Morgan stood and stretched, wincing at the sharp pains in his side and back. Even with the Energy Drain and the healing potion, his ribs were still tender, and something inside him wasn’t fully healed. He coughed and moved to wipe his mouth, only to wave his stump around in front of him. “Oh, god. That’s awkward.”

“What?” Issa asked gently, still clinging close to him, her hands tenderly squeezing his neck and good arm.

“Huh, nothing. Gonna take a while to get used to one arm. Jesus, how am I going to buckle my pants, let alone my armor?” He looked down at the severed member, still sheathed in the ineffectual scale sleeve. It was surreal to see his own hand sticking out at the end, so far from him. “Talk about awkward,” he said, leaning over to pry the storage ring off his old middle finger. He had to hold it down by putting a foot on the wrist while pulling. Issa moved to help him, but he grunted and yanked the ring off before she could intervene. He stood, red-faced, and noted that Von-dak was back on his wooden chair, quietly watching them. Morgan frowned at him, wanted to cuss him out, but held his tongue for now.

“Here, let me see that.” Issa wormed her fingers into his fist, pulled the ring out, and then slipped it onto his ring finger.

“Thanks,” he said softly, and then he reached down and pulled his severed arm into his ring. “I don’t want to look at that anymore.” He also picked up his fallen sword and slipped it into his ring. “Thank god I don’t have to use two hands to access the ring, eh?” He tried to smile, but it came out crooked. Issa’s face was still wan, and her eyes were brimming with tears. Morgan could tell she felt responsible for his injury, and he was trying to lighten the mood, but he was also feeling a little sorry for himself, so his efforts had a hollow ring to them.

“That was an interesting strategy. I hope your goal was to beat the parameters of the duel and not to win—because I would have killed you both eventually in a real fight. You realize this, yes?” Morgan looked over at Von-dak and frowned.

“Yeah, no shit. No, I didn’t think we would kill you, but I didn’t think you’d fucking ruin me with one combination. Congratulations. Now you can try to teach me some improvements to my two-handed fighting style while I only have one hand.” Morgan let some of his self-pity bleed into his voice, and Issa squeezed his arm, her face falling even more. Her pity and guilt and his lack of self-control started to cascade in his mind, and the frustration built to the point where he could hear a rushing sound in his ears, and he thought he might actually break out in a sob. He gulped it down and shut his mouth, taking a deep breath through his nose.

“Good. Master your emotions; they are useful, but not if they control you. A missing arm is problematic for a swordsman, but as long as you have one, I can teach you more than you can grasp in the time you’ll spend with me. After you leave, you can seek a remedy for your injury; you should know there are many. Have you yet advanced your race? I am not familiar with your kind.” Issa squeezed harder on Morgan’s arm as he said the last words, and her eyes brightened as she looked up at him.

“He’s right, Morgan! When you advance to a new tier, your body will undergo a metamorphosis. I’ve never seen it in Tarn’s Crossing, but I’ve heard stories.” Almost against his will, hope blossomed in Morgan’s heart. Guilt rushed through him, momentarily, as he realized how lucky they were to be in this world with these miraculous happenings. Memories of injured squadmates and dead colonists flashed through his mind, and he shook his head at his moping.

“There, see? All is not lost.” Von-dak stood and twirled his sword, smoothly lifting it to his back and hooking it on something attached to the leather straps crisscrossing his torso. “Now, students, you should see what the meddling System has left for your reward before your lessons begin. When you’re done collecting your trinkets, meet me in the courtyard.” He didn’t wait for a response, walking briskly out of the room. As Morgan watched him leave, he noticed that the audience of semi-ethereal swordsmen and women was gone.

“Morgan, I’m so sorry I didn’t ask you to leave. We should have been happy with what we’d won, and we’d be outside celebrating right now.” Issa’s voice was soft, her eyes downcast, and Morgan hated seeing her like this.

