Morning came with someone pounding on the door like the building was on fire.
"UP! UP! UP! WE'RE BURNING DAYLIGHT!"
Nero groaned into his pillow. His body felt like one giant bruise. "Kade, it's barely dawn."
"Exactly! Dawn! The perfect training time! Let's GO!"
"I'm going to kill him," Nero muttered, dragging himself out of bed. Every muscle protested. His Corruption hadn't changed—still 57/100—but the exhaustion from yesterday's fight sat heavy in his bones.
He opened the door to find Kade looking disgustingly energetic, a massive grin on his face.
"Did you take a healing potion?" Nero demanded.
"Two, actually. Plus I had the inn's healer look at my ribs. Good as new!" Kade demonstrated with a stretch that probably would've killed him yesterday. "Come on, Lyra's already scouting training locations and Finn's gathering supplies."
"It's been like four hours since we went to bed."
"Four and a half! That's practically a full night!" Kade's grin somehow got wider. "Besides, we've got seventy hours until the Arbiter shows up. Can't waste 'em sleeping."
Nero wanted to argue. He really did. But the manic energy radiating off Kade was infectious, and honestly? The big man was right. They didn't have time to waste.
"Fine. Let me get cleaned up."
"You've got five minutes!"
Twenty minutes later because Nero refused to rush basic hygiene, they met in the common room. Finn was there with a pack full of supplies, looking like he'd never gone to bed. Lyra had maps spread across a table, marking locations with quick, efficient movements.
"Situation," she said without preamble. "The Guild's morning scan found three more dungeons showing corruption signs. They're mobilizing response teams, which means high-level adventurers will be flooding the area."
"That's good, right?" Nero asked. "More people fighting corruption?"
"It's complicated," Finn said. "More adventurers means more eyes. Someone might notice our glitch-hunter here is a little too good at spotting system weaknesses."
"Plus," Lyra added, "if the Arbiter arrives while the town's full of high-level adventurers, the collateral damage could be catastrophic."
"So we need to be ready to lure it away from Grayhollow," Kade said, his cheerfulness fading into tactical focus. "Pick our battlefield like we did with the Debuggers."
"Exactly." Lyra tapped one of the marked locations. "But first, we train. The eastern woodlands have a natural dungeon formation, not officially registered, so no Guild oversight. Bronze to Silver rank enemies. Good for grinding levels without attracting attention."
"And I picked up some interesting items," Finn said, pulling objects from his pack. "Mana crystals for spell practice, targeting dummies that register damage values, and—" He held up a small crystal that glowed with an ominous red light. "—this."
"What is it?" Nero asked.
"Corruption detector. Black market item, technically illegal to own. It measures corruption in a fifty-meter radius." Finn's eyes met Nero's. "Thought you might want to monitor your levels while training."
Nero took the crystal. It pulsed in his hand, the red glow steady but not alarming.
```
[CORRUPTION DETECTOR SYNCHRONIZED]
[CURRENT READING: 57/100]
[REAL-TIME MONITORING: ACTIVE]
```
"Thank you," Nero said quietly.
Finn shrugged like it was nothing, but Nero caught the concern in his eyes. "Can't have you accidentally hitting one hundred because you lost track. Consider it practical risk management."
"Also known as 'Finn cares but won't admit it,'" Kade stage-whispered.
"I'm very comfortable admitting I care about not having our party member turn into a dungeon boss. It's called survival instinct."
"Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that."
"I will, because it's true."
Lyra rolled up her maps with the air of someone very used to ignoring their bickering. "Let's move. Training starts in twenty minutes, and I want to cover distance before the morning patrol notices we're gone."
—
The eastern woodlands weren't technically a dungeon, but they felt like one dense forest, naturally spawning monsters, and an ambient mana level that made Nero's skin prickle.
"Why isn't this registered with the Guild?" he asked as they hiked deeper into the trees.
"Because it's not stable," Lyra explained. "Real dungeons have cores that maintain them. This is just a natural high-mana zone that attracts monsters. The Guild doesn't bother with it unless something dangerous spawns."
"So we're free to train without oversight," Finn added. "Also possibly free to die horribly if something Level 30 decides to spawn, but that's part of the charm."
They found a clearing that Lyra deemed suitable; open space for maneuvering, multiple escape routes and good sight lines. She began setting up the training dummies Finn had brought while Kade stretched and checked his equipment.
"Alright," Lyra said once everything was ready. "Here's the plan. We rotate through specialized training based on what we need most. Nero, you're with me first."
"Me?" Nero had assumed he'd be with Kade.
"You need combat fundamentals. Your stats are getting higher, but your technique is sloppy. You compensate with your Debug Mode, which works until you face something that moves faster than you can analyze."
She wasn't wrong. Nero's fighting style was basically "let the glitch vision show me where to hit and hope for the best."
"Kade, you're working on defensive timing. Your instinct is to just tank everything, but against the Arbiter, you'll need precision guards and counterattacks."
"Can do!"
