《Young Swordmaster's Journey》
Prologue to a Journey
"There''s a Criten on your right Alec!" The shout was the first thing to register in Alec Dius¡¯s mind.
The second was the heavy paw that broke clean through his subconsciously raised guard. The flat of his sword slammed into his ribs as the paw continued undeterred by his defence, completing the full swipe and throwing him far back. His back hit the ground first in a painful impact and scraping but giving him the necessary friction and grounding to place his feet underneath himself again when he bounced in the air once more.
His boots dug small trails in the dirt before he came to a stop, stumbling at the lack of backward momentum and nearly falling to a knee as the pain of the strike caught up to his mind. His own cobalt blue hair briefly bobbed down in front of his identically coloured eyes as he stumbled.
"Alec, are you ok?" A feminine voice asked, a robed woman with a silver rosary hanging from her neck looked over at him with a worried gaze.
This young woman was Felicia Smogn, a talented [Saintess] with long white hair pulled up in a fairly loose high ponytail and bright purple eyes. Her body was cloaked in flowing but no less functional religious garb of Solyre, the Goddess that she followed and received strength from.
"Banged up but fine." Alec grunted, watching the Criten warily while shaking his arms out.
The Criten was a strange and somewhat hideous creature. A mixture of bear and reptile with fur and scales interwoven on all four of its legs and pupils typical of a reptile in its eyes instead of the round ones found in mammals.
''Those scales will mess with my blade if I angle any of my strikes wrong, and if it¡¯s too weak it won''t even break through them¡'' Alec thought to himself, blowing some of his hair out of his face.
"Hold it off for just a moment Alec, we''ll be right there!" Peter Kroll, the one who had tried to warn him of the creature beforehand, shouted while dodging a swipe from another slightly larger Criten.
Peter was the leader of the party. A man of reasonable stature with spiky red hair and equally red eyes. A man hailed as an up-and-coming legend, even as relatively early into their journey as they currently were.
"Yeah, no problem." Alec muttered, eyeing down the Criten that seemed to be readying itself for another charge.
Inadvertently his gaze drifted a tad below the Beast¡¯s face. The look of hunger and hatred in its eyes practically burned into him as he caught a glimpse of the long, dangerous claws pressed against the ground.
A wince covered Alec''s features as he focused his gaze back up on the face of the Criten. His foot slid back in preparation and his longsword shifted into a more defensive position as he acknowledged the power disparity between them.
Because he knew, given the average ranking of a Criten, exactly how dangerous this situation was for him.
Behind him, he could hear the explosions of yet another low-tiered fireball from the fourth and final member of the party, Angelica Kroll, sister of Peter and [High-Sorcerer]. A young woman with somewhat long red hair of the same shade as Peter but with an eye colour a few shades closer to pink.
The Criten burst forward, cutting off all superfluous thoughts from Alec''s head as he moved in reply, stepping back and parrying the Beast''s wild swipe at his head. A rapid, circular motion that brought his blade around and back down on the side of the beast before he had to back off to avoid the retaliatory strike. The young man clicked his tongue and ran back in quickly, slicing twice across its chest as it reared up and circled around its back to avoid being crushed or mauled.
He was beating it slowly, but he knew that just one mistake would spell the end of this fragile equilibrium between them. His technique was superior but the creature was flat out faster, stronger, and more durable than he was. If he took another attack basically head-on like before¡
Another three attacks were deflected and avoided by the young man, his heartbeat pounding in his ears as he continued to slowly but surely leave small cuts and lacerations over it¡¯s furred torso.
"Shit! Alec!" Peter''s shout caught Alec''s attention, immediately dragged his eyes over towards him, only to meet the eyes of a second, far more injured, Criten charging straight at him.
''Did it get past Peter!? Shit! It''s too fast!'' He tried to raise his blade to block the attack that he knew was coming, but he wasn''t even quick enough to do that.
His blue eyes went a little hazy as the paw of the charging Criten slammed into his unprotected torso. The wind leaving his lungs and the crack of his own ribs resounding in his ears. And a moment later he was flung away once more, hitting the ground and ragdolling as his body and mind struggled to comprehend the multiple points of pain resounding throughout his being. For a few seconds, all he could comprehend was the sheer pain of being unable to breathe.
Yet once that passed, one thing registered in his mind above everything else.
''Peter''s¡pissed.''
"Felicia! Heal Alec! Leave them to me!" The young man growled, crouching low with his own blade and glaring coldly at the two Critens closing in on the injured adventurer.
Peter¡¯s lips moved but no sound reached Alec¡¯s ears. The young man kicked off the ground and approached in a blur of speed, a glowing rune in a frenzied shape shone over the handguard of his blade before the steel weapon lit up in brilliant orange flames. The blade sliced clean through the two closest arms of both creatures as his feet hit the ground again and dug trenches. Peter slowly slid to a stop just before Alec, turning around back to the Criten by the time that he had done so.
For a brief, literally shining moment the flames surrounding Peter¡¯s sword flared and licked at his hands, getting a pained grimace and flinch from the young man before he shot back towards the Criten. Felicia slid to her knees beside Alec right as their leader entered the fray once more.
¡°This is very bad Alec. It¡¯ll take a lot of my magic to heal it.¡±
¡°S-So¡rry¡¡±
¡°Do not apologise!¡± Felica glared heatedly at him, pressing her lips together thinly and beginning to weave a string of runes together with talented and dexterous fingers.
The sound of fighting nearby and the glowing lights of Felicia¡¯s rune-weaving washed over his senses and the words of the Saintess echoed in his mind. This had happened because of him, Peter and Angelica had to overextend themselves to take on multiple Iron-tier monsters by themselves because of him. Felicia had to use almost all of her available mana to help him and not the others.
In theory, he wasn¡¯t unlike the others. His Qualification, [Swordmaster], was a highly prestigious, albeit mysterious, qualification just like Felicia¡¯s [Saintess] or Angelica¡¯s [High-Sorcerer]. But his progress had always been slower than that of his friends, ever since they were children. In magic, it had been understandable but the gulf had slowly, ever so hauntingly slowly, expanded over time.
If he compared himself to only Felicia and Angelica these feelings of doubt and self-hatred may not be a thing, or they may have been a whole lot less powerful. However he wasn¡¯t only in the presence of those two ladies, he was also in the presence of Peter Kroll.
In the distance, Peter thrust his sword into the belly of the Criten and flared the flames on his blade, cooking it from the inside out before ripping the blade out of the now very dead monster and letting it slip from his grasp behind him without looking. The blade went clean into the throat of the second Criten trying to sneak up on him, killing it on the spot even as the flames were extinguished from lack of mana.
Peter Kroll, birth-given qualification: [Platinum-Class Warrior].
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XXXxxxXXX
Two hours later
Alec sighed while massaging his shoulder as the party of four, officially dubbed ''Blessed Catalyst'', sat at a small, dingy, table in the corner of the tavern they called ''home base'' for the night.
While higher ranking adventuring parties that could take more dangerous, and thus better rewarded, quests were often able to buy, create, or otherwise set up their own permanent place of residence. Lower-ranked parties, especially Copper-rank parties like Blessed Catalyst, simply didn¡¯t have the funds to afford such a thing without the connections or backing of nobility or other adventurers.
Neither of which any of the members of Blessed Catalyst had, as a group of four orphans all from the same rundown village in the mountains. So, they were forced, like all other lower-ranked adventurers, to hop from temporary accommodation to temporary accommodation.
¡°Are you feeling ok, Alec?¡± Felicia asked with concern etched across her face as she looked into his eyes with wide eyes and pressed together lips.
What she probably didn¡¯t realise she was showing off, in those same actions, were the slight bags under her eyes and the small cracks on her lips. Things that she should have dealt with practically subconsciously, if not for the amount of magic she had, had to use to heal him earlier that day.
¡°I¡¯m fine, Felicia, really.¡± He tried to smile, to reassure her that he really was feeling fine.
And while physically that may have been true, emotionally it wasn¡¯t. His guilt eating away at him and denting the sincerity of his smile against his own wishes. Something which may have been noticed by the young Saintess, if her small frown was anything to go by.
¡°Tch! Ow!¡± Both of the adventurer¡¯s attention was drawn to the pained hiss of their leader as he smacked his bandaged finger against the mug of juice that he had ordered.
Unfortunately, while 17 may have been an acceptable age to drink in many countries across the Twin-Continents, the same could not be said for the Kingdom of Kairahl, where they currently reside.
¡°Oh grow up you big baby. Felicia can heal it tomorrow.¡± Angelica rolled her eyes at her brother''s reaction.
¡°It hurts Angelica!¡± Peter whined, holding his wrist while acting as if his hand was still actively on fire.
¡°You did worse with the stove back at the orphanage.¡± She deadpanned, which only got stronger as he whined louder and rested his forehead on his forearm.
However that only lasted for a few seconds before he gave up the act and straightened back out, this time much more care not to knock his injured extremity against anything as he did so.
¡°Alright, so Iron-class beasts are still an issue. Today showed that pretty plainly.¡±
¡°My healing is still too inefficient.¡± Felicia sighed, missing the look that Alec shot her. ¡°I need to work on either my mana management or my mana levels in general.¡±
¡°Personally I think the issue lay with myself and Peter. While there¡¯s not much he could have done, save for zone the Criten better and run after it once it got past, if I had known a spell to block its path off or even slow it down. None of us would be as exhausted as we all are.¡± This time it was Angelica who got a surprised look from Alec, though unlike Felicia she at least seemed to notice it and gave him a stern glare while shaking her head in response.
¡°That¡¯s my bad. It overpowered me for a moment and I was too surprised to stop it. Sorry Alec, sorry Felicia.¡±
¡°It¡¯s fine, really. It seems like we all made some mistakes today.¡± Felicia smiled, getting a small snort from Peter and the barest hint of a smile from Angelica.
Meanwhile, Alec couldn¡¯t stop thinking about the fight. Sure, he acknowledged that each of them had a point. None of them had fought flawlessly in that battle, none of them had been perfect beyond reproach. But if anyone should have had their flaws pointed out, it should have been him. He knew that his friends were nice and considerate. But if this was going to be the way it was if they were going to act as if they were the only problems and not him, the only one of them still ranked in Copper-class, he couldn¡¯t bear to watch when something horrific happened.
Because in this world, with everything going on between the different countries and the monsters and beasts that constantly battled at the borders of man, he knew that eventually, something horrific would happen. And he couldn¡¯t bear to see any of them sad over his passing because he followed them on something he wasn¡¯t prepared to handle or Gods-forbid, something terrible happened to any of them.
¡®No. I can¡¯t allow that to happen. Even if drastic actions have to be taken.¡¯ Alec thought to himself, taking a moment to steel his resolve, and then speaking as clearly and confidently as he could.
¡°Guys, I have an announce- mffggh!?¡± Alec blinked in surprise while his eyes were blown wide open as Angelica surged forward and placed a hand over his mouth as if sensing what he was about to say.
And considering her intellect, he was pretty certain she actually had a solid idea of his announcement already. Especially when he actually took a moment to look at, and notice, the expression on her face; ashen pale with wide eyes and pursed lips, as if physically fighting to keep her mouth closed.
¡°Alec, buddy. How about we take a quick moment and-¡± Angelica spoke up, only to make a small squeaking sound as he grabbed her arm and, as gently as he could get away with, moved her hand off his lips.
¡°Angelica, I''m sorry.¡± He murmured, shaking his head.
¡°Can the two of you clue us in? What¡¯s Alec trying to say?¡± Peter asked, confused over the expression his sister was making and worried about whatever announcement Alec had in store that could create such an expression on her.
¡°I wish to resign from Blessed Catalyst.¡±
¡°Angelica muffle him again.¡± Felicia deadpanned, getting a startled yelp from Alex as he backpedalled to avoid Angelica¡¯s free hand from slapping over his mouth.
¡°You- Why do you want to leave Alec? Did someone say something to you?¡± Peter asked, his eyebrows furrowing worriedly as he stood up, his hands resting on the surface of the table.
¡°Wha- No! No one said anything to me.¡± Alec denied, shaking his head and waving his hands in front of his face.
¡°Are you certain?¡± Felicia asked, squinting her eyes at him and leaning a little closer, as if trying to search his face for any hints of deceit.
¡°Yes. I¡¯m certain. Look, today was a mess.¡± The blue-haired teen began, running his fingers through his hair on habit.
¡°That¡¯s hardly your fault Alec. Matured Criten are Iron-rank beasts. You can¡¯t expect to be able to handle one, let alone two, as a Copper-rank.¡± Angelica pointed out reasonably, making him flinch a little.
¡®Even though that¡¯s true¡¡¯
¡°But how long will I be stuck at Copper? When you all move up to Silver? To Gold?¡± He questioned, shaking his head vehemently. ¡°I can¡¯t keep up with you all. I can¡¯t.¡±
Something in his voice seemed to keep the arguments of his friends at bay, but he could see the hand of Peter slowly reaching out, as if to try and comfort him.
¡°The more I lag behind the more danger I''m put in- The more danger you¡¯re all put in.¡±
¡°You¡¯re already on the precipice of Iron-rank Alec. I get that today was stressful but you can¡¯t let it shake your resolve.¡± Angelica tried to remind him, her voice softening a little as she did so.
¡°But my progress is too slow, Angelica. My injuries today completely broke our formation. Look I just- I¡¯m not trying to- Argh.¡± He shook his head and frazzled his hair as he tried to get his thoughts straight and put them into proper words.
¡°Alec. We¡¯re not going to abandon you just because your progress has slowed down. I know that with some help we can catch you up to where we are. We can even take some lower-ranking quests if our safety is what you¡¯re worried about.¡± Peter suggested, a sincere look on his face as he saw clearly how worked up this was making his best friend.
¡°But you don¡¯t deserve that. None of you do. Your progress, your potential, shouldn¡¯t be stunted just because of me.¡±
¡°That¡¯s a stupid thing to think.¡± Felicia said bluntly, taking a small sip of her drink, though the shine in her eyes betrayed her cool and collected tone. ¡°Our potential won¡¯t be stunted just because we took it slow for a little bit to help our friend.¡±
¡°That¡¯s- I worded that wrong.¡± Alec said, trying to keep his resolve strong in the face of the merciless siege machine that was his friends¡¯ arguments.
¡°Then what is the correct wording, Alec? Because this seems like a lot of stress that has just led to a decision you might not have thought through.¡± Angelica diagnosed, shooting her brother and Felicia a look when they opened their mouths to speak once more.
For a moment the table of four was silent as the three of them, at Angelica¡¯s whim, gave Alec the opportunity to try and work through his words, his feelings, and his plan. He tried to grasp onto that logic that he had felt his argument had when he had first thought of it but it was nowhere to be found, destroyed in the logic of his friends'' own arguments. He tried to find another line of logic or rationale but that only led him back around in loops.
Until, finally, Alec realised what this was about. The psychological diagnosis that Angelica had given him moments earlier shifted his mind down a different path.
¡°Look. This decision¡it''s rash and emotional and sorta selfish, I won¡¯t lie. But I really, really think that I need this. I¡¯m never going to feel comfortable putting you in danger or ruining your progress through the ranks just to try and bring me back up to level. We¡¯ve been together since we were kids, always the four of us, and I love you guys. But it¡¯s precisely because of that, that I need to put some distance between all of us. I need to grow on my own, outside of Blessed Catalyst.¡±
¡°Alec¡¡± Angelica frowned, her eyes shining a little.
¡°I see..¡± Felicia mumbled, taking another sip of her drink.
¡°That¡¯s really how you feel, huh?¡± Peter mumbled, letting his head drop to stare at the tabletop that he still leant on.
¡°It- It really is.¡± Alec nodded resolutely, his face set hard and firm.
For a few brief seconds, it was once again silent at the table of Blessed Catalyst. The thoughts and emotions of all four members churned and jumbled around inside their heads. Alec¡¯s thoughts stuck squarely on how he could convince the three of them to let him go with as little fanfare as possible. Both of the girls thought trying to figure out how to get it through to Alec that he wasn¡¯t a problem to them, that his slow progress didn¡¯t matter so long as he stayed. And the thoughts of Peter¡
¡°Alright.¡±
Alec jolted back a half step, having not thought that his best friend would ever be the first to agree, though the reactions of Angelica and Felicia were a little more¡extreme.
¡°Peter what the hell!?¡±
¡°The madness has spread. I¡¯ll prepare a purification.¡±
¡°Woah woah! Calm down! There¡¯s no need for a purification.¡± Peter said hurriedly, holding a hand up to each girl.
¡°Then explain.¡± Angelica glared at her brother while leaning into his personal space.
¡°Look. This is something that Alec clearly wants right? I don¡¯t want him leaving either but I don¡¯t think we can really, in good conscience, keep him with us. Do you?¡±
¡°Well- That¡¯s true¡¡± Angelica admitted reluctantly, averting her eyes from her brother as she leant back.
¡°I suppose.¡± Felicia mumbled, clearly unhappy about the entire situation.
¡°So, if you really, really think this is what you need, Alec. We¡¯ll let you go. On one condition.¡± Peter said, holding up one bandaged finger seriously.
¡°And that is?¡±
¡°That you eventually come back to us. Whether that''s in a week, a month, a year or more. You¡¯ll eventually rejoin Blessed Catalyst.¡±
Alec couldn¡¯t help but crack a grin at his friend''s condition, which was matched by the red-haired teen as he held his hand out towards Alec.
¡°Do we have an agreement?¡±
¡°Of course we do. I was always planning on coming back.¡± He said softly, grasping the bandaged hand of Peter in as firm a handshake as he could get away with, without injuring him.
¡°A little extra insurance never hurts.¡± Peter snickered, though there was a slight wetness beginning to develop along the edges of his eyes.
¡°So I guess this is it, huh?¡± Alec mumbled, only to groan as both Angelica and Felicia struck his sides, both young women wrapping their arms around him.
¡°Not yet.¡±
¡°We need to say goodbye too, first.¡±
He could tell that both girls were on the verge of crying, which he could already feel was beginning to make his own eyes tear up in response.
¡°I guess a goodbye wouldn¡¯t be complete without a hug.¡± Alec chuckled weakly, trying to keep his own tears in check as he felt both Angelica¡¯s and Felicia¡¯s arms tighten slightly.
¡°Room for one more?¡± Peter asked, walking around the table with his arms wide open.
Only to promptly be dragged into the hug as an arm from all three teens whipped out to grab him and drag him into it. A loud, cheerful laugh left him as he wrapped his thicker arms around all three of them at once.
¡°Best of luck to you, Alec.¡±
¡°Yeah. Best of luck to you all too.¡± He whispered.
And if the four of them stayed in that four-person hug for longer than was probably necessary, it was never brought up. A moment of peace that all four of them were more than happy to partake in before the four of them became three.
A moment purely between four childhood friends.
A solo blade
The streets of the Capital City of Kairahl, Kret, were oddly empty as Alec made his way through them early in the morning. His first morning since leaving Blessed Catalyst and his childhood friends behind.
Since he had stayed in the same hotel as them, he had made sure to go to bed earlier than usual in an attempt to wake up earlier and leave the hotel before a second tearful farewell could begin. Because as cathartic as the goodbye had been from the night before, he had no wish to repeat it.
Especially on the first day of his journey as a solo adventurer.
Though the backlash of his early night was already hitting him, making him yawn quietly in the back of his hand as he walked through the streets. An annoyed click of his tongue left his mouth as he turned down a small side street and made his way down a small set of stone stairs.
The turn had taken him off the more elevated main street of the district and into the more densely packed, but lively, streets of restaurants and caf¨¦s and merchants of all sorts. The clothing, armour and items on many of the people making their way through the immediate street pretty much immediately clueing Alec into the fact that he¡¯d made his way to a more adventurer focused market.
Even now, at just a little past 6:30 in the morning, adventurers of all sorts were making their way through the streets. Some of them were relaxing and eating meals alongside their parties, others were perusing the stalls and shops scattered about, and some just seemed to be walking around and enjoying the atmosphere; An activity that Alec himself could more than appreciate.
Slipping ahead of two patrolling knights when he saw a gap in the foot-traffic of the street, Alec began to make his way through the street with an idly swivelling gaze. The late teen looked for anything that would catch his attention even a little as he traversed the well-worn street.
¡®I have to go to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild later to get a quest, but no need to rush this early in the morning.¡¯ He thought to himself, swerving over to the left side of the street as he noticed an old wooden sign hung up beside a rather traditional looking caf¨¦.
¡°Huh. Well, I¡¯m pretty hungry so why not?¡± Alec mumbled to himself, shrugging and making his way into the caf¨¦.
The caf¨¦ itself was densely packed with tables, chairs and booths but not so much as to be stifling or overwhelming, a soft yellow glow of magical lamps lighting up the space where the natural lights of the large windows could not. A couple knights and adventurers already sat at some of the tables and booths, with another two in line to order.
So, making his way into the line while trying to avoid knocking anything with the blade sheathed at his side, Alec let his mind wander. His reflection in the polished bronze of the counter edge caught his attention, causing him to briefly grab his chin and turn his head a couple times.
He had never really been one to pay much attention to his appearance apart from the bare minimum to be considered ¡®polite¡¯, as Miss Vira had, figuratively, beaten into all the orphanage children¡¯s heads. Yet even then he couldn¡¯t help but think back to his friend¡¯s comments about him not being ugly and, somewhat hesitantly, admit that they may have had a point. He wouldn¡¯t consider himself supermodel material, but his somewhat sharp features, such as his jawline and eyebrows, definitely gave him some good qualities in his own opinion.
Though his moment of self-appreciation didn¡¯t last too long as his gaze, naturally, went up to his cobalt hair. While he considered himself lucky not to have spiky hair, like his red-haired friend, he couldn¡¯t help but curse his own hair at times.
Right now was exactly one of those times, his usually nice straight hair was beginning to grow too long, at that weird stage that Alec hated to look at where he had to decide whether to cut it or let it keep growing so that he could do something else with it, like tie it back. Historically he had chosen to do the former, but given he was looking for a quest to take him out of Kret today he¡¯d have to take a chance and grow it out for once.
¡®Reminder, grab some hair ties before I leave Kret.¡¯ He hummed mentally, finally stepping to the front of the line and smiling politely towards the girl that stood opposite him.
¡°Good morning. Could I please get a Large Mocha and Croissant?¡±
¡°Of course, sir.¡± The girl smiled, making a small scribble on a notepad in front of her. ¡°Were you looking to try and claim the Adventurer discount today?¡±
¡°Oh! Yeah, I am, thanks for reminding me.¡± He chuckled, reaching into a small pouch on his waist and pulling his Adventurer¡¯s ID out.
¡°Woah, a [Swordmaster]. Isn¡¯t that a [Platinum-ranked] qualification?¡± The girl asked, looking between Alec¡¯s ID and his face a couple times.
¡°Ah. Not quite. It¡¯s actually still an [Abyss-rank].¡± He admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
¡°Oh! Pardon me. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find out its true rank.¡± The girl smiled, getting a small smile in return from the blue-haired teen.
¡°So that should be 7 copper coins, right?¡± He questioned, pulling his coin pouch out.
¡°Ah! Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± The girl yelped, having realized she had gotten a little carried away with the qualification of the boy before her.
He just smiled and handed the coins over before going to take a seat while waiting for his drink and food to be completed, letting his mind wander as he looked down at the blade by his side. The chape of his scabbard pressed on the wooden floor of the caf¨¦, his lax sitting position causing the sword to rest in an almost perfectly vertical position, letting the pommel of the blade itself shine a little as he tilted his head.
¡®[Swordmaster]¡By all estimates it should be a [Platinum-ranked] qualification but it¡¯s so rare that it¡¯s still stuck in Abyss. What if it only turns out to be [Tungsten-rank]?¡¯
Realistically, Alec knew that his worrying was ridiculous and had no real grounding. If the [Swordsman] qualification could reach Platinum, then it was pretty obvious that [Swordmaster] would be able to as well. But emotions were never logical at the best of times and that continued to hold true at the current moment.
The reason for Alec¡¯s worry, the ranking of his qualification, came ironically from its rarity. Certain qualifications, magic items and, very rarely, spells fell outside of the regular six metallic ranks and into a special rank known as [Abyss-rank]. Anything that sat within Abyss did so for one very particular reason, not enough was known about it to confidently place it into the regular ranking system.
[Swordmaster] was among some of the rare few qualifications that still sat within [Abyss-rank] in this day and age, with other examples including [High-Sorcerer] and [Dragon-Summoner]. Alec himself being the sixth Swordmaster in recorded history, and Angelica being only the fourth High-Sorcerer in recorded history.
¡°Mocha and a croissant?¡±
Alec shook himself out of his musing as he heard his order being called out, quickly hopping over to grab his meal and drink. Now he just had to grab some hair ties and supplies, grab a quest and he would be on his way out of Kret, easy.
XXXxxxXXX
An Hour Later, Adventurer¡¯s Guild
Alec had no idea where to even begin. The Adventurer¡¯s Guild, while as busy as the last time he had come in here as part of Blessed Catalyst, seemed so much more chaotic now that he was on his own. The four storeys of the building, at least as much of them as he could see from the open plan foyer he currently stood inside, were a bustling mess of adventurer¡¯s, clients, employee¡¯s and all manner of random figures.
Yet while it was just as busy as the last time he was here, it somehow felt so many times more chaotic without the ¡®buffer¡¯ that his friends had been. Leaving him just a little bit dazed and confused as he made his way forward, towards the ground-floor reception desk.
Luckily it seemed like the desk itself wasn¡¯t too busy at the moment. Only two people talking to the four seated receptionists, leaving him able to slip in front of one of them quickly and easily.
¡°Hello, how may I help you?¡± The lady sitting before him asked, her expression and tone pleasant.
She seemed rather plain as far as looks went, with round green eyes behind small spectacles and her light brown hair pulled up into a tight, professional, bun. A pin of the Guild¡¯s symbol on the collar of her jacket to denote her as an employee of the international organization.
¡°Uh, hi.¡± He began a little awkwardly, placing both of his hands on the edge of the counter, ¡°I was looking to change the party affiliation on my ID and pick up a quest?¡±
¡°Of course, do you have your ID on you, sir?¡± She asked, holding a hand out to gently grab the ID card from him when he pulled it out for her.
¡°What did you wish to change your party affiliation to?¡±
¡°Not applicable, please.¡± To the receptionist¡¯s credit, she didn¡¯t react at all to the information about him going from being in a party to solo, which made him feel a little more comfortable.
It wasn¡¯t exactly like people leaving a party, or a party simply collapsing, was a rare occurrence in the world of adventurers. If Alec was remembering correctly from the guidebook he had been given when he had first signed up with the Guild, the average was something around 3.3 parties over the course of an adventurer¡¯s career.
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¡°Alright, your ID has been updated, Mr. Dius.¡± The woman commented politely, holding his ID back out to him with both her hands, ¡°And you said you were looking for a quest as well?¡±
¡°Yeah I am.¡± He nodded, accepting his ID back and putting it in the pouch at his hip.
Looking back at the receptionist after his confirmation, he saw her looking him up and down. The late teen tensed up a bit in reflexive defensiveness as he recognized the gaze of scrutiny that she was giving him as her eyes went from his neck to his feet and back up again.
He would admit that he didn¡¯t exactly cut the most intimidating of figures. His boots, pants and long-sleeved shirt all practically screamed low-rank adventurer from the boonies and the only armour of any kind on his form was a slightly scuffed, and well-worn, simple leather cuirass.
Once upon a time he had had a matching set of bracers as well, but those had been in a far worse condition than the cuirass and he hadn¡¯t had the money to repair them after they had been damaged in one of Blessed Catalyst¡¯s early quests.
¡°I see. Have you ever been a solo adventurer before?¡±
¡°No.¡± He answered succinctly, his voice just a little clipped in the wake of her silent scrutiny.
Whether or not she noticed his clipped tone of voice, Alec simply had no idea. Regardless of whether she did or not she smiled and began to look through a couple pieces of parchment on her desk, seemingly in thought.
¡°You can deny this if you wish, but I can organise a higher-ranking adventurer to accompany you on your quest to give advice if you foresee yourself staying as a solo adventurer for the near future?¡± She offered, seeming rather pleased as his body began to unwind from its unwilling tenseness.
¡°Are you sure? I won¡¯t get in their way or anything?¡±
¡°Oh no no. These adventurers are paid by the Guild specifically for this purpose. We¡¯ve noticed a 43% increase in solo adventurer survival after implementing this system, actually.¡±
¡®43%? Was being a solo adventurer some kind of death trap beforehand?¡¯ Alec thought to himself, clenching his left hand tightly at the thought of himself becoming just another solo adventurer that went missing on a quest and never came back.
¡°Alright. That sounds good, I¡¯ll accept their assistance, please. Do I have to share the quest payout with them?¡±
¡°Not at all, our payment is more than anything a Copper or Iron quest could ever offer, regardless.¡±
¡°R-Right¡¡± He mumbled, slouching a little at the casual reminder of how little money adventurers had to work off of at lower ranks.
¡°Feel free to go and choose a quest. I¡¯ll find and organise an assistant to join you on whatever quest you choose in the meantime.¡± The receptionist explained, giving a small finger wave as Alec walked away with a small nod.
Making his way over to one set of stairs off to the side of the foyer he made his way up to the first floor, making his way around the open-plan center and to one of the wings of the building that he knew he could find [Copper-rank] quests.
The room in question seemed fairly busy even at this time in the morning. Solo adventurers and parties alike looked over the 14 large bulletin boards with quests of all sorts pinned to them with built-in clamps.
Making his way forward, he began to look for any quests that would take him out of Kairahl. He didn¡¯t care whether it was to the bordering country of Xyrtah or even across the ocean to the Eastern-Continent, just something that he could conceivably do that would take him out of the country.
And eventually something did catch his attention, a quest to bring a package of twilight-bloom ¨Ca flower native to Kairahl¨C to an apothecary in Xyrtah¡¯s capital; Zenik.
Silently side-stepping around another party looking over the quest board, he unclipped the quest and made his way back downstairs to the reception desk. The teen making sure to stick to the edge of the staircase to avoid the oncoming traffic heading upwards as best as he could.
Finding his way back to the marginally busier reception desk, Alec gave a small smile and wave to the receptionist that he had spoken to before, getting a pleasant smile in return as she gently gestured for him to come over.
¡°Wow, it really got busy fast, huh?¡± He asked rhetorically as he walked up to the desk, placing the quest that he had chosen on the edge.
¡°It¡¯s usually like this around this time.¡± The woman hummed, taking the quest poster and looking it over with a surprisingly scrutinising gaze.
Alec really, desperately, wanted to know what all the scrutiny was about. Yet he held his tongue as he saw her place the poster back on the desk in front of her, her eyes lifting back to his face as she smiled.
¡°Alright, it seems that everything is in order. Would you like to hand in proof of mission completion at our branch in Zenik or are you planning on returning?¡±
¡°Yes, I would like to get my pay in Zenik, please.¡± He said resolutely, getting a hum and a nod from the woman as she seemed to make a note of his answer on a small piece of parchment.
¡°Of course. Now if you¡¯ll excuse me, I¡¯ll go grab the package and return with it and your assisting adventurer. It shouldn¡¯t be longer than¡five minutes.¡± She said after a moment of thought.
¡°Oh, yeah of course. Should I wait down here or up in the lounge?¡± He asked, pointing a finger upwards while tilting his head to the side slightly.
¡°Down here is fine. As I said, I shouldn¡¯t be long.¡±
¡°Ok.¡± He nodded, walking over to the side of the room to lean against the wall of the foyer.
The teen hummed to himself as he took the brief moment of waiting to watch the people of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. The adventurer¡¯s that funnelled in and out of the building, the employee¡¯s that ran back and forth, even the occasional Guild-employed guard that wandered through the premises.
Just looking at one of those guys made his skin break out into goosebumps and his hand subconsciously rest on the pommel of his sheathed blade. A reflex on the part of his body, spurred on by the sense of danger the guards seemed to almost passively exude. Yet a reflex that only ended up drawing the attention of the closest guard, further increasing the speed of his heartbeat and the tenseness of his muscles.
Luckily for his nerves, and his continued wellbeing, it never went beyond cautious stares. The eyes of the guards sliding off Alec after barely a second of attention when it became evident that his actions were not of his own mind.
¡°Aha! Hello there! Mr Dius!¡± The crow of an elderly voice, over the static buzz of footsteps and clinking metal and idle conversation, snapped Alec out of his reflexive tenseness, his cobalt eyes sliding to the right to look over at the figure that had called out his name.
The man was a human, of that Alec was fairly certain, but he was also an elderly one at that. His age hovering somewhere between 60 and 70 based on his appearance, with his short, spiky, grey hair and mildly wrinkled skin. However, the man moved with a strange spryness that seemed unnatural when paired with his appearance, but Alec had already seen his fair share of strangeness even in his short tenure as an adventurer, so he didn¡¯t dwell on it for longer than a second at most.
¡°Hey there, are you the assistant adventurer?¡± He asked, giving a small wave to the man as he walked over, a small parcel in his left hand as he approached the teen.
The elderly man, as previously stated, had wrinkled skin and somewhat short spiky grey hair, that seemed to defy gravity, with startlingly focused brown eyes that seemed to look at Alec and learn more about him in a second than Alec had learnt about himself in 17 years of living. He was garbed in flowing robes of a deep, rich, green with striking red embroidery along the edges of the cloak, neck and sleeves.
¡®Aren¡¯t those¡?¡¯ Alec thought to himself, squinting his eyes a little as he stared at the red embroidery on the flowing green cloak that covered the rest of the man from view.
Alec may not have been the most knowledgeable when it came to magic, but he knew magic formulas when he saw them.
¡°That¡¯s me! My name is Alexandar Greynam, a pleasure to meet a spry young adventurer such as yourself. Especially one with instincts as keen as yours!¡±
¡°Huh? Keen instincts?¡± Alec questioned, giving the man a confused look as he tilted his head to the side.
¡°The guards. Everyone knows what they are, but they wade through all these adventurers without any issues whatsoever. Yet despite that, you still move reflexively to heighten your guard whenever you happen to notice any. It speaks of good, if not slightly anxious, instincts.¡± Alexandar explained as if it was a common fact, waving the package around as he waved his hand dismissively at the end of his explanation.
¡°Oh, thank you. I can¡¯t say I ever really noticed any difference between myself and my friends¡¡± Alec admitted, trying to think about if he¡¯d ever reacted to something when his friends had failed to.
¡°Perhaps their instincts were just as good? Hard to tell without meeting them.¡± Alexandar shrugged, slipping the package inside his cloak where it seemed to just¡disappear.
¡°Right. Uh, should we get going?¡± Alec suggested, pointing a thumb awkwardly in the direction of the door.
¡°Oh yes! Go ahead, Mr Dius. I¡¯m simply an assisting adventurer. A guiding hand if you will. Whatever you wish to do, I¡¯ll follow along.¡± Alexandar smiled kindly, beginning to follow after the teen as he started to walk.
¡°Right¡ Say, what rank are you, Mr Greynam?¡±
¡°None of that, none of that.¡± The elderly man shook his head and waved a dismissive hand behind Alec¡¯s back as they left the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.
¡°Eh?¡±
¡°Just call me Alexandar. I stopped caring about those sorts of manners when I was somewhere in my 23rd decade of living.¡±
¡°23rd!? How old are you?¡± Alec couldn¡¯t help but ask, nearly falling down the steps up to the Guild as he turned around to look at Alexandar.
¡°Hmmm. 304 if memory serves.¡± The elderly man hummed, scratching his chin.
¡°R-Right¡¡±
¡°But about my rank, I¡¯m a Tungsten adventurer, myself.¡± Alexandar stated, as if talking about the potted plant they walked past on their way out of the city.
Something which gave Alec just a little bit of whiplash if he was silently honest with himself. He was so used to the importance that everyone seemed to put on their qualifications and their ranks that hearing someone in the second highest rank that just didn¡¯t seem to care was¡unique.
¡°Wow. Guess I don¡¯t need to worry about holding you back, huh?¡± Alec muttered with a sardonic grin, not able to see the slight thinning of Alexandar¡¯s eyes as he hummed.
¡°Certainly not. So long as you don¡¯t try to fight anything too far above your level and stay out of imminent danger, you¡¯ll make it to Zenik in one piece. This old man swears it!¡± The elderly adventurer declared before laughing merrily, getting a small chuckle from the teen.
¡°Well, it¡¯ll be interesting. That¡¯s for certain.¡±
XXXxxxXXX
Two days later
Alec hummed quietly as he heard the rustle of leaves from something too large to be some kind of regular creature like a bird or possum. The teen came to a stop and slowly began to draw his blade while scanning the bushes and trees to the right of the main road that the adventurer¡¯s followed for this beginning leg of the journey.
Behind him, Alexandar just watched Alec¡¯s movements with a gaze that was halfway between amused and intrigued. As if he found the teen''s caution funny, yet also found himself curious as to what the teen would do and how he would handle the situation.
¡°You seem convinced there¡¯s something there?¡± He questioned the teen, silently moving a few steps back.
¡°Because there is.¡± Alec mumbled back; his gaze narrowed on a particular area of flora.
¡°Really? Coulda¡¯ fooled me. How do you reckon that?¡± He questioned, miming a hand over his eyes while squinting and leaning forward slightly in case the teen happened to look back at him.
Of course, the man was fully aware of the creatures that hid in the bushes that Alec happened to be staring directly at; he just wished to hear the teen¡¯s reasoning and deductions.
¡°There¡¯s something too big to be a regular forest animal in the bushes, it made too much noise when moving through the bushes.¡± Alec muttered, slowly tilting his blade into a more suitable position before shooting forward.
The teen was quick for his rank, Alexandar would give him that, but even with that speed two of the Draken hiding in the bushes were faster. The sharp tip of the teen¡¯s blade cutting clean through the head of the third Draken that hadn¡¯t been quick enough, going in one eye, across the forehead and out the other eye. The slash was a well performed maneuver, especially with the cleanliness of the wound.
It was an almost perfectly straight cut with no serration or tearing of the flesh, with even the admittedly soft bone of the reptilian creature cut amazingly smoothly. Yet Alexandar would not rate an adventurer on a single strike, no matter how good, so he waited on the sidelines to see how the teen would handle the other two monsters.
Though whatever creature Alexandar could sense approaching beneath the earth would be a problem a little beyond the [Copper-rank] adventurer.
Spinning with the short momentum of his killing strike, Alec shifted his footing and took a good two steps forward and a half step or three to the left. The blue-haired adventurer closing in on one of the Draken before it was ready to handle him, causing it to leap haphazardly in the air in an uncoordinated attempt to strike at his front as the third and last Draken tried to circle around his back.
The flash of his blade was quick and smooth, creating an arc from his side, up into the throat and jaw of the creature that looked halfway between crocodile and wingless-dragon, and then around and over his head and right back down into the skull and brain of the third Draken. Blood spraying out of both of their injuries for a second before beginning to leak out in small waterfalls as their bodies fell to the ground dead.
Right as he lifted his blade to try and flick as much blood off of it as possible, there was a creak of trees from further up the road. The teen looked over curiously to try and tell what it was, only for the ground beneath his feet to begin rumbling as the trees around him began to make that same, ominous, creaking and groaning.
¡°Apologies. You took out those Draken well, but the cause of this is a little beyond your level, Mr Dius.¡± Alexandar said as he walked closer to the teen, voice smooth as he held his hand out to the side and summoned an immaculate and intricately crafted and enchanted staff from seemingly thin air.
¡°What is it?¡± Alec asked, keeping his blade out and to his side as he looked around warily, crouching just a little in preparation to move at a moment¡¯s notice.
Except, rather than receiving an answer from the mage himself, the answer to the teen¡¯s question came in the form of erupting earth and exploding trees. Dust climbing high into the air and the air swirling in the sudden imbalance around a large, central entity that seemed to be rising higher and higher into the air just as the dust did. The swirling of the wind clearing just enough of the dust to reveal the thick, sandy-brown carapace of the creature as it ended its ascent and began to curl around to start looking down at the ground, at the two adventurers.
¡°Is that a Dune Worm!?¡± Alec yelled out over the cacophonous sound of shattering stones and swirling winds, his gaze locked in terror on the rows of undulating, exposed, bone in the creature¡¯s mouth that acted as its very own facsimile of teeth.
¡°It is! Incredibly rare to find them this far south though!¡± Alexandar called out, staring far more calmly up at the creature as the rings of muscle and exposed bone in its mouth stretched out wide before beginning to clatter together in a horrid recreation of a roar that was, almost paradoxically, just as intimidating.
¡°They¡¯re meant to be up by the Star-Split Mountains right!? Why would one be down here!?¡±
¡°It¡¯s injured! Something pretty big must have happened in the mountains or around Gladia and it ran down here scared! Which is pretty good for us because its injuries have weakened it quite a bit!¡± Alexandar called out, pointing his staff at the mouth of the creature and forming a three-layered magic formula over it that began to spin and reform itself.
The reason for this became apparent to the magically untrained teen as the backmost rings of muscle and bone clattered together once more while the foremost rings widened as much as possible. Mana began to coalesce before its mouth into a small ball that grew larger and larger with each second that passed.
If Alec had been able to focus on anything except his heart hammering in his ears and the icy grip of the Grim Reaper around his throat, he may have been able to take notice of the unique colour the Dune Worm¡¯s mana seemed to take and the speed at which it was able to coalesce so much. Yet alas, such observations were the last things on his mind at the moment.
¡°YOU SAID IT WAS WEAKENED!?¡±
¡°It is! I¡¯ll be able to take this titan down all by myself, easy! So just sit back and enjoy the show, Mr Dius!¡±
The magic formula flashed a bright, vibrant, green before a spherical dome of solid mana surrounded the two of them, and the coalesced sphere of mana exploded into a beam of pure power, striking the newly created defence.
A different kind of world
The world quaked and the sky turned a brilliant, pure white to the eyes of the cobalt-haired teen. The seemingly bass-boosted thrum of energy in the air turned his hearing into nothing but static and the vibrations of the ground around them caused pins and needles in his legs and arms.
Alec genuinely wasn¡¯t sure if he was even able to move as he stared in abject horror at the beam of pure power that crashed against Alexandar¡¯s shield. The torrent of energy exploded into tens of smaller beams that shot off and arced over and around the spherical shield to strike the forest around them. Trees shredded to sawdust in an instant and the ground cratered and charred within the brief seconds that the smaller beams struck.
¡°Mr Dius! Can you tell me why I don¡¯t want this fight to go on for too long?¡± Alexandar called out, his shield pulsing a reassuring green as it held strong against the beam.
Somehow, Alec didn¡¯t feel very reassured as he continued to stare almost unblinkingly at the raw mana cascading down on them.
¡°Because it¡¯s going to break through your shield!?¡±
¡°Hmmm. Not quite! Have you ever heard of the Theory of Amplification and Synchronisation?¡±
¡°No!¡±
¡°Well, it¡¯s quite simple! Mana draws in more mana! Mana of the same ¡®attribute¡¯ grows denser when it contacts mana of a similar or identical attribute and that denser mana draws in more at an accelerated rate!¡±
¡°So, this attack will only grow stronger!?¡±
¡°Hah! If I let it go on for another minute or so, perhaps!¡± Alexandar laughed, turning his head just enough to show Alec his confident grin before he turned back to face the beam of sand-yellow mana.
¡°Let¡¯s see, spiral the shield¡¯s shape and limit its firing range. That should give it a good boost to durability.¡± Alexandar mumbled to himself, unheard over the shattering ground and buzzing of the air.
Another magic circle flashed to life over the staff held within his hand, a tree branch of what appeared to be white wood with a perfectly spherical green gemstone trapped inside interwoven branches and small talismans dangling from each of the six interwoven branches.
The magic circle spun in sections and characters within it blurred for a couple moments before it clicked into place and pulsed. Immediately fading from existence as its effects were actualised in the world around them.
Amidst defending them from the beam of mana, the dome-shield that Alexandar had created began to shift and morph. The thick, solidified energy of the shield twisted in on itself to form a spiraled cone that still kept the two adventurers protected but at a much smaller range than previously, leaving Alec just a little on edge.
With a small crack of air, the twisted and condensed defence-turned-offence was launched straight into the beam of oncoming mana. The shape of the projectile combined with its condensed solidity and the purposeful limitation placed into the spell by Alexandar meant that it pierced clean through the beam without so much as a chip in the construct''s form.
The ball of mana, from which the beam continued to originate, exploded the moment the point of the corkscrew struck it, shattering the ground in a cacophonous shockwave that picked Alec up and threw him a good few metres. The backlash of the energy whipping, slicing, and burning into the Dune Worm as it reared back in pain, turning the instant death of the now cracked and chipped corkscrew into a lethal, but time-consuming, puncture clean through its body.
Sticky, viscous, blue ichor poured out of the hole in its body, five metres below its head and a solid 7 metres in diameter. The life force of the giant beast poured down its giant form and filled the air with a thick scent of copper as it began to dye its sandy carapace a dark, shiny blue.
¡°Mr Dius! An important lesson for you. A beast is not to be considered dead until it can no longer draw breath. Until that beast falls, until its heart stops and its mana stills, it is a beast as dangerous, or more so, as any other.¡±
The loud screeching sound of bone slamming into and grinding against itself left the maw of the giant creature as it thrashed around in evident agony, a click of the tongue leaving Alexandar¡¯s mouth. The bottom of his staff tapped on the ground and coated the earth in a giant radius around Alexandar in a sheen of green mana.
Just in time, as the Dune Worm tried to curl back towards the ground and burrow into it, only for its face to slam into the green sheen and bounce off with the mutilating sound of a cracked carapace and a dull ¡®pong¡¯ from the earth itself. The Dune Worm thrashed around even more violently and chaotically in pain, curling in and around on itself and beginning to slam into the ground like a whip being cracked.
¡°Oh dear.¡± Alexandar muttered as he stared up at the fast-approaching carapace of the thrashing creature, faint green sparkles leaving his legs as he flickered out of Alec¡¯s sight.
The beast crashed into the earth, cracking and uprooting it almost as an afterthought as the pain continued to wrack its gigantic form, stirring the winds and dust with its every whipping motion.
Alec shot to his feet, his right hand gripping his blade in a white-knuckled grip as he looked around frantically, only to flinch back a little as he saw Alexandar standing right next to him, tapping the tip of his left shoe on the ground and shaking out his leg.
¡°Whoo! Been a while since I¡¯ve used that little maneuver, legs are all tingly.¡± Alexandar hummed jovially as he shifted his weight onto the previously shaking leg and began to shake his other one out.
