“Cen, hold back for now,” Kur said. “Let’s see how we do first!”

“Got it!”

Gad had stopped the soldier guardian’s charge, and Viy and Mul moved in.

Nar shifted his foot a smidge forward. His legs were bent and his back leaned forward. And on his hand, supported by a fully healed shoulder, was his sword.

“Nar!” Kur shouted.

He shot forward.

Within a second, he was at the soldier. The legs and blades thrashed wildly around it, but Nar plunged head first into them. He felt a sting on his check and another on his left side, but he twisted and bent out of the way, avoiding almost all of it, and was through.

From the darkness ahead, he sensed them coming.

The momentum carried him forward, and he swung.

He didn't care about what it looked like. He didn’t try any fancy moves with his wrists. It didn’t matter if he wasn’t using his sword properly. What mattered was that he used it however he could.

His feet stomped down, hard, and from it, he pivoted his entire body to set the follow up cut.

Ting! Ting! Ting-ting!

The sword extended to his right, slashing in a vertical upwards cut.

Ting! Ting!

And he spun once more, changing the follow up downwards cut into a rising horizontal swing. It wasn’t a sword then. It was a club. A dumb, blunt club. And it was all it needed to be.

Unfortunately, he was too slow.

Shit! he thought, as his sword met only air.

“Incoming!” Jul shouted.

Nar saw the party take cover where they could.

“We’re okay, Nar!” Kur shouted. “You’re doing great! Just do your best!”

“And don’t overthink it!” Tuk added.

They’re never going to let that go, Nar though, with a mental sigh.

But already, more bolts were coming his way, and Nar moved to stop them.

The fight wore on. The sounds of violent battle rang from behind him, but he barely paid them any attention. He trusted Gad and the others, and he trusted his [Instinct] and attributes to either take the blow or dodge it, if it ever came like last time.

Time lost all meaning in that dim yellow section of the corridor, and Nar intercepted bolt after bolt.

He didn’t catch them all. In fact, he missed quite a few, and he messed up a lot. Tuk’s training had done wonders, but it was still his first time.

More often than not, he tripped on his own feet, and banged the sword against his own shins. But it was progress, and he grinned like an idiot all throughout it.

It was a long time afterwards when he emerged from his battle haze.

His [Instinct] warned him about the danger from behind and he dropped down, flat, without a thought. The soldier's limb swooshed above his head, and Nar rolled out of the way of his incoming attacks.

The guardian stopped mid attack and forgot about him, turning back to Gad.

“I’m sorry!” she shouted, grunting against the guardian's blows. “It did something! It shook my aggro off!”

Bolts came from behind him, and Nar had to move.

Crystal! How many bolts does that thing have?

He glanced at his stamina. A third down, just on stopping those bolts. And from the glimpses he had caught of the soldier, it didn’t look like the others had had much luck with it.

“Kur!” Nar shouted. “Down a third of stamina!”

Their leader swore.

“I think it’s time,” Cen said.

“Let me try!” Tuk asked.

Even with his back to him, with a massive guardian in between them, and with bolts flying at him, Nar could still hear the excitement and eagerness in Tuk’s voice.

“No! Too soon! You haven’t been able to shoot it properly yet,” Kur said, shutting him down. “Cen, I’m sorry, but…”

“It’s okay, I got it!”

She lifted her staff and light began to gather at its tip.

“Gad! Nar! Get ready!” Kur shouted.

“Ok!” they replied together.

The light grew at his back, stretching Nar’s shadow towards the darkness ahead. No bolts flew at him, and when Cen shouted, Nar threw himself down.

The [Aura Projectile] shone through the corridor, and Nar looked ahead. He wanted to see the source of his frustrations and pain get wrecked.

The light revealed the poisoner, and in that blink of an eye between light and explosion, Nar caught something else.

Was that…

But he didn’t have time to think. Cen was about to obliterate the soldier next, and he needed to get away from it.

