Chapter 4 – Again!

Gordan looked over at Lee. "Yup, looks like. You up for another round?"

Lee smiled at Gordan confidently. "You bet! I could even enter the labyrinth if I can get my swordsmanship skill up to level five by tomorrow." Lee put his arms up behind his head. "Now that I think about it. It's a bit scary." he said, excitedly smiling.

Gordan went on to open up his system only to see something quite disappointing.

*Skill up: Cooldown 10m*

"Ah, I don't really want to wait around." Lee frowned. "Maybe we could try out that other skill?" He grinned.

"I don't want to give you any skills though…" He thought.

Gordan then opened his inventory. To his surprise, the hammer he had dropped was right in the first slot.

"Maybe it's got the returning ability or something. I'll have to test that out," Gordan noted.

Upon selecting his trusty hammer, it materialized in his right hand.

"I just realized I have no idea what a mundane tool is," Gordan muttered and looked at Lee, pointing at the hammer.

"Try a crowbar. Maybe we could spar with it," Lee added.

Gordan thought of a crowbar, and the hammer began to change shape within seconds. The handle stayed centered in his hand while the material changed and became metallic. During the transition, it looked like a soft, slimy substance but felt just as hard as a crowbar should be. It formed a hook on one end and a flat scraping part on the other. About 2-3 seconds passed, and the item had fully transitioned. A new system window appeared.

*Gordan's trusty crowbar.*

"Ah. The spice of life." Gordan thought sarcastically.

Gordan's sour expression turned to that of curiosity. "Hey Lee, here." Gordan handed the crowbar over. "Ouch!" Lee said under his breath as his hand retracted quickly. He began blowing on the part of his hand that touched the crowbar.

"One experiment down." Gordan thought while looking at Lee smugly.

Lee looked over at Gordan. "You knew that was going to happen! I see it in your face, you jerk!"

"Well, not exactly. It is a bonded weapon, but until now I didn't really know what that meant." Gordan said sheepishly. "I thought it meant it would slip out of your hand or return to me." He then sat on his bed and continued. "To think it burns people. That's a tad extreme for my taste."

"Anyhow, about sparring. I want to try out that impart skill first. I'm going to try and give you my gaming skill." Gordan opened up the system and selected the Impart skill.

*Please select a friend*

"Lee of course."

*Friend "Lee" selected*

*Please select a skill to impart*

"I'll try the whole thing. I don't know how much it's going to give him."

*Gaming(20 lvls) has been selected*

*Imparting successful*

"Open up your system for me Lee"

"Oh sweet! I gained 10 levels! I'm gonna kick your ass in the VR tournament you know that right?" Lee looked over at Gordan with threatening eyes and a creepy grin.

"Aren't you a bit too competitive?" Gordan thought. He let out a sigh. "How much did you get?" He bent over to look.

*Gaming: lvl 28*

"Oh god, I am gonna get my ass kicked."

"I had eighteen before, so I think I got ten?" Lee put his hand over his chin, trying to recall exactly what it was before.

"I tried to give you twenty, so it looks like I can impart about half of a skill." Gordan plopped down on the bed, now in a laying position with his legs hanging off the edge of his bed.

"Half. Only half. I gave up ten years of hard work for half!?" He sulked for a while, lost in thought.

"With the challenges it's not so bad. I normally get a pretty good reward too. Maybe this isn't so bad." Gordan thought.

"Hey, cheer up! You're just helping a friend kick your ass! What could be better?" Lee put his hands up, making finger guns toward Gordan. "I might even be able to win some prize money at this level," Lee added.

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"You're splitting it with me right?" Gordan perked up.

"Aw, well, about that," Lee chuckled. "I suppose you have helped me a lot." He looked down, giving it a good think. "Alright, deal, fifty-fifty, alright?" Lee showed his winning smile again. Gordan couldn't wallow anymore at his lost skill if he was going to benefit.

"Is the cooldown up yet?" Lee asked.

"Still about 5 minutes left." Gordan waved away the system. "Let's try another tool instead." Gordan then thought of several different tools. First, a small planar, next an awl, and then he tried an electric device, a drill, to no success.

"Damn, I was really hoping. Looks like it's only hand tools." Gordan noted.

Next, he tried a few different hammers: a carpentry hammer, a jewelers hammer, and an 8lb hammer.

Lee watched in amazement as the bonded tool changed shape. "Hey why don't you try a tool you could use for offence?" He offered, making a slashing motion with swooshing sound effects from his mouth.

"This guy." Gordan thought.

"Alright wise guy, what kind of tool can be used for offence?" Gordan countered.

"Uh." Lee stopped, thought momentarily, and put his hand behind his head. "Maybe a scythe?"

"Nope, too cringy. Can't do it." Gordan thought.

He looked at Lee with a disapproving glance and a nod that meant no. "OOH! I've got it, a machete!" Lee offered.

"Oh, that's not too bad. I'll look a little like a serial killed but it certainly works." Gordan began to think of a long machete that would traditionally be used to cut down thick brush. The bonded item began to take shape. A blade about two feet long materialized from the goo. It had a sturdy carbon fiber handle and a steel blade.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Gordan said excitedly. "You ready to jump in?" He looked over at Lee, who already pulled out his wooden sword. "Oh yeah."

Gordan then selected skill up, and a system message appeared.

*Please select a skill and difficulty*

*Easy*

*Moderate*

*Difficult*

"This bit is just too hard to decide." Gordan thought. "Lee, what do you think?" Looking over, Lee had a special kind of look. "Difficult. If there was a nightmare mode I would choose that." Lee was beaming, his veins were popping, and he looked more ready than Gordan could ever be.

