[Marathoning advances to 4!]
Alex slowed to a stop along the perimeter wall, breathing evenly. She’d just finished her second lap around the entire complex, and she was already doing better than she had before. It was a relief to have her old Skill back with her, even if it was going to take a lot of work to get it back up to maximum.
She fell into meditation for a moment, the brief pause helping to ease even the minor aches that had been running through her legs. One more lap would at least get her another level; before she reached the next Survey, she might even be able to be halfway to maximum. It was a thin hope, but one she could cling to.
“Hey.”
Alex blinked, startled out of her trance. She looked over to see Ed walking up the stairs, dressed in his own running clothes. He grinned at her. “Mind if I join you?”
She raised an eyebrow. Her heart started beating a bit harder than it had during her run. “Sure, why not? I expected you to be at the celebration, though. Did you manage to get on Wells’ bad side?”
“Not exactly.” Ed shrugged. “I might have slipped out after putting in a brief showing. Your friend Sam said he and Audrey would vouch for me.”
Alex smiled. “What? Are you the one sneaking around now? What happened to following the rules?”
Ed spread his arms. “Well, sometimes the rules need to be… bent a little. For the greater good.”
“And coming running with me is for the greater good?”
“Of course.” He folded his arms, a look of mock-severity on his face. “What would happen if you fell off the wall or something? I think that sacrificing a mere party to make sure you are safe is a fair trade.”
Alex put a hand to her chest. “Oh! My hero!” Then she broke down in laughter as he rolled his eyes. When she quieted, she looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. “You really skipped out on the party just to go running with me?”
Ed stepped a little closer, his eyes locked on hers. “Yeah. If you don’t mind.”
She looked up at him a moment longer, letting the silence stretch for a second. Then she ducked past him and started off down the wall again. “Then you’re going to have to work to keep up!” He growled something under his breath, and soon enough she could hear his heavy footsteps struggling to keep up with her. The smile on her face lasted long into the next lap.
A short time later, they were resting on the wall, their legs dangling out over the edge. Below, people walked by on the sidewalks, and cars made a river of headlights in the street. A few offices in the building facing them were still lit, and they could see late-night workers meeting and laboring away on laptops. Alex wondered briefly what that kind of life would have been like, and if she would ever have been happy with it.
Then she shook her head. She was right where she wanted to be.
Ed was sitting next to her, still panting from their last lap. She had poured on a little more speed, just to make him work a little harder, but he’d still managed to keep up. He’d begged for a break after, but the accomplishment was still pretty impressive, especially for someone who didn’t have a Skill involved. He caught her looking at him and gave her an exasperated look before he took another swig of water from a bottle he’d brought. It looked like there was some kind of energy drink inside.
Her phone chirped, and she glanced down at it and froze. Zach’s name was lit up for a moment before she blanked the screen again. She glanced up to see Ed looking over, craning his neck. “Is that your parents?”
Alex relaxed a little, trying to keep the guilt from her face. “Yeah. They like to keep in touch.”
“Wish I had a set of parents like that.” He turned back to face the horizon, his expression wistful. “Never really knew my dad. My mom… well, she had a lot on her mind, and we didn’t exactly live in the suburbs. It was pretty rough.”
She didn’t quite know what to say. “I’m… sorry to hear that.”
“Oh, don’t be. The neighborhood had plenty of aunts and uncles willing to step in and tell me how to wipe my nose and ride a bike and all that.” Ed grinned. “Of course, there were good uncles and bad ones, you know? Some of ‘em told me to stay in school, others wanted to have me try the newest thing their dealer got them.”
He shook his head. “The gangs were always out there, pushing people around, peddling their drugs. It’s gotten worse lately, but it never seemed to be bad enough for the city to really step in. At least, it was never bad enough for the right people.”
Then he shook himself. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to ruin such a nice night talking about stuff like that.”
She watched him a moment longer. For a heartbeat, she considered telling him about Wells. About what their boss was doing, and how he was using the Surveyors to do it. Alex had a moment where she pictured him trusting her, and then helping her take down Wells together.
