We made our way outside the temple and into the main city. We ran into Stephanie and Zach again, but decided not to stay and chat too long as Arin said we had a few things to pick up in the shop.

Arin and I walked into the weapons shop and he spent his own money in order to buy a couple weapons he thought I would like. It was kind of funny to see him carrying four weapons in his hands. I offered to carry one but he said he could take care of it.

There was an area to the left of the temple and away from the city that held multiple dummies made of wood and straw. Arin told me that they were meant for Blighted and Guardians alike to hone their skills before they go out on quests. Most of the time they were used for new blighted ones.

"Here." Arin tossed me a sheathed sabre. "This was the weapon you used in the cemetery." I inspected the weapon, it was extremely similar besides the gemstone. "I want you to strike the dummy."

"Sure." I said, wrapping the sabre on my belt and unsheathing the blade. I took my basic fencing position quickly and using my body weight pierced the wooden dummy.

However, I overcalculated my position compared to its position. This is an extremely common side effect of fighting with monocular vision. My depth perception is poor so I often over predict how close I am to a target. The top of the blade curved and before I could pull away it completely snapped off. I gasped.

"That's what I thought." Arin stated taking away the sabre. I handed him the sheath and he sheathed it, putting it away on the ground.

"I'm sorry." I said, knowing he had just spent his money on that weapon. He shook his head.

"I expected you to break the sabre on the training dummy." He handed me a sheathed katana. "It's different from piercing flesh. The dummy can break the weapon if you push too much." I unsheathed the Katana as he spoke and put down the sheath. Just from that experience alone, I knew I had a lot to learn.

I swiped at the training dummy diagonally, hoping to cut it's chest. However, this time I completely missed the swipe. I tried a second time, and the blade got stuck in the dummy, not being able to cut all the way through it.

"You really struggle with knowing where your target is." Arin said.

"I know that!" I shouted back at him, getting angry at the fact that I'm not as good at fighting as I had thought.

"You need to find the right weapon." Arin said as I sheathed the katana he had given me.

"What do Tempests normally use?" I asked, recalling my class.

"Normally Tempests use Katanas and Spears. That's why I gave it to you second." Arin stated before handing me a broadsword. This sword was heavier, but was shorter. This weapon could be easier for me to use.

I struck the dummy with a piercing attack. It hit perfectly because of the shorter reach. I pulled back and using both hands struck two times in an X.

"It's heavy." I stated.

"Broadswords are made with more metal than most weapons. This allows them to be swung slower but hit harder." Arin mentioned. I felt that I wanted to be quick, and that the broadsword is too slow.

The sun beamed off my skin as we had been out here for a longer time than I had thought. I brushed away a beam of sweat falling down my head and pulled up my sleeves to hopefully feel more comfortable.

"What else do you have?" I asked, putting the broadsword away and down next to the other weapons. Arin picked the broadsword back up.

"Sometimes it's easier to use a slower weapon." Arin said handing me the broadsword. "But you should really test it out on a target that moves." He turned his back and stood about five feet away from me on the other edge of the wooden training floor.

"You want me to hit you?" I questioned him.

"Precisely." He said crossing his arms. "I won't fight back, and I'll only move out of the way." He stood his ground, waiting for me to strike.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Is your armor strong enough to take a hit?" I asked drawing the blade and holding it in two hands. The weight of the weapon was awkward and it was hard for me to keep my balance.

"I'm not worried about being hit." Arin said. I could feel his confidence burn within my own heart. I thought about asking him why I could suddenly feel his emotions despite his lack in showing them, but I assumed it was because of the binding between us.

"Oh is that so?" I taunted back at him, playing off his confidence. "I should let you know I won a championship state fencing tournament. I know how to use a sword." I smirked.

"Didn't you just break a Sabre?" Arin teased me back. I found this to be very odd.

"That doesn't count!" I stammered, turning bright red. "You just wait! I won't hold back!" I gripped the blade tightly. Using my body weight as a tool for the blade. I attacked him head on with a piercing attack. In an instant he was gone. I moved my head back and forth in order to try and find him. My lack of peripheral vision caused me to move around a lot more. He was to my left, the side I was blind in. I took a horizontal swipe at him, using all of my strength.