“Issa, I love you. I love you for the way you are. If you start changing because of your worries over me, you’ll grow to resent me, here,” Morgan gently touched her chest over her heart, “whether you mean to or not. Slowly, we’d start to want to be apart because of that feeling, and then that rift would grow over time. I want you to keep that spirit, that drive for adventure because it makes me a better person when I’m with you. You’re right about me—I’d grow bored living life as a herder, farmer, or tradesman. I say we need to take risks and experience glory while we’re able—let’s save farming for when we’re old!” He kissed her forehead, and when he pulled back to look at her, she had tears running down her cheeks, but she didn’t look sad.

“I love you too, Morgan. I’m sorry about your arm, but I’d love you with two arms or none. Or four, for that matter.” She put her arms around his waist and squeezed him, and he leaned into it.

“That feels good.” As usual, while she was hugging him, he inhaled deeply of her hair and smiled. He could almost forget about all the fights, all the danger, all the blood, and pain. Besides, there was treasure to investigate. “What did he mean by the System’s trinkets. Is there a chest?” He looked around but didn’t see anything at first. Issa let go of his waist and walked over to the Swordmaster’s chair.

“Here!” She said, moving around behind the chair. Morgan followed and saw another chest, much like the ones before, but smaller, only about a foot square. Without saying anything, Morgan activated Guard Ally on Issa and then stepped back.

“Open it up.” Issa looked at him, then frowned slightly.

“You have to stop using that ability on me all the time. You think I’ll like it if this thing blows up and sends you through a wall?”

“We’ve always opened chests like this? What’s changed? Just because I got hurt? Listen, this is still a good strategy, don’t get squeamish on me.” Morgan nodded to the chest, and Issa huffed, but she leaned forward and opened the lid. As usual, nothing happened—it didn’t seem the System wanted its rewards to be treacherous. Golden light haloed the opening of the chest, and Morgan moved closer to see why Issa had taken a sharp inhalation. The first thing he noticed were the two golden Advancement Orbs floating near the center. However, underneath the orbs were several more items glinting in the reflected light. “Hey, at least we’re getting another level out of this.”

“Yeah, let’s use the orbs now, so we can get at what’s under them more easily.” Issa looked at Morgan with an eyebrow raised, and he nodded. She reached in and touched one of the orbs, and Morgan saw the golden glow suffuse her for a moment. She closed her eyes, and her mouth parted slightly as she shivered with the sensation. She opened her eyes and blew out a deep breath a moment later.

“What a sensation! Well, one more level to my class refinement; I hope it’s a good one! Your turn.” She backed up a step, but Morgan didn’t move forward.

“Actually, if you’re one away from a refinement, maybe you should take it. You level slower than I do, anyway.”

“Oh, ancestors! Are you giving up because of your arm? You can still advance, Morgan, and we’ll figure out something for your arm!” She stepped toward him and poked him in the chest while speaking, her voice tinged with a slight growl. Morgan couldn’t help laughing.

“No! It’s not that; I’m just trying to think of the best use for our resources!”

“I don’t care if it’s the most logical thing—we both earned an orb, and you’re taking yours!”

“Sheesh, alright! Relax!” He chuckled, pushing past her and touching the orb. A flow of golden Energy rushed into him, and he took a big, deep breath, noting that his ribs no longer ached.

***Congratulations! You’ve achieved level 27 Vortex Duelist. You have gained 8 Intelligence, 8 Agility, 6 Will, 6 Dexterity.***

He checked his status page and noticed that he’d lost two points in additional dexterity—no doubt because part of his armor with the dexterity enchantment had been sheared off. Still, his dexterity was climbing steadily with his new class, enough so that he was starting to worry a bit about his vitality and strength lagging behind in a few levels. He supposed he’d worry about that when it happened, but he’d get a new refinement in two levels, so it might not become an issue. “Alright, what else do we have in there?”

“Let me look,” Issa said, pushing past him and leaning over the chest. “Some silvery bracers. They’re beautiful! A scroll case, a pouch, a little leather book, and a piece of horn or antler, I think.”

“Well, you get the bracers.” Morgan couldn’t help chuckling when he said it. Issa looked up at him, saw his face, and she smiled, too.