Then she shook her head slightly and looked back out over the city. “Don’t worry. Everyone’s got their demons, I guess.”
“Oh? Even the mighty Valkyrie?” When she looked back at him, he was grinning at her again. “Maybe this whole Surveyor thing is an attempt at teenage rebellion? A way to get out from under your overbearing parents?”
Alex snorted. “Not hardly.” She saw a car take the corner at a nearby intersection, watched it travel down the thoroughfare away from her. Maybe she could test the waters a bit? “No, they just got worried when they heard about what we were doing during the crunch. It seemed pretty dangerous to them for the company to send us in that many times.”
“You told them about crunch?” The surprise in Ed’s voice made her turn back to him. He was looking at her with an expression close to horror. “I wouldn’t have wanted my parents to hear about that. My mom would have never let me hear the end of it. She wouldn’t sleep for a week.”
She shrugged. “I guess it kind of just slipped out.” Ignoring the incredulous look on his face, she went back to watching the cars. The one she’d been tracking before had disappeared somewhere, so she chose a delivery truck instead. “Since then they’ve been demanding updates and everything. They’re even researching strategies for portal management to come up with arguments about why we shouldn’t do that. Can you believe that?”
Ed shook his head. “You really shouldn’t have mentioned it. People who aren’t Surveyors can get so worried.” He sighed. “Plus, Chief Wells says that the crunch is one of our company’s greatest secrets. Calls it the fuel behind Red Blade Securities’ success. I don’t want to know what would happen if every Survey corp out there started to copy it.”
Alex kept a grimace off her face, but it was a close thing. If only he knew the truth of that statement. “Well, in any case, I think I should head back in. We’re going to have an early day of training tomorrow, and I’m probably going to need my sleep. Hard to get my butt kicked when I’m tired.” Then she gave him a playful grin. “Unless you want to go for another lap?”
He laughed softly and looked back over the city. “No, I think I’ll rest here a little longer. At least until my legs recover.” Ed’s smile was slow and soft. “Though I will miss the company.”
She nudged his shoulder, and then pulled herself back from the wall and stood up. Alex headed back for the stairs; there was still enough time to get a bit of meditation in before she went to sleep.
All the same, she still glanced backward at Ed, who was still staring out at the lights, an unreadable expression on his face.
Alex had been wrong about many things in her life, but this time, she actually enjoyed it a little.
She’d gone for another run that morning—this time Clara and Sam had joined her, though they both seemed surprised to see each other. Despite only having a few levels in Marathoning, she still ran both of the other Surveyors into the ground, a fact that Sam managed to take in good humor. Clara was a bit less graceful, but she still rolled her eyes when Alex asked her if she wanted a nap before the sparring began.
Without Combat Balance, she’d expected the sparring to be almost as brutal as the past few days had been, but Battle Maneuvers easily gave her enough strength to at least compete with most of her opponents. Meditation helped her avoid the fatigue that started to seep into everyone else’s moves as the hours wore on, and the further ahead in the day things went, the more levels she gained in both Melee and Combat Balance. Even the obstacle course didn’t seem as imposing, though that could have been because she wasn’t quite as sore as the others in the group.
Wells still seemed supremely unimpressed with her and knocked her across the gym without even trying. She glared at his back and made herself another promise that someday, somehow, he’d pay for all of it.
After yet another interminable seminar, she went for another run. Ed showed up a second time, and they spent a couple of hours racing along the perimeter wall, watching the lights of the city whirl around them. Then she returned to the barracks, did a little bit of meditation, and went to sleep.
The next two days followed that same pattern. She ran, she fought, she dodged her way through an obstacle course, Wells knocked her around, and then she sat through a lecture before running again. Before she knew it, the day of the next Survey had arrived again, and she had once again been scheduled to visit the other world alongside Brian, Tim, Penny, and John. It would probably be the last Survey before the new Surveyors arrived—and only a short time after that until Zach’s prediction about the next crunch came true.
