Octavius held his face against the ember and blew deeply. After a few breaths, the thin strips of bark surrounding the ember lit. He leaned back and began to build a fire above the burning bundle. When he was done, he placed the copper pot above the flames and waited for the water to boil.

The copper pot was originally used by the three thralls he had killed a week ago. He had ended up taking it with him, despite its weight. Before the tutorial started, he could carry dozens and dozens of pounds for miles. Now, he could do much more. He had yet to find the limits of his new strength and endurance, but he was covering ground at a rapid rate.

That choice was quite possibly the best he had made since the start of the tutorial. He had grown so sick of everything being roasted over the fire that the chance for soups and stew was a godsend. He was also glad that he could now boil his drinking water. The water from the streams, rivers, and creeks was all very clean, and he had yet to get sick from it, but he didn’t like taking pointless risks.

He sliced the starchy root vegetable into thick slices and dumped it into the boiling water before adding the meat that he had browned on a spit. Some leafy greens were added next, and he let it cook down.

While his breakfast boiled over the fire, he fetched his spear and began to practice. He had worked hard to incorporate his two new skills into his technique efficiently. After determining the intricacies of the skills, he had created sequences of moves built around them for different situations.

He ran through one of those sequences with his spear. His spear came around as if circling an opponent’s weapon. It flicked out in three quick jabs before the spear’s butt slammed upwards. The move continued as he brought his spear around in a slice aimed at his imagined opponent. The moment his spear’s momentum stopped, it seemed to flicker forward.

He knew that pure power had its uses, but precision was the king of lethality. The instant thrust skill doubled the speed of his thrusts. It could create extremely powerful attacks, and that was certainly what nearly anyone would use it for. Octavius, on the other hand, had found it to be most useful in making his disadvantaged attacks into true threats.

Take his most recent use of the skill for example. Without the skill, that thrust would have been slow and weak. It was merely a truth of the position the thrust was from. It was not a fluid extension of the previous move and thus required him to come to nearly a complete stop to execute it with any power. However, with the skill, the weak attack became slightly more powerful than a committed thrust from him. It would hopefully catch any opponent off guard and take them directly in the neck before they could position themselves to defend.

He continued to practice his new skills and spear forms for an hour before moving back towards the fire. His stamina was much lower than it would normally have been due to the use of his skills, and he was getting hungry. The starches in the roots had broken down as they cooked and thickened the soup into a stew. The meat was tender and cooked through.

He pulled the pot from the fire and let it sit and cool. While he waited, he drank deeply from his water bladder, which was filled with water he had boiled the night before. He unsheathed his Soulsilver dagger and stared intently at it.

The mana from his core began to run down his arm and into the knife. He had come to believe that his mana was his to control. If he could control it enough to send commands to his spear to separate, why couldn’t he stop the flow of his mana to the Soulsilver?

If it were possible, it would be a game-changer. His greatest weakness at the moment was in the nature of his weaponry. Once he could stop his mana from reaching his Soulsilver weapons, the glow would stop. That would let him use them at night and not give away his every movement.

He glared at the dagger, willing his mana to stop flowing, to return to his core and remain there. A small ripple appeared in the smooth stream of his mana flow, but not the parting of the sea he required. He poured his entire being into halting the flow of mana, and the ripples grew into small waves.

At first, it took him an hour to even affect the mana, but now he was creating larger and larger impacts with each practice session. He practiced for five minutes before resheathing the dagger and pulling the stew onto the ground between his crossed legs. His dark green plastic spoon dipped into the stew before drawing it to his mouth.

It tasted good, but plain. He was immensely glad that the description from his identify skill allowed him to easily find the edible plants around him, but he would honestly kill for some salt.

When he finished eating, he walked over to the small creek his campsite was set next to and washed out his pot and spoon. Next, he packed up all of his things and shoveled dirt onto the fire before setting out.

