In the backyard, Simon got into stance as three walkers slowly approached him. Cold sweat drenched his back, his grip on the iron sword tightening.
'I TAKE IT BACK, I'D RATHER NOT FIGHT THESE GUYS!' he internally yelled. He didn't dare scream aloud, afraid it would only bring more to his misfortunes.
They looked much more hideous than the first time he laid eyes upon them. Their rotting bodies gave way to bad childhood memories he wished to forget.
...
After leaving the basement, Winter opened up the system shop to purchase an iron sword for Simon. The sword came in a dark brown leather sheath, engraved with breeze like designs that danced beautifully.
Receiving the sword, Simon already began having second thoughts about the whole situation.
One. He was older than the pair, them treating him like this just felt plain wrong. Two. He considered himself a lover, not a fighter. And three. Winter earlier stated that he wouldn't help him under any circumstances. So if a walker really bit him, it might actually be over for him!
...
"Good stance, but make sure you aren't too stiff! If you fall, you're dead!" Winter called out.
He wasn't afraid of attracting more walkers, in fact it would be more training resources for Simon. Fortunately there weren't any close enough, other than the ones in front of Simon.
After a few moment of self therapy, Simon managed to calm himself down. When the walkers finally walked into range, he made the first move.
Turning his wrist, he slashed his sword out, aiming to decapitate the walker at the front. But due to a slight miscalculation in distance, his sword missed its neck. Instead he created a small slash wound on its upper torso.
it groaned, angrily lunging at its attacker hoping to take him down.
Pressured, Simon hurriedly swung at the walkers neck once more in hopes of bringing it down.
At the entrance of the backdoor, Sage had her bow drawn ready to fire—only if Simon was truly in danger. Winter figured if he allowed him to fall back on a soft cushion, he wouldn't train as hard, possibly giving up halfway through.
Fortunately for Simon, because of the walker's frantic movement, its neck was now exposed allowing him to cut right through. The walker collapsed onto the ground, the former life in its eye gone as its head rolled on the grass.
[Gained 5 EXP]
[EXP 5/100]
Seeing the notification window, Simon thought about it for a moment before putting it aside. There were still two more walkers he needed to finish off.
Creating distance between them, his grip tightened on the sword as he circled around the two. He waited. Waiting for an opportunity where both walkers wouldn't be able to attack him at once.
In due time, an opportunity arose. One of the walkers that came into range lunged at him, creating distance between the other one. Simon sidestepped, causing the walker to fall over, before he closed the distance with the walker still standing.
Getting into attack range, Simon swung his sword fiercely, taking its head clean off its shoulders.
[Gained 5 EXP]
[EXP 10/100]
Adrenaline pumping, Simon looked back to see the walker still lying on the floor trying to pick itself up. Wasting no time, he quickly approached the walker, plunging his cold sword through its skull.
[Gained 5 EXP]
[EXP 15/100]
Shortly after, his adrenaline finally ran out. He collapsed on to the grass, drawing in ragged breaths, still processing the whole situation with an exhausted smile.
Sage tiptoed, whispering into Winter's ear. "Told you hands-on learning was the trick."
Turning towards the source of sound, his face was now only a few inches away from hers causing her to blush.
Leaning in, Winter grabbed a bottle of water on the table before adding. "I never doubted you."
Sage's face glowed red as she walked away to get another batch of training materials.
Walking over, Winter twisted the cap off a cold bottle of water and handed it to him.
"How are you feeling?"
Simon accepted the offering before chugging it all down.
"Not too bad. Could use a bit of rest though." he responded, slightly panting.
It wasn't because he was unfit, more because it was his first time doing something like this making his heart race.
Winter nodded, as he walked back towards the house. "Well, good. You have five minutes to catch your breath. A new batch of walkers will be here pretty soon."
Seeing as Sage wasn't standing by the door anymore, Simon cried out in misery.
In the kitchen, Ava watched the training, her lips curling upward into a smile. If things continued on like this, she would be satisfied with it.
A few minutes passed. Sage entered the backyard while three walkers slowly trudged behind her.
"Ready for round two?" she asked, leading the walkers toward him.
Irritated, Simon groaned as he pushed himself off the ground. Rolling his eyes, he questioned, "Do I even have a choice?"
Grinning, Winter and Sage responded in unison. "Nope!"
-------
This cycle went on for about an hour, only stopping when Sage had to venture too far out for 'training material'.
After all the walkers he killed, Simon managed to level up twice, reaching level three.
[Level 3 (EXP 45/400)]
With the levels came 10 attribute points, which Winter suggested on saving until he picked his class. Whether or not Simon chose to be a swordsman or knight was solely up to him. The training was mainly so he was able to protect himself in certain situations.
After the training, Winter began moving the corpses from out of the backyard. He was afraid that if they were left there unattended, it would most likely cause pollution in their upcoming water source.
A few walkers into the disposal, Ava walked out of the house towards him. Her brown hair was tied into a ponytail behind her back, flowing slightly below her shoulder.
In her hands she held a pair of medical gloves while having a pair on herself.
"Need some help?" she asked rhetorically, handing him the pair of gloves.
Winter accepted them happily. "The more the merrier." He said jokingly.
After putting them on, they began moving the corpses from the backyard onto the road. They did so quietly for a few minutes before Winter broke the silence.
"How you holding up?" he asked, dropping the walker onto the road.
Ava was initially surprised by the question but responded. "...I'm alright. I'll get over it."
Though he couldn't see her face, he could tell by her bitter tone that she was still mildly upset about Charles's death.
Winter understood her sorrows. He too was also in that same situation a day ago. Wanting to resonate with her, he decided to open up.
With a sigh, he walked back toward the backyard, Ava treading slightly behind. "I understand your pain."
"Do you?" she asked, questioningly.
Nodding, he continued his voice tinged with sadness. "When I got home, my father had already turned into a walker. You know, everything was the same about him. It hurt me a lot seeing him like that, just imagining the pain he went through in that moment."
He momentarily paused, before continuing, "So I did what any good child would do. I put him out of his misery."
"But it's ok though. Everyday I wake up, I remind myself that he's living through me. And that's why I need to survive."
Not hearing anything behind him, Winter glanced back to see Ava with unshed tears in her eyes.
Ava walked up and hugged him, burying her face in his chest.
Winter hesitated for a moment before wrapping his arms around her, giving her a small squeeze.
"We need to survive. If not for us, then for them." He said quietly to her.
Looking up, Ava met his soft gaze. Feeling her warmth, Winter brought his hands down to her waist and leaned in for a kiss. Surprisingly, Ava too went in for a kiss.
Their lips met in the middle for a few seconds before ava pulled away.
"We can't."
Ava gazed into his eyes.
Winter understood. If he was also in her shoes, it would probably be uncomfortable to make love with someone else after your lover recently passed away.
But her following words deeply surprised him. "They might see us out here, should we go inside first?"
'!?!?!'