"The Blitz is late again," Jerry said, his voice grave.

  Hunter hadn't noticed Jerry arrive. When he turned, he saw the man's thousand-yard stare. Jerry's usually well-kept Viking-like hair was disheveled.

  George looked unaffected after hearing the news, and as he replied, "So?"

  Jerry didn't seem to notice or was used to these conversations. "Well, you know how things have been escalating lately,"

  Jerry glanced at Hunter, unsure whether he should say this with Hunter here, but he continued. "I'm getting worried that things are starting to become exponential."

  George breathed a long-suffering sigh, "Spit it out. If it's that bad, words won't change it."

  Hunter noticed Jerry again glance at him before looking to relax somewhat. "You're right, I think this next Blitz, they'll have to call the Adventurer's Guild. And the one after that? Worse. We have some high tiers in the city, but can they really hold back something like this?"

  "Do your job. That's it." George said, voice clipped.

  “But we hav..” Jerry started, then looked down mumbling "You're…. Right,"

  Hunter was unraveling what they were saying but wanted to clarify, so he asked, "So the blitz of monsters is getting worse, and you think the city will get overrun?"

  Voicing this made Jerry pale again. George responded for both of them, saying, "Looks that way."

  Hunter was confused. "Why now? Why is this happening all of a sudden?"

  Jerry's mouth formed a line as he looked pensive. "There are too many variables at play to be sure. It could just be the mana well, it could be the researchers guild's projects. We aren't high enough in the guild to get all the information, but at this point, I don't think anyone knows."

  George shook his head. "Nothing we can do. Watch or don't."

  Students started filtering in, and Jerry excused himself, letting George take the first half.

  George waited for everyone to settle before saying, "Today, we train the mind."

  To Hunter's surprise, George pulled a board game out of his inventory. As he explained it, the basics of the game related to city resource management. They were all pitted against each other as competitors allowed to get resources, which were customers based upon their supply chain, product quality, and delivery timeliness.

  The game was surprisingly tricky; players could undercut each other based on the supply chains they secured.

  Hunter wasn't sure how any of these games were related to battle, so he asked, "How will this help me fight monsters?"

  A few other people nodded as if they were wondering the same thing, but George seemed unfazed as he explained. "A fight isn't just about strength. It's about resources, timing, and outmaneuvering your enemy. This game forces you to think ahead, manage what you have, and exploit weaknesses just like in a battle. If you can outthink your opponent here, you can do it when your life's on the line."

  Hunter caught himself slipping again. This wasn't Earth. Like a punch in the gut, he was reminded of his own mortality. There was no reset button, no save file. People died for real here.

  As it turns out, strategic and logistical games weren't his forte, just like on Earth. He didn't get last but ended up getting undercut or bluffed out of a deal just so a competitor could take advantage.

  Jerry returned looking more put together; he waited silently until they were done, then led them downstairs.

  Once he had them before the mat again, he said. "I'm sure you have all heard about the increase in monsters around lately, so I will be accelerating our training so that you may be able to defend yourselves in an emergency."

  "Does that mean we will be training against harder monsters?" asked Vell excitedly.

  Jerry nodded. "It does. This also means I will be critiquing your every move, so don't take it personally; instead, take it in stride and learn."

  Vell was eager to go first, so Jerry let him. This time, a dark brown swirl collided with green, making a bear-like monster appear. It looked like a grizzly with a longer snout, almost like an alligator, and a sharp, spiky tail.

  Upon appearing, Vell took a few steps back to the edge of the invisible wall, his hand shaking. "A Salager, I can't fight that!" he said, fear drenching his words.

  Jerry's usual calm voice was gone. Instead, he barked like a drill sergeant. "You're fighting a much stronger monster now, so adapt. This is something better to learn now than on the battlefield!"

  This seemed to break Vell from his fear enough for him to raise his sword. He walked forward slowly, edging ever closer to the enemy.