Alec just stared silently, beginning to understand just how vast the gulf between a [Copper-rank] and [Tungsten-rank] adventurer was.
¡°Now, I should put an end to this.¡± The mage hummed, raising his staff and slamming its bottom on the ground.
Like a tsunami given earthen form, a wave of soil and rocks began to rocket towards the thrashing beast, growing taller and larger with the distance it travelled. Raised to be three-quarters of the unearthed height of the Dune Worm by the time it slammed into it, shattering the earth beneath and around it. The creature began to fall like a tower with its supports shattered as the hole that it had risen out of broke and enlarged with the shattered ground, giving it no true support to stay upright as it had been.
And with a squelch that sprayed the nearby flora into the thick blue blood of the Dune Worm, an earthen spear stabbed clean through its head as it collapsed onto it, formed to perfectly align with the angle of the creature''s fall.
¡°Alright. So, how was that for your first time experiencing Tungsten level comb- ah.¡± Alexandar spoke, initially proudly before he turned to see the expression on Alec¡¯s face and the intensity that he clutched his blade with.
For a moment, Alexandar stared silently at his young charge. A boy of an age that Alexandar wasn¡¯t even aware of, just barely on the cusp of [Iron-rank] being forced not only to witness a battle between monsters but also put in the direct firing line of the most powerful attack launched in the quick battle. The elderly man, looking at Alec, couldn¡¯t help but think of the first time he had witnessed combat of this level, and how even as a [Silver-rank] he had been terrified of the clash.
He knew that it was no doubt worse for the teen before him, who was not only weaker than Alexandar had been but likely younger too.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
¡°Mr Dius. Did my fight scare you?¡±
¡°O-Of course it did. That was terrifying.¡± Alec muttered, seemingly on reflex, looking at the older man with shaky eyes, no doubt somewhat scared of him as well.
¡°I see. Please raise your blade for me.¡± Alexandar made a small motion with his hand, getting a confused look as the teen followed his order with somewhat shaky movements.
The edge was well maintained, Alexandar could tell that just from a glance, which made the demonstration that he was about to do all the easier. His hand reached out until his palm was pressed against the sharp edge of the blade, and slowly he slid it down, drawing blood near instantly.
¡°Huh? Why did you-¡±
¡°I¡¯m bleeding, Mr Dius.¡±
¡°Yeah, you are! Why did you-¡°
¡°Your blade cut me. Your unenchanted, unmoving, regular blade managed to do this to me.¡± Alexandar spoke, his voice deadly serious as he pulled his hand away from the teen to show the injury that went half a centimetre into his palm.
¡°That¡¯s-¡° This time Alec cut himself off, seeming to at least subconsciously come to the realisation Alexandar was hoping to.
But he wouldn¡¯t settle for subconsciously, not when it was something this important to the formation of a young man that he knew would be something special.
¡°You were scared, seeing that fight between me and the Dune Worm. You probably thought something like ¡®These two are monsters, I¡¯ll never reach this¡¯, right?¡± Alexandar spoke, letting the blood drip and pour from his injury to further exaggerate the point that he was building to.
¡°Something like that¡¡±
¡°You went from a world of small attacks and unrefined techniques to the realm of giant creatures and micro-terraforming in the span of two minutes, I¡¯m not surprised.¡± Alexandar spoke with a small grin and a huff of laughter. ¡°But remember this. That this regular blade can injure even a ¡®monster¡¯ like myself.¡±
¡°Because you probably allowed it to.¡± Alec muttered, looking between his blade and Alexandar¡¯s face.
¡°I didn¡¯t allow the blade to cut me like this, Mr Dius. I have ways of increasing my durability, that¡¯s true. If I so wanted, I could protect myself but that does not mean I allowed it to cut me. That acts as if I have to take something down or weaken myself in some way. I do not. I must put active effort into protecting myself from such things, Mr Dius. Your blade can hurt me just as much as that beast lying over there could, it is not special.¡±
It was like stepping into a sauna right after being stuck in the freezing cold for hours with no protection, the way Alec could feel his body beginning to relax and uncoil over the older man¡¯s words. A realisation slowly began to set itself into his very being as he looked between the injury on Alexandar¡¯s hand and the slain beast to his right.
Nothing is beyond being harmed and so long as it can be harmed, it can be slain.
¡°I¡I get what you¡¯re telling me, thank you Alexandar.¡±
¡°Always a pleasure to be of assistance, Mr Dius. Now! Let¡¯s start working on clean-up, shall we?¡±
¡°Eh?¡±
¡°Heh. A lot of adventurers always forget about the clean-up, leaving it for others to pick up their slack. But no charge of mine will go without learning this lesson, however temporary this arrangement is.¡± Alexandar spoke, grinning and winking at Alec as he stared at the beast and the destruction around them with an entirely new expression of despair.
¡°Now you go collect what you want from the beast, I¡¯ll work on the road and then we¡¯ll work on disposing of the Dune Worm, does that sound good to you?¡±
¡°¡Yeah. Ok.¡± Alec sighed, slumping over to the side a little.
XXXxxxXXX
That night, Kairahl Countryside
¡°Amazing how this happened only two days out of Kret, huh?¡± Alexandar laughed, sitting on a large rock that had been upturned from his battle earlier that day.
¡°Uh huh.¡±
¡°We¡¯ve made some great progress on the clean-up. Now that you know the general to-do list for this task, I can use my magic to get rid of everything as soon as the sun rises tomorrow morning!¡± Alexandar said jovially, raising his canteen high into the air.
¡°¡.Uh huh.¡±
¡°I feel like you¡¯re annoyed with me. Are you annoyed with me, Mr Dius?¡± Alexandar asked, the slightest of grins tugging at his lips as he finally turned his eyes toward his teenage charge.
The teen in question was sitting on a large rock much like the elderly mage, except both of his elbows were resting on his knees and his head was propped up by his hands. An annoyed scrunch of the eyebrows and flattening of the eyes only further accentuated the annoyance that practically emanated off the young adventurer like light from a bonfire.
¡°You had me cutting through the carapace of this thing for five hours and then decided that we¡¯d set up camp inside its corpse. Forgive me if I¡¯m a little annoyed.¡± Alec ground out in a clipped tone of voice, only narrowing his eyes further at the laugh that left the elder man¡¯s mouth.
Not that the teen¡¯s words were wrong, mind you. Their campsite, while still on the earth like normal, was situated inside the hole that Alexandar had blasted in its body. Using its gigantic form as both a barrier against the elements and protection from other beasts or being snuck up on. At least Alexandar had cleared the campsite of blood, organs, and other such bodily belongings beforehand; silver linings.
¡°Hah! Pardon me, Mr Dius. It¡¯s just a pleasure to see a teenager be moody and annoyed like a teenager should be.¡±
He pretty easily ignored the further flattening of Alec¡¯s expression as his eyebrow began to twitch.
¡°At least I believe you¡¯re a teenager. How old are you by chance?¡± Alexandar asked, blinking quizzically and looking over at Alec.
¡°I¡¯m seventeen.¡± He answered plainly, clearly not in much of a talkative mood.
¡°Seventeen huh? That would make you part of the Blessed Generation, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±
¡°Yeah, I am. Born right in the middle of it, just like my friends.¡± Alec answered, his mood clearing up just a little as his mind went to what he actually knew about the Blessed Generation.
The Blessed Generation, despite its name, actually only applied to a mysterious two-year window that had enigmatically begun and ended without rhyme or reason. A single year where any children born or conceived, and thus born in the following year, were born with qualifications that were, on average, simply better than the vast majority of previous years in recorded history.
The regular vaguely bell-curve split between Copper, Iron, Silver, Gold, Tungsten, and Platinum rank qualifications was entirely shifted on its very paradigm during those two years. Where previously the vast majority of the Twin-Continents had qualifications that fit into Silver or Gold, those two years shifted the majority into Gold and Tungsten with a far, far greater quantity of Platinum qualifications birthed and ¨Cfor the first time in recorded history¨C not a single [Copper-rank] qualification was born in those two years.
What this meant was that an entire two years¡¯ worth of children ¨Cthat were now coming into adulthood¨C had been supercharged. An, almost literally, blessed generation of craftspeople, combatants, leaders, and so much more.
¡°Hm. Lucky you.¡± Alexandar grinned, poking the campfire with a stick.
¡°Yeah, I suppose so.¡± Alec shrugged, staring at the fire as a few embers lazily wafted out of the flames and were snuffed out by the surrounding earth.
¡°You don¡¯t believe so?¡±
¡°Not that, just¡Hard to relate I guess.¡± Alec shrugged, not really seeing any reason to hide his thoughts from the man.
¡°Understandable. I suppose being extraordinary would just be normal for you, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± Alexandar questioned, an odd melancholy in his voice that caught Alec¡¯s attention.
¡°I guess you could put it like that, yeah.¡±
¡°That puts a few things into perspective.¡±
¡°Like¡?¡±
¡°Your swordsmanship and the training you do.¡± Alexandar answered simply, raising an eyebrow at the confused expression that the teen shot him.
¡°I don¡¯t get it?¡±
¡°Your swordsmanship, it¡¯s bland, unfeeling.¡±
¡°Bland?¡± Alec furrowed his eyebrows together and blinked rapidly a few times, trying to understand what Alexandar was telling him.
¡°There¡¯s no passion behind your swings, Mr Dius. I may not be a master of the blade myself, but I¡¯ve met many skilled swordsmen and the difference between the good ones and the extraordinary ones is leagues apart.¡±
¡°So, because I don¡¯t have passion, I can¡¯t reach that upper level?¡± Alec asked, tilting his head to the side a little.
¡°You¡¯re nearly there, but not quite. You go through the motions like you¡¯re expected to be good with a blade. I can tell just from the way you swing and move with your blade that you hold no real love or reverence for swordfighting.¡±
¡°Not really. My qualification is [Swordmaster]. The moment I figured that out, I picked up a blade and here we are.¡± Alec gestured around him, to the ¡®defensive walls¡¯ the Dune Worms corpse made around the two.
¡°Exactly. You didn¡¯t pick up a blade because you wanted to or needed to. You picked it up because you were expected to. I¡¯m not saying you can¡¯t grow to become an immensely skillful young man, of course not. But my personal belief is that if you do not enjoy something, you cannot reach its zenith.¡±
¡°How am I meant to enjoy fighting with a blade?¡± Alec asked, both curiously and a little snipped at the idea of being told he¡¯d never reach his full potential.
¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve never found that enjoyment myself.¡± Alexandar shrugged, getting a twitch of Alec¡¯s eyebrow, ¡°That¡¯s entirely for you to decide or discover, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll know when you do.¡±
¡°Gee, thanks.¡± Alec muttered, giving Alexandar the flattest look he could possibly muster as the old man just laughed.
¡°Oh, don¡¯t give me that, I¡¯m only trying to help after all. It¡¯s quite literally my job.¡± He chuckled, waggling his finger at the teen.
Alec just huffed and stood up, making his way over to his tent that he had set up earlier.
¡°Going to bed already?¡±
¡°Yeah. I¡¯m feeling a little tired.¡± Alec answered, moving the flap aside to crouch into his tent.
Only to pause as Alexandar spoke up again. His voice so serious and full of steel that the teen couldn¡¯t help but freeze as his blood practically turned to ice in his veins.
¡°When you wake up and can¡¯t fall asleep again. Try training. It may not be the healthiest way to cope but it''s certainly better than stewing in whatever cocktail that mind of yours comes up with.¡±
¡°O..kay?¡± Alec muttered, giving a confused and very much concerned look in the direction of the elderly mage before disappearing inside his tent entirely.
XXXxxxXXX
Coalescing mana. More than Alec had ever felt in a single place in his entire life.
Air that shook and vibrated in audible static.
Cracking and quaking earth. A sandy-brown carapace that seemed so impervious to anything Alec could do.
Death.
Death death deathdeathdeathdeATHDEATHDEATH-
XXXxxxXXX
Alec¡¯s Campsite, 4am
Alec¡¯s eyes snapped open as his entire body tensed up, the teen panting even as he lay on his back in his bedroll, sweat coating his form from head to toe.
Pins and needles stung at his extremities and static buzzed in his ears. Slowly he began to curl and uncurl his fingers and toes to get the horrible feeling out of them, only to realise his left hand was already curled around something. A very, very familiar object; his blade.
For a moment he stared unblinkingly at the edge of his blade as he held it out to his side, the point of the blade towards the entrance to his tent where nothing was. Even still he could feel his heartbeat in his chest and the bead of sweat that rolled down his back, he knew that he wasn¡¯t going to be getting anymore sleep tonight, no matter how much he wanted to.
¡°¡Gods damn you, Alexandar.¡± Alec muttered, perhaps a little bitterly, as he began to crawl out of his bedroll.
He couldn¡¯t help but be a little annoyed at the seeming clairvoyance the man had to predict the nightmare he was going to have. But, at the very least, the man had also given him some advice on what to do in the aftermath. He¡¯d never really trained with his blade for longer than an hour or two at a time, but if there was ever a time to put some more effort into it, it was now.
Perhaps if he tired himself out enough, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about a repeat the next night.
An attribute of greatness
Alec panted as he leapt left and right, his blade held unsheathed in his hands in a white-knuckled grip. A thin layer of sweat coated his form and a small bead rolled down his temple as he lurched back to avoid the pillar of stone that arched out of the ground towards his head just when he had begun to get a little too used to dealing with the attacks coming from above.
¡°Is this all you have, Mr Dius?¡± Alexandar asked in amusement as he stood off on the side of the road, an eyebrow raised and a grin stretching his lips.
Above him, floating in the air almost lazily, sat fifteen magic circles continually gathering, condensing and firing golf ball sized balls of mana at the teen. At the very worst they would give him some pretty mild burns with the amount of power that Alexandar was packing into them, but with fifteen of them firing and the speed they fired at, Alec would be in for a world of hurt if he allowed them to hit him.
¡°Why are we even doing this!? Aren¡¯t you just meant to be an assistant!?¡± Alec yelled, slashing at one of the mana beads on instinct and blinking in surprise as his edge hit true, and the ball fizzled out of existence.
Only to have to immediately hop back a couple times to avoid seven more beads that careened towards his location.
¡°Indeed, I am! An assistant that¡¯s meant to teach you things so that you¡¯re more likely to survive as a solo adventurer.¡± Alexandar answered, clearly smug as the teen used his newfound knowledge to slash through the next two beads hurled at him and even manage to pinpoint thrust the third.
Though the brief moment of reflexive competence was over basically as quickly as it began, as the edge of Alec¡¯s next strike was angled just a few degrees too low. Letting the bead roll along the flat of Alec¡¯s blade and nearly strike him right in the face, only singing a few strands of hair instead thanks to a quick jerk of his head.
¡°Don¡¯t get complacent now, Mr Dius!¡±
¡°I know!¡± Alec shot back, crouching low as two beads flew overhead, his blade swiping out to take out three beads in a line right before one of them struck him in the ribs, just below his armpit.
The searing pain immediately made the teen¡¯s teeth grit and all the muscles in his torso tense up involuntarily at once. But, rather impressively to the elderly adventurer given Alec¡¯s rank, he managed to avoid being struck by the next four beads. Though it was obvious the singular bead and the damage it had inflicted were distracting Alec, with two of the four follow-up attacks getting closer to the teen than they should have, given his previous agility and reflexes.
And while Alexandar thought about ending the ¡®training¡¯ here for the day, he stayed his hand and instead decided to keep watching. The man was curious if Alec had anything else to pull out or if he was truly done.
Adjusting the firing speed of a few of his magic circles minutely, he kept up the pressure on the late teen as he continued to dodge and strike the beads as best as he could. His blade was near-constantly in motion as he moved around, shifted his weight and generally just attacked and parried with it.
And finally, the fruits of Alexandar¡¯s firing speed tweak came to fruition, with all fifteen magic circles beginning to coalesce mana at the exact same time. Alec¡¯s eyes widening in shock and surprise as he realised what was happening just a moment before they all fired, the injury on his side flaring up as if in warning of what penalty he would incur if he was struck by any of them.
¡®Shit I¡¯m not fast enough to deal with this many in the time they¡¯ll take to hit me. What is Alexandar trying to teach me with this!? How to deal with pain!?¡¯ Alec thought to himself, trying desperately to think of a way out of this situation.
¡®Blocking? No way my longsword might break and it''s nowhere near large enough. Striking? There¡¯s no way I can hit fifteen targets in a single second!¡¯
The magic circles all ceased their intake of mana, Alec¡¯s eyes widening as a gleam of understanding shone through them. All fifteen beads flying towards Alec and exploding into small motes of mana and dust that lazily clung in a small dome around the teen.
¡°Heh. It seems like you figured it out, Mr Dius. Though your skills weren¡¯t quite enough to pull a technique that advanced out on your first try, I¡¯m afraid.¡± Alexandar spoke up with a teasing grin as we waved a hand and dispersed the dust cloud in its entirety to reveal the seventeen-year-old.
The teen stood at what Alexandar knew to be the ending stance of a sword swing, or in the teens case, multiple sword swings. His body frozen in that position, as if his joints were locked and refused to shift even a millimetre, though the old man wasn¡¯t surprised to see that; Alec had taken a solid five of his beads head on after all.
The mage had no doubts that the pain wracking his form right now was quite a mental shutdown, at least based on the burns that he could now see over the teen¡¯s skin, through the holes that they had burnt in his clothing.
To take some mercy on the teen, the man held a hand out and used some magic to repair the holes in his clothes. Of course, said repairs came in the form of a single uniform material that didn¡¯t at all match the material of his clothing, but it covered all the damage and would keep the elements out. As far as Alexandar was concerned, that was a job well done.
¡®Besides, aren¡¯t Copper¡¯s all about looking rugged and like they¡¯re down to their last coin?¡¯ Alexandar thought amusedly to himself.
¡°How are you doing, Mr Dius? You¡¯re looking a little patchy in my own opinion.¡± Alexandar asked with a small bit of levity mixed in, the smile on his features clearly showing his teasing pride in his joke.
¡°T-There was slight... variations in the fire. C-Could have hit¡.m-multiple¡a-at once.¡± Alec croaked, his eyes still staring at the ground as his blade began to tremble.
¡°There was. Good job on noticing that at the end. Most mages will have a variance in their firing speed, you¡¯ll find.¡±
¡°C-Cool¡.Y-You ruined my clothes¡you¡asss.¡± Alec slurred a little as his blade tumbled out of his weak fingertips and he slowly began to sink to the ground, his muscles no longer able to keep him up but also too tense to just let him collapse.
Which was probably for the best, simply collapsing onto the ground was sure to irritate all of his burns rather painfully.
¡°Alright alright, no need to call me names.¡± Alexandar chuckled as he walked closer. ¡°Let¡¯s get you patched up, and we can go over teaching you Mend as I do.¡±
¡°E-eh?¡± Alec managed to tilt his head just enough to raise an eyebrow at the man so he could see it.
¡°You seem confused, Mr Dius. Mind informing this old man why?¡± He asked with a small grin, a soft green glow beginning to emanate from his hand as he placed it on the teen''s shoulder, taking a knee beside him.
¡°Gods that feels so good¡¡± Alec sighed in relief as he felt the spell beginning to slowly heal the burns over his body, the injuries still there but a mild pain killing effect built into the spell flowing through his body.
¡°I¡¯m sure it will, would you mind answering my question or should I just go ignored after my generosity?¡± Alexandar joked, his grin only growing wider at the small glare that the teen shot him in response.
¡°I can¡¯t use magic, Alexandar¡¡±
¡°Of course, not yet. That¡¯s why we have to activate it first.¡± Alexandar replied, as if Alec was dumb for not thinking of it.
And either Alec was dumb because he was missing something, or Alexandar was somehow missing something. Because Alec had never heard of ¡®unlocking¡¯ the ability to use magic before, either you were born with the ability to use mana, or you weren¡¯t. There was no inbetween¡right?
¡°Activate? Alexandar being able to use mana-¡°
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
¡°Is something you¡¯re born with, right? What a load of poppycock. Have you never heard the stories of surges of mana when people are on death¡¯s door?¡±
¡°Wha- of course I have. But that¡¯s just people with the ability that have never used it before.¡±
¡°Not quite.¡± Alexandar hummed, tilting his head from side to side. ¡°It¡¯s true that some people are born with the natural talent to bring forth and control mana. But everyone has the capability to use it, it''s just that by the time you reach the age of ten, your ability to bring it forth becomes ¡®locked¡¯ for lack of a better term.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve tried using it before, Alexandar. There was nothing.¡±
¡°No no, Mr Dius. You just found nothing. Trust me there¡¯s a difference.¡± He gave the teen a wink as he continued to heal the injuries that he, himself, had given him. ¡°At 17 your mana would have long since become idle in your body. Stagnant might be a better word. So outside of a near death, or truly lethal experience, the chance of you bringing it forth are, practically, zero.¡±
¡°Gee, thanks Alexandar. I¡¯m feeling so much better about what you¡¯re about to throw me at.¡± The teen grouched, giving the man a flat look that got a long, hearty, laugh in response.
¡°No no. I¡¯m not going to use either of those methods, Mr Dius. Far too dangerous and rather damaging for your mental state too. Gladia found that out the hard way a good few generations back.¡±
¡°Well, they are pretty militaristic¡¡± Alec mumbled, remembering some of the stories he had heard of Gladia¡¯s history.
¡°Oh, incredibly so. But they¡¯ve worked on that a little in recent years. You¡¯ll find a lot more arts and literature and such nowadays.¡± Alexandar waved his free hand flippantly as he spoke, closing his eyes and giving a small shrug.
¡°Ok, so¡?¡±
¡°So, Mr Dius. What we¡¯re going to do is the faster, but more painful method to ¡®shock¡¯ your mana out of its stagnation.¡±
¡°Could we not do the slower and less painful method?¡± Alec asked, looking at the elderly man with a thinly veiled gleam of hope in his eyes.
¡°Nope. We don¡¯t have the time, and I don¡¯t have the patience.¡± He chirped happily, getting a morose sigh from the teen as he sagged.
For a few moments the two were totally silent as Alexandar just worked on healing the teen, nearly finished with the endeavour by the time Alec spoke up once more.
¡°So, how painful are we talking here?¡±
¡°Hmmm. From what I¡¯ve heard it can range from a blistering sunburn over your entire body to the feeling of ants biting you constantly from head to toe, and everything in between.¡±
¡°That sounds like torture.¡± Alec deadpanned, giving the elderly man a vaguely dark look from under his eyelashes as he just huffed and shrugged in a ¡®what can you do?¡¯ type motion.
¡°Well, it¡¯s not like pain has ever killed anybody before, Mr Dius.¡±
¡°That¡¯s a lie and you know it.¡±
¡°And I was only trying to make you feel better.¡± The mage sighed, as if his life¡¯s work had been brought to ruin by the teen.
¡°You failed.¡±
¡°Oh well. But we¡¯re still doing it. Being able to use your mana is a major boon, no matter how painful the initial burst will be.¡±
¡°I guess you have a point¡¡± The teen muttered, memories of his friends coming to mind and the spells they could use.
¡°Of course, I do. And look at that, all healed!¡± The man cheered, taking his hand off the teen¡¯s shoulder only to bring it down in a solid clap.
¡°Thank you, I guess. I suppose you¡¯ll want to do this right now?¡± Alec questioned, standing up and rolling his shoulder a little, looking at the patchwork shirt he now wore and feeling very thankful he had taken his cuirass off for this training.
¡°The sooner the better, I say.¡±
¡°Ugh.¡± Alec groaned, not looking forward to the pain that was lying in his immediate future. ¡°You have a point but I¡¯m not looking forward to this.¡±
¡°I think I¡¯d be more surprised if you were.¡± Alexandar chuckled as he, too, stood up while dusting himself off.
¡°So, anything I should know beforehand? Other than, it¡¯s going to hurt like a bitch?¡± Alec asked, resting his weight on one leg and shooting an unimpressed look at the older man as he cut off the joke that he knew would be coming his way.
¡°Ruin my fun.¡± Alexandar mumbled, like a small child that had his toy taken away. ¡°But yes, actually. This particular method, given its quick nature, will flare all your mana at once. Not only that but the attribute of your mana will be on full blast during this. So don¡¯t feel too discouraged when you can¡¯t output as much mana afterwards, and your attribute¡¯s expression isn¡¯t anywhere near as potent as it is during the initial burst.¡±
¡°Eh? Wait. Hold on. I get what you¡¯re saying but what is an attribute?¡±
¡°Good question! Everyone¡¯s mana has a natural attribute to it. Think something like a person whose mana has the attribute of ¡®heat¡¯ or someone like me, who has an attribute of ¡®life¡¯. These attributes mostly go unnoticed but can, at times, provide meaningful improvements to certain spells.¡±
¡°Oh, ok.¡± Alec mumbled, having not expected it to be something so simple given the complex topic he knew mana to be.
¡°Exactly! So, ready to begin?¡± Alexandar asked animatedly, grinning wider at the small breath the teen let out, seemingly to try and prepare himself.
¡°Not really but let¡¯s do this I guess.¡±
¡°That¡¯s the spirit. Now just try and relax as best you can. What I¡¯m going to do is lay my hand on your chest and pulse my mana into you with my attribute as potent as I can make it. This will cause a reflexive ¡®defence¡¯ from your mana which will make it flare around you at full force.¡±
¡°Alright, got it. I¡¯ll try not to freak out.¡±
¡°Just do your best, Mr Dius.¡± Alexandar encouraged him, before suddenly Alec¡¯s chest was on fire.
It¡¯s like his very being was fighting against Alexandar¡¯s mana, and based on the old man¡¯s explanation it was. He could feel the pace of his breathing quickening and his muscles tensing involuntarily. A sense of energy, of power, beginning to flow into and fill his body.
¡®This¡This is it? This is it! My mana! This is what it feels like?¡¯ Alec thought, his panic fading for just a moment at the joy of having some way to catch up to where his friends had been when he had left them.
¡®Good. His mana is reacting properly and waking up. A few more seconds should do-¡®
Alexandar¡¯s internal thoughts were cut off by the paper cut that formed on the back of his hand, from the thenar webspace between his thumb and index finger, back around to his wrist.
¡®That was caused by his mana?¡¯ Alexandar thought, another three paper cuts appeared over his index, middle and pinky finger respectively.
The man knew what would happen if he kept his hand on the teen¡¯s chest for too much longer, an almost prophetic vision playing in his mind as he prepared himself for what was about to happen.
¡°Hah! You never cease to surprise me, Mr Dius.¡± Alexandar barked in amusement as the hand, which had previously rested very calmly on the teens chest, began to splay out a little further as a magic circle appeared wrapped around the mage¡¯s elbow.
And with the sound of shattering metal, the newly awakened mana of Alec poured out of his every pore and orifice. A resplendent metallic silver that, in any other situation Alexandar would have been awed at. But instead, the man¡¯s attention was only on one thing, the attribute of the teen¡¯s mana, and the potency that it flared out of him with.
The instant the teen¡¯s mana met the flesh of Alexandar¡¯s hand and arm, cuts began to form all over it. Each cut small and each cut shallow but stacked over each other further and further, the size and depth of each cut growing as the flaring mana grew in size. Blood splattered over both teen and old man equally as the intensity of the cuts and slashes only grew; the warm, metallic, life-essence covering the curve of Alec¡¯s jaw and his lower face with a few splatters reaching as high as his eyebrows.
Cobalt blue eyes widened in horror as the situation dawned on him, the realisation of what was happening and that he was the cause of it. Quicker than he had ever moved in his entire life, the teen¡¯s hand snapped up to grab the shredded remains on the man¡¯s arm and tried to throw it away. The deep brown eyes of Alexandar widening in surprise as his arm, and the rest of him by proxy, were thrown backwards by the teen, blood pouring down his raised arm as he stumbled back a few steps.
¡°A-Alexandar! Shit! I¡¯m so sorry!¡± Alec shouted, his breathing starting to grow deeper and more frequent as his hands came up to either side of his head, his gaze locked on the mangled limb of his assistant adventurer.
Around him, his mana continued to flare, as if a beast snapping at anything that even seemed as if it would dare to try and harm its master. Glinting and shining in the sunlight around him as the very air buzzed with power and a danger that Alexandar had seldom seen just from an individual¡¯s attribute.
¡®It looks like I managed to awaken all of his mana before he threw me off, that¡¯s good. But colour me surprised, Mr Dius. You have far from the most mana out of all the adventurer¡¯s I¡¯ve done this for but without a shadow of a doubt you¡¯ve done the most damage to me.¡¯ Alexandar thought, a small grin spreading across his lips as the magic circle around his elbow continued to lazily circle it, the cuts and slashes the furthest up his arm beginning to slowly mend themselves and seal shut.
And in one last flare-up, the mana around Alec dissipated entirely, leaving only a worried, immensely remorseful teen in its wake. The young swordsman taking a step forward while opening his mouth, no doubt to spew out some apology that Alexandar didn¡¯t care for, only for his foot to fall right off the edge of the small island he had been standing on.
With a high-pitched yelp, the teen tumbled off the earthen island he stood upon and into the rough, gouged out, crater that surrounded it. A hard ¡®thud¡¯ reaching Alec¡¯s own ears as he struck the incline of the crater face first, with his body crumpling into the slump in between rather unceremoniously as a small, unconscious, whine left his lips.
¡°After that showing of attribute potency, I personally wouldn¡¯t have gone with such a clumsy act. But to each their own, I suppose.¡± Alexandar commented with a small shrug, laughing a little at the rude hand gesture Alec shot him while crawling to his feet.
¡°Alexandar are you-¡°
¡°Pah! I¡¯ll be fine, I already have a regeneration spell working on it. It¡¯ll just take some time to fix all the damage you did.¡± Alexandar waved off his worry easily practically able to see the guilt that flowed off the teen.
And already Alec could tell he was telling the truth, with the bleeding slowing right before his eyes and the damage that his own mana had caused slowly beginning to knit itself back together.
¡°T-That¡¯s good¡But what is this crater¡?¡± Alec mumbled, standing up fully and looking around at the somewhat shallow, donut-shaped, crater that he had fallen into.
¡°It was created by your mana.¡±
¡°Eh?¡± Alec¡¯s gaze snapped from the crater to Alexandar in the blink of an eye, his eyes blown wide, and his eyebrows raised into his bangs.
¡°Your mana, Mr Dius. Its slashes did not discriminate, it cut into everything in range other than yourself. Honestly such a blatantly offensive attribute is enviable if you can train it back up to this strength, or better.¡±
¡°I¡did this?¡± Alec muttered, unsure whether he felt proud, shocked, sick or some combination of the three as he stared at the damage to the ground.
¡°You did, and don¡¯t ever forget it. You¡¯ll meet plenty of people in your travels that will have far larger mana reserves, heck I¡¯ve awakened quite a few young adventurers with more, but only you have ever done this much damage to me during the process.¡±
¡°That¡¯s- I don¡¯t want to be proud of hurting an ally¡¡±
¡°Well, you should be.¡± Alexandar scoffed, as if Alec¡¯s worry for his allies was unfounded. ¡°It¡¯s not permanent, I knew it would happen and still went through with it, and it made you stronger. What¡¯s wrong with that situation?¡±
¡°I¡hurt you.¡±
¡°And it¡¯s healing. Now stop worrying and come over here, I need to teach you Mend and then we can work on some mana control.¡± Alexandar spoke, gesturing for the teen to come over all while healing his other arm.
¡°Could you maybe not be so rude about my worries?¡± Alec snipped as he walked over.
¡°Would you have stopped beating yourself up over something this inconsequential?¡±
Alec¡¯s silence was telling, and so was the small grimace that crossed his features and his refusal to meet Alexandar¡¯s gaze.
¡°Heh. I thought not, now let¡¯s head back to our stuff and start!¡± Alexandar cheered, getting a small exhale from the teen as he followed after the elderly mage.
¡®Say what you will about Alexandar, but at least he¡¯s pretty good about curbing mental spirals¡¡¯ Alec thought to himself, a small snort leaving him as he thought that.
¡°Oh? Is something funny, Mr Dius? Why wasn¡¯t I informed? You know I love funny things.¡±
¡°Ah, inside joke. You wouldn¡¯t get it. Sorry.¡± Alec responded, grinning almost smugly at the loud, pained, exclamation the man let out.
¡®Hey. A way to mess with Alexandar. It only took me four days of travel to figure one out. But hey, bright side, that¡¯s 27 more days I get to use it on him.¡¯
¡°How could you be so rude, Mr Dius? After all I¡¯ve done for you?¡±
¡°Pick a side, Alexandar. Are you weak and frail or strong and durable?¡±
¡°Can¡¯t an old adventurer be both?¡±
¡°No.¡±
¡°Hah! Your words are as cutting as your mana, Mr Dius. Worry not, by the time we reach Zenik you¡¯ll come to understand.¡±
¡°I hope I don¡¯t.¡± Alec commented flatly, looking away to hide the small upward twitch of his lips.
¡°Well now that was just rude.¡±
Rivals and Enemies
9 Days out of Kret
¡°So? What¡¯s your opinion?¡± Alec asked Alexandar as the two of them walked along the worn path, having left the territory of Kairahl a day ago.
¡°Hmmmm.¡± Alexandar hummed, scratching his chin as he held his arm up by supporting his elbow.
Alec just waited silently for the older, more experienced, adventurer and mage to reach his verdict. The teen trotting along peacefully as he looked around at the trees around them, unable to fully wrap his head around the fact that he was actually outside of the country that he had been born in for the first time ever.
He never would have thought that this day would actually be upon him so early into his adventuring journey, let alone travelling without Peter, Felicia and Angelica¡
Both of Alec¡¯s hands clapped into his cheeks harshly, getting an amused hum and raised eyebrow from the elderly mage besides him.
¡®No. I can¡¯t keep dragging myself down with that thought process. I¡¯ll catch up and join back up with them, that¡¯s all there is to it.¡¯ Alec thought to himself, idly rubbing one of his cheeks when the stinging sensation finally got to his conscious mind.
Perhaps he hadn¡¯t needed to slap himself that hard.
¡°Well, Mr Dius. I¡¯d say that your control of your magic is about average given your level of experience with using it. But compared to your awakened flare¡both your output and attribute potency are only at about ten percent.¡±
¡°Only ten percent¡?¡± Alec asked, looking rather annoyed at the prospect of only being able to access a tenth of the damaging potential that he had displayed five days prior.
Though he wouldn¡¯t lie to himself, in the depths of his heart there was a part of him that was actually glad he couldn¡¯t access the full might of such an indiscriminatory offense. Such a power without control was nothing but dangerous, both to Alec and to those that he called friends and allies.
¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so disheartened if I were you, Mr Dius. Ten percent is actually surprisingly high. Most who need to have their mana awakened are lucky to have six or seven percent after the initial flaring.¡± Alexandar informed him, getting a surprised look from Alec, his eyes blinking rapidly for a moment as he tried to come to terms with that information.
¡°Oh. I see. Thank you for letting me know then¡I guess.¡± Alec muttered, not sure how to continue the conversation from here, which only got a small chuckle from underneath Alexandar¡¯s breath.
¡°Just keep channeling and using your mana, eventually not only will your control of it grow, but so will your output and attribute potency. Practice makes perfect after all!¡± Alexandar announced in a grandiose fashion, summoning his staff specifically so that he could strike a pose while raising it high in the air.
His expression was full of nothing but child-like glee as he struck his pose, clearly enjoying it more than Alec was ever expected to. Which only made Alec snort and roll his eyes at the older man¡¯s exuberance.
¡°And what¡¯s so funny, hm?¡± Alexandar questioned, relaxing out of his pose with a mirthful grin and a raised eyebrow.
¡°You.¡±
¡°Why thank you for noticing, Mr Dius. I¡¯ve been practicing my comedy routines.¡±
¡°It¡¯s not your jokes I was laughing at, Alexandar.¡± Alec replied with a hitched breath, trying to stifle the laugh that threatened to bubble up out of his lips.
¡°Hmmmmm. A funny memory then perhaps?¡± Alexandar kept up the act, leaning close with his grin only growing wider as he nudged the teenager with his elbow.
¡°Not quite. Keep trying.¡± Alec egged him on, a small grin of his own beginning to appear.
¡°Oh! I understand! It¡¯s- Oh dear.¡± The immediate change in the older man¡¯s voice made Alec¡¯s hand snap to his blade, his eyes beginning to move from left to right.
The last time the man had been serious like this, the Dune Worm had appeared. Alec wasn¡¯t exactly in a rush to relive an experience as terrifying as that had been.
¡°Oh. No no, Mr Dius. This time it isn¡¯t anything for you to worry about. Pardon the panic I caused. This time it¡¯s more¡ annoyance, than worry.¡± Alexandar tried to placate the teen, making a small pacifying gesture with his hand even as he picked up the pace of his walking.
¡°Annoyance? Why? An ex-girlfriend nearby or something?¡± Alec needled the elder man dryly, only grinning when the man turned towards him with a strange look halfway between scandalized and elated.
¡°That was a good one Mr Dius! But no, not quite. You could call them a rival. I forgot that his bloodline lived in the wilderness outside of Kairahl and Xyrtah. I tend to spend most of my time within the countries borders or teleporting, you see. Travelling like this is a joy that really only lower ranking adventurers get to experience on this level, though it does have the downsides of experiences like this.¡±
¡°Teleporting around? Must be nice¡¡±
¡°Oh, it is!¡± Alexandar chirped brightly, snickering at the facepalm he managed to elicit out of the teen.
Though the exuberance of the elderly mage slowly bled out of him as he relaxed his body and turned his head to stare north-east of their current position. The wind picked up almost as if it had a life of its own and birds left their perches, flying overhead the two adventurers with frightened squawks and echoing caws.
¡°¡This is your rival¡¯s doing, isn¡¯t it?¡± Alec asked, rolling his fingers over the hilt of his blade as he felt his body tense up against his own will.
Regardless of how much Alexandar stressed that his rival was an annoyance and not a true threat, Alec¡¯s instincts didn¡¯t seem to agree with the man. And neither did the scent of iron on the air and oppressive weight that suddenly began to try and crush the teen, a staggered gasp leaving his lips as his legs shook and twitched in an effort to collapse from out under him.
¡°Mr Dius, push some mana throughout your body. Flare it if you have to. It will aid in fighting against the atmosphere.¡± Alexandar advised, standing casually as if the oppressive weight on the teen¡¯s shoulders was a figment of his own imagination.
¡®The difference between our ranks is ridiculous¡¡¯ Alec thought, pushing his mana through his body and instantly feeling the weight pushing down on him begin to lessen.
It still felt like he had five or six sandbags resting on his shoulders but at least it wasn¡¯t outright crushing like before.
¡°Thanks for that. But this is nuts.¡±
¡°He likes to make an entrance, that¡¯s for certain.¡±
¡°He really is your rival.¡±
¡°Yet again, such a sharp tongue Mr Dius.¡± Alexandar snorted, giving the teen his props for the quick comeback. ¡°Oh! Though there is one thing I should inform you of.¡±
¡°And that is?¡± Alec asked, turning to look over at Alexandar.
In the instant that he turned his eyes away from the road, the instant that he let his guard down even somewhat, it occurred. The weight in the air crashed down on Alec like a shockwave and sent him to a knee in an instant, dust and wisps of dark red mana billowing out of the epicenter of a cacophonous impact.
¡°ALEXANDAR MY GOOD FELLOW!¡±
¡°Tyrius. It¡¯s always great to see you, do you mind not crushing my charge?¡±
¡°Char- Oh! I see! I had no intentions of harming your apprentice, my bad!¡± The exuberant, yet high-class, voice exclaimed in slight embarrassment right as the weight on Alec¡¯s entire body left him in an instant.
Another surprised gasp left the teens lips, but this time in relief. With a small hum he rose back to his feet and looked over at the impact-zone with a wary look, beginning to see the man that was no doubt Alexandar¡¯s rival and¡a teenager of his own?
The man himself had shiny blonde hair slicked back with a single long lock tumbling down his face in a way that was far too aesthetic to be natural if Alec had to guess. His eyes were sharp and a resplendent gold in colour with more ovoid pupils than the average human would have, but not quite slit like the reptiloids and dragokin. He stood taller than average at about 183cm and the clothes adorning his slender, and remarkably pale, frame were lavish and fancy in a way Alec had only ever seen from nobles in the books that he would read in the orphanage but, just like with Alexandar, the teen was able to tell the occasional magical matrix embraided into the material.
Though what really caught his eye was the thin but long blade at the man¡¯s, Tyrius¡¯, side. Sheathed as it was, he couldn¡¯t see the blade itself, but the handle alone spoke of the blade¡¯s craftsmanship, with silvers and golds carved in intricate patterns and figures. Yet while all of that may have caught the eye of the average person, what Alec noticed was the small grooves in the hilt that weren¡¯t factored into the design, and the rounded handguard that had small dents and grooves that marred the otherwise polished metal.
¡®This guy isn¡¯t just throwing around power for the sake of throwing it around, he really is experienced with that blade at his side.¡¯
The teen at his side, while wearing clothes just as lavish, minus the magical matrix embraided within, was almost as far from Tyrius in appearance and vibe as it was possible to do given the circumstances. Standing at 174cm with spiky-black hair tamed into an imitation of Tyrius¡¯ own slicked-back hairstyle, equally as pale skin, and deep black eyes that oozed cruelty; the distinction couldn¡¯t be any more apparent to the blue-haired teen.
And that wasn¡¯t even taking into account the spear held at his side like a ruler¡¯s staff.
No, the difference was easily evident. Tyrius was a nobility born of battles and experience, akin to a military general elevated to nobility through his great achievements and successful battles. This teen at his side was nobility born of bloodline, someone who was born into the high-class life without any struggle needing to be achieved beforehand.
Alec would be lying if he said that the thought of such a thing angered or incensed him, but it was just the slightest bit annoying to think about.
¡°Apprentice? No no. Mr Dius is just my ward that I¡¯m helping to bring to Zenik as part of his own Quest.¡± Alexandar explained, getting an amused hum from the blonde-haired man as he tilted his head to the side.
¡°Yet you¡¯ve awakened his mana?¡±
¡°I have! The poor thing had gone this whole time without having access to his magic at all. Isn¡¯t that right, Mr Dius?¡± Alexandar waxed, turning towards the teen to back him up in his dramatics.
¡°I¡¯m not apart of this.¡± Alec denied quickly, not wanting to get between [Tungsten-rank]¡¯s, regardless of how friendly Alexandar claimed Tyrius to be.
¡°But we¡¯re talking about you!¡± Alexandar cried, flailing his arms childishly.
Meanwhile Tyrius just held his chin in his long fingers and hummed while tilting his head a little, his gaze locked directly onto the blue-haired teen as he continued to play the straight-man to Alexandar¡¯s exuberance. Something about the teen intrigued the man, even if Alexandar said that the teen wasn¡¯t his apprentice.
Tyrius couldn¡¯t quite place his finger on what it was that drew his attention so strongly to the teen. Though, before he could spend much longer studying the teen, his apprentice seemed to run out of patience and flared his mana in a petulant display of displeasure.
It was in the resulting instinct fueled reflex of the blue-haired teen that it finally clicked for Tyrius. The metaphorical lightbulb flaring to life in his mind at the exact moment that Alec¡¯s fingers clutched the hilt of his blade with a white-knuckled grip.
¡®Ahhhh. So that¡¯s what it is, his instincts as a warrior.¡¯ Tyrius realized with a wide-eyed gaze of excitement.
¡°Crowell, that¡¯s enough. We wouldn¡¯t want Alexandar and his apprentice to be uneasy.¡± He tried to soothe his apprentice, only getting a scowl and a dirty glare pointed in his direction that he ignored with the ease of a man stepping over a dying ant.
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¡°Oh, come on Tyrius! I just told you he¡¯s not my apprentice. I just awakened his mana and have been giving him some tips for adventuring, my apprentice would be someone half as dashing as myself and far more of a mage-type than young Mr Dius here.¡± Alexandar puffed himself up self-confidently, only getting a small grin from the pale-man in return.
¡°Half as attractive? I think I saw some malformed half-turned back at the castle-grounds I could introduce you too.¡±
¡°UUAHGH!? How dare you!¡± Alexandar cried, somehow more offended than Alec had ever seen him in their nine days of travelling together.
With a comically large step forward, Alexandar pointed an accusatory finger at Tyrius and began to fire back an insult, but Alec had already zoned out. The teen too busy working through the information he had just been handed.
¡®Half-turned? That¡¯s a vampiric term, right? Are these two vampires?¡¯
¡°Ugh. Enough of this tomfoolery. Are we here to drain these two or not, Tyrius?¡± Crowell snapped finally, getting a frown from Alexandar and Tyrius and a full-blown glare of wariness from the human teenager.
¡°Crowell, we¡¯re here simply so that I can say hello to my one and only rival. Patience is still something you have to learn, it seems.¡±
¡°Mingling with humans like this? You bring shame upon the Von Lung household.¡± Crowell shot back with a dark glare and a baring of one of his elongated fangs that seemed to grow and sharpen right before Alec¡¯s eyes.
¡°I¡¯ve brought more accolades to the Von Lung¡¯s amongst our kin than you¡¯re likely to see in thrice my lifetime, little Crowell. I¡¯d wait to comment such harsh judgement in the future if I were you.¡± Tyrius spoke humorously, but the warning in his tone was clear to anyone that was even remotely listening to the powerful man.
Unfortunately, it seemed Crowell was not one of those people.
In a blur of motion, a spear was in motion towards the throat of Tyrius, its edge honed to a razor-finish and its aim true, until it wasn¡¯t. In a display of speed that left Alec in genuine awe, Tyrius grabbed the younger vampire and hurled him towards Alexandar, an almost bored expression adorning his features as he manhandled his apprentice. And with an expression equally as bored as his rivals, Alexandar waved a hand and seemed to telekinetically alter the trajectory of Crowell towards Alec himself. The elderly man only seeming to realize his actions a moment too late as his eyes widened and his head snapped towards Alec and Crowell.
Alec had spent this entire conversation ready for a fight but hoping one would not break out. Yet through the actions of his own helper, he now found himself with an absolutely pissed vampire flying at him while wielding a spear that he really didn¡¯t want to test the edge on.
With the thud of two bodies colliding, both the males were sent tumbling back along the ground in a tangled mess of clothing and limbs. Surprised cries and yelps leaving the both of them as they tumbled before sliding to a stop with Crowell on the bottom and Alec lying horizontally atop him.
¡°God now I¡¯m dizzy¡¡± Alec mumbled under his breath in annoyance as he tried to get up as quickly as possible.