On cue, light shone bright again, and Nar rolled to his feet, and ran towards where the poisoner now lay in pieces. He kept his sword ready for any surprises, but none came.

“He’s clear!” Kur shouted.

“Do it!” Gad yelled.

Cen let if fly. The soldier was thrown back a few steps from the force of the explosion, and Nar ran back a few steps more.

Cen peppered the guardian with the smaller, instant versions of her skill, and soon enough, the guardian was blown apart.

Damn…

Regardless of what he thought of [Aura], he couldn’t hide the respect he felt for it. Maybe even some jealousy.

DING!

You have defeated one Guardian Soldier 2. 574 experience points have been awarded.

You have defeated one Guardian Poisoner 1. 2391 experience points have been awarded.

You have defeated one Guardian Attendant. 39 experience points have been awarded.

Nar inhaled sharply.

2391? How?

That was the most experience points he had ever gotten from a single enemy!

“Finally! A level up!” Mul shouted, laughing.

Nar pulled his eyes off the massive experience point gains and saw that he was correct.

You have leveled up!

You have gained:

Speed 10 -> 11

Aura 42 -> 44

Instinct 13 -> 14

Reflex 12 -> 13

Yes! he thought, throwing his fist in the air.

It was funny, not gaining [Strength] or [Constitution] used to bring him down, and now, he barely even registered his [Aura] gains. He had done it! He had stopped those bolts. Not all, but that would come with practice and more gains. Gains such as those!

It was perfect!

He didn’t know what his path was going to look like in the future, or what corrections he would have to make once he got out. But here, and now, it was working. It was proving his hypothesis, and Gad’s and everyone else's, right.

If only my dad could see me now, he thought, smiling to himself. Trusting and confiding in this party, and proving that my path was not a total mistake.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

He looked back, to where his party celebrated in high spirits.

“Thank you, Cen,” Kur said. “And I’m sorry. We’ll get better.”

Cen beamed at the party leader. “It’s okay, Kur, don’t worry about it. And I’m still in everyone’s debt, for my behavior from before.”

“Ah! Forgot about that!” Tuk said.

While the party conversed and joked and laughed away merrily in victory, Nar squinted at the darkness in front of them.

He stepped forward, pushing his [Sight] to its limits, remembering what he had seen in that brief moment before Cen’s [Aura Projectile] had exploded. However, he still couldn’t really make more than a mess of broken lines on the floor before him.

Here, there was no light, and unfortunately, his [Sight] wasn’t strong enough to make sense of the jumble of broken outlines that littered the floor.

“Can you guys walk over here?” he asked. “I need some light.”

“Something wrong?” Kur said.

“I think I found something.”

The others rushed to him, and as the light moved forward, Nar realized that he had seen correctly.

“What is it?” Tuk asked.

“Look.”

They looked where he was pointing, somewhere at the mess in front of them.

“I’ll be damned…” Mul said. “Are those bolts?”

“There are so many!” Cen said.

“I was wondering why the poisoner never stopped,” Gad said, taking in the dozens of bolts littering the floor alongside the broken guardian. “But where was it keeping them?”

“There was another guardian, a smaller one. I don’t know where it was getting them from, but I think it was bringing bolts to the poisoner.”

“What?” Mul said.

“Yeah. I saw it right before Cen’s projectile hit,” Nar said. “The little guy was carrying a bunch of bolts, and was handing them to the poisoner! He was reloading it!”

“So he never runs out!” Kur said. “Damn it! All this time, I was thinking we could just wait it out, focus on the soldier!”

“There were two of them,” Jul said, in a hushed tone. “Of those small guardians. I heard them coming and going…”

Kur passed a hand over his hair.

“So we can’t ever wait for it to run out of bolts. That means that no matter how long we keep the big guy busy, the poisoner will always be shooting us.”

Gad nodded. “The soldier is just there to protect the poisoner. To keep us from going after it. The real threat are those bolts.”

