“The torches are already lit? So someone was here before us?" Caitlin asked as she tightened her hand around her sword. The hallway was a little too tight for her liking.

"These starting dungeons are created by the gods. Some dungeons are built by wealthy members of the nations of the world. Some dungeons seem to come out of nature." Ethan explained as he took point. "Go ahead and follow my lead."

Caitlin gave Ethan a confident nod. She wasn't sure about anything he told her, the idea of gods and nature creating giant structures. It sounded completely fake to her but she wasn't about to argue. For some reason, she was fixated on the door.

-

As they ventured down the hall Caitlin could hear the sound of familiar shambling. "Skeleton," Caitlin mumbled. Sure enough, a skeleton turned the corner before they could reach the end of the hallway. "Should I keep our torch going?" Caitlin asked.

"Yes. We can put it out after this fight." Ethan said as he braced himself for the right. "The walls are narrow here! Make sure to remember that when you fight." He let out a loud grunt and slashed at the creature. Caitlin watched as the skeleton swung back, its short sword was easily dodged. She noticed it was slow.

"Killing one of these is tricky!" Ethan said as he slammed the blade off of the skull of the creature. As the skeleton toppled over Ethan gave it two more slashes. "You have to double-tap these creatures," Ethan said as he took a step back. "Now you come take point." He said as he stepped aside.

Caitlin was nervous, her last encounter with one of these creatures ended with both of them falling down a flight of stairs. As they turned the corner they could hear the familiar sound of shambling. Caitlin noticed how narrow these corridors are. "Pay attention," Ethan said from behind her.

Caitlin watched the skeleton bob back and forth. Her mind was racing with all the possibilities. Would Ethan let this monster kill her? Probably not but she didn't want to take that chance.

Caitlin swung at the skeleton with as much force as she could muster. She let her arm fly too far out, the sword slid off the wall and barely grazed the skeleton. Caitlin exhaled and took two steps back.

"You need to keep your space in mind." Ethan said as he stepped forward. He was ready to jump in at any moment.

"Got it." Caitlin said as she moved back. Thankfully the skeleton was swinging slowly. Caitlin let her grip on her weapon loosen and went with a lighter swing. When her blade

The skeleton stumbled back once her blade connected. Caitlin swung her arm back and fourth multiple times. "You're chopping!" Ethan shouted as the skeleton hit the floor. Caitlin kept bashing her sword off of its skull until it disappeared.

-

"That was extremely sloppy." Ethan said seriously. "You can't slam your sword off of an opponent without care. You have to consider your swings."

"Sorry." Caitlin mumbled. She didn't understand what the issue was, at least she killed the skeleton. So what if it wasn't pretty?

-

As they ventured deeper into the first level Caitlin and Ethan worked their way through dozens of skeletons. As they fought their way through Caitlin slowly got used to swinging her blade.

Ethan made sure to pile on as much praise as he could. He was used to working with younger fighters with experience. He figured Caitlin would catch on soon enough, and he was right.

Caitlin was skilled at applying corrections. The way she learned was amazing to Ethan, he could see why she might be special. Still, he had many questions about why she still had her memory. The woman who hired him didn't give him much information to work on.

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