With the exception of the guy who suffered a grave injury against the rot bark youngling, no one else had anything but small scrapes and bruises. I believed this was the first time we had so few wounded.

Sarah, Ani, Noah and I stood somewhat out of the way while people reconvened in the entrance of the main building.

“You ran out of arrows?” Sarah asked Noah.

“Yeh, I even had to buy a couple dozen mid battle,” He said with a hint of sadness. “Most of them didn’t survive as well.”

“How many do you have left, Noah?” I asked

“Thirty eight, out of some eighty something I have bought.”

A few bundles of arrows suddenly showed up mid air between us. Sarah smirked at Noah’s uncomfortable expression.

“Look, mate,” Noah said. “You know I can’t afford all that, right? I don’t have this ridiculous amount of points that you do.”

“It’s alright. Your success is my safety, after all.”

“If you say so,” Noah said, reaching to collect the five dozen arrows that clattered on the floor. “You are the boss.”

“Oh, please, don’t start with this again.” We both smiled as I helped him collect them.

“You boys are so sweet,” Sarah said teasingly. “You sure you two are not secretly in love?”

“Oh, we are,” Noah answered straight away. “But he is still a bit stiff about it, if you know what I mean.”

Sarah blew air through her nose as she failed to keep her laughter under control, as Noah beamed at the success of his joke. Meanwhile, I mostly shook my head at their borderline childish exchange.

“Hey,” I said as I turned towards Ani. “I need your help with something. More like advice.”

“What can I help you with?” Ani shot me one of her sweet smiles.

“I have been thinking about getting a magical weapon since I saw the option in the point shop. I have finally accumulated enough points to buy it, but it’s such a big decision that I want to make sure I am not being impulsive.”

“That’s quite sensible of you, Leo.”

“Thanks…” I said before I realized what she meant. “Did you not expect me to make a sensible decision?”

“You have been impulsive at times.” Ani gave me a pity smile.

“You can be quite the hot headed bloke, mate.” Noah added.

“You should use more of the coolheadedness you have while fighting in your social dealings.” Sarah contributed.

“It’s not that bad, c’mon.”

Despite my objection, I knew they had a point.

“I am working on it, alright?” I said, defeatedly.

“It’s okay, no one expects you to change in one day. Changing takes time.” Ani said as she patted me in the arm.

“Can we change the subject back to my question.” I said as I sighed uncomfortably.

“Of course,” Ani said as she assumed a more business-like tone. “I don’t think you should invest in a magical weapon.”

“Why?” I interjected.

“I will get there,” Ani raised a hand to stop me from interjecting again. “There is one thing I learned in this place. The more impressive things you achieve, the better are the rewards. Exponentially better. What sounds more impressive to you, accumulating five hundred points or a thousand points?”

“A thousand points, of course,” Sarah answered. “But we will all get there given enough time, why would it be such an amazing thing compared to five hundred?”

“Given enough time, but will we have enough time?” Ani added cryptically.

“What do you mean? Are we all going to die?” I asked.

“No, not die, but…” Ani paused.

For a while she just looked us in the eyes, not saying anything, but before the silence became unbearable, she started speaking again.

“There is something I wasn’t sure if I should tell you.” She sighed long and hard. “We won’t be here for long, in fact, we will only be here for four more days.”

“Four more days? How do you know-” I caught myself as I was about to raise my voice. “How can you be so sure?”

“My instructor told me, in a dream.” Ani answered coolly.

“And why wouldn’t you want to tell us that? I think that is a very important piece of information.” Sarah sounded upset.

“Because information is not always good. Knowing the future can mess things up. It changes things, and not always in a good way.”

“What are you on about, mate?”

“We have a good outcome ahead of us the way things stand. I have seen it. I don’t want to mess things up by saying too much.” Ani said in response to Noah’s question.

“Why tell us this, then?” I asked.

“I think it can be more helpful to know than not to know.”

“What about messing up with your vision of the future?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Just that?” I asked, a little upset.

“I am sorry, but this is all I can say.”

“You-” Sarah stopped me by placing a hand on my chest.

“I trust Ani. If she says that is all she can share with us, I believe in it.” Sarah said as she stepped between us. “Has she ever given you any reason to doubt her?”

“Sarah, this is not necessary. I am sure-” Ani said.

“No, Sarah is right.” I spoke over Ani. “I am sorry for pushing you, Ani. I do believe you act with our best interest in mind. That’s what you have shown us so far.”

“Thank you for words,” Ani smiled genuinely. “It’s really important for me to know that you think this way.”