[D Rank Surveyor Alex, Gatekeeper]
[Ascension Level: 6]
[Role: Porter (Role Skills: None]
[Role Level: 1]
[Experience: 140/2800]
[Attributes: Strength -> 6, Speed -> 10, Life -> 2, Devotion -> 0, Control -> 0]
[Current Skills: Combat Balance(20), Meditation(24), Marathoning(16), Melee–Axe(21)]
[Permanent Skills: Battle Maneuvers(26)]
[Current Titles: Queen of War (Increases Skill grade of Melee, Combined Arms, Weapon Mastery, and Battle Maneuvers by four.),
Aggression (Increases Skill grade of Melee, Weapon Mastery, Combined Arms, and Combat Balance Skills by five.),
Fated Hero (Increases Skill grade of Dodging, Anticipate, Battle Maneuvers, and Inspect by five),
Relentless (Increases Skill grade of Recovery, Running, and Marathoning by three.)
Tireless (Increases Skill grade of Recovery Skills by three.)
Instinctive Protector (Increases Skill grade of Deflect, Dodging, Blocking, Resist, Zeal, and Combat Balance by three.)
Internal Calm (Increases Skill grade of Meditation, Focus, Recovery, Arcane, and Sense by two.)]
Aside from Marathoning, she thought her Skills were in a fairly good place to reach maximum before the end of the Survey. From there, she might even be able to upgrade some of her Titles again, though if she reset Battle Maneuvers again it would definitely hurt.
[Please select your intent]
[Exploration]
[Vengeance]
[Patrol]
[War]
[Salvage]
She selected Patrol, once again restraining her distaste. Then again, with Brian and Tim involved, maybe things wouldn’t end up quite as predictable as she was expecting.
[Your intent is to Patrol]
[Quest Issued! Clear at least eight Grue patrols.]
[Hidden Quest Issued!]
[Hidden Quest Issued!]
Alex frowned at the text hovering in front of her. From what she remembered of level one, the Quests had gotten significantly harder. Why was she being assigned the same number of patrols to clear? Was something else different?
She shook her head and dismissed the notifications. There was a job to do, and she wasn’t going to waste time overthinking it. Alex stepped forward into the light, bracing herself for what she had to do…
[Hidden Quest Discovered! Destroy eight Grue Brutes]
[Hidden Quest Discovered! Destroy twelve Grue Knights and twelve Grue Archers]
Alex groaned as the Grue came spilling out into the street ahead of her. She remembered Laura’s comment that she needed to kill a lot of Knights in order to get her Hidden Quest; now it made a lot more sense. No wonder it had taken twelve patrols to fulfill everything.
She didn’t have time to break the bad news to the others, however. Instead, she threw herself into the Grue, cutting down Soldiers with terrifying ease. When the Brute rushed forward, already striking with its hammers, she wove around its strikes and tore into it, cutting it to pieces before it had the chance to do much of anything. Arrows lashed out at her as she finished the creature, and she barreled through a small group of Soldiers on the way to chase down the Archers. Behind her, the others were tearing through the Grue she had left behind, and by the time she was finished, the last of the Knights were already going down to Brian and Tim’s weapons.
Orange text flickered as the bodies began to disintegrate in waves of purple flame.
[Combat Balance advances to 21!]
[Melee–Axe advances to 22!]
[Main Quest Progress: 1 of 8 targets destroyed]
[Hidden Quest Progress: 1 of 8 targets destroyed]
[Hidden Quest Progress: 6 of 24 targets destroyed]
Alex winced at the numbers of that last Quest, and turned to the others, regret etched on her face.
Brian didn’t even let her start. “Let me guess, your quest requirements went up a bunch?”
She paused. “Yeah. Going to be hard for us to get you guys the same Hidden Quests.”