“Yes. Not saying the soldier’s not dangerous, but the real threat are those bolts, and that poison,” Kur said, considering the bolts strewn at their feet. “Just one hit of that, and we’re down for days. And that’s if we even survive it. I don’t think any of us would survive a bolt to the face, or to the heart.”

Nar stared somberly at the bolts. His job in keeping them off the party weighed heavily over his shoulders.

I need to get better… I will get better, he told himself.

“So, from now on, we need to hit the poisoner first?” Tuk asked.

“Or the small guys,” Mul said. “The attendants.”

“They’re so fast though,” Tuk said. “Can we even catch them? Or the poisoner, for that matter?”

Eyes turned to Nar.

“I-I can try…”

Kur groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. “We’ll think about it. For now, let’s just be happy that we managed to survive that, without needing two weeks of recovery.”

“Whoop! Whoop!” Tuk shouted.

“And well done, Nar,” Kur said. “That helped a lot. Honestly!”

“I couldn’t stop them all.”

“Soon, man,” Tuk said. “Soon. You’ll get there.”

“Yes, you can do it!” Jul breathed, barely audibly.

She swallowed and smiled, only half hiding behind her hair.

The encouragement made him smile.

“Thanks Jul. And thanks guys. I promise I’ll do my best.”

Tuk did a little dance, but Kur tapped him on the shoulder.

“Come on, let’s get going. And don’t forget that it was still Cen that killed the guardians. We all need to get better. Thankfully, it looks like we’re making gains again.”

“Yeah,” Mul said, scratching his chin. “I wonder what happened there? Why did we start leveling again all of a sudden?”

“Could it be that we just didn’t have enough experience?” Gad asked.

Cen tapped her lip, thinking. “I don’t know. We’ve made so many gains. By my calculations, we should’ve leveled at least three times by now.”

“Hmmm. As always, things happen, and we are in the dark,” Kur said. “Anyways, for now, let’s just go. We’ve already been delayed for long enough. I wouldn’t put it past Them to penalize us for taking too long.”

“Crystal,” Tuk muttered. “Really?”

Kur shrugged.

Yeah, I wouldn’t put anything past the System, or the Crystal, at this stage.

His new found piety and faithfulness to the Crystal, had slowly faded in the weeks following the defense of the cubeplant, now almost a whole month back.

First, he had lost his attribute modifier to his [Aura]. Despite all his praying, praising and begging, in the end, it had still happened. Nar had had to come to the realization that he had not been promised anything by the Crystal. It had all been in his own mind, a way to keep him from despairing at the growing attribute.

However, he could fool himself no longer. He was gaining [Aura], and so was Cen, and now apparently, Tuk too. He didn’t know why it was happening, only that it was, and that there was nothing he could do about it. Nothing, not even begging the Crystal to make it stop, as he had, had achieved anything. And so, he had stopped begging. He would deal with it himself, when the day came, or, hopefully, when the reason why the three of them were still gaining [Aura] was revealed.

Secondly, and perhaps much more impactful, had been the battle itself. How could he keep praying to the Crystal, knowing that It found acceptable to punish almost fifty thousand helpless people, with a horde of cannibals? It just made no sense to him. Whatever the Original Sin was, nothing could justify that room filled with blood and gore. There were kids in that cubeplant, who hadn't even started working! Who had nothing to do with the failed quota! How was it possible for him to just accept it? Especially with everything he himself had gone through, as a so-called Unclean?

No. His faith had by now pretty much returned to its original state. The Crystal was still the Supreme Administrator of the System, and the One Who Granted Aether. But Nar didn’t really want anything to do with It, other than get Its magic. Something that had to happen at some point. He refused to believe otherwise, and doubted his attitude to the Crystal truly mattered. All It seemed to ask of Nar, was that he suffered, and earned his forgiveness. That was all.

“Did you gain more [Aura]?” Tuk asked, as the party got underway.

Cen nodded, with a pensive look. “I did. You?”

