The next morning when Dante woke, he was surprised to see the sun in the sky. There was no immediate order to get up and work, no hail of arrows, no world-shaking explosion. Dante was simply allowed to lie there and get his bearings.

It felt almost sinful.

He glanced to the side and saw that Svōl’s bed roll was empty. Surely they wouldn’t allow me free range. Right? He decided to wait until the man came back. No need to raise suspicions. Though, he didn’t want to sit here and allow memories from the previous days to find him. Dante looked around the tent for a distraction and spied his new backpack.

Ah! That's right, I need to do that.

Dante dug the roll of parchment out of his bag along with the small dagger Svōl had lent him. He folded the sizable sheet in half, then cut along the fold until he had two pieces. He did this several more times until he was left with sixteen rectangular pieces that were about letter sized. Satisfied, he reached for the black block of what he suspected was ink.

Now, what to do with this?

Not having a better idea, he used the knife to break off a small piece and then dropped it in the ceramic bowl, which he filled with water. He was pleased to see it turn black and fetched the metallic quill. Dante experimentally tried to scrawl a line onto the paper but found that the line was faint. So he broke off another piece and dropped it in to a similar result. Waiting didn’t seem to help, so he used the butt of the knife to ground the waterlogged ink shards, then tried writing again. This time it was thick and didn’t flow well, but by adding a bit more water it was workable.

That was harder than I expected, maybe I should pick up a mortar and pestle. Perhaps I should get some twine or leather while I am at it so I can bind this into a book. As it is, I better write small and succinctly. Now, on to the exciting stuff …

He exited the tent and searched around until he found a sizeable rock, then used [Builder] on it. It told him that it was about 10 ounces or 300 grams. It seems like this skill stops at the first digit. Not as exact as I would like, but it will do for now.

He let go of the rock and it shot upwards, launching a few feet into the air, then fell back down to hover above his palm. That had a lot more pep to it than he remembered. Dante filed that information away for later. It was not what he was currently testing for.

Not heavy enough.

He tried to float another rock that was twice as heavy and it refused to budge from his palm. Ok, need something lighter than that. In such a manner, he kept trying different rocks until he found one that rose very slowly. He noted down the results.

Ok, now for its overloaded value.

Dante conducted many tests all morning on every single one of his abilities. His [Builder] skill came in use again when it came to distances, but a stumbling block arose when he tried to measure time. The skill couldn’t do it. So he did the best he could with manual counting and averaging several attempts. At the end of everything, he had a comprehensive list.

Date: TBD (This is going to be a hard one to ask about)

[Overloaded Warding Flesh]

-Lifts: ~500 grams/17 ounces

-Reaches: ~ 10 centimeter/4 inches

After Overloading

-Lifts: ~600 grams/21 ounces

-Reaches: ~ 14 centimeter/5 inches

Charge

-Replenishes: every 75 seconds

Notes

-While levitating objects, the weight did not disappear. It seemed more spread out over hand

[Chameleon]

-Time to disguise fully: 50 seconds

-Change: Not great, gets about halfway to surrounding color

Notes: Seems to take account of what's behind me

[Sharpen Senses]

-Sight: 6 meters/25 feet

-Hearing: 8 meters/26.4 feet

-Smell: 3 meters/11 feet

Notes: Wrote a letter one inch tall on a rock and saw how far away I could see it. For hearing, measured how far away I could understand a conversation. Camp was loud, will do future testing here. Used ink for smell (Strong metallic odor).

[Split Second Reactions]

-Personal Time: 3 seconds

Overall, Dante was quite happy with his test results. Though he was frustrated that he hadn’t been able to test everything. For one, he was unsure how he could test his sense of touch or taste. Nor was he able to come up with a great metric for how well [Chameleon] camouflaged. Perhaps the most frustrating part was [Split Second Reactions]. Dante had figured out how to activate it, letting his hand fall towards the knife was enough, but had no way to figure out the difference between his mental perception of time and how much actual time had passed. When the ability was active, the outside world still moved. Just slower. Dante could count in his head all he wanted, but that only represented his personal perception of time. He needed a stopwatch.