Tim shrugged. “Not really. We just have to hit twelve patrols instead of thirteen, right?” He glanced at Penny and John, who shuffled quietly on their feet. “It’ll be worth it if we make D rank; that way we will at least head out on Surveys consistently. Besides, unless I miss my guess, you’re doing a lot better Skill-wise, aren’t you?”
Alex nodded, and he grinned. “Then by all means, captain, let’s make some extra trouble. And hey, maybe we’ll get through them faster this time.”
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The others all nodded, even Penny and John, and Alex felt the tension inside her ease slightly. Wells might make more trouble, but she had a feeling she was never going to be on his list of favorites. Not that she minded; at some point, she was probably going to do worse than stay out too long on a Survey.
She sighed and gestured for them to start grabbing materials. “All right. If we’re doing this, then let’s get moving. Eleven more to go.” Alex tried to ignore the smiles on their faces as they got back to work and turned to look for their next target. For once, she actually missed the Shade’s hostile gaze. At least they would find the Grue faster.
Hours later, Alex staggered back to the portal with her team. They were all tired, though she still felt relatively fresh. It was still hard to tell exactly how long the Survey had lasted, but she did think that they had taken out the patrols faster than normal. The only question was if they had managed to do it fast enough, while also returning to the portal in time.
At the very least, they had gotten all of the Quests done that they could. Her teammates were happy, though John looked a little anxious and pensive as he went back through the portal. She grimaced and tried to brace herself as the light shot through her…
[Mission Report]
[Successful Return! +20 Experience]
[Main Quest Completed! +120 Experience]
[Secondary Culling Quest Completed! +80 Experience]
[Secondary Culling Quest Completed! +80 Experience]
[All Quests Completed! Glorious Victory! +80 Experience]
It was going to take forever to get to her next level, but at least she was making progress. Fortunately, her Skills had done much, much better.
[Battle Maneuvers increased from 26 to 30!]
[Combat Balance increased from 20 to 25!]
[Meditation increased from 24 to 25!]
[Marathoning increased from 16 to 19!]
[Melee–Axe increased from 21 to 25!]
Just another few days of training, and maybe another Survey, and Marathoning would be right where she needed it to be. Unfortunately, the next few days were going to be painful, for a large number of reasons.
[Battle Maneuvers has reached level 30! Skill is at Max Level and can no longer increase.]
[Reset Battle Maneuvers to gain a Title?]
She agreed. Every upgrade that gave her an edge was going to be crucial—even if she was going to spend the next week rebuilding the Skill again.
[Title Queen of War upgraded to Title Empress of War (Increases Skill grade of Melee, Combined Arms, Weapon Mastery, and Battle Maneuvers by five.)]
Alex nodded. Empress of War sounded just fine to her.
[Combat Balance has reached level 25! Skill is at Max Level and can no longer increase.]
[Reset Combat Balance to gain a Title?]
Again, she agreed. The further she could push Combat Balance, the better it would be as a Permanent Skill later on.
[Title Instinctive Protector upgraded to Title Inborn Warden (Increases Skill grade of Deflect, Dodging, Blocking, Resist, Zeal, and Combat Balance by four.)]
She frowned. It was odd that Aggression wasn’t getting upgraded. Did that mean Titles couldn’t go past five increases? If so, it would mean that Battle Maneuvers was already at its maximum. Alex tried not to frown and continued.
[Meditation has reached level 25! Skill is at Max Level and can no longer increase.]
[Reset Meditation to gain a Title?]
It was tempting, but she needed Meditation and Marathoning at maximum at the same time. She refused it and refused the option for Melee–Axe as well. Despite the possible benefits, she wanted some combat Skills around. Alex also refused the option to Chain Marathoning and Meditation together; it still wasn’t time for that yet.
Then she stepped forward and left the light behind her…
“No celebration tonight?” Her father’s voice seemed sympathetic, but not surprised.
Alex shook her head. She’d once again been banned from going out with the others, though she didn’t entirely mind. It would give her another chance to run, and she had only so much time before she needed to have Marathoning at maximum. “Nope. I guess I haven’t been cooperating well enough with the program here.”
