The exhausted swordsman desired only to sleep; an irate devil denied him this simple need.

“What is this- lost and found? The hell have you been up to kid, your feed went dead, spooked me something fierce.”

Collapsing into an unused beanbag, Leon allowed Zerasos to flip through a fresh set of papers.

“...so I says to ‘em, you either give me what I need or I walk and you can come down off your high horse to explain to the kid why ‘ol Uncle Z isn’t at home anymore. Now this selection bullshit was not in my info- that’s on me. Apologies to you.”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Leon waved the devil off.

“Leave it Zerasos. I don’t need an apology. We were both blindsided. Please, keep it concise. What’s our game plan during downtime?”

An entirely separate pile of notes had to be consulted for Zerasos to answer him, Leon nearly nodding off in the interim.

“Got it- here we are. Kid, gimme a ballpark of your stats. Drew up a couple of different plans depending on where you’re at.”

“Ranges between one thirty and one sixty, I think? I don’t want to check, my head’s killing me.”

A low whistle followed before the devil spoke.

“Okay, wow, yeah, that means you’re pretty much done here. You could grind, but that would handicap you in the long run. So, take a month. Learn what Layla’ll teach you. Then hit the last three trials and kill the last three Unique monsters on the island before you take on the volcano. Anything else is just a cherry on top.”

“Anything else?”

“Don’t take longer than a month or the volcano erupts and wipes out the woods. Never mind that- ya look like hell! Go, sleep.”

Throwing himself beneath the soft covers, Leon slept still clad in his armour.

Thankfully, he experienced a dreamless sleep, jerking awake once fully rested.

Groggily, while wiping his eyes, he called to Zerasos.

“How long was I out?”

The devil roused from his own sleep to answer.

“Half a day.”

Rolling over, the devil fell back into slumber.

Springing from his own bed, Leon began the arduous process of replenishing his food stocks.

Minutes spent shovelling every morsel the fringe provided, his once depleted stores burgeoning once more, the first task of the day completed.

Before stepping out into the chaos once more, Leon examined his list of priorities.

Top of the list, bloodline. Forging could wait. He would be unsealing that today.

Next forging. The Job field in his status had read ‘None!’ for far too long.

Sparring. Working with the people he’d claimed. Learning to properly fight rather than relying on his power to win.

Practice. He would ensure he remained sharp, bettering his swordsmanship with each swing.

The evening light revealed a still working Layla, a few of the selection winners milling around, the pile of food Leon had laid out diminished yet not exhausted.

Another point- he needed a better name for the people who’d chosen to rely on him.

Resources? Too honest.

Comrades? Too cheesy.

Friends? Definitely not that.

It’d come to him, eventually.

Layla, once again absorbed in refining her rapier, paid Leon no mind. He’d check in with her later.

William met Leon as the swordsman strode into the clearing.

“Any news?”

Half pulled, half directed onto a seat that hadn’t been there this morning, the two men sat, looking upon the treehouses.

“We’ve got a problem or two, boss.”

It was never easy. Leon embraced this challenge. He didn’t want it easy.

“Well, shit. Lay it on me.”

The mantra failed to curtail his annoyance.

William schooled his face into a perfect mask as he replied.

“Angela- sword and board fighter. She had to break up a fight between Mikael and Erica.”

Mikael, he knew- the brawler who fought dirty. Erica, he did not, though by process of elimination, he figured she must have been the summoner- had a hellhound she could call on, called Leon out for not fighting back at the selection.

Narrowing his eyes at his agent among the people, Leon spotted a discrepancy.

“Seems like it should have been you breaking up that fight, William.”

“I’ll get to that. At the time, I was preoccupied with the second issue. So I pulled Angela aside, got the story. Stupid fight. Mikael made a suggestion of some adult fun, which Erica wanted no part in. Neither wanted to have the last word, wound up getting pretty venomous with each other. The good news is Angela made them promise to avoid each other.”

Friction on day one. Fantastic.

“Figure out a way to use this, William. If they’re at each other’s throats, we could end up with factions forming. If I have to break them up, I’ll be pissed. I’ll speak to them separately, make sure they know infighting won’t be tolerated. Problem two, hit me.”

Hesitation, the way William opened and shut his mouth, rolling his tongue from side to side. Choosing his words carefully. Or had he fucked up?

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“William. Hit me.”

That got him speaking.

