Emotions that are long since foreign to me, except as artefacts of the journey I have taken. I know what anger is.

----------------------------------------

“Fuck,” Pete muttered. “Take guard positions! Same formation as last time. Thor…” Pete looked over at Thor. “Do… do that thing again. With the ground. To the woman.” Taking a quick breath, he continued. “The rest of us will engage the man. I will move left, Vic move right. Matt hold the centre. Vic, ready to peel off and support Thor if needed. Let’s make this quick.”

Wordlessly, Thor moved to one side. Matt wanted to squeeze the man’s shoulder. To tell him about the absence of threads, and what he thought it meant. That these were not real people. Were they? They were just parts of this strange place, created for this… mission. But they look so real.

Matt did not even need to look at Thor to feel the threads of dark red coalescing around the man’s hands, reaching through the air. The smell of sulphur floated through the air moments before the spell landed, and the ground beneath the strange woman boiled. She tried to jump away, but the ground was already soft and her attempt just kicked her feet deeper. Stumbling hard, she fell awkwardly on her side and sank into the soft, boiling earth. Before she even had time to scream, her head disappeared below the roiling, steaming surface.

Her companion spun his head towards her as she disappeared below the surface, and the flash of emotion in his eyes froze Matt to the ground. Fear. That was fear. That was… real. How can they fear, if they–

He halted his own train of thought before it could distract him, and as the smell of sulphur and burned flesh wafted across the battlefield he breathed through his mouth and turned to the remaining man. As their eyes met, the look of fear in the man’s eyes faded, leaving only the empty expression he’d shown moments before. Gripping his sword tighter, the stranger lowered his balance as his feet fell into a practised pattern and advanced rapidly towards Matt. Moments later, the battle was joined as the man swung his sword forward in a high line attack, aiming straight for Matt’s head.

Matt’s own training took over as he took three retreating steps, his body balanced on nearly perfect footwork. He met the attack with a high guard position, letting his retreat take the edge of the swing as he met the blade and steered it to the outside of his body.

I am getting better; he thought idly as he calmly took over the initiative in the fight. When he sensed the pressure on the spear ease off, he dipped the tip under the sword in a smooth disengagement that flowed directly into a forward thrust. He had noticed Pete moving around the side, and his attack was more intended to keep their opponent occupied than to score a hit. When the man made a circular parry to catch his thrust, he let his spear be caught and held. Instead of retreating into a new guard position to prepare for the riposte attack, he put his trust in Pete to read the fight.

Pete grabbed the opportunity, moving in from the side with quick steps as steely blue rivers of power wrapped around his arm. Captivated by the magic of the skill, Matt studied Pete’s sword as it swung towards the stranger. Waiting for perfect timing, he disengaged his weapon and stepped back a half step just as the arc of Pete’s swing destroyed their opponent’s back. The stranger fell forward, and Matt saw blood welling up in a wide groove from his neck to his ass. Not wasting time, he moved on autopilot to push his spear through the man’s neck, ending the screams of pain. He looked over at Pete, who was simply standing there, his eyes locked on the sword in his hand. Blood was slowly running down the blade, dripping down on the grass.

What’s up with this place? All this blood, and death. Who were these people? There was something grotesque about a place that seemed to be constructed only so that they could fight.

“Come,” Mia said in a loud voice from the top of their hill. During the battle, they had inched down the slope. “Let’s hold up here. Is anyone wounded?”

“All good,” Matt said, noting that the others were also uninjured.

They gathered together at the top of the hill, with only the sound of their breath breaking the quiet. Matt stretched his shoulders around in an attempt to lose some tension, closing his eyes and focusing on the sphere of coloured threads pulsating in his mind. Is it spinning faster? Is it more dense than before? Or is that just my imagination?

“Any more levels?” Matt asked. “And how much more time is left?”

“Another 30 minutes. And no more levels,” Thor said, as the others shook their heads. “Maybe we need more fights?”

