Reality's Blade

Chapter 5: Strange Things Afoot

My sliced shirt had already fallen open leaving my wound exposed. I felt hands gently rest across my bare, bloodied stomach and chest. Warmth permeated my skin from the hands, the warmth spread and became a tingle, taking away the pain as it did so. The hands lifted and the sensation they had brought with them faded.

I removed my arm from my face, wiping away any traces of tears with my sleeve as I went and sat up. I stared for a moment at my cut, then ran my fingertips across it in amazement, for it was no longer there, only the bloody trail, my ruined clothes and battered confidence remained as evidence. I had been healed.

"Can you use healing magic?" I queried, while still inspecting the skin.

"Yeah." Hikage responded nonchalantly.

I'd never met a player who could use a skill outside of their chosen occupation. As a clear swordsman class, it was unsettling to see him able to utilise magic and craftsmanship, it made me wonder if the person I was dealing with was indeed a person at all. The thought sent a chill down my spine.

The physical pain had gone, but the weight constricting my chest and the lump in my throat couldn't be spirited away as easily.

"Why did you heal me? I thought you treat things like a real body?" I sounded bitter and sulky like a petulant child.

"Because I know you won't forget that feeling so easily."

He was right. I felt like my soul had been cut as well as my body. I put my head in my hands, feeling the bitterness swelling up again.

"Were you always going to cut me down? I mean you're clearly a higher level, I didn't stand a chance did I?" I laughed weakly, trying to hold back a fresh wave of tears and anguish.

There was silence, then a sigh, it was long and heavy. The sound warned me I wouldn't like what I was about to hear. My body felt tense as I waited for his words.

"I reduced my speed to that of a player at level 30." He said quietly.

I felt like I was drowning as the meaning of the words revealed their true nature. He wasn't fast... I was just that slow? Knowing that I had been given a fair chance made my defeat even more crushing. I didn't want to accept it.

For a bit, he left me to wallow in self-pity. After a while a hand clapped me on the back then gripped my upper arm, forcing me to my feet.

"That's enough of that. You need to understand your strengths and weaknesses, you won't get better by lying to yourself. You'll get faster in time, that's why we're training. So let's get you cleaned up. You can bathe in the lake water. We'll continue when you're done."

His soothing words took away some of the dull ache. I knew I'd get over it eventually. Every time this man knocked me down he pulled me back up again. I got the sense if I managed to keep standing up after every fall something would start to change, that perhaps I really would get stronger.

The lake water was refreshingly cool. I had abandoned the remains of my shirt and was instead using it as a wash cloth. Being topless was another thing I really wasn't used to, despite it not being my actual body I managed to feel embarrassed by my lack of muscle or definition in comparison to Hikage's. While I couldn't really remember the specifics of selecting my character's design, I was sure that the body was generic, you couldn't choose to be bulked up from the start.

I stood waist deep in the water splashing it over my shoulders, my light arm hair stood on end as the liquid trickled down my back, raising more goosebumps across my fair skin. I stopped for a moment, brushing my fingertips across the surface of the water and watching the reflected sky ripple in response.