Perhaps the ability he was the most happy with was [Overloaded Warding Flesh]. Compared to how it had been at first, it had grown substantially. It had even saved his life against that dragon’s breath, though he thought it was a case of [Overloaded Warding Flesh] being a perfect counter to it. Even so, what level did that thing have to be? A hundred? Against more regular attacks, it could deflect a small rock now. As long as it was thrown underhanded. In the future, who knew what it would be capable of. Especially after more specializations. He would have to revisit the testing after making a few purchases and leveling a bit. Dante frowned and looked outside the tent flap.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Where was Svōl?

The sun had reached its zenith and there was still no sign of the man. Perhaps he had really been left alone? Dante couldn’t see any other reason for being left alone like this.

Dante was out of tasks to occupy himself with. His thoughts kept turning to something he didn’t want to think about. The events of the last few days. He had been either too scared or tired to think it through yet, but a lot had happened. When it became clear that he wasn’t going to think about anything productive until he dealt with this. So he let his thoughts drift.

I killed. Not once, but twice. Both were thinking beings and were … young. So why don’t I feel worse?

Dante felt bad, sure, but it was nowhere near the degree what he felt it should be. In all stories he had read, the protagonist would spend chapters agonizing over their deeds. He only felt … shaken. Perhaps a little angry. That he had been forced to do that.

There was an answer to that question, it had been burning in the back of his mind. He didn’t like how it painted him. He forced himself to confront the thought.

If they hadn’t been so … monstrous then it would have been so much harder.

There it was. He had said it.

I mean, the first one had been chewing on a person for fucks sake! I mean, it was indeed intelligent. It laid traps for Pauwna and the other Ahsmati could clearly follow orders. But all the people they slaughtered. I didn’t have time to debate if the creatures deserved death. It was kill or be killed! Self defense! Besides, who knows what the other humans would have done to me if I refused to kill them. Anyone would have done the same. No court would convict me!

Dante realized that he felt light-headed and forcibly calmed his breath. He was coated with sweat. The walls of the tent were claustrophobic. He couldn’t stay a moment longer in there.

Dante grabbed his possessions and bolted.

As soon as he was outside and in the bright sun, he felt better. He took a few moments to take a few deep breaths. If he was being honest with himself, going alone scared the shit out of him. This was a strange, new, and highly dangerous world. If he got himself in trouble, like he had with that one angry woman, there was no one to save him. He could even get lost. But it was better than being left alone with his memories.

I guess I did care more than I thought, at least about some part of it. The thought failed to bring him joy. He had always been awful at interpreting his own emotions. But he couldn’t linger here with these thoughts. He had to go do something, damn if this was a test by Svōl.

Dante shook his head and forcibly dispelled his thoughts. As he was about to pick a direction to go, a thought struck him and he fetched his writing supplies from his pack. He marked his tent in the middle, the intersection he was standing at, and the direction he was going to go. Then, he began exploring.

Taking a spiral path from his tent, he leisurely walked the area and slowly made his map. He did not mark every path, as that would fill his small page quickly, but rather general areas. Even so, he realized that even with these precautions he would run out of pages before camp. At least I will know the area around where I live. It was something at least and he wouldn’t have to fear getting lost as much. Whenever he saw a landmark he would make special note of it. Whether that was an unusual building or tent, a hill, or a place like he found himself in front of now.

It was another cleared area, just as big as the one where all the merchants had set up, and it was packed with soldiers. Thousands of them. There were two main groups on the field, each occupying about half. The first was the most numerous, consisting of blocks that moved in formation. They moved in unison under the watchful eye of their officers. He tracked one unit as an order was shouted and they conjured dozens of fireballs. They launched them at another unit who, in response, formed dozens of small translucent force shields which snapped into place in front of the defending formation. After a brief pause, they snapped together to form one, segmented shield. The hail of fireballs struck and the shield largely held. Any segment that was destroyed soon had its place taken by a neighbor.