Her father snorted. “Shocking.” Then he shook his head. “Still, it is good to see you. I’m still worried about what we’re hearing about that place.”
“You mean what Zach’s been telling you?” Her father nodded. “I still think he’s taking too many risks. He needs to slow down.”
“You’re one to talk.” Her mother shoved her way into the picture, her eye locked on Alex’s face. “I still say you should bail on your contract and come home. You’ve been gone long enough.”
Alex sighed. “I’m fine, Mom. It’s just a bit… complicated.”
Eric snorted. “Yeah. I’ll say.” He glanced to the side. “You got Zach’s text about the federals?”
She nodded. “He said the plates on their vehicle didn’t trace to any known agency. I called him too, and he said he was asking around to see if there were any acquisition programs that the government was using.”
That fact had worried her a lot more than missing the party with the other Surveyors. She didn’t know what Zach expected to happen if some shadowy government agency took offense to him poking into their business, but he had just waved off her concerns. Her father didn’t seem any more comfortable about it.
Her mother, however, just chuckled. “He seems to be pretty devoted to figuring out what is going on. Maybe because he thinks it is risking someone he cares about.” Muriel gave Alex a knowing look, and Alex felt her cheeks heat in embarrassment and guilt.
“Well, he needs to be a bit more careful. The last thing any of us need is to have him attract attention.” Alex shook her head, trying to get herself back under control. “He still said we are getting a new shipment of recruits in the next few days, but we haven’t heard anything about it here yet.”
“From the sounds of it, Wells is probably going to try to make it a surprise.” Muriel rolled her eye, clearly unimpressed. “Still, once he has that many Surveyors under his thumb, he might be too distracted to keep track of you. Might give you an opening to slip away.”
Alex gave her a level look. “I think he’d notice if I just stopped showing up for sparring practice, Mom. After all, he makes it a point to fight me every time.”
Muriel leaned forward, her face coming far too close to the camera. “You’re giving him a good fight, right? You have to uphold my glorious legacy, you know?”
The amusement in those words, accompanied by the arch of her eyebrow, made Alex sigh. “Look, I know you are laughing about the cult of the Crimson Blade here, but it’s a lot less fun up close. Even Wells seems just a little too into it.” Something about those words bothered her, and she frowned.
She couldn’t quite finish the thought before her mother sniffed and turned her nose up. “I think you’re just afraid of falling short. I leave a long shadow, after all.”
This time, it was Alex’s turn to roll her eyes. “As always, Mom.” They continued to chat about other, less weighty things, but that small, unformed thought kept pestering her, to the point where she spent half her run that night trying to figure out what it was. She almost wished that Ed would show up to distract her, but he didn’t put in an appearance before she went to sleep.
The next day, she was once again up early. Her thoughts were still troubled as she went through the usual morning routine. She was so distracted that she barely noticed when Sam joined her. The poor Adept-turned-Page struggled along beside her for half a lap before she realized he was there. When she nearly tripped and fell off the wall in surprise, he managed to catch her, though. “Hey, I realize I’ve looked better, but it can’t be that bad, can it?”
Alex shook her head, grinning. Sam did look like death warmed over; apparently, he’d had a bit too much fun at the party the night before. Dark circles ran under his eyes, and he looked like he hadn’t had a fresh breath in Loping along the wall with her probably hadn’t helped. “Sorry, I’ve just been distracted. How was the celebration?”
“Good enough.” He shrugged as they continued along the wall. She’d noticed that he’d been running more easily lately; probably an effect of his Running Skill improving slowly and steadily. “You missed the grand announcement. We’re going to be getting new E rankers in a couple of days.”
She gave him a sidelong glance. “You don’t say.” He chuckled a little, between his attempts to breathe, and she smiled. “How many?”
“He was… saying about sixty.” He nodded when she half-turned to stare at him. “Yep. Plenty of new folks to… take advantage of.”