Arin just moved to my left again. I lost balance with the blade and fell over, dropping the sword in the process. I growled slightly before getting to my feet. I lifted up the blade and attacked him multiple times. Each strike I made he almost ignored, as if I wasn't even a threat. I felt his confidence grow in my heart again.

"You're not even trying!" I stammered, now out of breath. I continued striking and he continued trying to stop me. An hour passed, and my endurance was running low. Sweat dripped down my face and body. I was surprised I was able to attack him for so long, but then I remembered the Divine Ring that was given to me. I stopped attacking him. "There's no way I'm going to hit you!" I sighed, putting the sword on the ground.

"Hmm. It seems you're right." he picked up the sword I had dropped and put it back in its sheath. "I have one last thing I want to try before we finish for the day." I noticed the sun was starting to set.

Grrrr. My empty stomach rumbled. I hadn't eaten all day. I looked at Arin who was looking at me. He gave me a look and I read it as you hungry? I shook my head no and he continued cleaning. I walked over to the pile of weapons Arin had bought. I broke a Sabre, couldn't aim with a Katana, and the broadsword was too slow. One other weapon remained. A knife, about the length of my fore-arm lay on the ground sheathed in a leather casing. The knife had an empty gem socket on the bottom of the handle.

I lifted it up as Arin walked over to me. He had just finished cleaning up the training area. I unsheathed the blade. Small runes were imbedded on the blade. I had no idea what the symbols meant but holding the dagger felt perfect. It was lightweight, quick, and had a short reach so I didn't need to worry about over killing it.

"Why didn't you give me this dagger as an option?" I asked him holding it up to the sunlight, having the weapon reflect light onto my face. The sunlight was slowly disappearing. "I think it could work really well because of my-" I stopped myself, remembering my dead eye.

It's funny, coming here had made me completely forget about it. Nobody had mentioned it or asked why my hair was cut this way besides Zach. However he only mentioned it because he was worried for my safety.

"Your lack of depth perception and balance issues could be solved using a knife, however they require you to get very close in combat, and is usually advised against using when you're a new Blighted One." Arin sat down next to me, it was almost completely dark now.

Grrrr. My stomach rumbled again and I shyly put my hand over it in hopes that it would shut up. I was hungry but I didn't want to burden Arin with it. He stood to his feet gesturing for me to get up.

"Come now." He said. "Let's get you something to eat." I panicked a little inside knowing that I didn't have any money.

"You spent all your money on these weapons today." I said quietly. I could tell he picked up on my feelings as I felt his eyes meet mine.

"Don't worry. I have enough." He started walking towards the Tavern, his dark cape flowing in the wind. I waddled quickly to catch up with him still carrying the dagger. I sheathed it on my belt and kept it there.

* * *

We spent an hour or so in the Tavern. I ate another large meal. I found it really odd that Arin only consumed Apple Juice during our time there. I questioned him about it but he just stated that it was something he liked to drink. A badass battle-hardened warrior drinking a kids drink? Sounds pretty weird to me.

Arin paid with his adventurer card. It was something he had done multiple times in front of me but I was just now paying attention. The waitress took his card, and almost used it like a credit card. She inserted it into some sort of machine that took the money out of his card. So the currency wasn't actually a physical object.

After the tavern Arin returned the weapons we tried out that day. He let me keep the knife after I insisted it would be a good weapon for me to use. He had to pay for the Sabre that I broke and the shopkeeper was not a happy dwarf. I shrugged and tried to forget about it, feeling kind of awkward.

We returned to the temple at dark, it was late and I was extremely tired. The quest I had taken today was going to be completed tomorrow. I planned on using my knife. Arin expected me to be up early again tomorrow for some basic training before the quest.

I wanted to try out my magic spell, but Arin reminded me I needed some money to buy Cryo Catalysts from the magic shop in order to use the spell. So it was imperative that I finished my first quest. I understood him well.

As far as my feelings for Arin goes? Despite what he looks like he's a nice man. I respect him and I can tell that he respects me. I know it'll be a long journey to get home, but with Arin and my party by my side, I'm sure we will make it home.