¡°You¡You dare to dirty my clothing!?¡± Crowell¡¯s incensed shout was accompanied by a quickly chambered and released kick that echoed with the dull clang of leather on metal.
The vampiric young adult, only a child of seventy-three years, had meant for the attack to easily and instantly incapacitate the human that had dared to dirty his clothes and humiliate him in this manner. Yet his kick hadn¡¯t even struck the weak flesh of the human themself, only striking the flat of the human¡¯s blade they had maneuvered into the perfect position to block his strike. Such an injustice ¨CA human believing they could ever match up to him¨C couldn¡¯t be allowed to continue. Forget Tyrius, this human had to be taught the pecking order.
Of course, Tyrius would get his just comeuppance for beginning this scenario in the first place, but he had all the time in the world to deal with him.
With a small twist of his wrist and flick of his fingers, the vampire¡¯s spear flipped and twirled in his grasp he grabbed it firmly with the edge pointed forward and launched himself towards the freshly landed Alec.
¡°Oh, so we¡¯re doing this now. Great. Cool.¡± Alec griped, hardening his gaze and parrying the lethal thrust to the side with his blade.
The strike was strong and fast, but nothing Alec couldn¡¯t handle if he was on guard and didn¡¯t slip up.
¡°Who gave you the right to deflect my attack?¡± Crowell growled, spinning his spear with the momentum Alec himself had given it and bringing it back up and around to try and gouge out the teen¡¯s eyes.
A brief feeling of weightlessness flitted through Alec¡¯s mind as he purposefully buckled his knees to drop below the strike before it could blind him and entered a prepared crouch. The sound of Alec¡¯s blade cutting through the air was the only warning the vampire had to move his spear to block the reflexive strike at his midsection with the metallic shaft of his weapon, stumbling back a few steps and allowing Alec to stand and level a cool gaze on him.
¡°Who gave me the right? You can¡¯t be serious. Attacking me out of nowhere like that. It''s natural I would defend myself.¡± Alec shot back, refusing to take any of the arrogant vampire¡¯s attitude after the sudden attack.
Neither of the elder combatants were stepping in to do anything, whether that be to aid in or shut down the fight, which evidently meant that it was up to Alec and Crowell to end this fight themselves, for better or for worse.
¡°You are a human standing before the rightful heir to the Von Lung bloodline. At your strength you are nothing more than a substandard drink, you are not allowed to deny your place.¡± Crowell growled, spinning his spear and beginning to stalk around Alec as the teen stayed in place, only his eyes moving to follow the vampire as he moved.
¡°You think I care at all about whatever pecking order you¡¯ve created in your mind? Alexandar is stronger than either of us, vampire and human alike.¡±
¡°He is but trifling before a true vampire. The fact that Tyrius has allowed him to live so long is naught but misplaced pity, of that I know for a fact.¡±
Alec wasn¡¯t so sure about that particular comment, himself, but he¡¯d allowed the vampire to keep talking.
¡°He¡¯s still stronger than you.¡±
¡°For now. At the end of the day, you are lamb before the slaughter. A source of sustenance and loathsome repopulation to a vampire, and nothing more. And with my qualification I will prove the inferiority of humanity.¡±
¡®Major red flag. I thought this guy was just egotistical, but he may genuinely have a few screws loose¡¡¯ Alec thought to himself, fighting not to show a reaction as Crowell stalked behind him once more in the large circle he was tracing around the teen.
¡°With your qualification? What¡¯s that meant to mean exactly?¡± Alec probed, adjusting his grip on the hilt of his blade.
¡°My qualification, [Warmaster] is proof that I am going to wipe the slate clean! Once I am done only one race will stand atop the pinnacle of strength!¡± Crowell stalking back into Alec¡¯s view, his eyes blown wide and a wide, bloodthirsty smile stretching his lips. ¡°And that will be us! THE VAMPIRES!¡±
There was the briefest echoing ¡®pong¡¯ from over by Tyrius and Alexandar before it was drowned out by the sound of shattering earth and a cataclysmic shockwave that threw both Alec and Crowell far into the air. For a moment all that Alec could comprehend was the ringing in his ears and the intense, all-encompassing sensation of pins and needles throughout his entire body.
Though after a moment, before he¡¯d even reached the apex of his flight, the mental shock subsisted just enough for him to actually get some baring on where, what, and why.
The answers to those questions, summarily, were: About a hundred meters off the ground, give or take a few meters; He was flying through the air alongside a fair few tons of earth, trees, and one half-insane egomaniac of a vampire; And finally, because Alexandar had erected a domed defense against a piercing thrust from Tyrius that looked downright lethal.
¡®Knowing Alexandar and who he would call a rival, that probably is lethal even to him.¡¯ Alec thought dryly.
Though before the panic of being a hundred meters in the air could fully set into his mind and consume his every conscious thought, the teen managed to catch sight of one last thing from Tyrius in particular.
The vampiric man hopped a few meters back from the dome barrier of Alexandar and seemed to almost strike a pose. The man half-crouching with all his weight on his back leg and his forward leg almost perfectly extended before him. His blade not only drawn but held beside his head with the tip pointed directly toward Alexandar, a thrusting pose if Alec had ever seen one.
And had that been all that Alec had perceived he would have simply just chalked it up to a similar sense of dramatics to his ¡®one and only rival¡¯ Alexandar. But it was not the only thing that Alec perceived.
Barely a fraction of a second after taking the pose, a pulse of mana unlike anything Alec had ever sensed in his entire life flared out of the esteemed vampire and the point of his blade tore through the barrier of Alexandar. The few meters between Tyrius and the barrier closed faster than Alec could even begin to comprehend.
It was only the smaller shockwave of the barrier shattering that dragged Alec out of his mind and back into reality. The panic beginning to finally set in even as a part of his mind, starving and feral, latched onto the memory of Tyrius¡¯ strange pose and strike and beginning to tear it apart from every angle that it could possibly comprehend.
¡°HOLY CRAP!¡± Yet with that part of his mind mollified, the rest of it was free to stew in the fresh batch of panic and life-threatening danger he currently found himself in.
¡°HAH! YOU ARE SO WORRIED ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THIS!? HOW HUMAN OF YOU!¡± Crowell cawed from nearby, his body entirely lax as he clutched the branch of a tree with one hand and his spear with the other.
Alec just gritted his teeth and ignored him as they fell, grabbing a large enough chunk of earth with arm¡¯s reach and using it to move himself to one of the largest chunks. The teen quickly maneuvered to be on the top of the chunk of earth and flared his mana as much as he could within the confines of his own body to try and harden himself as best as possible. He knew that the landing was going to be rough and would hurt like a motherfucker but at least this would give him some chance of getting out of it without mutilation¡hopefully.
The earth and trees thrown up by Tyrius¡¯ initial attack finally struck the ground, with Crowell and Alec in tow. Dust was thrown high in the air; birds took flight and animals began to flee to the background music of shattering stone and snapping wood.
It was only once all the debris had struck the ground, and ruined a good chunk of forest, that Alec dared to do more than suck in and hold anxious breaths. Slowly crawling out of the stone rubble of his landing boulder, he looked around himself in the fog of dust for any sign of dangers or life of any kind.
¡°What an annoying cockroach you are.¡± Crowell commented from within the thick dust before Alec was raising an arm on pure instinct.
Yet with the time he had to prepare himself he wasn¡¯t able to stop the kick that had been thrown at him from breaking clean through his guard, striking him in the side of the head and throwing him off the small hill of broken stone.
Hitting the ground and bouncing a few times, Alec reinforced his hand with mana and dug it into the ground, slowing himself to a halt while simultaneously swinging himself upright onto his feet. Something which definitely helped with the slight dizzy feeling that echoed through his head after such a hard kick.
¡°A sneak attack? Doesn¡¯t seem very ¡®superior¡¯ to me.¡± Alec laughed as he tilted his head up to stare at the hill of stone that he had just stood upon, just barely able to see the outline of Crowell through the thinning dust.
And outline which clearly showed the missing right arm of the vampire, but also the faintest red glow from the stump of said missing right arm.
¡°What you believe to be superior and inferior doesn¡¯t matter to me.¡± The vampire retorted uncaringly, throwing himself down the hill and towards the blue-haired swordsman.
Alec said nothing and only brought his blade up to parry the one-handed thrust of the vampire¡¯s spear before tucking his blade in to bring it into a perfect overhead swinging position. Swinging his blade down and dragging some dust behind it as Crowell used his singular hand to pull the spear in closer and tilt the shaft to let Alec¡¯s blade slide down it in a shower of sparks.
¡°Is that all you-¡° Crowell began to gloat, only for Alec to slide his left foot forward and take his left hand off the hilt of his blade to grab Crowell¡¯s spear and force the blade down and into the earth.
It was only the instincts of Crowell himself that turned a sword-tip through the ribs into a mild cut along the front of his chest as he jerked his hips back to avoid the blade as best as possible. The blood that left his wound seeming to cling to the edge of Alec¡¯s blade and form a small line in the air before gravity took hold of it and brought it splattering back to the earth.
With a flare of mana that completely blew the nearby dust away, Crowell lifted, chambered and let fly a kick that would have surely fractured a rib or two had it struck. Yet Alec managed to dodge it through a quick hop to the side, only to be forced to let go of the shaft of Crowell¡¯s spear as he used his mana-reinforced strength to bring the blade of the weapon back in close.
The tip of Crowell¡¯s spear pointed at Alec as he held the spear at about chest height and twisted his hips to bring his right foot forward and his left foot back.
¡®Another pose!?¡¯
There was a pulse of mana from the vampiric spear-wielder, and he shot forward. His spear-tip stabbed forward three times with more speed than the teen had seen Crowell move in the entirety of the fight.
Faced with such an unknown, and such an explosive boost in speed and striking power, Alec was able to do nothing but simultaneously dodge and parry the strikes as best as he could. A long cut along his right forearm, his cheek and the side of his ribs being the best that he could manage; the spear-tip having gone straight through his cuirass like it was made of paper.
To Alec, such injuries were a failure: a sign of weakness and lack of knowledge.
To Crowell, such injuries were also a failure: a sign of weakness and a lack of power.
And the thoughts of both combatants showed on their faces. A grimace on Alec¡¯s face as he tried to shake his right arm out and a deadly glare on Crowell¡¯s as he tried to imagine the worst possible death he could give the blue-haired swordsman.
¡°You¡you drew my blood.¡± Crowell growled, his eyes beginning to take on the slightest hint of red, ¡°You make a mockery out of me, and you refuse to go down like you should.¡±
¡®What are those poses they¡¯re doing before these powerful attacks? I¡¯ve never seen or heard about anything like this. Is it a vampire specific ability or did information of it just not reach our orphanage?...¡¯
¡°I will make you pay a thousand-fold, human. Even as you lay bleeding out and gasping.¡±
¡®And here I was thinking that just because I had learnt magic that I had nearly caught up to the other¡¯s, what an idiot I am.¡¯
¡°No thanks, I¡¯d rather not.¡± Alec shifted the angle of his blade just slightly, letting his mana flow throughout his entire body like Alexandar had been teaching him.
He¡¯d need every trick he knew for this fight, of that he was absolutely certain.
Man versus Vampire
A minute and a half before Present Time
¡°You knew that I was going to throw him towards Mr Dius.¡± Alexandar accused with a thin gaze, staring at his vampiric rival.
Off to the side, both of the young combatants finally slid to a stop from the force of the flying Von Lung heir.
¡°It was an educated guess. You tend to throw things to your left.¡± Tyrius grinned smugly, his gaze flickering towards Crowell and Alec for only a moment as the vampire kicked the human teen off him.
¡°Haaaaaah. We fight far too often.¡± Alexandar sighed, summoning his staff just so that he could lean on it exhaustedly.
¡°Oh, I¡¯d say not nearly enough.¡± Tyrius responded with a humored grin.
¡°You would you battle maniac!¡± Alexandar snapped animatedly before taking a breath and deflating a little. ¡°Why throw Crowell towards me, especially if you wanted him to end up thrown at Mr Dius in the end?¡±
¡°It¡¯s truly a shame that you won¡¯t take that child as your apprentice.¡± Tyrius responded, seeming to ignore Alexandar¡¯s question entirely and getting a small twitch of the old man¡¯s eyebrow. ¡°Surely, like I, you can feel the overwhelming talent that flows from that boy.¡±
¡°I¡¯m aware that Mr Dius is skilled, it¡¯s why I awakened his mana.¡±
¡°Precisely. I doubt it was too long ago, a week perhaps. Maybe two or three at the very most.¡± Tyrius questioned, looking Alexandar up and down for any of the mages'' tells.
¡°Just under a week.¡± Alexandar answered simply, feeling a change in the air as he heard the conversation between Alec and Crowell thanks to a little mana-strengthened hearing.
¡°Tsk. That boy¡. If you were wondering, Alexandar, that attitude right there is precisely why I threw him at Dius.¡± The man¡¯s hand twitched and his mana swirled for barely a second, his want to fight his rival beginning to get the better of him.
¡°So, he can get a feed?¡± Alexandar retorted disapprovingly, only to get a roll of Tyrius¡¯ eyes as he slowly drew his blade and pointed it at the mage.
¡°Of course not, Alexandar. Crowell needs an attitude check. Coming from you or I, it would mean nothing. But from a human as young and inexperienced as Dius? But enough about them, for now. It¡¯s been far too long since we¡¯ve fought, and I want to see your Garden of Genesis once more!¡±
¡°As fun as it would be to thrash you yet again, Tyrius-'''' The tip of Tyrius¡¯ blade struck the edge of Alexandar¡¯s barrier, a loud ¡®pong¡¯ echoing off the thick, translucent barrier.
Alongside the reverberating sound of the flexing barrier, the force of the shockwave shredded the ground beneath them and shattered the forest. The wind whipped furiously around the two of them as boulders and trees were thrown into the air as easily as a child would throw a pebble.
¡°I think that that level of mana output would simply overload Crowell and Mr Dius, don¡¯t you?¡± Alexandar finished his sentence with a grin and a raised eyebrow, evidently just as happy to fight Tyrius, even if he was far better at controlling himself.
¡°Hmmm. True enough. I suppose we can¡¯t go all-out then.¡± Tyrius hummed, jumping back a few meters and raising his blade so that the tip faced Alexandar as he half-crouched with his weight all on his back leg.
¡°Using something like that so-¡° Alexandar¡¯s surprised exclamation was cut off by the pulse of mana that left Tyrius and the shattering of his barrier.
¡®Why would he use a Power Stance so early into a fight? Tyrius has never been the type to go that hard so early into a fight without provocation. Is it because I can¡¯t use Garden of Genesis?¡¯ The elderly mage thought to himself, a magic circle flashing to life over his left hand as his right clutched his staff in a white-knuckled grip.
¡°Tell me, does Dius know about Power Stances yet?¡± Tyrius questioned with an amused grin; Alexandar¡¯s eyes widened in understanding.
¡°I¡¯d appreciate-¡° Three tendrils of sharpened wood exploded out of Alexandar¡¯s palm and promptly exploded into sawdust and woodchips in a flash of metal and the resplendent reddish-purple of Tyrius mana, not unlike that colour of red wine. ¡°If you¡¯d stop trying to put my charge in harm¡¯s way!¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean, Alexandar. I¡¯m not attacking him with a Power Stance!¡± Tyrius replied with a small grin, cracking the earth beneath his feet as he launched himself forward.
Alexandar¡¯s body flooded with magic as the two of them traded fast and heavy blows, blade meeting reinforced staff in cracks of air and sparks of metal. The superhuman body of Tyrius met the magically enhanced body of Alexandar in a flurry of blows that cleared the dust around them just from the shockwaves and whipping winds.
¡°So, Alexandar! How long do you think it will take Dius to figure out Power Stances!?¡± Tyrius crowed, ducking under a spiked pillar of earth that arched over the back of Alexandar¡¯s shoulder and tried to strike him directly in the bridge of his nose.
¡°Mr Dius is skilled, but he isn¡¯t even aware of Contracts yet, Tyrius! You give him far too much credit!¡± Alexandar responded, having to forgo his follow-up attack to lean back and avoid the rising foot of his rival as he stabbed his blade into the ground and used it as an anchor to lift himself up, over and back onto his feet.
¡°So, you think he can¡¯t do it?¡± Tyrius hummed in amusement, shifting his stance into something more side-facing with his blade tucked in tight and body far more relaxed than his first Power Stance of the fight.
¡°I think that expecting him to do so on his first time seeing one is pure lunacy.¡± Alexandar huffed, the orb within his staff beginning to glow a bright, almost blinding green.
¡°Hah! So little trust! What a poor protector.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t want to hear that from you, bastard.¡±
And with a single step, the ground beneath both of them exploded in brand new trees and greenery, throwing both of them high, high into the air.
XXXxxxXXX
With Alec and Crowell
Sparks showered the upturned earth and shattered flora of their landing zone as Crowell leant back to avoid having his left eye gouged out by the sharpened edge of Alec¡¯s blade, twisting his wrist while jerking his head to the side. Simultaneously avoiding his blade as it no longer had the shaft of his own spear to block it, and smacking the flat of his blade into Alec¡¯s thigh to stop his leg from raising fully so that he could try and kick him.
In a reflexive jerk of his leg, Alec¡¯s foot met the earth once more and launched him high into the air on pure instinct to avoid the large sweep of Crowell¡¯s weapon.
A brief surge of panic flooded through his body as he realized he was higher than he¡¯d ever jumped in his entire life, his limbs flailing for half a second before he landed back on the ground once more. The teen freezing up and shivering at the pins and needles that went from his feet to his hips in the aftermath of landing with his legs far too unmoving for his level of durability, magically enhanced or not.
And in the meantime, as Alec tried to shake his legs out as best as possible and hissed under his breath, Crowell twirled his spear in his fingers and focused his mana on his stump of an arm.
¡®It¡¯s aggravating that this human is pushing me so far, but I can¡¯t beat him with only one arm. The quicker I can get this arm back, the quicker I can unleash some of my more refined Power Stances. In the meantime, I¡¯ll engage in a prolonged attack rush.¡¯ The Von Lung heir strategized, launching himself forward without a word.
The reason for Crowell¡¯s insistence on regenerating his missing arm was simple, a Power Stance required a perfectly recreated stance to be undertaken before it could be used and Crowell had a single stance that could be used with a singular arm at the cost of lost speed compared to its two-armed variant.
¡®Shit! His arm is healing!¡¯ Alec¡¯s eyes widened in alarm as he batted the razor-sharp blade of Crowell¡¯s spear to the side.
The angle of Alec¡¯s deflection allowed Crowell to quickly and easily step-spin into his next attack, the blade of his spear trailing behind him and raising up and over his head to bring back down on Alec. The speed of the strike left the teen unable to do anything but bring his blade up above him in a high-guard that he braced with his off-hand.
With a reverberating impact, the two weapons clashed. Both of Alec¡¯s feet sinking into the upturned and loose soil as his entire body protested having to endure so much punishment.
Though Crowell had no intentions of giving Alec any time to recover and push back, drawing his spear back and entering into a flurry of stabs that forced Alec to backpedal over loose and uneven ground. The teen only avoiding falling to his ass thanks to some quick reflexes and a healthy dosage of pure luck.
¡®Just my mana-enhancement is good enough to keep up with him on a physical level but the difference in our experience and technique is wild!¡¯ Cuts appeared over Alec¡¯s arms and left cheek as he continued to parry and block the vampire¡¯s attacks as best as possible.
The battle, at its current pace, would end with Alec dead within a minute¡¯s time. Alec knew it and he knew that he couldn¡¯t allow it to reach that conclusion, but he had no way to sneak out of this position with his current skills and knowledge. He was at the starting line; he didn¡¯t have the variety in techniques and experience needed to come up with something new that would save him from this predicament.
The only thing he even potentially had to try out was the stance of Tyrius, but he had no idea how that worked or even if he could make it work.
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Though before he could second guess himself, the ground beneath their feet cracked and split, creating an instant chasm. In twin bursts of mana, the two fighters shot away from each other, eyes wide and breathing heavy as a tree root seven meters in diameter tore itself out of the forming chasm, only widening it further.
¡°What in the-¡°
¡°-Hell is that?¡±
Both of the fighters muttered in confusion and mild fear, their gazes naturally following the root to its origin. Only for their breathing to stop entirely as they saw the giant flower bud, pointed towards the ground, that began to bloom before their very eyes.
The flower bud in question was, itself, twenty meters from side to side and about twenty meters from where it met the gigantic stem to the tips of its petals and a hauntingly dark black with midnight blue splotches haphazardly strewn across it.
Just staring at it made every muscle in Alec¡¯s body pull in different directions at once and Crowell¡¯s missing arm on-the-spot regenerate from the sheer terror induced by the mana that filled the air as the petals began to slowly unfurl.
In this moment of terror and supposed death, the instincts of both fighters roared to life with an intensity that had never been matched in their entire lives. Whether it was the 17 years of Alec Dius, or the 73 of Crowell Von Lung the fear they felt was that of equal intensity.
But their reactions were not.
In the instant Crowell turned to begin running, Alec¡¯s eyes snapped to him, instinctively drawn to the movement of his enemy. The idea, the thought, that this would be the only time he would ever get such a free attack against such a dangerous entity all that flowed through his head. The movement of Alec drawing the gaze of Crowell as, just as had happened to the human teen, his gaze instinctively latched onto the movement of the swordsman.
Alec knew nothing of Tyrius¡¯ technique, nor did he have any way of figuring out its mechanics with the knowledge he currently had. He knew nothing of magical contracts or how to initiate them and had never even heard the term ¡®Power Stance¡¯ in his life. But the basics of the techniques were easy for him to parse even from the singular time he had seen it.
Tyrius¡¯ technique was a lightning fast thrust of incalculable power. Superhuman abilities combined with mana-enhancement to bring a regular thrust of a blade to the level of being able to shatter the barrier of Alexandar of all people. And as far as the teen was aware, there were three basic steps to the technique.
First: Take the stance.
¡®He can¡¯t have-¡® Crowell¡¯s eyes widened in fear, the pressure in the air from the unfurling giganto-flower completely shattering his regular rationality.
Second: Pulse your mana.
Crowell¡¯s body moved on instinct to try and defend himself, his panic and the memories of the singular time he had been the recipient of the real deal rearing their ugly heads and overriding anything else that may have been going through his head.
Third: Launch yourself forward and initiate the thrust.
Alec pulsed his mana and shot forward, bouncing off the titanic root to clear the chasm between the two of them and thrusting his blade forward just as Tyrius had. His blade striking the hastily raised metallic shaft of Crowell¡¯s spear and bouncing off to strike him in the shoulder instead of his intended target, the center of Crowell¡¯s torso.
And in the same instant that Alec¡¯s blade met flesh, the giant flower fully bloomed. All the mana that had flooded the area receded back to the flower as if caught in a black hole and the pistil of the flower glowed a blinding green.
With a shockwave that shattered the petals and stem of the giant flower itself, the pistil was fired into the ground. A piercing entity of wine-coloured mana struck the pistil and detonated it into hundreds of shards that rained down on the surrounding forest. Each shard exploding into spiked spheres of wood, leaves and flowers.
An attack as deadly as it was beautiful.
One such shard forced both the weaker combatants to separate with quick jumps back, an action which nearly sent Alec tumbling into the abyss as he waved his arms wildly to avoid falling into the chasm.
¡®That human took one of my arms out of commission again. Even for a bastardized version of Tyrius¡¯ maneuver it managed to tear straight through my shoulder.¡¯ The vampire heir thought to himself, holding his spear in one arm once again as the other hung limply at his side, a spherical hole torn into his shoulder from the force of Alec¡¯s magically charged thrust.
It would heal much quicker than a complete removal of his arm, as it had to contend with in the beginning of the battle, but such an injury would still leave his arm unusable for long enough for Alec to take the advantage from him once more.
¡°You disgraceful being¡I will have your head for this!¡± Crowell snapped, swiping his spear to the side as Alec managed to regain his center of gravity and took a few steps away from the edge of the chasm.
The stem, at least what was left of it, began to wither away from the shattered peak. The necrotization of the magical construct beginning to make its way down the roots slowly.
¡°Once again, I¡¯m not just going to lie down and let you kill me. Are you actually insane?¡± Alec responded; his gaze locked on Crowell with a laser-focus.
¡°It is your place! How such commonplace knowledge has escaped you is beyond my understanding, but it is a simple fact of life.¡±
The fighter¡¯s conversation, while short, was cut off by the snap of air as Tyrius and Alexandar appeared besides their respective charges, covered in small injuries and dust.
¡°Hah! Just as fun as I remember!¡± Tyrius crowed, a cut on his forehead sealing before Alec¡¯s eyes.
¡°Oh really? You were a bit slower, been snacking a little too much, Tyrius?¡± Alexandar egged his rival on, grinning smugly at the petulant glare that he got in return.
¡°How dare you! I¡¯ll have you know that I keep an impeccable watch over my figure!¡±
Behind Alexandar, Alec clicked his tongue in annoyance, watching the hole that he¡¯d gouged in Crowell¡¯s shoulder begin to slowly close now the vampire had the time to focus his attention squarely on the regeneration.
With a glare that could probably melt steel, Crowell took a step forward while raising his spear, only to flinch back at the hand that was placed in front of him by Tyrius.
¡°Tyrius what are you-¡°
¡°We¡¯re done for today, Crowell. I¡¯ve gotten a small skirmish with Alexandar, and it seems like you¡¯ve met your own match, wouldn¡¯t you agree?¡± Tyrius hummed in vague amusement, which only grew stronger at the way that Crowell ground his teeth together.
¡®This doesn¡¯t make any sense. Humans are beneath vampires in every conceivable way. It''s common sense. They can¡¯t regenerate like we do, they don¡¯t live forever like we do, and they don¡¯t have enhanced strength, durability and agility like we do. For one to match me, for one to have been able to injure me to this extent¡¡¯
¡°You, human.¡± Crowell suddenly snapped, getting a curious hum from Tyrius and a raised eyebrow from Alexandar.
¡°Him or me?¡± Alec deadpanned, pointing between Alexandar and himself.
¡°You.¡± Crowell replied, equally as deadpan.
¡°I have a name.¡±
¡°What is your rank?¡± The Von Lung heir questioned, entirely ignoring Alec¡¯s cool indignation.
There was only a singular way that this situation would make any kind of sense to Crowell, a singular way that this event could ever possibly fit within his view of the world.
¡°¡Copper.¡± Alec answered cautiously, his gaze narrowed on the vampire.
And with a single word, Alec casually smashed his way out of Crowell¡¯s worldview. Completely ruining the brief, shining hope that Crowell had allowed himself to cling to that the teen had somehow been a [Silver-Rank] adventurer or higher.
¡°Well, Dius-¡°
¡°My name is Alec.¡± The teen cut Tyrius off, only making the elder vampire pause for a fraction of a second before he continued.
¡°Well, Alec, since my apprentice is a little shocked at the moment, I suppose I should fill you in. Crowell, himself, is an [Iron-Rank] combatant.¡±
¡®He¡¯s an [Iron-Rank]? No wonder he was such an ass to fight.¡¯ Alec thought, some of his inherent teenage angst rearing its ugly head as he scowled and clenched his fists tightly, popping one of his knuckles around the hilt of his blade.
¡®He¡¯s a [Copper-Rank]? There¡¯s no way that a Copper should have ever been able to put up a proper fight against me, one arm or not. This human, he¡¯s not like the others. He¡¯s an exception.¡¯ Crowell thought, his eyes widening with renewed bloodlust as he stared at Alec.
Crowell, in that very moment in time, knew what it was that he had to do as the future Warmaster and leader of the Von Lung¡¯s: Take out Alec Dius with extreme prejudice. Alec Dius was not just a uniquely skilled individual, but a uniquely dangerous individual as well. Within the same rank, not a single vampire within the Von Lung bloodline was able to defeat Crowell, however that meant that those same vampires would struggle far more against the likes of Alec.
The human teenager may not be able to use Power Stances now, but given some more experience and a few more battles to grow used to their power? Given time to properly acclimate to his mana and refine it more?
No. The gap between Alec Dius and the rest of the Von Lung warriors would only grow wider and wider the more experience he received, which would directly put Crowell¡¯s divinely appointed quest in jeopardy.
So long as Alec Dius lived, so long as Alec Dius had no check or balance, the vampires, though more accurately the Von Lung, would never be able to claim their rightful place at the top of the food-chain.
¡°Well, Alexandar, until next we meet!¡± Tyrius smirked jovially, grabbing Crowell by the shoulder, unfurling wine-coloured wings and taking off in, what appeared to Alec to be, a crack of air and a complete disappearance of both vampires.
¡°Well, that was awfully abrupt. I suppose I¡¯ve never met Tyrius while he¡¯s had a charge to take care of before¡How are you Mr Dius?¡± Alexandar asked, throwing his musings to the wayside to turn around and look at the sword-wielding teen.
The teen himself was wound up like a spring about to fire off like a rocket, though when it became evident that both the vampires were truly gone all the tension fled his body as he sank weakly to his knees, and then collapsed back onto his ass.
¡°That was the worst experience of my entire life¡¡±
¡°Oh, was it now?¡±
¡°I hate you.¡±
¡°Wha- What ever did I do!?¡±
¡°If I hadn¡¯t been with you, I never would have been put through that!¡± Alec snapped, his patience and emotional bandwidth having hit and exceeded their limits about two minutes ago.
¡°If you hadn¡¯t been with me, you wouldn¡¯t have had the skills to even survive half of that.¡± Alexandar pointed out smugly.
The teen opened his mouth to stubbornly argue, only to come up short, realizing the man was right. Perhaps if he had been more mature he might have acknowledged that and apologized, unfortunately he was still a young, brash teen and had yet to develop such maturity.
¡°¡I¡¯m just gonna rest for a bit.¡±
¡°You do that, Mr Dius. How about I help you with those wounds, hm?¡±
¡°...thank you.¡±
XXXxxxXXX
Meanwhile, With Tyrius and Crowell
¡°Are you ever going to stop glaring at me, Crowell?¡±
¡°You took me away from Alec Dius!¡±
¡°Oh? Using a human¡¯s name now, are we?¡± Tyrius asked, craning his head down to give the far younger vampire an equal part amused and inquisitive look.
¡°He¡¯s an exception to humanity. One that I have no intention of allowing to pull ahead or continue living. On my title as heir to the Von Lung, I swear to kill him.¡± Crowell scowled, gripping the shaft of his spear with a white-knuckled intensity.
¡®Apologies, Alec. It seems like this is the only way to keep Crowell even somewhat curbed. You may have been a regular adventurer before this, but for as long as your lifespan permits, please continue to be the check and balance to Crowell. Please be a Nemesis the likes of which cannot be ignored.¡¯ Tyrius thought to himself, closing his eyes as he flew and gently banking back towards the Von Lung Castlegrounds.
Magic, Contracts and Friends
10 Days out of Kret
¡°So, you wanted to know more about Power Stances?¡± Alexandar hummed as he walked alongside his charge, the both of them having just finished packing up their camp and continuing to their travel.
¡°I do. I think I managed to copy the one that I saw that vampire, Tyrius, pull off. But it doesn¡¯t feel quite the same¡¡± Alec mumbled, mulling over his words as he tried to find the correct phrasing to get his issue across to the man.
Alexandar was more than familiar with the issue Alec was running across, having met many, many people over his three hundred years of living. In fact, one of his greatest friends in the entire world had much the same issue Alec now faced.
Both of them were natural born geniuses, true savant¡¯s that seemed to have an intrinsic knowledge and skill in their particular field of expertise. Of course, neither of them got to where they currently were, and Alec would never reach his full potential, without a whole lot of practice and hard work but that wasn¡¯t quite the issue at the moment. Alec was currently running into the issue of trying to explain something that he just naturally, subconsciously, understood and had no formal knowledge in.
Already Alexandar could see that being unable to find the correct wording was beginning to annoy the late teen, which he wasn¡¯t surprised by in the slightest. Though, he supposed, being unable to explain something like this was far from the worst issue that Alec could have been facing in the wake of the combat he was forced to go through yesterday.
¡°How about you give me a demonstration? I¡¯ve experienced Tyrius¡¯ Fortress Piercer enough times that I should be able to figure out where you¡¯re going wrong.¡± Alexandar suggested, getting a small, quick, nod from the teen as he dropped his pack on the ground and got into his position.
It took the teen a moment to make sure that everything was perfect before he launched the attack, burying his blade so deep into a tree that the bark of the organism was flush against the handguard of the blade. A surprised look flashing over his face before he frowned and glared at the tree and his own blade.
¡°Less an explosive piercing strike like Fortress Piercer and more a strike focused on slipping straight through the defense of an opponent. Honestly, I¡¯d say that your version is more refined than that old bat¡¯s!¡± Alexandar crowed, holding his stomach as he began to laugh over the idea of a seventeen-year-old making a better technique than his own rival.
¡°But it wasn¡¯t what I was going for¡¡± Alec muttered, waiting a moment for Alexandar to calm down from his laughing fit so that he could actually respond, albeit while rubbing some tears out of his eyes.
¡°Oh, I¡¯m well aware of that, Mr Dius. It''s because you didn¡¯t actually perform a Power Stance, you just, imperfectly, recreated the technique that it¡¯s based off.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°Right. So, a Power Stance is a type of Magical Contract ¨Clet¡¯s keep walking while we talk¨C that one makes, not with someone else but rather with themselves.¡±
¡°A¡contract with yourself?¡± Alec asked, picking his bag back up and starting to walk alongside Alexandar once more. ¡°Sounds a little redundant, doesn¡¯t it?¡±
¡°Hmmm, possibly because you¡¯re thinking about it in the wrong way.¡± The elderly mage hummed, scratching his chin as he walked. ¡°Magic, and thus mana, is all about the imagination. It works because, quite honestly, we believe it does.¡±
¡°That sounds¡really dumb.¡±
¡°Eh, I suppose it is, a little bit. If you really want to piss off a formal thaumaturgist just say that and you¡¯ll get them to start ranting for the next half an hour, guaranteed.¡± Alexandar grinned at the teen, placing his hand on the opposite side of his mouth to the teen as if trying to keep that information a secret from the trees that surrounded them.
¡°I¡¯ll¡keep that in mind, I suppose.¡± Alec muttered, he never really thought he¡¯d need to know that little tidbit of knowledge, but it was probably better to play along.
¡°Great! Anyways as I was saying, Magic and Mana work primarily off the power of our imaginations. Our minds shape the mana we create in ourselves, and intake from nature, and transform it into the magical effects and spells we call Magic!¡± Alexandar exclaimed, creating a small pop and crackle above his hand in a brilliant display.
¡°Huh. I never knew that¡¡±
¡°I¡¯m not surprised to hear that.¡± Alexandar hummed with a small shrug, getting the briefest, flattest, look from his charge as he tried to figure out if the older man was insulting him or not. ¡°But I know what you want to ask already! If it¡¯s all based on our imagination, why do we need magic circles and whatnot? We actually don¡¯t.¡±
¡°Eh?¡± Alec cocked his head to the side, confusion clear on his face.
¡°That¡¯s how I reacted too!¡± Alexandar laughed, pointing at the teen¡¯s expression, though he sobered up after only a second or two this time. ¡°But it¡¯s actually true, we don¡¯t need any of that to cast. See?¡±
A bead of magic appeared in midair and fired into the ground in front of Alec, sending the teen flying four meters back in a pulse of mana and a small yelp. His feet touching the ground again after his violent backpedal and his right hand already on the hilt of his blade.
¡°YOU CRONE!¡±
¡°Oooooh! What a tongue on you, young man.¡± Alexandar snickered, a wide, toothless grin stretching his lips as Alec just narrowed his eyes on the man.
Though it didn¡¯t last for long as Alexandar just made a small hand gesture for Alec to come back over as he continued to snicker.
¡°Alright, alright, come back over, Mr Dius. I promise not to fire another surprise attack at you like that again.¡±
¡°Hm¡¡± Alec narrowed his eyes further at the man before walking back over, the two of them continuing to walk.
¡°So, as you just saw, you don¡¯t need magic circles, or runes, or even verbally spoken phrases to cast. But they do have their own uses. Magic is shaped by our imaginations, but our imaginations can be¡.fickle, and fuzzy. Some people have a really hard time picturing things clearly and some people make really clear images in their heads but add in superfluous details that ultimately take away from the effectiveness of the spell. So, these control mediums, which you could incorrectly call the origin of contracts, are a way developed by early magi to give as much control to the usage of a spell as possible.¡±
¡°Incorrectly call the origin of contracts?¡± Alec parroted, one of his eyebrows raised with a small tilt of his head.
¡°It''s because they aren¡¯t contracts, and really anyone worth their salt wouldn¡¯t ever call them one, but they share the general concept of ¡®give and take¡¯ that magical contracts work on.¡±
¡°Right, so, finally getting onto magical contracts, what are they?¡±
¡°Ah, yes. I was getting around to it, Mr Dius, don¡¯t worry.¡±
¡°Uh huh.¡±
¡°Hmph, ye of little faith!¡± Alexandar huffed, crossing his arms dramatically for a moment before unfurling them once more. ¡°But as I said before, Magical Contracts work on the concept of ¡®give and take¡¯ something must always be taken, and something must always be given. So, for example, you can¡¯t just make a deal with someone to make them give you all their power in exchange for absolutely nothing. In the case of Power Stances, the contract you make is one with yourself. Sort of like a self-imposed limit to increase the power, speed and/or magical effect of the attack you¡¯re about to unleash.¡±
¡°How is that meant to work? Like your imagination levelling the idea of a self-imposed restriction with a boost in power? Why not just boost the power yourself?¡±
¡°You¡¯re nearly there, Mr Dius, just not quite yet. You¡¯re right in the theory that it helps the subconscious imagination equalize the cost and output, but wrong in terms of how it functions. When you make a contract like that with yourself, and follow through with it, the world itself will reward your dedication and grant you additional power.¡±
¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡± Alec muttered, his gaze going flat, and his back slouched forward a little as he struggled to believe the words that had just come out of the mage¡¯s mouth.
¡°Oh, but I am! To be fair, saying that the ¡®world¡¯ itself rewards you wasn¡¯t quite right. We¡¯re not actually 100% certain on the cause for the sudden influx of power when completing a Power Stance or a similar, spell based, self-contract. We do know that the mana from the surrounding area fills in the gap for us but not quite why.¡±
¡°Huh. Man, Angelica would be losing her mind to learn all this.¡± He snorted to himself, getting an interested hum from the old man before he continued. ¡°Ok, so I think I get the basic theory behind a Power Stance, you recreate a specific stance before its respective attack and then are able to release a stronger attack for a fraction of the cost it would take to do it naturally.¡±
¡°Precisely!¡± Alexandar exclaimed, a finger pointed in the air, before he bent his wrist to point that exact same finger at Alec directly. ¡°Just remember that it has to be exactly the same stance. Even a degree of rotation difference in your wrist, for example, will stop the Power Stance from happening in its entirety.¡±
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
¡°You¡¯re kidding.¡±
¡°Ohhhhh I wish I was, Mr Dius. Some people can spend their entire lives just trying to get one Power Stance down pat. Many mages will see the effort needed to get one down pat and just refuse to learn one, instead focusing their attention on spellcraft instead.¡±
¡°¡Too frail to strike a pose, huh?¡± Alec calmly teased his travel companion, a small but smug grin on his face as Alexandar growled childishly and his pointed finger suddenly became a lot more accusatory.
¡°How dare you! And right after I deigned to teach you this information too.¡±
Alec just raised an eyebrow at the old man¡¯s theatrics, waiting a few seconds until even Alexandar himself broke, his hammed-up anger crumbling to dust as he began to laugh. His right hand on his stomach as he lent back a bit while keeping pace with the much, much younger man.
¡°But sorry to burst your bubble, Mr Dius. I actually know three Power Stances.¡±
¡°Is that a lot?¡±
¡°Oh, not in the slightest. I¡¯ve met monsters that know over twenty-five. I think the publicly known record is forty-three.¡±
¡°For- huh?¡± Alec stumbled over his own foot for a moment, unable to believe the words that had just left the old man¡¯s mouth.
¡°Exactly. Look far enough, look wide enough, and you¡¯ll always find another kind of monster in this world, Mr Dius. Now, let¡¯s try and teach you how to initiate a magical contract, shall we?¡±
¡°Uh, yeah. Ok. Can¡¯t wait.¡±
XXXxxxXXX
Meanwhile, Blessed Catalyst
¡°How do you think Alec is doing?¡± Felicia asked, fiddling with the pendant of Solyre that hung from her neck.
Currently the three of them were wandering towards a particular section of the forest outside Kret, looking for a small breeding ground of dracolings so they could cut down their population to stop them from overbreeding.
An individual dracoling was no issue for any of them. Even as a member of the Dragon-lineage they were the most watered down and weakest member of the entire draconic bloodline by a large margin. However, the issue came in their sheer numbers.
From what Angelica had been able to find out, through a late-night library binge that Peter had, quite literally, had to drag her away from; the main issue with dracolings was that the infamous mana generation of dragons was put to poor use in their hands. Spewing mana from every orifice and scale at such a constant rate that it left the dracolings themselves horrendously weakened at all times.
Yet, with enough of them gathered in one place, the displaced mana from all of them actually began to flip back around into a positive. Creating a feedback loop that filled the dracolings with ambient mana faster than they themselves could release it, forcing them to grow larger and stronger in response.
However, it had been almost ninety years since the last time any pack of dracolings had been a threat to anything more than a singular [Silver-rank], and it was quests exactly like these ones that kept it that way.
¡°I reckon he¡¯s already learnt something new.¡± Peter grinned enthusiastically, getting a soft smile from his sister as she placed two fingers on her chin and tilted her head back and forth in thought.
¡°I just hope he actually accepted the Veteran-assistance program they have.¡± Angelica finally commented, getting a small nod from Felicia and a confused hum from Peter as he cocked his head to the side.
¡°Oh Peter, come on.¡± Felicia muttered; disappointment clear in her voice as she noticed the confusion on his face.
¡°Woah, woah! How did this turn on me all of a sudden?¡± The Party leader yelped, his hands raised in surrender as the disappointed gaze of both his sister and one of his best friends weighed down on him.
¡°Because I told you about it at breakfast the day after Alec left.¡±
¡°Because she told us about it after Alec left.¡±
The immediate, overlapping, replies from both girls made Peter wince and smile reflexively as he backed up from the both of them, his hands still raised in weak surrender.
His red spikes bobbed briefly into his vision as he backpedaled from the two young ladies and constantly looked between the two of them, not quite sure who to pay more attention to currently.
¡°What could you have possibly been so busy with while I was trying to explain what Alec might have been up to?¡± Angelica accused her brother, her rose coloured eyes narrowed as she leant forward with her hands on her hips.
¡°¡Breakfast?¡±
¡°¡May the sun¡¯s light cleanse Peter¡¯s sin¡¯s-¡°
¡°H-hey! Don¡¯t try to cast a purifying ritual on me!¡± Peter yelped as he watched Felicia pray, her purple eyes glued directly onto the rising sun.
¡°Felicia, just leave it. We both know how Peter is in the mornings.¡± Angelica sighed, her face in her palm and her other arm supporting her elbow.
¡°I feel so attacked right now.¡± Peter muttered; his comically depressed look sharpening as he caught a rustle in the bushes behind him.
None of the members of Blessed Catalyst, current or past, were slouches when it came to reflexes. It was an important part of why they felt so comfortable being this relaxed in the wilderness. But even compared to Angelica and Felicia, who were already drawing forth mana to draw some runes, Peter was a step ahead. His blade out of his sheath and his entire body turning with a strong step towards the rustling bush.
The crimson red eyes of Peter reflected back at him in the cold, animalistic slit eyes of the dracoling that had launched itself at him out of the bushes. A small hiss of released air left the creature¡¯s open maw, only to meet the sharp edge of Peter¡¯s blade as his arm finally caught up to the rest of his torso. The large longsword bursting out of the reptilian creature¡¯s tail in a burst of blood and viscera as both halves of the freshly bisected creature hit the ground with a wet splat.
Peter paused for only a moment to wince at the brutal, disgusting, sound that the dracolings body made on impact with the ground, but that singular moment was long enough for Angelica to pick up on her brother¡¯s slack. A fireball shooting past him to strike the bush, igniting it in a small, rushed intake of air.
In a disorganized cloud of frenzied movement and panicked shrieks, dracolings began to launch themselves out of the ignited bush in a number that almost made it appear like a magician pulling creatures out of his hat.
There were only about 30-40 dracolings, based on Angelica¡¯s extremely rough estimation. Enough to warrant some caution but nothing outright dangerous for the three of them. It would take about five, maybe seven, minutes to deal with if none of them messed around.
¡°Peter, feel bad for the creature after we aren¡¯t being attacked by monsters.¡± Angelica droned, throwing another two fireballs out at the small swarm of draconic monsters while Felicia threw a small, shining, ball of light towards one of the smaller congregations of dracolings.
To their credit, despite their general lack of intelligence, the dracolings at least had the intelligence to avoid directly touching the small bead of light as it flew in a small arc towards them. However, unfortunately, they did not have the intelligence to avoid the bead of light entirely. And so, when the bead hit the ground and detonated, none of the congregated creatures were able to avoid the small explosion of hard-light shrapnel that tore into them.
Yet for all its fanfare only a single dracoling fell to the ground dead, having had one of the hard-light fragments land a lucky shot on its eye and not the harder scales that coated the rest of its form, as what happened with the rest.
¡°Right, right, sorry!¡± Peter called out, turning away from his sister to begin fighting.
The battle was quick, lasting only about 3 minutes, despite Angelica¡¯s estimate. For the most part, Felicia stayed in the back and played support for her two friends, healing Peter whenever they happened to injure him and aiding in the mana gathering of Angelica¡¯s spells. Yet, even with the constant healing and each of his strikes being debilitating, if not lethal, for the small draconic creatures, it was not Peter that caused the fight to come to such a short conclusion.
No, it had been Angelica that had finished the fight two minutes ahead of her earlier estimation, and all because she¡¯d had an idea after reading a story the night before.
¡®If I slow down its travel speed and make it more susceptible to destabilization then maybe¡¡¯ Angelica thought to herself, lines of runic letters swirling around her hands as a condensed ball of fire began to swirl to life.
Now, Angelica as a [High-Sorcerer] worked primarily off intuition when it came to magic. Everything about it tended to come naturally to her, from initially finding her internal mana stores to bringing it out and manipulating it, it was all instinctual. However, in this exact moment in time, such natural, instinctual control of mana came back to bite her.
