My head slammed into the ground. Had I not been wearing the new helmet, I would have likely been knocked out or suffered a head injury. For a second I thought that I did have an injury since I couldn't see anything, but then I drew Veritas.

She lit up with a fierce white light.

Be careful, Paol. This place is dangerous.

I shook my head to clear it.

“What do you mean?”

The effluvium here...it’s much more dense than in the previous dungeon. We must have been transported quite deep.

“Uh, what does that mean?”

It means that it’s much, much more dangerous. We need to find a way out of here, and quickly. The monsters you meet will almost certainly be beyond your ability to overcome.

I gulped.

“How...how powerful will they be.”

She was silent for a moment.

Based on the intensity of the mana that I sense, I suspect their levels will be in the twenties.

Oh. That was bad. Very very bad. Some of those creatures back at Spiral Castle had been that powerful, and they could have squashed me like a bug. I started to shake.

Paol, calm down. Let’s take this step by step. Fighting isn’t the only way to get out of a dungeon. It’s just the most direct and most rewarding. We’ll try to sneak our way through this.

“This is all your fault!” I accused. “I never wanted to enter this dungeon! You said it would be easy...get some experience and treasure and leave!”

Yes, I’m sorry about this. The way the Gate grabbed you...well...it shouldn’t have happened. I’m not sure what’s going on here. You have to understand, this is VERY unusual.

“Unusual? That’s not comforting!” I shouted.

Paol, don’t shout. You might attract unwanted attention.

I gulped. Right. Unwanted attention.

I looked around me. Veritas’s light seemed stronger now. I was able to see at least twenty feet around me, but beyond the circle of light was pitch darkness. I didn’t know how large a room I was in, but a sense of emptiness around me made it feel like a cavern.

Paol, your Swords skill has leveled to level 5 and beyond.

I took a quick look at my status.

“Yes, that’s right. Why?”

My voice was not quavering. Really. Well, maybe a little.

Every fifth level of a skill should grant you some kind of bonus or ability. Focus on Swords. What is it offering you?

I didn’t know what she meant, but I concentrated. More words appeared in the air before me. I was getting so tired of these words.

You have reached Level 5 in Swords. New abilities are now available to you. Choose one:

Power Strike

Riposte

Flashpoint

Okay. Now what did these things do?

Power Strike - If your blow lands, do double damage. 1% chance per level of bypassing armor.

Cost: 10 stamina

Cooldown: 60 seconds

Riposte - Immediately attack after parrying a blow.

Cost: 10 stamina

Cooldown: 30 seconds

Flashpoint - Increases speed of swordplay by 5% per level of Swords

Cost: 2 stamina/minute

Cooldown: none

“I...I’m not sure what to pick,” I murmured uncertainly.

What’s available to you? Though some abilities are prerequisites to others, no one is quite certain how the Paraclete determines which skills to offer a person. People hypothesize that it has something to do with who you are and how you respond to the world--that the Paraclete offers you options that match your temperament or inner sense of self.

“It’s offering me a choice of three abilities. They’re--Paraclete? That thing again?” I huffed out.

Paol, please. Let’s stay on track here. I told you that the Paraclete is difficult to explain. We have no time to go through all of what you would need to know in order to understand what the Paraclete is or how it works. Even then you might not really believe me...

That last bit was more of a muttered thought that drifted off.

I bit out irritatedly, “Fine. I’m being offered Power Strike, Riposte, and Flashpoint. Do you know what those are?”

Hmmm...Power Strike and Riposte are fairly standard offerings for the Swords skill. Flashpoint--that one is quite rare. Can you read the description?

I read it off aloud.

Five percent? That’s...very generous.

“What? Aren’t these abilities all the same for everyone?”

No. Just as what is offered is tailored to you, the quality of the offering is similarly bespoke. Five percent per level? For a modifier percentage...let’s just say that it’s unusually high. The decision is yours, Paol, but I would point out that Flashpoint is not offered to many, especially not with such a strong modifier. You must have a powerful affinity to the art of the sword to see that as one of your options.

“So if it’s rare, does that mean it’s more powerful? More desirable?”

That depends on how you fight and what decisions you make. Even carefully chosen abilities may fail you if you do not use them properly.

I was quiet. Power Strike. I really liked the sound of that. Bam! Twice as much damage! Kill things in half the time...well, maybe a little longer than that after you took the cooldown into account. And Riposte? That was like an extra attack every 30 seconds in an extended sword fight.

Flashpoint. Why was she so impressed with it? Five percent. My Swords skill was level 6. That meant that my swordplay would be 30% faster than it had been originally. At a constant drain to my stamina, of course. At level 10 I would be half again as fast as I normally would be. And at level 20, I would fight at double the speed.

I wondered if the man in brown had had this skill. His blade had moved so swiftly.

I mulled it over for few more minutes before making my decision. After Veritas’s endorsement, the choice was practically a foregone conclusion. I chose Flashpoint. I waited a second to see if I felt anything different, but nothing came to me. Hmmm. Maybe this had been a mistake. Power Strike was sounding better and better.

What are you doing?

“I’m trying to feel how fast Flashpoint is making me. I don’t feel anything,” I explained disappointedly.

You need to be using your sword and have the ability activated.

Her tone was dry and a tad exasperated.

I closed my eyes, focused, and centered myself. After ten long breaths, I opened my eyes. Something in my mind whispered Ippon-me and I felt my body move.

Taking a step forward, I lashed Veritas out with a quick swipe and then placed both hands on her hilt before raising her high above my head. She seemed to know instinctively what I wanted and shifted from a regular one-handed longsword into a two-handed blade with enough space for both my hands on the hilt, but she became whipcord thin and far lighter than a greatsword.

From above my head I sliced downwards as if to cleave my opponent’s skull in half.

I triggered Flashpoint, and a whisper in my mind breathed Nihon-me. I spun in place as if someone was attacking me from behind, and the world around me seemed to slow while my sword’s speed remained constant. I felt a slight drain as my stamina began to decrease, and I struck out with Veritas as if to slice at my opponent’s temple. Once again, I raised the sword above my head as if to strike downwards with a terrible blow. The air whistled as Veritas swept towards the ground in an angry arc. I released her with my left hand and swept her to the right, flicking off imaginary blood.

All this time my feet moved smoothly over the ground. Step, step, swing, turn, step, slice, back step. I felt as if I were dancing, and my feet moved in swift rhythm.

Sanbon-me. I arced Veritas from low to high on the left side of my body to deflect an attacker’s strike with an upswing and then took advantage of my blade’s new raised position in the air to triumphantly cut my opponent down. I found myself reversing the direction of my grip on Veritas’s hilt and flipping her downwards and firmly sheathing her in her scabbard with a soft shing!, and abruptly I was was kneeling with my rear knee on the ground as if getting ready to bow to a king.

I held still for a moment. I felt a peace within me. The hilt in my hand...the weight of my weapon at my side...perfectly balanced on one knee, ready to rise in an instant to fight.

Paol, where did you learn that?

Her voice in my mind was hesitant and perhaps a little anxious.

Do you know what those were?

Ippon-me. Nihon-me. Sanbon-me.

The words reverberated in my mind, and my body trembled a little in a strange kind of recognition.

Congratulations! Your Swords skill has increased to Level 7.