Dante noticed that, although they were all using the same skill, some manifestations were stronger. This had the effect of ensuring constant protection, but the shield grew smaller and the edges of the formation were left exposed. A handful of fireballs made it through and struck the front ranks. Most endured and those who did not were swiftly dragged to the back, where healers waited.

It was a stunning show of coordination and training, far removed from what he had seen at the trenches. They were not limited to that one maneuver, he had seen, there were many others. He saw coordinated magical displays involving retreats covered by smoke screens, charges preceded by a small earthquake which disrupted footing, and distractions caused by covering the ground in ice mid-fight.

I wonder where these guys were when we were fighting and dying in the trenches?

Dante knew for a fact that they could have used such competent soldiers. Though … it seemed like they all had the same skills, which gave him a bad feeling. Such tactics would need uniformity, so all members would have to have the same build. Which would require someone telling them to pick them. Which seemed tyricanal. As far as he was aware, there was no way to change your build, so these soldiers might be stuck with this build for the rest of their lives. He wasn’t in the mood to dote on that any longer, so he took a look at the other side of the field.

The type of people over there were more like what he was used to. A ragtag mob that wielded arms and armor as varied as their appearance. A stranger would have no way of knowing that they belonged to the same army as the other units. Rather than drilling, they undertook a breath-taking variety of activities. The most common of which took place in many sandy fighting pits where many a warrior pitted themselves against one another. Given that such contestants shook the ground with their strikes and caused small whirlwinds with their swift movements, Dante did not feel confident about even drawing near. There were some less extreme matches, so perhaps it wasn’t a loss cause. He did see several more experienced warriors giving instruction, so he might learn something if he did.

In one isolated part of the field, he saw a curious sight. A ring of odd yet hazardous objects arrayed in a rough circle. Among them was a raging forge, a shard of ice which steamed in the air, a roiling pool of acid, and a cauldron that held absolute blackness. Dante watched as one woman paid for entrance, walked in, and plunged her hands directly into the heart of the forge. He gasped as she held it there for a few seconds, then removed it with a grimace. To his shock, aside from some redness, her hands were fine. She moved on to the ice and held a hand against that, for much less time than the last. The woman made a complete circuit, avoiding only the dark cauldron, and sustained no serious injury. She was not the only one either, a fair few were making the circuit. Dante upgraded his opinion of the durability of the soldiers in this army.

It also made him question their sanity, it seemed like madness to him. Dante was sure that they were probably training something, maybe resistances. Still, such self-mutilation could not be healthy. Dante was definitely not going to do that. He was much more interested in another activity. On the far side of the training field, he spied several archery ranges. As he made his way over, he realized it wasn’t just bows and arrows. Javelins, throwing knives, and throwing axes were quite common, and some used more exotic armaments like bolas or nets. Each range was different. Some looked no different from those back home, with the patrons shooting into hay-filled targets about a football field away. Others were more awe-inspiring.

He watched as one particular archer drew back a bow that appeared spun from silvery moonlight. When it was at full draw, an arrow of light appeared. When she released her shot, it was with no noise at all. The only noticeable effect was a brief flash of light at the end of range, about half a mile away. If he wasn’t mistaken, it had split a boulder in half.

Now that, was an ability he was interested in acquiring. Dante had a suspicion that [Overloaded Warding Flesh] would work well with a ranged weapon as it would add velocity to any projectile he fired. If he did it while spending his charge, it would be even more effective. While the added boost likely wouldn’t have a huge effect, who knew about the future? It wasn’t like he was spending anything to achieve the enhancement. Besides, the safest place on the battlefield was as far away from it as possible. Where he could shoot while camouflaged, then move. It was a simple enough strategy, one of the many ideas he had for using the ability. It was better to start simple.

The only problem was how he could acquire it. He did not think that asking the woman would work. Even if he could articulate the question, it seemed like something she would want to keep secret.

I am sure, however it works, it starts with picking up a bow. Or crossbow. I already have the skill for that.

Rather enamored with that vision, Dante began walking towards a mostly empty range. He was hoping that there would be some practice weapons available, but a brief scan did not show any.

Time for plan B.