What she had just done, without knowing, was impart a contract on herself regarding the particularities of her fireball spell to increase its explosive damage. But, of course, she did not know exactly what she had just done, and she did not know the repercussions of what she had done because of that.
So, when the fireball in her hands began to flare out and bubble like a pot of boiling water, she could react in no way other than unknowing panic. Her right hand flicking out towards the dracolings, with the destabilizing fireball hovering over her palm and flicking out slowly towards the creatures with her hand motion, and both of her legs pushing off the ground with all her might.
¡°PETER!¡±
The young woman¡¯s scream was not one of warning, it was one of uncontrolled, clueless, worry. Whether for herself or for Peter, nobody knew.
On pure instinct, Peter launched himself back towards Angelica, twisting as he moved to sprint forward and grab her. The young man having caught up and grabbed his sister as if her retreat hadn¡¯t been with as much speed as she could possibly muster.
And with his next step, the fireball destabilized fully, detonating with an explosion of fire that could have swallowed a house whole. The ground shaking beneath the red-haired teen¡¯s feet, making him stumble in his retreat to the relatively safe distance Felicia stood at, and the shockwave blowing over the two of them and knocking him over fully.
It took only a second for Peter to be back to his feet with his sword out before him, his breathing heavy from adrenaline and his eyes wide; darting this way and that in preparation for more dracolings to come after them, only for none to come.
With a pained groan, Angelica pushed herself into a seated position on the ground, looking over at the charred crater she had created in the middle of the otherwise densely packed forest. The occasional dracoling flinching and stumbling on injured and unstable legs as they tried to escape from the party, the pack of 30-40 dracolings cut down to only 7 thanks to the endless curiosity of Blessed Catalysts very own [High-Sorcerer].
Seeing that their mission was done, and the remaining dracolings were in no state, mental or physical, to continue their assault, Peter finally lowered his blade and turned back to his sister, worry evident in his expression.
¡°Angelica are you- eh?¡± That worry didn¡¯t last long, however, paused in its tracks by the slowly escalating look of excitement on his sibling¡¯s face.
¡®Of course. Leave it to Angelica to be excited by a spell that dangerous¡¡¯ Felicia thought to herself, rolling her eyes good naturedly as her best friend slapped her hands on the ground and leant towards the soot-coated crater.
¡°That. Was. AMAZING!¡±
Resolve and Dedication
16 Days out of Kret
¡°Alright, Mr Dius. We¡¯ll be entering Xyrtah territory soon. How was your first foray into the unclaimed wild?¡± Alexandar asked with a small raise of his eyebrow as he walked alongside his charge.
The seventeen-year-old was making good progress on being able to reliably create Magic Contracts, by this stage he could do it every four out of five times, by Alexandar¡¯s estimates.
Of course, for someone that had been using magic since they were younger, that would be a worrying ineptitude for one of the most vital components to higher-level spellcraft, but for Alec it wasn¡¯t quite so bad. The teen had just a little under two weeks of practice with his mana, the fact that he could even activate a Contract at all was a feat in and of itself.
Learning to use magic was like learning to ride a bike, at least in a tangential sense. Some people were naturally a little better at it than others, and some people happened to have the fortune of having ¡®better made¡¯ bikes than others. But at the end of the day, once you learned how to do it, it wasn¡¯t that difficult to do it again and again.
Alexandar wished he could help a little more than he already had, but unfortunately learning to create proper Contracts was a pain and a half. The process requiring the user to learn how to imbue their magic, consciously, with a particular ¡®purpose¡¯. And as annoying as it was, that was something that each person did differently in some manner or another, so it was entirely up to Alec to figure out what his own, personal, method was.
¡°Other than being attacked by an egotistical vampire, surprisingly peaceful compared to the books I¡¯ve read and stories I¡¯ve heard.¡±
¡°Hmmm, well those books are usually only snippets of an entire journey, or overexaggerated.¡± Alexandar explained, rubbing his forefinger and thumb along his jawline on either side of his chin.
¡°I guess that makes sense¡¡±
¡°Disappointing, isn¡¯t it?¡± Alexandar grinned, nudging Alec¡¯s arm with his elbow and getting a soft snort from the teen at the elderly man¡¯s goofiness.
¡°Not really. I was just prepared to be seeing great beasts and such.¡±
¡°Well, we followed a main road that¡¯s still very close to the territories of Kairahl and Xyrtah. If we saw too many that would be a bigger issue than a little Copper like you can handle.¡± Alexandar needled his charge, grinning a little at the dark glare he got in return for reminding the teen of his Adventurer-rank.
¡®Not that he¡¯s still a [Copper-rank] these days though. Mr Dius has grown quite well these past two weeks.¡¯ Alexandar thought to himself, remembering the injuries that he had seen on the Von Lung heir.
¡°So, what? They come out here to hunt things down too?¡± Alec questioned, his tone snipped and his jaw a bit more set than it had been just a few moments ago.
Ah, teenage angst, how Alexandar missed it so.
¡°Of course they do, Mr Dius. This road not only connects Xyrtah and Kairahl but the intersection we passed a few days ago leads all the way up to Gladia.¡± The elderly mage explained, raising a finger and closing his eyes as he walked and talked.
¡°Right, I guess that¡¯s pretty important.¡± Alec admitted, pulling his arm out of one strap of his bag and swinging it around to rummage through it.
It only took a moment before he managed to locate and pull out his map of the Twin-Continents, showing the recognized territories of all the countries, the capital cities of each country, and the largest, most traversed roads connecting them all.
¡°Why are you checking your map, Mr Dius?¡± Alexandar questioned, leaning over to look at the map himself as they walked.
¡°I wanted to see what the road looked like again; it really does almost go perfectly west until we reach Xyrtah¡¯s borders. I thought maybe we could have avoided the Unclaimed Lands, but I guess not.¡±
¡°Well technically we could have.¡± Alexandar cut in, placing his finger over Kret and trailing it down the paper in a south-west direction instead of straight west, as they had gone.
¡°We could have gone down this path and stayed within Kairahl¡¯s borders, but then we would have had to catch a ship across Kren-Tail Lake. And the fees on some of those ships can be, quite frankly, ridiculous.¡± Alexandar scoffed, rolling his eyes.
¡°Why not go over or under the lake? There are land borders north and south of it.¡± Alec questioned, his curiosity getting the better of him.
¡°Because there¡¯s no roads north or south of Kren-Tail Lake. It¡¯s all wilderness with the occasional monster nest, tribe or forgotten town.¡± Alexandar explained, waving his hand a little. ¡°Besides going south of the lake means that we¡¯d have to cross the river feeding the lake into the ocean. And do you see the size of it just on this map? It¡¯s like¡in the top five widest rivers in the Twin-Continents.¡±
¡°Ah¡¡±
¡°Exactly!¡± Alexandar crowed, swiping his hand in front of him energetically. ¡°So, we took this path. Besides, aren¡¯t you glad you got to see a real Power Stance in person?¡±
¡°Yeah, I guess.¡±
¡°That¡¯s the spirit!¡± The older adventurer laughed, clapping a hand on Alec¡¯s shoulder, the exact opposite to the teen¡¯s low energy, very contained, vibe.
¡°I¡¯m still annoyed that you helped put me in that position.¡±
¡°Oh, come now, Mr Dius. Aren¡¯t you ever going to let me live that down?¡±
¡°Not even once.¡± Alec grinned, seeming to take some modicum of joy in the gargled sound of pain that left the elderly man at his verbal jab.
XXXxxxXXX
Two Hours Later
Alec let out a slow breath as he held his hands out in a relaxed posture while walking, his gaze going from one hand to the other every ten to fifteen seconds. His elderly companion humming a small tune to himself that the teen vaguely recognized from Kret as he walked beside him, occasionally turning his gaze towards Alec for a second or two only to look back on the path once more.
¡°Your speed hasn¡¯t managed to increase much.¡±
¡°You¡¯re trying to make me transfer as much mana as I physically can from one hand to the other, it¡¯s hard.¡± The teen shot back, a small bead of sweat forming on his temple as his gaze went from his right hand to his left.
¡°Well, if you¡¯re hoping to be a solo adventurer, being able to call upon as much Mana as possible, as quickly as possible, is a vital component to staying alive long enough to reach [Silver-rank], let alone Gold.¡±
¡°Yeah, I know. That doesn¡¯t make this any easier.¡± Alec grumbled, his gaze sliding from his left hand to his right.
¡®Mr Dius has very little discipline, it seems. He only started to regularly, tiringly, train with his blade following the run-in with the Dune Worm. He¡¯s not used to struggling like this.¡¯ Alexandar thought to himself, letting out a small huff beneath his breath that immediately caught the teen¡¯s attention.
¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡±
¡°Just the fact that you keep looking where your Mana is going, Mr Dius. You do realize that that isn¡¯t going to make controlling it any easier, right?¡± He teased the young swordsman, his grin turning into a full-blown cackle as the aggravated gaze of Alec snapped onto him, the teen finally looking away from his hands.
¡°Oh you think-¡° Before Alec could continue talking, probably about to spew a threat of some kind, a sharp whistle caught the two adventurers¡¯ attention.
Making their way out of the forest was a small squad of four lightly armoured figures. Leather greaves, vambraces, and chestplates adorning their forms with the symbol of the Xyrtahnian people proudly adorned over their hearts; A six petalled flower with a circular shield making up the pistil. No weapons adorned their forms, but that hardly surprised either of the adventurers given the fact that Alexandar himself made flagrant use of a hammer-space for his own staff.
Instantly all the Mana imbued in Alec¡¯s hands receded back into his body where it could spread more uniformly and fold back into obscurity, and his gaze narrowed slightly as he took them and their forms in.
¡®These guys are pretty dangerous. I¡¯d guess possibly [Silver-rank], maybe [Gold-rank]. Who knows if that¡¯s their actual strength though.¡¯
¡°Yahoo! Adventurer¡¯s! Welcome to Xyrtah!¡± One of the four squad members called out exuberantly, looking mostly human except for the slight ridges around the base of his jaw and slit pupils.
¡®Scales¡?¡¯
¡°Hello hello! Doing a border patrol?¡± Alexandar called back jovially, getting a groan of annoyance from the singular female of the group, undeniably an elf if the ears and ever so faint green markings along her skin were anything to go by.
¡°Yes! Because someone here couldn¡¯t keep his mouth shut in front of the Captain.¡± She huffed, turning to glare at the demi-human who had first called out to them.
At least he had the self-awareness to look vaguely guilty over landing his squad on border patrol. His gaze averted from the woman instantly and a soft whistle leaving his lips.
¡°Oooh, border patrol as a punishment, eh? Can¡¯t say I envy you lot.¡± Alexandar hummed, propping one arm up by the elbow and scratching his jawline idly.
¡°Neither can we, and we¡¯re the ones doing it.¡± The woman scoffed lightly, though it was pretty easy to tell that it was, mostly, in jest.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
¡°You two are adventurers?¡± One of the males, a large man standing over 210cm with heavily tanned skin short, brown, spiky hair that was buzzcut around the sides and back, asked with a curious expression.
¡®He has a pretty equal distribution of muscle over his whole body but the musculature over his arms¡¡¯ Alec noted mentally, his gaze stuck on the, almost, marble statuesque musculature of the man¡¯s forearm, upper arm and shoulders.
¡®Those are some pretty scathing eyes that the kid has on him, has he figured it out?¡¯ The man thought, having clocked the teen¡¯s inquisitive staring almost as soon as it had started.
¡°That we are! I¡¯m just aiding Mr Dius here on his first ¡®solo¡¯ quest. Helping him learn the ropes and teaching him a few things and whatnot.¡±
¡°Awww, a baby adventurer, huh?¡± The woman in the squad teased, her grin only growing wider at the small frown that Alec shot her on pure reflex.
¡°That¡¯s right. Mr Dius here is a wee little [Copper-rank].¡± Alexandar announced jovially, only snickering as the dark look and frown at the seventeen-year-old snapped to him with a, by now, well-practiced ease.
¡°A Copper, hm? I noticed you staring before, have you figured out my role in the group?¡± The hulking man asked, taking a step forward and looking down at the teen, an easy task when there was almost a full 36 centimeters between their height.
¡°You¡¯re the ranged support, right?¡± Alec guessed, getting a raised eyebrow from the fourth member of the squad and an impressed whistle from the young woman.
The fourth member was a fairly average sized man with seemingly nothing interesting about him, though Alec wouldn¡¯t trust that judgement as far as it could throw him. He couldn¡¯t exactly sense mana when it wasn¡¯t being blasted in his face, but he¡¯d bet money that this man was the primary mage of the squad.
The man in question had black hair and eyes, but of a lighter shade than Crowell¡¯s. His hair waving down to his shoulders and his eyes far rounder and filled with mirth than he was sure that the vampire heir was even capable of.
¡°You¡¯d be correct, I¡¯m surprised that a [Copper-rank] has the kind of instincts or deduction to figure that out.¡± The man congratulated the teen, getting an odd twisting of the teen¡¯s lips in response, as if he didn¡¯t know how to respond to the reminder of his rank mixed in with the genuine compliment alongside it.
¡°¡Thank you.¡± The teen finally decided on after a moment¡¯s hesitation, giving the much larger man a simple nod.
¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡±
¡°Alright alright enough. I wanna ask the kid a question as well.¡± The young woman huffed, walking up and shoving the larger man away, though Alec guessed that he very much allowed her to do so, given the difference in both height and muscle mass between the two.
The young woman stood only a few centimeters shorter than Alec himself, green eyes paired with short, dark blonde, hair that flared out slightly near the nape of her neck and shoulders. Though given the fire in her eyes, Alec wouldn¡¯t have been surprised if her hair and eyes had been the exact same shade as Peter¡¯s.
¡°Uh, go ahead miss?...¡± Alec trailed off, raising an eyebrow curiously.
¡°Jasmine.¡± The woman answered simply, placing her hands on her hips and leaning forward slightly so that her face was closer to Alec¡¯s.
Not to the point of invading the teens private space, but close enough to be vaguely uncomfortable for him.
¡°You¡¯re planning to be solo for a while, right? Not just a quest or two?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡± He nodded, trying his best to keep his composure in check as he stood on the receiving end of a stare so intense it made him think that ants were crawling all over his limbs.
¡°Good. What is killing to you?¡±
Jasmine¡¯s three companions, and Alexandar, all stood in silence as she stared him down, practically demanding that he answer her. And honestly, Alec found the answer coming to him quite easily.
Memories of when he was a child alongside his friends coming to mind. Of Peter always condemning killing. Of himself and Angelica always trying to figure out why they had killed another person. Of him and Angelica sneaking out of the orphanage to rough up and scare the crap out of the man that had harassed Miss Vira for weeks on end.
Alec had no love for killing, or the idea of it to be more accurate, nor did he enjoy it like some psychopaths that he had heard about. No, he wasn¡¯t anywhere near that level. But he also understood that as an Adventurer he would, more likely than not, have to kill someone at some point in time. A fact which was only compounded by his choice in weapon, swords weren¡¯t exactly famed for the inability to kill, after all.
¡°Killing is something that is, at times, required. Its not something to be avoided at all costs, nor is it something to revel in.¡± He finally answered, clearly and succinctly as he tried his best to keep his gaze locked on Jasmine¡¯s own.
¡°Huh¡Nice answer kid.¡± She grinned, reaching a hand out and rubbing the top of Alec¡¯s head, getting a small eye twitch from the teen as he struggled to keep his cool.
¡°I think that such an answer shows a good sense of maturity on you, Mr Dius.¡± The behemoth of a man spoke, cracking his left index finger with his thumb idly.
¡°I have to agree with our large bowman here, Mr Dius. Miss Jasmine here had a good idea asking you about your opinion on such a thing. Unfortunately, one of the largest killers of solo adventurers is their inability to kill a humanoid enemy when necessary.¡± Alexandar explained, nodding his head firmly before a grin stretched his lips and a sparkle of mischief shone in his eyes.
¡°Though that reminds me, there¡¯s so much we have yet to talk about Mr Dius. Like say, for example, whether you have a special lady friend waiting for you somewhere?¡± He tried to tease the teen, even teleporting next to him to place an arm on his shoulder so that he had no time to escape.
Only for Alexandar to be the one shocked as Alec just turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. The teen seemed to be utterly uncaring of the mans teasing, even a little confused if the curve of his eyebrow was anything to go by.
¡°No? I¡¯ve never really had anyone interested in me in that way.¡±
¡°Ah. I see. Damn, I was hoping for some ammunition.¡± Alexandar sighed, sagging against the teen and getting a small squawk of argument as Alec suddenly had to deal with his body weight slumped against him.
¡°This kid really had no one ever take an interest in him?¡± Jasmine whispered to her black-haired companion, getting a small laugh from him.
¡°Sometimes it just happens. Besides, who knows, he might not have met many women his age at all.¡± He suggested, getting a small, quiet, hum from the woman as she seemed to mull his words over while tilting her head from side to side.
¡°I suppose you¡¯re right.¡±
¡°Of course, I am.¡±
¡°Bite me, Conner.¡±
¡°No thanks. I¡¯m good.¡±
Meanwhile, over by Alec and Alexandar, the teen finally managed to throw the elderly mage off him, letting him hit the ground with a small ¡®thump¡¯ and an overdramatic groan of pain from the man.
¡°Can we please keep going, now? I don¡¯t want to spend forever on this quest.¡± Alec asked, utterly unconvinced by the rather obvious acting of his aid.
¡°You aren¡¯t just teleporting?¡± The subtly scaled squad member asked, getting a low grumble from the teen and a dark glare pointed at the slowly rising Alexandar.
¡°No. He said that it wasn¡¯t fair to all the other [Copper-rank]¡¯s in the Twin-Continents if I got to skip a whole month of travel when they didn¡¯t get to.¡±
¡°It¡¯s true!¡±
¡°I just think that he¡¯s so lazy he can¡¯t be bothered to teleport us.¡± Alec finished, grinning over at Alexandar after taking his crack at him.
¡°That¡¯s not true!¡±
¡°HAH! Great going old man. Well, we¡¯ll let you both go on your way right after checking your ID¡¯s, sound good?¡± Jasmine said, resting her weight on one leg and placing her hand on her cocked hip.
¡°Ah, sounds good. Here¡¯s mine.¡± Alexandar said, taking the situation with far more stride than Alec did, the poor teen floundering silently for a second at the sudden switch in topics before fishing into his pack for his own ID.
¡°Hey, kid, mind if I give you one piece of advice?¡± Jasmine asked as he looked over his ID, getting a small nod from the curious teenager. ¡°Keep your ID somewhere safe and easy to access on your person, if you don¡¯t know how to make a hammerspace yet. Trust me, it¡¯ll help more than it won¡¯t.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll¡keep that in mind. Thanks.¡±
¡°Yeah, no problem, alright you¡¯re both good to go, have fun.¡±
¡°Thanks¡?¡±
¡°Oh, we will, Miss Jasmine. Come along now, Mr Dius.¡±
¡°I¡¯m coming, I¡¯m coming.¡± Alec groaned, jogging for a few steps to catch up to Alexandar as they started to walk, the teen left a few ideas and a whole lot of new information to deal with.
XXXxxxXXX
3 Days Later, Xyrtahnian countryside
¡°Ok, ok. So, it¡¯ll take us another 6 days to get to this town here.¡± Alec said, sliding his finger down the road they were travelling along to a town on the north side of a smaller, but still quite large, lake North-West of Kren-Tail Lake. ¡°And then our plan is just to hitch a ride to Zenik?¡±
¡°Precisely! Travelling on foot isn¡¯t a very common way for large trips to take place. It¡¯s a good experience to do it once or twice like we have been. But if we don¡¯t take a cart or wagon it¡¯ll take another two weeks to get from this town to Zenik and neither of us wants that.¡± Alexandar huffed, waving a hand dismissively at the idea of walking for another three weeks.
¡°Yeah, I suppose you¡¯re right.¡± Alec nodded, folding his map back up and putting it in his back once more.
For a little while the two of them walked in peaceful silence, Alec sliding mana from his left hand to his right hand as he walked. His sheathed longsword bouncing and bobbing slightly against his thigh as he walked, the faintest wisps of mana roiling off the hilt of the blade to the specialized and attuned senses of Alexandar.
¡°¡When did you decide, you were going to practice imbuing your blade with mana?¡± The elderly man asked without warning, getting a shocked yelp from the teen as a giant burst of mana exploded out of his hand, covering it in papercuts.
With a quiet hiss, the teen lit up a small, dim, magic circle over his other hand. The cuts on his damaged hand beginning to slowly heal all at once as he hovered the magic circle over his limb.
¡°This morning. I couldn¡¯t sleep so I thought it wouldn¡¯t hurt to practice.¡± The teen admitted, not really surprising the older adventurer in the slightest.
The young swordsman seemed to be having nightmares every couple of days since the encounter with the Dune Worm, leading to quite a few early morning training sessions on Alec¡¯s part.
And as callous as it may have sounded, even to Alexandar¡¯s own ears, the man could see that it was clearly doing the teen some good. His movements with his blade, while nowhere near perfected, were clearly more refined than they had been a scant 19 days ago. Not to mention the slight changes in the teens muscle tone and stamina that were already becoming apparent.
Being an adventurer was hard work, especially for those aiming for/destined for higher ranks. It was a dangerous, gruesome and exhausting profession that had the opportunity to be rewarding beyond anything else in the world short of royalty, but those with natural talent and no wish exert themselves were often the first to drop. Either by choice or forcefully, as their remains were lowered into a deep hole.
But Alexandar took his ¡®job¡¯ as an aid very seriously for that exact reason, and when he had come across Alec on that fateful day ¨CA young teen from the Blessed Generation that had instincts sharp enough to recognize the danger of the Guild Guards and a natural talent sharp enough to carry him all the way to the precipice of [Iron-rank]¨C He knew that he couldn¡¯t allow him to fall into that same trap and meet that same fate.
Luckily for him, or probably unluckily if you asked the teen, he happened to be an absolute magnet for trouble. Just the kind of circumstances that were perfect to kick his ass into gear.
¡°I look forward to seeing your progress, Mr Dius.¡± Alexandar smiled softly, getting a small snort from the teen as he looked over at Alexandar from the corner of his eye.
¡°Good, because I don¡¯t plan to stop.¡± He announced, the dedication and determination clear to hear in his voice.
¡°Then I suppose I don¡¯t need to make you dinner tonight, do I?¡± The elderly man¡¯s grin stretched wider, showing his pearly white teeth as Alec¡¯s own lips pressed together tightly in displeasure.
¡°You know what I meant, Alexandar.¡±
The elderly man¡¯s laugh was going to wake Alec up in a cold sweat for the next week, he just knew it.
Horses and Lions
25 Days out of Kret
Alexandar couldn¡¯t help but laugh at the wide-eyed look that Alec twisted, turned and walked around with as they walked through one of the main streets of Xynhall, the town on the northside of Pearl-Spine Lake. With surprised, yet deft, steps the teen twisted out of the way of a horse-drawn carriage, noting the pearlescent sheen of the workhorses¡¯ manes as they went past.
¡°Interested in the horses, Mr Dius?¡± Alexandar asked his charge, getting a small hum from the teen.
¡°I¡¯d heard about the pearlescent coats of Xyrtahnian horses but its my first time seeing one this close¡¡± Alec answered with a small hum, his gaze turning towards the south, where the lake could be seen in a gap between two buildings.
¡°You have the right idea, Mr Dius. The water of Pearl-Spine Lake is what gives the horses here their particular sheen.¡± The elderly adventurer explained, holding a finger up idly as he walked. ¡°I actually tried drinking some water myself as a young man.¡±
¡°And?¡±
¡°And I had the most luscious pearlescent hair you¡¯ve ever seen in your life! But only for a few hours before my magic purged the lakes effect from my system.¡± Alexandar explained, beginning in a puffed up and egotistical manner before deflating with a childish pout.
¡°So, drinking the lake''s water can turn your hair pearlescent?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right! I¡¯ve even heard that there¡¯s a few families, and local livestock, that have been drinking the water for so many generations that their hair or fur is permanently pearlescent now, even if they¡¯ve never touched the water in their life.¡±
¡°Huh¡¡± Alec hummed, crossing his arms loosely as he thought over that information.
The idea of magic changing the genetics of a given family or creature subspecies was hardly new or unique, look hard enough and you could practically find such mutations anywhere that you went. Yet having the cause for such a mutation right up in his face, metaphorically speaking, was something that he¡¯d never expected to experience in his life.
Meanwhile, as Alec struggled to comprehend the majesty of the lake that sat far, far to their left, Alexandar had an idea. A wide grin stretched his features as he made a small noise and nudged the teen¡¯s shoulder with his elbow.
¡°What?¡± Alec snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at Alexandar, his arms unfolding from their crossed state as he raised an eyebrow at the older man.
¡°While we look for a carriage to take us to Zenik, how about we go buy some water from the lake and take a sip?¡± He suggested to the teen with a playful grin and a nudge towards a random store.
¡°Why would we buy lake water?¡±
¡°Because most merchants make sure the waters actually safe the drink. It may be a freshwater lake but that doesn¡¯t mean there aren¡¯t small little buggers swimming and crawling around in there.¡±
Alec let out a nervous laugh as he realized the truth in the elder adventurer¡¯s words, the mental image of him swallowing some kind of dangerous bacteria or living creature flashing through his mind for only a moment. Yet that was still long enough for him to shiver slightly and shake his head in disgust.
¡°Yeah ok. Buying the lake water it is.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mr Dius. Just this once I shall loosen my pouch strings and pay for it myself. Sound good?¡± Alexandar asked with a raised eyebrow and a grin, getting a self-satisfied smile in return and a small nod.
¡®Leave it to a [Copper-rank] to pounce on the idea of getting something for free. Ahhh to be inexperienced and coinless once again.¡¯ The man thought to himself, leading Alec over to a stand with a small stack of metallic flasks balanced perfectly atop its wooden surface.
¡°Welcome, welcome! Adventurer¡¯s from out of town, are you?¡± The salesman, a rather respectable looking middle-aged man with well combed and maintained black hair and a thick pair of glasses atop the ridge of his nose.
¡°Indeed, we are! Business been good?¡± Alexandar asked, looking over the stack of flasks with an interested hum.
¡°Rather slow today but it occasionally happens.¡± The salesman shrugged, not seeming too bothered about the lack of purchases today.
Alec just stayed silent, curious about why he wasn¡¯t too worried about the low sales but chalking it up to either a good safety net of profits, faith that it will pick back up again, or both.
¡°Indeed, it does. So do you have any flasks left over for my charge and I to purchase on this slow day of yours, my good fellow?¡±
¡°Of course I do, dear customer!¡± The salesman retorted enthusiastically, pulling two flasks out from behind his counter. ¡°Chilled with ice magic as well for a perfectly cool and soothing beverage!¡±
¡°Haha! I knew it, that sounds perfect!¡± Alexandar laughed exuberantly before leaning in a little. ¡°A little piece of advice, my good man. Enchant the flasks out the front here as well so that you can¡¯t tell the difference between the ones with the lake water and the ones without.¡±
The smile on the salesman¡¯s face never so much as twitched at the words of the elderly adventurer, but the gleam in his eyes told Alexandar all that it needed to. The man understood what he was trying to get across and was already considering the cost-benefit analysis for following Alexandar¡¯s advice.
¡°Well then, a flask for yourself and for the young swordsman over here too?¡± The salesman continued, as if Alexandar had never spoken to him at all.
He could appreciate the professionalism on display before him, that¡¯s for sure.
¡°Precisely, how much will that set me back by?¡±
¡°You both seem like good people, how about 1 silver piece each?¡± The salesman suggested, Alec¡¯s eyes sliding to the sign hung on the side of the stall showing the flasks priced at 3 silver pieces each.
Of course, he knew not to argue when you got a lower price from a vendor, especially when Alexandar himself didn¡¯t seem surprised or worried in the slightest, the man materializing two coins from, seemingly, the aether and handing them over.
¡°Much appreciated, dear customers. Have a good rest of the morning and afternoon!¡± The seated man said as the two began to walk away, getting a small nod from Alec and a slight wave from Alexandar himself.
¡°Alright Mr Dius. Here¡¯s your flask. Go ahead and drink it. Go go go!¡± Alexandar tried to egg his charge on the moment that he handed the flask over, making the teen clutch the flask closer to his chest and frown slightly.
¡°You¡¯re a child, Alexandar.¡±
¡°I¡¯m excited, Mr Dius. Come now, try it.¡± He urged the teen, pushing the ¨Cclosed¨C flask closer to the teen¡¯s lips.
The teen scowled and whipped the flask to the side before slapping the top of the old man¡¯s hand with his own free hand, a yelp leaving the old man¡¯s lips as he snapped his hand back.
¡°Stop pressuring me and I will.¡± Alec grumbled, unscrewing the cap of the flask and taking a good, long, gulp of the mystical water.
After he closed the flask once more, the teen tried to look at the results, twisting his head quickly to the side to try and catch sight of his hair and seeing the very tips of his now pearlescent hair. Though just seeing that his hair was pearlescent now wasn¡¯t enough for the teen, with him pulling his blade out of its sheath to look at himself in its reflection.
A small, high-pitched noise left the teen as he saw his reflection. Alec twisting his head left and right to get as much of a full view of his head as possible, seeing that his entire head had suddenly become abundant in ever shifting pearlescence- even his eyebrows.
¡°It''s good to see you enjoying yourself, Mr Dius.¡± Alexandar said, grinning widely at the teen, who re-sheathed his sword and turned towards the older man.
¡°What do you mean?¡±
¡°You really haven¡¯t realized you¡¯ve been smiling ever since you saw your reflection?¡± Alexandar asked incredulously, a soft huff of laughter leaving him mid-sentence as the realization hit him.
It took Alexandar pointing it out for Alec to finally realize that he was, indeed, smiling. It wasn¡¯t the largest smile in the world, nor was it a smile of pure, unrestrained glee. It was, however, still a smile that showed the enjoyment that the teen was having for something as simple as a change in his hair colour, temporary or not.
Very, very briefly the urge to clamp down on his enjoyment and turn away from the elderly man in a fit of embarrassed indignation surged through his every muscle and bone. Yet, the last 25 days that he had spent with the far older, and more powerful, adventurer flooded his mind.
What was wrong with having fun? The old man did it almost constantly and he was a [Tungsten-rank] adventurer, so clearly there was no reason to avoid enjoying himself. Not to mention while the old man was definitely the teasing type, he had never been malicious about it so far, even if his comments about his rank and strength burnt.
So, with the grin still on his face he just shrugged and tilted his head so that he could take a look at his still pearlescent hair.
¡°I hadn¡¯t actually noticed. But it¡¯s pretty neat, right?¡±
The wide grin of the older adventurer seemed to soften ever so slightly as he nodded and scratched his chin.
¡°Oh indeed, indeed. My dear young charge. If not for your eyes, I¡¯d even say that it works on you.¡± He teased the teen, getting a small snort and roll of the eyes from said teen.
¡°I doubt you¡¯d be any better, old man.¡± He retorted easily, continuing to walk now that he¡¯d checked out the temporary changes to his appearance.
¡°Hey! I¡¯ll have you know that I¡¯m the king of pearlescence!¡±
The only response that Alexandar got was a long, loud, exaggerated yawn from the teen as he continued to walk further ahead.
¡°How dare you!¡± The mage exclaimed dramatically jogging after him to catch back up.
¡°Quite easily. Now we should focus on finding a carriage to bring us to Zenik, right?¡± The teen asked, more settled and at peace than the elderly man had ever seen him; leagues better than that anxious and somewhat snappy teen that had just left his party, that¡¯s for certain.
¡°Hmmmm. Fine! But don¡¯t think that I¡¯ll forget this transgression, Mr Dius.¡±
¡°I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t Alexandar.¡± Alec chuckled, feeling properly, truly calm for the first time since leaving Blessed Catalyst.
And all over something as mildly amusing as pearlescent hair.
XXXxxxXXX
26 Days out of Kret
Alec stretched as he hopped out of the carriage leaning left and then right before shaking his legs out to try and get his blood circulating again after so many hours of sitting down.
The carriage that he and Alexandar was taking was a passenger carriage that routinely went from Zenik to Xynhall, passing through Grenkin ¨Cthe town that Alec currently stood in¨C on the way. Grenkin being another town that sat on the edge of Pearl-Spine Lake with a main road that connected them following the contours of the lake¡¯s edge.
¡°You really sure you¡¯re just going to stay in the carriage the whole time?¡± Alec asked, turning around to look at his travelling companion as a young-ish looking couple hopped out of the back of the carriage.
¡°I¡¯ve been walking for three weeks now, Mr Dius, I think I deserve some rest time now.¡± Alexandar sighed, as if he wasn¡¯t a man with enough raw power to atomize everyone in the immediate vicinity and the stamina to keep up with such power. ¡°Besides we¡¯re only stopped here for two hours so that they can feed the horses and show off a bit.¡±
¡°Whatever you say, I¡¯m going to go out and take a look around.¡±
¡°Have fun, Mr Dius.¡± Alexandar waved, seeming to relax even further into the cushioned seat of the carriage.
Travelling in such a nice carriage, with decorations and cushioning and whatnot, had cost a pretty coin compared to their regular, less comfortable, counterparts but considering it was Alexandar that was paying for such a nice ride, Alec really couldn¡¯t complain.
The teen didn¡¯t really have anything in particular he was planning on doing in Grenkin. However, he knew that he wanted to get his blood flowing again and wanted to see how Grenkin differed from Kret, so he simply chose a direction down the street and started walking.
The teen¡¯s sense of direction was fairly good, above average if you asked Alec yourself, so he wasn¡¯t too worried about losing his rough bearing as he walked. The smell of baked goods, metals, oils and so much more filled the streets as Alec walked down, unknowingly heading closer and closer to the bank of the lake itself. The size of the houses and buildings around him grew larger and more extravagant as he walked, until even the most basic of prices were high enough to make him want to hurl.
With a self-conscious look around at both the buildings and the people that he passed, the teen quickly turned down a side-street. His pace jittering between a fast walk and a jog as he did his best just to get out of such a foreign area as fast, yet casual, as possible.
At the pace that he was moving around with, it took Alec barely a few minutes before he found himself making his way down a set of cobblestone stairs, the buildings ending ¨Crather abruptly¨C on the edge of the harder looking ground and making way for softer dirt and grass.
Though, of course, the harbour that he could see further down the coast of the lake didn¡¯t seem to have the same issue.
On the softer material, where buildings and heavy carts could not go for fear of sinking and crumbling, the smaller stalls and carts had set up shop. A small market resting on the dirt closer to the town with the sandy beach virtually untouched by the greasy hands of commerce.
That very same market was where Alec found himself wasting some time, stall-hopping whenever he got bored of one or found something else to occupy his attention. The teen lamented his lack of money, since he only had a measly 3 silver and 14 copper pieces to his name, when he came across a small stall set up by the apprentice of a blacksmith.
¡°Even the cheapest of his blades was seven silver¡¡± Alec sighed to himself as he walked away from the stall, leaning over to the side as he did so.
He understood that a good blade ¨Ceven one made of regular, non-mana-infused, metal¨C was always going to cost a pretty coin but he just wished that they could be, for his own sake, a little less expensive.
¡°Excuse me. Hellloo.¡± The confident female voice, on the deeper end of the spectrum but not unnaturally so, was so close and so directed that the teen almost couldn¡¯t stop himself from straightening back out and turning around, his eyebrow raising in curiosity.
The female in question looked to almost be Alec¡¯s age, or failing that at least close to it, with a hand on her cocked hip and a small grin stretching her features. Though it wasn¡¯t any of that, that Alec noticed first; No, the first thing that the teen noticed was the vaguely feline ears atop her head, followed by the rather dark pigmentation of her skin for the region, sitting somewhere around a honey beige.
The young woman had dark brown, almost black, hair with the occasional lock of hair ending in a burnt red colour, like the lock that dipped down to subtly curl just above her nose. The rest of her hair fell somewhere around her upper back in length with a strange proclivity to curl towards the ends, giving her a look that somehow combined both elegance and ferality in equal measure.
Her eyes were a burnt, dusty red highly similar to the highlights in her hair and seemed to sparkle with an almost excited gleam as she greeted him. The young woman almost looking straight ahead at him, as she only stood a mere 7 centimeters below him at 167cm in height. The majority of her body was hidden by a worn, but undeniably expensive and well-made, travelers¡¯ cloak with its hood pulled down.
¡°Hello. Can I¡help you?¡± He asked, vaguely cautious of her as he asked his question.
He wasn¡¯t quite sure what it was, but something about her just screamed danger to the teen. It wasn¡¯t overt like with Crowell or nerve-wracking like the Guild Guards, but more akin to how his instincts told him that Alexandar was dangerous, only far less potently.
¡°I hope so. I¡¯m Calliope, nice to meet you.¡± She introduced herself quickly, getting a half-formed, equally as quick introduction from Alec in return. ¡°And I was wondering if you were an adventurer, by chance?¡±
The way that her gaze dipped to his cuirass and blade told him that she was already fairly certain in her judgement, but he couldn¡¯t fault her for asking just to be sure. There were many, many strange things in the Twin-Continents and mistaking someone for a low-level adventurer like him would be far from the strangest thing to occur.
¡°I am.¡± He nodded, shifting his weight idly as he talked.
¡°Mind if I ask what rank you happen to be, Alec?¡± Calliope asked, leaning forward slightly with a wider grin that happened to show her slightly sharper than average teeth.
The teen had to fight from showing his displeasure as he answered, and even then, he was fairly certain that he did a terrible job at hiding it.
¡°Copper.¡±
Calliope¡¯s eyes widened, her ears standing straight up in surprise, or alarm, as she realized what he had said. Clearly, she hadn¡¯t been expecting such an answer and Alec honestly couldn¡¯t blame her, it was rare to find [Copper-rank]¡¯s that left their home city or town, let alone travelled like he had done.
After the journey that he had, had just to get to this point, he understood alarmingly well just why that was. Without the aid of a higher-ranking adventurer like Alexandar, the chances of a [Copper-rank] going from one country to another and living to tell the tale were disturbingly low.
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¡°I see.¡± Her ears flattened out a little from their alarmed state and her forefinger and thumb came to her chin, her eyes going flat as she seemed to fall into a brief moment of deep thought.
Alec let her have her moment of thought, his eyes trailing the surrounding marketplace idly in an effort not to stare at Calliope as she thought over whatever was going through her mind.
Calliope was undeniably someone that came from money or had a lot of it at her disposal. Which either ¨Cmost likely¨C made her a noble, an adventurer, or both. None of the people around them seemed to be paying Calliope any particular notice except for what was to be expected for a woman with a face as pretty as hers undeniably was, so that tipped the scales further towards foreign nobility.
Say what you will, but adventurers with the kind of funds to buy a cloak as well-made as hers, unless she saved for a while to buy it, were generally known by at least a portion of a town with a populous as large as Grenkin.
¡°I see. Well, no matter, I was hoping to get my blood flowing a little bit and was wondering if you¡¯d be willing to spar? Of course, with you being an adventurer I¡¯m happy to pay you to take some time out of your day for this request.¡± Calliope offered an innocent smile crossing her features as she leant forward and to the side slightly, clasping her hands behind her back based on what little of her posture he could see beneath the cloak.
¡°You¡¯d be willing to pay me for a spar?¡± Alec asked, unable to hide his surprise at such a turn of events.
He¡¯d never have guessed that someone would ever pay him to have a spar with them, let alone in some random ¨Clarge, but random¨C town on his way to the capital of Xyrtah. In his surprise, he never noticed the way that Calliope¡¯s eyes seemed to travel over his clothes and adventuring gear critically, her fingers curling and uncurling in a small pattern seemingly only known to herself before her gaze returned back to his face.
¡°Of course. How does¡five silver sound?¡± She offered, her grin seeming to sharpen a little as Alec made a choking sound in response.
¡®Alright that pretty much rules out nobility.¡¯ He thought to himself as he pounded his fist on his chest twice to try and get his breathing back under control.
How had Alec come to this conclusion, one might ask? Rather simply, he had absolutely zero experience with nobility of any sort apart from stories; where a rather common theme, and recurring joke, was that none of them had any idea what sort of money regular people and adventurers made and worked on.
Of course, logically, Alec knew that not everyone of true nobility would fit nicely into that same stereotypical mould, but knowledge and experience were not the same things.
Alec had known that a Dune Worm was dangerous before leaving Blessed Catalyst, after all. He now looked back on his past self and laughed at the naivety that he had left the city with.
¡°Uh, yeah. Absolutely. I have an hour and a bit to kill.¡± He said, trying to regain his composure and straighten himself back out.
And action which seemed to amuse Calliope highly, if the gleam in her eyes was any indication, though he really couldn¡¯t blame her in this circumstance.
¡°Awesome! Let¡¯s head out of the market before we start, hm?¡± He grinned and jabbed a thumb off to the side, gesturing for him to follow as she started walking.
With a small shrug, mostly to himself since Calliope was turned away from him, he followed after her. Being led outside of the market and to a more open, empty area that they could safely spar in.
At least Alec hoped they could safely spar here. He knew that his own attacks would be fine, but he had no idea where Calliope sat in terms of strength or technique.
¡°Alright, a simple three count should suffice, right?¡± Calliope asked, taking a pointed last step before spinning on her heel to face Alec as he came to a stop in time with her.
¡°A three- what now?¡± The blue haired teen asked, tilting his head to the side.
¡°A three count, to start the spar. I count to three and only after that can either of us move or attack.¡± Calliope explained, somehow both patient and amused with his lack of knowledge.
¡°Ah. Yeah, that¡¯s fine.¡± Alec nodded, reaching for the blade at his side as Calliope¡¯s own magic coalesced in the palm of her hand that she held outstretched from her form.
Simultaneously, through pure chance, both teens grabbed their weapons at the exact same moment. Alec¡¯s fingers curling around the barely wrapped metal of his own hilt as the pristine blade of Calliope materialized in her own grip.
!!!
Both fighters leapt away from each other in an instant, but while Calliope only went a meter or two back in her retreat, Alec launched himself as far as he could go in a single leap. The teen sliding to a halt almost five whole meters from his starting position and a bead of cold sweat forming on his temple.
Both Alec and Calliope, unknown to each other, possessed instincts far removed from those of the average adventurer, let alone the average civilian. But the actions of the other, an almost mirror copy of their own, surprised the both of them. Neither teen having ever met someone with instincts as fine tuned as their own, naturally or through experience.
Yet, in the wake of this realization, while Alec only widened his eyes in awe and surprise, Calliope¡¯s reaction was far different. Her animal ears perking up and her lips stretching into a sharp grin as her pupils seemed to dilate ever so slightly in response to her realization.
¡°I see. Maybe you¡¯re a good candidate.¡± She muttered to herself, well outside of Alec¡¯s earshot, before speaking up once more. ¡°So, a three-count start and the first to draw blood or force a surrender?¡±
¡°That sounds good. Ready when you are.¡± Alec nodded, drawing his blade completely and holding it in a basic stance.
The stance wasn¡¯t bad, it had no glaring holes in it, was well balanced and kept his blade in a centralized position, yet Calliope couldn¡¯t help but hate it. For as much as she had been expecting following the involuntary retreat of her own body in response to him grabbing his sword, a stance like this certainly wasn¡¯t it.
Sliding one foot back and leaning her weight primarily on her back leg, the girl clutched the hilt of her blade with both hands and held it perfectly parallel to the ground with the tip pointed directly towards Alec. Her blade a well-made product with a straight, double-edged, blade of about 80cm met at the base with a vaguely burnt-red metal guard composed of two thick arms that had a slight upward curve to them. All in all it was a fantastic blade for a mid-level adventurer, likely a Silver or Gold.
Which also, annoyingly, put her well out of Alec¡¯s ability to properly combat. But he¡¯d been dealing with [Tungsten-rank] Alexandar for close to a month now so getting his ass kicked by a Silver or Gold wouldn¡¯t be quite as bad.
¡°One.¡±
¡°Two.¡±
¡°Three.¡±
The moment that the count was finished, Alec shot forward, attempting to take the initiative in this impromptu spar of theirs. He didn¡¯t need to beat her ¨Cthe idea of drawing a surrender out of a stronger opponent was well outside of Alec¡¯s abilities¨C he only needed to be the first to draw blood, so long as he did that, he would be considered the victor of this bout.
Calliope¡¯s eyes blew wide in eagerness, the girl launching herself forward as well and leveraging her grip on her blade to arc it upwards once she got within range. A couple of blue hairs floated past Alec¡¯s eyes as he ground his feet into the grass and lurched back to avoid the sudden ascending slash. The swordsman brought his blade down towards Calliope as her blade raised above his head, only for her to twist her wrists and swing the blade in a conical arc to bring it right back around and impact with Alec¡¯s. A couple sparks showering the grass to Alec¡¯s right as he threw her blade to the side and leant to the side to avoid the foot that she shot at his chin, doing an almost perfect standing split as she did so.
¡°Hey, hey. Nice moves for a Copper.¡± Calliope grinned, attempting to bring her heel down on his shoulder now that he¡¯d dodged, only to have to abort her attack and lurch back herself to avoid a thrust aimed at her right shoulder.
¡°But where¡¯s the flair, the strength? You aren¡¯t holding back on me now, are you?¡± She continued, kicking off the ground and backstepping a few meters in only a few taps of the ground to put some more space between them once more.
¡°Ah, you can sense that. Sorry, it¡¯s still not instinct to jump straight towards using mana.¡± Alec apologized, his mana thrumming through his body, flowing down into his blade and slowly filling it.
¡®That look on his face¡¡¯ The girl¡¯s eyes narrowed as she readied her blade once more.
¡°Alec. Do you not enjoy fighting?¡±
¡°Hm, not really. It¡¯s something that¡¯s necessary and that¡¯s about it.¡± Alec shrugged; his own blade pointed towards Calliope as he answered her question, his guard barely lowering as he spoke.
¡°Huh¡Do you enjoy the art of swordplay, then?¡±
¡°No¡?¡± Alec raised his eyebrow in confusion at the sudden line of questioning from the girl, a memory niggling at the back of his mind.
¡°Ah. That¡¯s disappointing. You¡¯ll never really grow if you don¡¯t enjoy what you¡¯re doing, after all.¡±
XXXxxxXXX
¡°There¡¯s no passion behind your swings, Mr Dius. I may not be a master of the blade myself, but I¡¯ve met many skilled swordsmen and the difference between the good ones and the extraordinary ones is leagues apart.¡±
¡°So, because I don¡¯t have passion, I can¡¯t reach that upper level?¡± Alec asked, tilting his head to the side a little.
