Keira’s shout reached Ryu’s ears from the other side of the clearing. He finished smashing a banshee’s skull into bits and turned, trying to see over the horde of furry heads. The monsters’ numbers were too many. He sighed. Marshal would be there. It would be fine. His time was better spent here.

His sword was in the process of turning another of the monsters into a corpse when he heard another cry. Tam’s he thought. Pushing back the fear that wore at his composure, he finished the banshee in front of him, throwing off another that had managed to climb onto his back. He needed to find them. Save them, if he could.

He never made it. The paralyzing screech of a banshee stopped him in his tracks, and his eyes could move enough to see the armored figure emerging from the tree line. Grimnir, the Boss of this layer of the Trial and chief of the banshees. He was tall and gaunt, looking not too dissimilar from the barbed spear he held in his right hand. In his left hand, he held a large shield that looked like it had been ripped from the entrance to someone’s home. His gaze seemed focused on Ryu, but then again, that might be his cowardice rearing its ugly head once more.

The hoarse yell both eased his worries and brought up new ones. “You fight me!” Grimnir roared, levelling his spear at Ryu.

For a brief moment, he wondered if no would be an acceptable answer. Then he remembered the shouts from before. His friends were in trouble. Or dead. He could not reach them in time, but maybe Grimnir’s severed head would solve his problems.

The banshee horde parted ways before him as he walked towards their chief. Chief. He rolled the word around in his head for a long moment. Yes. He would very much like to kill a chieftain. The words seemed to suppress the fear in his mind, and before he could realize a change had occurred, an altogether more primitive mindset had taken its place.

His teeth rattled when his sword met the imposing shield. Then his nose snapped when the damn thing snapped his head back. He rolled out of the way to avoid the spear that came next. Shit. It was too late to worry about if he had bit off more than he could chew, however. The spear came for him again. He parried it. The shield rammed into his shoulder again. The familiar taste of blood touched his tongue. [Karuta Armor] flickered into existence to take the next strike, its light having dimmed since his loss in Class Connection.

Dodging a thrust aimed at his chest, Ryu smiled. It was dumb, maybe, but when he let it all go and just fought, he felt alive. Still smiling, he stepped into the spear’s reach and surrendered to instinct.

The next few moments proceeded in an unthinking brawl. Ryu dodged the spear, shouldered the shield, and hammered his sword into the monster’s undefended side. By the time Grimnir’s screech came, he had already wrenched its shield down and spit blood into his face. A notification blinked into his vision, but he dismissed it, meeting the banshee in a clash of steel.

He stumbled back a few moments later. The searing pain that came with his breath meant broken ribs. His nose was smashed, and trying to blow the blood from it caused his eye to swell. Damn. He was ready to die. He was. But he’d be damned if he didn’t take the monster with him.

The spear punctured his chest near the shoulder. Ryu’s arm went limp from it, and his mind went blank. He pushed onto the spear. Something like surprise entered the banshee’s eyes. The shield came up to push Ryu off the spearhead, but his sword had already shredded Grimnir’s throat. The two enemies fell in a tangled mess. Only Ryu moved after.

It took far longer to saw the beast’s head off than he would’ve imagined. Then again, he could not say he had thought about it much. It was also gorier, and without the adrenaline of combat to numb his sense of smell, he found himself throwing up what was left of his breakfast.

Grimnir had not been a handsome creature. His jaw hung loose, exposing the razor teeth behind, and when Ryu held the head up, he was met with a visage best left to nightmares. Ugly bastard, he was, but then, no corpse was pretty. Death seemed an altogether ugly thing.

A shout caught the attention of the closest banshees. Their wails grabbed the attention of the rest. Clad in the innards of their great leader, Ryu held out the head like it was a trophy. The monsters paused as if time had stopped. Then they all wailed once more, and Ryu realized the simple creatures did not comprehend their leader would return to life in mere days. Without another thought, he hurled the head into their midst and unsheathed his sword, baring the blade at the banshees. They fled. Crumpled, broken forms on the ground were his only signs the whole thing had not been a dream.

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Triumph

The Trial Event has been conquered. Grimnir’s Horde is defeated.

Calculating loot…

Distributing Qi Crystals…

Congratulations, young Samurai! Reap the rewards of your labor, but be warned: travelling in a group greater than four may result in further penalties to balance the remainder of the Trial.

Ryu dismissed the notification with a wave. He had to find his companions. A callous part of his mind was okay with at least one of their deaths; it would, after all, fix the problem that remained with their group number. Another part of him rejected that thought, however. He had come to like the others, despite their short acquaintance. They treated him with respect and seemed to be the honest sort, if a little naive.

