There was a back entrance close to where we parked. I didn’t go there because it would have been a detour from our destination.

“Shane-san, guards,” Takehiko-sensei pointed at the deserted entrance.

Shit, they know people can just come through here.

I stopped at a distance, getting behind a big dumpster—I needed to think. I peeked and noticed neither guard was carrying gun.

Takehiko-sensei just observed as I was having a minor panic attack about what to do. It wasn’t like I never had to fight another human or take a life, but I couldn’t just run them through with my sword.

“Fight?” Takehiko-sensei asked after a minute of me being undecided.

“I don’t know, sensei,” I hesitated.

“This important, no? Fight, save the world?”

I exhaled slowly before nodding, “you’re right. Sorry, I… I wasn’t that strong in my past life, sensei. I was kind of useless. You were, like, super-strong. I could barely clean up minor Dungeons in a group.”

The man frowned, “Shane-san, your blade is very strong.”

“Sensei, it’s… whatever. Let’s go mess them up. Let’s not kill them, though, ok?”

We nodded at each other, and we just walked toward the two men who were chatting with each other. Both were pretty big and intimidating, but unarmed.

“Hey, back off!” The burliest guard said looking at us approaching.

“Please, go away,” Takehiko-sensei spoke with his heavily accented voice.

“Nah, man, the garden is closed.”

I found myself standing right in front of the man talking and looking at his body, scanning for possible weapons.

Nothing.

“Hey, you! What the hell are doing, man?! Are you checking me out?”

I saw the second one reach for a walkie-talkie and, in a split second, I had already unsheathed my blade and cut the device in half. I did not possess super speed or anything like that, but my senses for battle had been honed for thirty years. These two had probably seen a few brawls while doubling as bodyguards for some club.

The other man looked at the walkie-talkie in his hand, looked at his colleague, and then just shrugged, “I ain’t going to get involved with some weird ninja shit, man. You’re on your own, Charles. I’m going to get to my family.”

Charles, the bigger bodyguard, looked down at me, and then at the man behind me.

“Ben, fuck you, man,” he said, but he also stepped aside. “You two go wherever you want to go. This day has been too damn weird for my taste. I’m out.”

And just like that, both left.

“Impressive,” Takehiko-sensei commented.

“Thanks,” I smiled, putting the sword back in its sheath. “Come, the Dungeon should be still untouched.”

…

The entrance to the Dungeon looked straight out of a videogame. It was an oval that showed a distorted image of what was on the other side—lush and dense vegetation resided there.

“Shane-san,” Takehiko-sensei said, looking troubled.

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“It looks cool, huh?”

The man pointed at the water that surrounded the entrance to the Dungeon. Sadly, it was right in the middle of a pond where water got up to your chest.

“Yeah, we’ll have to get wet, sensei. Sorry.”

The man looked down at his khakis and frowned.

“Sensei, please don’t strip.”

“How do you know?” The man frowned again.

“I know you. I know you quite well.”

That said, we carried the swords over our heads and made our way to the Dungeon, as I explained the main threat.

Describing the surrounding area as pretty would have made it a disservice. This pond was in a section with one of those Japanese gates whose name just eluded me at the moment. It was red and pretty, though; most importantly, the portal to the Dungeon rested just right under it.

In our previous life, sensei had made this his base. I had yet to tell him all the details, but this Dungeon was the motherload for swordmasters. The man had repurposed the entire Brooklyn Botanical Garden into his HQ and one of the strongest gatherings of fighters for the human race.

I looked at Takehiko-sensei; he didn’t speak much, neither here nor in the past—well, future.

I get one shot at doing this right, just one shot, I thought to myself, feeling the weight of the responsibility on my shoulders and just dreaming of the day I’d be relieved from it. I need to get sensei up to speed, have him level up, and then we go straight for the…

“Sensei,” I said, as we got close to the Dungeon portal, “you just need to touch it to get through it. On the other side, there’s going to be wood-based monsters for now. In the future, they will evolve into rock and magma—which will also be supplemented with metal. This place is going to be a treasure hoard for swordsmen. Also, it’s the least convenient place a swordsman can fight since the enemies are extremely tough. Well, not tough, more like… thick.”

“Thick?” Takehiko-sensei frowned.

“You’ll see,” I smiled apologetically and extended my hand toward the portal.

One moment I was out, in the water, the next I was standing on the ground. It could get disoriented for those who were not used to it… as I turned, I found Takehiko-sensei stumbling by my side.

Should have warned him…

“Well, now, it should…”

Welcome to the Stone Forest (Level 0)

Since you are the first one to enter the Dungeon, you can select the level of difficulty and claim the Stone Forest as your territory. Once you claim the Stone Forest, you’ll be listed as its owner.

I ignored the rest of the words and looked at the five levels listed there.

Beginner - Intermediate - Advanced - Elite - Master

“What level, Shane-san?” Takehiko-sensei asked, seeing the same screen in front of him.

I hesitated.

Elite and Master would imply traps that could actually kill me. Up to Advanced, I was sure I could take care of everything with no problem.

“Advanced,” I said, selecting the option. “The rest would be too much, sensei. I don’t know if we would survive. I might have experience, but I don’t have my levels anymore. My body is as weak as it ever was.”

The middle-aged man nodded, and I finalized the choice.

“Select difficulty, Advanced,” I spoke. “Accept.”

You set the difficulty for Stone Forest (Level 0) to Advanced.

The fighter with the major contribution to the fights in the Dungeon will be listed as the owner.

Since this is the first time this Dungeon is challenged, you’ll receive better rewards.

I shrugged and finally heard some movements in the forest around us, suddenly seeing one of the first monsters coming our way.

Small Stonewood Bonsai - Level 1

It was an extremely fat tree - a log, essentially - carrying a club. Both were greyish in color, even though there were a few little branches coming out of the monster.

“You should go ahead, sensei,” I said. “These are not that dangerous. Just focus on your Sword Mastery and use the new sword art you got. If you cut the branches around it first, his physical resistance drops by 80%.”

Advancing on the stumbling block of gray wood, Takehiko-sensei bared his sword, waiting for the monster to awkwardly swing its club to dodge.

“Ha!” Takehiko-sensei removed two little branches from the head of the monster, which seemed to truly enrage the little guy, who now moved faster and less clumsily than before.

However, that wasn’t a problem for the man, who suddenly glowed.

Formless Blade - First Stance, Step

I had seen this skill reach its apex, which allowed sensei to step on air and ignore gravity, among other things. Now, the man simply moved too fast for the log to notice it had reached its back.

Cutting twice, Takehiko-sensei removed the remaining branches. The Small Stonewood Bonsai roared as its fat barrel chest suddenly shrunk. But before it could do anything, Takehiko-sensei just bisected it vertically.

He has just gained the skill, but his strikes are already infused with Intermediate Sword Master, I smiled to myself, marveling at how good this man was. It’s not going to take long before he’ll be able to single-handedly wipe out the apocalypse.

I turned, feeling another Small Stonewood Bonsai approach on its short legs. This time, I put a hand on my own blade.

Let’s see if I still remember how you do this.