“Probably something like that,” Pete said, taking a deep breath and squaring his shoulders. “That last fight was good. Matt, keep taking point; you are getting good with that spear and it’s excellent for setting up me and Vic to attack from the sides. Thor; pick them off with that horrible spell as best you can.” He looked back. “Mia, you do your thing. Try not to let us die. How are everyone’s energy levels?”

Energy levels? Matt thought, as the others reported in.

“Almost full,” Vic said.

Mia answered next. “About half my essence is left.”

“Same,” Pete said. “Half full. How about you, Thor?”

“Nearly empty. I think I can cast the spell maybe one more time.”

“Ok,” Pete said, “Good to know. Let’s hope it will be enough.”

The brief exchange triggered a spike of curiosity in Matt. He had done some testing yesterday, confirming that the Essence amount corresponded with how many times they could use their skills. Further testing had revealed that the Essence levels regenerated slowly over time, and that the speed of regeneration was connected to the area they were in. Mia had regenerated quicker outside the cave when working through the forest and in the fields. Vic’s Shadow essence had regenerated almost instantly as he walked through the darkness of the cave. Somehow, it was associated with the Area Essence Density attribute.

“How about the Essence regeneration?” he asked.

“Void,” Thor answered, looking at the others, who reported back the same.

Interesting, Matt thought. So the essence does not regenerate in this place. “Take care to ration your essence,” Matt said. “I don’t think this place has any energy… it won’t regenerate.”

Stolen novel; please report.

Mia looked like she was about to say something when Pete suddenly shouted. “Heads up! We have more visitors.”

Oh fuck, Matt thought as he saw a group of people making their way up from the treeline. At least no swords this time. Eight men and two women who looked more like farmers than warriors. Pitchforks and cleavers, well-worn woollen tunics. Small knives made for chopping up vegetables, not for fighting. He shivered, his back going cold as he saw what was coming.

“Hey you!” Matt called down to them. “Stop right there! No reason to fight!”

“This will be ugly,” Thor said in a low, angry voice as the group took no heed of the warning, continuing up the slope with steady steps and lifeless looks in their eyes.

“Thor, you need to hit them,” Pete said. “Let’s hope this is the last fight.”

“Fuck.” Thor’s voice was almost inaudible, as dark red threads gathered around his outstretched hand. Coalescing into a blur of dense, red patterns, a grimace of pain flashed across Thor’s features as he released the power, right into the approaching group of people. They were huddled so close together that as the earth began to boil, half of them stumbled and fell into the roiling soil. Only five of them–four men and one woman–managed to leap away from the destruction. Matt threw a look at Thor, who was on his hands and knees, throwing up his breakfast.

Matt’s mind was in shock, and his eyes were transfixed on the scene that was unfolding when Pete touched his shoulder gently. “Come on, Matt. Now it’s our turn.”

Matt’s mind was a chaotic storm of thoughts and emotions as he gripped his spear, automatically falling into the first guard stance and stepping into the approaching fight. Every fight brought more confidence and less nervousness. A small woman was rushing towards him in the centre of the group, a long cane swinging towards him. Matt knocked the swing aside with ease, riposting with the point of his spear into the woman’s armpit. This time, Matt halted the spear before the head went all the way through and yanked back on the shaft before the barbs had a chance to get stuck.

The woman screamed as she stumbled, and Matt pivoted on his front leg to thrust at the man coming up behind her. As the woman fell down next to him, she pulled out a small knife from her belt and raised it to stab down at his foot. This is so fucking unnecessary, he thought. Even if they are not real people, what’s the point of this? He raised a steel capped boot and kicked at her head, which snapped back with a crunch just as the next man got inside his spear, holding a knife in each hand and stabbing out. One knife tore through his left glove as he tried to knock it aside.