  The Salager looked uneven on its feet as it walked, almost as if it had a limp already.

  Almost within striking distance, the beast reacted and pushed off its back legs, propelling its large body in a dash toward Vell.

  Vell waited almost too long to dodge, but was able to slash it as he passed a small cut oozing dark smoke settling to the ground. He continued backpedaling until he had more room between them.

  The monster spun to face Vell again, claw digging into the mat, leaving deep gouges.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  Then Hunter realized that the Salager didn't have a limp but was walking on its fist like a gorilla. It also had longer arms than legs, leading to large swinging attacks.

  Vell took the initiative, striking while sidestepping a fist thrown at him. A mist of smoke poured from a deeper cut.

  Backpedaling again, Vell was panting already, the light red pulse visible from him using a strength-enhancing bracelet.

  Vell didn't let that slow him down; he ran in again, ready to try the same strategy.

  The monster growled gutturally.

  It swung in a long arc, catching Vell.

  Vell rocketed into the wall, his shield flashing a bright blue twice, once when he was hit and again when he hit the wall.

  Jerry hit a button, causing the monster to turn to smoke.

  Vell was slumped in a pile on the ground. In a single instance, Jerry was next to him.

  Jerry sighed, "He's fine, just knocked out; now, who is next?"

  Hunter wasn't keen on going any time soon, but when no one volunteered, he was chosen.

  Hunter's hands shook as he picked up the same mace from yesterday. He tried to focus his mind but stopped just before walking onto the mat. He turned and asked, " What are this monster's skills?"

  Jerry smiled. "You just said the magic words."

  He clicked on his tablet, and a list of two skills appeared: intimidate and powerful strike.

  "It is up to anyone who is fighting to research or ask about what they are fighting; if Vell had asked before fighting, he might have had a different battle."

  Jerry explained that intimidate made the monster seem much stronger than it was. It was purely a mental skill, so as long as you were aware of it, it wouldn't have much effect, but the second was a physical ability that increased the monster's next attack.

  A new screen appeared with the monster's weak points. Jerry pointed out that like the Porolf, this monster's stomach and eyes were very vulnerable, and its back and sides were slightly less so.

  Hunter glanced at his strength bracelet. One day of training wasn't enough to improve his stamina. With a sigh, he stored it and stepped onto the mat.

  Colors clashed before the beast stared down its long snout at him.

  Hunter activated his amplify ability, and a blue hue came from the tip of his mace, extending its sharp points.

  This beast acted differently from the Porolf. As Hunter walked to his left, the beast just stood there watching him.

  Suddenly, Hunter felt his heartbeat start racing, and he felt slightly dizzy as sweat beaded his brow.

  The Salager pushed off its back legs.

  Hunter could feel reverberations off the floor from the large monster rushing his way.

  The monster was only a few feet away.

  Hunter ran away from the fast-moving monster.

  The beast rushed past, clawing the mat to slow itself.

  Hunter shook his head, refocusing on the fight. The feeling of doom lifted as he fully regained his attention.

  Walking toward the monster, Hunter readied his first strike.

  The monster knuckle walked diagonally toward Hunter's unarmed side.

  Hunter was only a few feet away.

  Swinging at him, Hunter swung to meet the monster's extended left arm.

  A crunching, grinding sound reverberated as his mace collided with the monster's fist.

  Hunter was slightly better off. His swing did not fully come to a stop, and he stepped forward, using the momentum of the mace to hit the same arm's shoulder.

  The monster's shoulder crunched under the blow.

  The beast let out a hissing sound.

  Hunter jumped back immediately, the beast missing a swing at Hunter from its good arm.

  The monster tried to rest on its damaged arm, but its shoulder slipped past the joint, making a grinding sound.

  The Salager hissed again, then let out a low guttural growl, and it rushed at Hunter straight on.

  Hunter sidestepped, mace ready to counter.

  A flash of movement caught his vision.

