You will do up to 16 Air Damage from the physical attack. This damage will only matter if you strike the core. The additional Air Damage from the wind around it works for the ooze."

"Oh," he says. "But I can only use this once every sixteen to seventeen minutes?"

"For now," I nod. "But it lasts for twenty seconds. That should be enough for you to kill a Level 1 Copper Slime. However, it does mean you'll need to strike it around six or seven times while the Skill is active."

Gavin nods thoughtfully, then frowns.

"But," he says. "Couldn't I just strike them normally?"

"You could," I say. "But without an elemental addition to your attack, it won't be as effective. The actual slime part of a slime is viscous, so it slows physical attacks. By adding on the elemental factor, it won't do it as much. That means you can actually place more power into the attack. Otherwise, your damage would actually be reduced."

"Oh," he says. "Okay. That makes more sense."

"Good luck," I tell him. "Good luck to all of you. Luca and I will be around for emergency healing."

----------------------------------------

(Luca)

I watch as the others go to start their training, Mr. Zack helping Gavin learn how to use the Wind Strike. He doesn't realize I know, does he? That he took on Holy Squire last night. I saw him leaving during the night again, as usual, which is probably why most of the Slimes here are only Level 1 or Level 2 Copper Slimes.

But Mr. Light of Air told me that Mr. Zack was training himself. His Skills for the holy Class of Paladin. I am super jealous of him as his ability to learn so easily, to Level so well. Mr. Light of Air told me that Mr. Zack maxed-out Light Orb, Holy Shield, and Blessing of [Stat] last night.

That only took him around four hours, Mr. Light of Air said. I know it's really unfair to compare myself to him, since Mr. Zack probably has eight or nine thousand Mana, so he can just burn it on lesser Skills for hours, and because he's a Dark Knight, he's able to use his holy Skills on monsters and gain Experience for them.

But it means that Mr. Zack only needs, like, one or two more Skills just to hit the third Tier. All he's really waiting on right now is Experience, though Mr. Light of Air also said that Mr. Zack managed to acquire a lot last night.

Even though Paladin is a Rank 1 Class, shouldn't it have taken Mr. Zack awhile? What did he do last night that let him gain so much Experience for it? It couldn't have all come from supporting his 'allies', could it?

"I wasn't just in the fields," Mr. Zack whispers to me as he rejoins me after Gavin learns the Skill. "I was doing other stuff, too. Luca, I want to try experimenting something, okay?"

I give him an inquisitive look. I like that word. Inquisitive. It's a big word for a small boy like me.

"Don't heal any of them," he tells me, and I frown. "I want to see if maybe you'll acquire more Experience by healing them all together. Also, I want you to use Blessing of Intellect on Max and Braden and Blessing of Endurance on Gavin when I give the signal."

I'm about to protest because that probably won't be very efficient, then realize that Mr. Zack's eyes are that beautiful violet they take on when he uses his psychic magic. He knows something, doesn't he?

"Now," he says. "In that order."

I hold up my hands and use Blessing of Intellect on Max, then cast it again on Braden, then switch to Blessing of Endurance for Gavin. Max is probably the only one who actually benefited from that, but before the last Blessing wears off…

Blessing of [Stat] is now Level 2!

I also gained twenty-seven Experience from that! That's a lot of Experience! I didn't think that could happen for me!

"Good job," Mr. Zack gently ruffles my hair. "Now wait for my command, then use Heal on each of them, okay? And on yourself."

On myself? But I'm not taking any damage, and I know you wouldn't-

"Oof!" I grunt as something slams into the back of my head.

-23 Health!

I stumble forward as Mr. Zack chuckles, cutting through the Level 2 Copper Slime that had tackled me from behind.

"Now!" He tells me. "Max, Gavin, Braden, yourself!"

I nod, then do as he commands, making sure to heal them back up to full before moving on to the next. As I do, I take more damage from another slime that Mr. Zack then kills. Even though my Health is almost empty, I keep to Mr. Zack's instructions. He won't let me die.

I bet he told the slimes to attack me.

By the time I have healed myself back up to full Health, I have gained a total of twelve percent more Experience! Whoa! That is awesome!

"I can see the smile," he ruffles my hair again. "I had a feeling that doing mass Heals and group Blessings might help you. Plus, Nik told me that Travis told him it might work, since you were gaining so little doing it individually. Apparently, it's rare, but there are some people who benefit in the holy areas more by doing groups rather than solo."

Mr. Zack scratches the back of his head for a moment, looking a little sheepish.