He found Tam on his knees sucking in large gulps of air. A large cut crossed his forehead, but most of the blood on the wiry man seemed to be of the monster variety. Ryu clapped his back and moved on. Cynthia was on her feet, the blonde clutching at a deep wound on her back. Her face betrayed none of the pain she must have felt. He spared her a nod of respect before moving. There was nothing he could do for her wound that she herself could not. Keira was in a similar position to Tam, more shaken than hurt, which left only Marshal.

Ryu found the dark-skinned man slumped onto the ground. His face was serene, and for a moment, he believed the man was dead. Then he noticed the slight rise and fall of his chest under his armor. Prying a gauntleted hand from his stomach revealed a deep stomach wound. Ryu cursed. Of all the wounds to get, a gut wound was about as bad as they came.

“Hey,” he hollered. “Marshal’s down over here. Down bad.”

“Let me see him,” Keira said, pushing Ryu aside to drop to her knees at Marshal’s side. Ryu clutched the hilt of his sheathed sword in annoyance. If the Witch thought her whisperings would save her friend, she would soon find herself disappointed. And educated on the reality of the world, if Ryu had his way. Cynthia interrupted before he could do anything however.

“I’m here, I’m here,” she said, taking her place by Marshal’s side. Ryu noticed her wound seemed no less severe than before, and the red stain on her robes only grew. Tam made his way to stand beside Ryu, breath still heavy.

A restoration pill stopped the bleeding. The golden light of Cynthia’s healing did its wonders, too, but Ryu knew even that would not be a complete fix. Healing Skills only increased the body’s natural rate of healing, and it drew energy from both the caster and the wounded. Skills in general could only enhance what was already possible. Marshal would be bedridden for days.

Later, Ryu was wrapping a bandage around his injured shoulder. Cynthia’s mental energy was drained, and he did not wish to impose on the slight blonde. Marshal was curled up next to the fire, his bedroll tight around him. Keira fretted over him, and Tam cooked, giving his friend worried looks. Cynthia slumbered to his left. In the tense silence, another notification popped up into his vision.

Warning

Class Connection has been further decreased to actions taken against one’s code. The Samurai Class is a powerful one, and thus, it requires the user to follow and maintain a strict code of honor and engagement. Further actions against one’s code will result in the loss of Class. Actions within Class guidelines and levelling up can restore Connection, though the process will take time.

Skill [Karuta Armor] has now been restricted. Further use of Skill will have no effects.

Code Violations: Respect the dead, and Fight with honor

Ryu waved the screen away. He knew now what to do with his Qi, at least. Realizing now was the best opportunity he’d have, he moved away from the fire to sit cross-legged on the ground. He concentrated first on his Qi and then on his Cultivation Style, the Blood Hunter’s Guide. Knowledge filtered into his mind, and he moved his Qi for the first time.

Blood. He felt covered in it, as if his body had been submerged in a vat of it. His Qi flowed into the blood vessels of his body, and with an effort that left him sweating and breathing heavy, he pushed the radiant energy through his body until it turned crimson.

He felt pressure along his shoulders, some invisible weight trying to push him into the ground. Then the pain came. It wracked his body in waves, yet he continued. After long minutes that passed like hours, a notification appeared.

Late Mortal Stage -> Early Profound Stage: Aura Created

He was bruised, beaten, and exhausted. Or rather, he was supposed to be. Instead, he felt strong, and his body rippled with power. No, not his body. A soft red glow surrounded his body like a second skin, and it faded after a brief moment. He believed it was his aura. Trying to summon the glow back proved futile. He stood with a sigh, making his way back to the camp.

“Hey, Ryu,” Tam said with a weak smile. “Where’d you wander off to?”

“Training,” he grunted, feeling a bit annoyed. Tam stumbled back from him, Cynthia woke up with a splutter, and Keira looked at him with a glare from her perch at Marshal’s side.

“What is that?” Cynthia said.

“Ryu’s aura, if I had to guess,” Keira snarled. “Marshal is trying to rest.”

“Ah, right. Apologies, Ryu, but your aspect is gross,” Cynthia said, laying back down.

Tam offered him a spit of meat. “Yeah, what is that?”

“Blood,” Ryu said. “Didn’t realize it was in my aura. Didn’t even realize you could feel my aura.”

“Normally we wouldn’t,” the brown-haired man said. “An aura is just a way to make another being feel your presence. It has little meaning, but it will allow you to sense others’ auras and vice versa, unless they’re disguised.”

Ryu bit into a piece of meat. He would have to learn how to control his aura, then. The thought caused a feeling of frustration regarding his family’s hands-off approach to information about Classes to gnaw at the edges of his heart, but he let his anger burn it away. It was for the best considering his now complicated relationship with the house.

After eating, he felt the exhaustion in his mind, if not his body. The group would rest in this part of the Trial, at least until Grimnir returned or Marshal was in better shape. The break would give him time to master the gains he had accumulated over the past days.