  A flash of blue. Then, pain like a car slammed into him.

  Lights flickered as his vision twisted. Another flash. Another.

  Trying to regain himself, he tried to focus his spiraling vision.

  His weapon was gone.

  Blinking again, he felt like he was being run over.

  The beast stood above him, striking him repeatedly.

  Hunter held his breath as the monster pounded on his shield,

  Everything froze as the Salager turned the color of charcoal and crumbled into dust, which settled around him, slowly evaporating.

  Closing his eyes, Hunter felt the pins and needles striking his body every time he breathed. He opened his eyes just to close them again when the lights seemed to burn them; he felt like someone was hitting his head with a brick.

  High-pitch ringing encompassed him, but slowly, it echoed into the distance, the sound slowly fading.

  Hunter opened his eyes. He couldn't see anything; it looked like a plastic film over his eyes. He rubbed them, shaking his head to get rid of the cloudiness, but he immediately regretted it as his world spun, and he felt nausea set in.

  He breathed slowly, willing himself not to throw up as he continued to blink the haziness away.

  Hunter finally could make out where he was. He was lying down in the above-ground open structure. He gave himself a moment and then tried sitting up.

  A dull throbbing greeted him as he felt the onset of a headache, but it was tolerable; Hunter felt sore all over. "What happened?" he mumbled.

  The question lingered until a quiet, calm voice answered. "Jerry let his emotions control him."

  Hunter turned his head, seeing George sitting next to him. "I thought I had a shield."

  "You did."

  Hunter wanted to be mad, but pain stole the anger. "Then what happened?"

  George let the question stand for a few moments before responding. "The shield spreads the hit."

  “Great. Human punching bag. Exactly what I signed up for.” Hunter chuckled and then winced. 'Ow.' His chest throbbed, reminding him to take it slow.

  Hunter closed his eyes, only opening them again once light no longer felt like dipping his eyes in acid. He sat up slowly, feeling how strained his body was.

  His body ached all over, a familiar pain that reminded him of a previous injury. He had fallen off a roof while fixing it, landing on a fence. His friend Hunter drove him to the hospital, where he learned he had internal bleeding.

  This thought brought on a feeling of panic, "What if I have internal bleeding in this world? Do I just die?"

  Hunter's face must have registered fear since George said. "It won't happen again."

  Hunter broke from his train of thought and became confused, but George finally stood up. He turned before walking off, saying, "No training the next few days."

  Hunter sighed in relief. As eager as he was to catch up to everyone at this rate, the training would tear him apart.

  Eventually, Hunter pushed to his feet using one of the pillars. He wobbled unsteadily as he tried to take his first step. His leg started to give out, but an arm reached around him, catching him.

  Looking down, Hunter saw Jerry's Viking hair as the man held him up. "Sorry, man." He said, "I have no excuse to put my students in danger like that."

  Hunter wanted to be mad; he really did, but everything still felt dull, as if his emotions had been leveled to a monotone. "It's fine; at least I'm alive."

  "For now," Jerry said, but faltered at saying that, backpedaling. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that; the blitz has me worried."

  As they started moving toward where Hunter and Derek were staying, Hunter asked, "Why does this blitz worry you so much?"

  Jerry continued in silence, passing a few buildings before he responded, “You don’t get it. Th-th…this is worse than people think. The city… if we don’t stop whatever’s causing this.”

  Jerry started shaking, some laughter escaping as he added, "There is no escape from this city.”

  Jerry clenched his fists. “We’re trapped. One way in, one way out. No escape."

  Dread washed over Hunter as the walls around him felt more like a cage than protection. "What is the adventurer's guild doing about it?"

  Coming to a stop, Jerry looked around, his arm holding Hunter, shaking slightly.

  Slowly, Jerry muttered, "Nothing. This city was built for research and is run by research.”

  He paused, staring off at the gate wall as he said. “They will only do something about it if the losses outweigh the gains, and to them, lives aren't worth much."