Limitless Path

It wasn't long at all before Beth spotted the first ant of the day. She stopped, Kim stopping just behind her, and pointed the ant out. "There's one over there. How about you get your sword out?"

"M-me?!" Kim exclaimed.

"Just think of this like a sport for now, K. A gross, dangerous sport, but a sport," Beth reassured her.

"A sport. OK. OK, I can do this," Kim seemed to build some confidence, calming herself.

"Sword," Beth repeated.

"Ah, right. Sword," Kim fumbled at the hilt, clumsily pulling the sword out and almost nicking herself with the blade.

"I can see we're going to have to start with the absolute basics," sighed Beth.

"Shut up, I don't see you doing better," Kim fired back.

"I'm not fighting this one," Beth responded, gesturing at the ant before crossing her arms.

"Fine. I'll do it," Kim huffed.

"Stop," Beth said.

"What?!" Kim asked angrily.

"What do you do first?" Beth responded.

"Uh, hit it with the sharp end?" Kim asked, brows scrunching up.

"No. First, you use Identify. Then you engage it after you figure out if it's something you want to challenge," Beth replied.

"What the heck is Identify?" Kim asked.

"Oh, OK. Focus on the ant from here and try to think about, like, analyzing it. If you do, you should get a new skill," Beth answered.

Kim's brow scrunched even further as she frowned and stared over at the ant. After a moment, she got the far-away-viewing-window look in her eyes. Afterwards she turned to Beth and asked "OK, now do I hit it?"

Beth used Identify and got what she expected.

Common Ant level 1

"OK, no problem, try to slash with the sword. Don’t go for a stab or a two-hand chop right away. If you don't kill it or miss, you want to be able to move back before it grabs you," Beth explained.

"OK, slash, right," Kim muttered, striding forward.

Kim approached the ant with her new sword clenched tightly in her right hand. Beth trailed along a handful of steps behind, ready to intervene if Kim found herself in trouble. As Kim approached, the classic tactics of the ant played out. Antennae wiggling it turned toward Kim, then, after a brief moment, it charged right toward her. "Step to the side and slash," Beth commanded from behind.

Kim did just that, waiting for the ant to get close before stepping to the side and slashing. Not having spent time training in boxing or kickboxing like Beth, Kim took her instruction literally and stepped to the side. Still, her years of athletics and newfound STR and DEX combined to let her land a slash on the ant. Her blade didn't cut deep but did damage the ant's left eye.

The ant hissed and spun toward Kim, who stumbled a step back. "Footwork," Commented Beth. Kim righted herself and slashed down with the sword again, growling, "Not helping!"

This slash, whether through luck or innate skill, was much better than the first. It sliced deep into the ant's head, entering at the top of the already ruined eye and penetrating almost fully through before exiting between the mandibles.

Kim paused for a moment, slightly far-away look back in her eyes, before looking over at Beth. "It says I killed a level one ant. Also, the comments are super not helpful."

"Good job. How about we do this for a minute. Stand across from me," Beth commanded.

"OK, like this?" Kim asked, stepping up to stand facing Beth a step away.

"Yeah. OK, so, here's the deal. When I told you to sidestep, I didn't really mean fully to the side. Take a step toward me but don't swing the sword," Beth said.

"OK, like this?" Kim asked again, feeling a little foolish. She stepped forward toward her older sister and stopped right in front of her.

"Yeah, like that. Now step back and do it again. OK, I'll step when you do, watch," Beth instructed. When Kim stepped forward this time, Beth stepped at an angle toward and to the side of Kim. "This is what I mean," Beth said facing Kim as Kim turned to face her.

"OK, so step BY the enemy?" Kim asked.