¡°You¡¯re nearly there, but not quite. You go through the motions like you¡¯re expected to be good with a blade. I can tell just from the way you swing and move with your blade that you hold no real love or reverence for swordfighting.¡±
¡°Not really. My qualification is [Swordmaster]. The moment I figured that out, I picked up a blade and here we are.¡± Alec gestured around him, to the ¡®defensive walls¡¯ the Dune Worms corpse made around the two.
¡°Exactly. You didn¡¯t pick up a blade because you wanted to or needed to. You picked it up because you were expected to. I¡¯m not saying you can¡¯t grow to become an immensely skillful young man, of course not. But my personal belief is that if you do not enjoy something, you cannot reach its zenith.¡±
¡°How am I meant to enjoy fighting with a blade?¡± Alec asked, both curiously and a little snipped at the idea of being told he¡¯d never reach his full potential.
¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve never found that enjoyment myself.¡± Alexandar shrugged, getting a twitch of Alec¡¯s eyebrow, ¡°That¡¯s entirely for you to decide or discover, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll know when you do.¡±
XXXxxxXXX
¡°I¡¯m getting d¨¦j¨¤ vu¡¡± Alec muttered to himself, his eye twitching.
¡°Who knows, maybe I¡¯ll be the one to teach you that enjoyment. That¡¯d be great, right?¡± Calliope grinned before launching herself forward even faster than before, bearing down on Alec in fractions of a second.
Blade met blade and sparks showered the grass once again, the two combatants beginning to fight at a faster and more brutal pace. The elated expression on Calliope¡¯s face was only countered by the cold, concentrated expression on Alec¡¯s. Fire and Ice meeting in a brilliant display of skill, reflexes and instincts.
¡®Shit!¡¯ Alec deflected two strikes aimed at his arms and hopped over a leg sweep from Calliope.
¡®I knew she was stronger but she¡¯s totally toying with me!¡¯ While he was in the air, Calliope shot up to him with barely a flex of her ankles, clashing blades with him once more and grinning widely.
¡°So, you can block even with your posture and grounding this non-existent? Well done!¡±
The two of them pushed against each other and split apart as they landed on the ground, Alec narrowing his eyes at Calliope as she twirled her blade in a fancy display while swaying from side to side.
¡®This feeling. The ferociousness in her attacks and how unrelenting they are. They all feel like¡¡¯
¡°¡Lion.¡± Alec muttered to himself, finishing off his own thought, and making the girl across from him perk up as one of her ears twitched.
¡°Oh? Is that what you were doing the whole time, trying to figure out what type of beast-kin I am?¡± She chuckled, getting a clenching of Alec¡¯s fist around the hilt of his blade at the perceived slight against his skill. ¡°Well, you got it right. I¡¯m a lion beast-kin, congratulations.¡± She chuckled, closing her eyes and shaking her head.
She couldn¡¯t believe that he was taking the time during a spar like this to think about something so stupid. Perhaps considering him as a candidate was out of the-
Mana emanated from Alec in a small shockwave, causing Calliope¡¯s eyes to snap open in an instant, her pupils the size of pinpricks as she felt the sudden surge. She¡¯d let her guard down for a single moment and he¡¯d gone for a Power Stance?
Well, that showed her what she got for underestimating her own gut, that¡¯s for sure.
The tip of Alec¡¯s blade was in her face in a single instant, the speed of his kick-off and the power inlaid in his blade setting all of Calliope¡¯s instincts off in a catastrophic explosion of mental static.
CLANG!
Calliope¡¯s left arm was thrown out wide alongside her blade, having deflected the tip of her opponent¡¯s blade before it could make contact, her body tilting back as she did her best to backpedal amidst her deflection. She should have reacted better than this, she should have already been far out of his reach, and usually she would have been, but the teen had been smart. He¡¯d struck when her guard was down and used what must have been the most dangerous Power Stance in his arsenal to do so, guaranteeing her instinctual response.
But the Power Stance had only been step one of his plan. Alec had never expected to hit with a strike as large and in your face as Tyrius¡¯ Fortress Piercer, no that had merely been the setup.
The goal of this spar wasn¡¯t to win, it was to draw blood. And Alec¡¯s mana attribute was, arguably, the absolute best at doing precisely that.
In a single instant, as much mana as Alec could pull forth pooled in his left palm as he reached out for Calliope, letting his right arm ¨Cand blade¨C be thrown off course with the full force of her deflection to help him reach for her faster. The lioness raising her right arm to let him grab it before raising her leg off the ground once more and snapping it into his ribs, throwing him across the grass-covered clearing.
Calliope let out a heavy breath while clenching her right fist at her side, her expression nothing short of elated at the plan that Alec had just managed to pull off. Though that elation died a quick, painful death a second later as a pained groan left the dust cloud that had once been a flying blue-haired swordsman.
¡°Shit. Alec are you ok?¡± Calliope¡¯s blade disappeared in a quick flash of light and she ran into the dust cloud, swiping her arm to clear some of the nearby dust.
The sight that greeted her wasn¡¯t exactly the prettiest in the entire world, one of Alec¡¯s eyes closed tightly in pain as blood ran down his chin and stained the top of his shirt and cuirass. The defensive armament torn and broken in a way that it simply couldn¡¯t be repaired by anything short of a miracle, and sadly neither of them had access to such a thing.
¡°N-Not dying.¡± Alec coughed, clearly in pain. ¡°L-Looks like even a-a cheap cuirass c-can save your life, huh?¡±
Calliope didn¡¯t say anything in response to his words, just grabbing the cuirass and tearing it off, reducing it to its base leather strips in the process but at least allowing her to get a better view of the injury that she had given him through the torn hole where her foot had made contact.
¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to hit you that hard. I got a little too into the fight at the end there.¡± She apologized, a genuinely sincere ¨Cand embarrassed¨C smile crossing her expression as a green magic circle lit up her hands.
The relief of the healing magic was clearly evident in the way that Alec visibly relaxed on the grass as she started her administration, his own hand raising to his side and his fingers twitching, another green magic circle lighting to life.
With the two of them working together to heal Alec¡¯s wound, the injuries began to mend themselves quickly; though seeing the way that Alec was using his own spell, Calliope couldn¡¯t help but speak the question that came to her mind.
¡°Why are you healing yourself like that?¡±
¡°I-It¡¯s what my companion taught me¡.Focus on the tertiary structures surrounding the man injury and get them working again so that they can aid in the recovery.¡±
¡°Not sure that¡¯s sound advice for some of the injuries an adventurer could pick up on a quest.¡± Calliope scoffed playfully, though she couldn¡¯t help but see the wisdom in that particular usage of healing magic.
¡°Yeah, but this one wasn¡¯t going to kill me. It just means im in pain for a bit longer to save on mana usage¡¡±
¡°Not a bad trade off.¡±
¡°Uh huh¡Also, I win.¡±
¡°Huh??¡± Calliope¡¯s spell cut out entirely for a moment as she turned her gaze to Alec¡¯s face, though she quickly recast it when she saw the way that his face twisted up in pain.
¡°Your arm.¡± He explained, pointing to her right arm with his own.
The girls gaze moved down to her arm per his request, only to widen and blink owlishly for a second before she bust out laughing so hard Alec was worried that she was going to pop a rib herself.
¡°HAH! Well done. Looks like you did manage to win after all. Congratulations, Alec.¡±
¡°Heh, yeah. No problem. Now please focus on helping me.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll focus on what I want to, thank you.¡± She smirked, purposefully cutting off her spell for a few seconds.
¡°Owwwww.¡±
XXXxxxXXX
45 minutes later, With Alexandar
The sound of someone sitting next to Alexandar got a short hum from him as he cracked an eye open and saw Alec. The teen missing his cuirass and now wearing a brand-new shirt that the elderly adventurer absolutely knew the teen couldn¡¯t afford.
¡°You didn¡¯t steal that did you, Mr Dius?¡± He teased the teen, smiling widely.
¡°Wha- of course not. Someone else bought it for me.¡±
¡°And why, exactly, would they do that for a grumpy-pants like you, hm?¡±
¡°Now you don¡¯t get to know.¡±
¡°Wha- Mr Dius! You can¡¯t just dangle a juicy story like that in front of my face and then take it away!¡± Alexandar gasped, sitting upright with a scandalized expression.
¡°Too bad. Just did. Now if you excuse me I¡¯m pretty tired so I¡¯m just gonn-¡° Alec muttered, shifting a little to try and get comfortable, only to pass out the second that he managed to find something even half resembling a stable condition.
Alexandar just stared at the teen for a second, sensing his low mana reserves and the subtle, lingering remnants of healing magic around the left side of his torso, a small ¨Cgentle¨C smile coming to his features as he just groaned and adjusted himself in his seat.
¡°I look away from you for two hours and you get into something exciting huh? Whatever am I to do with you, Mr Dius?¡±
Alec let out a long, slow breath as he slept.
¡°You¡¯re right. Its better to leave you unattended, I get more funny stories.¡±
XXXxxxXXX
Meanwhile, with Calliope
Calliope entered her hotel room, sighing lowly at the lightly armoured figure that fell to a single knee the moment that she closed the door behind her.
¡°My lady, you have returned safe and well.¡±
¡°I have, you can stop kneeling now.¡± She hummed, almost uncaringly as she walked over to the end of her bed, spun on the ball of her foot and sat down animatedly.
¡°Of course.¡± The figure said, chuckling a little beneath their helmet.
¡°You know that you don¡¯t have to kneel to greet me.¡±
¡°It was the orders of your mother, My lady. I cannot disobey them.¡±
Calliope just rolled her eyes at the response, this was the 84th time they¡¯d had this conversation since they had left her home, so she¡¯d already been expecting it, as much as she wanted the answer to change. Yes, she had been counting.
¡°Was your walk around the town eventful, My lady?¡±
¡°You could say that. I need you to look into a [Copper-rank] adventurer for me. A swordsman with blue hair, goes by the name Alec.¡±
¡°H-Huh!?¡±
Calliope didn¡¯t react at all to the armoured figure¡¯s shock, merely grabbing an apple from a bowl next to her bed and beginning to eat it in a relaxed manner.
¡°We spent three weeks in Zenik and you didn¡¯t find a single worthy candidate and now you¡¯re saying that a [Copper-rank] caught your eye, My lady?¡±
¡°That¡¯s indeed what I¡¯m saying.¡± She hummed, almost smugly, as she took another bite of her apple. ¡°It has nothing to do with his power, that can always increase. He has the instincts and goal prioritization that I¡¯m looking for.¡±
¡°Then¡why not extend the offer right then, My lady?¡±
¡°Because I may not care about how strong he is to be a candidate, but I can¡¯t exactly expect a ¡®Copper¡¯ to handle the responsibilities bestowed upon them.¡± She snorted, rolling her eyes shallowly. ¡°Besides, mum and dad would blow a fuse if I picked one Copper off the streets with no backing and no achievements to their name. Best to let him work his way up himself before extending the offer.¡±
¡°I see¡you¡¯ve thought this through.¡±
¡°Of course I have. I want him to be the next Legio Imperia, after all.¡± She smirked at her guard, resting back on her free hand while crossing her legs.
¡°I see¡I shall look into him then, My lady.¡±
¡°Thank you Canael, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll do good work as always.¡±
¡°I try.¡±
Zenik Bound
31 Days out of Kret
Alec couldn¡¯t help but stare out the window as the carriage he and Alexandar currently rode in made its way past the entrance of Zenik and through the streets. The architecture wasn¡¯t that different from Grenkin and Xynhall, wood and stone-hybrid houses designed primarily to insulate and keep heat in on especially cold days, but the sheer number and differences in the sizes and shapes of the buildings certainly caught him off guard.
He could certainly tell the difference between a small city, like Xynhall, and a full-blown capital city like Kret or Zenik when it was put on full display like this. The carriage cresting a hill and allowing an even better view of the city and, across the other end of the carriage from Alec, its large seafaring harbour.
Though of course, even though his view wasn¡¯t the best between having to look across the carriage and around other people, Alec was still able to gain at least a vague idea of the kind of size difference he was looking at, even comparing it to Xynhall¡¯s harbour.
¡°We¡¯re about to pull up, Mr Dius. Do you have all of your gear?¡± Alexandar asked, stretching his arms above his head as he looked over at his young charge.
To think that his quest with Alec, after a long, long, month would finally be over in another few hours. He hadn¡¯t spent this long on a single quest in close to three years by this point, and he hadn¡¯t done so as part of his job within the Guild in close to six. It was vaguely refreshing to the old man to remind himself of the roots of adventuring and get back in touch with where he himself had started, much like everyone else.
But what truly made this journey worth it was to meet and personally see the growth of Alec Dius, the first known wielder of the [Swordmaster] qualification in decades, if not centuries. It made Alexandar¡¯s heart all warm and fuzzy inside to know that the next generation of adventurers would still have powerful people to rally behind when him and the old guard, inevitably, bit the dust for one reason or another.
But, if Alexandar had his way that wouldn¡¯t be for quite a while, so there was no point thinking about something as morose as his own end. For right now he had to help the late teen finish his quest and get his payout, as little as that was for a Copper quest.
¡°Yeah, I have everything. Ready to go when you are.¡± Alec nodded after going through his bag.
¡°Let¡¯s wait for the carriage to actually pull to a stop first, we aren¡¯t exactly in much of a rush now.¡± Alexandar chuckled, getting a soft exhale and a roll of Alec¡¯s eyes.
¡°I know that already, Alexandar.¡±
¡°Awww, you¡¯re learning already.¡±
Alec just grunted as the older adventurer threw an arm around his shoulder. He just had to let Alexandar get it out of his system and he¡¯d stop, he¡¯d learnt that much after a month of dealing with the man.
¡®Though I guess that¡¯s about to come to an end, huh¡?¡¯ The teen mused to himself, turning his head to stare out the window once again, the curious gleam in his eyes gone now.
Of course, he knew this day would come eventually, and a part of him was even excited for it. But he also understood this would be the last time he had to put up with Alexandar and his annoying, but somewhat amusing, outbursts. It would be the last time he had someone around constantly to act as a safety net against the dangers of solo-adventuring. And it would be the last time he had someone close to him to remind him of Kairahl and his friends.
But that was just him being silly and sentimental, as much as he struggled to make himself actually believe those words. If he wanted to grow, he needed to face uncomfortable situations like this and make it out the other side, after all he couldn¡¯t just return to Blessed Catalyst the same weak, na?ve brat he had been.
He didn¡¯t think he¡¯d ever hear the end of it from Angelica and Felicia if he did.
A slight lurch forward snapped Alec out of his thoughts, turning his gaze from the window to the front of the carriage, where some of the more impatient riders were already beginning to stand up and grab their things.
¡°Looks like we¡¯re here.¡±
¡°Your powers of clairvoyance astound me, Mr Dius!¡±
¡°Hah hah. Very funny.¡±
¡°Yes, I did think so myself.¡± Alexandar grinned cheekily, unwrapping his arm from the teens shoulder. ¡°Now, shall we get going once the exit clears up a little?¡±
¡°Yeah, I¡¯m in no rush to be trampled.¡±
¡°A man after my own heart, Mr Dius. A man after my own heart.¡±
XXXxxxXXX
¡°Oh no. Oh no no nonononono!¡±
Cupboard doors flung open so fast that one of the hinges made an ominous creaking sound as two hands began to dig around in the recesses of the storage space for something or another. Bowls, jars and other containers of herbs, plants and various fine grains ¨Call labelled of course¨C all slid around and clanged against each other as the figure, feminine with long ears and silver hair, desperately searched for the ingredient she was looking for.
Forest green eyes that seemed to faintly glow in the shadows searched left, right, high and low for whatever ingredient it was the woman looked for. A high-pitched keening noise beginning to leave her twisted lips the longer that she went without finding hide nor hair of the necessary component. Her dark leather pants accruing more and more dust on them as she stayed on her knees and her white poet¡¯s shirt mostly covered by a thin, unbuttoned, pants-matching leather jacket that dipped just slightly below her waist.
¡°Oh, come on. I need to mix it in before the solution cools. But I can¡¯t just leave it on the heat or the silverberry and dracoling shavings will fuse and make that awful sludge!¡± She muttered to herself, her movements becoming rougher as she desperately tried to deny the truth of the matter, sending some jars toppling off the cupboard shelf and onto the ground.
¡°Svarjln!¡± The foreign swear left the woman almost before the containers hit the ground, the woman trying to pull herself out of the cupboard as quickly as possible and smacking the back of her head on the ceiling of the storage unit, earning yet another swear.
Ding-a-ling ding~
The woman¡¯s ears perked up slightly as she heard the bell of her store-front door. Her hands clutching her jacket as she began to run to the door leading to her shop-front only to slide unsteadily for a moment on a thin layer of powder stemming from the one, and only, bowl that she had knocked over. A yelp leaving her mouth as she steadied herself before a strangled sound left her lips at the sight of so much ruined ingredient. The woman sliding a hand down her face and sighing heavily before dashing for the door once again, throwing it open and practically tackling her own counter.
Her breath came out a little heavier than average as she looked up at her customers, seeing a young-looking human boy right in front of the counter and an elderly mage standing further back with his arms crossed and a highly amused expression on his face. A small bead of sweat rolling down her temple as she did her best to smile in her currently extremely stressed state of being.
¡°H-Hello. Welcome to Diana¡¯s Apothecary and Alchemist, h-how may I help you?¡± She panted lightly, clutching the counter with both hands while trying to straight herself back out and regain her breath.
¡°Uh..Hey. I¡¯m Alec Dius, the adventurer the Guild hired to complete a quest for you? I have a delivery of twilight bloom.¡± The blue haired teen muttered, evidently very confused and slightly off put by her demeanour.
Though Diana didn¡¯t care about that at all, bright sparkles lighting up her eyes as she lurched over the counter to rip the package from his hands and take off into her backroom once more with only the lingering echo of her shout left behind a second later.
¡°GODS SEND!¡±
XXXxxxXXX
A few minutes later
¡°Did she¡.forget about me?¡± Alec asked, still staring at the door leading into the backroom of the apothecary.
¡°I wouldn¡¯t be surprised, she seemed like she was in quite a frantic state when we walked in. She didn¡¯t even acknowledge me!¡± Alexandar cried dramatically, leaning against one of the wooden support beams of the building itself, situated in a small nook between two sturdy wall-mounted shelves.
¡°To be fair, I wouldn¡¯t acknowledge you even if I wasn¡¯t in a hurry.¡± Alec shot back, turning his head just enough to grin over his shoulder at the older man.
¡°Agh! Mr Dius, after all I¡¯ve done for you. How could you!?¡± Alexandar cried, clutching his chest and beginning to slide down the wall.
¡°Thank you for waiting, young man!¡± The door to the backroom swung open slowly with the opening statement from Diana, the woman herself walking out while wiping her hands with a fairly worn-looking rag.
¡°You¡¯re welcome, Miss¡.Diana?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m Diana, owner of this apothecary.¡± She answered, smiling sheepishly and rubbing the back of her head. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you when I¡¯m not freaking out over a lack of ingredients.¡±
¡°Likewise. I¡¯m Alec Dius.¡± The teen introduced himself, holding a hand out that she quickly took and shook firmly. ¡°Was twilight bloom hard to get a hand on¡?¡±
¡°Not hard to get a hold of? No, no. It''s just that the interim delivery I was meant to get never arrived, so my safety net was all used up and I didn¡¯t realise because I¡¯m so used to having what I need.¡± She responded with a short, nervous laugh while averting her eyes from the teen.
Based on her judgement he couldn¡¯t have been older than 20 at the very most, and here she was ¨Cone of his elders¨C making herself not only look like a total loon but also completely unreliable too. It, while harmless, was a complete embarrassment to her and left her rather on the backfoot compared to how she¡¯d prefer to introduce herself.
¡°Oh, well at least we managed to get here¡in time?¡± Alec tentatively guessed, seeing the lack of scrunched features or tenseness in her expression that would indicate anger or stress.
¡°Oh yes! You got here at the perfect time in fact! I was just looking for my twilight bloom when you entered actually. Another couple minutes and I would have had to throw out that mixture entirely. So many materials lost¡¡± Diana muttered, hugging herself and shivering at the idea of wasting so many materials on a useless sludge that was, in all purposes, completely inert and unusable.
¡°Uh¡right. I¡¯m glad it all turned out alright in the end.¡± Alec said, nodding slowly. ¡°So could I please get a signature proving I completed the quest for you?¡±
¡°Oh! Right, yes, of course!¡± Diana yelped, covering her mouth with both hands before frantically looking around for a piece of paper and a pen.
The reason she was doing this was simple; to prove that the mission had been completed as the adventurer said it was, all quests of the ¡®delivery¡¯ or ¡®fetch¡¯ classifications needed proof in the form of either a written, verbal or thaumaturgical nature from the client upon completion. This meant that adventuring parties could no longer pocket the item(s), walk into a Guild branch and receive payment for it as well as they had once been able to a mere 42 years ago.
For adventurers around Alec¡¯s age, the way that things worked now was simply the norm. You got proof, you went to the branch, and you got paid for a hard quest¡¯s work. But for those that had been around before the change, like Alexandar, the new method was a rather simple way to get rid of a large portion of the ¡®get-rich-quick¡¯ parties that had existed at the time. Though some managed to survive even to this day.
Now-a-days such parties have to be far smarter, and more subtle, about the ways that they gamed the system. Stuck in an ever-escalating war with the Adventurer¡¯s Guild itself to make as much money as possible as quickly and lazily as possible without being found out and brought before the iron-fist of the law. A rather paradoxical effort that Alexandar was certain took far more effort in pulling off than actually working as they were meant to, these days.
¡°Here we are!¡± Diana crowed victoriously, ending her handwritten note with a very exaggerated, flowing signature.
In a surprisingly fluent motion, the elven woman folded the letter and handed it to Alec alongside a singular gold coin, which Alec promptly dropped before diving after it the moment the sound of it bouncing off the wooden floor reached his ears.
The sound of Alexandar¡¯s laughing seemed to bounce off the walls of the apothecary, surrounding Alec from all sides as he laid on his stomach on the floor, with the gold coin held firmly in his singularly raised clasped hand. The teen¡¯s lips pressing together firmly and his face beginning to go bright red as the embarrassment of his actions slammed into him alongside the belly-deep laughter of his month-long companion.
¡°I understand that a gold coin may be a lot of money for you, young man.¡± Diana hummed, the gentleness in her voice somehow making Alec¡¯s embarrassment both better and worse. ¡°But you truly did help me out and I know that the payment I offered for the quest in the first place wasn¡¯t all that high. Think of it as a special bonus the guild doesn¡¯t need to know about, hm?¡± She grinned, placing a shushing finger over her lips and winking down at the teen.
¡°Right. Yeah. T-thank you.¡± Alec muttered, still blushing as bright as a tomato as he hopped to his feet and pocketed both the letter and the coin, his expression souring the longer Alexandar¡¯s laugh went on.
¡°Oh! Oh Mr Dius! Oh, that was wonderful! Again! Ag- Ah?¡± Alexandar ceased laughing for a moment as Alec stomped past him and ripped the door to the shop open. ¡°Mr Dius?¡±
¡°Thank you for completing my quest, Mr Dius. Please remember to stop by if you ever need anything!¡± Diana smiled and wiggled her fingers at him, resting her elbow on the counter and her chin on the heel of her palm.
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Alec just nodded to Diana silently before closing the door, leaving Alexandar staring dumbfoundedly at the door for a few seconds before an anguished cry left him and he rushed for the door himself.
¡°Mr Dius! Mr Dius wait for me! Don¡¯t leave me behind now!¡± And with that last frantic cry, the old man closed the door behind him too, a small, amused snort leaving Diana as she stared at her now closed door.
¡°Alec Dius, huh? I might have to keep an eye out for him.¡± She hummed to herself, a cup materialising in her hand and a dark purple magic circle dispensing a light brown liquid into it that she promptly took a good, long sip of. ¡°Who knows, he might turn out to be pretty interesting.¡±
XXXxxxXXX
Adventurer¡¯s Guild, Zenik Branch
¡°It looks pretty similar to the branch in Kret¡¡± Alec spoke to himself, spinning around as he walked forward to get a better look at the multi-storey foyer of the building.
Just like its contemporary in Kret, the building was a four-storey megalith of a building with civilians, adventurers and guards moving back, forth and around its stairwells and walkways in an intricate and utterly chaotic dance. If not for the slight differences in masonry, carpentry and decorations Alec probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to tell the interior of the building apart from the one in his home capital.
¡°Well, that¡¯s not surprising, very few countries have as much land bordering one another as Kairahl and Xyrtah. And their histories are remarkably intertwined. So, both countries share quite a few similarities, and it helps that both buildings were made by the same organisation.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t fix what isn¡¯t broken, huh?¡±
¡°Precisely! Now let¡¯s head over there. I think that young lad is free for us to talk to.¡± Alexandar said, pointing to one of the receptionists.
With a small shrug, the teen walked forward. His expression falling flat for half a second as a wide, fake as rubber, smile crossed his features.
¡°Hello sirs! What brings you in today?¡± He asked, a stern looking middle aged man coughed into his hand from the wall nearby, making the edge of the receptionist¡¯s smile twitch a little. ¡°¡And how may I help you?¡±
¡®Either a micromanaging boss or disciplinary action. Maybe both¡? Oh well, not my place to pry.¡¯ Alec thought with a small mental shrug.
It was weird to see such a thing within an organisation as fluid and efficient as the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, but he supposed that no organisation could be perfect.
Silently the teen pulled out both his licence and the signed letter from Diana, remembering the drill from when Peter, as party leader, would claim a quest completed with the Guild, and receiving the quest flyer from Alexandar himself.
¡°I¡¯d like to finish up this quest and get my pay, please.¡± He said, short and simple.
He really had no wish to talk anymore than necessary and the high-strung anxiety of the young man before him, thanks to his manager/superior, really didn¡¯t do much in the way of changing that opinion.
¡°Of course, give me just a moment.¡± The man said, grabbing the three offered items and looking over all three carefully before nodding, seemingly to himself. ¡°Alright, it looks like the quest has been fulfilled. If you¡¯ll give me a moment, I¡¯ll go and grab your pay.¡±
¡°Ok.¡± Alec nodded and just waited patiently at the counter alongside Alexandar as the young man went into the back to grab the 87 copper that he was owed for this quest.
¡°So, you¡¯re about to complete your first solo quest officially, Mr Dius. How do you feel?¡± Alexandar asked, resting against the counter as he asked the teen his question, only getting a small snort from the teen as he crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.
¡°Not much of a solo quest when I have a Tungsten safety net the whole time.¡±
¡°Oh, don¡¯t be like that, Mr Dius! The journey was all one of your own, it¡¯s not like I learnt any new skills on our trip. Nor did I meet anything particularly out of the blue. Apart from the travel time this could have almost been my average quest!¡±
¡°Gee. Thanks, Alexandar. You¡¯re making me feel so great here.¡± Alec huffed, averting his gaze from the old man stubbornly.
¡°Hehe. Come now Mr Dius. I¡¯ll drop the jokes, I promise. How do you actually feel though?¡±
¡°I¡¡± Alec turned back to face the older man, his face twisting a little as he tried, and failed, to sift through his complicated web of emotions. ¡°I feel worried about what¡¯s ahead, I guess.¡±
¡°Everyone does, sooner or later. And there¡¯s nothing wrong with taking a step back to get a better view of what''s ahead. So long as you eventually keep walking forward.¡±
¡°Thanks Alexandar¡.Who knew you could be so wise?¡±
¡°What¡¯s that meant to mean you brat!?¡±
¡°It means you¡¯re a child, Alexandar.¡± Alec shot back smugly, grinning at the childish raspberry that the man blew before his expression straightened out once more.
¡°Once you get this pay, I¡¯ll be heading off, you know that right?¡±
¡°Yeah¡ I do. It¡¯ll be weird not having you around, old man.¡±
¡°Now you¡¯re just being cheeky.¡± Alexandar huffed, looking at Alec out of the corner of his eye.
¡°Perhaps. I¡¯m not great with goodbye¡¯s¡¡± Alec admitted hesitantly, ever the subtly angsty teen that hated his own weaknesses.
¡®Guess even a whole month of adventures isn¡¯t enough to fully mature a person.¡¯ Alexandar thought to himself in amusement, though he hadn¡¯t exactly been expecting such a thing in the first place.
¡°Then it won¡¯t be a goodbye, Mr Dius. It¡¯ll be¡.hm¡.It¡¯ll be a ¡®Till you reach Tungsten¡¯. How about that?¡±
¡°Are you trying to use this to push me forward!?¡± Alec asked, vaguely scandalised at the old man¡¯s attempted craftiness.
¡°Ah drats.¡± The mage huffed, snapping his fingers. ¡°You figured me out, Mr Dius. But do you deny my challenge?¡±
The man''s mouth stretched into a wide, mocking grin and his eyes gleamed with a vaguely malicious shine. A mixture that Alec just knew would lead to an eternity of teasing if he never got to that level.
¡°¡Nah. I¡¯ll accept your challenge.¡±
¡°Hah! Great. Then I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll like the last gift I¡¯ve set up for you, Mr Dius.¡±
¡°Huh? Last gift?¡± Alec¡¯s head snapped towards Alexandar, but before he could speak again, the young receptionist came back with a small pouch and Alec¡¯s ID.
¡°Here we are sir. Your payment and ID.¡± The supervisor by the wall coughed loudly into his hand again and the receptionist¡¯s eye twitched. ¡°..And thank you for your continued patronage to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡±
¡°Yeah. Thanks.¡± Alec muttered, grabbing his pay ¨C4 silver coins and 7 copper coins¨C and ID and stepping away from the desk alongside Alexandar.
¡°Alright, Mr Dius. This is it, farewell.¡± Alexandar said from behind the teen, making him pause mid-step and sigh deeply.
¡°Yeah, farewell. But what did you mean by-¡° The teen turned around only to see no one there, the green motes of light from Alexandar¡¯s magic beginning to dissipate into the air all that remained of his existence.
Alec stood ramrod still for a couple seconds, watching the green motes of light dissipate entirely. His eyes unmoving and his body still enough to pass for a statue, even his breathing paused as his mind stuttered over the mounting realisation like a cold-starting car.
¡°That¡rat¡bast-¡°
¡°Excuse me.¡± A monotone, male, voice spoke from his right.
With a small jump of alarm, Alec looked over at them with wide eyes. The teen having been utterly unaware of their presence in the slightest, something which still continued to elude him, even when staring directly at him.
The man in question had an almost entirely bald head, with only a couple days¡¯ worth of hair growth over his dome and deep grey eyes. Standing at about 190cm with long, smoothed out, black clothes that would look more in place in a setting of nobility, rather than the ground floor of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild of all places.
¡°Um, hi?¡±
¡°Hello. I am Proctor Gale Fallow of the Xyrtahnian branch.¡± He introduced himself, nodding his head in a quick, measured, motion. ¡°You are Alec Dius, correct?¡±
¡°Yeah, that¡¯s me. Did you need something?¡±
¡°You¡¯ve been nominated for a rank re-trial by [Tungsten-rank] ¡®Lifeweaver¡¯ Alexandar Greynam. If you¡¯ll please follow me.¡±
¡®THIS IS HIS FINAL GIFT!?¡¯ Alec screamed internally, trying his very best to keep as outwardly calm as he responded slowly.
¡°I..see. Would I be labelled as a mis-ranker if I denied?¡±
¡°Not for that, no. But if a [Tungsten-rank] believes you qualified for a re-trial, their judgement will be trusted above all else and keen eyes will be kept on your progress. I¡¯m certain you¡¯re aware of the punishment for being a mis-ranker?¡± The man asked, not as a threat, but merely a simple question.
Alec didn¡¯t know if that made it better or worse.
¡°Yeah, I¡¯m aware. I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Alec said quickly, holding his hands up in peace.
Alec wasn¡¯t going to say no regardless, that would just be silly to miss out on an opportunity like this. But the threat of potentially being labelled a mis-ranker was enough to put a fire under him, that¡¯s for certain.
After all, the punishment for being discovered as a mis-ranker included, and was not limited to, being completely cut off from the Guild, becoming a public enemy of the Guild, investigation from country authorities, and in severe ¨Chigh-ranking¨C cases even capital punishment if royalty decided to step in. Such was the power of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, and such was the importance of adventurers in the functioning of a country. The system was set up for a reason and people trying to cheat their way out of it for whatever reason they happened to have, wasn¡¯t to be allowed under any circumstances.
With a small nod, the man gestured for him to follow with one hand before folding it back behind his back and beginning to walk, Alec following him silently as they went down a particular corridor and into the back of the building where a large training room had been set up. Or to be more accurate, was always set up for this exact purpose.
¡°Alright, do you remember the process from your initial trial?¡±
¡°I do. I need to showcase my magical prowess, physical prowess and any particular techniques I happen to know.¡± Alec responded with a small nod, walking towards one of the wooden training dummies.
These particular training dummies were made tougher than the fabric and straw dummies the town guard near the orphanage had used; he remembered barely being able to cut halfway through one of them when he had first joined the Guild¡
¡°You may begin when you wish. I am prepared.¡± Gale called out simply, getting a small nod from Alec as he slowly drew his blade.
¡°Let¡¯s see¡¡± He muttered, pulling his sword to his side and slashing out, cutting clean through the dummy as if it had been one of the straw dummies from his village, getting a wide-eyed look from the teen.
¡°I really have-¡°
¡°Please continue the test.¡±
¡°Oh! Right! Sorry!¡± He called out, his cheeks flaring slightly with colour as he moved to a stone dummy and attempted to repeat the performance with a regular slash, only to bite a couple centimeters into it.
Following that, the teen showed off the extent of the mana that he could control, the singular spell that he was able to cast, and the potency of his attribute on the wooden dummy he had already sliced. Each showcase getting a small hum from Gale and a quickly jotted note on a piece of paper, his gaze never leaving Alec for even a moment.
¡°Any particular techniques at your disposal?¡±
¡°Yes, a Power Stance.¡±
¡°Please go attempt it on the metallic dummy right there.¡± Gale instructed, pointing to the metallic dummy to the left of the stone one.
Alec just nodded and walked over. He¡¯d been practising in the mornings even since his fight with Calliope a few days prior, at this stage using Fortress Piercer in a calm, controlled setting like this was child¡¯s play.
¡®Using this in a fight is one thing. But here and now?¡¯
Mana surged out of Alec, and he struck forward, the tip of his blade meeting the smooth, metallic surface of the dummy-
XXXxxxXXX
One minute later
¡°Please wait here in the foyer for a few moments while your results are deliberated over.¡± One of the Guild employees, a young woman, instructed him with a small smile.
¡°Uh, yeah. Alright.¡± Alec nodded, going over to a less populated area of the foyer and resting back against the wall.
He hoped that nothing was going to go wrong with the results. He¡¯d done his best with the Power Stance, but Gale hadn¡¯t really said anything following the results, so maybe it wasn¡¯t as impressive as Alec had thought it was?
Oh well, there was no way of knowing what was going through the proctor¡¯s head when he was as expressionless as he was. He might as well take the time to try and figure out what his next game plan was, because currently he had nothing.
Idly the teen let his gaze drift around the Guild¡¯s foyer, trying to find an idea or inspiration in anything that he saw. His eyes going from one party to another, from quest room to quest room, client to adventurer without any discrimination, eventually landing on a small kiosk with copies of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild-funded magazine ¡°World Quest¡± available for all adventurers.
He''d never been one to read through the magazine before, he actually didn¡¯t think that anyone in Blessed Catalyst had either, but he knew vaguely of some of the things that could be found inside and decided that it wouldn¡¯t hurt to take a look through it.
Though he really didn¡¯t have to look far, because the second page of the thing had an advertisement for something that caught his attention in a vice-grip and refused to let go.
¡°Huh¡ Dragon-Scale Sword Academy. Seems like a good place to check out next.¡± He muttered to himself, looking over when the same female employee, shadowed by Gale Fallow walked up to him.
¡°Mr Dius. After going through your retrial, your skills have shown-¡° The employee spoke, following the rehearsed script to a T as Gale stared emotionlessly down at the teen.
At least, that¡¯s what it looked like to the teen.
XXXxxxXXX
A moment earlier, Trial Chamber
Gale watched the employee he had called into the chamber lead Alec Dius away and back into the foyer. His gaze following the teen unflinchingly all the way up until the door slid shut, where it then snapped to the metallic dummy, and the aftermath of Alec¡¯s singular Power Stance demonstration.
Adventurers that underwent re-trial to go up the ranks always tended to put their best foot forward when they went through the tests, they tended to show results that simply showed the best of what they had to offer. Even in the higher ranks, where the re-trials grew beyond just flaring your mana and attacking dummies of various materials, this rule was true.
Yet even so, even if this was the maximum might that Alec Dius could put forth¡
¡°Good grief¡¡± He chuckled to himself as he placed a hand on what was left of the dummy, a scratchy, gravel-like laugh that didn¡¯t sound like it should come out of a human throat.
Alec Dius had struck the dummy in centre mass, aiming for the thickest, most reinforced part of the dummy to showcase the power of his strike. And that very centre of the dummy was now missing, with its clavicle, neck and head lying on the floor as his fingers ghosted over the equivalent of its pelvis. The torso of the dummy missing in its entirety, and a small 3cm deep, 1cm wide hole gouged in the wall 20 metres behind it at the exact level and position of where Alec Dius¡¯ sword tip had been positioned.
¡°It¡¯s a good thing he¡¯s going up a rank. Because truly¡what kind of [Copper-rank] manages to create a Power Stance like this?¡±
XXXxxxXXX
Present time
¡®Alec Dius. Qualification: [Swordmaster], an [Abyss-rank] qualification¡¡¯ Gale thought to himself, his gaze shifting the subtlest of distances to the employee at his side.
¡°-So we¡¯re elated to inform you that, congratulations Mr Dius, you are now rank Iron!¡±
A small, but blindingly sincere smile overcame Alec¡¯s features, and for a moment nothing else in the world even mattered. His hand reaching out and gently grasping his updated ID from the softly clasped fingers of the employee.
¡°Thank you!¡±
Dragon-Scale Academy
Dragon-Scale Sword Academy was, in Alec¡¯s opinion, a rather intimidating and substantial establishment all things considered. A stone wall surrounded the entire complex back to front that was at least twenty meters high and almost a solid meter thick. The complex inside looked more like a large village than the academy that it truly was with all the buildings and pathways winding around. With a large building in the center of rectangular shape and a burnt red wood making up the tower that pierced out of the right wing of the building.
Around him, he could see people of all shapes and sizes, everything from middle-aged men with bulging muscles to one or two small children chasing each other with small, blunted wooden daggers.
Personally, Alec thought that might be a little dangerous, but he also grew up with two mages that had far too much free time, not enough supervision, and the curiosity of a small child, so what did he know about safe playing? When compared to that, pretty much anything was considered safe.
The teen side-stepped around the two children as they ran past him, watching them for another few seconds before continuing to walk, his gaze sliding from a seemingly in-house blacksmith all the way to a distant training field that he could see a few people practicing in. Though the details remained fuzzy at best, given the distance between him and the training grounds in question.
One thing that became apparent very, very quickly was the emphasis on the ¡®dragon¡¯ theme of the academy. Small statuettes and stone carvings of dragons hung and stood almost everywhere he looked, with even one of the buildings made to appear as if it was made of dragon scales.
Alec personally didn¡¯t understand the appeal of leaning into a motif this hard, but he understood it was what some people fancied, and that having a ¡®unique identity¡¯ like this may actually be helpful for the academy.
Though the stone carving of the dragon stuck to the inner wall just beside the entrance made him feel like they were going just a little bit too far. That thing just made him uncomfortable to look at.
Heading to the central building, as the advertisement in World Quest had detailed, Alec opened and closed the door quietly, looking around idly. There were a couple other people in the entrance alongside him, but none that really shone out to him as anyone especially important or dangerous as he made his way to a small wooden counter with a young-looking elven man sitting behind it.
¡°Hello, welcome to Dragon-Scale Sword Academy, how may I help you?¡±
¡°I was looking to sign up for the academy? Or learn a bit more about it beforehand?¡± Alec answered, realizing about halfway through his sentence that he actually didn¡¯t know anything about the academy.
This is what he got for spending the rest of yesterday goofing off after he got his rank-up and not doing any research at all. Having Angelica around for so much of his life had really ruined him when it came to preparing himself intellectually¡
¡°Oh yeah, of course. You¡¯ll need to- ah. H-Headmaster!¡± The elven man jolted in surprise and sat straighter in his seat, Alec¡¯s eyes swivelling across the room as he turned his neck and spun around on the spot to follow the receptionist¡¯s gaze.
There, stood only two or three meters from the late teen, was a surprisingly young-looking human man, in his late 20¡¯s or early 30¡¯s if Alec had to guess, with long dark green hair and brown eyes. The teen¡¯s own eyes widened as he saw the man, his thoughts stuttering over themselves in confusion.
¡®I¡didn¡¯t sense him? I still can¡¯t sense him.¡¯
¡°Ah, don¡¯t mind me, Nathan. I just saw a new face out my window and decided to take a stroll and say hello myself.¡± The headmaster hummed, waving Nathan off easily, ¡°Hey there, I¡¯m Xyn, the headmaster of Dragon-Scale. You wanted to join, right?¡±
¡°Uh, yeah. I did. I¡¯m Alec, by the way.¡± Alec introduced himself, still trying to get over the oddity of speaking to a man that he could see but not feel.
¡°Great, here follow me. I¡¯ll bring you to the initiation hall and we can go over what¡¯ll be expected and any questions you have.¡±
¡°Sounds good, lead the way.¡±
¡°Decisive, I like it.¡± Xyn chuckled, gesturing to Alec to follow with a single finger before turning around and beginning to walk.
Silently, Alec followed after the headmaster, watching the way he walked and how the people around him greeted the man. He was evidently well respected, and undeniably a well-trained fighter based on his gait, but the man was a giant mystery to Alec, and somehow that put the teen so much further on edge than he could have ever guessed.
¡°If you have any questions, feel free to ask while we walk.¡± Xyn spoke up suddenly, getting a small stumble from the blue-haired swordsman and a click of his tongue.
¡°Right¡Why did you have an advert in World Quest?¡±
¡°Because how else are we meant to bring in more students? Sure, we could do it like the old-style academies, but they¡¯re bound to be phased out given another couple generations.¡±
¡°What is an old-style academy?¡±
¡°Hm, never interacted with formal training before, huh?¡± Xyn guessed, opening the door to a large stone building as he looked over his shoulder and gave the teen a small grin.
¡°Not¡.quite.¡± He muttered, clamming up just a little as he assumed the man to be mocking or teasing him in some way.
¡°Well, to answer your question there are two types of academies, old-style and new-style. When I talk about a sword academy or a magical academy, what comes to mind is probably an old-style academy. Where there are strict rules, a curriculum, a self-contained ¡®society¡¯ amidst the campus and complete dedication is required to the academies teachings or else you¡¯ll be booted from the program forever. Am I in the right ballpark?¡± Xyn asked, leading Alec further into the building, seeming to take his silence as an affirmative with a small laugh.
Meanwhile, behind him, Alec just pressed his lips together thinly and tried to ignore the thin blush that spread across his cheeks at the man¡¯s assumption and its accuracy.
¡°Those things are all well and good, but they¡¯re overall a holdover from the days of isolation between the various countries. A way to instill a certain kind of culture and mindset in its students that either worked with, or directly against, the country¡¯s wishes while nearly completely cut off from the outside world. Small, private armies if you wanted to be really pessimistic about it.¡± Xyn scoffed, waving his hand dismissively over his shoulder.
¡°New-style academies, like Dragon-Scale, are academies that are primarily built for adventurers and the type of world we live in nowadays.¡± Xyn continued, giving a small wave to a random student that walked past, ¡°We allow you to live on campus if you wish with a few caveats, but otherwise you¡¯re entirely allowed to continue adventuring and going on quests at your leisure and you can choose to pull out, or re-enroll, at any point you wish.¡±
¡°Wow. That sounds¡rather casual?¡± Alec said hesitantly, wondering if ¡®casual¡¯ was the correct word to use in this circumstance.
¡°Because it is.¡± Xyn shot back with a small grin over his shoulder, leading Alec into a spherical training ground, walking to the center of the room and gesturing for Alec to do the same.
¡°Are you going to test me?¡±
¡°I am.¡± Xyn answered succinctly, drawing his blade from his side.
Goosebumps rose over Alec¡¯s arms and his muscles tensed a little, his hand slowly reaching for his blade without him even realizing.
¡°While we¡¯re far more relaxed than old-style schools, there¡¯s still a need to know your limits and how well suited to the Dragon-Scale techniques you are.¡±
¡°Yeah. Right. That makes sense¡¡± Alec mumbled absentmindedly, drawing his blade and holding it out in front of him, getting a small hum from the academy¡¯s headmaster.
¡°Your opening stance could use some work, its solid but not built for your frame.¡± Xyn hummed, gesturing for Alec to begin with his free hand as he kept his blade out and pointed towards the teen.
¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± Alec shot forward and struck with a thrust, his blade glancing off the headmasters in a thrum of mana and a flash of sparks.
¡°Quick, decisive, well aimed.¡± Xyn commented, parrying the teen¡¯s blade three more times and finally lashing out with a strike of his own, allowing his blade to be thrown up by the teen¡¯s own deflection.
Alec had good speed and strength even before the mana pulsing through his body was taken into account, Xyn could tell that without even having to try. Yet at the moment, those raw characteristics and his surprisingly refined instincts were basically all the teen had going for him. His technique was sloppy, his grounding and footwork was far from ideal, and the headmaster would take bets on if the teen even understood how to properly feint a strike.
Of course, the idea of the teen being able to do so well enough to fool Xyn of all people was basically impossible, but he was looking at it through the lens of the average swordsman, not the headmaster of the largest sword academy in the country.
The man allowed himself to be pushed back as the teen continued his relentless attack. Xyn dancing and circling the teen as he struck out with slashes and thrusts that the far more experienced man easily blocked or parried.
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Until finally, the teen broke the stalemate, getting a raised eyebrow from the headmaster. That is until he watched the teen take a stance and felt the sudden intake of mana rushing into Alec¡¯s body.