“Yup. At 23, now.”

“I’m sorry, Tuk,” Cen said.

“Why? Not your fault. It is what it is. And at least, I think I can make use of it. And soon, right?”

Cen rolled her eyes and refused to reply.

As they walked, Nar’s thoughts turned back to his middling successes at stopping those bolts.

I didn’t overthink it, and I didn’t complicate it. If I need to use my sword like a club, then so be it. I’ll find someone to teach me when I get up there. Or maybe I’ll just get better with time. Slowly. Cut, slash, thrust. Parry, dodge and even block, when it's right. One step at a time.

Ahead of him, Tuk slowed down to let Nar catch up to him.

“Well done, man. How did that feel?”

Nar grinned like an idiot and Tuk chuckled.

“That good, eh?” he asked. “You were impressive. You moved so fast. It was like a blur sometimes. Even knowing you’ve gotten better against my rings, that was still stunning to see.”

Nar rubbed the back of his neck. He was embarrassed, but he couldn’t stop smiling.

“Thanks, man,” he said. “I can’t wait to see your [Aura] rings too.”

It was Tuk’s turn to grin.

He raised a finger, with a spinning ring on it, and with just a little frown of concentration, he made the ring brighten and dim with [Aura], showing off his recently gained and increasing control.

Nar had to give it to him. He had gotten on faster and better than Cen had. His struggle now was with controlling the actual shooting part. The delicate moment where he spun the ring up his finger and threw it was already hard enough to even wrap one’s head around, Nar couldn’t even begin to guess how difficult it was to do so while spinning his own [Aura] in sync with the ring at the same time.

“Soon,” he said. “Just need to figure that last bit out.”

Nar shook his head. “I can’t even imagine how you do it.”

Tuk burst into laughter.

“Same way you stop bolts midair, and Gad stops those massive things!” he said. “We all have our talents. And that’s what makes us, us!”

Nar snorted.

“Come on, man! That was touching!” Tuk said. “Admit it! Admit it! You’re talking now! The next step is to get into touch with your emotions!”

“Ugh! Not that again!”

“Feel it, Nar. Come on, just open your heart!”

Ahead of them, the party laughed at Tuk’s antics.

All in all, it was a good day.

That night, while the others rested, Nar, Tuk and Jul, stood a few steps behind the party.

“Thanks guys, I really appreciate you always doing this,” Tuk said.

“It’s fine. You helped me, now I help you. And for some reason, Jul just seems to like our company.”

Jul smiled and nodded effusively. She was one that was also, slowly, but steadily, opening more and more to the party. It warmed Nar’s heart to see her progress, and slowly overcame whatever her damned parents, or whoever it was, had done to her.

“You guys are the best,” she said.

“Ooof! A compliment from Jul,” Tuk said, raising a hand to his chest. “Am I hearing right, Nar?”

Nar chuckled and shook his head.

“Come on, let’s get started,” Nar said.

Tuk spun up one ring, lit it up with [Aura] and took a deep breath.

“Here goes.”

Nar followed the ring up his finger with his eyes, and suddenly it was gone.

It ranged clear against the ceiling, then the floor, then it disappeared in the darkness. It did not come back.

Tuk winced.

“Keep going, Tuk,” Jul said. “You’ll get it.”

“Thanks.”

Tuk did just that, flinging rings in all directions except the one he wanted the rings to go. Once he had thrown all but one of his rings, the three of them wandered into the dark to recover the others. Tuk, sensing where the rings had ended up through his weapons special skill, guided them. Despite what he had said, they needed Jul there. She was the one with the eyes to actually find the rings in the dark. And Nar, he was just there as a precaution, in case anything surprised them.

Once they had all ten rings back, they returned to the edge of the yellow arrows, and repeated the same process. Tuk tried to stay relaxed and upbeat about his failures, and Nar and Jul did their best to cheer him on.

“Wow!” Nar shouted.

“Did you see it?” Tuk asked, his eyes brimming with victory. “It flew straight!”