He was quickly approaching the area that he guessed the sanctuary was. The amount of high leveled beasts in the surroundings had decreased drastically. While in the area near the large river, there had been many beasts in the 13-15 level range; in this area, most were only around level 7. It had become clear that as the tutorial progressed, the levels of the beasts increased as well. That meant that the only explanation for the low levels of the local fauna was that someone or something was killing them all.

It was the early afternoon, and while Octavius had yet to come across anyone, he had seen many footprints stamped into the dirt. This foot traffic had created the beginnings of paths through the forest.

Octavius was walking parallel to one such path. He was fifty feet to the right of the path. That way, he could follow the path without running into someone. Every hundred feet or so, he would check to make sure he was still following the path as he crept onward.

His head snapped around to his right. The cracking of wood echoed along the understory of the forest. The sound was distant and had faded greatly by the time it reached Octavius. He sincerely doubted that anyone with a perception much lower than his would have noticed.

He considered what to do for a moment. If he followed the sound, nothing was stopping him from just returning to the path afterward. Not to mention, he was curious. He ended up turning to his right and slightly behind him.

The path had come from the other direction, so either whatever made this sound didn’t follow the path, or there was another path in this section of the woods. He moved swiftly and quietly in the direction the sound came from, listening for any other hints towards the precise location.

After thirty seconds, his ears were able to pick up a soft hissing. He adjusted his course and continued, the sound growing louder with every step. When he got close enough to hear the heavy breathing of at least one person, he drew his spear from its holder on his rucksack.

Moving closer, he could make out a clearing up ahead. Within the clearing was a young girl. She had what appeared to be a pointy stick leveled at a large lizard of some sort. The girl was wearing an eclectic mix of modern fabric and beast skins sewn together. He was behind her and thus couldn’t see her face, but she was blond-haired and tall. He used identify on both the girl and the lizard.

Ava - Human (F) (Lvl 7)

Common Monitor Lizard (Lvl 7)

As he observed, the girl, Ava, stabbed at the monitor lizard. When the point of her weapon reflected a glint of sunlight, he realized that it wasn’t a pointed stick but a primitive spear. It was not all that dissimilar to the one he used at the beginning of the tutorial.

He grimaced as she stabbed with her arms before backpedaling when the lizard snapped at her. Resolving to intercede if the girl risked being seriously hurt, he leaned against the tree and watched.

He hadn’t seen someone so untrained engage in CQC, or close-quarters-combat, in a long time.

Before the tutorial, he had been surrounded by Rangers, then operator candidates for Delta. Even within the tutorial thus far, he had not stopped to watch a fight between a beast and another human.

That was likely why his frown grew the longer he watched. The girl was young, agile, and dexterous. She moved as though she had trained in some sort of flexibility oriented sport. Perhaps gymnastics or cheerleading. What she did not move like was someone with any real amount of formal training.

Her footwork was horrendous, she failed to put her bodyweight behind most of her attacks, and perhaps most importantly, she fought like she was imitating the move set of someone twice her size. The results were predictable.

What she had going for her was what intrigued Octavius. Skill with weapons could be taught; what couldn’t be was her intuition and drive. It wasn’t obvious, but every now and then, she would see a small opening and unhesitantly take it. The moves were sloppy; it was as if her body couldn’t do what her mind told it to. If she had executed them correctly, the beast would have died many times over.

Even so, after three minutes, she was able to end the beast. As the green lizard collapsed, more from the accumulation of wounds than a single one, the girl dropped her spear and panted with her hands on her knees. After a second, she leaped into the air and pumped her fist, only to whirl when she heard Octavius’s deep baritone from behind her, “You really shouldn’t just drop your weapon like that. The sounds of your battle could’ve drawn stronger creatures over.”

He leaned against a small tree that was only a foot around and spoke with a disapproving tone. He looked perfectly relaxed for all intents and purposes, but in reality, he was taking in everything around him, always alert. Now that he could see her face, he blinked. She was younger than he thought. He had thought that she was in her early twenties, but her face was younger. Maybe nineteen, definitely early college age. She was quintessentially nordic, with high cheekbones and bright blue eyes that were wide with surprise and fear.