"Finn, solo reconnaissance. I want you mapping every approach vector to Grayhollow, identifying ambush points and fallback positions."
Finn nodded and immediately vanished into the forest like he'd never been there.
"Everyone understand their assignments?" Lyra asked.
Agreements all around. Kade moved to his section of the clearing and began running drills with a practice dummy that looked like it had survived several wars.
Lyra turned to Nero, drawing her sword — a backup weapon, not her bow. "Draw your blade."
He did. His System Specialist stats meant he was objectively stronger and faster than when he'd first arrived, but next to Lyra's controlled grace, he felt clumsy.
"First lesson," Lyra said. "Stop thinking like a game developer. Stop looking for exploits. Just fight."
"But the exploits are my advantage…."
She moved. Her practice blade tapped his sword aside and stopped an inch from his throat in less than a second.
"Your advantage doesn't matter if you're dead before you can use it. Again. Draw your weapon."
They began.
—
Two hours later, Nero had been "killed" approximately thirty-seven times by Lyra's count. His arms ached. His pride was in tatters. And he'd learned more about actual swordplay than he'd thought possible.
"Better," Lyra said, and coming from her, it felt like high praise. "Your footwork is improving. You're starting to feel the rhythm instead of overthinking every movement."
"I'm also starting to feel like I've been hit by a cart."
"That's normal. Water break, then we work on integrating your abilities with proper form."
She tossed him a canteen. Nero drank gratefully, watching Kade across the clearing. The big man was practicing something that looked like a defensive kata — shield positioning, weight shifts, counterattack windows. His movements were surprisingly graceful for someone his size.
"He's good," Nero observed.
"Best tank I've ever seen," Lyra said. "Most people at his level just rely on stats and equipment. Kade actually studies his craft. He can tell you the exact angle to position his shield for maximum deflection based on enemy height, weapon type, and attack trajectory."
"That's... actually really impressive."
"He's been adventuring since he was fifteen. Eleven years of surviving impossible situations because he refused to stop improving." She paused. "He sees that same drive in you, you know. That's why he bonded with you so quickly."
Nero looked at her. "Really?"
"Kade doesn't do anything by half measures. When he commits to someone, it's absolute. He decided you were worth protecting, so now you're his brother. That's just how he is."
There was something in her tone-fond exasperation, maybe? Worry?
"You've known him a long time," Nero said.
"Four years. He saved my life in our first dungeon together. Some people you meet and just know this is someone who'll always have your back. Kade's that person."
"And Finn?"
Lyra smiled slightly. "Finn saved my life by being too stubborn to let me die. Different energy, same loyalty. This party…" She gestured around the clearing. "...it's the only real family I've had since my house fell from grace."
"Your family?" Nero asked carefully.
"Not a story for today." But her tone wasn't harsh, just closed. "Point is, Vanguard matters. You matter now, too. So let's make sure you survive long enough to appreciate it."
They went back to training.
By midday, they rotated. Nero worked with Kade on coordinated attacks while Lyra did solo bow drills and Finn reappeared from his scouting.
"Seven good ambush points," Finn reported. "Three optimal fallback routes. One potential disaster zone we should avoid at all costs."
"Show me," Lyra said, and they bent over maps while Kade demonstrated shield-and-sword coordination with Nero.
"The key," Kade explained, "is anticipation. You see an attack coming, you tell me, I position to intercept. Your Debug Mode is basically precognition in a fight. We use that."
They practiced. Nero would call out incoming attacks from Kade's practice swings, and Kade would adjust his defense accordingly. After a dozen repetitions, something clicked, they started moving in sync, Nero's warnings and Kade's reactions becoming fluid.
```
[PARTY SYNERGY DEVELOPING]
[COORDINATION BONUS: +5% when fighting alongside Kade Morrison]
```
"There it is!" Kade said, grinning. "Feel that? We're getting in sync!"
And Nero did feel it. Not just the system notification, but the actual rhythm of fighting together. Knowing where Kade would be, how he'd move, what he needed.
"This is what proper party coordination looks like," Kade continued. "Most adventurers never bother learning it. They just hit things near each other and call it teamwork. But real coordination? That's what makes a party unbeatable."
They drilled for another hour. By the end, Nero's sword work still wasn't perfect, but it was *functional*. And more importantly, he understood how to fight as part of a unit instead of a solo player trying to survive.
Afternoon brought a surprise, wild monsters actually spawning in their training area.
A pack of razorwolves emerged from the treeline, six of them, all around Level 12.
"Oh good," Finn said from a tree branch where he'd been napping. "Live target practice."
"Formation!" Lyra commanded.
They snapped into position automatically; Kade front, Nero beside him, Lyra elevated for clear shots, Finn melting into shadows to flank. And then the wolves attacked.
This time, it was different. Nero's improved footwork let him dodge instead of desperately scrambling. His coordination with Kade meant their defenses covered each other. When Lyra's arrows forced wolves into predictable paths, Nero was already positioned to capitalize.