“It did!” Jul said. “Well done!”

The ring shot from Tuk’s finger in an almost straight line. It had deviated off course and bounced against the wall, but it was the best effort so far.

“You’re getting the hang of it,” Nar said.

“I think so. Come on, let’s go grab them. It’s getting late. I want to finish with this feeling of success!”

Nar shook his head, smiling. The three of them went and recovered the rings for the final time that night, and then returned to the party to sleep.

Nar passed by Gad and Viy, talking in hushed, hurried whispers. Viy had her legs up, and was resting her elbows on them, covering her ears.

Her eyes were wide. Haunted. And she was breathing in fast and shallow breaths.

Another panic attack, Nar thought.

They had started while the party was still stuck, recovering from their wounds.

Viy had suddenly dropped in the middle of her spear practice, curling into a ball on the floor, hyperventilating. Kur, Gad and Cen had rushed to her, and slowly, they had managed to calm her down. However, the attacks had continued from then onwards.

Something is not right with her. Something feels really bad about her.

Nar had seen workers have panic attacks all throughout his life, and once they started, it was very hard to recover from it.

Not for the first time, Nar found himself wondering what had happened to Viy. What could have forced her to take the almost certain death of the Climb? Nar just hoped it wasn’t as bad as he thought. The workers tolerated almost anything, anything, as long as it didn’t impact the quota. And Nar had seen, and lived, through some pretty gruesome things.

He swallowed and walked on past them. Joining them would only make things worse. He could only hope that Gad, Cen and Kur, could eventually manage to help her. Both for her sake and the party’s. Nar didn’t want to run after her into an army of cannibals ever again.

Though if I have too…

He let the thought hang. He had changed his mind on the whole using the party, and was looking to actively protect and cover them now. But what had happened that day, it had been something else, and he was still trying to sort his thoughts and feelings about it.

The three of them sat together and shared a quiet meal. Nar got through his cracker and slurped on some jell-o.

He sighed.

“I agree,” Tuk said. “I’m starting to feel like Mul. I’m not hungry, but I’m not full either.”

“Do you think we’ll just keep eating more and more?” Nar asked.

“Maybe. Who knows? There’s a lot that we still don’t know.”

A few minutes later, Kur ordered them all to sleep, keeping Jul and himself for the first watch.

“You want to talk some more about it?” Jul asked, offering the party leader a smile.

“Yes, if that’s okay?”

“It’s okay.”

While they had all practiced in their own various ways while they recovered, there hadn’t been much that Kur could do, except watch over them and offer advice where he could. But, one day, he pulled Jul aside and asked her if she could tell him about her sense stats, especially [Instinct].

His reasoning was that, as the party leader, he needed to be able to react faster. To anticipate, and see or hear, the danger faster, so that he could better direct the party.

“I don’t know how to teach you. Not like Cen,” Jul had said.

“I know. I’m not expecting that. It’s just that I think I can feel something, sometimes.”

She gasped. “Really?”

Kur nodded. “It’s not like what you and Nar have, I think. It’s more a sensation in my gut. Inside. At the back of my head. Ugh. I don’t know how to describe it.”

Jul nodded eagerly. “It could be [Instinct]. Or something else like it...”

“Yeah. That’s my hope. It would really help in leading the party.”

“Hmm! So, how can I help?”

“I’m hoping that if you can describe to me how your senses work, that maybe it will help me unlock the attribute. I would really appreciate it, if you could help me, in any way you can.”

Jul thought about it for a moment.

“Okay! I’ll help you the best I can,” she said. “But it might not be much help.”

“It’s okay. I just want to try.”

And with that, whenever there was a spare moment like now, either resting or walking, Kur asked Jul questions, and she would do the best she could to answer them. Then, Kur would try to sense.

So far, his efforts had been met without success, but Kur showed no signs of frustration or of giving up.

Nar lay down to sleep, and turning his back to them, left them to their conversation.