The two reincarnators spent every moment in a haze of frenetic activity. They understood the looming threat and knew the benefits of preparation. Every moment was thrown into training. Teaching the girls was the simplest part of the day. It was an exercise in frustration for sure – they were six, and attempting to apply military-level discipline was a struggle, but the girls were trying and that was all that they could really ask. Emotions aside, those sessions were the restful ones, as they were nowhere near as physically or mentally draining as what they threw themselves into when they had time to train for their own personal development.


    For Tom, that included focusing on evolving Power Strike into a technique he could use remotely. It was a similar approach to the way he had developed Instant Strike, but with a less dedicated training arena. There was no magical floor that didn’t exist when he struck through it but existed a moment later when he stood on it. There was nothing like that, nothing that defied reality, but Adam did his best. Four constructs were repurposed and programmed by the administrator to help him. They wielded spears and performed the same moves as he did in parallel. Sometimes there was a comfortable distance between them where they stood metres away from him, and then there were the other periods where they got so close to him that they were like a second skin. Every movement was mirrored perfectly, and when he thrust forward, another spear moved next to it, just centimetres away from his own strike.


    The repetition was literally painful - the micro tears that opened up would have crippled his training volume had Touch Heal not gotten a workout keeping both him and Kang going.


    Tom kept the memory of the activation of Instant Strike clear in his mind the entire time. As he trained with the constructs, as he thrust and activated Power Strike, it was easy enough to imagine his spear and one or more of the weapons moving in parallel, with it being empowered at the same time. Either that, or, occasionally, his own spear remaining untouched while the one an inch away from it got tagged instead.


    The training was much like what he had gone through for Instant Strike. He went through the motions and performed to the best of his ability, but with no tangible progress. While he could imagine the weapon next to his own being affected, he never saw the flare of blue light over it, one that would have proved his success.


    Drenched in sweat, he pulled up for a short break and used his free cast of Touch Heal to first mend his legs and then arm muscles before addressing the signs of overwork, such as lactic acid build-up. Nearly all the ten bonus mana was sucked up by the attempt. That gave him some pause. That much mana was sufficient to heal what would otherwise have been a mortal wound. He hadn’t realised he had been training for long enough to need that level of support.


    “You’ve been doing the same thing for almost an hour.” A small voice from the side of the room said.


    He glanced at Briana. “Have I really?”


    “Uh, hah. Is this a reincarnator thing?”


    Tom, at the wash area in the corner turned on the tap and splashed it all over himself, mainly to wash off the sweat. “Is what a reincarnator thing? The training?”


    “Yes. Your doing the same thing over and over again. What’s the point?”


    “It’s just like your magic. You have to practice until you can do it perfectly. It takes time.”


    “Nah, ha. None of them took this long.”


    “Agreed. Spells don’t require this much effort. Unfortunately, I don’t have a perfect shortcut to give me what I want.”


    “Why?”


    “Because I’m developing a skill. That’s a flex of a soul. I basically have to build the muscle up from scratch. Repetition reinforces lessons and brings me closer to success.”


    “So, are you doing it because you’re a reincarnator? Because you’re an adult?”


    He stopped and looked her straight in the eye. There had been something in her tone that unsettled him.


    “I’m the same person I’ve always been, Bir. I’m still Ta, I have always been Ta, and, while I’ve grown up a little, I’m still that boy.” He sighed. “It doesn’t take a genius to understand where you’re coming from. If I were in your place, I’d have been confused, too; but I’m still Ta. I’m not training this hard because I’m reincarnator. I’m doing it because any advantage I can get, no matter how small, could make the difference. This trial is of a life-or-death kind. Everything and anything I can do will help.”


    He finished washing off, and, when he looked back, Briana was still watching him.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    “Are we going to die?”


    “I hope not, and both Kang and I are doing everything we can do to stop it.”


    “Can you help me train better?”


    “At what?”


    She looked away, embarrassed. “Fighting. Using spears, maybe magic, I don’t know. Can you just help me be stronger?”


    “Briana, the most crucial thing you should do is listen and avoid the monsters. There is nothing you can conceivably do to get strong enough to make a difference.”


    “I know that, Tom!” she shouted. “But I want to get stronger. Can you help?”


    “Um… Magic I’m not the best at that, but,” he scratched his head. “I think I can probably help with Spear fighting. Here, let me show you. Copy all my movements.” He remembered the kata that April had used that shadowy figure to show him, and he went through the same motions. “Learn to do all these.”


    “And this will make me good?”


    Tom laughed at that question. “With a lot of work, yes.”