Xyn¡¯s grin widened, and he squared his stance, holding his blade with both hands almost perfectly vertical. Mana pouring into him just as it did with Alec, only far faster and with far, far more quantity than with him.
The teen shot forward, and his mana began to pool into his hands, the headmaster took a single step forward and shifted the alignment of his hands to better match the tip of Alec¡¯s blade.
The mana in Alec¡¯s hands surged to the tip of his blade and exploded outwards, doing nothing as it struck only air, his eyes glued ¨Calmost hypnotized¨C on the fluid movement of Xyn¡¯s own blade.
The edge of Alec¡¯s blade struck the edge of Xyn¡¯s and he finally began to move, shifting and twisting his blade to the side and in a circular manner as he took another step forward. Alec¡¯s blade veering off to the side violently as the edge of Xyn¡¯s ghosted underneath his now outstretched arms-
Xyn took another two steps at a calm, casual, pace before coming to a stop, re-sheathing his blade as he turned to look back at Alec. The man utterly unsurprised by the splurt of blood from the teen¡¯s stomach as he fell to his knees and clutched his injury, a green magic circle immediately lighting to life over his hands as they began to twitch and shake.
¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have no intentions of killing you.¡± Xyn tried to calm Alec down as he walked back over, a chunk of the wall sliding open, and a dragon seemingly made of stone came wondering out.
¡°Y-You cut straight through m- Ah!¡± Alec jolted a bit as the dragon wondered over to him, its mouth opening wide and a conical spray of green gas spraying over the teen, beginning to stitch his body back together magically.
¡°See? Usually, this little guy isn¡¯t needed because practice blades are used instead of real, sharpened, ones but it always pays to have him around.¡±
¡°Yeah I can¡.tell. Holy crap¡¡± Alec cancelled his spell and moved his hands away from his wound, watching it seal closed in real time.
Though it was making him feel rather lethargic, unlike the magical healing he had received in his previous encounters with deep wounds like this.
¡°Awww, you have another admirer Fron, aren¡¯t you happy?¡± Xyn cooed at the stone dragon, getting a roll of the creature¡¯s eyes as it stopped spewing healing gas at the teen.
Almost tiredly itself, Fron¡¯s mouth opened and closed a couple times before it yawned and turned around, its tail curling and whipping behind it as it went right back into the hole in the wall, and it re-sealed itself shut.
¡°What an unappreciative little monster. I can¡¯t believe him.¡± Xyn sighed, crossing his arms and shaking his head in disappointment.
¡°That¡¯s¡really potent healing.¡± Alec mumbled, touching the repaired skin at his side with the tips of his fingers.
¡°That¡¯s right. Fron¡¯s bloodline is terrible at dealing damage like most dragons, instead their focus was on healing and recovery.¡±
¡°Huh.¡±
¡°Are you good to stand?¡±
¡°Yeah, yeah. I can stand.¡± Alec nodded, rising to his feet and sheathing his own blade.
Though he did wobble a little unsteadily on his feet, a yawn escaping him despite his best efforts to tamp it down.
¡°That¡¯s the downside to Fron¡¯s healing, little guy has healing far beyond his means but just no way to properly replenish the energy that healing takes. Though I¡¯d take lethargy over death any day of the week, wouldn¡¯t you?¡±
¡°Yeah, I would.¡± Alec nodded slowly; his gaze caught on the blood staining the ground before he turned to look at Xyn. ¡°What was that Power Stance you used at the end?¡±
¡°One of the techniques of Dragon-Scale.¡± The man began proudly, standing just a little straighter as he got to show off the excellence of his school¡¯s sword-style. ¡°Its called Glancing Scale, its one of the basic Power Stances that you¡¯ll learn as part of your tenure here.¡±
¡°Glancing Scale, huh?...¡±
Xyn just stayed silent at the teens mumble, watching him out of the corner of his eye as Alec¡¯s eyes seemed to dim slightly in thought, his hands twisting and turning slowly in place as the headmaster assumed he began to replay their final clash in his mind.
¡°So, can I assume that you¡¯ll join the academy, Alec?¡± The headmaster questioned, his hands folding behind him on instinct and clasping one in the palm of the other.
¡°Absolutely.¡± The teen answered instantly, his gaze swivelling to the headmaster with a fire that could have melted Fron to slag in seconds.
¡°Hah! Did that little demonstration light a fire under you?¡±
¡°If that¡¯s just a basic technique of the style¡I can¡¯t wait to see what else Dragon-Scale has to offer.¡±
¡°Nice, nice!¡± Xyn said eagerly, his lips stretching wide into a toothy grin as he brought one hand back up and around to hold his chin. ¡°That kind of determination is precisely what I¡¯m looking for! Follow me, Alec, we¡¯ll go get you signed up and if you want to stay here, I¡¯ll show you to your accommodations personally.¡±
¡°Eh?¡± Alec¡¯s determined expression faltered as he seemed to almost stumble on the spot at the headmaster¡¯s words. ¡°You¡¯d¡do that? I¡¯m only an [Iron-rank] adventurer and I put up a pretty poor showing in our spar.¡±
¡°Ah forget that.¡± Xyn scoffed, waving his hand in the teens face. ¡°An academy is a place to learn and grow stronger. Regardless, our goal is to teach as many people as possible our techniques and style so that Dragon-Scale will never die out.¡±
¡®Oh, so that¡¯s the advantage of new-style academies¡¡¯ The realization hit Alec like a lightning bolt on a cloudless day, his eyes widening in silent understanding.
An old-style academy was excellent at instilling spells, techniques or fighting styles in its students in the truest and most refined manner possible. A new-style academy, on the other hand, focused more on the fast-paced world they lived in, and the fear of their techniques being lost to time or enemies. Each had advantages and disadvantages, but Alec was only just beginning to realize that.
¡°Besides-¡± Xyn began to walk, gesturing for Alec to follow as he tilted his head back and to the side to get the best possible look at Alec as he could while still walking forward.
¡°You¡¯re a hundred years too early to ever hope to best me when it comes to pure skill, young man.¡±
XXXxxxXXX
The next day, Dragon-Scale Academy
Alec walked down one of the streets of the academy as he looked for the building where the beginner classes were set to be held. He¡¯d been assured by one of the older students, a man in his mid-40¡¯s if Alec had to guess, that he¡¯d get the hang of it once he was here for long enough when he had asked but for now it was just confusing and a little annoying.
¡°Emerald Tooth. Emerald Tooth. Emeral- Ah, here it is.¡± The teen perked up as he found a building with a copper nameplate nailed to the side, walking up to the front door.
¡°Train- eh, whatever.¡± He sighed and shook his head in exasperation as he walked into the building.
Dragon-Scale clearly had some kind of blood-feud with status-quo¡¯s and Alec wasn¡¯t going to step in the middle of it if he could conceivably help it.
¡°Hey, you¡¯re a new face. Newbie to the academy?¡± A young man with a small brown mohawk asked, leaning against the wall besides who Alec guessed was one of his friends.
The man was wearing a sleeveless shirt that was pinned open a little to reveal a good portion of his chest, a thin layer of sweat covering his form and a towel around his neck that he was using to wipe sweat off his face whenever it formed.
¡°Yeah, I was looking for one of the beginner classes.¡± Alec nodded, staying where he was but turning his head to show that his attention was on the young man.
¡°Head out into the courtyard in the center of the building, I think that¡¯s where the next class is starting.¡±
¡°Oh! Thank you!¡±
¡°Yeah, don¡¯t worry about it.¡± The young man smiled, giving the teen a small thumbs up before turning back to his friend, Alec heading towards where he had been directed.
With a light jog, and a couple wrong turns, the teen was there in only a minute and a half. His gaze catching a small group of about 20-ish people limbering up in the center of the courtyard as an elderly man went around and gave some small tips and advice.
The teen was quick to head over and begin doing the same himself, trying not to draw any attention to himself and failing utterly as the elderly man¡¯s eyes immediately snapped to him.
¡°Ah! Another new face. Is this your first lesson here, youngin¡¯? Or have you happened to wander through a couple other classes first?¡±
The twenty-something pairs of eyes around him all drifted over to Alec as the instructor walked over, a somewhat embarrassed blush spreading over the bridge of his nose before he coughed into his fist and tried to push the reaction down. Attention from a lot of people was something that Alec had never been great at dealing with, especially when he was being singled out for some reason, like now.
¡°Ah, uh. First lesson.¡±
¡°I see I see. Looks like we have two fresh faces here today. How delightful!¡± The instructor laughed, walking around to Alec¡¯s side and placing a comforting hand on his back. ¡°I look forward to teaching you, youngin¡¯.¡±
¡°And I¡.look forward to learning?¡± Alec answered a little unsurely, assuming he¡¯d done the right thing when the man just hummed and walked away before clapping sharply to force everyone¡¯s attention on him.
¡°Alright! For those of you who have been here before you already know the drill. But for our youngin¡¯s here today I¡¯ll explain again. I¡¯m going to go through some of the basic stances of Dragon-Scale and then I¡¯ll be placing you all in pairs to practice them against each other.¡±
Alec just took this information in silently as a few nods and ¡®yes sir¡¯s went up around him. The blue haired swordsman grabbed one of the wooden practice swords and moved to his own spot to follow along with the basic stances of Dragon-Scale as their instructor showed them.
It was unusual, practicing in such a controlled environment like this. Alec wasn¡¯t quite sure whether he liked it or disliked it but he followed along regardless.
¡®This style is remarkably defensive, but it''s not completely devoid of offensive strikes.¡¯ The teen noted as he went through the stances in a small rhythm to try and get used to them.
His body felt odd, straining and pulling against him as he tried to move it in unfamiliar ways and patterns, his self-taught nature rearing its ugly head.
¡°Alright! Everybody pair up now. Our two fresh-faced youngin¡¯s will be pairing up with each other for today, however.¡± The elderly man instructed with another sharp clap, murmurs and conversations immediately starting up as people started to walk around and pair up like a hive of insects.
¡°So, you¡¯re the one I¡¯m with. Olivia.¡± A girl greeted Alec, her face almost entirely expressionless with her practice blade resting comfortably over her shoulder.
Her hair was a pearlescent white with a bright red hairclip keeping her evidently large fringe out of her red eyes and the rest of her hair done up in a low ponytail. Her clothes were simple and good for moving around in, but also not the same kind of basic, low-cost clothes that Alec himself wore.
¡°I¡¯m Alec. Nice to meet you.¡± The teen greeted, holding a hand out to Olivia, only to falter when she just looked down at the hand and back up to his face, a brief spark of annoyance lighting up in her eyes.
¡°I¡¯m here to train, not make friends.¡±
¡°Yeah, right. Got it.¡± Alec muttered, falling into the basic starting stance of Dragon-Scale a few seconds after Olivia did, practically able to feel the annoyance rolling off of her.
And as the two of them went through their stances in slow motion against each other, bathed in a deep, thick, silence that neither of them wanted to break, Alec couldn¡¯t help but think to himself.
¡®Day 1 of Formal Training: I pissed off the only other new start in the entire class. Great going me, that¡¯s what I get for trying to be like Peter and be friendly.¡¯
How an academy teaches
Olivia Kio couldn¡¯t help but scowl as she ended up standing next to the blue-haired teen known as Alec once more. The two of them were standing in yet another practical class at Dragon-Scale Academy that was now beginning its practical application portion, just like all the others.
You go through the stances, you practice holding them and moving between them slowly, and then you pair up with other students to test it in a slightly faster-paced environment. A solid practice schedule in Olivia¡¯s opinion, one that made perfect sense and could suit a wide variety of people.
However, this was her fourth day at this academy, and it was the sixth time that she¡¯d been paired with Alec in particular, and it was starting to grow genuinely aggravating.
The academy worked on a revolving door of classes that ran at nearly all times of the day, at least for lower-ranking warriors like her. Supposedly some of the more advanced classes had a stricter timetable due to the instructors handling them but she obviously couldn¡¯t join one to verify for herself.
However, the issue with the basic classes, at least that she was running into at the moment, was that she was one of the two newbies to the Academy. The other being, of course, Alec.
That meant that she was paired with him for basically everything, including ¨Cas she had discovered the first night she had stayed in the dormitory¨C being his next-dorm neighbour.
She had nothing against Alec, not truly, but she was here to do nothing more than to grow stronger and learn the Dragon-Scale sword style. Yet everyone in the Academy seemed absolutely arrow-tip focused on making sure that Alec and Olivia were as joined at the hip as possible while within the Academy grounds.
Her wooden blade clacked against Alec¡¯s for what seemed like the eight hundredth time in only a few days as she let her thoughts wander, her hair once again tied back to avoid getting in her way and her gaze locked onto him and only him. In much the same way his gaze was locked onto her and only her as they sparred.
The stances this time included a few more offensive options, giving Olivia a bit more room to breathe compared to the far more defensively focused stances of the last few days. Her grip tightening around the well-sanded hilt and her muscles flexing just a bit as she struck out a bit faster than their well-maintained rhythm would allow in a childish outburst of frustration.
Her eyes widened for only a fraction of a second before she realized that Alec had blocked it exactly as he was meant to, following the Dragon-Scale style. His expression unchanged as he shifted the tilt and rotation of his blade to allow hers to slide down along it and lashed out slowly with one of the offensive strikes they had learnt today.
Usually his unchanging, focused, expression didn¡¯t bother her much, if at all. She didn¡¯t want to do anything except train and grow, and he wasn¡¯t bothering her with useless small-talk or silent ogling.
She had enough of that at family outings and gatherings that she was dragged along to, thank you very much.
But today, for some reason, to see him so unphased even by her outburst lit a fire under her that surprised even herself. It was probably her annoyance at being paired up with him again that sparked it, but the sheer speed that it enveloped her entire form was genuinely unexpected.
That singular faster, and stronger, swing soon turned into two, and then three, then four, then five, six, seven, eight-
Before Olivia even realized it, she was fighting at nearly full capacity without amping her body up with mana, battling an opponent that was keeping up even without using his own mana; though admittedly he was evidently concentrating far more than he had been beforehand. The rapid clacks and whacks of their blades echoing over the interior courtyard of the trainarium as more and more pairings around them began to slow to a halt to watch the ¡®spar¡¯ between the two newcomers. The two of them not even noticing in their states of sheer focus, only continuing to dance back and forth involuntarily.
Alec retreated two steps, spinning his blade to deflect hers up and then bracing the flat of his blade with his forearm above his head to block the downwards strike she followed up with. The teen swiped his blade, and thus hers, to the side and took a solid step forward while thrusting his blade at her stomach, making her bring her own blade up to block it and let it glance off to the side. The blue-haired swordsman advancing another few steps, forcing her to back-off those same few steps to keep enough distance to properly use her blade, and raising his blade to bring it down on her just as she had done to him a second earlier.
Unlike Alec, though, Oliva chose to thrust her blade-point at the wooden cross guard of her opponent¡¯s weapon, meeting it with a solid clack and rebounding off while throwing Alec off-balance as well. But whereas Olivia recovered and immediately went back on the offensive, Alec chose to go entirely defensive in the wake of her sudden aggression.
Their blades met again and again in a brilliant display of skill and speed, for complete newbies to the Dragon-Scale style, as the rest of the class watched the two of them going at it, even the instructor. A middle aged, short and stocky, man with a thick black beard and large nose that ran a couple fingers through the thick hair and braids that made up his beard as he watched the fight that the spar had become.
¡®I don¡¯t recognize him at all, that clearly means that he¡¯s not from one of the established adventurer families of Xyrtah.¡¯ Olivia thought, forced to back up a step as Alec used the footing of his defensive stance to break his way into her personal space. ¡®And those clothes that he¡¯s wearing clearly don¡¯t cost much either.¡¯
She thrust her blade forward and widened her eyes as he deflected and brought his blade around, finally meeting her left wrist with a loud slap that made her flinch and strike out on reflex to hit his own left arm.
¡°Point: Alec. Point: Olivia.¡±
The instructor¡¯s voice didn¡¯t even seem to reach Olivia¡¯s ears as she continued her assault, a blush of embarrassment spreading across her face and up to her ears at actually being struck by Alec.
¡®I¡¯ve been training since I was a child to become the strongest adventurer I could, to match up to my siblings and prove that the Kio name isn¡¯t wasted on me. And suddenly this backwater adventurer comes out of the woodworks, and I¡¯m stuck to him? How can I prove myself if I¡¯m always next to him, how can I show my worth as an individual if I¡¯m always paired with the same person?¡¯
Olivia¡¯s mana shone brightly around her as her feet firmed themselves on the dirt of the courtyard and her blade was raised vertically at her side with both hands gripping it tightly. A wave of mana rushed into her as the World itself acknowledged the magical contract that she had imposed upon herself, and she took a single strong step forward-
The thud of a body on the ground was the first thing to register in Olivia¡¯s mind, the second was the pain in her cheek and chest, and the third was the two strong hands pinning her dominant arm to the ground with her blade and placed firmly on her back to stop her from getting up.
¡°That was a brilliant spar, you two. But I feel like a Power Stance, especially one outside our school¡¯s style, goes simply beyond practicing your basics. Don¡¯t you, Miss Olivia?¡± The instructor asked, his deep voice flaring with an unsung warning at his final question directed towards the girl pinned to the ground beneath him.
¡°¡Yes, instructor.¡± She ground out; her lungs stopped from fully expanding by the heavy hand between her shoulder blades.
¡°Good. All of you continue your sparring!¡± He ordered the rest of the class as he took his hand off Olivia¡¯s back and lifted her to her feet with the single hand on her wrist. ¡°And Miss Olivia? We¡¯ll be speaking after class.¡±
¡°¡Understood, instructor.¡± She mumbled, wrenching her wrist away when he let go of it and turning her gaze back to Alec, who could only deadpan slightly at her half-lidded, shadowed over expression.
¡®Why do I feel like I¡¯ve done something wrong¡?¡¯
XXXxxxXXX
That Afternoon, Dragon-Scale Academy
Alec breathed in slowly as he stepped forward, transitioning from one defensive stance to another, his gaze clouded, and his attention clearly focused elsewhere as he moved. The sound of wooden clacks and grunts of effort echoing through the open training ground he stood within, in one of the corners of the walled compound.
¡®I don¡¯t think I did anything wrong, right?¡¯ The teen half-heartedly transitioned between another few stances, his low-effort clear amongst the students that surrounded him. ¡®She was cold from day one, but I¡¯ve done my best not to piss her off more¡right? Dammit, this is why I leave these types of things to Peter¡¡¯
Alec¡¯s expression darkened ever so slightly, and his next step brought him from a defensive stance to one of the few offensive stances he had learned, his blade clacking down on a wooden training dummy and stopping short. The reverberations of the strike travelled down the length of the blade in an instant and straight into Alec¡¯s hands, getting a short yelp from the teen as his blade dropped from trembling hands.
¡°Gah! Stupid.¡± He hissed quietly, feeling the tingling remnants still in his hands as they shook minutely. ¡°I didn¡¯t prepare myself for that at all.¡±
¡°Yeah, that¡¯s an issue I¡¯ve run into a couple times as well.¡± The sound of another, similarly young, male voice from his right caught Alec¡¯s attention.
Blue eyes swivelled to focus on the voice in question, seeing a late teen or young adult, Alec couldn¡¯t quite tell, with very short spiky green hair and soft hazel eyes with a couple freckles smattered across his cheeks.
¡°Oh, uh. It¡¯s just because I was distracted.¡± Alec muttered, not quite sure how to respond to that opening statement from the other male.
¡°Yeah, I could tell. You¡¯re one of the newbies right, Alec?¡± He asked, walking over.
¡°Yeah, that¡¯s me. How do you know?¡±
¡°You and Olivia are the talk of the academy. Your rivalry is super good gossip.¡± The young man giggled into his hand, raising one of his feet slightly and stomping on the pommel of Alec¡¯s dropped blade.
In a blur of motion and a soft ¡®whoomp¡¯ of air, the hilt of his wooden blade was being held out towards him, with the other man holding the tip of the blade with three fingers.
¡°¡Thanks.¡± Alec hummed, choosing to simply ignore the incorrect hypothesis of him and Olivia being rivals in exchange for analyzing what the greenette had just done.
¡°Cool right? One of our seniors taught me that little trick a couple months ago. Took me foreverrrr to nail down pat.¡± He grinned, letting go of the blade once Alec grabbed it back.
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¡°I can imagine, I think I¡¯d just stomp it into the ground if I tried.¡± Alec snorted, already able to imagine it in his head.
¡°Oh yeah, that happened heaps.¡± The young man laughed, scratching the back of his head before holding a hand out so fast that Alec jolted back on pure instinct. ¡°I¡¯m Callum by the way!¡±
¡°Ah, Eh, I¡¯m Alec¡¡± He muttered, shaking his hand slowly.
¡°Yeah, I know, remember?¡±
Alec¡¯s eye twitched at the reminder of him using his name seconds after the conversation started. A small, subtle smattering of red creeped onto Alec¡¯s expression as the embarrassment began to slowly catch up with him.
¡°Ah whatever! No need to get so embarrassed dude, it¡¯s fine. Wanna spar?¡±
¡°I- Sure?¡± Gods this was like dealing with Peter and Alexandar combined yet somehow worse.
He had the friendliness of both, the cheerful aura of Peter, and the exuberance of Alexandar. Yet he was lacking the more contained expressiveness of his best friend and the aged experience and wisdom of Alexandar and his calculated outbursts to pull back when necessary. A combination which, quite frankly, left Alec on quite the back foot when dealing with Callum compared to either Peter or Alexandar, and he¡¯d been quite bad with the old man when he had first met him.
¡°Alright! So just a regular spar? No special rules or anything?¡± Callum asked excitedly, hopping from foot to foot.
¡°That sounds fine.¡± Alec simply responded, far more subdued than his opponent as he slid into the starting stance of the Dragon-Scale style.
¡°Good for me to start?¡±
¡°Go ahead.¡±
The blunt edge of Callum¡¯s blade scraped off the edge of Alec¡¯s, both combatants falling into a familiar and comfortable pattern of back and forth. The excitable energy of Callum evident in all his moves yet still contained now that they had an avenue with which to escape, smacking head-on into the stone wall that was Alec¡¯s concentration with every strike their blades met with.
¡°Woah, you¡¯re a super subdued fighter, Alec!¡± Callum commented, twisting his blade to let Alec¡¯s slide off and striking out at him, only to have his own weapon deflected by Alec¡¯s as he drew it back in and threw it to the side in a single motion.
¡°Is that meant to be a compliment?¡±
¡°Uh, s-sorta?¡± Callum laughed nervously, clashing blades with Alec and pushing forward, getting a slight backwards bend from the blue-haired teen but otherwise making no progress. ¡°I was just surprised; everyone around here has such a fire y¡¯know? Like they take the whole ¡®dragon¡¯ thing to its extreme. But you¡¯re not like that, its super neat!¡±
¡°So, I¡¯m neat because I¡¯m ¡®unique¡¯?¡± Alec deadpanned, breaking their deadlock and forcing Callum to jump back to avoid the swipe he aimed at his head.
¡°I guess?¡± Callum shrugged as he landed.
The two combatants entered a short but intense burst of motion as they clashed and disengaged rapidly. Their blades met briefly for one or two strikes before they were back out of each other¡¯s ranges once again. Over and over, faster and faster the two engaged each other, both trying to push each other as far as they could without making it a proper ¡®fight¡¯.
This type of engagement is an exhausting one, requiring both fighters to stay in constant motion, stay on high alert, and stay as high-intensity as possible. It was a type of combat reserved only for short skirmishes or absolute stamina monsters.
Unfortunately for Alec, Callum happened to be a member of the latter category. His performance only maintaining its status quo as Alec began to flag. Sweat dripped from his chin as he stumbled after yet another clash with Callum, turning too slow to keep up with the green-haired male and stumbling back as he crashed into him once more.
The blue-haired teen¡¯s guard broke entirely, earning him a quick, well-aimed, wooden sword to the ribs for his weakness. His breath left his lips involuntarily as his limbs flailed for a moment, hitting the ground with a heavy thud and a jerk as he finally managed to suck a breath back in.
¡°Woah! You good Alec?¡±
¡°Y-Yeah. Just¡ow.¡± He groaned, grabbing the hand Callum offered down to him and letting the other male pull him back to his feet.
Slowly he looked Callum up and down to see if he¡¯d even managed to affect the greenette at all, a small self-satisfied grin making its way to his face as he saw the deepness of Callum¡¯s breathing and the shine of sweat that coated his skin.
Sure, the teen may not have won and that stung, but at the very least he¡¯d made Callum work for his win. Learn to take the small victories, he told himself, pointedly ignoring the burning pit of disappointment in his stomach.
¡°Haha! Yeah, I get that feeling. You should have seen it when I sparred with Instructor Kyan. She knocked the wind out of me so hard I actually blacked out for a second!¡± Callum admitted, seemingly without an ounce of shame in his body, with a loud laugh.
¡°I don¡¯t know who Instructor Kyan is.¡± Alec muttered, trying to wrack his brain for any female instructors that he may have met, even in passing, in his short tenure at the academy.
¡°Oh yeah, that makes sense.¡± Callum hummed, holding his chin between his thumb and forefinger as he nodded. ¡°She only teaches the advanced classes after all. Like for [Gold-rank]¡¯s and above.¡±
Crack.
¡°Ah. I see.¡± Alec hummed, acting as if his fingers weren¡¯t sitting slightly deeper into the hilt of his wooden blade than they had been only a second earlier.
¡°You good dude? You look like you¡¯re about to faint¡¡± Callum muttered worriedly, leaning in closer to Alec.
¡°I¡¯m fine, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m just going to keep training, I think.¡± Alec mumbled, turning on the spot and walking over to the training dummies he had been practicing with earlier.
¡°Mind if I join you then? I¡¯ve never had a training partner before and I¡¯d love to give it a shot, what do you say?¡±
Creeeee¡.
¡°¡Yeah, sure. Sounds¡.great.¡±
XXXxxxXXX
That night
Alec let out a deep breath slowly as he lay on his back, staring at the ceiling of his living quarters silently. His brain was running at a mile a minute even as he lay completely unmoving in his bed.
¡®Stamina is something I need to work on. Simply by learning the Dragon-Scale style my defense is going to be pretty well sorted out and it¡¯ll give me some basic offensive options as well. Worse comes to worse, I have Fortress Piercer to overcome my lack of offense.¡¯
The flitter of wings from outside his window never even made it past his eardrums, he was that far inside his own thoughts, his left forefinger beginning to tap over his stomach idly.
''I can¡¯t believe I got that angry earlier though, now I need to make sure I can still use my blade because I managed to break it not even a full week into training. Like a complete idiot. Ugh.¡¯
Alec screwed his eyes shut and dug the heels of his palms into them as he groaned quietly, his legs tensing and stretching as he let his emotional turmoil overwhelm him for only a few seconds before calming down once more and allowing his hands to drop at his sides.
¡®I¡¯m way too sensitive when it comes to my weakness, it¡¯s a serious issue at this stage. But how the hell do I get over that other than becoming stronger?¡¯
Try as he might, the teen couldn¡¯t think of anything, only just now hearing the soft, nearly silent, flap of wings from outside his window. His curiosity flared for only a moment before dying down as he got lost in his thoughts yet again.
¡®Well, I¡¯m not going to figure this out just sitting here. I need to sleep otherwise my classes tomorrow are going to be hell to deal with¡¡¯
And so, rolling onto his side and closing his eyes, Alec tried to calm his heart and mind down so that he could actually get some rest instead of overthinking for the entire night. The teen never noticing the two sets of red eyes that shone through his window blinds, seemingly staring directly at him.
XXXxxxXXX
The Next Morning
¡°Halt.¡±
Both Alec and Olivia paused mid-swing, their skin ever-so-slightly shiny and their breathing minutely heavier than normal. Their eyes locked on each other, as if not trusting the other to follow the instructor¡¯s command.
Alec understood where his own worries came from, but he felt insulted that Olivia was giving him that exact same look. How was that fair?
¡°Alec Dius, hand me your blade.¡± Instructor Ballui, an Elven man with heavy scarring over his face and three fingers on his left hand, ordered while holding his right hand out.
The teen slowly slid out of his stance, as did Olivia with a small huff, and handed his blade over. Flinching as he saw the finger grooves that he¡¯d broken in the hilt the day before, and pressing his lips together thinly when it became obvious that Ballui saw it too.
¡°When did this damage to your blade occur?¡±
¡°Last night.¡± Alec answered simply, trying to ignore the silent snickering from the girl at his side who seemed to be enjoying the situation immensely.
¡°So you willingly chose to train with a broken blade?¡± Ballui tested, narrowing his eyes at the teen.
¡°The blade itself was perfectly fine and I was sure to remove any splinters or chips from around my fingers-¡° Alec tried to defend himself, bristling up on instinct at the instructors tone.
He hadn¡¯t gone into it half-cocked. The blade was still perfectly fine, and he¡¯d made sure that his hand would be fine as well. It''s like Ballui thought he¡¯d just picked up his blade and-
¡°A copper-clutcher, hm?¡± Ballui hummed, his expression seeming to darken several orders of magnitude.
¡°I¡don¡¯t have much money to throw around, sir.¡± Alec responded, trying his absolute level best to stay calm in the face of his relative poorness being thrown in his face.
¡°Well, I can¡¯t exactly have a student caring more about money than caring for their blade, now, can I? Until such a time as you manage to procure one yourself, the price of a new blade from the academy will be six times its ordinary for you, and only you.¡±
¡°H-Huh!?¡± Alec felt like he was about to fall over, an ordinary practice blade from the academies ¡®war-hoard¡¯ was already 3 silvers due to the special wood they made them from, 18 silvers for a blade was going way too far.
That would completely destroy his nice little nest-egg he was trying to put together. And after he¡¯d been so careful to try and save money after he got to Zenik too¡
The sound of near-silent giggling, coming from the young woman at his side, caught Alec¡¯s attention, his gaze sliding over to her in mild annoyance. Unfortunately for Olivia, that same giggling also drew the attention of Ballui, who only frowned darkly.
¡°Well, Miss Kio. Since you seem to think that this is funny, how about that same punishment apply to you too, hm?¡±
¡°A-ah wait! N-No Instructor Ballui I swear I wasn¡¯t-¡°
Crack!
¡°A-ah¡.¡± Olivia stared limply at what remained of her blade still clutched in her hands, the top half lying on the ground after Ballui pinched the blade with only two fingers.
¡®The¡.same punishment as Dius?¡¯ Her expression began to darken, her grip on her broken blade strengthening as her knuckles began to go white, the wood creaking ominously.
¡°Now, off you two go. You need proper blades to train, after all.¡± Ballui shooed both teens away, turning around to continue instructing the rest of the class.
Left with no other options, and unwilling to try and earn even more ire from their instructor, the two trudged away to the War-Hoard of Dragon-Scale Academy. Both left in foul moods, only made worse by the foul mood of the compatriot at their side.
¡®All the money from my allowance is going to be gone now¡.¡¯
Olivia scowled and stomped ahead of Alec, something that he was more than happy to let her do as he got lost in his own thoughts himself.
¡®I¡¯m only going to have 6 silvers left after this¡I guess I should actually go take another quest tomorrow. I have sort of let it fall to the wayside these past few days¡¡¯
Alec took a deep breath in and tried to calm himself down with his game plan in mind, stepping into the War-Hoard and freezing as he saw the number of coins Olivia was handing over for a new blade of her own.
Alec may not lead his life following after money, like others he had seen and heard of in his short tenure as an Adventurer, but at that exact moment in time ¨Cseeing the small stack of silver coins the young woman handed over in a slightly shaky hand¨C he couldn¡¯t help but feel like maybe they actually had a good point. Because having to spend three-quarters of your entire savings on a single blade because you got slightly angry was soul-crushing.
The slow march of progress
Alec breathed in slowly and deeply as he stepped into the Zenik branch of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild once more, for the first time in nearly a week.
Of course, it was exactly the same as it had been when he had come here to hand in his last [Copper-rank] mission, it had only been six days after all, but for some reason it just felt different.
Alec wasn¡¯t sure what it was; whether it was his new rank, the days he¡¯d spent in the academy, or something completely unrelated to either of the first two options, he had no idea. What he did know, however, was that it was exhilarating.
Thinking over it for a couple of seconds, he was almost certain this feeling came from his rank-up. An actual, tangible proof of his improvement and growth since leaving Blessed Catalyst that he now got to actually enjoy beyond just a shiny new word on his Adventurer ID.
His ascent up the two sets of stairs, straight past the floor with the [Copper-rank] quests and to the floor above with the [Iron-rank] quests, was rapid and excited. A giddy energy present in everything he did, even as he did his absolute best to try and tamp it down so he didn¡¯t do something to make himself look stupid.
The Iron floor wasn¡¯t that dissimilar to the Copper floor in terms of layout, that Alec could notice on a quick glance at least, but the metallic caps on the corners of the quest boards were now a nice, polished silver instead of the bright copper they had once been a mere floor below.
It was a small difference, one that Alec was certain was of no significance beyond aesthetics, but it was a difference that was nonetheless refreshing. The quantity of quests certainly seemed the same as on the Copper floor as Alec walked into the room, navigating around a few parties and solo Adventurer¡¯s as he did so, but the payouts most certainly weren¡¯t.
Back when the Guild had first been created, allegedly, the rules had been far laxer than they currently were today, especially in terms of quest payouts. In those days there was no minimum or maximum price range for any quest rank, meaning that you could have [Iron-rank] quests paying out 300 gold coins and [Tungsten-rank] quests that paid out that exact same 300 gold coins. This had, of course, led to some situations that the Guild, and many standing countries'' governments, would prefer to stay hidden¨C and so rules had been put in place and strictly enforced since then.
Nowadays, every quest that went through the Guild had a minimum and maximum payment threshold per ranking. Those exact same thresholds were what were now beginning to excite Alec. With the teen going from [Copper-rank] quests with a maximum payment threshold of 100 copper coins, otherwise known as 5 silver coins, to [Iron-rank] quests which had a minimum threshold of 90 copper coins.
The upper threshold of 1000 copper coins, 50 silvers, had him nearly salivating but he knew better than to go after a quest of that calibre at his current skill level. Improved though he may be, any quest that stood at a level requiring a payout that high would chew him up and spit him out, of that he had no doubts.
So, with a small hum, the teen began to look over the quests with a critical eye. His gaze searching for a quest that both paid well, and that he believed he could handle at his current level.
After almost five minutes of searching, the blue-haired swordsman came across a quest that seemed good enough.
Its payout sat at 150 coppers and the quest parameters were fairly simple, he simply had to go out and retrieve an item that lay in the lair of a Criten nearby.
Of course, the death of the Criten was required as well, but Alec hardly found that surprising considering the item in question was an engagement ring. Even in the best-case scenario of the fianc¨¦ being totally fine and only the ring having been collateral, the teen hardly imagined any wife-to-be would be too merciful against the furry beast.
So, with a small hum, the teen unclipped the quest and brought it all the way down to the ground-floor to get it assigned to him so that he could go on it officially. Standing silently at the desk as the employee did their job before he felt the gaze of someone else resting on him, turning his head to see a young woman with pearlescent silver hair and dark red eyes, just a few shades lighter than blood, staring right at him as she rested against the counter, much the same as him.
¡°Can I help you?¡± He asked, more than a little unnerved by the woman and her intense, nearly unblinking, gaze.
It wasn¡¯t just her gaze that made him so nervous though, and Alec would bet everything he owned on this feeling of tension in his body stemming from a power difference between the two of them.
¡°Not really, just curious is all.¡± The woman hummed, grinning lazily at the small twitch in his left eye.
Placing her elbow on the counter, she smooshed her cheek into her palm as she looked him up and down, her gaze pausing on his sword, then his hands, and finally on his face.
Her mid-length waving hair, which seemed to softly curl on itself close to its edges, bobbed a little as she tilted her head this way and that, only making Alec¡¯s eye twitch more and his body tense up in paranoia over what she was thinking to make her react in such a way.
¡°Curious about¡what, exactly?¡±
¡°Nothing serious, just a hypothetical, it''s like a fun game for me.¡± She hummed teasingly, looking over as the employee she was dealing with finished processing her own quest and handed it to her.
¡°Well looks like I should be heading off. Have fun on your quest, Alec.¡± She giggled, waving at him with her fingers as she left the building.
Leaving behind a frozen, catatonic, Alec Dius as the implications behind her words crashed down on the teen instantly.
He had never told her his name, and as far as he was aware he had never said it when she¡¯d been around him either. So, she knew him from before today, but he didn¡¯t know about her in the slightest. A combination which he knew for a fact never ended well, at least in the rare story that he had read, it¡¯s not like he¡¯d been in this type of situation before this.
¡°And here we are sir! I wish you a safe quest and a good day!¡± The receptionist smiled brightly, only blinking owlishly in confusion as Alec robotically grabbed the quest flyer from her, still staring at where the mystery woman had stood with wide eyes.
¡°Uh, yeah. Thanks. You too.¡±
Could he train himself to sleep with one eye open? It might be worth a visit to a library when he got back just to check out.
XXXxxxXXX
Alec whistled a small tune to himself as he made his way through the forest of Xyrtah, outside Zenik. A couple clings and clangs coming from his backway as he hopped a protruding root to continue his journey towards the known hunting ground of the Criten in question.
¡°You¡¯d think the Guild would actually deal with this sort of stuff earlier, right?¡± He mumbled to himself, ducking under a branch. ¡°Like before it became an issue¡¡±
Though even as he said it, he knew it was a ridiculous thought. The Adventurer¡¯s Guild was created, at least based on the guidebook that all new Adventurer¡¯s were given, to deal with large emergencies and compile quests in a singular organisation and location to streamline the entire process. He highly doubted the Guild had any interest in completely butchering a nearby monster population purely because they could be a threat, and if so they definitely wouldn¡¯t start with a relatively weak creature like the Criten.
Not to mention, a dark, cynical part of his mind whispered in his ear, how were they meant to make profits and hand out pay if there were no more creatures to create quests?
Though those thoughts, while not ignored, were quickly shoved to the wayside in favour of trickling some mana into his legs. The teen crouched low before he launched himself up into the air to grab a thick branch overhead, about 8 or so metres off the ground, and pull himself up. The sun no longer hidden by the thick treetop canopy as much as it had been at ground-level.
It had been quite a few hours since he¡¯d left Zenik, he hadn¡¯t been exactly keeping track but it had been a few hours before midday when he had left, and now he had an hour, maybe two, until sunset based on its position in the horizon.
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¡°Jeez, I thought I¡¯d at least get there by nightfall, it¡¯s probably going to take me another half a day of travel to get there.¡± He sighed, scratching the back of his head as he sat down on the branch.
Idly his legs, resting either side of the branch, curled and tensed to wrap around the branch as best they could to stabilise him on the curved surface as he swung his backpack around to his front. The teen rummaged through it for a few moments before he pulled out a map of the area he currently sat in, making sure he was still on track, as best as he reasonably could.
He wasn¡¯t the greatest at reading maps, but he could at least do so well enough to avoid getting lost, and really that¡¯s all that he needed to know- at least for the moment.
¡°Yeah, I could keep going and get there a little after midnight, but then I¡¯d have to try and fight a Criten in the dark. Not exactly my idea of a ¡®safe¡¯ fight.¡± He sweatdropped at his own words, only able to imagine the absolute disaster that attempting to do that would result in.
So, rather sensibly, the teen chose to set up camp for the night and keep moving in the morning once the sun went down. There was no point setting up camp right now since he still had some time until sunset but there was also no point trying to keep going after nightfall if he was just going to be wandering the wilderness aimlessly either.
XXXxxxXXX
That night, Xyrtahnian Wilderness
A fire crackled softly in the darkness of night, its flames ebbing and flowing this way and that as blue eyes stared directly into it. Alec¡¯s mouth twisted into a pensive expression as he thought over the mission he currently found himself on, and the similarities it had to his last mission as a member of Blessed Catalyst.
Even back then, a little over a month ago, he had been able to take out the average Criten so long as he was patient and willing to take a few superficial wounds. Of course, his last fight with a Criten hadn¡¯t gone quite that well to plan but he was much stronger now, so it shouldn¡¯t be as much of an issue as it previously was.
Despite knowing all this, though, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit nervous. His fingers tense as he cupped one hand in the palm of his other and his breath a little unsteady as he slowly let it out, only to quickly suck one back in to fill his lungs with oxygen once more.
A Criten hadn¡¯t been an insurmountable creature in a long, long time for the teen, especially when he had been apart of a party. Logically, it stood to reason that this upcoming fight wouldn¡¯t be anywhere near as difficult, but the teen knew why he was as nervous as he currently was. Or at least, he was fairly certain he knew.
Unlike the sheer, nightmare-inducing terror the Dune Worm had inflicted on the teen that still occasionally woke him even a month after the event, this fear was far less powerful and focused in an entirely different direction.
Alec was scared that even now, with all the improvements he had gone through, he would still be weaker than Peter had been when he had left the party. He was still scared that even with all his improvements he still wouldn¡¯t be able to take out a creature that his best friend had been able to. That he¡¯d only prove to himself that he should have never been around them in the first place, dragging them down¡
¡°This is stupid. I¡¯m being stupid.¡± He muttered to himself, closing his eyes and shaking his head.
A small laugh escaped his lips as he stood up and slapped both of his cheeks at once with enough force to instantly turn them red and create a small echo through the immediate surroundings.
Alec let out a small breath once more as the pain helped re-center his focus and stop his mental spiral before it could get any worse. His gaze raised to the canopy above him before lowering to the fire at his feet once more, a resolute fire burning in them as he clenched his fists at his side.
¡®Tomorrow I¡¯m going to go out there, I¡¯m going to find the Criten¡¯s lair and kill the Criten. That¡¯s all there is to it. I can¡¯t let myself spiral like that just because it¡¯s a creature I¡¯ve fought before.¡¯ His thoughts echoed in his head, his determination only growing.
He was no longer Alec Dius, the [Copper-rank] Adventurer being forced to rely on his friends. It was finally time he proved that, not to someone else, but to himself.
XXXxxxXXX
Next day, Xyrtahnian Wilderness
A loud, low, yawn seemed to echo through the forest as a Criten lumbered out of its lair, its eyes still bleary from its awakening and its movements slow and sluggish. Though Alec knew better than to underestimate it just because of its mammal-like actions and behaviour. He had seen Criten¡¯s twitching and moving with far too much reptilian energy in the past to ever assume that it couldn¡¯t switch on a dime, if so required.
That strange mix of reptile and mammal was one of the things that never failed to confuse new Adventurer¡¯s, pretty much the only exceptions to that rule were people that had experience with the species before becoming Adventurer¡¯s.
That on-a-dime switch was hardly something that worried Alec at the moment though, he knew it would occur and was ready for it when it did. And after that, the only thing he had left to worry about was the actual combat against an enraged creature about three times his size and five times his body weight, and that was underselling it.
There was no point trying to sneak past it, both because Alec didn¡¯t really have much skill or experience in doing so, and because he had to murder the creature; therefore, he¡¯d go for the best middle-ground that he could get away with, a sneak attack.
Scaling a boulder as slowly and quietly as he could, Alec pulled himself up with an arm and perched himself atop the sloped peak in a low crouch, his blade already drawn and held out behind him to stop the sun from reflecting off it and alerting the Criten before he was ready.
Thirty metres back, hidden in a nook of two branches halfway up a tree sat his backpack and the rest of his gear, it would only slow him down and create more noise.
The teen re-adjusted his grip on his blade and licked his lips anxiously as he watched the Criten lumber up to a tree and began rubbing its side against the large, thick trunk. His eyes followed the movement of the bear to find its rhythm so that he could find the best opportunity to strike.
Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down.
A lull of calm settled over the forest as Alec¡¯s thoughts died out entirely in his ensuing focus and rhythmic eye movements, his eyes following that exact same motion in time with the Criten.
Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down.
Birds tweeted and sang happily in the branches above the two of them, a soft breeze blowing through the forest, ruffling not only the leaves but also the clothes of Alec and the fur of the Criten.
Up. Down. Up. Do-
The boulder chipped and blood flew in the air, the Criten¡¯s roar reaching Alec¡¯s brain at the same moment the adrenaline did. The ground compacting beneath his feet as he ground himself to a halt, only to burst forward once more.
His first attack had been along the Criten¡¯s neck, well executed but poorly aimed, chipping the edge of some hardened scales and leaving a shallow-at-best cut. His second was equally unmerciful, his blade biting into its front right leg much deeper this time.
The teen snapped to a halt once more and ducked sideways beneath a swipe from the creature¡¯s injured paw. His hand slapped on the ground to stop him from falling on his side, a curl of his fingers and a tense of his shoulder throwing him back along the ground to dodge a heavy slam down onto him from the creature¡¯s good paw.
A tuck of Alec¡¯s arm had his elbow touching the ground first to bleed off some of his momentum and bring the rest of his body down into a roll that he could control a bit more. His body bouncing once across the ground before twirling to place his feet back beneath him once more.
Mana filled his body in thin streams as he firmed his blade at his side, the creature¡¯s roar ignored in favour of making sure his deflection was perfectly timed. His blade and the Criten¡¯s paw lashing out at each other in tandem, drops of blood flying through the air once more as both the teen¡¯s blade and the Criten¡¯s paw were flung to the teen¡¯s left.
However, as the monster¡¯s balance was thrown off entirely by the crossing of its paw across its chest and other fore-paw; Alec¡¯s was unbroken and already lined up for a perfect swing.
The sun glinted off the blade of the young [Swordmaster] as both of his arms swung down, his legs carrying him horizontally to bring him out of the landing zone of the charging beast.
Thick, dark red liquid rolled down the edge of his blade and dripped to the ground. The body of the Criten hit the ground in a pained groan and a wet squelch, sliding a few metres until even its momentum died.
Wide, unblinking blue eyes watched the creature as it tried to raise itself to its feet, succeeding a few times only to collapse within seconds as its strength seemed to leave it over and over again; like a car engine trying to cold start.
The puddle of red beneath it continued to grow larger and larger, a direct inverse to the amount of movement and energy coming out of the soon-to-be corpse. Its eyes eventually un-focusing entirely as a breath left its mouth, only to never return. That exact same breath leaving Alec¡¯s lips as his entire body seemed to uncoil, his eyes rolling up slightly as he collapsed to his knees and then back onto his ass.
A long, high-pitched whine left the teen¡¯s mouth as he hung his head back and placed both of his hands behind him to support his weight. His eyes closed and his breath coming and going in quick, heavy bursts as opposed to its regular long, slow repetitions.
¡°That was so stressful!¡± He groaned, happy to leave his filter alongside his blade on the ground in the peace and privacy of the forest.
