The dagger was in better shape than Nick had thought. After scraping off most of the rust with his whetstone, the knife had revealed itself to be a serviceable close-ranged weapon, if one of last resort. He held no illusion that he would be able to land a killing blow with such a short blade. Coming that close to a beast’s jaws and claws would likely be a fatal mistake.
Instead, he practiced using the dagger as a deterrent—a threat to keep creatures from closing the distance. All things considered, having the dagger at his side was still rather comforting. It gave Nick options beyond his bare hands if he were disarmed of his sword, didn’t have time to draw it, or was somewhere that a weapon with a longer reach wouldn’t work, such as indoors, underground, or underwater.
As it was impractical to travel with his sword in hand, having the dagger on his belt meant that Nick was always armed. It was enough to boost his confidence, subtly altering his body language, which might discourage the advance of lesser predators all by itself.
Having a weapon on display would also change the impression that he made on other people. Transforming him from a helpless victim to a potential threat at first glance. Not everyone who survived will be friendly. It will take more than the apocalypse to change human nature. Nick might one day have to use these weapons against others of his own kind, although he had yet to truly wrap his mind around this truth.
Shaking his head, he turned his thoughts away from such dark speculations and placed his attention back into the dagger in his hand, unaware that the final pieces of his missing memories were rising to the surface like bubbles from the bottom of a pool.
His initial goal in training with the dagger was the same as when practicing with his sword. Namely, how to maneuver the weapon around his body without having to watch his hands or cutting himself in the process. Nick eventually hoped to develop an instinctive awareness of where each weapon was in relation to his body at any given moment. But for now, he just wanted to be able to reliably point the blade at an angle that kept it facing his opponent and away from his own tender flesh.
The dagger lacked a proper hilt guard, although there was a bump that kept his fingers from sliding up onto the blade. The treated handle repelled water and blood with ease, ensuring that Nick’s grip would hold firm in the middle of battle. After watching his first dagger get cut in half by the foreman’s sword, he would never again risk using a dagger to block a heavy blade. Unless he learned a skill to help refine his technique, even parrying was impractical.
Thus, Nick planned to rely on dodging attacks while fighting with the dagger, using the edge to guard his vital points, and attacking by thrusting with the point. Eventually, he needed to learn how to use some ranged weapons as well. Perhaps a set of throwing knives or a bow that was small enough to fit into his pack. Not that he could do anything about it while he was stuck on the island.
After some consideration, he decided not to practice his “driving nails” combo with the wand, the move he had used to defeat the ratman who had wielded the sword before him. Although it could penetrate an enemy’s defenses as a last resort, the move was impractical. It only worked when he was at extremely close range, his wand had charges to spare, and it would likely destroy the dagger in the process.
Eventually, Nick managed to clear his mind once more, placing his attention on the dagger as he brought it around his body, imagining strikes coming at him from various angles. While he worked, he visualized the beasts he had encountered on the island. What it felt like when they attacked him. How they moved, reacted to, and anticipated the motions of their opponents. How each of their strikes and stances blended seamlessly into one another.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
After a while, Nick’s trance deepened, and he began replaying his prior battles upon the theater of his mind’s eye, imagining how he could use the dagger to counter each blow. Identifying the ideal moment to close the distance and strike.
How did the komos move when they lunged for me? All I remember is being overwhelmed. I need to visualize the movement of their entire body, not just the teeth and claws headed my way. How did the lizards open the engagement? That’s right, it’s starting to become clear. Now, go beyond the how, Nick. Why did the beast choose to lead with that attack? Why from that angle? What was the komo intending to accomplish with each move? How could I have countered to disrupt its rhythm?
After another hour, Nick came out of his trance, bone weary but immensely satisfied with his progress. As he waited to catch his breath, he munched on a crab steak that he had saved from his feast with the tribe. Fortunately, his Foraging skill informed him that the meat was still fresh enough to eat, if only by a hair. While he enjoyed his lunch, he decided to wait until the evening before practicing with his remaining weapons since he had other goals that he needed to accomplish today.
Since he had drained all the water from his canteen, he stopped by the spring to quench his thirst, ducking out of the path of a flock of stinging butterflies on his way. As he was already in the area, Nick made a quick detour over to the obelisk, where he found a pleasant surprise waiting for him. With a grin of excitement, he scrolled through his notifications.
Congratulations. You have accumulated enough experience to reach Level [4].
You have one free attribute point awaiting allocation at your discretion.
You have conditioned your body and improved the following baseline attribute:
Strength has increased from [4] to [5].
Through use, you have improved the following skills:
Foraging has increased from [3] to [4].
Size Up has increased from [4] to [5].
Clearing the dungeon must have awarded me with a significant chunk of experience, enough to hit Level 3 and most of what I needed to reach Level 4. It mentioned that completing the quest gave some bonus experience beyond what I earned along the way.
While he had not expected to level up for at least a few more days, the point of strength came as no surprise. Nick had been training toward that goal, and it was relatively easy to condition his baseline physical attributes up to five, although pushing them past that point took considerably more work. His skills were steadily improving as well. Which was great, because he was learning to rely on them, and the higher his skills rose, the clearer the feedback they provided.
This did leave him with a dilemma on his hands, as he hadn’t expected to level up so soon and hadn’t already decided how he would spend his free attribute point.
He was tempted to keep putting them into Toughness, as the attribute was intimately tied to his own survival, although Dexterity and Strength offered tempting advantages as well. Nick wished that he had racked up more KP so that he could unlock the descriptions of the rest of the attributes listed in his profile and make a fully informed decision.
But he couldn’t afford to hoard his free points. Not while each day was a brutal struggle for survival. In the end, he decided to experiment and put the point into Mind. He didn’t know exactly what Mind did yet. But it had been Nick’s highest attribute at the start of the tutorial, meaning that Mind was related to a part of himself that was naturally above average. Considering how much of his former life had involved crunching numbers, coming up with plans, and competing head-to-head with other top strategists, he was certain that Mind would come in handy now, regardless of the particulars.
Additionally, the next obstacles he wanted to tackle were not problems that Nick could overcome with a few pounds more muscle or a bit of additional resilience and control. Right now, he needed to come up with a way to defeat the pack or drive them out of the region, and so far, he had been drawing a blank.
Investing in Mind might provide the boost that he needed. It might even help him predict what was coming when the tutorial entered its third and final stage. Worst-case scenario, it was only marginally helpful, and he would deemphasize that attribute going forward. But Nick had a good feeling—a hunch that this was the perfect time for just such an investment.
Thus, he decided to go ahead and give Mind a try and eagerly sent his intentions into the display.