After Kathryn ended up winning in the spar between her and Sara, the rest of the group decided to wrap up and head back to check on Nikki and postpone training until later that day.
Wade, Benny, and Pawl were excluded from the spars; with Wade skipping because no one seemed up to fight him, and his skills alone aren’t very combat focused. Benny was an obvious exclusion, as the younger boy can’t do much other than move objects with his , and no one really knows what even does yet.
Pawl was excluded because no one had the nerve to fight him. What a fearsome feline indeed.
Later on after we all arrive back at the barracks, the majority of the group begins discussing the spars and what we could do better. Turns out, the reflection times we had during the training on the field were also staged too. With everyone holding back their class and extra power gained from it, no one was being totally honest with their feedback from earlier. Now, after a few apologies sent my way and some annoying jokes from Wade, everyone finally buckles down and goes over their real opinions of the fights we saw.
I would be a lot more annoyed with the fact everyone was in on the plan to lead me on, but when the topic of my fight with Nikki comes up, I receive some surprising feedback.
“Sebastian, I have to say, I was seriously impressed with your fight! I know Sandra already confirmed it, but being able to do all that stuff without a class is crazy! What are you again? Level 21? That’s nuts!” Angus gushes from his elevated spot on a nearby locker.
Due to our lack of chairs, everyone left over from training currently forms a mini-blockade in between Wade’s bunk, and the open bed opposite of him. If I were skilled enough, a mana chair like Lirin’s would be nice, but instead I submit myself to the hard surface of the lacquered wood floor as I listen to the teen’s compliments.
Since Nikki isn’t here, there isn’t much to go over in my fight, so the other’s resign themselves to badgering me with questions and compliments due to my apparently ‘inspired’ performance.
“How did you track her down while she was moving so fast? I could barely even see her!” Henry gasps from his spot on the empty bed next to Benny and Pawl. The kid doesn’t seem very interesting in the conversation, and instead of listening he just scratches the cat’s belly with fervor.
I wish I could swap places with the boy, as all this attention makes me nervous.
“I kinda just guessed where she would come up.”
Replying halfheartedly, I continue to answer the onslaught of questions about my skills and how I managed to bridge the gap between our levels. Everyone seems interested in learning as much as they can to get better, which is a good thing. Unfortunately for me, this means that I’m the prime subject for them to study, as I seem to be excelling in their eyes despite my supposed level and class difference.
Apart of me wants to help them, so as the questions roll in, I attempt to answer in a way that can benefit their own abilities while not being too harsh. Honestly, this is the hardest part of it all since I am trying really hard not to insult anyone.
How are you supposed to tell someone they suck completely of their own lack of skill?
Not beating around the bush is usually one of my strengths, but with the eager faces around me asking me for advice, I can’t help but sugarcoat my words. My ability to beat Nikki in a spar isn’t due to some inherent talent of mine or anything of the like- I believe it to be simply a matter of mindset. These people aren’t doing enough to improve themselves in my opinion.
Angus and Henry are prime examples of this. Even if they were holding back the empowerment given by their classes, the fight they put up was atrocious. Henry was terrified of getting hit the entire time despite him having a seemingly capable defensive skill, and Angus took way too long to prepare attacks and was at a complete loss when the fight came to close combat.
What were they doing during Floor One, I wonder. Vague memories of the trainer selection remind me that these two had some of the lowest levels of the bunch, yet despite this they must have dealt with some sort of danger while traversing the forest of goblins. Even factoring their lower initial levels in, the fact they have classes now makes me wonder how they even gained their levels. I’m aware Angus was basically baby fed kills because of Garf, but even then, that should have hardened him to the dangers of this place.
Henry is another story, as I doubt Remus, the man who trained him and Vince, would allow the older man to get off so easy. It must’ve taken a ridiculous amount of time to get the man to kill any monsters if his escapist technique I saw during his spar is anything to go off of. Partial experience gains then? I know the system gives smaller amounts of recognition for a kill if you didn’t deal the killing blow, so perhaps he just baited the monsters while Vince or someone else took care of the damage dealing.
My concern rises for some of the Squad Five members’ chances of survival in the future. It’s too bad I don’t think they have the time to improve much more before the wave, so I toss a silent prayer their way as the conversation finally moves off of my spar with Nikki and onto the subject I most wanted to hear about: Sara and Kathryn’s fight.
Listening quietly, I hold back my burning question for a few minutes while the others run through the spar while praising Kathryn’s win. If you were to ask me, I think Kathryn relied too much on the entire fight and should use the skill as support rather than her main method of attack. Regardless of my opinions though, I keep silent and lie in wait for the moment someone opens up the topic of Sara’s skills.
