"Judge the distance, Scarlet!" Jordan called as Scarlet failed to get a bullseye on her target again. He could tell she was getting frustrated, but she was staying calm. "The further it is, the higher you aim! The closer it is, the lower you aim!"

_*_*_

"Roll!" Sadie did as he said, but she was too slow and his wooden sword caught her foot. She hissed, but it stung more than it actually hurt. The sword was so broken down that the blade was blunt. "Remember, Sadie, you have to be faster, and keep yourself low!"

"I know, I know!"

_*_*_

"Jordan!" Briar whined. "My arm hurts!" Jordan chuckled.

"I know, but which do you prefer, an aching arm or an arrow in your chest?" Briar shuddered and responded by lifting her shield and deflecting another arrow shot at her by the dispenser. "You're doing good, Briar! Keep it up!"

_*_*_

"I've already explored this area," Jordan said as they walked through the mines. "This is what I was doing the night you got in my house." He placed down a torch near the entrance, even though there were three others. He didn't want to freak the girls out by getting them lost. Briar was already as pale as a ghost and struggling to hold her pickax, Sadie was so on edge that she was doing her grip thing with her sword, and Scarlet's hands were shaking as she held her own pickax. He shook his head but couldn't help his fond smile. "I left some coal over here. Once we've mined this, we'll explore the rest and see if I left any iron."

"I-I'd rather go back home..."
"Yeah, me too...!"
"Me three!"

Jordan just shook his head and led the girls deeper inside the cave.

_*_*_

"Crap!" Scarlet hissed as she missed the target again. Jordan stared at her sadly.

"Remember, Scarlet-"
"Stay calm, yeah, I know!"

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She steadied herself, planted her feet firmly into the ground, and loosened her grip on the crossbow. She opened her eyes and lifted it up, aiming as she looked down the crossline. Finally, she fired.

Her arrow struck the moving target right in the dead center, and her eyes widened before she looked back at Jordan, who was grinning and cheering with Sadie and Briar. She grinned widely as she looked back at the target.

_*_*_

Sadie's arm didn't tremble under Jordan's strikes anymore, and instead she found it easier and easier to take the blow. Their iron swords gleamed in the light coming down into the pit. Briar and Scarlet were watching from above, Scarlet perched on the fence while Briar stood behind it. They cheered her on as her's and Jordan's swords clashed again and again, blocking and parrying the other, trying to gain the upper hand as they moved back and forth through the arena.

Jordan swung his sword around in a familiar way, and by instinct she dove down to the ground. She could feel his sword swiping through the air above her, but the blade missed her by mere inches. Jordan turned, but before he could counter Sadie turned and leaped onto the wall, kicking herself off and swiping her sword down toward Jordan. Jordan's eyes widened before he lifted his sword, only for it to go flying out of his hand as Sadie's collided with it.

Jordan stepped back while Sadie landed on one knee, both panting for breath. Briar's and Scarlet's mouths had dropped open. "Where the hell did you learn that?" Jordan exclaimed. She looked up at him and grinned.

"I taught myself!" He stared down at her, dumbfounded, before a grin slipped onto his features. He laughed, holding his hand out to help her up, as Briar and Scarlet broke out into cheers above them.

_*_*_

"Hey, look, gold!"

Jordan smiled as the girls ran ahead of him excitedly, going at the gold vein together. They were in an area of the mine Jordan hadn't explored yet, but he wasn't worried. The girls were doing just fine. Briar was still a little on edge and jumped at noises that came out of nowhere, (Scarlet still hadn't let her live down the bat incident) but she was loosening up. She wouldn't be mining by herself for some time, but she was loosening up and she would do great in team expeditions. Sadie had a good sense of direction, and had a knack for making landmarks they'd recognize. Scarlet was pretty good at finding gems herself, and was best at organizing their inventories so they could get the most out of these trips.

"Guys! Guys, I just found diamonds!"

His eyes widened while the girls squealed and raced forward, getting to work on blocking the lava up with dirt so the shiny gem wouldn't fall into it. She was a very good finder, apparently.

_*_*_

Jordan walked out of the forest and paused. Scarlet was at the archery course, firing at both the moving and still targets. Sadie was going at the armor stand he had placed out for her to use as a training dummy, twisting and striking and rolling just as he taught her. Briar was at the contraption he had made for her, raising and lowering her shield with ease as knocked back arrow after arrow.

They were all doing wonderfully. They were doing what he had taught them and more. They were doing so well they were beginning to pick up on tricks that made it easier for themselves. He stared at them and thought back to how, two months ago, this group of girls had been an utter mess that didn't even now how to open their inventories. He wondered why he suddenly felt so emotionally when he realized that they were ready to go out there and survive.

He paused, then looked up at the sky. The sun was setting. Night would be falling in just a couple of moments. He stared at the sun for a few moments before an idea formed in his mind and he looked back at them. They were almost ready. They needed to do one more thing.

"Girls!" He called, striding forward. They all looked up from their tasks before they scrambled over to meet him, calling greetings as they did. He smiled at them as they gathered around him. "I'm really proud of all of you. You've all come a pretty long way." They beamed. "I have one more challenge for you, and if you can pass it, then you're ready to go out and find your friend." He smiled as their eyes widened.

"You need to survive a night out in the open."