Kyra emerged in a stone passageway. The gray walls were washed in a bluish hue by glowing crystals mounted in the ceiling. Animalistic noises drifted past. Straining her ears, she still couldn't quite make them out. But one thing was clear. They weren't alone.

  "What is this place?" she asked nervously.

  Benny was as calm as if they were taking a stroll through his kitchen. "Every dungeon is different. All you have to know for now is that they're filled with monsters. Unless they're killed, they will escape and overrun the world. You will be fighting them."

  "I don't know how to fight."

  "I will teach you."

  He held out his hand and pulled a sword out from the air. This one he tossed to her. She caught it by the scabbard and carefully drew the blade out. It was very real and very sharp.

  "How did you do that?" she asked.

  "You'll learn later."

  He produced a second sword and leaned it against the wall before reaching out one last time to withdrew several sheets of exquisite paper like the one in the car. "Have a read of these."

  Just like before, the pages disintegrated when she studied them.

  "What about the healing ability you used on me?" she asked.

  "You have to learn to walk before you can run," he replied. "I'll handle the healing for now."

  In other words, her life was in his hands.

  "You've never handled a sword before, have you? Give it a swing," he instructed.

  She set the scabbard aside and held the sword out in front of her. It felt so natural in her hands, like an extension of her body. Her practice swing flowed in one smooth arc, her feet and shoulders shifting into position without conscious effort, like she'd been training for years.

  This was the power of magically acquired abilities.

  The sword was so light that she could grip it in one hand. The other hand she stretched out ahead, and all she had to do was think it for bright orange flames to flare up around her fingers. It was hot enough that touching her palm to the dungeon wall caused the moisture in the stone to sizzle away and leave behind a dark mark.

  "You won't be able to use that much until you train up your mana," Benny warned. "Best save it for when you really need it."

  Mana. She'd just used magic. She still couldn't believe it was real.

  "How do I shoot fireballs?" she asked.

  "That only becomes possible at higher proficiency. For now, you'll only be able to burn something you can lay your hands on. But I want you to focus on your sword skills first. Get that up and we can move on to harder dungeons. We'll start by having you clear this one out."

  "I don't get a chance to practice first?"

  "Time is short. Every day we lose can make a difference."

  He was right. She didn't have the luxury of baby steps.

  Kyra led the way down the passageway, head brimming with confidence. Her entire life, she'd been a runner. Now she finally had the ability to fight back.

  After a couple of bends, a room came into view up ahead. She crept forward cautiously, hoping to catch a glimpse of what awaited her inside.

  But what was inside decided not to wait. There was a scramble of feet and then, snapping and snarling, a pack of creatures crowded into the passageway. They reminded her of wolves, though like none she'd ever seen before, as if someone had tried to crossbreed them with a bear. They were just big enough to that the ones at the back couldn't squeeze past the ones at the front to get at her, though this didn't stop them from trying and slowing everyone down.

  Coming up at the rear was their master, a goblin brandishing a machete. The metal sheets attached to its clothes like a form of crude armor only made it appear even more fearsome.

  Suddenly she wasn't so confident anymore. Looking around at Benny, she found him leaning impassively against the wall all the way back at the last bend. Catching her eye, he nodded toward the onrushing monsters. She was to handle this alone.

  Trusting in the abilities he'd gifted her, she took up her sword. The situation didn't seem so bad now that she'd given it some thought. The monsters were effectively restricted to fighting her one at a time. She just had to win five times in a row.

  The leading wolf pounced for her throat.

  She reacted quickly with her sword. A direct hit!

  Her excitement was short-lived when she discovered how thick and tough the hide turned out to be. Her sword hadn't sliced through.

  To make matters worse, her strike had also done little to blunt the creature's momentum. It collided with her in a meeting of claws and teeth and hair, and they skidded across the floor with its weight riding on top of her.

  The rough stone floor abrased her exposed skin, and her scalp felt like it was on fire.

  The fangs came for her face. Grabbing at the creature's head, in that moment there was only one thought in her mind, and her body responded by unleashing its strongest ability.

  The wolf tried to pull away from the flames, and she tightened her grip as flesh and fur melted around her fingers. Its squeals of pain reverberated up and down the passageways until it could make the sound no more.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Kyra didn't get a chance to catch her breath before the next creature was already on her, jaws snapping at her neck. She managed to catch it with a flailing fist, and that was enough to make it pull back.

  Back on her feet, she kept her sword between them.

  The creature, having tasted her fire, was more cautious and shied away from whichever side she waved her flaming hand.

  The ear where she'd clipped it was charred and misshapen. She hadn't realized her fire was capable of doing so much damage on such brief contact.

  Behind the wolf, its remaining friends were still pushing to get at her, while the goblin patiently waited its turn.

  This wasn't anything like she'd expected. She wanted to cry.

  At this point Benny decided to offer up a bit of advice.

  "You lack the strength to slash through their hide, but a thrust could work if you put all your weight behind it."

  "How about some healing?" she yelled back over her shoulder.

  "I warned you not to rely too much on your fire," he continued, ignoring her request. "You're about to run out of mana."

  As if on cue, her flames died.

  Her eyes met with the wolf's. There was a moment of hesitation as if it was wary of a trick. But a shout from the goblin cut through its doubts and it lunged viciously at her.

  She had no options left but to trust in Benny's advice. That meant meeting the lunge with her own. Her feet moved in accordance with her intentions, and her arms drew her sword back, applying both hands to the hilt and putting all her strength behind it.

  The wolf twisted its body in midair to no avail, as her sword point was directed into its neck. Its own momentum worked against it, combining with hers to drive the blade deep into a vital artery.

