I opened my eyes and looked around. The battlefield was strewn with bodies—not too many, but they were there. I held back the nausea rising in me. Now was not the time. Around me, I could hear the clash of weapons, but I discerned five directions: straight ahead, to the right, to the left, diagonally right, and diagonally left.
I went to the left. A 2-on-1 fight was taking place there. My allied warrior had a sword and shield, while a bandit with two short axes and a spearman fought him. Thinking for just a moment, I realized that the task was at least indirectly related to the battle, so I went around the side and attacked the warrior with the axes.
The first strike missed, and he noticed me. Yes, I had no training in stealth, but it didn't matter—I would win. My technique and aura quality were superior. Using the "12 Steps of the Storm," I began pressing my opponent. He blocked everything; of course, it wasn't going to be easy. After the ninth strike, I managed to graze his right shoulder. Not bad.
I decided to let him attack so I could observe him. He shifted to the right. Hm, I thought, blocking his attacks. If his center of gravity is shifted to the right, the left side is open. This time, I decided not to use a series of strikes—just to test him. I hit the left side of my opponent with one of the "12 Steps of the Storm" moves. He barely blocked it. He was already exhausted. Completing the sequence up to the ninth strike, I grazed his left shoulder—finishing him off would be easy.
Meanwhile, my ally was still fighting the spearman. But his attacks were lower than the enemy's defense. I hurried to assist him. Three minutes later, the spearman was dead. Only then did I realize that, caught up in the moment, I had killed a man. It didn't even matter that this was a fantasy world where the weak had no rights, or that it was an illusion. I felt sick, but quickly composed myself.
"First time?" asked a soldier.
"Yes," I replied.
"It's okay, you'll get used to it."
From here, sounds of battle came from another direction. If I had been at the spawn point, it would have been diagonally left. There, a warrior with two short swords was fighting against a warrior with a flail and shield and another armored enemy wielding a two-handed axe. My lone ally… the thought passed through my mind automatically. I suggested that the warrior with the sword and shield fight 2-on-1 against the armored enemy with the axe. He reluctantly agreed.
While he blocked, I attacked. The enemy managed to parry, but the sword-and-shield warrior took advantage and attacked. The enemy managed to retreat and parry again, so I used the "12 Steps of the Storm" up to the ninth strike. The increasing tempo forced the enemy back, but this time when I hit his left shoulder, it only grazed his armor. A small bruise, the enemy wasn't injured. What a shame, I thought, and decided to try again.
Suddenly, I heard a sound of armor breaking— I had underestimated the exhaustion of the two-sworded warrior. His head was crushed. "Take care of the enemy with the flail," I thought. Armor was a hindrance, and the shield even worse. I struck again with nine steps of the storm. Failure—only a small crack across his chest and right shoulder. So again, and again. After four combos, the enemy was dead. The sword-and-shield warrior was still fighting. I, panting heavily, helped him.
When the opponent died, I barely caught my breath when I heard a voice:
"Well, well, well. Looks like we have a small variable here."
I saw a man about two meters tall holding a long katana. Second rank, I realized. I was ready for battle, and so was my ally.
We engaged in combat.
He was wounded—I could tell by his movements. Neither I nor my ally was hurt. We had a chance. But I was quickly pulled from my reverie: my ally's shield broke, and his left arm was sliced. He groaned. I began again with the "12 Steps of the Storm." Everything was parried effortlessly. Even the ninth strike yielded no result.
My ally launched a suicidal attack, but it also failed. He was cut in half, which gave me an opening. I thrust, pouring all remaining aura into it. The enemy noticed the strike and managed to sidestep. The hit connected but was not lethal. I was breathing heavily. My aura was depleted. He attacked. I lost. What a disappointment.
I was dead.
Pain, rage, despair—all hit me at once. I saw fragments of light and shadow, heard a ringing in my ears, my chest tightened. And yet, just before sinking into the void, a strange feeling… as if there might still be a chance, though my body no longer obeyed.
Damn it, I woke up again. I looked around. Everything was the same as at the beginning of the trial.