Sure, he¡¯d managed to beat the Criten without taking a hit in return, something that would have been nearly impossible pre-solo, but his memories of their strength comparison had left him in a state of utmost anxiety despite his own logic telling him the fight should have been easy ¨Cand it was.
But he¡¯d taken it down! He¡¯d done it all by himself, and with pretty good ease as well. It was a physical, tangible marker of his growth. Not to the Guild, or the Academy, but to himself.
And really, as he got back up to grab his gear and scavenge through the lair for the wedding ring ¨Cattached to a singular, lone arm. Maybe the husband was just down a limb?¨C that was all that mattered to the teen.
A New Friend
Olivia breathed in deeply and twisted her wrists to put her blade in the path of Alec Dius¡¯ as the two of them were forced to spar once more. In a surprise even to the young Kio, Olivia was in a rather good mood today that even sparring with Alec once more didn¡¯t seem to dent.
Her sleep had been restful and uninterrupted, the temperature was nearly perfect, and she¡¯d had three days to unwind without the other newbie of Dragon-Scale stuck to her side. All of these situations combined ended up in a rather pleasant combination that left her far less tense than she usually held herself.
Which, of course, meant that even her performance in their regularly scheduled spar was at an all-time high.
Both teens danced back and forth as they swapped between defense and offense on a looped cycle to get used to the timing and rhythm of the change. Their blades clacking against each other in a repeating rhythm almost metronomic in nature.
¡°You¡¯re staring.¡± Olivia suddenly spoke, punishing Alec¡¯s surprised jolt by burying her blade in his ribs, getting a deep inhale before he fell back into his stance as he was meant to.
¡°Sorry, just thinking.¡± He replied, clipped and curt.
¡°About?¡±
Her opponent¡¯s eyebrow raised in curiosity as the two traded a few more blows, only speaking after nine seconds of silence had passed between them.
¡°It¡¯s not like you to make small talk.¡±
Olivia¡¯s tongue clicked at his observation, putting a bit more force into her next offensive strike and getting met with an equal force in opposing measure.
¡°Humour me.¡±
¡°Hmmm, alright.¡± Alec muttered, as if he didn¡¯t trust her intentions but still saw no reason to deny her. ¡°Do you have any siblings?¡±
¡°¡Three.¡± She answered, her usual tenseness beginning to return as the two of them continued sparring. ¡°Why, pray tell, do you ask?¡±
¡°I¡think I met one of them at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild? She knew my name even though I never said it¡¡±
Alec had said those words in the tone of a man mildly concerned, where his worry was enough to make him bring it up and think over it, but not enough to freak out in any measure. Olivia¡¯s reaction, on the other hand, was that of a woman that had just uncovered an assassination plot of a royal. Her eyes widened as, paradoxically, her pupils shrunk, and goosebumps shot from her fingers to her neck in an instant.
A single bead of sweat, though small, formed on her forehead.
¡°Mid-length hair, lazy demeanour and very frumpy clothing?¡±
¡°Not sure frumpy is the word I¡¯d use but sounds about right.¡± Alec said, beginning to get more worried as he saw the way she¡¯d reacted to his statement.
¡°¡I see.¡±
The two of them kept sparring for a few moments before their instructor finally called for an end, telling all the students to wind down and get some water before the class ¡®officially¡¯ ended.
¡°So¡Do I get to know why you¡¯re so worried?¡± Alec questioned hesitantly, taking a big drink of water right after he asked.
¡°No.¡± Olivia near-snapped, clamming up completely as she marched away from him, almost as if she was going to be burned just by standing near him.
¡°¡What the hell did I do this time? I didn¡¯t overstep anywhere did I¡?¡± Alec asked himself, thinking over the conversation while sighing and ruffling his fingers through his hair.
XXXxxxXXX
The Next Day, Dragon-Scale training grounds.
¡°I haven¡¯t seen Olivia around today!¡± Callum exclaimed cheerfully, backing up to avoid a strong overhead strike from his junior as the two of them sparred in the training grounds once more.
¡°So?¡± Alec crouched low and burst forward, purposefully overshooting to stop behind Callum and try to-
A wooden blade tugged at Alec¡¯s shirt as Callum swung down on his position, a slight gasping sound leaving the teen¡¯s mouth on pure instinct as he tried to bring his blade up to block a follow-up swing. Only for his body to jerk and stumble to the side as the wooden pommel of Callum¡¯s blade was jammed into his cheek instead of the return swing that the blue-haired teen had been expecting.
¡®He grabbed the actual blade of his sword with his other hand to speed it up and hit harder- and throw me off too. Who does something like that in a sword fight!?¡¯
¡°I thought you two were pretty close y¡¯know? Not like dating or anything but at least like ¡®Hey I¡¯m going to be gone, but don¡¯t expect to get ahead of me while I¡¯m gone¡¯ type thing.¡± Callum replied simply, following the advantage he¡¯d given himself with his pommel-bash to put the pressure on Alec and force him onto the backfoot.
¡°I can¡¯t even talk to her without her trying to light me on fire with her eyes, I don¡¯t ever know what she¡¯s doing.¡± Alec grumbled, fending off four more strikes before bracing his blade with both hands and sliding back a meter from a heavy blow.
¡°Wow, seriously? Damn that sucks. I had a heap of guys join alongside me, so we were almost like a proper class in school, cliques and all!¡± Callum revealed excitedly as his pace began to increase even further, only putting Alec in a worse and worse situation with every second.
¡®How can you still afford to speed up!? What kind of stamina monster are you!?¡¯
¡°Oh, good for you.¡± Alec tried to jump over the teen with a bit of mana-infusion, only to flail halfway through his arc as the wooden blade of Callum struck his ankle and threw his entire center of gravity off.
The teen hit the ground with a hard thump and a painful looking roll until finally reaching a resting point, face down in the dirt.
¡°Sorry sorry! But jumping over someone in a fight without proper training is like¡so dumb!¡± Callum grinned, giggling to himself as he placed his blade tip-down on the ground and rested his forearms on the handguard.
Said giggles only growing louder at the half-second glare the blue-haired teen shot in his direction before beginning to push himself to his feet.
¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± Alec muttered, staring dryly at Callum as he worked his way through his giggle fit.
¡°Alright alright. Ready to keep going?¡±
¡°Unfortunately, yes.¡±
So busy with getting his ass handed to him, Alec never noticed the laser-focused gaze of Olivia as she walked through the front gate of the academy, coming back in from outside, with a large backpack over her shoulder. Her red eyes focused on him and only him as she walked, all the way until her gaze disappeared behind the safety of stone and mortar.
¡®Huh. That was a pretty intense gaze. Is there actually something going on between her and Alec?¡¯
¡°How about we take five and grab something to eat, huh?¡±
¡°Go¡..die.¡± Alec gasped at Callum¡¯s feet, drenched in sweat and panting as he lay on his back in a position not that dissimilar to a starfish.
¡°Alright, more food for me then!¡±
XXXxxxXXX
Three Days Later, Dragon-Scale Academy.
¡°Come on Alec! That last block was super good!¡± Callum encouraged his new friend as the two of them sparred in the open-air training ground yet again.
The green-haired young man seemed to have an almost prophetic sense of when Alec was free from classes and quests since the moment he had even a lick of free time Callum was at his side wanting to spar.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Of course, Alec was improving slowly but steadily with the current status quo but even so he wouldn¡¯t say no to a day or two of peace from the constant sparring.
¡®Though I have to wonder why he¡¯s always sparring with me, wouldn¡¯t everyone else from his starting group be actual challenges?¡¯ Alec mused internally, trying to suppress a full-body shiver as he was a second too late to put his blade in the proper blocking position and a jolt went up his arms from the following impact.
Of course, as usual, Callum never let a mistake like that get past him. Piling on the pressure even further to abuse the lack of strength and speed his arms would have in the following few seconds after absorbing such an impact. His blade slipping closer and closer to Alec¡¯s body with each rapid block and hasty deflection.
The freckled young man¡¯s expression never changed from his happy, exuberant one as he pushed his lead over Alec further and further. The stamina-monster known as Callum pressed into Alec¡¯s personal space with one strong step forward, forcing the junior fighter back on pure instinct- just as Callum had expected and wanted.
Quicker than Alec could defend against, the blunt edge of Callum¡¯s blade swung down towards his chest; sure to create a nasty bruise along the teen¡¯s torso until he healed it.
¡°Hey Royal-Boy!¡±
Callum¡¯s swing faltered as a flinch overcame his entire body, his pupils dilating slightly before a the tip of Alec¡¯s blade slammed into the bottom of his jaw.
The clack of Callum¡¯s top and bottom teeth was almost deafening to Alec as the freckled young man stumbled back, finally losing the fight with gravity and falling on his ass. His breath leaving in a single, almost forced, exhale as he stared blankly in Alec¡¯s direction.
Laughter rang out, dragging Alec¡¯s attention over to the small group of young men approaching the two of them, their almost cruel gazes locked on Callum entirely.
Two of the boys, trailing behind who seemed to be the leader of their group, looked to be identical twins with matching X scars on their left and right cheeks respectively. Their hair in matching silver mohawks with each spike dyed a separate colour at the tips.
The leader of the small group, however, was drastically different to the two taller but more lithe boys behind him. His build far stockier and muscle-bound than anyone in the vicinity, even Callum or Alec. His jaw far more squared than even Callum¡¯s, who didn¡¯t have the sharpest jawline in the world, and his lips spread in a mocking grin.
His black eyes seemed to alight with a malignant fire and his short-cropped black hair shifted ever so slightly in the wind as he squared his feet and placed his hands on his hips.
¡°You really think you¡¯ll be able to get towards her when you can¡¯t even beat a wet behind the ears newbie?¡± The new man scoffed, getting a genuine scowl from Callum as his eyes seemed to lose some of their spark and tilt down a few degrees.
¡°Can I help you?¡± Alec asked, his expression clearly unimpressed with the blatant mocking that was going on in front of him.
¡°Yeah yeah, whatever newbie, buzz off. Me and Royal Boy here are talking, not you.¡± The stocky man snorted, waving a dismissive hand in the teen¡¯s direction.
In response to his dismissal of Alec, both the twins stepped forward, forming a human wall between Alec, Callum and the bully¡¯s leader.
The teen was well aware that, by simple deduction and logic, if he started a fight the two twins would overwhelm and beat him. So, he was in no rush to start an open conflict, especially out in the open like this.
At the same time, though, he didn¡¯t really find himself too worried by either of the twins. He could tell they were a bit more experienced than him, that was already a given considering they¡¯d been learning Dragon-Scale longer than him, but they seemed more like the kinds of guys that needed the other around to fight properly.
Alec would bet a couple silvers that if he managed to separate the two twins from each other, they¡¯d probably fall apart if he started to really push one of them in a fight.
¡°Yeah, runt, stay here and don¡¯t interfere. This is big kid stuff that¡¯s happening right now. Not something you need to get involved with.¡± The twin with the scar on his left cheek, dubbed Lex in Alec¡¯s mind, spoke snidely while leaning into Alec¡¯s personal space.
¡°Awww look at him, he¡¯s frozen with fear.¡± The other twin with the scar on his right cheek, dubbed Ryx by Alec yet again, cooed mockingly while crossing his arms.
Alec just let the taunts and snide words float straight past him as he stared at Callum and the leader as they had a conversation that he couldn¡¯t quite hear over the twin¡¯s unending barrage of drivel. The teen able to tell that while Callum was arguing back with the fire the teen was used to seeing in him, the words of the leader ¨Cwhatever they were¨C were a lot more effective at shaking his resolve than the fiery words he shot back.
¡°Hey! We¡¯re speaking to you ru-¡°
One of the twins reached out for Alec¡¯s shoulder, having noticed that he was ignoring them, only to flinch back when the stocky boy appeared between the two of them in a shockwave of mana. His palm pressed against the pommel of Alec¡¯s blade that was now stuck halfway through a swing at Lex¡¯s clavicle.
¡°Shit, newbie. That¡¯s a pretty drastic reaction.¡± The leader spoke, his eyes wide and his lips stretched into a grin slightly less malicious than he had shown Callum earlier but with an element Alec couldn¡¯t quite discern.
¡°¡¡± Alec pulled his blade back and rested its tip on the ground at his side, staring impassively at the muscled young man.
¡°You got potential, that reaction proves it. Word of advice, from one of your seniors. If you ever want to actually grow, you should probably stop hanging around this loser. Dude has his head too high in the clouds to actually see reality and improve.¡± The leader, now dubbed Brick, snorted while tilting his head in Callum¡¯s direction.
Before Lex could say anything, Brick just placed his hand on his shoulder and basically forced him to keep walking alongside him, Ryx not too far behind them.
And by the time that they left, and Alec felt safe turning his eyes away and back to Callum, the green-haired young man was already gone. Not a hide nor hair of him to be found.
XXXxxxXXX
¡°Well well well.¡±
Olivia rolled her eyes as she turned to face the leader of the three boys that had terrorized Callum only an hour earlier. The two of them standing in one of the many hallways of the academy dormitory with no one else in sight.
¡°I thought so. That was you I could see watching our little lesson in the training ground, wasn¡¯t it?¡± The young man grinned smarmily, his hands on his hips as he leant forward at the waist.
¡°I don¡¯t care what you think you saw or not.¡± Olivia scoffed, crossing her arms while giving him the same, unchanging, flat look.
¡°Oh, I¡¯m just curious what the Black Sheep of the Kio family was doing watching a loser like Royal Boy out there.¡± The young man¡¯s grin sharpened ever so slightly, taking on a crueler tint that only got the slightest crinkle of Olivia¡¯s eyelids in response.
¡°I heard you were on your way and wanted to see if daddy dearest had actually given you that pat on your shoulder you¡¯ve been wishing for, for so long, Glenn.¡± Olivia bit back.
The young woman¡¯s lips stretched into a smirk to match his own, her eyes widened slightly, and her pupils dilated almost predatorily as she lifted her chin and tilted her head a little. The younger girl somehow managing to make herself feel as though she were towering over Glenn despite his far larger stature and slight height advantage.
Before he even realized it, a scowl had overtaken his features and his hands had tightened into fists, his black eyes blazing with a heat of anger to match Olivia¡¯s own.
The two of them, within seconds of meeting once more ¨Ceven within the academy¡¯s halls¨C had immediately gone for each other¡¯s throats and now both of them wanted blood.
¡°My name is Larstud.¡±
¡°Your family¡¯s name is Larstud. You are just little old Glenn.¡± Olivia spoke, her hair beginning to softly wave as her mana began to flow through her body, just as Glenn¡¯s flowed through his in response to her words.
¡°I¡¯m just warning you, Black Sheep. You want to actually improve at this school, stay away from Royal Boy. 10 months at this place and he¡¯s moved at a snail¡¯s pace the whole time, fucking disgrace.¡±
¡°You sure that¡¯s the case? Or are you just pissy because there¡¯s something about him that has to do with that ¡®precious¡¯ Princess of yours?¡± She taunted, blinking only on reflex as his left arm seemed to jerk involuntarily towards her for a few centimeters before stopping just as involuntarily.
¡°Believe whatever you want, Failure. The fact is that he joined at the top of the pack and now sits all the way at the bottom of that very same pack. Everyone has improved except him.¡± Glenn scoffed, realizing that his battle of wits was going nowhere but his own defeat with Olivia.
¡°Is that so? Interesting.¡± Olivia hummed monotonously, buffing her nails on her shirt while deliberately refusing to look in his direction.
¡°Have fun stalking that loser, I guess. How the Kio name has fallen.¡± Glenn scoffed as he began to walk away.
Never seeing the way the young woman froze completely, her eyes staring unseeingly at the floor ahead of her as his words registered in her mind. Only for them to snap to him as words that likely weren¡¯t meant for her ears drifted through the hallway.
¡°-inks he¡¯ll get close to my Princess. Fat chance. I¡¯ll be the one at her side, not you.¡±
Olivia¡¯s eyebrow raised in intrigue, her mind jumping on the chance to analyze anything except the parting comment that had been so callously thrown in her direction.
¡®Given what I know of his Qualification and dream for the future¡Could it be?¡¯ Her index finger tapped on her chin a couple of times as she watched him disappear down one of the side-corridors of the hallway.
¡®Glenn Larstud¡Have you found a rival?¡¯ Olivia snorted to herself, folding her arm back into a comfortable position with her other one, closing her eyes and shaking her head as if in disbelief.
¡°Oh, who cares what that guy does. Neither him nor that green-haired guy matter in the slightest. They weren¡¯t the ones that caught the interest of Noelle after all.¡± She sighed, uncrossing her arms and finally walking away.
Her pearlescent hair swayed behind her and her footsteps covered their chosen distance with purpose, her red eyes locked firmly on the hallway ahead of her.
She¡¯d spent enough time watching and thinking about other people. Now it was time to work on herself and take some genuine steps towards improvement.
¡®Improve or Die¡¯, that was the Kio clan¡¯s motto, and she wasn¡¯t about to fail in the one, singular, dictation passed down since the early generations of their bloodline. Not now, nor ever.
¡®Black Sheep.¡¯ Glenn¡¯s words flittered through her mind, getting a dark scowl and a brief flash of red from her eyes as her mana spiked.
¡°Shut up. You don¡¯t know a damn thing about what you talk, Larstud¡¡±
Starting Line
¡°Thank you for completing this quest of mine, young man. I see that you¡¯ve moved up in the world a little, hm?¡± Diana, owner of the great Diana¡¯s Apothecary and Alchemist, hummed while leaning on the top of her counter.
¡°Huh?¡± Alec turned towards her after pocketing his proof of Quest completion, tilting his head to the side minutely like a confused puppy.
In response, the elven woman merely let a larger smile overcome her features for a moment, her eyes seeming to see straight through him for a second before zoning back into reality.
¡°Your adventurer rank, you¡¯re an [Iron-rank] now, are you not?¡±
¡°Oh! Yes, I am.¡± He nodded, showing off his ID as proof of his promotion.
¡°Congratulations, I know that going up a rank for the first time is always an exciting experience.¡± She said, lifting an ornate cup to take a short, quiet, sip from.
¡°It was, I¡¯ve been taking Iron Quests for the past week and a half now.¡± Alec supplied easily, resting his weight on one foot.
It was likely the promotion, Diana knew of nothing else plaguing the teen that could be the cause, but Alec looked far more comfortable and at-ease with himself than when he had first come to her with the Twilight Bloom all those weeks ago. His body was just a little bit more languid, his muscles a little less tense and his expression a little softer, like a weight he had been fighting against had been lifted from his shoulders.
¡°Oh? And how have they been?¡± Diana probed, taking another sip of her drink while trying to silently encourage the teen to speak further.
¡°They¡¯ve been good. Building up a nest egg for when it¡¯s needed. I even got myself a new shirt yesterday.¡± He said proudly, getting the briefest, subtlest, of pitying looks from the apothecary.
She hadn¡¯t lived in such conditions for a long, long time now, so she¡¯d almost forgotten what it was like to be such a small fish in the world with barely a few silvers to your name.
Sure, her business was far from a multinational organisation, but it had long since reached a level where her profits outweighed her costs and with the more experience she got, the more she could raise both of those ceilings.
It was jokingly referred to as ¡®The curse of the Old Lives¡¯ in that their lifespans meant that, given enough time and practice, they would pretty much come to outright dominate any field they set their sights on.
Diana, personally, thought that anyone that took that ¡®curse¡¯ seriously could go get their head beat-in in a bar brawl for all she cared.
She¡¯d been practising alchemy for over a few centuries at this stage and had watched many, many, people come and go that made her skill look absolutely abysmal in comparison. Children that watched her make a few batches of potions and could already point out if she¡¯d grabbed the wrong ingredient by accident, teenagers that took to alchemical theory like a duck to water, adults that mixed ingredients together and got results that made even her head spin.
This world was one made up of thousands of monsters all interacting with each other day after day. Sometimes they worked together, sometimes they fought, sometimes they just walked right by each other, but they interacted, nonetheless. And it was that very knowledge, and belief, that led Diana to believe that the ¡®curse¡¯ was a load of poppycock made by someone that just couldn¡¯t admit they were less skilled than a longer living species like herself.
She had no doubts in her mind that Alec would grow up to be one of those monsters as well, but right now he was just a teenager scrounging coins and innocently excited over a new shirt.
¡®What a slap in the face from reality.¡¯ She snorted to herself internally.
¡°Oh really? Congratulations once more then.¡±
¡°Thanks, I think I¡¯ll be going now.¡± He excused himself, shifting his weight back onto both of his feet evenly and nodding to her before turning around to leave her shop.
¡°Do have a good day now, young man! And remember to stop by whenever you wish, my doors are always open.¡±
¡°Thank you, I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± He chuckled, waving over his shoulder and walking out of her shop.
¡°It¡¯s always good to see teenagers like him relaxed and in high spirits. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s making great strides in whatever he¡¯s doing.¡±
XXXxxxXXX
Alec Dius was absolutely beginning to stagnate; Olivia Kio was certain of it.
She wasn¡¯t sure what was bringing about this change in the blue-haired teen, and she was equally unsure on if she should actually be happy about it or not. Over the past two weeks the young man had been going on quests pretty consistently, Olivia could understand that ¨Cshe sort of needed to go on a few herself¨C and she genuinely saw nothing wrong with that in the slightest. What she found a problem with though was the fact that with each quest Alec completed he seemed to just get more and more... content with where he was at. His solo training was beginning to slow down, his training sessions with the green-haired stamina monster had gone from a nearly daily occurrence to once a week, and even in practice she could feel herself slowly but surely pulling ahead.
If this had been something natural, if she¡¯d pulled ahead while they were both doing their best and she just proved herself to be more dedicated then she wouldn¡¯t have cared in the slightest. But that wasn¡¯t what was happening, and the reality of the situation was starting to absolutely piss her off like almost nothing else ever had.
But in that same token, how the hell was she ever meant to do anything about it? Sparring with her clearly didn¡¯t light a fire under him and it wasn¡¯t like they could get away with a no-holds-barred fight in the middle of the academy.
Not to mention that getting the green-haired idiot to spar with him more was pretty much out of the question so long as the holding pattern between him and Glenn held on. No matter what he did, the stocky asshole was just going to butt in and tear him down all over again to make sure that his ¡®rival¡¯ never actually got up onto his own two feet and caught up.
As much as she hated to admit it, the strategy was a sound one no matter how morally reprehensible it actually was.
With a sigh, she closed her eyes and shook her head, turning around to leave the training field where Alec was just mindlessly going through the motions of his stances.
¡®So, this is the kind of person that Alec Dius is. He reaches a safe point and just stops. How utterly disappointing¡¡¯
And high above, unnoticed by the both of them, a black bird dotted in glittering constellations and galaxies circled the academy, its gaze swapping from Olivia back to Alec once more; its pupil dilating.
XXXxxxXXX
¡°Oooohhhhh Greffffff~¡±
¡°Ugh.¡± An orange haired male groaned as he lay on a worn, barely furnished, bed with his head hanging off the side upside down.
With a tired mumble he lifted a hand to move the black cloth covering his eyes. His thumb looping underneath the bottom of the cloth and lifting it towards the ground to reveal a single, glowing, emerald eye with a soft cyan fractal pattern through the iris.
¡°If you¡¯re going to wake me up, you could at least let me read.¡± Gref groaned, the fractals in his eye pulsing faintly in time with his heartbeat.
¡°You¡¯d just do that and fall asleep again Gref, come now.¡± Noelle Kio smiled lightly, cocking a hip and crossing her arms.
¡°Damn right I would. I¡¯m tired as hell.¡± He huffed, using his thumb to drag the cloth back over his eye.
¡°Well, I got a favour for you to help me with tomorrow.¡±
¡°Not interested.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve already spoken to your brotherrrrr~¡±
¡°You are so lucky that I don¡¯t want to leave you braindead.¡±
¡°You gotta get through my mental walls first. And not even those eyes just let you do so all willy-nilly~¡± Noelle giggled, taking a big step forward and tapping a finger on his nose. ¡°So?¡±
¡°You say that like I still have a choice.¡± He sighed, rubbing a hand over his covered eyes and yawning loudly.
¡°Of course, you still have a choice~¡±
¡°No, I have an ultimatum. Either help you with whatever insanity you have concocted or deal with my brother infesting my room with Lava Ants again because I didn¡¯t help his stupid rival out.¡±
¡°Oh, I wouldn¡¯t call myself stupid. I was a solid A student at the Xyrtahnian Royal Academy~¡±
¡°Still not valedictorian.¡± Gref yawned again.
¡°Well, neither was your brother.¡±
¡°I know, and he¡¯s still pissy about it. So? What is this insane ¡®favour¡¯ you¡¯re volun-telling me to do?¡±
¡°Weeeellll~ Tomorrow I need you to-¡°
XXXxxxXXX
Dragon-Scale Academy, Two Days Later
¡°Are you ever going to explain?¡± Alec asked with a huff, dodging a strike aimed at his ribs and flipping his blade into a defensive stance to block the rapid return swing.
In response to his question, Callum¡¯s expression only fell flat for a moment, his usual exuberance and excitement dying completely. His blade struck Alec¡¯s and the teen was forced back a couple metres, his shoes gouging small trenches in the ground until he finally came to a stop.
The teen wobbled for a moment at the sudden lack of backwards momentum but wasn¡¯t given much time to regain his bearings as Callum was, as usual, pressing him within seconds of ¡®disengaging¡¯.
¡°He¡¯s a bully and an asshole Alec, he¡¯s not worth your time.¡±
¡°Well, he¡¯s worth yours, and his words seem to hit pretty hard.¡± The blue-haired swordsman shot back, blocking three more strikes and hissing in pain as the blunt edge of Callum¡¯s wooden blade struck his forearm.
Odd. He¡¯d never lost a match through that method before, had Callum improved?
¡°Just¡don¡¯t worry about that, ok? My issue to solve, you don¡¯t need to push yourself to try and get involved.¡± Callum smiled regretfully, taking a few steps back and sliding into one of the starter stances of the Dragon-Scale style.
¡°Push myself?¡± Alec mumbled; an eyebrow raised in curiosity as he slid into his own stance.
Did he think that Alec¡¯s immediate response to trying to help was going to be violence? He knew that he couldn¡¯t exactly take Glenn on in a straight fight thanks to the way that he¡¯d shut down his attack on his lackey, he wasn¡¯t stupid enough to run into such a one-sided fight.
¡°You¡¯re not exactly a social guy, Alec.¡± Callum snorted, trying his absolute best to inject some levity back into the conversation as he shot forward.
The teen in question only pressed his lips thinly together and stepped forward, getting a surprised jerk to the side from Callum as he invaded his personal bubble far too quickly for him to get a proper strike off. The younger teen¡¯s blade only missing his armpit thanks to a quick, very panicked, dash to the side that nearly sent the green-haired young man to his ass.
¡°Yeah yeah, I get it.¡±
¡°Finally! I¡¯ve been wondering how to break the news to you for days now!¡± Callum crowed joyously, some of his regular exuberance filtering back into his movements as he re-engaged the Kairahlian teen once more.
¡®Well, I¡¯m about to get my ass kicked in a minute flat. But at least he¡¯s back on his feet¡metaphorically.¡¯
And, like clockwork, Alec¡¯s mental pause to correct himself led to him being laid out on the dirt within a couple seconds flat. His blue eyes focused on nothing but the sky as he blinked a couple times, a little stupefied despite himself.
He¡¯d expected himself to have at least been able to hold out for a minute, had Callum really pulled that far ahead in a couple weeks? He had to congratulate the young man, he really did, but as he went to get up a dark ¨Cinsidious¨C voice within his own mind piped up. A whisper that silenced a thousand shouts, a sharpness that sliced through a hundred castles, a ruthlessness that cleaved through a city of innocents.
If Callum has pulled this far ahead, how far has Blessed Catalyst progressed?
Like a golem syphoned of all its mana, the teen¡¯s body locked up. His eyes blank and unseeing and his mouth ever so slightly ajar as the realisation, the sheer unknowing estimation, struck him like a stake through the heart.
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He had no idea just how far Blessed Catalyst had gone in the nearly two months he had been gone. He had no idea what they had done, who they had met or how they had progressed. If he, the one that had the slowest development of the entire party, had ranked up within a month then that meant they would probably be somewhere in the mid-high [Iron-rank] range, wouldn¡¯t it? At the very least they would have learnt new techniques, probably about the existence of Magic Contracts and Power Stances too, and they were likely beginning to have enough party funds to actually start buying some quality gear.
¡®-if, of course, Angelica and Felicia haven¡¯t spent it all on mana-ink and religious iconography.¡¯ His own mental monologue cut in with an amused snort, finally giving him the last push he needed to actually zone back into reality.
¡°-ec!? Alec you ok man!? Holy crap you weren¡¯t responding for a real long time!¡± Callum exclaimed frantically, his hands waving all over the place as he knelt on the dirt beside him.
The green-haired young man looked about ready to cry at the idea that he might have actually injured Alec for real.
¡°I- Yeah no I¡¯m fine. I- I¡¯ll be back.¡± Alec muttered in reply, hopping to his feet and taking off two steps short of a dead sprint.
¡°Alec! Alec wait!¡± The shouts of Callum quickly turned to nothing but the whistling of the wind as he ran through the streets of Zenik, making a beeline for the Adventurer¡¯s Guild building.
The moment the building came into view he cut his sprinting into a brisk jog to avoid setting anyone off into high alert, hopping up two steps at a time and practically leaping through the open double doors. Blowing right past a familiar pearlescent haired young woman on his way to the small stand offering copies of World Quest.
His gaze scanned the covers of the magazines quickly, the teen utterly unaware of the confused and annoyed look Olivia shot at his back from his weird behaviour.
At the end of the day, Alec¡¯s weirdness was his problem and his alone, it¡¯s not like this was going to involve her. So, with a small huff and a roll of her eyes she looked away and started to climb the stairs.
¡°Here, the most recent copy. There¡¯s a section here for upcoming parties isn¡¯t there?¡± The teen muttered to himself, flipping through the pages rapidly.
Advertisement, advertisement, general warning from the Guild, upcoming parties, [Tungsten-rank] party clears large scale- Wait a moment.
Flipping back three pages, Alec sucked in a small breath, his blue orbs flying over the pages before stopping on a single point and widening.
It was a small blurb, really just a singular sentence tucked away in the corner of the page. Yet to Alec it felt like a punch in the gut, because it only proved how tunnel-visioned he¡¯d been; of how utterly na?ve he had been to believe that his friends wouldn¡¯t continue growing.
<[Iron-rank] Party ¡°Blessed Catalyst¡± continues to wrack up completed quests despite losing founding member.>
Alec didn¡¯t know how to feel. On the one hand he was incredibly happy for his friends that their efforts were finally being acknowledged and, likely, rewarded. On the other hand, the deep pit of self-disappointment was cold, oily and vast in its depth.
The realisation of what had occurred hit him like a freight train, his grip crumpling the magazine in his hands slightly and a quiet, hoarse, laugh leaving his lips as he tilted his head down.
¡®I did it again, didn¡¯t I? That vice of mine¡¡¯
That vice in question being what Angelica had affectionately referred to as ¡®gifted kid syndrome¡¯. Essentially, where his natural talents had let him coast for so long that he didn¡¯t know how to keep pushing and applying himself without some kind of outside factor. That first month after leaving his friends, he had Alexandar around to act as an external motivator and his nightmares another, less healthy, external motivator alongside him. But now Alexandar was gone and his nightmares, while not gone, had certainly diminished in quantity over the last few weeks, and unlike Peter, Felicia and Angelica he didn¡¯t have any kind of internal motivator that constantly pushed him.
The words of Alexandar and Calliope had filled in that particular blank for him; his friends all, in some way or another, enjoyed what they did.
Unlike them, however, the only internal motivator that he had was not being left behind by his friends. Which, he could at least recognise, was a very reactionary motivator and historically very, very bad at actually helping him keep up with them. Without those external motivators around, and his internal motivator temporarily pacified by his recent quest successes, he¡¯d started to grow complacent, and his work ethic had started to drop.
¡°Shit¡Shit. I¡¯m so fucking stupid¡¡± He muttered beneath his breath, burying his face in the cover of the World Quest magazine as he tried his best to keep a cool outward composure in the middle of this very public space.
¡°Oh? Is this a bad time, perchance?¡± A coy, feminine, voice snapped Alec out of his internal misery.
Eager to temporarily focus on anything except his minor self-loathing, the teen turned around only to freeze up in confusion.
It was that very same pearlescent haired woman that he¡¯d met before his quest to slay the Criten two weeks earlier, accompanied by a blindfolded orange-haired young man with a chronic slouch and a weariness that seeped through even with half of his face covered.
¡°I- Uh, No. Can I help you?¡± He asked a little awkwardly, trying to brush off his previous actions.
He wasn¡¯t ignoring them, that he promised himself, but right here and now wasn¡¯t exactly the best time to grapple with and attempt to rectify them.
¡°Well, my name is Noelle, and this is Gref.¡± The woman introduced herself with a shallow bow and getting a half-yawn half-wave in return from the young man.
¡°Well, you clearly already know who I am.¡± He said, quite callously if he was going to be honest with himself.
He wasn¡¯t in the best headspace right now and the reminder that this ¡®Noelle¡¯ knew him before he¡¯d introduced himself was far from calming.
¡°So, you do remember. Oh, how nice.¡± She smiled, clapping her hands together. ¡°Well I¡¯ve brought my friend-¡°
¡°Blackmailed slave.¡±
¡°-Gref here to help me with something. I was hoping to gain your assistance as well.¡± She smiled, unsuccessfully trying to hide the twitch in her eye at the blindfolded sloucher''s butted-in remark.
¡°And that would be?¡± He asked, crossing his arms and giving them both quite an unimpressed and suspicious look.
¡°Just a spell combination, nothing dangerous.¡± Noelle laughed, attempting to wave off his worries. ¡°I know that as the rival of my sister you¡¯ll at least be able to hold your own quite well.¡±
¡°Your sis- eh?¡± The teen stammered over himself, confusion evident.
Of course, his gut instinct was to go to Olivia, it was really all that he could think of. But she¡¯d also called him her ¡®rival¡¯ and he was very, extra sure by this stage that wasn¡¯t the relationship the two of them had.
¡°In fact¡ I saw her earlier and she¡¯ll be a great help as well. Gref you stay here with Alec and I¡¯ll go grab her.¡±
¡°Do I-¡°
¡°Yes. Yes you do~¡± She grinned, giving him a playful wink before running off to a set of stairs, leaving the two males all alone in the very busy building.
¡°¡¡±
¡°¡¡±
¡°Sooo¡.Anything interesting in that issue of World Quest?¡± Gref finally broke the silence, sounding like he¡¯d rather be doing anything else except talking to him.
Alec could relate.
¡®He can see through that thing? I thought he might have been blind¡¡¯
¡°Uh¡The party Sky¡¯s Liege just ranked up to Tungsten?¡±
¡°Huh, neat.¡±
¡°Yeah.¡±
¡°¡¡±
¡°¡¡±
Alright Alec was leaving, this was ridiculous.
¡°Noelle! Noelle let me go! I had a ques-¡° Olivia Kio exclaimed, tripping and stumbling behind the gently smiling older woman as she was dragged by her wrist, a quest poster clutched in her free hand.
Her exclamations and refusals, though, died the moment her eyes settled on Alec. A jumble of about six different emotions seeming to pass through her expression in the span of a single second and she seemed to sway like a drunkard for a second when Noelle finally let go of her; evidently having not expected the sudden lack of forward momentum.
¡°Alright! Here we are! Are you two ready?¡± Noelle asked, clapping her hands together once more.
¡°No.¡±
¡°No!¡±
Both Alec and Olivia, respectively, responded. Both teen¡¯s arms crossed over their chests and hard looks levied on Noelle.
¡°Oh, come now, one itty-bitty spell trial and I¡¯ll let you both go on your way afterwards, hm?¡±
¡°No.¡± Both teens responded, this time far more in-sync in both timing and volume.
¡°If you both agree, I might even agree to take you on a [Gold-rank] quest and share some of the payout with you. I¡¯m sure you both know how much that is.¡± The elder Kio sweetened the deal, getting a twitch from both of the teen¡¯s expressions as their walls began to crack.
Even 10% of a [Gold-rank] quest¡¯s minimum possible payout was well beyond what even the best [Iron-rank] quest could offer. This was, almost literally, a once in a lifetime opportunity for the both of them.
¡°I¡¯ll even hide that from mum and dad so that they don¡¯t come yelling at us and dock your allowance too, ¡®Via~¡± Noelle grinned, placing a single finger over her lips while winking.
The older woman¡¯s words only got a darkened glare from the teen before she closed her eyes, took a deep breath in, and then let it all out with a heavy sigh as she turned to look over at Alec.
¡°Just agree, Dius. She¡¯s going to keep pestering us until we agree. Fine, Noelle, you win.¡±
¡°Uh, I guess I agree too?¡±
¡°Awesome! Alright, you heard them gentlemen! I¡¯m all good!¡± Noelle called out, giving a thumbs up to three Guild employed guards that stared at the four of them silently as a magic circle lit up beneath their feet.
¡°Huh? A magic circle?¡± Alec unfurled his arms from their crossed position over his chest and held them out to his side as he looked around wildly.
From his side, Olivia just sighed once more and tilted her head with her eyes closed.
¡°Have you ever teleported before, Dius?¡±
¡°No!¡±
¡°Better hope you have a strong stomach.¡±
There was a flash of light over Alec¡¯s vision and the next thing he knew he was standing in an empty meadow, a slight feeling of vertigo washing over him.
Not quite strong enough to bring his breakfast back up but still strong enough to make his knees weak and his head a little fuzzy.
¡°Huh, you handled that better than I thought you would.¡± Olivia mumbled as she looked over at him.
She sounded a little disappointed, had she wanted him to vomit?
¡°Alright then, let¡¯s start with Olivia first, shall we?¡± Noelle suggested, a smile as sweet as honey across her expression.
¡°Yeah, I thought so. Alright, so what do I do?¡± She asked, taking a few steps forward.
¡°Not much, just make sure to stare into Gref¡¯s eye for me, ok?¡± Noelle instructed, bringing both of her hands together and curling both of her middle fingers down, a magic circle slowly beginning to form off to the side of the clearing.
A dark look passed across Olivia¡¯s expression as she saw the magic circle, her gaze quickly snapping back around to look at Gref, only to see one of his glowing, fractalized eyes staring at her with the other locking eyes with Noelle. Like a lizard both of his eyes looked in completely separate directions, a slight shudder going down the girl¡¯s spine at the sight that just seemed to stretch on for a full eternity.
¡°Hoh-ho. So, this is the creature you consider your greatest rival, Olivia?¡± Noelle asked with a raised eyebrow and a grin, her hands falling to her side as her gaze moved away from Gref and towards the magic circle she had made.
Like a moth drawn to a flame, both Alec¡¯s and Olivia¡¯s eyes moved in the same direction, their bodies tensing up at the light purple mana construct that stood there with a tensed body of its own and fully slit eyes.
There, made of glittered purple mana, stood a Wyvern with two strong wings and a well-toned body. Its head low to the ground and its teeth bared at the younger Kio with its wings spread out wide.
¡°Well, that¡¯s enough of that.¡± Noelle snorted, snapping her fingers and unravelling the construct in an instant, its roar of defiance silenced by the unravelling of its very throat before it all faded away into sparkles of light.
¡°What-¡.What was that?¡± Alec asked, blinking rapidly in shock a few times as he looked between the other three.
¡°My magic. My qualification is [Summoner] so I¡¯m especially good at summoning and creating mana constructs of actual creatures. I wanted to see if, using Gref¡¯s special eyes and my abilities, I could create a construct of an actual creature. Power, mannerisms and all.¡± She hummed, looking quite proud of herself.
¡°Why did you get rid of it?¡± Olivia growled, whipping on her sisters like she¡¯d stabbed her pet dog right in front of her.
¡°Because I just wanted to see if I could, ¡®Via. After Alec, I can always summon it again if you¡¯re that keen to fight it.¡± The older woman grinned, raising an eyebrow almost mockingly at the constipated expression that crossed her younger sister''s face.
¡°Well?¡± Noelle challenged, not saying anything as the younger girl just clenched her fists at her side and stomped over to Alec¡¯s side, almost as if using him as a human meat shield to deflect her elder sister¡¯s attention onto.
And it worked an absolute charm.
¡°Are you ready for your turn, Alec?¡± Noelle questioned, bringing her hands together once more and starting to form the magic circle.
And, just as Olivia had, Alec looked into Gref¡¯s lone eye. Jolting a little as he felt the sudden presence of something in his head that he could clearly tell didn¡¯t belong. Knowing the cause of that feeling helped to calm him down somewhat but he still couldn¡¯t shake the instinctual flexing of his muscles in preparation to move at a moment''s notice.
Idly though, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder what sort of creature would show up. Noelle had used the word ¡®rival¡¯ before hadn¡¯t she? What creature would be his rival? It would surely have to be a Criten, he couldn¡¯t think of anything else that fit the criteria.
¡°W-What the hell!?¡± Olivia¡¯s startled shout instantly caught Alec¡¯s attention, the teen looking away from Gref in an instant and whirling around with his hand on his blade.
And his gaze went up, and up, and up once more. A choked gasp came from Gref behind him that Alec never even heard, his hand sliding limply off the handle of his blade.
¡®This thing is what Dius considers to be his rival creature? How the hell does he expect to ever fight-¡® Olivia¡¯s red eyes turned onto Alec as the creature roared, vibrating the ground and shaking the trees.
The glittered purple plates of chitin over its form seemed as if they would deflect any weapon thrown its way, its long, massive form seemed large enough to crush even the Adventurer¡¯s Guild building, and the undulating rows of bone in its mouth looked strong enough to turn even a cube of iron to powder in seconds. She had no doubt that Noelle was hampering its magical capabilities, but even then, its magic felt overwhelmingly dense and all-encompassing, like an aura of pure, lethal power.
Alec¡¯s knees struck the ground, the rest of his body following numbly as all the strength in his body left him. His arms limp at his sides and his magic unwilling to move at all, like an abused puppy huddled in a corner to hide from an abusive owner. A cold sweat broke out across his entire body in an instant, his pupils thinning and expanding constantly at a rate that couldn¡¯t have been healthy in the slightest.
¡°Alec!¡± Olivia¡¯s voice reached his ears, but not his mind, static having overcome his every sense.
Another roar left the creature as its mouth aimed towards Alec, only for its form to unravel in an instant much the same as the Wyvern from earlier, the beast exploding into a shower of particles that didn¡¯t so much as get a twitch out of the teen.
Everyone in the clearing had been frightened by the creature, something which was plainly evident to all of them just from a simple glance. But none of them even came close to the catatonic, all-encompassing fear that currently had Alec in its clutches.
For the second time in his life, Alec had come face-to-face with a weakened Dune Worm, and yet again the creature had done nothing but wrap the ice-cold grip of pure, primal fear around Alec¡¯s heart.
A reminder that no matter how far he thought he had come, he hadn¡¯t even moved off the starting line when it came to the real world.
A new journey
Three Days Later
Tak! Tak! Tak!
The ephemeral roar of the Dune Worm echoed in his head, his muscles burned and one of his more worn shirts clung tightly to his torso with large dark patches running down its back and front; another two hidden under his arms until he raised them to bring his wooden blade back up once more.
Tak! Tak! Tak!
The sight of its dusty-brown chitin flashed across his vision and the memory of its mana beam weighed down on Alec like a pair of phantom hands shoving down on his shoulders. His breath came out in heavy pants and his chest heaved with each inhale and exhale, a couple strands of blue hair clumping to his forehead and neck uncomfortably.
Tak! Tak! Tak!
Alec hated this feeling, this feeling of weakness in his body from his exercise and the hot, sticky feeling of sweat that coated him from head to toe. He did and he always had. Over time, as he adventured more and was forced to actively fight for his life against creatures that wouldn¡¯t stop a killing blow if they found one, he¡¯d gotten used to actually being subject to it. A thousand leagues better than when he had been a child and didn¡¯t want to break a sweat training because it felt gross. Yet the fact still remained that he had never been a fan and even his current feelings on the matter still topped out at ¡®begrudging acceptance¡¯.
The stone-crushing ¡®clacking¡¯ of the Dune Worms ¡®teeth¡¯, if they could even be called that, echoed in his mind once more and he shivered; his blade clacked against the wooden training dummy another three times in quick succession.
But now he was almost left without a choice in the matter, the nightmares woke him up and his adrenaline left him antsy and with too much energy to just ignore. His mind forcing him to imagine how his friends would have handled such a creature, how they would react to these nightmares, and what they would do with the realisation that they were still so far behind in the world.
Tak! Tak! Tak!
He knew exactly what they would do too, beyond just generally training.
Angelica would be studying runes and experimenting with new spells, working on her mana reserves and efficiency.
Felicia would be looking further into Solyre and even other gods like Anputu [King of the Gods], Zetia [Goddess of the Twin-Continents], or even Aegian [God of Blades] for any hint on how to further her abilities as [Saintess] as she could, working on her magic much the same as Angelica and even going on pilgrimages if possible.
And finally, Peter would be learning every and any skill that he could be. Refining himself further and further and turning himself into even more of a jack-of-all-trades than he already was. Making his muscles stronger, his fire magic hotter, his reflexes more refined.
Peter would be¡
XXXxxxXXX
-Wanting to kill himself.
¡°Get. Up.¡±
¡°It''s only-¡° Peter cracked an eye open, deliberately looking straight past his glaring sister to the position of the sun out the window. ¡°Like 8am¡ish.¡±
¡°That is a perfectly normal time for people to get up, Peter.¡±
¡°But I¡¯m tireddddd! Come on, just a few more minutes?¡± He whined, hugging his pillow to his chest, leaving his head with nothing to lie on but the fairly hard mattress of the rented room he was staying in.
¡°The last time I gave you a ¡®few minutes¡¯ Felicia managed to get in an argument that nearly turned physical with a street preacher.¡±
¡°Fine, fine.¡± He groaned tiredly, sitting up with a yawn and running his fingers through his crimson hair as his other arm continued to loosely hug the pillow to his chest.
¡°Good.¡± Angelica huffed, crossing her arms with a very self-satisfied smirk on her face. ¡°If you aren¡¯t down in ten minutes we¡¯re going on this quest Felicia picked out without you.¡±
¡°Huh? Another quest? Why didn¡¯t you say that sooner!?¡± Peter yelped, leaping out of his bed and rushing towards his pack to grab his adventuring gear.