Ava examined the man that had appeared from nowhere. He was tall and muscular, with tangled brown hair and a beard. His eyes were the same color as the canopy above her. All in all, he reminded her of a younger version of her dad. Not the man’s hair, but his sharp eyes and corded muscle.

What caught her attention the most was the man’s clothes. He didn’t wear the patchwork furs and clothes of the less well off in the sanctuary, not the well preserved and repaired modern clothing of the elites. Instead, he wore heavy boots, a green camouflage shirt, and camouflage pants. Above his shirt was the most exquisite piece of armor she had ever seen.

It was made of black and brown leather segments that each held detailed patterns that were carved into them. The separate pieces of armor covered his chest and both arms. Surprisingly, her first thought when seeing the armor was not to question its origins but something else entirely. Ha! I’d bet that bastard James would be pissed if he saw someone with armor so much better than his.

She was so surprised by his appearance that it took her a full second to use identify on him.

Octavius - Human (F) (Lvl 10) (Spearman)

WHAT? That can’t be right. She used identify again.

Octavius - Human (F) (Lvl 10) (Spearman)

‘

How is that even possible? James is only at level 9! And what is that spearman thing? Is that a class? Who is this guy!?! While her mind whirled with thoughts, her mouth seemed to move on its own, “Umm… What?”

The sound of her own voice snapped her from her thoughts. Her first idea was to grab her spear, but this guy was a full three levels above her. She knew she had almost zero chance of beating him without a gun, and she wasn’t important enough to warrant getting one. That meant she could run, though she doubted she could escape him, or she could try to prevent a conflict all together.

This time, she spoke with purpose, “Look, I don’t want any trouble. You can have the body, alright? There is no need for violence.”

The girl looked Octavius up and down, mumbled something, then tilted her head up. She looked at him and spoke as if speaking to a frightened animal, “Look, I don’t want any trouble. You can have the body, alright? There is no need for violence.”

Octavius couldn’t help but laugh. He managed to restrain it to a snort, but the idea that he wanted the animal’s corpse caught him completely off guard. His face settled into a smile, and he spoke again, “I don’t want the body, just giving you some advice. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

“Then, why are you here? And who are you?” she demanded.

Octavius merely shook his head, “I suppose it is only fair I introduce myself first. I am Captain Octavius Asher of the US Army. I heard the sounds of your fight and came over to investigate. And who might you be?”

He knew her first name from his identify skill but was hoping she would reveal more about herself. She seemed to be surprised by something he said. It could be his rank or the fact he was in the army, but he guessed it was his name. Asher. Everyone knew the name Asher.

He watched her as she shook her head slightly as if dismissing a connection. He could practically hear her thought process. ‘He couldn’t be one of those Ashers; he wouldn’t be in the army if he was. Not to mention that Asher isn’t an uncommon last name.’ The latin first name was a good hint towards his origins, but roman sounding names weren’t rare among the western world, and it was easy to rationalize away.

Once her brain seemed to get through that justification, she seemed to realize that it was her turn to speak. “I'm Ava Hagen.”

Octavius raised an eyebrow at her. “Ok, Ava Hagen. May I ask what you are doing alone in the woods? It is dangerous out here.”

She relaxed as she seemed to realize that he wasn’t going to attack her. “What do you think I am doing? I am trying to level up.”

Octavius nodded as if he were expecting the answer. “Don’t you have something better to use than a stick with some flint tied to the end, then?”

Ava seemed to deflate. “No. The Sanctuary doesn’t have enough weapons for ‘little girls.’” The way she said it made it clear she was quoting someone else.

“Well, if you don’t have any weapons, why come out here and try to level up? You could end up dying if you are unlucky.” He could guess the answer, but he wanted to hear it from her.