"I seem to fall into that category, too," he admits. "It's possible this is true of most demigods, but not for those who aren't. That would explain why it's a rare thing. Nathan probably deals with it as well, they said that he used to take awhile to Level when he was new, too, but eventually turned into the beast that he is."

Normar did? That is awesome.

----------------------------------------

(Gavin)

"Wind Blade!" I call out as a Level 1 Copper Slime hops into the air in front of me.

I swing my sword from the side, cutting into it and striking the core, the force of the attack pushing the slime to the side. Before my Skill fades, I pull my sword back and up, and cut down, striking into its core again.

My third attack misses the core and cuts into the ground, but I manage to strike it again as it hops back up, then I slash upwards for a fifth connecting strike. I need to be fast, or the Skill will fade and my damage will drop again.

Taking a step to the side, I strike the slime again, then step forward for a final strike, bringing my sword down and cutting into the core a final time. When I do, the ooze falls off of the core, which falls to the ground. There are seven cuts from my attacks in it, and I take a moment to catch my breath.

+1 copper!

More money. At least we already knew it would grant us money for killing and that it is not normal for that. I send a prayer to the Crystals, thanking them for my survival again. Then I give a silent thanks to Luca for his healing, though I know that Zack was probably the reason it was delayed so long.

I was confident I was going to die, but that Heal came just before the slime attacked me. This has happened several times in the last couple of hours.

And now, I'm exhausted and want to take a break. So far, I have killed eight Level 1 Copper Slimes, seven of which were successfully killed with the assistance of Wind Blade. It's net me around sixty percent of the Experience needed for Level 4, though. I've been struggling a lot, especially at the beginning, which might be why.

This kill definitely earned me less than the previous ones by several percent. Zack explained that even though this is technically a Mystic Knight Skill, all sword Skills will affect the regular Knight Class's Experience gains with a small increase for using them. So I'm grateful for that.

I just wish we could take a break, but the money slimes have a high spawn rate and Zack seems inclined on having us wear ourselves to the point of exhaustion against what amounts to a horde of slimes that we cannot hope to defeat.

Just as I ready for another slime, Zack suddenly appears between me and it, kicking the thing to the side. Literally. It flies hundreds of feet before landing, and Zack shakes off his boots before looking at me.

"Break time," he says. "Join Luca at the rocks, everyone's taking sixteen to rest up before returning to training. I've made sure the monsters will stay clear of it."

I nod, then walk with him back to the rocks, Max and Braden already on their way over. I'm not sure I want to know how he ensured the monsters will leave us alone during our break, but it's useful.

+1 Intellect

Another Stat gain! I already increased my Willpower, probably because of the attacks from the money slimes, and my Wisdom, no doubt from using so much Mana. My Intellect increasing was only a matter of time.

Did Zack know this training would be more beneficial than the training we had individually?

"That training," Zack tells me, and I remember that he can apparently read the minds of those standing close to him. "Was not intended on gaining Levels, but developing your natural abilities and skills. Essentially, granting you a better foundation to this training. It was Nik's idea."

"Oh," I say. "Are you always reading minds? Or do you have to actively do it?"

"It's… complicated," he frowns. "The closer someone is to me emotionally, the easier it is for me to accidentally end up in their head. For you, I need you to be within a few feet, but Luca and Max? I could still sense their thoughts when I went to you. I can shut it off, but it takes a lot of effort and mental concentration on my part. It's something I'm still adjusting to, but it's a power I've had pretty much all my life."

I know he probably doesn't mean 'all my life' in the literal sense, since he cannot remember before the Boundary, but I know what he means. That probably isn't even a force of habit from before he died and came to the Boundary, but something that stems from the fact that the Boundary is all his life, as far as he can remember.

As far as any of us can remember.

"Do you really think," I say. "That this training, for only a week or two, would enable us to fight not just goblins, but goblins in a Fallen City? Peter told me that they are considered Dungeon Monsters, and are thus more powerful than the ones of the same Level outside of them."

"That is true," Zack nods. "I believe that, no more than two weeks from now, each of you will be powerful enough to handle a goblin in a Fallen City either individually or as a team. I will handle anything beyond your normal abilities. The purpose of that training will be to push you even harder as warriors, because that will give you more Experience and help increase your Skills better."

"Oh," I say as we reach the rocks. "Okay."

"Alright!" Zack claps his hands together. "Break time! Rest up, because you're going right back to it, and we won't be breaking until lunch unless it's absolutely needed for something!"