Alex nodded, her mind thinking over the situation. “Why in the world do they need so many, anyway? Does the compound really have that many support staff?”
“He mentioned… transfers, too.” Sam grimaced, and she didn’t think it was just about the run. “Probably… send them out… to other places… I bet.”
She nodded. The way Red Blade Securities built its facilities almost demanded the company act the same way. Their compounds would depend on E rankers to run, since they were built right on top of the portals. Magic would poison any non-Surveyors who had to work and live in the area, and if they had to pay E rankers outside the company to come work, it would cost them quite a bit. Better to rely on the washouts who had already been forced into the situation.
It was a kind of businesslike cruelty that made her feel a little sick. Then a new thought occurred to her, and she blinked. “Are we sure they all get transferred to other compounds?”
Sam ran beside her on the wall for a long moment. Then he grunted. “You’re thinking… he smuggles more than… materials?”
“If the gangs want heavy hitters, an E ranker is better than a normal person. Even better if they can get a D ranker to work for them.” Her eyes narrowed. “Any way you can check on it?”
“Yeah.” Sam seemed lethally serious now, his dark eyes focused ahead of him. “I’ll call… Zach about it… too. Might know more… on the outside.”
Alex blinked. “You talk to Zach?”
He frowned. “Of course. He’s… a good guy.” Sam caught sight of the look on her face and smirked. “Don’t worry… he didn’t… try to… kiss me.”
She felt a sudden temptation to push Sam off the wall. “I think Zach has standards, Sam.”
The other Surveyor snorted in laughter, something that faded as she increased speed. Alex let up a little later, once he’d learned his lesson, but he was still grinning in a way that made her unhappy.
Her mood wasn’t improved a lot when the sparring started.
Her basic Melee Skill gave her a little bit of relief, but with both of her higher tier Skills at zero, she spent most of the morning getting knocked around the sparring rings. It slowed down near the end of the morning as her Skills recovered some of their lowest levels, but the smirks and jokes still stung a bit.
Marathoning helped her demolish the obstacle course, and then she was once again facing off against Wells. Given how her morning had gone, she didn’t have much hope as she walked into the ring to face him, but she still squared off against him. He took his all-too-familiar stance and smiled at her with next-to-no warmth in his eyes. She watched him closely, tensing for what she knew was going to be a futile lunge… and then stopped.
The thought that had been trapped in the corners of her mind abruptly started to expand into a new realization.
Wells was standing in a way that deep down, she recognized. The way he set his feet, the way he held his sword…
It wasn’t possible, but she knew that stance. She’d seen it hundreds of times, both in videos and in person. Alex had practiced against someone using a modified version of it, someone who had been forced into using a new set of moves to account for a missing eye and arm.
The man in front of her, who had broken Surveyors and sold drugs to children, was copying her mother’s stance.
Her eyes narrowed, and she took an experimental step to the side. Wells tilted his head, as if surprised by her sudden lack of aggression. He matched her movement, careful to stay balanced and stable. She repeated it, thinking through the possibilities.
If he had copied the Crimson Blade down to her stance and movements, then he’d probably copied her in other ways. Wells was skilled, but not creative; he’d probably studied her mother’s career, down to the Skills she’d Chained and progression she’d made. Which meant that whatever Muriel had taken, he’d copied.
Now that she thought about it, she recognized the evidence in her past spars. The counterattack that had sent her sprawling time after time had been from Riposte, the Skill her mom had made Permanent as a D rank Page; the lightning fast thrust that caught her mid-dodge had been from Rush Assault, the Skill Muriel had taken as an E rank Squire. Wells’ fluid motion and effortless grace had to be Blade Dance, which she’d gained as a C rank Archer. His other abilities and strength had to come from all the other combat Skills that he’d built up, like her with Melee and Combined Arms.
If all that was true, then there was never any chance to beat him. The Crimson Blade had been famous for a reason; her mother had been a monster that other Surveyors had respected and feared. Wells was not her match, but if he’d copied even a fraction of Moira Morales’ power…
Wells grinned at her. “Surveyor Morrison, you seem hesitant. Are you afraid?”