“Kong Xia and Bethany- they’ve been sparring for the past hour. I don’t think Bethany’s landed a hit on him. I wanted to break it up, but they both told me to fuck off. Now, admittedly, Kong Xia put it in nicer words, but the intent was the same.”

There lay an opportunity here- to stop any other silly fights from erupting and stamp his authority deeper on the group.

“So long as they’re sparring, it’s no problem. When two swordsmen meet, they’ll naturally cross blades. Nothing either of us could have done to stop it.”

So, two quick conversations, then a spar to break up before he could get to work. Easy enough.

“Boss, no offence, but I’m pretty sure there weren’t any real swordsmen until a few days ago.”

Shaking his head, Leon chastised his lieutenant.

“William, so much you have to learn. A swordsman defines themselves by the blade in their heart, not the blade in their hand.”

Leon couldn’t remember where he’d stolen that line from, only sure that he had stolen it.

Ignoring his lieutenant’s mutterings, Leon moved towards the sounds of clashing steel, another clearing deeper in the woods, taken over by Kong Xia and Bethany.

William spoke true; Bethany really wasn’t landing any hits.

Her flurried style worked well against the kind of trash most fighters were now she faced a true test. He’d only glanced at her previously and took the opportunity to remember her appearance.

A brunette, with short hair, cut just long enough to obscure her ears. Softer features, definitely an adult, mid-twenties at a guess, though Leon couldn’t tell. Less distinctive than some of the other women he’d met recently, pleasant enough to the eye, yet not a head turner.

She wore light armour, leather make. Kept her quick on her feet- a Speed focused fighter through and through.

Kong Xia hardly strained himself in the spar, his jian moving exactly where he needed, parrying her blade. The man never riposted, allowing the lesser fighter to exhaust herself against his defensive bladework.

They broke apart upon hearing Leon’s applause.

“Well done! Your style is certainly unique- self-taught?”

Correctly deducing the question had been aimed at her, Bethany nodded.

“Yes sir, thank you for the compliment.”

“It intrigues me- lend me your blades. I’ve never fought with two in hand before.”

She hesitated, Leon swiftly addressing his faux pas, drawing his Sunlight Greatsword.

“Here, hold on to mine. Practice with it, if you want. It’s probably the closest to a normal sword I’ve used, but I’d advise you watch me closely instead.”

She accepted his sword, the crimson blade appearing larger than ever against her slight frame.

Taking the two arming swords in hand, Leon was surprised he recognised them. Two replicas of the same sword he’d used on his first day. An opportunity to sample the dual blade style.

Now time to remind both of them- there was always a bigger fish.

Raising one to his opponent, Leon issued his challenge.

“I’ll be intruding on this spar, Kong Xia”

The man raised his jian in response, smile slight, eyes ablaze in anticipation.

“One of your calibre cannot intrude. I welcome your blade, Leon Knox. To first blood?”

“To first blood.”

Bethany blinked and the swordsmen moved, Leon pushing his blade forward, one held in reserve to act as a shield.

His opening thrust faced a counter, his blade deflected aside by Kong Xia.

The counterthrust Leon expected never materialised, Kong Xia remaining on the defensive.

He was giving Leon time to acclimate to the fresh combat style.

A mistake.

Soon the blows rained against Kong Xia’s defence, Leon’s strikes growing swifter, slash chained into thrust. An overhead swing, transitioning into a swipe at the man’s legs.

He’d seen a style he could ape in the vision the core had shown him- with two blades in hand, Leon would prove worthy of the demon moniker.

Tossing a blade skywards, Leon gambled on Kong Xia seizing the chance. Lunging forwards in a thrust, Leon gave him the widest possible opening.

He took it- a blunder.

What had appeared to be a thrust, transitioned into a block, the jian repelled, Kong Xia pushed back by his own attack, his posture disrupted.

This gave Leon his own opening and enough time to capitalise, by catching the second sword and prodding the tip against his opponent’s open arm, his other sword pinning his opponent’s blade in place.

A single bead of blood flowed freely, the solitary drip heard by all in the clearing.

Victory, to the Swordfiend, both participants pulling back and bowing in the aftermath of their clash.

Without his enhanced perception, to know exactly when to catch the sword, Leon wouldn’t have attempted such a showy move.

“A good show Kong Xia. Had you been on the offensive, I estimate I’d have lasted five moves against you.”

