That night, they sat around the outdoor fire, sharing Orin’s roasted redbird. Ike chewed quietly, musing on his change in situation as he ate, surrounded by two members of a Rank 3 party. A few months ago, I was a powerless slumrat barely scraping by. Now I’m a hunter, with monster kills to my name and friends far more powerful than my uncle.

He tilted his head back, watching the smoke swirl up toward the stars. Everything has changed so much, in so little time.

Orin glanced at Silver. “You give the kid the skill yet?”

Silver huffed. He took a bite of his chicken rather than reply.

He shook his head at Silver. “What’s holding you up?”

“He isn’t ready.”

Orin and Ike both stared at Silver.

Silver looked back. “What?”

“When am I going to be ready?” Ike asked.

“What’s wrong with you, old man? Did you decide you wanted to hold onto that skill after all?” Orin groused, nudging Silver in the gut.

Silver scowled. “Once he has the skill, all the learning will stop. He’ll rely on that blasted skill.”

Ike gave him a look. “I already have Sword Handling at a pretty high level, and I’m not relying on that.”

“It’s different.”

Orin twisted his lips. He shook his head at Silver. “C’mon. What’re you holding back for?”

“He’s not ready,” Silver insisted again.

“When will I be ready?” Ike asked.

Silver hesitated. “A year? Maybe two.”

“Two years?” Taken aback, he blinked. That’s forever!

Orin sighed. “Silver. Come on. That’s not the pace the world moves anymore. He’s already a better swordsman than half the idiots with sword skills out there. Give him the skill.”

“But he could be an even better swordsman,” Silver argued.

“I can keep learning after I have the skill. I mean, I have to, right? I need to level it up,” Ike pointed out.

Silver hummed in the back of his throat. He took another bite of the bird.

“Silver.” Orin fixed him with a firm gaze. “Give the kid the skill, or send him away. There’s other teachers out there. People who will give him the skills they have, not hold out on him as some kind of…power play.”

“It isn’t a power play,” Silver snapped.

“Mhm.” Orin took another bite.

Where’s Cara when you need her? Not sure what to say to calm the two down, Ike kept his mouth shut.

At last, Silver sighed. “I…”

“Silver.”

There was silence for a moment. At last, Silver spoke, but quietly.

“If I give you this skill, I’m done with teaching you. You can learn from someone else, you can learn on your own, but I will never teach you again.”

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“Oh, come on,” Orin complained.

“I won’t budge on this,” Silver warned him.

“You need to spend more time around people. Learn what the word ‘compromise’ means,” Orin shot back.

“This is a compromise.”

“Show me the compromise. This is you enforcing your weird-ass stubbornness upon the world.”

“I’ll take it,” Ike interrupted them.

Orin and Silver both looked at him.

Ike met their eyes. “I never expected anyone to do anything for me. Receiving this much is already beyond my expectations. I’m a poor kid from the slums who spent his whole life getting kicked around. Silver, thank you for everything. I’ll take the orb and get out of your hair.”

Compared to wasting years kicking around Silver’s cave while the world strode on, he’d rather be out there, fighting in the world. Taking down monsters. Finding stronger and stronger skills. Ranking up.

I don’t want to end up like Orin, older than the hills and tapped out at Rank 3. I want to keep climbing. Rank up until I hit the absolute top.

I don’t know how long two years are, in the grand scheme of things. What I do know, is that I have more than just the sword skill. I have other skills that I need to level up. Monsters I need to hunt. More skills to find. I can’t stay here for years, lock myself away from the world, and stagnate while trying to perfect a skill—a skill I can’t even level up, yet, because I don’t have it!

Orin looked at Silver. “Are you really gonna kick the kid out, after everything? He’s had a rough life. C’mon. Bend, just this once.”

“No. If he takes the skill, he has to go.”

Cursing under his breath, Orin turned to Ike. He shook his head woefully. “I tried, kid.”

“It’s fine. This is already so much more than I expected.” Ike put his hands together, palm up, expecting Silver to drop the skill into them.

Silver stood abruptly. Taking the skill, he left the fire behind and vanished into his cave.

Ike stared after him. He turned to Orin, spreading his hands, completely lost.

“Don’t give me that look. I don’t understand anything about Silver,” Orin said, putting his hands up.

“I thought you two were in a party, back in the day,” Ike said.

“And you spent most of the year with him. So? Understand him?”

Ike licked his lips. He stared after Silver. Slowly, he shook his head. “No.”

Orin snorted. “That’s what I thought.”

Sitting back, Ike glanced at Orin. “It’s not like I have anything waiting for me. And honestly, I could afford to keep laying low for a while. It’s just—”

“You don’t have the time to waste here?” Orin asked. He chuckled and nodded. “I know the feeling.”

Ike scratched the back of his head. He managed an awkward smile. “I have other skills that need to be leveled. I want to hunt more monsters and grow in Rank, not just in sword strength. I need to go out and see the world. I’m ready.”

Orin looked at him, then turned away. He looked to the horizon. “Yeah. It’s hard for us old guys to let you kids go. But you need to go face the world. See what there is to see. There’s some lessons everyone needs to learn for themselves.”

Light shone behind them as Silver brushed the ivy aside to step back into the night. Ike craned his neck, searching. His eyes widened. “The swords!”

Silver held two blades in his hands, wrapped in fabric. He crossed over to Orin and Ike, and passed the blades to Ike. “As you wished.”

“Thank you,” Ike said. He unwrapped the blades.

Flickering firelight reflected off the surface of the swords. The brilliant green mantis claws had been polished until they shone like fine silver. The already-sharp edges were honed to a razor’s edge. Where the claws had been barbed, now, they were vicious serrated blades. Ike hovered his palms over the flats, almost afraid to touch something so beautiful.

Orin chuckled. “Silver, you really outdid yourself this time.”

Silver harrumphed. He crossed his arms.

“What about the skill?” Ike asked, glancing up at Silver.

Silver braced himself on his knees. He made a coughing sound.

Startled, Ike jumped up. “Are you okay?”

Orin grabbed him before he ran over. Guiding him away by the shoulders, he murmured, “Silver’s got a…unique skill that allows him to remove skill orbs he’s condensed.”

“A Unique skill?” Ike asked, surprised.

“No, no…er, in the classical sense. A special way of accomplishing it. In any case, it’s better not to see it happen.”

A vomiting sound came from behind them.

Ike paused. He looked at Orin and leaned in. “Did he spit it up like a hairball?”

“Like I said. Better not to see it happen,” Orin said, patting Ike’s back. He gave him a close-lipped smile.

“How’d he end up with a sword skill in the first place?” Ike asked.

Orin paused. He waggled his head back and forth. “That’s a story for Silver to tell.”

“Hey.”

Orin and Ike turned.

Silver held out a gleaming skill orb. “The sword skill.”

Ike eyed it. That looks almost as good as Salamander Healing did. It’s definitely high rank. Not Unique, but high rank. Maybe even Rare.

Once again, he found himself wondering how Silver found himself in possession of a sword skill. Did he kill humanoids? Humans? Did it just happen to spawn from a monster? A Rare skill…there’s definitely a story behind it.

He reached out.

“Last chance,” Silver said.

“The skill, please,” Ike said firmly.

Silver hesitated half a beat, then handed Ike the skill. The second it landed in Ike’s palm, he gripped it tight. Absorb!