"Something like that. We can go over it more later, but attacking at angles is important. If I moved into you when you step forward, we clash. This might not be bad, but it's not always what you want. If I step back when you step forward, you're directly chasing me. That's not really good, you want to try to get out of the line of attack. If you need to back up, step away at an angle to force the opponent to waste time and momentum changing their direction. Lastly, if I step directly to the side, it's easier for you to correct and still hit me, while I don't really gain much of an advantage on you. It's not terrible, as I could attack while sidestepping, but stepping at an angle just gives you a bigger advantage, generally speaking," Beth had gone into fighter lecture mode, tapping her chin all the while.

Kim seemed a little dazed by the flood of information. "So, what are you saying? Walk around the enemy? I'm not sure I get it."

"Not really," Beth answered. "Look, just stand there and watch a second, I'll show you," Beth stepped forward at an angle to the right of Kim. She returned to in front of her and stepped forward and to the other side of Kim. Beth repeated this twice more, stepping back at an angle each time.

"See what I'm saying? It's better to try to move at forty-five-degree angles instead of ninety. Don't step in a plus sign when you fight, try to step in an X shape," Beth continued.

"Oh, that makes more sense. Step in an X shape. We have a track drill we do where we sort of jump forward and side-to-side at the same time. It's kinda like that," Kim said, eyes brightening and a half-smile forming on her lips.

"I'm not sure it's the same thing, but OK, let's keep going. We can get you both level and skill experience. Remember to Identify everything we come across," Beth instructed.

"OK," Kim replied promptly before they set out again.

It was less than a minute later when they encountered the next ant. They stopped, and Kim stared extra hard at the ant for a moment before nodding. Beth also used the skill just to make sure.

Common Ant level 1

Kim approached the ant, still with her new sword in her right hand. As she got close, the ant performed as always, turning and charging her. She waited again, just as she had before, but this time stepped forward and to the side. As she gained the angle on the ant, Kim chopped down with her sword, the center of the blade biting deep into the neck of the ant. The ant immediately dropped, and Kim nodded in satisfaction before then grimacing at her blade, now covered in ant goo.

"Good work. Remember to twist when you attack, use all the power of your body," Beth said, demonstrating immediately with just her fist by twisting her hips and shoulder as she punched.

"Right, twist the body. So much stuff to remember," Kim murmured, practicing swinging her blade while twisting her body.

"Don't overdo it. It's also important to maintain your balance; you're not trying to spin around, just add the force of your body into the attack," Beth explained.

"How do you keep track of all of this?" Kim asked with a slight note of exasperation in her voice.

"Part of it is thinking about it and understanding it, but part of it is practice. I've practiced at the gym a good bit, so I more instinctively do the motions when I fight. You're also new to fighting, but practice makes perfect. I'm sure they say that with all the sports you play," Beth explained in a more encouraging tone.

"Right, I've heard that a million times. I guess there's some truth in it because everyone says it," Kim nodded.

"Well, we have a bunch of time and a bunch of ants. Practice away," Beth said, motioning Kim forward.

They continued on, arriving at the jut of rock in the middle of the wood lot a moment later. They both realized at the same time that there were two ants here, and both of the girls quickly used Identify.

Common Ant level 1

Common Ant level 1

"Well," Beth said, pulling out her claymore, "give it a try. I'll back you up, but you should be able to take them both. They aggro in a line, so try to kill the first immediately, then you can fight the second."

Kim gulped and nodded, taking a deep breath. She walked forward and, after a few steps, stopped as the ants noticed her. The ants performed as they had in the dirt gate while in a group, charging Kim in a line. Beth could see Kim was nervous, her sword trembling a little as she held it tightly, but Kim steeled herself. When the first ant reached her, she stepped forward at an angle and really swung, twisting her hips with the slash. The ant's head seemed to pop right off in a squirt of ichor, but Kim's sword also smacked into the ground and partially stuck.

Beth took three quick steps forward around Kim as she pried her sword out of the ground, lifting her claymore over her head as she did so. As Beth stepped in front of the second ant, she slashed the blade down with both hands, aiming the center of the huge sword at the ant's head. The blade made contact dead center of the ant's forehead and didn't so much slash it as it cleaved the ant's head in two. Learning from Kim's mistake, Beth heavily tensed her muscles as the sword passed through the ant's head, trying to slow the blade before it hit the ground. She was partially successful, as the blade only embedded a little way into the dirt, and she was able to rip it right out.