Unfortunately, after nearly ten minutes of discussion, no one brings up anything regarding Sara’s cutting skill. I suppose it makes sense in a way, as the rest of the group knows a good bit about each other’s skills already from Floor One, so the idea of anyone other than myself being surprised with her fighting style is unlikely.
Even more time passes, and I finally can’t help myself.
“So, what is that skill you were using to break through Kathryn’s walls so easily?” I blurt out in a small break between topics.
“Oh that? I guess you probably wouldn’t know, sorry for not realizing. It’s one of my starter skills: . I can use it to basically cut through things like a chainsaw and can even manage to make the effect transfer to weapons too. It’s very useful even when I’m unarmed!” Sara replies, unperturbed by my sudden interest in her skill.
Her answer checks out with what I witnessed during the spar, but I’m curious about another aspect of her abilities as well.
“How about the way you moved? Do you have some sort of reinforcement or strengthening skill like Vince?”
“Yes, it was my second starting skill: . I didn’t really figure out how to use it well during the first floor, but my trainer taught me that I could strengthen my entire body by using the skill.” She says with a thoughtful expression.
I give her a thankful nod while my mind stews over the new information as well as the surprising name of her secondary starting skill. The discussion turns over to combat strategy versus monsters as opposed to other people, yet I do not mind the change and instead fade into my own thoughts once again.
sounds way too similar to . Are they related in some way? I was not expecting such a new and valuable piece of information from investigating Sara, but the additional boon from doing so is appreciated nonetheless. From how the woman described her skill, it would seem it has the same effects that my own skill does, but the mention of mana makes me wonder just how different they are. I have the ability to use on mana and my radiation; so, is my skill better by default since she can only use mana like how the name entails? Perhaps it’s the other way around and the specification of mana-based infusion means that the skill is smaller in range, but higher in quality of empowerment. It was difficult to measure if her movements were any faster than my own when boosted since I wasn’t paying much attention to the physical empowerment. Her levels and class might also be able to change the effects of the skill too, so I honestly have no way to tell whose skill is superior without further research.
At the end of the day, I guess learning more about her infusion skill is nothing more than a secondary goal to my original objective.
After learning more about Sara’s skill and watching her spar without holding back in real time, my brain finds itself having no other destination to end at other than the older woman being innocent. Since her offensive ability’s effects look nothing like the careful and exact slicing I found on the corpses of those on Floor One and her lacking finesse during the fight, the odds of her being the traitor fall. Add on the new information that similar skills like and exist, and I could easily see someone else hiding another cutting skill like Sara’s .
The odds are becoming more and more likely that the traitor won’t be found simply through skill observation.
…
Three days pass in a flash.
Squad Five’s training has continued as scheduled, and I find myself with next to zero time for myself. Despite Nikki recovering in less than a day with the help of Nurse Sella, Vince has taken it upon himself to train me personally. In reality, this means that he just won’t let me spar with anyone else, and instead only fights with me anytime we are supposed to have any sort of combat exercises.
It’s not all bad, as the man offers some constructive feedback regarding my reaction time and technique, but it’s not as useful as me getting a variety of experience by sparring with the others too. Vince also is able to tank most of my attacks without much fanfare because of his skill set, so I’m able to let loose a bit more in regard to the quantity of firepower in the attacks I create. Because of my skill set and the fact I can move in large bursts of speed with the help of a few calculated kinetic blasts, the spars are really just me using Vince like a punching bag. He rarely gets hits in, and my blasts continue to cascade over his hardened body while I refrain from going any further. My skills haven’t leveled at all because of this unchallenging atmosphere, and I am starting to suspect that Vince is abusing my firepower to increase his own skill levels.
No… now that I’m thinking about it- I’m certain that’s what he is doing.
I don’t mind getting used a bit though in this situation. For one thing, blasting away at his smug face is quite cathartic given that I know he was testing me the first day of training. The practical exercises have also been useful, as they have given me a chance to consolidate my over-level skills and put them to good use in figuring out how to fight fluidly.
But most of all, I am excited about the announcement that Vince gave out only moments ago.
“Alright everyone, we are going to skip our evening training session so you all can have a chance to run personal errands and the like. Great job over these last couple of days, I think we have made great progress so far. Reconvene at 21:00 and we can do a final recap meeting for the day before I release you all for the day.”
The second he is done with his spiel; I immediately check the time on my Status.
[Status of Sebastian Bet]
Pillar Difficulty: Death is Certain
Floor 2: The Silent Castle
Time Used: 23:17:02:06
Time Left: 2166:42:57:54
With our meeting in just under four hours, I have a very small window of time in which I can finally do what I have been planning for days.
It’s time to get my class.