The conversation died for a while, but Noah was quick on the uptake, taking the reins of it with some stupid joke that made us all chuckle. I felt a little embarrassed about going off on Ani, I had decided to respect her limits and had just done the opposite of it.

It was a complicated situation, and the more she explained, the more fishy it all sounded. It was obvious she was hiding something, or more than one thing, but I had to give her credit for all the good things she had done for me and our group, saving my life not the least of them.

Even if her ultimate goals were sinister and would put me in harm’s way, which it was hard to believe, they had done nothing of the sort so far. I held nothing but gratitude for her, maybe also a little sexual tension, although that was the last thing I needed between us. It would only make it even more complicated and harder for me to understand.

As the days passed and our interactions had become more often and intimate, it was becoming harder to resist the urge to flirt and try something. I knew she would be receptive of it, if nothing else, Sarah’s awkward jabs at us was proof that she had raised the topic with Ani at some point.

I chose to cling on the fact that everyday was a fight for our lives. I told myself I had to focus on that and nothing else if I wanted to stay alive. I also had to be strong in order to keep the people that had grown dear to me safe, or as safe as one can be in a place like this.

Ani’s new piece of information about us leaving this place so soon came as a shock. She had hinted before that we wouldn’t stay here for that long, but I honestly had not taken her seriously. Not that long could have meant anything from weeks, months to even a year. Four days was quite a short time, but considering all that happened in the last week, it could also be a very long four days.

Honestly, I still didn’t know how to feel about all of it. Instead, I decided to not think about it too much. It was one of those things that were going to happen regardless of me. What I chose to focus on was about my points. If we only stay here for ten days, then accumulating a thousand points in such a span of time is some serious achievement.

I currently had five hundred twenty four points after buying a new set of resistant clothes and the five dozen arrows for Noah. If I wanted to reach one thousand points within the remaining four days, which I assumed meant for new waves, it would require me to make at least one hundred and twenty points each, and that was not considering any other extra expenses I might have.

My set of resistant clothes seem to last two or three waves at most, I was already on my third set. Buying a riot gear set was out of question, if I was going for the artifact. I couldn’t risk losing another set of one hundred points. I questioned my decision of buying that much food for a moment, but I couldn’t fault myself for it. It had been the right thing to do at the time. I wasn’t going to feel bad about helping feed people in need. I wasn’t that petty.

My distractedness during our conversation had not gone unnoticed. Sarah and Noah tried to bring me into it, but I was just with too much going on in my head. Eventually, they gave up. Ani had a concerned look on her face, but said nothing else when I shot back a forced smile at her.

Sarah suggested we start our training and we all accepted it. As we passed by the crowd of people in front of the meaning, we heard them cheering in celebration. It seemed a bit too excessive, it had been a while since the wave ended. At closer look, I saw that there was a man in the center of it.

John stood while supported by Will and Chen. The big man put on a good show as he tried to hide the pain he was in. Some people were more happy than others to see him up and about. Johann stood beside him clapping as people cheered. Despite the amount of progress Johann had made in asserting control over the group, the return of John must taste sour to him, but the timing was good. Today’s battle had cemented Johann’s leadership, he even ‘fought’ the boss.

Regardless of how things would play out, I wanted to be nothing but an audience to their internal squabbles. I knew how unlikely that was, but I would do my best to not get too much involved in it.

My differences with John would have to be settled at some point, but now was hardly the time and place. I was also not in the mood to approach the subject. There had only been a couple days since it happened, but the days seemed so filled with different things that I wasn’t so upset about it anymore. The idea of almost dying was becoming much more acceptable than it was good.

We reached our training location with me still lost in thought. Ani and I exchanged a few brief words, and she asked me if I needed some time before we started the meditation process. I said I didn’t, it would be good for me to focus on something productive instead of being lost in my ramblings.

Ani placed the soft palms of her hands in my back. I felt the warmth from it through the thin cloth of my shirt. I closed my eyes and focused on the sensations. The warmth came from the tip of her fingers and grew stronger as it reached the center of her palm.

It spread through me like a wildfire under the blowing wind. My back was quickly enveloped by it, followed by the rest of my torso. It traveled down and upwards, even passing through my privates. It was a little disconcerting, but not bad in the slightest, quite the opposite. I focused on my arms and legs, so I didn’t get sidetracked in the process.

As it advanced through my limbs it also started going up my neck. It reached my hands before it was on my face. As my fingers and toes became warmer, the heat started raising. I felt it in my lips, my nose, my eyes and finally deep inside my brain. When I was fully immersed in the warmth that came from Ani’s hands, a message from the system popped in my vision.

[You have increased your Magic.]