The question knocked her out of her thoughts. Alex blinked, straightened up for a second. Then she smiled. “No, Chief. Just on familiar ground.”
“Familiar indeed.” Wells fell into a crouch. For a moment, Alex could almost see her mother’s afterimage superimposed over his form. “Let’s reacquaint you with the floor!”
Even knowing what was coming, it was hard to react in time. Muriel had never fought Alex using her whole strength; even one-armed, a real hit from her mother’s blade could shatter bones to dust. Wells had no such limits holding him back. When he lunged forward, sword aimed right for Alex’s armored chest, there was blood in his eyes.
Eyes that widened as Alex chucked her shield at him, straight at his face.
His reflexes were still fast. Like her mother, Wells had invested heavily in Blocking, and in Skills that Chained from Blocking. The fact that he was mid-lunge, with his sword already extended as far as it would go, shouldn’t have mattered that much.
Surprise, however, made all the difference. His fluid charge became a slight, halting stumble. Instead of a headlong thrust, Wells suddenly twisted his sword up and around, knocking the shield away from him. The disc of wood and metal flipped up and over his head like a demented frisbee, missing his head by barely more than an inch.
Wells’ vision was obscured for less than a second. His own momentum carried him two-thirds of the way across the sparring circle; he’d been barely a step away from putting the practice sword’s point in her sternum. The sword itself, once perfectly poised and angled, was now positioned far out to the side; his balance was off, his feet unsteady.
If she had been fast enough, Alex might have been able to close the distance and hit him. Perhaps it might have worked if she’d had her Skills at anything but a bare minimum. Even then, it probably would have been doubtful.
So instead, she threw her axe at his midsection and dove for the floor. She felt the wind of his backswing as she hurled towards the mat; any slower and she might have taken a hard enough hit to send her flying. Her eyes were locked on her practice axe, however, seeing it tumble through the air, going through a single revolution.
Then it hit Wells right in the ribs, and she saw his eyes go wide in something close to absolute rage.
Alex didn’t really blame him. Her mother hated the idea of throwing a weapon; distanced attacks in general were anathema to the Crimson Blade. It left a Surveyor defenseless, she’d always said, and the gains were never worth it.
Yet as she saw her practice axe bounce off the chief, Alex had to disagree. Even when the sword came back around and her world went white, she was still grinning.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Wells that mad before.” Ed sounded like he was still in awe; the Porter-turned-Squire was standing next to her on the side of the gym, watching her drink from a bottle. The chief had ordered Alex off to the side to ‘recover’ after he’d nearly smashed her head in. Wells had also had plenty to say about the poor form of a Surveyor throwing their weaponry in a practice spar, which she’d been able to hear fairly well despite the ringing in her head. Alex had accepted the punishment with good grace, and was spending her time in light meditation. She’d be back in as soon as the room stopped spinning.
Ed continued in his shell-shocked voice. “For a second there, I didn’t know if he was going to stop after one hit. You really must have pressed his buttons, Alex.”
“Smashed them with an axe, you could say.” Alex chuckled softly to herself as he gave her a look. “I know, I know. I won’t do it again.”
“You better not. You almost started a riot.” Ed’s voice was serious, and he glanced around them. “Almost half the gym was ready to go after him for hitting you, and the other half was going to go after them. That’s the last thing we need, Surveyors hurting each other. We’re all on the same side, right?”
Alex grimaced. “That’s the goal. Not always how things are, though.” She took another long drink and then held the cool bottle against the lump on her head. Then she stole a quick look at Ed. “So which side were you on?”
“What?” Ed glared at her. “Whichever side will mean you don’t do anything that stupid again. Does that sound all right?”
Despite herself, Alex chuckled. “Okay, okay, I won’t be so mean to our chief instructor.” The sarcasm in her tone must have been lost on him since he relaxed. If anything, the discovery that the man was using her mother’s techniques to prop himself up only made Alex more determined to ruin him, but Ed didn’t need to know that. At least, not yet.
