“You heard her, right?” I asked.

“Yeah… I heard.”

“I don’t know how it works, but it seems this dungeon is trying to forge you into a sword.”

“I know…”

“You know? Well, we definitely can’t do it now! If you’re a sword, I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to resurrect you ahhh-” I nearly got my head chopped off, forcing me to dive out of the way again.

In truth, the way I was fighting now should have killed me a dozen times over. However, the Alysia enemy I was fighting didn’t use any skills, and it moved stiffly and robotically. It may have Alysia’s stats and abilities, but it wasn’t using them at all. It was almost like the doppelganger was seeking out its death. I could have defeated it in an instant if I put out my effort. Then again, I guess this was the first trial. It couldn’t be too difficult, right?

“Deek… let’s not talk about this here. Defeat her, and we’ll talk when we get to the next safe room.”

“What if… that first step is already too late?”

“You need to stop hesitating!” Alysia cried out. “Do it!”

“Fine!” I sighed. “But we will be talking about this.”

I lifted the Alysia sword. It felt comfortable in my grip. Now that she stopped fighting me, lifting her felt surprisingly natural. I swung out, exploding forward with a Quick Attack. I used two more attacks, throwing the doppelganger off balance. Then, made a final attack, bisecting her.

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“Ahhhhhhhhh!” Screaming formed in my ear, causing me to fall off balance.

As I stumbled forward, the dead Alysia had already turned to dust. Just as I recovered my grip the sword was yanked out of my hand. It flew away from me and then landed in the hands of the guide once again. Compared to her, the thing looked massive. She didn’t hold it by the hilt though but laid it across her palms.

“What’s the big idea?” I took a step forward.

“Why, this blade has cut its first blood. I’m not giving it a dungeon blessing! This is a good thing!” She declared, smiling.

She didn’t move or attempt to be aggressive, so I held back. The sword glowed for a few minutes and then it flew back to me. I grabbed the sword.

“Alysia, are you okay?” I asked as soon as my hand touched the hilt.

There was silence for a few moments, causing the anxiety in my heart to grow.

“I’m… okay…” Alysia spoke in a shaky voice.

“Congratulations, you have finished the first trial. Continue to the next trial.” She disappeared once again.

I walked through the doors that opened, finding myself in another safe room, but I barely acknowledged it.

“Alysia, what happened.”

“It… I felt all of it. It felt… just like when I died.”

“Alysia… we have to find a way to get out of this.”

“There… is something else.”

“What is it?”

“When that guide was touching me, she lied. She wasn’t blessing me or anything like that.”

“What? What did she do?”

“She… um… she showed me the fight, from your point of view.”

“What?”

“I could… feel everything you felt.”

“…”

“The pain of dying… it surprised me. I can’t say that I liked the feeling. It wasn’t what bothered me. The feeling in your heart when you cut me down was far worse! I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

“I should be the one who is sorry.” I sighed. “I’m just being foolish.”

“What… what are we going to do?”

“I… have an idea.”