In the castle's training grounds, a girl stood behind three of her classmates, who were currently engaged in battle with monsters. The first day of training had been rough on everyone, but over time, it became a normal part of their routine.
There was a small rush of euphoria each time they leveled up, a feeling that, for some, quickly became addictive. With every monster they killed, a strange energy would flow into their bodies, granting them strength. Gather enough of it, and they would level up.
Lisa, however, had yet to make a kill herself. For some reason, though, whenever her teammates scored a kill with her nearby, she still received some of that energy. One of the boys had compared it to a "game party system," making it easier for everyone in the group to gain experience points.
From her perspective, all Lisa saw were glowing letters and symbols appearing in front of her, listing skills, abilities, and a few strange "stats" she barely understood.
They had been training for several hours today.
Each student had been placed into a team of four and provided with weapons and armor.
As the designated healer, Lisa was equipped with a small mace, a light round shield, and leather armor designed for mobility rather than heavy defense.
The monsters they faced today were far larger than those from the first day.
Each was the size of a small car and had the heavy build of a pig, but with hides as hard as stone.
It took several strong blows before any weapon could pierce them.
Magic was by far the most effective way to bring them down, but Lisa's team was made up entirely of front-line fighters.
"Lisa, watch the left! I'll be attacking from the right; it might get dangerous as I move in. Keep your shield up!" Brian shouted as he charged forward.
Lisa's heart pounded as she watched him rush ahead. She tightened her grip on her shield, forcing the strange floating letters and stat windows in her vision to fade into the background. All that mattered now was keeping her team safe.
The pig-like beasts thundered toward them, hooves pounding against the packed dirt.
Brian's teammates met them head-on, blades and axes chipping away at the monsters' stone-like hides.
Each strike wore down the armor slowly, but not without effort.
Lisa kept her focus locked on Brian, ready to rush in and heal at the first sign of injury.
Bending his knees, Brian launched himself between two beasts, slipping through the narrow gap as their attention stayed on his allies.
For a fleeting moment, he wished his closest friends, Jonathan and George, were there to watch his back; sadly, they were with another team.
Closing in on the first boar's side, he slammed his gauntleted fists into its ribcage, aiming for a weak spot beneath the hardened hide.
"Blaze Knuckle!" he shouted, voice carrying a wild edge.
Flames erupted from his fist, searing the monster's armor and exposing raw flesh beneath.
His follow-up strike landed with crushing force, caving in the beast's side and sending it staggering back like a launched boulder.
Glancing at his torn weapon, Brian tossed it aside and jumped back to avoid the second beast as it charged to aid its fallen companion.
The downed boar's squealing thrash drove the other into a frenzy.
It lowered its head, rage fixed entirely on Brian, ignoring the tank that had had its attention seconds earlier.
"Kiel, slap it or something! It's locked on me, man!" Brian yelled, spotting the paladin frozen in place.
"Calm down. All I need to do is… Savage Strike!" Another hero intervened, a Warchief, the peak of the Barbarian path. Often mocked for his size and weight, the boy had turned every insult into fuel for his berserker strength these past few days.
"Finally, you do something right, Fat Albert. Lunch is on me today," Brian quipped without missing a beat.
Lisa, healing those nearest to danger, grimaced. Their so-called party leader might be skilled, but his mouth was another matter. She knew she was spared his biting remarks only because of his feelings for her, a truth she found more unsettling than flattering, especially with the way his eyes lingered far too often on her thighs.
"Heal, heal, heal…" she shouted, never forgetting her role. At level four, she ranked among the class's highest-leveled members, thanks largely to the church's focused efforts in training her.
It was difficult; she took no pleasure in watching monsters die, nor in seeing her own teammates bleed so heavily they sometimes collapsed.
But if they wanted to survive and one day return home, this was what had to be done.
Still, like the others, she couldn't deny the addictive rush they called the level-up high.
Lisa had witnessed changes in herself that had never happened before. Her hair grew faster and shone brighter, her nails hardened, her skin became smoother and healthier, and even a few old marks had begun to fade.