    It didn’t help with immediate objectives, and he could tell that Kang was frowning at him even if he never said anything, but his routine changed. Briana joined him morning and night to have her form corrected. Each session only took ten minutes, and it was worthwhile, if only in that it helped to normalise their relationship.


    His day consisted equally of group strategy training, spell and skill development, and using Living Wood to augment the weapons they had available. Tom was significantly better off than Kang, who had to enhance all the metal in their armour. His job mainly consisted of enhancing the handles of weapons and spears.


    Lots of spears.


    The method that Baptiste had shown him became a large focus of his as he changed the nature of the wood, bringing out the inherent properties to improve quality. An experimental change caused a shaft to become lighter without losing strength. For most purposes that was a negative, as, while the heft of the weapon was important, by shortening the shaft he turned them into lethal javelins. It was a significant achievement, but at odds with his main effort, which was to make the wood denser, which proved to be both more challenging and time-consuming. After finishing each spear, he would engrave a fancy motif into them and gift them to the girls. Each of them had quite the collection built up. Half a dozen spears, each of which could have been considered to be a piece of art. Kang thought it was ridiculous, but, after complaining on the first day, he let it go.


    After that, he just observed and didn’t make any criticisms. The other reincarnator was too clever. He knew Tom was up to something, which was annoying. He would have preferred it if the other man had remained oblivious.


    Another two weeks passed, consumed by the haze of focused activity. At ten o’clock sharp just like every other day, they gathered to do their formation practice.


    “It’s our last day in this room,” Kang enthused. “Let’s do everything perfect, so that this afternoon we will be able to move to the dynamic environment.”


    The girls committed the same number of mistakes as usual, but Kang praised them and marvelled at their improvement. Tom joined in, but, just like with the gaslighting, he struggled and was a lot less vocal than the other man.


    They finished up, and Tom made a point of pulling out five of the spears that he had created, then storing them back into his soul storage.


    “Kang. I’m not sure I’ve got enough spears.”


    The other boy’s eyes flashed to the girls. “You could take back the ones that you’ve…”


    “Don’t be silly,” he interrupted hurriedly.


    “It’s a simple solution. They don’t need more than one.”


    Multiple arcs of lightning crackled from his fingers to slam into the ceiling. There were four separate bolts - Spark, Bolt, Extended Lightning Bolt and, finally, the combination of his trash spells. “Pretty,” he declared.


    Kang had jumped in response to the noise and glowered at him. “That wasn’t necessary.”


    “Don’t worry about it. I’m not stealing from the girls. I’ll be fine with less.”


    “What game are you…” Kang started.


    “Let’s spar,” Tom countered, and interrupted the others boy’s speech with a punch.


    A Quick Step took Kang back and out of the fight. He opened his mouth to continue the discussion, and that wasn’t something Tom could allow. A single point of mana through Spark caused Kang’s leg to spasm. The other boy had many positives, but he lacked a way to counter Tom’s electricity.


    Outrage filled Kang’s eyes as he stumbled under the surprise attack. Tom took advantage to land a punch on the face.


    “You cheating maggot.” Any semblance of control vanished as Kang launched himself into the fight.


    Tom smiled as their earlier topic was forgotten. Danger Sense countered everything Kang tried. The difference in attributes was significant, but it was not enough to matter. He estimated there to be a three-attribute gap in strength and two in agility between them. That compounded to give Kang a twenty percent physical advantage, but that did not bridge the information disadvantage.


    The other boy threw a punch and overbalanced. Tom was able to step under him and then judo-throw him to the ground.


    Kang, who was breathing heavily, didn’t jump up to restart the fight. Instead, gasping for air, he pinned Tom with an angry glare. “You didn’t have to sucker punch me at the start.”


    “I did to.” He countered with mock annoyance. “I’m the one who gets injured in these mock fights.”


    “You won.”


    “But not cleanly so. The gap between us is too high. I get pummelled, but can react quickly enough to stop you landing anything significant, and then, when you get tired, you tap out before I can return the favour.”


    “Well, take more risks and land more blows earlier.”


    Tom considered that for a moment. “Nah, I’m happy to be defensive and ensure the win.”


    Kang laughed at that. “Then stop complaining like a girl.” He flinched and checked the room, but the other two weren’t present.


    “You seriously didn’t notice them leave?” He asked incredulously.


    “I did. I just… shut up.”


    Tom grinned. “What do you think they’re doing?”


    Kang shrugged. “Hopefully training. Come on, let’s see.”


    They found them in the padded room, playing tag with the single construct. It chased them while they used acrobatics and, in Eloise’s case, her Force Step to stay ahead of it.


    “They’ve been good,” Kang said quietly as he pushed Tom back and shut the door. “Let them play for a bit.