The Adventurers Guild Training Room 13’s soft mechanical voice said.

  Novice Archer, level zero. Beginner level ten activated.

  The sounds of beginner level ten activating filled the training room. The soft breeze near Jack and Toma turned into random gusts of wind, and the lights in Training Room 13 dimmed to mimic dusk. Random shouts, screams, and other noises could be heard from hidden speakers around the training room.

  Toma’s head went on a swivel, looking for the source of the sounds.

  Jack chuckled. It was a bit of a shock when this happened for the first time.

  The stationary targets at the far end whirred, then shuffled aside with a series of mechanical clunks, disappearing into recessed wall compartments. A moment later, new constructs emerged. Clockwork mannequins bristling with moving panels, some clutching shields, others springing forward on piston-driven legs in sudden, darting bursts. Overhead, the lights dimmed and flickered as embedded runes activated, casting the room in a shifting twilight.

  Toma jumped behind Jack as one target gave off a loud hiss and launched sideways across the range on a rail-mounted track, trailing a plume of blue aether-steam in its wake.

  Jack stifled a laugh as the boy went a light shade of pink from embarrassment.

  The group of six each grabbed a new quiver of training arrows and prepared themselves. A dozen seconds later, the room was in chaos as they battled against the clockwork mannequins. Bursts of harmless aether-blasts fired across the room, leaving streaks of blue aether steam behind them.

  Jack laughed as an aether-blast smacked him in the arse after dodging sideways to avoid bowling into Toma. At the same moment, Toma yelped and leapt into the air, startled by an incoming aether-blast of his own, then lost his balance and collapsed onto his back, laughing.

  Jack offered Toma a hand and helped him to his feet, both of them laughing as the room descended into controlled chaos.

  With there being six people training in the room, the number of aether-blasts and moving targets increased to compensate. The room buzzed with whirring gears, hissing aether-steam, and the crackling discharge of aether-blasts arcing over their heads. The lights overhead flickered, mimicking a battlefield at dusk, while the gusting winds tugged at their clothing, making every shot a challenge.

  Pip crouched low beside a brass pillar, shooting an arrow that struck a moving target in the chest, just before the mannequin retaliated with a glowing blue burst that zipped past Grey’s ear. “Oi!” Grey yelped. “I’m a merchant, not a bloody acrobat!”

  Nessa, with her muscular arms braced against the draw of her bow, grunted as she took aim at a target darting behind a mock barricade. “Target eleven’s a right bastard!” she growled, releasing her arrow. It bounced off the mannequin’s raised shield.

  Ella loosed two quick shots; one missed, but the other clipped a moving dummy square in the shoulder, earning a ‘ding’ and a hiss of aether-steam. “Yes!” she shouted. “That’s for last week, you metal arsehole!”

  Jack moved with growing confidence, shifting between cover points like he knew what he was doing. This is complete chaos, he thought as another aether-blast flew over his head and struck Grey in the shoulder. “I love it,” he whispered. Each time he loosed an arrow, he adjusted for the changing wind and dim light, regaining the rhythm he’d lost while helping Toma.

  An aether-blast hit a nearby post, causing him to duck. He loosed a shot mid-motion, clipping a shielded mannequin’s exposed leg. It didn’t register as a kill, but it felt good. A target shot towards him across a mounted rail. Jack turned, drew, and released in one fluid motion… missing by an inch. “Damn it!” he laughed, grabbing another arrow. “Next time you’re mine.”

  No sooner had the words left his mouth than Nessa’s arrow struck the target. She smiled and gave him a playful salute.

  “The next, next time you’re mine,” he promised as he aimed his bow at another target.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  At the far end, Toma rolled behind a crate-shaped training fixture, giggling between pants. “This is insane!” he called.

  “It’s meant to be!” Jack shouted back, loosing another arrow. “Don’t think… just react! Have fun.” He looked across at the teenager who was beaming. I’ll get to do this with my little brother when he’s older. The happy thought made him miss the next target by a mile.

  The room pulsed with movement. The mannequins didn’t just move, they adapted. One jumped sideways as Nessa took aim, dodging her arrow with mechanical precision. Another shifted its shield mid-flight, deflecting Pip’s arrow with a smug clunk.

  The soft female voice rang out over the din.

  Warning.

  Remaining time: Five minutes.

  Jack gritted his teeth and shot again. Shit! My arms feel like jelly. The arrow struck centre mass, and the mannequin staggered, releasing a puff of blue aether-smoke.