Her friend Alma was thrilled by her own improvements except for one thing. Her natural black hair was growing back quickly, making the blonde dye she'd applied just a week earlier look uneven.
"One more time, slash the eye this time. Don't waste time looking," Brian called to the Berserker, who had just missed a swing with his massive axe. Two new beasts had been released toward them. As before, the Paladin held one at bay while the other was caught between Brian and Albert, the stout boy.
Ping!
[You have reached level 5. A new skill has been unlocked: Detoxification.]
Blinking a few times to clear the wall of glowing text from her vision, Lisa refocused on the Paladin, who had taken several hits after his shield finally crumbled.
"Guys, I need backup over here! My shield's turned to dust from all this damage. Are these beginner's gear? Why give us this crap? Don't tell me there are level-locked items in this world!" he shouted, frustration spilling into his voice.
"Level-locked what? Man, we're still fighting weak animals. Why would they waste better equipment on us right now? Just learn to use your skills, Kiel!" Brian called back, trying to repeat his earlier tactic. With only his left gauntlet and it not being his dominant hand his strike lacked its usual force.
"Move, let me get this one too, Savage Strike!" Albert, the Warchief, bellowed as he brought his massive axe down squarely on the beast's head. Blood and fat burst outward, splattering in every direction, some of it landing on Lisa. She raised her shield too late, the mess streaking across her armor and face.
"You idiot! Can't you make a clean kill? Look at this mess, you even got Lisa covered in blood!" Brian snapped, pointing accusingly at the gore.
"It's fine. Looks like we're done here anyway," Lisa replied, wiping her face with her sleeve and forcing herself to stay focused despite the unpleasantness.
"You're lucky, Albert. But I'll have to take back what I said about your food. Now, everyone, let's head back looks like there are no more beasts for our team."
"Yeah, whatever, Brian. You're only bossing us around because you've been sucking up to the Princess. Don't think we don't know… right, Lisa?" Albert shot back, trying to make Brian lose face. Everyone in class knew about his obvious attraction toward her.
"What did you just say? I have done no such thing! Now let's go before you make me punch another pig in here," Brian snapped, his fist flaring with fire.
Lisa felt the tension spike between them, but before she could step in, the Paladin, Kiel, pulled Albert away, leaving her and Brian behind to watch the two walk off.
"That he's lying, alright," Brian muttered. "I was only called up by the king a few times. He's been interested in me since the first day, that's all."
"I don't care, Brian," Lisa replied flatly. "Let's just go back to the others. I need a shower."
When they rejoined the rest of the class, they saw that Silvia's group had finished well before anyone else. The youngest in the class, yet possibly the sharpest, Silvia sat with a book in one hand while shaping a swirling ball of wind in the other. The moment she noticed the newcomers, she dispelled the wind with a flick, then gestured for Lisa to come closer.
"You're dirty here, let me help you…" Silvia said in her usual apathetic tone. With a snap of her fingers, a sphere of water enveloped Lisa.
Startled, Lisa flinched and tried to pull away, but the magic halted instantly and shifted into a swirling ball of wind that whipped around her body.
"There. You don't stink anymore," the silver-haired girl remarked. Without waiting for a reply, she simply returned to her book.
"Thanks…?" Lisa muttered, her voice low. Her skin still tingled from the magical cleaning, the suddenness of it leaving her momentarily speechless. Glancing around, she noticed three other girls nearby, their hair just as disheveled from their own wind-blown sessions. Choosing to join them, she sat down to wait for the rest of the class to finish.
She tried to smooth her messy hair, grateful at least that Logan wasn't around to see her like this. Scanning the area, she saw other groups struggling with their tasks, but unlike her team, they only had to face one monster at a time.
Only four classmates were absent: Chris, the alchemist who had gone to the empire; a girl who stayed in her room and refused to come out; their teacher, who was receiving instruction elsewhere; and finally, Logan, whose own instructor had yet to arrive.
Lisa glanced at her hand, where a faint red ring of blood occasionally appeared around her finger.
"That fool… I wonder if he planned this to look like a ring." A small smile tugged at her lips.