Jenna expected to see geomery lessons next. That was what had been scheduled after Enchanting practice, and it was an essential skill to have for anyone planning to develop new Spells, especially new Enchanting Spells. Instead, she saw a message from the Pyramid.

You have expressed interest in delving rifts. Recommended adjustment to schedule: Combat Simulation. As you are currently sixty two minutes ahead of initial schedule, this will not require removing a planned activity today. Proceed with adjustment?

There was no right answer to that question, she knew. Saying yes meant that she would be risking injury. Combat simulations were guaranteed not to kill, at least, but that was a slim mercy.

Jenna knew that she needed to work on her combat abilities at some point. After all, she would be delving rifts well before she had enough Spells to Enchant herself weaponry. Still, was now the best time?

Hoping for an excuse to say no, she asked, “is there a cost to this training?” If the Pyramid told her yes, she would have a good reason to say no.

Any training within the training grounds is included with the costs you have already agreed to pay. Proceed with adjustment to schedule?

That was more than a little ominous. No one ever said that there was a price to pay for being in the Pyramid. Gritting her teeth, she accepted the prompt.

Please proceed to the Combat Room.

Jenna saw the floor light up a path for her to follow. She left the glass and etching rod at her workstation, hoping that they would still be there when she returned. The path led her to a door.

Now that she thought about it, Jenna realized that this was the first door she’d seen since coming into the Pyramid. It made her consider her surroundings for a moment. Even as a part of her pointed out that she was only looking around as a way to delay needing to go into combat, Jenna observed the space she was in.

The floor, walls, and ceiling all seemed to be made of the same smooth stone. Or, at least, the walls and ceiling seemed to be made of exactly the same stone. It glowed enough that she could clearly see where she was.

The door in front of her, by contrast, was made of wood. It was a little strange to see wood in the middle of what she knew was a desert, but she supposed it was no stranger than the Pyramid itself.

Without any other excuse to delay opening the door, she took a deep breath, tried to calm down, and stepped inside.

What is your preferred weapon?

Jenna had no idea how to answer that. “Honestly, I haven’t practiced very much with any weapon,” she admitted.

Based on today’s Swordplay lesson, Primary School of Magic, and Initial Scan, recommended weapon: Mace. Accept suggestion?

It felt a little insulting that the Pyramid assumed that she was so unskilled with weapons that a club with a pointy bit at the end was her best weapon. Then again, Jenna had no better ideas.

Suggestion accepted. Welcome to Combat Simulation. Today is an introduction to the monsters you are likely to find in your first rift. As you are a First Tier Student preparing for the Orientation Week Delve, recommended training monster: Goblin. Accept suggestion?

Jenna had no reason to choose another monster type, though a part of her was curious how many options the Pyramid was willing to give her right now. She picked up the mace in front of her, noticing that the Pyramid didn’t seem to think she would need any advice with how to use it. It did seem fairly straightforward.

The weapon’s grip was shockingly comfortable in her hands, and the spiked ball at the other end looked vicious.

Suggestion accepted. Beginning First Round of Combat.

With that, a small green monster appeared across the room from Jenna. It seemed almost cute, until she looked into its eyes.

Apparently that was the cue for the fight to begin, because it dashed towards her. “Help! What do I do?” Jenna asked, not really expecting an answer.

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Recommended course of action: use mace to dispatch goblin. Hint: First Tier goblins have weak joints.

The screen that flashed in front of her eyes, while helpful, meant that she nearly gave first blood to the goblin. She dismissed it just before it swung, and while leaping back, she noticed that the goblin had a sharpened stick that it was wielding inexpertly, even to her own amateur perspective.

“Well, if the hint says weak joints,” she said, thinking. She swung down as the goblin leapt forward, aiming for the goblin’s elbow.

With a crunch, the mace slowed down. The goblin looked down at its arm for a moment, seemingly stunned that it could no longer move its wrist to stab at her. What it lacked in form, though, it made up for in pure rage.