“Because I need to!” was all that she said. Octavius merely looked at her. The silence lengthened until she elaborated. “I need to be strong. What if we get back after this tutorial and my parents need me? What if I need to protect my friends? I refuse to just sit in the sanctuary and wait the tutorial out while the big strong hunters go out and get us all enough food to survive!”

She was getting worked up the more she spoke and seemed as if she were about to break into a lengthy rant. Octavius came to a decision. He didn’t have anything to lose from helping Ava a bit, and she could help him learn about the Sanctuary. “Well, first things first then. Your footwork is trash. You will never be able to be an efficient fighter like that.”

Her mouth opened slightly as she stared at him, uncomprehending. “Umm… What?” she said again.

Octavius smirked at her, “You appear to be rather fond of that phrase. I said, you are horrible at spear fighting. Here, I’ll show you the basics. Stand like this.” He moved his body to be in a neutral stance, his center of mass low and steady.

She shook her head. “What? I don’t even know you. Why are you trying to help me?” she said.

Octavius stood back at his full height. He spoke with a flippant tone, “Sure, you know me, I’m Octavius, you’re Ava. There! Now stand like this.” His legs bent as he fell into the stance once more.

Ava cocked her head at him before separating her legs and bending her knees. “Like this?” she asked.

Octavius approached her and corrected her stance. Once she had learned the stance to his satisfaction, he showed her how to advance and retreat while keeping her balance. A half-hour later, they moved on to lateral movements. Only once she could move well enough did they draw their spears.

The moment he had removed his spear from leaning against the far side of the tree, Ava stared at it in awe. “Where did you get that? And your armor? Are they from the same place? Are there any more?” she asked in a barrage of questions.

Octavius merely smiled serenely at her and responded, “I don’t think that is any of your business, they are from the same place, and there aren’t anymore.”

When she heard that she couldn’t get a fancy metal spear, she sighed, “Why do other people get all the good stuff? First I can’t have a gun, now this. I am level 7, for christ’s sake. I should have something more than stone-age tools.”

As he internally regretted not taking the first ancient spearhead with him from the dungeon, Octavius looked at her and answered her rhetorical question, “Maybe you will stumble into one just like I did, who knows? As for a gun, if I were in charge of your Sanctuary, I wouldn’t give you one either. Do you know why?”

She huffed at him, angrily, “Because I am too young? I am old enough to be an adult, not to mention I have gotten to level 7 on my own! Imagine what I could do if I ha -”

“I wouldn’t give you a gun because every bullet is needed to kill beasts; there simply aren’t enough to use for you to get proficient at shooting anything,” he interrupted.

After he spoke, she nodded as if she knew that already, just wasn’t happy about it. Octavius didn’t blame her. He would be annoyed in her situation as well. He showed her how to hold her spear and how to thrust correctly.

When the hour-long training session quickly came to a close, they sat with their backs to trees. Octavius drank sparingly from his water bladder, while Ava gulped down mouthfuls of water from some sort of animal skin container.

“You really are a spearman of some sort, huh? My identify said that, but what does that mean? Is it a class or something?” she asked once her breathing steadied.

“Yeah, it’s my class. You get a class at level 10. I guess it has something to do with your actions before you reach that level,” he answered.

That appeared to remind her of something. “How did you get to level 10 anyway? The leader of the hunting parties is only level 9, and he has access to all types of guns.”

Octavius smiled at her, “Lots of hard work.”

She shook her head in exasperation. Over the past hour, they had developed a solid rapport. Octavius had learned that she was guarded, but once she was no longer wary of a person, she became extremely outgoing. She complained a good deal about the meticulousness of his training, but all in good nature. Determination and drive were things she had in spades, and now that she had someone to direct her towards a road to follow, she flew along it.

After some small talk, Octavius broached the topic that he wanted to know about most. “Tell me about the Sanctuary you are a part of. What is it like there?”