Chapter 2: Learning The Basics

'Did the Miniaturization Company finally realized their product? Most of all, how did the chip got inside my house? Was there an invisible delivery man?'

Countless questions popped up in Reyn's mind. At the moment, he had to focus on what's in front of him.

[Enter The Shadow Realm?]

'How do I accept this?' Reyn thought for a moment. He tried swiping the holographic screen with his hands but they only passed through it.

"Enter the shadow realm!" Reyn shouted, expecting that the chip might only respond to linguistic interfacing.

Suddenly, all blacked out. He could only see the prompt messages in his vision appearing.

[As a summoner, you are not allowed to enter the realm without any units.]

[For this reason alone, you are given free units to choose from. This unit will define your fate from here onward.]

A pulse of light appeared and followed by images, glowing in green light.

"Wiiw!" Reyn read the description and instinctively swipe his hand. Unexpectedly, the light dim before displaying another image. It was a green figure wielding a pair of blades, one in reverse grip.

[Blader: Fallen blades-men, able to attack consecutively with their dual wielding ability.]

Reyn read the description of the unit and almost fell in love with it. However, he swiped to the next unit to see if there's more that can attract his attention. After sometime, he found a rather strange unit.

"Swordsmen: Recruit a band of fallen swordsmen. They carry a medium sword, suitable for one-handed and two-handed strikes."

He looked at the glowing image. Its head was not of that a normal man but a skull, glowing in a fiery green. Chinks could be seen on the edges of the sword it held. No armor but a robe adorned its body.

Still indecisive, Reyn swiped back to the Blader but it was nowhere to be found.

"Hmm," Some scenarios appeared on Reyn's head. Someone might have picked the Blader Unit and it's no longer available. If that's the case he should hurry up and choose a unit before somebody else beat him to it. Without anymore hesitation, he chose the Swordsmen.

[Are you sure you want to pick the Spirit Swordsmen as your first unit?]

"Yes!" Upon saying, the image bursted into particles of light as a card appeared on his fore. It was the portrait of the Swordsman. After he had a good look, it flipped and disappeared.

[If all your summoned units are killed, you'll be forcefully logged out of the game. You can only log back in, if one of your summoned units' can be summoned again.]

[If there are no restrictions, you can log out from the game anytime. Just press above your right ear and say Log Out]

"Let me try," Reyn pressed above his right ear and said, "Log out!"

The darkness slowly retreated. Reyn found himself sitting beside the table once again, with the holographic screen still on his vision. He took his time studying his body if there were any signs of abnormalities. When he was sure that everything was alright, he hurriedly said, "Enter the shadow realm!"

He was back in the total darkness. Messages appeared in his vision, like his eyes had been replace with a mechanical ones. The first thing he checked was his status.

[Summoner Talents:

Spirit Capacity (3)

- You can summon 3 spirits

(Upgradeable)

Spirit Regeneration

- When out of battle, your spirits can heal from the damage they sustained.

(Not upgradeable)

Summon Spirit Swordsmen

- 1 hour cooldown for each Swordsman

(Upgradeable)]

"The mechanics are simple," Reyn muttered. He explored the next section.

[Spirits:

Swordsmen: Attributes are a bit different than others.

Power: 10

Skill: 20

Speed: 5

Combat IQ: 15

Abilities:

Weapon Proficiency: Able to expertly handle their weapon, equal to their Skill.]

[You can choose to learn a new talent or add a new ability for your spirit for free.]

Reyn started browsing the new talents but found none that caught his interest. Instead, he search for a new ability for his Swordsmen. After sometime, he saw a lot of abilities that he wanted, but one stood out the most.

[Grapple: Your swordsmen remembers a few techniques in their past life. Allows them to catch, grab, trip and throw with their free hand. This ability is also dependent to Skill and slightly influenced by Power.

Price: 5 Shadow Quintessence

(You can purchase it for free)]

A Blader can wield another sword or dagger as a secondary weapon. A Warrior can wield a Greatsword or a Greataxe with both hands. A Knight can equip a shield. With the Grapple Ability, Reyn thought that he could fill the hole on the Swordsmen's lack of a secondary weapon.