His Debug Mode still activated, still showed him weaknesses. But now he used it to enhance trained movements instead of replacing them.
One wolf lunged. Nero sidestepped—proper form, weight on his back foot like Lyra taught—and his blade found the creature's throat with precision that shocked him.
```
[RAZORWOLF DEFEATED]
[+48 XP]
[CRITICAL HIT BONUS: +15 XP]
```
"NICE!" Kade's shield bash sent another wolf flying. "That's what I'm talking about!"
The fight ended in under two minutes. Six wolves down, Vanguard barely winded.
"Now that," Finn said, dropping from his tree, "was actual teamwork."
Nero checked his XP bar.
```
[LEVEL 10: 1,843/2,000 XP]
[78% to Level 11]
```
"Few more fights like that and I'll hit eleven," he said.
"Then let's find more," Kade said, already scanning the forest.
They did. The high-mana zone attracted monsters like a magnet, more razorwolves, dire bears, a small group of goblins that learned very quickly why attacking a coordinated party was a bad idea.
Each fight was smoother than the last. Each rotation of their formation more natural. Nero felt himself improving in real-time not just from stats, but from actual skill building. By the time the sun started setting, three things had happened:
Nero had hit Level 11.
```
[LEVEL UP! You are now Level 11!]
[+5 to all stats]
[New ability available at Level 12]
[HP: 335/335 | MP: 455/455]
```
His Corruption had crept up to 59/100 from minor uses of Debug Mode and one emergency System Crash when a dire bear nearly mauled Finn and Vanguard had transformed from a group of individuals into something more cohesive. A real unit that moved and fought as one.
"Good first day," Lyra said as they packed up. "We're making progress."
"Two more days," Finn reminded them. "Think we can get Nero to Level 15 by then?"
"Maybe thirteen or fourteen," Lyra calculated. "Depends on what we fight tomorrow."
"What about Corruption?" Nero asked, checking the detector crystal. The red glow was slightly brighter. "I'm at fifty-nine. I can't hit one hundred before we fight the Arbiter."
"Then we're careful," Kade said. "You use your abilities only when necessary. We handle everything else."
"And if the Arbiter requires my abilities to beat?"
Silence.
"We'll figure it out," Kade said finally. "We always do."
They hiked back to Grayhollow as twilight painted the sky orange and purple. Nero's muscles ached, but it was a good ache, the kind that came from honest work and genuine improvement.
He'd gained a level. Gained real combat skills. And most importantly, learned that he didn't have to carry everything alone.
"Two more days," he thought, looking at his party. "We can do this."
The town gates came into view. Guards waved them through with barely a glance—just another adventurer party returning from training.
But as they walked through the streets, Nero's system pinged an alert.
```
[WARNING: ARBITER ARRIVAL TIME UPDATED]
[NEW ESTIMATE: 48 HOURS]
[THEY'RE COMING FASTER THAN PREDICTED]
[REASON: PRIORITY ESCALATION]
[THEY KNOW YOU'RE PREPARING]
[THEY'RE ADAPTING]
```
Nero stopped walking. "We don't have three days."
The others turned.
"What?" Lyra asked.
"We have two. The Arbiter's coming in forty-eight hours."
"Shit," Finn said simply.
Kade's expression hardened. "Then we train harder tomorrow. Double shifts. Push our limits."
"Agreed," Lyra said. "But tonight, we rest properly. Exhausting ourselves helps no one."
They continued to the inn, but the atmosphere had shifted. The ticking clock just got louder.
As they separated to their rooms, Kade caught Nero's shoulder.
"Hey. We're still going to win this."
"You don't know that."
"I know you. I know us. And I know that whatever the Arbiter brings, it's going to regret coming after Vanguard."
Despite everything, Nero smiled. "Your confidence is either inspiring or delusional."
"Why not both?"
Nero laughed and headed to his room. Two days. Forty-eight hours.
He'd make them count.
—
Across town, in an unmarked building, Marge stood before a communication crystal. The figure on the other end was shrouded, their features obscured.
"The Error User is training," she reported. "Preparing for the Arbiter's arrival."
"Good," the figure said. "Let him prepare. It won't matter."
"Sir, they defeated three Debuggers. This party is more capable than anticipated."
"The Arbiter is not three Debuggers. It's something else entirely." The figure leaned forward. "But I appreciate their spirit. It will make the data more interesting."
"Data?"
"Error Users are rare. This one has survived longer than most and formed genuine bonds with native entities. I want to see how far those bonds can carry him before reality itself breaks him."
Marge felt cold. "You're treating this like an experiment."
"Everything is an experiment, Marge. The system itself is an experiment. Now let's see what variables produce the most interesting results."
The crystal went dark. Marge stood there for a long moment, then made a decision.
She pulled out a different crystal, one she wasn't supposed to have.
"Nero Cross," she whispered into it. "If you can hear this... run. Whatever they told you about the Arbiter, it's worse. Much worse. Run, and don't look back."
The message sent.
She had no idea if it would reach him. But she had to try.