Fuck, I need to focus! Matt felt his skin splitting with searing pain as the sharp blade drew over his knuckles. “Fuck!” He screamed at the man; angry at them for forcing him into a situation where he had to fight them, angry at himself for letting his thoughts run away in the middle of a fight. The darkness, the clouds, rolled in to cover his mind. He retreated, swinging his spear with his good hand, trying to keep the man away, but the man kept coming, stepping over the woman on the ground, slashing out with his knives held both low and high. Realising he wouldn’t be able to wield the spear effectively with one hand, Matt dropped the weapon and grabbed the hatchet from his belt. Taking a deep breath, he drew comfort from the sphere of coloured threads inside his mind. Having collected a moment of clarity, Matt took a half step back to invite the attack, before rushing in with his bad hand blocking the arm that was swinging down towards him, and the other swinging the hatchet down hard. The weapon hit the man over his ear, and as he went down in a spray of blood and pain, Matt stepped in to stomp on the bleeding head, hearing it crack as it bounced off the rocky ground.

Taking a second to breathe, Matt lifted his eyes to take in the battle. He had some space around him, and could see another two corpses on the ground. He heard Mia behind him, “Hold still while I fix this,” and he reached his wounded hand back to her. As Mia mended his hand, he saw Pete Cleaving a man with a horizontal cut, cutting off an arm above the elbow before continuing into the man’s chest with a sudden spray of dark red blood. The expression on Pete’s face was empty as he moved in to finish the stranger off.

“There!” Mia said, patting his arm. “Good as new. And it looks like it’s over… For this time.”

She was right. As Matt walked to pick his spear back up, Vic, Pete and Thor were making their way back towards them. On the ground, the bodies of the strangers were bleeding out, mixing with the grass and soil. Slippery, Matt thought, as a memory brought back Jasper’s words.

“You’re thinking too much, Matt,” Jasper had said during a lull in the battle. Matt had just miraculously avoided taking a spear to the chest. “Do your thinking after the battle, Matt. The losing side has holes in their bodies that shouldn’t be there.” Now that Matt thought about it, that had been Jasper’s last words.

“Gather up! Focus,” Mia shouted. “We don’t know when the next attack will come!”

All of them had gained another level, taking them to Level 2. Matt kept watch and listened with half an ear while the others compared notes and discussed what attributes to improve with their 5 additional points.

Vic was focusing his points into Speed and Perception, whereas Pete improved Strength, Physical Resistance and Stamina. Both Mia and Thor improved Intelligence, but where Mia also focused on Wisdom and Insight, Thor increased his Knowledge.

Emotions from the last fight were still coursing through Matt, and for once, he was not envious of their levels and skills. He had enough chaos running through his thoughts. At the same time, one thought was clear: During the last fight, he had noticed Pete moving in a way that he didn’t think he would have been able to do before. His footwork, his strikes, his motions were faster and more precise.

Vic’s whisper broke through his thoughts. “Who is… that?” An uncharacteristic fear in his voice.

Matt turned and looked down the slope, silently chastising himself for not keeping watch. Do your thinking after the battle. His heart thumped hard in his chest as he looked at the group approaching them.

Two men, one woman, and what looked like a… is that a… bear? The men were walking in front. One of them was wearing light armour with glinting metal woven into the tunic and with a long bow strapped to his back, a short sword on his hip. And what the fuck is that? The other man approaching them was covered in steel plating from his feet to his head. He had once seen a soldier wearing a simple metal chest plate, but that had been a dull, grey colour, strapped to the soldier with thick, leather straps. This armour was gleaming in silver steel, sunlight reflecting as the man reached behind his back to pull out an enormous axe.

A young woman followed behind the men. Wearing a long, silvery white robe, she had short, dark hair tied together with a leather strap. Her face was sharp and angular, her eyes dead and lifeless as the others. Her hand was gently resting on the side of a bear that was walking next to her. As if taking a walk with your bear was normal.

“Erh guys…” Vic said. “This is bad.”

“Look sharp!” Pete shouted. “Focus! Thor, you need to deal with the archer. I know you are out of essence, but…” Sweat appeared on Pete’s forehead. “I need to stop that… that metal man. Somehow. Matt, Vic… you need to…” His voice trailed off. “Deal with that fucking bear.”