The goblin grabbed the stick with its other hand and again swung at her. Rather than prolong the fight, Jenna took aim at the goblin’s head. With a sickening squelch, the spikes of her mace embedded themselves in the goblin’s skull.

As it faded away, Jenna felt bile rising up her throat. She had just killed for the first time. Sure, it was a Magical construct, but that didn’t mean that it felt any less real.

Congratulations! You have completed the First Round of Combat. Generating report.

Jenna listened to the Pyramid as it explained the many ways that she was less than perfectly efficient at dispatching the goblin. The replay from multiple angles, while incredibly helpful, meant that she watched herself braining the goblin time after time.

Beginning Second Round of Combat.

With no delay, another goblin appeared in the same place as the first. Jenna knew better than to let it approach her, so she stepped forward, ready to meet the creature on her own terms.

It sprinted towards her, mad with fury. Once more, Jenna swung down with her mace. The Pyramid’s advice on swinging the mace did not go unheeded, and she felt the extra power that her swing had now.

This time, rather than embedding itself in the goblin’s head, it tore the goblin’s head off of its shoulders. It dissolved away again, and Jenna felt slightly less bile rise up. At this rate, she would feel comfortable in the rift in no time at all.

Congratulations! You have completed the Second Round of Combat. Generating report.

This time the Pyramid had far less to correct, which was both a relief and a disappointment. The corrections it did have were far more difficult to implement, which meant that Jenna would be unable to put them into practice during this single training session.

Congratulations! You have demonstrated sufficient proficiency to move to the next lesson. Beginning Third Round of Combat.

Jenna tensed as she read the message. As she dispelled it, she looked forward. Where there had been a single goblin, there were now two.

She rushed forward, hoping to take one out before the other could react. Unfortunately, the two goblins worked together well enough that she couldn’t kill the first without the second getting a chance to stab at her. Redirecting her strike, Jenna aimed for the wrist of the right goblin.

She jumped back as soon as she felt the bone break. The points on her mace caught at the goblin, and she saw its shoulder dislocate. It howled in pain, and both goblins began moving more aggressively.

Dispatching the already injured goblin felt like the easier option. As she swung to hit it, though, the other goblin lashed out, hoping to at least score a blow on her. She redirected her swing, hoping that she would be able to intercept the attack in time.

To her slight surprise, she was able to redirect her swing to connect with the stick that was thrusting towards her. It shattered under the blow, and Jenna realized that disarming her opponents was a perfectly reasonable option. After all, she was using a mace. Its entire purpose was blunt force, not agile elegance.

Jenna stepped backwards as the two goblins paused, clearly in shock. She evaluated the situation she was in. Both were disarmed, one literally. She chuckled at the joke and then immediately felt sick.

It was one thing to fight at the Pyramid’s command. It was another to treat this like a game. Jenna leapt forward, aiming for the goblin she’d already wounded.

With one quick swing, the goblin collapsed to the ground. Apparently the corpse wouldn’t dissolve until she’d dispatched the other one. Thankfully, without a weapon, it was no effort at all for Jenna to tear out the other goblin’s neck. The two dissolved, and she wiped the sweat off of her brow. Before she could catch her breath, the Pyramid sent her another message.

Congratulations! You have completed the Third Round of Combat. Generating report.

She’d made a number of mistakes in that combat, she knew, even before they were pointed out. Strategies optimized for a single opponent were far different than the ones used against multiple enemies. Even before it told her to disarm the goblins first, she knew that it was the right choice in the next combat round.

Scheduled time for Combat Training has elapsed. Would you like to extend training time?

A dark voice inside of Jenna urged her to keep going. It relished in the flow of the fights, short as they had been. She ignored that voice with no real effort and declined the offer.

Her mace faded out of her hand, and she made her way back to the workstation to study geometry.

Jenna’s Status:

Jenna Fredrickson First Year Spells Known: Expected Years Completed: 6 Prediction Confidence: 35% Points: 69 Qualified to Ascend to Next Year? No