My sword clashes with Sir Oscar's, and this time I manage to hold my ground. The General of the Golden Order might be lower level than me, but he has much more experience, and that makes a big difference. He swings a blindingly fast overhead slash that I just barely manage to get my sword under, deflecting the attack at the last minute; my stats barely make up the difference in skill.

Taking a bit of a risk, I go on the offense throwing a series of short jabs at the older fighter, trying to use my higher dex stat to put him off balance. Unfortunately, Oscar is a wall of steel, nothing even gets close, and he easily parries me and kicks me a dozen feet away.

I land in the snow on my back with a muffled thump and stare up at the cloudy sky. Flecks of white drift gently down. It started snowing a week ago and hasn't stopped since, the snow now up to my hips in some areas.

"Good effort, Sarah." Encourages Oscar as he grabs my hand and hauls me to my feet, "You're getting better. Not relying on your skills is hard, but your improvements speak for themselves."

We've been dueling without the use of system granted skills. Oscar is old fashioned and believes that overreliance on them is harmful to a warrior's development and judging by how easily he thrashes me when we don't use them, I'd have to agree. My body is sore, but I am grateful for the old sword master's guidance; I want every bit of power I can get.

"I'm too old for this cold. Come, let's get inside." Oscar leaves the training grounds and heads back towards the tents.

Camping out on the border between Lotheris and Isoban in the middle of winter is a miserable experience. The soldiers have set up tents with warming crystals, even going so far as to heat water for weekly baths. It's a far cry from the hot showers of my old world, but it's better than nothing. At least I don't have to share the baths with all of the men. Very few soldiers are women, and we have our own bathing area, so we get to enjoy a lot more space. It really wouldn't be that bad if we weren't bathing inside tents in the middle of winter. If it wasn't for Ren's gift, I'd probably be in a much worse mood.

I hold up the glass sword Ren gave me so long ago, its blue flame flickering merrily inside the blade. The enchantments on it protects its wielder from the cold, both temperature and ice magic. Even after being in this world for so long, it's still surreal to be able to stand out in the freezing snow in just a light shirt without so much as a shiver.

The beating of wings overhead heralds the return of Mick. Snow flies and is pushed away as the vess drake lands nearby. Another of Ren's gifts.

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"How're you doing, buddy?" I pet the side of the vess' s head.

He shakes his body (I decided it was a boy) but doesn't respond. I wish he could talk so he could tell me how Ren is doing; I worry about the girl sometimes. Every now and again a scout will deliver a letter to me, and I'll send one back. She wrote to me about how she was planning on going south to Karnaka and hasn't written since. I know she is okay, her vess would probably be going crazy if she wasn't, but I can't help but worry about her.

I lean against Mick, not ready to go back into the camp yet. The drake extends a wing over me to keep the snow off. For something that has a limited intelligence, Mick sure is considerate. I swear he has been getting more and more of a personality as time goes on, but that could just be me projecting. Although, Ren's pet One acts a lot differently than the other whelps, so maybe I'm not crazy.

The Golden Goddess is still powering my phone, a strange blessing, but I'm not going to complain. I turn on the screen and smile at the lockscreen of my sisters. Someday, I'll find a way back. Unlocking my phone, I decide to browse through my photos. It makes me sad, but it's also cathartic. I flick through photos of my sisters, of my car, that one mountain I climbed, random meals I ate, and I finally get to a picture of me and Ren in the void. It's jarring going from pictures of Earth to pictures of this world, but I still smile at the image. Ren is sitting on the hood of a car, very cute; I miss her.

Mick nudges me with his snout and I chuckle, "You miss Ren too? Don't worry, we'll see her again soon, I'm sure. She said she would come see me after she was done in Karnaka."

A text pops up on my screen with a bright chime, "I am pleased with your progress, little light. A great darkness gathers in the east, you must be ready by the time the snow breaks. I have blessed a dungeon south of you, go there and claim the power within."

It's still really weird that the Golden Goddess communicates with me through text messages of all things. I shake my head and pocket my phone. She tends to want things done the second she gives the command, not that I mind, I want to get stronger.

"Alright, Mick. Looks like we're going out again. Better get a move on." I pat the drake on the flank and climb into his saddle. Despite all the power the Golden Goddess has given me, she has yet to give me the ability to fly.

The drake beats his wings and leaps into the sky. I clutch onto the saddle and take a moment to calm myself. My fear of flying is much better these days, but I still get freaked out sometimes.

Mick banks to the side and circles around the camp. I make sure to wave to Oscar to let him know I'm leaving and pull Mick back towards the south. The vess barely needs me to direct him with the reins and seems to know where I want to go with very little input required.

Finally, I get to go back into a dungeon. I do my best not to worry about my old world and the people I left behind, but I can't completely ignore it, and it ruins any chance I might have at being content in this world. Getting stronger is one of the only things that makes being here bearable. So long as I'm progressing, I can keep it together, just need to keep moving.

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