  “Bullseye!” Grey shouted from the far end. “Finally!”

  Jack laughed. “Took you long enough!”

  Grey ducked a retaliatory aether-blast. “Worth it!”

  The final few minutes became a wild flurry, more arrows were let loose, more near misses, more aether-blasts flying. The scent of spent aether, sweat, and the faint tang of oiled machinery hung heavy in the air.

  When the session ended, the mannequins withdrew into the walls, the lights steadied, and the wind ceased. Silence fell, broken only by heavy breathing, occasional chuckles, and the sound of small skittering automatons collecting dozens of spent arrows.

  As Jack patted Toma on the shoulder, the soft female voice reported.

  Adventurer one.

  Novice Archer, level nine.

  Training Scenario: Novice Archer, level zero. Beginner level ten.

  Accuracy: 32%.

  Wind compensation: 10.

  Reaction time: 71st percentile.

  Recommendation: Decrease difficulty level to Novice Archer, level one. Beginner level two.

  The female voice listed each result in turn.

  …

  Adventurer five.

  Novice Scribe, Level zero.

  Training Scenario: Novice Archer, level zero. Beginner level ten.

  Accuracy: 18%.

  Wind compensation: 10.

  Reaction time: 58th percentile.

  Recommendation: Decrease difficulty level to Beginner level one.

  Jack grinned at the announcement. “That’s worse than last time, but more fun,” he muttered, wiping sweat from his brow while looking at the five other archers in the room. I had a lot of fun.

  The female voice listed Toma’s results.

  Adventurer six.

  Non-classed.

  Training Scenario: Novice Archer, level zero. Beginner level ten.

  Accuracy: 4%.

  Wind compensation: 10.

  Reaction time: 68th percentile.

  Recommendation: Decrease difficulty level to Novice Archer, level zero. Beginner level zero.

  Toma looked dejected.

  Jack patted the boy on the shoulder. “That’s a good result. Anything above the 50th percentile means above average for your level. You’re being compared to other non-classed teenagers.”

  “Really?” Toma asked.

  Jack nodded. “Yep. Looks like you might make for a good archer.”

  Toma smiled.

  Ella stretched and cracked her shoulders. “That was brilliant.”

  “Agreed,” Nessa said. “I haven’t had that much fun in weeks.”

  Grey was already collecting his belongings. “We should do this again. Next week, maybe?”

  “I’m in.” Pip nodded as he collected his printout.

  Jack collected his own printout and said, “Only if we do level ten every time for the entire hour.”

  They all laughed at the hell scenario he’d suggested.

  A moment later, the training room console chimed again.

  Archery training sessions complete.

  Individual archery training session results available as printouts at the main console.

  Please collect all your belongings and exit the training area within the next ninety seconds.

  Thank you for using the Adventurers Guild’s training area.

  We recommend visiting the Guild’s spa after a heavy training session.

  For only 3 silvers, experience half an hour of bliss as trained attendants cater to your every need.

  Why not book a group session and enjoy a 10% discount.

  Have a nice day.

  “That was the best thing ever.” Toma beamed. He was still catching his breath; his cheeks were flushed and his eyes were wide with excitement.

  Jack glanced at the red-faced teen and smiled. “Not bad for your first time.”

  “Me and Nessa will be here again at the same time tomorrow if anyone’s interested?” Ella said. “We plan to train an hour every day for the next few weeks, but we can’t afford 26 coppers every time.”

  The cost for the training room for two people was 26 coppers an hour; each would have to pay 13 coppers.

  Jack nodded. “I plan to train daily for the rest of the week. After that, I’ll start working as a scribe. So if I see your listing, I’ll join.”

  Ella gave him a thumbs up and a smile. “We’ll try to book a room for around eleven-thirty in the morning… but you know how the waits are.”

  “I’d like to, but I can only afford this once a month,” Toma said in a disappointed tone.

  The soft female voice spoke again.

  Please collect all your belongings and exit the training area within the next sixty seconds.

  Thank you for using the Adventurers Guild’s training area.

  The Guild bar is open twenty-four-seven, where there is currently a special on elven fire whisky.

  Have a nice day.

  Jack rolled his shoulder and winced. “Ow…” But he was smiling. He did a couple of stretches to loosen his sore muscles.

  Together, the group filed out of the training room while chatting and laughing as they stepped into the corridor. The puff of blue aether-steam followed them out like a farewell from the mechanical beasts they’d just battled.

  Outside, six masked and cloaked adventurers wearing almost identical black gear were waiting outside the room.