A light breeze and the warm aroma of freshly-baked bread greets Sammy and I as we depart shortly after dawn the following morning. A few clouds on the horizon - it doesn`t look like an oncoming storm, though I consider the possibility for a few minutes and think about the geography if we need to make a sudden detour.

　　There`s the Pesto Forest a bit east of the main road once we pass north of Mt. Minestrone and a few smaller peaks, and a bit of a detour to the west would put us close to the Sauteed Springs. It`s not normally accessible in-game until much later thanks to a few patches of rocky terrain on the overworld, but I get a feeling we can sneak across them when not bound by insurmountable knee-high fences. And the idea of a nice relaxing dip in a natural hot spring with Sammy does sound delightful, but I`m not holding my breath.

　　I rotate my sword arm and suffer neither pain nor stiffness, and a quick glance at my status screen confirms that both Sammy and I returned to maximum health and mana overnight. In any case, we have a long day of travel ahead of us and I`d prefer not to be traveling after sunset - the monsters that normally inhabit this stretch of the continent are nothing noteworthy, but I`ve already experienced enough deviations from what I know to let my guard down.

　　Morning is uneventful. We encounter a few small animals and weak monsters which know better than to attack us. A nice addition to the game that was missing from a lot of others of that time period. Oh my goodness, it`s so annoying once you`re high level, coming back to early-game towns and having to mow down walls after walls of low-level random encounters. It`s like they`re just lining up to impale themselves on your weaponry. Do they have any sense of self-preservation?

　　Though, my hopes for continued easy travel are dashed as eight Animated Armors appear from behind some nearby trees. Each of them as one would expect from the name - a suit of slightly rusted armor and a gray, iron-wrought sword given primitive sentience by fell enchantments of some sort. Nothing particularly threatening with our current stats on their own, though the numbers give me some pause. I`m confident in my ability to dodge or tank their attacks for hours, though Sammy is still frail and still a few levels away from her first heal spell.

　　"Sammy," I cry out. "Fall back and don`t let yourself get surrounded!"

　　"Oh no you don`t! Don`t you dare pull that I`ll protect you` crap! We are a team. And I don`t need a damn hero in shining armor to go hurt herself yet again while telling me to stand back and stand on the sideline. I am fighting alongside you, whether you like it or not!"

　　I pull my blade out and stand in front of her as the Armors approach. "I know. And I wouldn`t want to fight alone either. But you can attack at long range a lot more easily than I can! If you feel overwhelmed, let`s fall back and regroup!"

　　We turn to each other and nod before I charge at the formation`s left flank. With a single slash, I break the automaton`s guard, and with a thrust, crumple through the shoddy, cracked armor like wet paper. A follow-up attack severs its helmet from the rest of its armor, and with a sickening shriek, the enchantment controlling the suit of armor fails. Individual pieces of metal clang against each other as they fall to the ground, and as soon as I confirm the monster is vanquished, I scan the remainder of the battlefield.

　　"Triple Firebolt!" Sammy cries out as three orbs of orangered flame appear and fly toward the four constructs surrounding her. Three of them take direct hits, while the fourth takes minor damage from the splashing flames. Each of them is temporarily stunned, but quickly recovers and approaches her even more swiftly.

　　Damn! The other three have taken positions around me and are preventing my reaching her. And I`m hesitant to rely on Vacuum Slash as I really don`t want to risk hurting Sammy. That leaves Taunt, though I`m not sure if it works on non-sentient creatures. Still, it`s worth a shot. I doubt any comment regarding my sexual proclivities is going to be particularly useful against constructs which& aren`t. And merely calling them weak seems a bit tepid. Though the glint of light reflecting off my sword`s edge gives me an idea.

　　"Hey you filthy assholes!" I yell. "Your swords are rusty, dull, and worthless! Their craftsmanship puts even the most apprentice of blacksmiths to shame. It brings disrepute down upon their families, and they curse the families of any soldier desperate enough to wield such trash! Here`s a real sword worth a damn! Come and get it, if you can!"

　　Somehow, it actually works. Taunt actually being useful again? Maybe something to try back home. If I can get back. I shake the thoughts as I lunge forward, taking advantage of their miscoordination as they pile toward me, running into and against each other in a rage-fueled frenzy. I backstep slightly and take a defensive stance, preparing my assault.

　　"Lightning Strike!" Sammy calls out, followed by the entire cluster freezing in place. I hadn`t even considered the option of grouping them together and pelting them with area of effect magic. In truth, apart from healing magic, most of the spells in the game are pretty useless from a speedrunning perspective. It`s not that they`re bad, per se, but the spell animations are so slow that frontline melee is the way to go, ninety-eight times out of a hundred.

　　Four of the seven creatures - the ones injured from her last attack - fall to the ground, and I waste no time in dispatching the remaining three, then stabbing my blade through each pile of armor to ensure that whatever force animating or reanimating them is fully excised from this world. The two of us turn to each other, and Sammy`s face erupts with a shit-eating smirk.

　　"I told you that I was going to help, didn`t I, Ash?"

　　I nod, keeping my eyerolling purely in my mind. "You did help, and I appreciate it." I certainly don`t appreciate the haughty attitude, but considering my lack of physical wounds this time around, I shrug off the slight.