  This time she kept her footing and was fully prepared when the next creature took its turn. The third wolf fell the same way as the one before, and the fourth didn't get a chance to react before she was already on top of it, bringing her full weight down on her sword until it too fell dead.

  It was down to just the goblin. This one had some intelligence behind its eyes. Not only did it keep a cautious distance, it was also eyeing Benny up behind her. She half expected it to run away now that its pets were dead. But that wasn't to be.

  From the moment the goblin closed in, the difference in experience was clear. It was so nimble, she may as well have been slashing at air. A few times her blade made contact just to glance harmlessly off the metal sheets adorning the creature's clothes.

  At the same time, she was receiving blow after blow across her body. Her only saving grace was the goblin's lack of strength and that its weapon was unsuited for the tight quarters, where it couldn't get enough power into its swing to cut through her clothes. The thick fabric turned out to good for protecting against more than just the cold.

  The problem was that she was slowing down, having already expended so much effort against the wolves.

  If this kept on, she was sure to lose. She had to end this quickly.

  She put everything into the next maneuver. Feint to the left and then duck to the right. The goblin slashed into her feint! This left it wide open, and she lunged at it with every ounce of strength remaining in her legs while her hands lined her sword up squarely with the goblin's neck.

  This strategem might have worked, had she tried it at the very start. Now she was too worn down. Her legs lacked in power, her lunge much too slow. The nimble goblin easily stepped aside and swung its arms, at last able to execute the perfect uninterrupted arc to drive the machete down into her shoulder.

  Pain burned through her neck. Hot blood spilled from her body. Her world went red.

  Her actions no longer carried any thought behind them. Everything was sheer desperation and rage and the crazed certainty she'd suffered a mortal wound.

  She tackled the goblin. Rammed it into the wall. It was beating at her with its puny fists, the machete still lodged in her body.

  She still had one good shoulder, good enough to raise her sword. The goblin's beating grew frantic, matching the rhythm of her heart. Its neck was right there. Fear in those intelligent eyes.

  It was done.

  Exhaustion overtook her.

  On her back.

  Dying.

  How many times must a girl die in one day?

  What a pathetic performance.

  Benny must regret saving her.

  There that devil was, looking down on her. That same passive, emotionless face. Not even the decency to look concerned. She was just a pawn. To be used and thrown away. The life of an individual didn't matter to him.

  His hand was on her neck. Her thoughts were fading away.

  At least the pain was fading too. It shouldn't be long now.

  Maybe he'll give her proper help next time. Not that it matters.

  Benny stepped away from her.

  "Get up," he commanded.

  He was too unreasonable.

  Kyra rolled over to her hands and knees and pushed herself to her feet with surprising ease. Her body was like new. How did she forget about Benny's healing magic?

  "Your first kills. How does it feel?" he asked.

  Looking at the corpses, thoughts that had been suppressed by the urgency of the moment now broke through the dam and flooded her mind. She stood there silently, allowing each one to take its turn until they came to a consensus.

  But this time what she was left with was a swirling complex that refused to settle down into an easy shape.

  Despite how close the monsters had come to undoing her, she felt no animosity for them or their kind. She was the intruder here. These creatures were just defending their home.

  It was just an unfortunate fact that they couldn't be left alone, or else they would spill over into the world. No doubt this had something to do with the human extinction Benny was trying to stop.

  She remembered as a child reading about hunters putting down tigers that had tracked too close to human settlements. She'd felt it was unfair as she loved tigers and hated humans. Her perspective later changed when she'd gotten lost in the wilderness. She still loved tigers as long as she was somewhere safe.

  Benny wanted her to be like those hunters. And that made these monsters' deaths a sad necessity.

  He was waiting for her answer. But if she told him the truth, it could make him rethink her usefulness to him. He might think she didn't have what it took to succeed.

  "What did I say last time?" she asked.

  "You evaded my question then too."

  She retrieved her sword and was looking around for somewhere to wipe the blood off the blade when she felt his hand on her shoulder.

  "You fought well," he said. "But you mustn't allow yourself to die carelessly. Every time I use my power to reverse time, it comes at a cost."

  "What cost is that?" she asked.

  Instead of answering her question, Benny turned to the corpses lining the hallway. "One still suffers. You should put it out of its misery."

  She followed his gaze but couldn't see it. It was impossible that any of the monsters survived their injuries.

  When he made no further move to point out the creature, she realized that this was part of her training. All this time there was an ability she forgot to use. Appraisal.

  Kyra turned her eyes to the goblin. Words appeared in her mind just like when she acquired her abilities. They identified what she was looking at as a goblin tamer corpse. The wolves turned out to be pit wolves. Three were corpses. One was different.

  How foolish she was. Benny had given her all the tools she needed to succeed. Had it ever occurred to her to appraise the monsters in battle, it could have gone a lot smoother.

  When she ended the poor creature's suffering, its status changed to a corpse.

  She adjusted her clothes, which had grown uncomfortably sticky from all the blood. The fabric was holding together surprisingly well, given how torn up it was.

  Kneeling by the goblin's corpse, she tugged at the metal sheets and found them riveted to its shirt. It wouldn't be easy to attach them to her own.

  "What are you doing?" Benny asked.

  "I could use some proper armor," she replied.

  He shook his head. "Armor is a crutch. By sustaining injuries, you can develop natural armor."

  She gave him a look like he'd just sprouted two heads. She had to suffer through this over and over again?

  "Check your abilities," he said.

  She turned appraisal on herself.

  The notification automatically adjusted to show only what she wanted to see. Among the list of abilities was something new. "Evasion?"

  "You can gain new abilities and grow fastest in battle," he said. "Are you ready to move on to the next room?"

  Before replying, there was something she wanted to try. She focused intently on Benny.