“You honour me, Leon Knox. I say the same of you, a mere five moves would have me laid low, were you wielding a weapon you were accustomed to.”

Returning Bethany her blades, Leon took back his greatsword.

“Hope you learned something there. Feel free to ask for a spar with me anytime you see me practising.”

Leaving the two to their swordsmanship, Leon sought out Mikael first, the Brawler seated at the table when he returned.

“Yo, bossman!”

Leon supposed there were worse nicknames than boss. Not many, but he was sure they existed.

“Mikael- walk with me.”

Bouncing up to join him, Leon noted the man’s appearance- only a few left to memorise, the assurance lessening the strain of engraving features next to a name.

Hair shaved right down to the scalp, knuckles covered in tattoos and a dangling nose ring. A punk. Lightly armoured, leather again. He pulled up alongside Leon, face quickly morphing as he noted Leon’s serious mood.

“Shit, sorry bossman- I didn’t mean to cause trouble. Just asked a chick for a roll in the hay and she bit my fucking head off for it. My fault, my bad. Anything you need to make it right, I’ll do.”

Quick. Clued into power dynamics, swifter on the uptake than the rest, only William had adapted faster to the hierarchy. Suggested experience with this type of social situation, one ruled by personal power and the capacity for violence.

Somewhat expected, since he’d skipped the Starter Classes- he’d experienced brawling well before the System.

“Just a warning this time, Mikael. Don’t start shit, Erica gives you any bring my name up. Got it?”

“Yeah, got it bossman. Gonna grab another rack of ribs. You want anything?”

“Nah, I like to eat once the hard part of the day’s done. Go, don’t let me keep you from your dinner.”

Watching Mikael retreat to the table, Leon resolved to keep a firm handle on the Brawler.

Men who’d lived rough lives needed to see you as their friend.

At the first sign of weakness, they’d pounce on an acquaintance.

But for a friend? They’d go through hell with a smile on their face.

One last social call, then he could focus on more important matters.

He found Erica alongside Angela, the two women chatting near one of their tree houses.

Angela- the sword on her hip gave her identity away. An older woman, early thirties Leon would guess. Platinum blonde, long straight hair, toned athletic figure. Sharp features, slightly too sharp to be called beautiful, though undoubtedly striking. Warm, always a gentle smile on her face, Leon couldn’t imagine her angry after seeing the way she composed herself.

Iron armour, heavy gear and a shield. Constitution fighter. A peace keeper, one who would likely settle into a role as group mother. The phrase made Leon’s skin crawl.

He’d never liked it, though had heard Jin’s theories on it espoused too many times while they’d been called to work late.

Annoyingly, he’d made a lot of sense, so the phrase stuck in Leon’s mind.

Erica- summoner, mage robes. Black hair, dyed. Absurdly pale skin, the woman looked like she’d never seen the sun before. Younger than most, roughly William’s age, maybe a year older.

Posture told him she was withdrawn, uncomfortable. Crossed arms, closed off. Still, William had said she’d argued back at Mikael and snapped at him in the selection. Either quick to anger or an impressive actress to play the shy girl so easily. Dangerous either way, a problem to nip in the bud.

He listened as he approached, waiting for a lull in their quiet conversation.

“Sorry to interrupt ladies- Erica a quick word, please?”

A softer touch this time- though he detested playing these social games, sometimes they made things easier.

The women whispered and Leon waited, Erica joining him a short distance away once their little discussion resolved itself.

She waited, allowing him to speak first.

Shy seemed more likely then.

“Look, I heard about what happened. Now, stop me if I get anything wrong. Mikael made an offer. You refused and then it turned into a shouting match. Right so far?”

The only answer Leon received came as a nod from the taciturn girl.

“Okay- we all had a rough day yesterday. That’s why this is only a warning. Do me a favour? Just walk away next time. Anyone starts something? Walk away. Use my name if they don’t stop, okay?”

Another nod.

“Alright- looking forward to training with you- your hellhound impressed me yesterday. I’ll let you get back to your girl talk, eh?”

She took the dismissal, retreating back to Angela, who gave Leon a wave before he returned.

An eclectic bunch he’d gathered.

William fell into step alongside him as he made his way back to the centre of the clearing.

“Those are the only warnings I will give- next time I graduate to violence. I don’t want to have to do that, William. You’re a smart kid. Make sure these people know that. Clear?”

The ice in his voice left William only able to nod.

Now, with all the social calls done, time to crack a seal.