　　Though another band of Animated Armors, this time ten of them, has me worried. I`m aware that they exist in the game, but these are supposed to be the rare, strong monsters for the region, to be fought only very rarely, and never in groups of more than two at once. Something is definitely very wrong here. Is it this sword? That woman? Some force actively opposing my trying to break the plot and force me to play by the world`s rules? I don`t know, but I feel a sense of defiance and newfound strength wash over me as our battle concludes.

　　Experience: 6087

　　To Next: 613The author`s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

　　Experience: 6009

　　To Next: 691

　　Ashley Lancaster

　　Level 12

　　Samantha Relford

　　Level 12

　　HP:

　　732 / 811

　　HP:

　　568 / 568

　　MP:

　　106 / 121

　　MP:

　　121 / 174

　　"So, what do you want to do about that cluster of Armors over there," Sammy asks? "Same strategy as before?"

　　"Let`s wait a bit first. Make sure we`re fully prepared for battle before we charge right in."

　　"And you think they`re just going to stand around and let us regroup before they attack."

　　I sigh. "If I said, yes, they absolutely will, would you believe me?" After all, there`s never any random encounters until you`ve moved a predetermined number of steps. As long as we don`t approach, they will stay right there as well.

　　"If you turn out to be wrong, I swear to the goddess herself with you as my witness, I am going to strangle you down to your last point of health and drag you to Rotini! Do you hear me, Ash?"

　　I gulp as I slowly nod. "I understand."

　　We take a few moments to stretch and plan our battle strategy, and sure enough, though the ten constructs eye us menacingly, none make any attempt to engage in hostilities as we finalize battle preparations. Before we initiate the battle, I reach in my inventory and pull out one of my chunks of orichalcum ore, handing it to Sammy.

　　"Keep it with you," I say. "If things get bad, it can protect you."

　　With a shared nod, the two of us walk into the incoming onslaught. Ten soulless husks approach, ten suits of armor dancing to the strings of an unseen puppetmaster. Ten future piles of scrap after the two of us finish.

　　I lead the assault, charging forward, hurling two consecutive Vacuum Slashes ahead of me to soften up the vanguard, while Sammy pelts the flanks with her Triple Firebolt spell to keep me from getting surrounded. Metal clashes with metal, but while my blade, enchanted and well-forged, keeps its honed edge and even temper, the blades of my spectral adversaries quickly fold, losing their edge and suffering innumerable nicks and imperfections as we engage in our dance of blades.

　　It`s an addicting feeling, and it terrifies me as I dart to and fro with supernatural celerity far beyond even the fastest sprinters back on Earth. Even though the armored specters swing faster than any swordmaster back home, I watch them as though viewing in a slow-motion camera, easily seeing each of their attack patterns, able to sidestep, parry, and counter with ease. And before long, three more of these abominations return to the dust of the earth.

　　With the forces now cut down to a more manageable number, I execute our strategy from earlier. I leap with my full might, rocketing up above the nearby pair of trees, and yell out to Sammy. She nods before unleashing two consecutive Lightning Strikes, each of which arc off the conductive metal, shocking and temporarily paralyzing the entire encounter. A few quick slashes upon landing on the ground are sufficient to lay waste to the few remaining metal shells still functional.

　　I leap up one more time to survey the surroundings. The sun is now high overhead, beginning its descent to the west, and near the horizon lies the town of Rotini, the biggest city for trade and commerce in the southern portion of the Bolognese kingdom. Probably a two hour walk - quick enough that we`ll easily beat the sunset. Though, upon seeing no hostile presences along the remainder of the path, I get an idea.

　　"Sammy," I say. "We`ve gotten a lot stronger since we set out from Penne a week ago. And I`d like to see how much stronger-"

　　"Oh, no you don`t, Ash! The next words out of your mouth better not have anything to do with us fighting each other! Because if they are, only the goddess herself will stay my hand from running itself right across your face!"

　　I smile. "I know better than to test you on that threat by now. I was going to suggest a friendly little race. It`s about a two hour walk from here to Rotini. But I bet we could run it in ten minutes without much trouble."

　　"Ten minutes? Surely you`re just spouting nonsense."

　　"Sammy, you literally just conjured lightning out of your fingers and fried a bunch of suits of metal held together by some twisted enchantments not five minutes ago, and now you`re trying to tell me that I`m the one spouting nonsense?"

　　"Well, um&"

　　"Besides, I`m starting to get kinda hungry and I`d rather not have to scrounge around for who-knows what! It`ll probably be more strawberries. I think I`ve had quite enough for one month!"

　　"I`m surprised you haven`t turned into a strawberry yet, Ash. Little seeds growing out of your skin and all. But sure, why not? It sounds like fun. On your mark, get set, and go!"

　　Before I even notice, she`s already long gone, with only a cloud of dust in her wake. My eyes water, my throat burns, and I`m disoriented for a moment, but have no intentions to give her a victory. I stow my sword in my inventory before charging down the road after her.

　　"No way I`m going to abide by that cheap trick! You hear that, Sammy? You`re going down!"

　　Experience: 7587

　　To Next: 1163

　　Experience: 7509

　　To Next: 1241

　　Ashley Lancaster

　　Level 13

　　Samantha Relford

　　Level 13

　　HP:

　　542 / 878

　　HP:

　　634 / 634

　　MP:

　　65 / 135

　　MP:

　　34 / 189

　　Learned Skill:

　　Sworderang

　　Learned Skill:

　　Heal