“Oh, making jokes already? Alright, well, I wanted them anyway; look at them, Morgan!” She pulled out two silvery bracers with embossed and enameled blue and red birds in flight on their outer surface.

“Wow, those are beautiful,” Morgan said, letting out a low whistle of appreciation. Issa slipped one over her wrist, and it molded itself to her arm, covering it from wrist to about two-thirds of the way to her elbow. She put the other on, and then her eyes glazed over as she read something in her System UI.

“They’re enchanted to self-repair and to help deflect projectiles! They’re also made of something called sun silver and very durable.” She was lovingly tracing the outlines of a blue feathered bird while she spoke, and Morgan reached down to gently squeeze her shoulder. Well, he tried to reach down to squeeze her shoulder, but his left arm was gone, so he just kind of leaned over awkwardly for a moment. He grunted and shifted so he could do it with his right hand.

“More importantly, they’re beautiful,” he said, grinning when she looked up at him. She stood up and kissed him, then pointed at the chest.

“You see what the other stuff is.” She stepped aside and continued to admire her new bracers.

Morgan knelt in front of the chest and reached in with his hand, lifting out the little pouch. It was very light, and it had a label affixed to its drawstring. He read it aloud, “Petals of the Threen Sun Rose - advanced alchemy reagent.” Morgan loosened the drawstring and was surprised when a yellow-red glow escaped the opening, and a rich, spicy odor filled the room. Not wanting to waste any potency, he pulled the string tight. He slipped the pouch into his ring and reached down to the scroll. It looked just like the one he’d gotten outside the keep, the one with the Fighting Crane Sword Style form.

Unfurling the scroll, Morgan stared at the runes on the page, and they started to shift around, but just like before, a message appeared:

***Prerequisite for the form, The Crane Lances Forth, not met: Sword Mastery - Advanced.***

“It’s another form for my sword style. Another one I can’t use yet.” Issa grunted in acknowledgment, and Morgan slipped the scroll into his ring. Next, he pulled out the little leather book, and he saw that it had an embossed title along its spine, “Gaerwolt’s Secret Recipes.” Morgan raised an eyebrow, and then he opened the front flap and started reading the handwritten note on the first page:

Vania,

Herein I’ve left for you my most treasured alchemical processes. You’ve been such a joy to teach in the last few decades, and I’m so sorry to see you go, but the heart is a cruel taskmaster, and I know you must follow your feelings. I hope that Bareltom will treat you well and that you’ll find time to open the alchemical specialty store that you’ve dreamt about for so long. You’re more than qualified now, and I’ve enclosed your journeyman papers. Don’t let Bareltom be stingy, now! He is well known for his business acumen, and he should see the wisdom in supplying you with the reagents you need to get started. Simply describe to him some of the wonders you can create with the enclosed recipes!

With great love and respect,

Gaerwolt the Singed

“Wow, I think Gaerwolt had a thing for Vania,” Morgan absently said while he thumbed through the complicated-looking recipes in the little book.

“What is it? A love story?” Issa leaned down, suddenly more interested.

“Sort of—it’s an alchemy recipe book, but it was a gift to a woman that I think the author was in love with. I don’t know; it could all be in my head. Check it out.” He handed the book to Issa, and she started reading the little note while he reached into the chest and lifted out the piece of white horn. As soon as he touched the shiny, smooth surface, he felt the Energy throbbing within it. Whatever it was, this horn was probably a valuable crafting material. It was about eight inches long and mostly straight. It was about three inches wide at the base, tapering to a rounded point at the other end. Nothing happened when he tried to bond with it, and there was no label.

“He definitely loved her. Poor Gaerwolt!” Issa said, closing the book.

“Hah, yeah. Poor guy. This horn is for crafting, I think. I can’t figure it out.” He handed it to her, and she studied then also shrugged. She gave Morgan the book and the horn, and he put them into his storage ring. “Well, good chest! Shall we go see what Von-dak has in store for us? Then we can get out of this place.”

Issa nodded, “Yes, let’s.” She took his hand, and together they walked out through the foyer they’d so recently fought in and then into the courtyard.