Common Ant level 1 slain

"Well, that was something," Beth commented.

Kim had recovered by this point and was looking at the ant Beth had split like an old log with wide eyes. "Remind me not to piss you off," she said.

"Language. You know mom hates that shit," Beth replied with a curl of her lips.

"Damn, you're right," Kim giggled in response. "Uh, question."

"Yeah, shoot," Beth said, still grinning.

"Uh, I got a skill called Swords Apprentice[0]. Do you have something like that?" she asked.

"Yeah," Beth replied, "I do. I have Unarmed right now, and it's actually Apprentice[1]. Raising weapon skills takes more effort than other skills, it seems, but it's worth it. When I fight with my fists, I feel a little more comfortable and like I know what I'm doing a little more thanks to the extra skill level."

"OK, so I should keep, like, working on using my sword?" Kim asked.

"Yeah, let's keep going for a while. That was a good slash on the first ant, but looks like you put too much power in without enough control," Beth replied.

"Yep, learned that lesson, won't forget it any time soon. I'll try to slash without planting the sword in the ground," Kim said.

"This might sound crazy, but you should use both hands. Bastard swords can be used either one- or two-handed, and two hands would give you both more power and more control. Give it a try," Beth explained.

"I'll give it a go," Kim responded, gripping the hilt of her sword with two hands before asking, "What now?"

"Let's keep going through the woods towards the field behind it. Maybe we'll find more groups of level ones," Beth answered.

The two girls set out again, still heading roughly north through the woods. In another minute Beth's prediction came true, the two of them stumbling upon another group of ants. It was another brace, and Beth used Identify as both girls stopped.

Common Ant level 1

Common Ant level 1

"Give it a try," Beth said, looking around for some green leaves or a bush. She found a thickly leafed bush as Kim started approaching the ants and walked over to it. She grabbed a fistful of leaves and put the base of her claymore in them, then pulled the blade through the leaves, cleaning off most of the ant ichor. She then turned to watch Kim's fight.

Kim repeated the same tactics as last time but avoided the sword-in-the-ground trick. After stepping up to and decapitating the first ant, she stepped to the right, giving herself space to line up on the second ant. She repeated the same move again, stepping forward and to the right, planting her right foot facing the ant and pivoting on her left foot. She twisted her hips as she brought the sword down with both hands, lopping off the head of the second ant.

"Gross! Why the hell is it stupid ants!?" Kim cried out as she danced back, still getting some ant ichor on her left pantleg.

"That's why we have washing machines," Beth snickered in response. "Come over here and clean your sword off. It'll get dirty again, but we shouldn't just let the goo sit on it while we walk around; it'll be harder to clean later and could damage the blade…I think," Beth motioned to the bush she had used to clean her claymore.

Kim walked over and clumsily cleaned her sword off in the same manner. Afterwards, the two continued on again, Beth motioning now to the left. They walked for a little way before they encountered another group of ants. Using Identify brought the now typical results.

Common Ant level 1

Common Ant level 1

Kim didn't hesitate this time, walking forward with her sword held steadily in a two-handed grip, the tip of the blade visible to Beth above Kim's right shoulder. Kim moved forward into the first ant's charge, expertly stepping to the side and slicing the ant's head off cleanly. She stepped forward into the second ant, but instead of chopping its neck, she swept her sword in a quick semi-circle with the tip about a foot above the ground. The blade swept quickly from left-to-right, slicing through the ant's head, part of its thorax, and its front left leg.

Ichor sprayed out of the ant, and Kim quickly backpedaled, swearing quietly, "Shit, shit, shit." Ichor had practically coated the front of her jeans, leaving large areas entirely covered in the green substance.