He was giving her another look, like he didn’t quite trust her. She waved him off with a chuckle, only to see Clara walking over. The Acolyte gave Ed a suspicious nod and then crouched next to Alex. “Hey. I think I might be able to help with that.”
“What do you mean—” She blinked as Clara’s hands glowed green, and suddenly the ache from her head lessened. Alex felt her eyes grow wide as the lump on her head seemed to shrink; the smell of pine needles and fresh lavender filled the air.
Moments later, Clara half-collapsed, gasping for air like she’d run a mile at a full sprint. She scooted in next to Alex on the wall. “How… was… that?”
Alex gingerly poked at the spot again, frowning. “I… think you healed me?”
“Chained… Recovery and… Holy–Nature. Got… Restoration.” Clara shrugged. “Seems… useful.”
“I’d say so.” Alex hadn’t heard of many people gaining that Skill. Part of the reason for it was that it wouldn’t help the Surveyor kill any Grue, so it was only useful when it helped the team as a whole. All the same, with good teamwork, it would be invaluable. “Thanks.”
“No… problem.”
The rest of the training that day proceeded a bit more regularly, with Alex’s Skills slowly growing as the day went on. By the end of the day, she went to bed tired, but happy. At this rate, she might actually have Marathoning ready for her plans during the next Survey… and she would treasure the look on Wells’ face for the rest of her life.
It made the way Wells treated her with a bit more caution during their next spars all that much more precious, though she could tell that he was still barely able to restrain his anger at her. The rest of the Surveyors were starting to act different around her as well. Some of them were more enthusiastic about sparring with her, but others were avoiding her. Alex made sure to take note of who was doing what; anything that would tell her who would support Wells when push came to shove would be valuable.
By the end of the training period, the day before the new recruits would arrive, Wells called them all together. They were quite a group by now; there were twenty-seven D ranks in the compound, with only twelve E ranks left over from their original group. Alex wondered how much longer it would take those twelve to reach the next rank, and how Wells was planning to handle the massive influx of new Surveyors.
He seemed to sense their anticipation as he began to speak. “Tomorrow we will have sixty new Surveyors in our compound. Sixty new potential fellow soldiers in our struggle for humanity.” Wells began to pace, his characteristic measured step along their assembled line irritating Alex just by familiarity. “We need to assess their capabilities. Right now, their experience at a previous Red Blades facility has raised them to at least level three, but their trainers have entrusted us with the responsibility for refining their potential—and eliminating those who will never live up to their duties as Surveyors.”
Wells stopped, looking around at them. “For that reason, most of you will be assigned to take a team of three E rankers through the portal tomorrow. During that Survey, you are to observe the actions of your fellow Surveyors and report back to me. Of the three Surveyors you work with, I want at least one name for someone who does not embody the ideals, strength, and outlook that we expect of the troops in our facility. I will then observe them during their training to confirm that they are not ready for a second Survey.”
There was a stir that ran through the D ranks, and Alex felt her jaw tighten. A third of the incoming E ranks were just going to be filtered out, right from the start. How were they supposed to improve if they were going to be stuck at level three? A part of her wanted to reject the idea that she would label one of the new recruits as a washout right from the first day. Another part wondered if she should just play along until she could bring Wells down.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, Wells saved her the trouble. He continued. “We do have a few more D rank Surveyors than we actually need for this duty. As a result, three of you will be sent on a Salvage mission instead.” Wells looked directly at her as he continued. “Surveyor Morrison, Surveyor Chen, and Surveyor Douglas. That will be your responsibility.”
Alex saw Audrey and Joanna straighten up as their names were called, but she simply nodded. Wells had a flicker of satisfaction in his eyes, and he turned away with a smile. “I trust that each of you will be careful to provide a good example of what Red Blade Securities stands for tomorrow. Or else.”