"Just how did he get to be this way?" Gordan sighed. "Alright, but don't be sorry about it!"

*Please choose a skill to Skill up*

"I could choose bartering. But, I feel I'm already where I need to be with that." Gordan was trying to think of a skill he could impart to somebody who needed it. He sat down on the bed to give it some more thought.

"Gordan, you can't be giving up now! We just agreed!" Lee pleaded, thinking Gordan was having second thoughts.

"Ah. No, I'm not giving up. I'm just thinking about what skill to choose." Gordan chuckled. "I want it to be something I could impart. Maybe over to my parents." He smiled, a bit embarrassed. He put his hand behind him and leaned back. "I just want to help them out. I've had a good life, and I want to pay them back." Gordan added.

Lee smiled at Gordan and put a hand on his shoulder. "I know just the thing. Isn't your Mom responsible for the books? Why not accounting?"

"Good idea, accounting it is!" Gordan was pleased with Lee's suggestion.

*Accounting selected*

A bright white light brought the two back to their personal hell. The desert, save the giant rat corpse, was exactly as they had left it. Footsteps could be seen from their sprinting, and a line twenty feet in the sand brought back some special memories for Gordan.

*A new quest has arrived*

*Quest: Find the sword graveyard*

*Reward: Ever-Burning Lantern*

"I've never seen that item before. It'll be useful for Lee when he goes exploring." Gordan smiled at the thought of his friend finally achieving his dream. "Hey! This rewards yours, it's only fair with you helping me and all."

"Thanks, man, that item looks pretty useful. But about that sword graveyard." Lee grinned. "I think I'm about to find a replacement for this guy." He raised up the wooden sword.

They began to look around, quickly realizing they had no idea where to look. "Gordan, are those your tracks?" Lee pointed down to the tracks in the sand trailing off in a random direction. "Yeah. When I first came here, I got lost pretty bad." Gordan replied.

"Did you see anything?" Lee questioned. "We could probably go in the opposite direction."

"Nope, not a thing," Gordan replied, replaying the awful memory of wandering here without water or food, thinking he would die.

"It's decided!" Lee yelled. "Let's go this way." He began walking in the opposite direction to the tracks. The two wandered off, keeping eyes on the horizon to the sides. Be careful to spot anything that could be the Sword Graveyard. Thirty minutes passed, and the two were beginning to feel the heat. They were tired.

"Next time, I'm bringing water and an umbrella." Gordan sighed. He slumped his shoulders forward. "I can't believe I didn't think about that before we jumped in."

"Oh! A watch too. That way we can see how long has passed while we walk." Lee smiled back.

Gordan looked Lee up and down. He noticed Lee sweat way less than him and was in better shape. At this moment, Gordan realized that Lee took being an explorer very seriously. He witnessed how he trained almost daily from endurance training, drills, and even food and water deprivation.

"Lee, you know you're crazy right?" Gordan pointed out.

"I'm not crazy. I just have a goal." Lee sighed. "Not everyone's parents have a business. Most of us know we'll have to gather from the labyrinth by the time we're ten." Lee put his hands behind his head like he normally does while walking. "I might as well get excited about it. Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky and strike it rich like Arnold Gusterson!"

Arnold Gusterson was a famous explorer about two hundred years ago. He was the first to discover a hidden entrance on level one of the labyrinth leading to a mineral deposit. He then contracted a team to dig it out. During the excavation, the cave collapsed, revealing a secondary hidden entrance containing countless treasures.

"You're a lot more optimistic than I am," Gordan thought. "Maybe you're right. But you could die too." He looked up as if staring at heaven. "It's better to rely on pure economics, my friend." Bringing his head down and staring directly into Lee's eyes. "How about you help me instead? I have an idea." Gordan grinned.

"What could be better than exploring the labyrinth?" Lee questioned with a disinterested tone.

"Well, with this skill I can open up more shops. I could even have you gather materials for the shops." Gordan shrugged. "It's not foolproof. I need to think about it more. But, I can't bear to lose you to the grind of the labyrinth." Gordan's expression fell. "I see those guys everyday. They look desperate."

"I'm not planning to be one of those guys—" Gordan interrupted.

"Oh shit." Gordan had laid eyes on a massive field of swords. His field of vision couldn't view it all at once. In front of him were numerous specks in the distance, some black, some white, and others shined in the sunlight. The site was breathtaking.

"I guess that's it." Lee noted.

"Yup. Unless we're at some other Sword Graveyard. Come on!" Gordan began running toward the scene. It was still a ways off, perhaps a 10-minute walk. Even though he was running, Lee was much more excited and quickly outpaced Gordan. A 10-minute walk turned into a 4-minute run for the two. Just upon entering the large field, a system notification appeared.

*Quest completion detected*

*Quest: Find the sword graveyard - Completed*

*Reward: Ever-Burning Lantern*

Just as Lee was about to pick one of the swords out of the sand, a bright light brought the two back to Gordan's familiar home.

"NO! My infinite slicey stick. My bar of passion! WHY?" Lee cried, falling to his knees. "WE HAVE TO GO BACK GORDAN!" Lee snapped his head and made direct eye contact with Gordan.

"This guy is nuts." Gordan thought.

"Don't worry, it's only ten minutes. Plus, I have a present for you." Gordan then pulled the quest reward from his inventory. The ever-burning Lantern materialized in his hands. A small lantern that fits in the palm of Gordan's hands appeared. It lit up the whole room to about daylight level. Neither of the two could stare directly at the Lantern.

"OFF, off you damn thing," Shouted Gordan. The light slowly faded away at the command word.

"For me? You shouldn't have." Lee said sarcastically while still taking the item. "Thanks man, this means a lot." Looking at Gordan with an appreciative smile.