The next several weeks reminded Kyle of his early days of medical school – long hours of humility and learning how much he still needed to learn. Instead of spending his evenings poring over his notes, he spent the time on the road drilling his footwork under Garth’s watchful eye. With C.H.A.D.D. supplementing the Guard Array, they were able to identify an increasing number of small beetle groups, all of which Garth treated as training for Kyle. At this point the focus was all about efficient dodging and positioning, with Garth stepping in to handle the offense when he felt that Kyle’s progress was sufficient.
“You’re leaving too much room! Slow-moving beetles are no excuse for sloppy work!” Kyle heard his companion-turned-trainer’s words and was prepared to respond before ducking out of the way of another beetle that had fluttered towards his face. There were four of them this time, and with specific instructions not to use his weapon or counterattack Kyle found himself hard-pressed in the open road. Kyle stepped to the side again, this time staying closer to the beetle in question. “This is a lot harder than it looks, you know. Last time was hard enough with only three!” The quip cost him as a small beetle came up behind him and latched onto his left leg. Fortunately for Kyle, the increased number of beetles they’d fought gave him ample chitin to work with, and the claws scrabbled ineffectually against Kyle’s expanded armor. Kyle knew these small variants also posed a limited threat against his reinforced skin, but he wasn’t quite ready to share that secret with Garth. The older man still suspected something wasn’t quite right with him, particularly as Kyle’s Dexterity and Perception were put to good use learning and applying the footwork techniques Garth showed him.
With a burst of motion Kyle kicked out his left leg, dislodging his would-be rider and then took a few quick steps back, all four beetles once again in his field of view. “Sloppy!” Garth called out once again, with no hint of joviality. He had drawn his broadsword and held it in a two-handed grip as he closed the distance between himself and Kyle, a serious expression on his face. “These are the mistakes that will get you killed on a battlefield. Watch. Learn. Do better.” With that, Garth slowly walked forward as the beetles closed.
It was art. There’s no other way that Kyle could describe it. He understood that from a raw attribute perspective he was competitive with Garth in Dexterity and significantly ahead in Perception. His free point distribution had been kept fairly balanced with the exception of Strength, and with a normal Warrior class Garth didn’t have a big excess of attributes to work with. Despite that, every move was made with precision and purpose. Garth effortlessly stepped between the oncoming beetles and returned brutal slashes with his sword. Unencumbered by the need to protect and watch their group since C.H.A.D.D.’s arrival, Kyle had seen firsthand these skills put to use to dispatch over twelve different groups of beetles. When the deviant beetles numbered six or more Kyle would need to assist, but otherwise Garth handled them with brutal efficiency.
In the span of thirty seconds the four beetles had been reduced to pieces staining the asphalt, and Garth turned to face Kyle. “What did you do wrong?” Kyle almost flinched as he met Garth’s eyes, the blue eyes hard and cold as ice. “I… I guess I lost track of one of them? And then I had to create a lot more distance to disengage, I guess that wasn’t great. I also could have worked on being more predictive I think? Usually C.H.A.D.D. can run those vectors, but I should probably – “ Kyle was cut off as he dodged a beetle leg that Garth had thrown at him.
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“That’s a bunch of garbage and you know it. You aren’t taking this seriously. At all. The progress I saw out of the gate was impressive. But you found yourself in a place that’s good enough for now, and you stopped really working on it. These beetles aren’t dangerous enough for you to take this seriously? Do I need C.H.A.D.D. to show you scans of what one of them did to Dalen when it broke through? Have you really forgotten that much already?”
Kyle was about to reply that the beetles they’d faced when they met were larger and more threatening, but his response died on his lips as he looked at Garth’s hard expression. Their eyes met, and Kyle looked away first, eyes turning to the ground at his feet. The reality was that these beetles weren’t that dangerous to Kyle anymore. Their motions were simple and linear, their claws couldn’t find purchase in his armor, and with HASTE he had every confidence in his ability to disengage from them if things got really hairy. Kyle looked up, trying to find something to say. Or he would have, if he didn’t have to duck under a piece of loose asphalt that Garth had thrown full speed at his chest. Kyle barely got out of the way before another high-speed projectile came flying at him, sidestepping this and ducking a third that was aimed at his head. Garth snorted, sitting down cross legged in the road and gesturing for Kyle to sit nearby.
“What are your attributes? I’m serious – don’t try to feed me some line of crap. No way your Dexterity is under 100, and I’d wager Perception is about the same.” Kyle looked at the man, a little bit stunned. He had grown to Level 41 over the past few weeks with his continued treatment of the group, but acknowledging that he’d progressed so far and gone so far astray from expectation felt wrong. Still though, Garth had largely taken his measure, and despite everything, he had decided to invest time and training in Kyle when he easily could have sent him on his way. Kyle met his eyes. “Dexterity is 102. Perception is considerably higher than that.”
Garth chuckled, a smile finally cracking the granite of his face. “Numbers like that you’re probably damn close to Level 40, if not beyond it. No wonder these things aren’t all that scary to you.” Garth fell silent for a moment before standing up, seeming to have come to some sort of conclusion. “Not much sense in continuing to practice skills in situations with no tension. Not entirely sure where to go from here, but at least that confirms some things. Come on, let’s rejoin the others. That’s plenty for today.” Kyle nodded and accepted Garth’s hand as he got to his feet. They walked in silence for a little bit, Garth finally breaking it. “If it was just beetles out there, I wouldn’t be pushing you so hard. Hell, if it was just beetles, we wouldn’t have lost as many as we have.”
Kyle frowned, considering the implication. Were there other creatures like the beetles that they’d encountered? He knew E Grade creatures weren’t uncommon – they were the primary responsibility of Central Defense to handle and hadn’t been much of an issue since the time of the Originators. His frown deepened as the answer started became clear. “You’re talking about other awakened, aren’t you?” Garth gave a grim nod. “The others don’t like to talk about it much since it happened, but have they mentioned Carlyle to you? Maybe Dylan, or Crystal?”
“I’ve heard the names in passing but I haven’t met them. I take it they didn’t make it?”
“Dylan and Crystal didn’t. Carlyle is still out there, although once these people are safe I’m looking forward to remedying that problem.”
As they approached the edge of the Guard Array, Garth motioned for them both to stop. “Before we get back together with the others I think it’s best you hear the story about what happened to us in the months before we met you. The whole story.”