'But I don't have 5 Shadow Quintessence,' He thought. But after seeing the free to purchase, he immediately chose to buy it.

Just like before, another card appeared before him, and then disappeared.

It was all set at the moment. Reyn couldn't see anything else that required his attention. All that he could browse is the Challenge section.

[Challenge the Tower of the Wraith King to free your Spirit Swordsmen from its shackle. Once you enter, you cannot leave until you defeated the final boss.]

"Challenge!" Reyn shouted, without hesitation.

The darkness rescinded. The feeling of being plunged down, roused him.

'Did I fall down on my sit?' Reyn thought, but he can feel that he was standing. As he assess the situation whether to log out and check his body, he saw that he was standing on a platform overlooking a huge room below. On the opposite side, a giant doorway, and visible sight of staircases.

What's more intimidating was the three figures, standing guard before the door.

[Kill the guards to ascend the next floor!]

Simple. However, instead of summoning his spirits, Reyn studied the trio below. Just like the image of the Swordsmen, their heads were devoid of flesh, burning in green fire.

'Aren't they a bit well equipped than my swordsmen?'

The guards had a sword and shield, and a helmet protecting their head.

'Should I send a swordsman to attract their attention while the other two will maneuver to their flanks?' Reyn thought of a strategy. But he was not sure that a single swordsman could hold down three, even more without a shield to protect itself.

'It should be one on one. I must also test the capabilities of my swordsmen to better understand them.'

Projecting his will on the ground below, three swordsmen appeared, and set their eyes on a target.

[Summon Spirit Swordsmen is in 3 hours cooldown]

After reading the message, Reyn focused his attention below. When the guards saw the approaching Swordsmen, they tensed, bringing up their shield to meet them.

"You cannot escape your torment!" The guard on the left side, hissed. It charged and brought down its sword. To its surprise, the Swordsman caught its wrist with a strong grip. Thankfully, it had a shield on the other hand. It can protect itself while also going to the offensive by bashing it. However, to its dismay, the Swordsman retreated from its range by jumping backward, bringing it along. It didn't let go of its hold. Because of the sudden motion, the guard fell on its face, and the Swordsman decided to cut the arm it was holding.

A wail erupted as the Swordsman finished its opponent with a quick thrust to the head before throwing the severed arm it held.

'Whoa!' Although he got used to watching movies with severed limbs and heads, and leaking out innards, Reyn was still shocked and unnerved by the sight. Moreover, he can see that the swordsmen are better at one on one than grouped, and organized battle.

Same scenario played out on the other swordsmen and guards. The swordsmen, even though less armed, patiently waited for the right opportunity to attack. If it was between two amateurs with zero combat experience and training, the one with the shield and sword would definitely win. However, when it came to an expert swordsman, with the versatility of a free hand, a shield might just get on the way when it's a duel.

There were limitations when swinging a sword with a shield upfront. One could easily predict the few trajectories in which one could thrust and swing when something's on your front.

The Swordsman on the right side, used the blindspot of the guard's shield to get close and trip it on the ground, finishing it with consecutive thrusts. Not as graceful as the one on the left side.

The guard on the middle was more disciplined than its two fallen comrades. But it only had a tough front but weak on the rear, like a horned animal. A wolf could rip its legs from behind while others distract its attention. The two swordsmen who slayed their opponents rushed from behind and delivered the killing blow.

[Floor 1 Cleared!]

[Rewards:

3 Soul Essence

6 Spirit Shards

2 Shadow Quintessence]

New notifications appeared in Reyn's vision. He eagerly read them and found some new discovery.

'So I can use Soul Essence to upgrade or learn Talents. Spirit shards to upgrade the attributes of my Spirits. Shadow Quintessence to learn new Talents or Abilities for my Spirits.'

Reyn contemplated for a moment and decided not to spend them for the time being. He needed to ascend to the second floor and observe the next opponents. For now, one of his Swordsman, the one who fought in the middle sustained an injury to its left shoulder. He'll wait for it to heal.