¡°Because you wouldn¡¯t have heard that while half asleep, idiot.¡± Angelica sighed, shaking her head and placing it in her hand before turning around to walk out of the room.
¡°I totally would¡¯ve!¡±
¡°Whatever you say.¡± His sister laughed, waving her hand dismissively as she walked out of the room.
XXXxxxXXX
Six Minutes Later
¡°I¡¯m here!¡± Peter announced exuberantly as he bounded over to his two companions, both of his fists planted on his hips.
¡°Took you long enough.¡± Felicia mumbled into a muffin that she took a small bite out of.
¡°You know that I struggle to get out of bed in the morning, Felicia¡¡± Peter replied sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.
¡°If you stopped going to bed so late that might not be an issue.¡±
¡°I get distracted training. I really think I¡¯m getting the hang of activating my Power Stance.¡± Peter said happily, making a small gesture with one hand as the other stayed on his hip and his weight shifted to rest on a single leg.
¡°Imagine needing to stay up so late to practise that.¡± Angelica whispered to Felicia, the both of them giggling at the only male left in the party for a moment.
¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure you¡¯re much better, you tried to pull a four-day all-nighter marathon when you first found out about Magical Contracts to investigate them.¡± The [Saintess] replied with the vaguest hint of a smug smirk, getting a dusting of pink over the Kroll girl¡¯s cheeks.
¡°Well, I didn¡¯t even know they existed! I needed to know more!¡± She tried to defend herself, clutching her rather simple staff defensively.
¡°Uh huh. Which is why we found you covered in ink-stains while staring, basically comatose, at a book on vegetables?¡± Felicia crossed her arms and raised a single eyebrow in amusement.
¡°I- That- Well-¡°
There was a sharp clap, drawing both girls¡¯ attention to Peter who gave the both of them an easy-going smile with his eyes closed.
¡°Ok ok, how about we just focus on the quest ok? It¡¯s been a few days since our last one and I¡¯m getting a little antsy.¡± Peter spoke, trying to sound calm and diplomatic.
Yet both young women knew him far, far too well to fall for such a deception. The both of them were able to see the not-so subtle hints of that very pent-up energy that seemed to just want to burst right out of the red-haired teen¡¯s very pores.
¡°And you don¡¯t even know what it is yet. You know that your need to keep moving is going to get you in some real trouble one day.¡± Angelica huffed, placing her own fists on her hips and leaning forward slightly, a disapproving look on her face.
¡°Like when Miss Vira took away my blade for a week for rushing in to fight that draken?¡± Peter shuddered at the memory, paling a little and hugging himself tightly.
¡°You know that it could be far worse than that, Peter.¡± Angelica scowled, slapping Peter¡¯s hand away when he tried to place it placatingly on her shoulder.
¡°Owww! I was just trying to lighten the mood, sorry.¡± He grumbled, waving his hand around a little.
Angelica didn¡¯t truly know if it actually hurt or if he was just playing along to give her some kind of ego boost and she didn¡¯t actually know if she wanted a confirmation at this stage.
¡°We have to go clear out a small ruin that was found outside Kret.¡± Felicia informed him, pulling out a small map that seemed to already be marked with the location in question, in the northern-most east end of Kairahl.
¡°That¡¯s¡.pretty close to the vianthian peninsula. Don¡¯t a lot of people go up there all the time?¡± Peter questioned his sister, rubbing his chin with his thumb and forefinger as he looked between her and the map.
¡°They do, it¡¯s a rather lucrative mining hot spot. Mana sensitive gemstones and metals can be found pretty much all over the coast and a fair way inland too.¡± She informed, ever the encyclopaedia of wherever the party needed to go.
¡°Followers of Thaum make pilgrimages to the peninsula on a fairly regular basis.¡± Felicia added in monotonously. ¡°If I remember correctly, the belief is that making the travel and following the guiding principles of their lord in a land so steeped in magic brings them ever closer to his greatness.¡±
¡°Though a couple countries still aren¡¯t very happy about that¡.¡± Angelica mumbled under her breath, purposefully making sure that her brother couldn¡¯t hear.
Not that he would have, anyways, since he was a bit too preoccupied with taking a large step over to Felicia with a teasing grin on his face and a hand cupped beside his ear.
¡°Oh, what¡¯s this I hear? The great [Saintess] Felicia pronouncing the greatness of a god other than Solyre?¡±
¡°Your attempt at a joke is noted.¡± Felicia deadpanned, raising a hand that sparked and lit on fire as if it simply sat beneath her skin, waiting to be released. ¡°And it is not appreciated.¡±
¡°Alright alright!¡± Peter leapt back a few steps and raised his arms in surrender. ¡°I get it, I get it. No mocking your love for Solyre.¡±
Felicia hummed while narrowing her eyes, recognizing the ¡®love¡¯ comment for the somewhat subtly buried joke that it actually was but deciding to let that one slide. The flames snuffed out in a small puff of black smoke and scattering embers.
¡°But in all seriousness, wouldn¡¯t we have already found and cleared a ruin out in a place like that?¡± Peter asked, straightening back out a little from his small, hunched surrender.
¡°From what little I know; it was found pretty deep underground.¡± Angelica huffed, swiping some hair out of her eyes as a small gust blew through the street. ¡°Not sure how or why though, the situation is still too new for any knowledge to reach anyone outside the Guild and a couple other groups.¡±
¡°Couldn¡¯t get anything from the Guild?¡± Her brother questioned, crossing his arms with a small frown.
¡°Nope, completely tight-lipped.¡±
¡°I was worried they were going to strip us of the quest with how hard she was pushing.¡± Felicia hummed, this time getting a small blush and averted gaze from the red-haired young woman in question.
¡°I just wanted to know¡¡±
¡°And that, dear Angelica, is your vice.¡± Peter sung smugly, only to yelp and swerve back when she whirled around on him with a glare.
¡°Let¡¯s start travelling alright? It''s already going to take 8 or 9 days to get there as is.¡±
¡°Alright.¡± Both siblings nodded solemnly, beginning to trudge after Felicia as she began to walk.
XXXxxxXXX
Four Days Later, Kairahl Countryside
¡°Peter you¡¯re still struggling to activate it just in general, are you sure that you want to attempt this?¡± Angelica asked, worry evident in her expression as her and Felicia stood facing Peter, their camp set up a few hundred metres to her left.
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¡°I know I can do this!¡± Peter nodded exuberantly, his stance wide and his arms pumped as he tried to convince the two of them. ¡°I can¡¯t just sit around and wait; I have to learn this as quickly as possible.¡±
¡°That may be true. But this method isn¡¯t exactly safe.¡± Felicia tacked on, clearly worried herself.
¡°Potato tomato.¡± Peter scoffed, waving a hand dismissively before smiling widely once more. ¡°With Felicia¡¯s help I¡¯ll be fine.¡±
¡°I¡¯m not omnipotent, Peter. There are plenty of things I can¡¯t heal. Lost limbs and organs being high on such a list.¡± Felicia said, a bit of heat entering her voice as she glared disapprovingly.
¡°Then I¡¯ll do my best to avoid injuries like that. But I really need your help, girls. Learning to do it in battle is going to increase my battle prowess to a whole new level!¡±
¡°Peter¡you¡¯re trying to rush this too much.¡± Angelica tried to reason with her brother.
¡°One time!¡±
Both girls froze in confusion at the sudden exclamation of the red-haired teen. One of his fingers raised to the sky with a deadly serious expression carved into his face.
¡°Go along with this one time. If it goes well, you¡¯ll agree to help me with it in the future. If it goes poorly¡.I¡¯ll never do this ever again, no matter how long I live. Deal?¡±
Both young women looked between each other before they began to quietly whisper between themselves, keeping it at a volume that Peter had absolutely no hope of hearing even a single word, let alone a whole sentence.
Not that he was particularly trying to, the red-haired male already performing a couple stretches and making sure that he was limbered up properly. His entire body bobbing up and down rhythmically as he bounced on the balls of his feet to get his blood flowing and heart pumping.
It definitely said something about his knowledge of both girls that he knew they would agree to his bet. Not because he made some kind of enlightened argument or because both of them genuinely believed that he would be ok in the end.
No, Peter knew that the both of them would agree for the sole reason of stopping him from ever attempting something like this in the future. A bet on their ability to overwhelm him to the point that they could reasonably say that it went poorly.
Peter knew all of this, and he didn¡¯t care in the slightest, he knew that he could do this. He had the utmost confidence that he could not only learn to consistently use the one Power Stance he knew but also that he could convince both the girls that he could be trusted to train like this.
¡°Fine.¡± Angelica huffed, her arms crossed and her glare almost sharp enough to cut him on its own.
¡°We¡¯ll go along with this plan of yours, Peter.¡± Felicia muttered, embers beginning to waft off her hair and palms.
¡°We say when this spar comes to an end.¡± Angelica added, her staff floating over from the campsite and into her hand, where the core began to faintly glow.
¡°Yeah. Sounds like a plan.¡± Peter said, still bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, pausing for just long enough to draw his blade completely from its sheath.
¡°We¡¯ll start when this rock hits the ground.¡± Angelica instructed, a small magic circle appearing over her staff and firing a golfball sized stone into the air.
The rock wasn¡¯t fired with any particularly powerful velocity, reaching the apex of its arc and hitting the ground in precisely 1.64 seconds. The ¡®dunk¡¯ of stone on stone seeming to echo for an eternity in the span of a single second.
Peter burst forward, his blade stopped in midair by a glowing barrier of white light before it could land true on Angelica¡¯s form.
¡®Felicia¡¯s barrier, no way I¡¯m breaking through that with a regular strike.¡¯ Peter felt a ripple of mana beneath his feet and leapt into the air, avoiding the myriad of needle-thin earthen spikes that erupted from the soil.
¡°Not yet!¡± Angelica exclaimed, the magic circle on the ground beneath her feet whirling and sliding into a new position.
Beads of brilliant light coalesced above Peter¡¯s head as he began to hang in the air, the earthen spikes rolling and conforming to each other until they¡¯d formed one much taller, much thicker, spike. Its sharpened point actively rose towards Peter as the beads of light reached critical mass and detonated; an instant, split-second duration, sun of white light appearing over the three teens.
Like a small meteor, Peter struck the earth and slid back. His feet gouging deep trenches in the earth until he was finally ground to a halt.
Both young women wanted to hope that such a quick combination attack would have gotten the red-haired party leader, but they both knew Peter and his stubbornness too much by now to expect such an easy victory.
¡°Wow!¡± The smoke that clung to his form slowly drifted away, showing that Peter had braced himself against the flat of his blade, using it as a makeshift shield with a few, ultimately, superficial burns along his arms and shoulders. ¡°Nice combo, girls. But if you think that¡¯ll be enough to stop me-¡°
A familiar string of runes, to the two ladies at least, flared to life over Peter¡¯s blade as he held it out towards the two of them once more. Brilliant orange flames flaring to life over the blade as he grinned widely at the two of them.
¡°Then we clearly haven¡¯t sparred enough!¡±
Felicia¡¯s response to his, ever so slightly, arrogant exclamation was a searing blade of light that hurled itself through the air towards him like a javelin.
¡®Here and now-¡® Peter flared the flames around his blade, shaping them in a specific pattern as he tried to get his stance perfect.
Angelica narrowed her eyes further and formed two cables of earth, held together purely by her magic, to lash out at Peter and force him out of his stance.
If Peter got his stance right, it would activate before she could pull him out of it. If he got it wrong, he¡¯d be at the mercy of Angelica¡¯s earth cables and Felicia¡¯s light blade without enough firepower to efficiently deal with both.
A bet on both sides.
¡®I¡¯ll get it right!¡¯ Peter began to swing forward, faltering for a fraction of a second as he realised that his stance had not, in fact, been right.
Both siblings had made bets, but Angelica¡¯s had proven to be far safer.
A cable wrapped around his right forearm and right shin respectively, hurling him into the air with a strangled cry, directly into Felicia¡¯s light blade.
However, even though he may not have been able to activate his Power Stance, the technique that it was derived from was still ready to go at a moment¡¯s notice.
A guttural cry washed over the two ladies as an arc of flames twice the size of Peter himself surged forward and struck Felicia¡¯s construct, detonating the both of them in midair, swallowing Peter in the proceeding fireball for the second time.
¡°The fights lasted for about two minutes by this stage and that¡¯s the second time he¡¯s been caught in a fireball. You know he¡¯s going to be complaining about burns all the way to the mines, right?¡± Angelica sighed, placing her head in her hand.
¡°I¡¯m not surprised. He¡¯s always been bad with burns.¡± Felicia hummed, getting a single glimpse of Peter flying towards them before he disappeared.
On pure instinct, both teens whirled around and launched themselves back. Neither one of them, for as confident as they were in dealing with Peter at a distance, wanted to be anywhere within striking range of their red-haired leader. Shields of crystallized mana and brilliant solar light flickered to life as Peter himself spun around amidst his hard landing.
A single foot slammed itself into the ground, his arms curled in a large swinging stance around his shoulder and his eyes blown wide in manic focus.
¡®This time! This time I¡¯ll get it!¡¯
Peter followed through with his swing after just enough hesitation to activate his Power Stance, throwing yet another arc of fire out towards the two ladies, clicking his tongue when he saw the flames harmlessly bounce off their shields.
He¡¯d failed to activate his Power Stance yet again.
Leaping towards the two ladies once more, Peter hit the ground and crouched low to avoid the fireball aimed at his shoulder. His right leg sliding out and knocking Felicia off her feet dramatically.
¡°A-¡±
White hair splayed over the ground like snow as Peter leapt backwards once more, a fireball on his tail.
¡°Did you think that would be all, Peter?¡± Angelica crowed, clenching her fist.
As if in the midst of destabilising, the fireball began to jitter and shake, Peter¡¯s eyes widening as the spell split into four smaller fireballs that exploded out from their point of origin and began to arc towards the red-haired [Warrior].
¡®How did she do that? There was no extra magic circle and the first one disappeared. A Magic Contract?¡¯
Two rapid strafes brought him out of the blast radius of the first two fireballs, a back cartwheel bringing him out of the way of the third and his own flaming blade striking the fourth. His teeth grit and his muscles strained as he tried to push back against the velocity and force of the spell.
Ordinarily a fireball, especially this size, shouldn¡¯t have been any issue for him to bat away or disperse. But with Angelica it was a different story, and that was all thanks to the attribute of her mana: Superiority. An attribute that was rather simple in its complete and utter merciless existence; the attribute of superiority made her mana better. Her mana was denser than it should be, faster than it should be, stronger than it should be.
With a flare of his own mana and a final swing of his blade, the fireball dispersed harmlessly, shorn to cinders by his own mana.
Unfortunately, while his own mana attribute of Power made it an effective way to overpower a spell when given a prolonged period to overwhelm it, Angelica¡¯s own mana was far tougher to break than the average persons and nearly as strong as his own in terms of pure, raw, power.
Not exactly a winning combination.
But it was that raw power that made his Power Stance that much more dangerous. The moment he could fire it off at will, he would have a powerful ace in his pocket, he just had to get the feeling right.
¡°Time to end this.¡± Felicia¡¯s voice washed over the two, six pillars of burning white energy crashing into the ground around Peter with a wide-eyed look from the teen.
¡®Felicia is calling on way more power than usual. If she keeps going, she¡¯s going to injure herself!¡¯
The flames around Peter¡¯s blade flickered and their colour shifted ever so slightly, his breath drawing in with a quick but controlled inhale. The six pillars around him began to connect to each other through horizontal bars that trapped him from escaping entirely, a well-known technique of the Church of Solyre: The Pillar of Repentance.
Once all three rings of horizontal bars connected themselves, the centre of the six pillars would be engulfed in the radiant energy of Solyre, or so the saying went. Peter didn¡¯t exactly have any plans to experience it himself, nor did he have any plans to allow Felicia to injure herself just to stop him.
He no longer had any kind of choice, it was either succeed on using his Power Stance right here and now, or he was calling an end to the training himself. His final chance, everything rode on this and his training.
¡°Remember the feeling¡¡± He muttered to himself, sliding into his stance as a magic circle appeared before Angelica, a regretful look in her eye as she powered up her own attack.
¡®I just wish you could learn a lesson without being so damn stubborn, Peter.¡¯ Runes and symbols whirled and transmuted in her magic circle, coming to their final resting place with a soft pulse of mana.
Peter breathed in deeply, and everything just seemed to click. He felt the mana of the world around him flow in like a tsunami through a crack in a rock-face and the flames of his blade exploded exponentially in size. He had finally done it, Peter had finally managed to activate his Power Stance in a fight, and now it was time to use it.
¡°Felicia! You can stop overloading yourself with power!¡± He yelled, taking a heavy step forward and heaving his blade in a large, heavy swing.
Like they were made of glass his arc of fire shattered the Pillar of Repentance, searing the grass beneath it and leaving a trail of fire along the ground in its wake. Its flight eating up the distance between itself and Angelica at a speed too fast for any of them to react, save of course for Angelica herself.
Her spell, which had already been actualizing itself even before his Power Stance had activated, burst to life in a frenzy of its own fire. Activating and destabilising in equal measure as she threw herself to the side with a healthy dosage of mana-infusion to her legs to get the necessary distance between herself and the explosion of fire that she knew would occur.
And occur it did, the arc of fire striking the compressed fireball and detonating both at once in a pillar of reds, oranges and yellows. Its power swirled lazily even as it spread a wave of fire over the grass nearby and flash burnt the skin of the three teens facing the epicentre.
And as quickly as it appeared it disappeared, the mana which had been its fuel running out and the flames no longer able to sustain themselves. A shaky, relieved, sigh leaving the lips of Angelica as she saw that the main danger itself, the fire tornado, had dissipated and left only small flames in its wake which she could easily deal with.
¡°Hehe.¡± Her pink-ish eyes whirled on her brother as she heard him laugh, his body turned to face Felicia as he gave her a big grin and a thumbs up. ¡°Activation of Inferno Strike has been completed!¡±
She wasn¡¯t sure what about it set her off, maybe his laugh, or his grin, or the general demeanour that he spoke to Felicia, who risked actual injury a few moments ago to stop him, but she just knew that her next action was correct.
Without mana this was certain to injure her hand more than his head, so she made sure to pack a fair amount of it into her open hand as she stalked up on her brother from behind. Her hand raised and her face shadowed by her hair.
¡°Felicia? What¡¯s the look fo-¡°
The palm of Angelica¡¯s open hand smacked into the back of Peter¡¯s head, immediately knocking him off his feet with a squawk of surprise from the teen in question, his body rolling until it hit a tree with a dull thump.
She knew that he wouldn¡¯t be seriously injured by her slap, he was still her brother after all, but that felt undeniably good after how stupid he had been.
¡°Angelicaaaaa! Whhhhhyyyy?¡±
¡°Suck it up, baby.¡± Felicia kicked him while he was down, sticking her tongue out at him.
¡°Felicia!?¡± Peter gasped, sitting up with a scandalised look.
¡°You complete idiot. Get over here so we can check you.¡± Angelica huffed, crossing her arms with an eye roll and gesturing him over with her head.
¡°I¡¯m not going to be slapped again for being stupid¡.right?¡±
¡°Slapped? No. But other punishments may await.¡±
¡°Can they¡not?¡±
¡°No.¡±
Ruinous Raid
9 Days Post-Kret
A large, rocky and topographically chaotic landscape stood before the three members of Blessed Catalyst. Rocks and trees coating the land in equal measure; blacks, browns and grays intermixed with various shades of green and soft blues as far as the eye could see.
At the very back, bored into the hard stone-face of the plateau that cut off the rest of the Vianthian peninsula, sat what appeared to be a mine entrance; unnaturally widened and very, very recently worked on based on the teen¡¯s own experience with the small mine near their hometown.
And in between that, and the three teens, sat a few hundred individuals. People of all ages, shapes, and sizes milling about or trying their best to move calmly through the chaos.
¡°Hey, so¡.how many other teams were sent on this same mission?¡± Peter asked, his eyes sliding back and forth as he clutched both straps of his backpack and dutifully marched forward.
¡°I¡¯m not sure¡¡± Angelica mumbled, her index finger curled and placed over her lips as she looked this way and that.
Adventurer, adventurer, knight, knight, high-ranking knight, civilian-
The internal categorizing just kept going and going, the red-haired female doing all that she could to note down as many individuals as she humanly could as the three of them walked.
¡®This is way¡way more than just a simple [Iron-rank] quest.¡¯
¡°Isn¡¯t that Red Panther?¡± Felicia asked, pointing at a group of adventurers sat around a cooking pot laughing together.
The newly promoted [Gold-rank] party seemed to be just as new to the scene as they were, given the way that one of them was still going through their pack for some gear.
For a party like them, who had been gaining more and more notoriety within both the Guild and World Quest, to be here as well spoke of something that the two girls were beginning to get a little worried over.
What was so special about these ruins that the Guild needed both this many people and this caliber of adventurers too? And if people like that were here, why was Blessed Catalyst?
As much as they liked that attention, like any other teenager put in their position ¨Cthey imagined¨C, this was clearly unusual.
¡°You¡¯re right, it is. I think I see Grembell over there too.¡± Angelica nodded, pointing in the direction of the [Tungsten-rank] party.
Unlike Red Panther, who were busy enjoying themselves and sorting out their gear, Grembell were a far calmer adventuring party. The three members making up its whole stood by a large boulder sticking out of the ground and seemed to be discussing something. Two of them shifted their weight from foot to foot as they made small hand movements to corroborate whatever it was they were saying.
The third, a young woman with long black hair that hung partially over her face, seemed to be making small comments while drawing something on the ground with a long stick. The three of them were unaware ¨Cor more probably just ignoring¨C of the many sets of eyes that sat upon them.
¡°Ohhh.¡± Felicia¡¯s mouth formed a small ¡®o¡¯ as she nodded her head quickly. ¡°They just completed a big raid recently, I read about it in World Quest.¡±
¡°That¡¯s right, that lesser dragon nest in southern Kairahl.¡± Angelica confirmed, crossing her arms and humming, ¡°I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d ever get to meet anyone like them in person.¡±
¡°Not meeting to look at them from afar.¡±
¡°Oh, you get what I mean.¡± Angelica groaned, rolling her eyes.
¡°Oh my gods!¡± Peter¡¯s, excited, yell snapped the girls out of their conversation, their gazes turned to him as he excitedly bounced on the spot and pointed ahead of them, towards the mine entrance.
So, curious about the red-haired teen¡¯s excitement, the two of them followed his pointed finger.
Pink and purple eyes widened in a unique mixture of amazement and complete and utter fear.
¡°No way¡¡±
¡°What is this quest¡?¡±
There, stood by the entrance to the mine talking to a civilian that none of the three teens could recognize, was a woman with hard green eyes and straight, silky white hair pulled up in a ponytail that dangled down to about her shoulders. Tight black pants that flared at mid-calf and black boots with wide, solid soles adorned her legs. Her upper torso was adorned in a button-up white shirt with three-quarter sleeves and a sleeveless vest as black as her pants done up over said shirt.
¡°Tristana Promethea¡¡± Angelica awed, her eyes seeming to shine just a little as she spoke the woman¡¯s name.
Tristana Promethea, the leader of the adventuring party Titan, and world-famous [Lunar-Warrior] currently stood not even a full eight hundred meters from the three members of Blessed Catalyst.
The [Platinum-rank] adventurer herself: The Beast Butcher.
XXXxxxXXX
¡®He¡¯s already caught up!?¡¯
Olivia¡¯s back foot slipped a few centimeters as the wooden blade of Alec crashed into her own, her teeth gritting as she pushed back to re-enter into her own offensive.
Somewhat ironically, for someone who willingly enrolled in an academy that taught the Dragon-Scale style, Olivia was far better at offense than defense. Despite that, she had thought that her defense was still plenty good enough, especially when compared to the other ¨Cmore experienced¨C students within the academy.
And up until just this moment, she had thought of herself as the undisputed greatest within the newer crop of students.
¡®I understand that I¡¯d only gained a few days lead on him, but it''s not like I stopped training either!¡¯
Offense and Defense in equal measure, that was the best way to describe the two teens as they danced this way and that, practically forcing the other students to cordon off a section of the trainarium for them specifically.
¡°You¡¯ve gotten better, Olivia. I nearly missed that last jab.¡± Alec said, deflecting her blade and twirling his blade back up to knock away the return slash that she sent at him.
¡°I don¡¯t need your praise.¡± She replied in return.
She had wanted to come out on top in a fair environment, that was still undeniably true, but the fact that he had even caught back up in the first place was beginning to annoy her. She understood, from a logical point of view, that it was simply a matter of a couple of weeks of training and that different people learned different things at different speeds. Yet that didn¡¯t stop her emotionally from feeling like his catching back up was a direct slap in the face of her own efforts.
Why bother trying when a real genius is just going to overtake you?
That was the question that the dark, traitorous, part of Olivia¡¯s mind couldn¡¯t help but sneer whenever she found herself just coming short of where she wanted to be.
However, she refused to let that voice, her families thoughts, get one up on her. She refused to let herself fall to such baseless, cutthroat insecurities. She would get better, she would prove herself as better, and she would come out on top of not only Alec but everyone else who had ever put those thoughts in her head in the first place.
The first step in doing that was to make a solid distance between her and Alec and maintain said distance.
Thwack!
¡°Agh! Damn. You win¡¡± Alec grumbled, waving his arm as a red mark began to appear over his forearm, his expression twisting and morphing as he tilted his head down to look at himself.
¡®Ah, that¡¯s right.¡¯
Olivia felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over her, the burning desire in her quenched and quieted as she watched her fellow student try to wave the stinging sensation out of his arm.
¡®Alec Dius is chasing something impossible too, that¡¯s what¡¯s spurring him forward.¡¯
¡°Again.¡±
¡°I¡¯m grabbing a drink, wait or find someone else.¡± She scoffed, turning around to go grab a drink to rehydrate herself after the rather fast-paced spar.
¡®Heh. We¡¯re pretty similar, aren¡¯t we?¡¯
XXXxxxXXX
The Next Morning, Vianthian Peninsula
¡°The natives are preparing a large-scale raid on Krinvoth, easily over a hundred combatants of varying strengths.¡± A figure with dark red skin spoke, knelt on a single knee behind another figure of the same skin tone.
The difference between the two was night and day, not just because of their differing genders but also because of the pure difference in height and muscle mass between them. The kneeling figure, one of eight including the figure that they knelt to, was decidedly a female of about 163cm in height with two horns curling out of her temples.
They were short and pointed straight back for a good 18cm but tightly spiraled, similarly to a corkscrew and just as sharp too.
The male figure that stood before her, on the other hand, was a monster of a man at about 193cm tall with thick black horns that curled out of his temples and came right back around to point forward at about the height of his Adam¡¯s apple, similar to a goat¡¯s horns.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
¡°Unsurprising, Krinvoth is an important ancestral home to the natives of this particular country.¡± The male snorted, his eyes locked on the mountain that sat above the ruins in question, a thick traveler¡¯s cloak fluttering in the wind.
¡°Is our Lord¡¯s power not influencing their decisions?¡±
¡°Our Lord is powerful, but the seal placed upon him is even more so. You haven¡¯t seen it before, but there is nothing of him that is allowed to escape, ambient or otherwise.¡±
¡°Then why come here now? Are we not just putting ourselves at unnecessary risk by revealing ourselves? There¡¯s only one more Forsaken Favoured left.¡±
¡°And that last Favoured is being guarded by their partner Favoured, don¡¯t forget. As much as it burns me to admit, our goal cannot be completed without the strength of our Lord.¡±
¡°Is our ¡®goal¡¯ even doing anything?¡± Another figure, leant against a tree, spoke up cynically. ¡°We¡¯ve been stuck in this cycle for centuries and all that ever happens is we murder them and once the proper Favoured croak, more pairs are born, and we go after the Forsaken¡¯s once again.¡±
¡°Our goal is maintaining this status quo.¡± The burly male grunted, not even shifting his gaze an inch but his displeasure more than evident. ¡°We may not be ¡®making ground¡¯ as you¡¯d call it, but we are still denying these natives true monsters upon which to refine themselves further.¡±
¡°I suppose that¡¯s true¡¡±
¡°Do not suppose, accept that it is true. We have never allowed one to escape our grasp, before or after our Lord¡¯s defeat, and we won¡¯t fail to do so now. Even if it means revealing ourselves to bring that same Lord back from his stasis.¡±
¡°Very poetic. How long did you practice that one?¡± The cynic by the tree snorted, getting a small tense of the burly man¡¯s shoulders.
¡°I didn¡¯t, actually. Now let¡¯s go. Even with our shortcuts it¡¯s going to take a while to descend all the way.¡±
¡°Aye aye, Captain.¡±
XXXxxxXXX
Meanwhile, Blessed Catalyst
¡°Well, it looks like we aren¡¯t exactly getting the brunt of the dangerous work,¡± Angelica muttered, reading through the small, mass-printed, pamphlet that had been handed out to all the adventurers a few minutes earlier.
¡°Aw, man¡I can¡¯t believe this.¡± Peter muttered, curled up on his side on the ground, sniffling dramatically as he hugged his knees to his chest.
¡°Preliminary surveillance has shown a lot of monsters the deeper you go into the ruins. Throwing [Iron-rank]¡¯s directly into combat only to be murdered by something too strong isn¡¯t the Guild¡¯s forte.¡± Felicia hummed, flipping through her own pamphlet.
¡°The monsters might not even be that dangerous!¡±
¡°On the other hand, they could all be too dangerous for us to handle.¡± Angelica shot her brother down once more, getting a loud, pitiful, whine from the red-haired teen.
¡°Being used as pack mules isn¡¯t fun either.¡± The [Saintess] muttered.
¡°Well, would you prefer this or not being a part of this raid at all?¡± The Kroll sister rolled her eyes. ¡°This is history in the making! And we¡¯re here, right now, getting to witness it first-hand!¡±
¡°I guess you¡¯re right¡¡± Peter grumbled, pushing himself back into a seated position and picking up his slightly crumpled pamphlet from the ground once more.
¡°Glad to see you finally listening to reason.¡±
¡°Hmph! Alec would totally agree with me!¡± Peter crossed his arms and huffed loudly.
¡°No, he wouldn¡¯t.¡± The ¨Csimultaneous¨C response from his sister and friend shut him down faster than any attack or insult ever could.
A strangled cry of pain left his lips as he fell onto his back, one hand in the air as if reaching for something.
¡°This¡pain. It¡¯s¡..too much!¡±
Both young women stared dryly at the antics of their party leader, their eyes slowly sliding to the sides to look at each other in silence.
¡°So,¡± Angelica spoke, turning to face Felicia once more. ¡°Do you think that using magic to help carry more should be our first option or should we try and play it by ear?¡±
¡°By ear.¡± Felicia nodded, turned to face away from Peter and towards Angelica, ¡°For all we know we could be carrying moss samples or something like that, no point wasting mana if that¡¯s the case.¡±
¡°H-Hey! You¡¯re ignoring me!¡±
¡°You have a good point; do we even know what it is that we might be carrying in and out? I can¡¯t imagine they¡¯re going to be trying to deconstruct the ruins while we¡¯re all still in there.¡±
¡°Moss, rocks, minerals, shiny things.¡± Felicia listed off dryly, tapping a finger on her left hand with each successive idea she rattled off.
¡°Hello!¡± All three teens jumped a little at the exuberant shout, though while both Peter and Angelica let out small yelps, Felicia only jolted on the spot like a spooked cat.
The shout in question came from a rather interesting-looking young lady. Her brown hair was done up in a professional-looking bun with some large circular glasses resting atop the bridge of her nose and a few freckles across her cheeks. Her clothing was professional with some minor padding built into the pants and jacket, based on Peter¡¯s relatively inexperienced eye, and a lanyard hung from her neck with a rather familiar symbol stamped on the left side of the card that hung from it.
¡°Oop! Sorry! I didn¡¯t mean to frighten you all, I¡¯m just so excited. You¡¯re Blessed Catalyst, right? Peter, Angelica, and Felicia?¡±
¡°That¡¯s¡us. Do we know you?¡± Angelica asked, one eyebrow raised, and her forearms rested on her knees.
¡°Oh! No probably not. My name¡¯s Haley, nice to meet you all. I¡¯m an on-field reporter with the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡±
¡°Ohhh! The cataloguers.¡± Felicia nodded, a fist lightly landing in her palm.
¡°That¡¯d be me! Uh- Us? That¡¯s right.¡± Haley finally decided, a sheepish laugh leaving her as she rubbed her arm unconsciously.
Peter would have liked to chime into the conversation, unfortunately, his attention had been grabbed by Haley before he¡¯d even realized it and he had now zoned out.
It wasn¡¯t like a charm spell, or that she was somehow the walking personification of all his personal tastes in a woman; no, it was nothing as clich¨¦ as that. It was simply just a matter of Haley¡¯s unique mixture of appearance and actions that happened to catch his attention.
The fact that he didn¡¯t have any experience with girls his own age outside of the orphanage was certainly a large part of why he zoned out as much as he did. Though he¡¯d rather go this entire quest without fighting a single thing than admit as much.
¡°I see, what brings you over?¡± Angelica asked, an amused smile crossing her features and one of her eyebrows raised.
¡°Oh! I was hoping that I could shadow the three of you on this quest today?¡± The woman asked respectfully, bowing just a little as she did so.
Angelica opened her mouth to speak once more, only to snap it closed with an audible clack as she heard a small squeak from her brother. Like a predator tracking its prey, the girl¡¯s eyes locked onto her brother with all the speed and suddenness of a bolt of lightning.
¡°OW! What was that for Angelica!?¡± Peter hissed, clutching and rubbing his shin as his sister huffed and looked away from him, crossing the leg that had just struck him over her other.
¡°Maybe try not staring?¡±
¡°Ah- I¡¯m¡sorry.¡± He muttered in defeat, his cheeks going slightly red as he realized that his sister had just caught him staring at a girl; innocent intentions or not, it was just embarrassing.
¡°That should be fine.¡± Felicia finally answered the slightly flustered reporter, who had caught onto what was happening just a second or two after Angelica¡¯s kick.
¡°T-Thank you. I¡¯m really glad!¡± Haley quickly shook off the moment though, her small but bright smile returning as quickly as it had left. ¡°I always enjoy doing stories on upcoming newbies and you three are rising through the ranks pretty quickly for such a small party.¡±
¡°Oh, thank you.¡±
¡°Cause we¡¯re awesome.¡±
The simultaneous answers from both Angelica and Felicia got a startled, wide-eyed blink from the spectacled girl before she giggled into her hand.
¡°Well, I can¡¯t say that that¡¯s wrong per se. But you shouldn¡¯t get a big head. After all, who knooooows what I¡¯ll end up putting in my report.¡± Haley hummed, crossing her arms and puffing her chest out as Felicia¡¯s flat expression drooped slightly and she clasped both of her hands together.
¡°Can you, uh, fight? It¡¯d be sort of silly to not know that going in¡¡± Peter pointed out, getting a happy smile from his sister.
¡°Oh yes! I¡¯m a [Silver-rank] adventurer myself. I¡¯m not the greatest when it comes to melee, but I have a few spells that I¡¯m handy with.¡± Haley informed them all, raising a hand and creating a small floating crystal of ice above it.
¡°Oh wow, your usage of ice-based magic is very efficient. I didn¡¯t even feel the air cool down until the crystal was already in your palm.¡± Angelica awed, leaned in closer to gaze at the crystal from every possible angle, stars in her eyes.
¡°Oh, thank you. The attribute of my mana is ¡®cold¡¯, so ice magic has always been a lot easier for me to grasp.¡± Haley explained, creating a second crystal in her other hand and making both of them begin floating around Angelica lazily.
¡°I see, that makes sense. None of our attributes really do the same thing.¡±
¡°Ehhhh.¡± Felicia hummed, wiggling her hand back and forth while tilting her head.
¡°Well, I suppose that yours helps heat up the power you get from Solyre even more, Felicia. But I wouldn¡¯t say it''s exactly the same.¡± Angelica tried to explain, bracing one elbow with her hand and making a small gesture towards her friend.
¡°True. I get to cheat.¡± Felicia hummed, a small twitch in Angelica¡¯s eye letting the white-haired teen know that she¡¯d managed to successfully annoy the [High-Sorcerer].
¡°Why must you always say that? We all know that it¡¯s simply just separate-¡°
BBBBWWWWWOOOOOOOMMMMMM!
Everyone juttered to a halt, their eyes wide and hearts beating in their ears. Murmurs spread throughout the massive, multi-hundred-person camp as everyone turned toward the loud, low-frequency, sound of the horn that had just been blown.
There, stood atop the refurbished entrance to the mine that they would all soon have to enter, stood the Beast Butcher herself, Tristana Promethea.
¡°Can everybody hear me?¡± Her voice echoed over the entire camp unnaturally, sounding like she was only a few meters away even to the members of Blessed Catalyst; who sat over 500 meters away from her.
A series of murmurs and shouts called out and the [Lunar-Warrior] rested her weight on one leg.
¡°Alright, excellent. So, the guild members here want me to give you all a little pep-talk as the only [Platinum-rank] here at this raid.¡±
¡°She is? What about the rest of her party?¡±
¡°Maybe the rest of Titan are busy doing something else?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t have much to say, this is a big operation but not exactly the most deadly. A little boring if you ask me but whatever.¡± Tristana sighed, her figure turning and leaning over to look at someone below her that none of the teens could see from their distance.
¡®Likely a guild official¡¡¯ Angelica thought to herself.
¡°Yeah yeah, I get it. Something actually motivational.¡± The woman¡¯s voice continued to transmit over the entire camp, a deadpan expression covering the three teen¡¯s faces at the first-hand experience of the legendary adventurer¡¯s personality.
¡°Well, how about this? This raid isn¡¯t exactly meant to be the deadliest in the entire world, but there¡¯s plenty of creepy-crawlies inside this ruin that have decided to try and make it their home. There are beasts in there of all shapes, sizes, and strengths, not to mention all of these guild reporters and officials around out here! All you adventurers worth your salt should know what that means, right?¡±
Her words were electric, and a tangible excitement began to fill the campsite like an energy being brought to the surface once deeply buried. Even the three teens of Blessed Catalyst were unable to escape its grasp. Their eyes widened and their muscles tensed ever so minutely, as if ready to act at a moment¡¯s notice.
¡°A chance for everyone here to prove themselves to the Guild, should you actually come across anything of course. So, all you lumps of fatty meat, if you come across anything fight worthy I want a showing that¡¯ll impress even me. And believe me, I¡¯ll be asking every reporter what they¡¯ve seen before this raid is done.¡±
With a brief sound of static, Tristana¡¯s voice finished broadcasting across the campsite, replaced instead by the droning voice of one of the guild officials who began to go over the entrance procedure for everyone entering the ruins.
Yet Peter heard none of it, his hand jittering slightly as he clenched it as tightly as possible. A wide, mostly excited yet still somewhat nervous, smile across his features and his eyes practically glowed with frenzied energy.
¡°Holy crap¡How could I ever dial the power back with a pep talk like that? Just you wait Tristana, if I fight something today I¡¯ll make sure you hear about it personally.¡±
Youthful Inexperience
Peter turned his head this way and that as the four of them travelled through the dimly lit caves heading towards the ruins. As one of the very few [Iron-rank] parties allowed to actually take the quest, they had been amongst the last to enter the mine, left at the back of the pack to make their way down at, pretty much, their own leisure.
It was understandable, even Peter could admit that much, since if there was something dangerous lying in wait ¨Cwhether beast, trap or otherwise¨C then you wanted somebody strong or skilled enough to handle it to come across it first. Instead of the far more dangerous, far more gruesome, alternative that was letting [Iron-rank¡¯s] like Blessed Catalyst go in first and get turned into potentially brand-new paintjobs for the ruins.
For as much as Peter complained about having to go near last and not getting to fight anything off the bat, even he stopped to shiver at the idea of that. He was excited to fight some ancient beasts, perhaps even some types lost to history; he was not excited to run head-first into an early death. More than just the fact that he would be, you know, dead he absolutely didn¡¯t want to go out without even being able to talk to Alec again; especially after the promise that he had forced the blue-haired teen to make before he left.
¡°Huh, this cave looked like it was pretty busy before¡all this.¡± Angelica suddenly spoke up, her voice petering off a bit at the end.
¡°The mana in this mine is quite concentrated, there were probably quite a few mana-infused crystals. Maybe even a few combates if they were really lucky.¡±
¡°Hmmm, given that the colloquial name for combates is ¡®battle lust crystals¡¯ I don¡¯t know if finding any without protection is really lucky.¡± Haley piped up enthusiastically from behind them, looking around herself while jotting something down in a small notepad held in her hands.
¡°Given the mana in this part of the cave they wouldn¡¯t have been very large. Only a couple broken bones per person that found it, I think.¡± Felicia hummed nonchalantly, missing the deadpan looks her friends gave her and the slightly fascinated look the Guild Reporter gave her.
¡°That¡¯s still too many.¡±
¡°Better than it could be.¡±
¡°I guess you¡¯re right¡¡± Peter muttered, averting his gaze and scratching the back of his head as the four of them began to go down a noticeable descent.
¡°Wow, I knew that the entrance to the ruins was deep but going down this decline really puts it into perspective.¡± Haley commented as she leaned back slightly on instinct to counterbalance herself against the steeper topography.
¡°Do you know how far?¡± Felicia asked, a thumb rubbing over a medallion of Solyre¡¯s symbol faintly.
¡°It¡¯s about 800 metres below the surface, and the ruins themselves are meant to go much, much further down than even that! Oh, the stories and things that we could find down there, it¡¯d be the scoop of the century!¡± Haley squealed, doing a few hops in excitement as the other three continued their trek below the surface.
¡°I can only imagine. Being a settlement on the Vianthian peninsula they likely had a very advanced understanding of magic too. There may even be things hidden here that we haven¡¯t been able to rediscover since.¡± Angelica tacked on; small stars in her eyes as she imagined the scenario that she, herself, had just described.
Slowly Peter leant over to Felicia, placing a hand beside his mouth to try and deflect his words away from the two excited young women as he spoke.
¡°I feel like you and I are the only ones not freaking out over these ruins¡¡±
Purple eyes only blinked slowly at Peter, as if in disbelief over his words. The young [Saintess] not quite positive that her childhood friend had just spoken the words that came out of his mouth.
However, she¡¯d never turn down a chance to make a fool of the red-haired adventurer, especially when he made it so easy for her.
¡°Oh look, a monster.¡± Her tone was as dry as fresh ash and her mannerisms ¨Cas she pointed further ahead to nothing at all¨C as stilted as a puppet in the hands of a small child.
Yet none of that mattered even slightly as Peter whirled around in the direction, she had pointed with his blade already drawn and gleaming in the dim light of Angelica¡¯s spell.
¡°Where!? I¡¯ll take it out now!¡±
¡®Now make that ¡®I¡¯ am the only one not freaking out. He just makes it so easy sometimes.¡¯
And so, the four of them continued to descend further into the rocky depths of the mine. Three of them active spitfires of excitement and intrigue while the fourth just watched in amusement.
Had they known what would happen later that exact same day, there was absolutely no doubt that such a happy scene would never have been so exuberant. But that¡¯s the thing about the future, no one ever knows it''s happening until it occurs, and that goes much the same for the members of Blessed Catalyst, once in a generation prodigies or not.
XXXxxxXXX
Three Hours Later, Krinvoth Ruins
The ruins of Krinvoth, even as high up as the members of Blessed Catalyst currently were, was a sight to behold even after being inside them for a solid two hours by this stage. Plants and crystals grew in near perfect harmony with each other as they coated spiralling staircases at least thirty metres wide with a cylindrical gap in the centre of the spiral at least 200 metres in diameter.
The reason for such a large gap in the spiral staircase became evident the moment that anyone deigned to look: a gigantic, sea-blue, crystal that sat suspended in midair.
Water cascaded down its form from its uppermost tip to the bottom where it practically gushed like a waterfall into a basin that then led further into the city itself. A source of fresh water unreliant on the natural topography of the land and unable to be tainted or ruined by natural disasters.
Not, however, an infinite source of water as Angelica had been quite eager to point out to the others amidst their descent of the staircase. Even well into their entrance of the city¡¯s ruins itself.
¡°It¡¯s just such a fascinating artefact! An Aqualis that large must have been the find of a century! No! A millennium!¡± Angelica gushed as she handed a small plant, plucked from the ground, over to her brother to stow away.
¡°Well, if its size has gone down as much as you said it had, I don¡¯t even know where they would have found such a thing¡¡± Peter muttered, shivering a little at the idea of an Aqualis about four or five times larger than the one they could currently see hovering in its place.
¡°Hmmm, if its anything like a Magmite crystal then one this large was probably found at the bottom of the ocean somewhere.¡± Felicia pointed out calmly, wading through a bush since she thought she had seen some speck of colour at its roots.
¡°Or a large lake.¡± Angelica tacked on, only to get a dismissive sound in return.
¡°A lake large enough to form an Aqualis of that size would definitely still be around, or the evidence of its existence would be super easy to see all around this area.¡±
¡°Hmmm, you¡¯re not wrong¡But that just makes it all the more impressive! I wonder how they managed to move it so far?¡±
¡°Well, supposedly the topography of the peninsula has changed rather drastically in the last few centuries, so it may not have been as far of a trip from the ocean to this city before¡.Well, this happened.¡± Haley said, trailing off a little as she gestured around at the ruins around them.
¡°That¡¯s true. Whatever did this was strong. [Platinum-rank] without a doubt.¡± Felicia nodded, disappearing into the bush that she was searching through entirely.
¡°I mean, an entire city sunk beneath the surface capable of moving and harnessing an Aqualis of that size as well as they did? That would have to be the minimum force required. I don¡¯t even think a natural disaster could ever get that bad¡¡± The Kroll sister pointed out, standing up and patting her knees off on instinct as she looked around for the next place to inspect in their collection of plants and items.
¡°Well, natural disasters affected by concentrations of mana can come close¡But that doesn¡¯t explain how everything is still in as good of a condition as it is. Or why its buried beneath the surface.¡± Haley hummed, crossing her arms and looking around.
Her words, and inquiries, held an undeniable grain of truth to them. For as much as the city and its infrastructure had fallen into disarray over the centuries that it had gone undiscovered and unmaintained it was still in remarkably good condition despite all that. At least at the highest point of the sunken metropolis where they currently stood, whether it was worse further in was difficult to tell.
This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
The idea that any damage was on the opposite side of the city was also a viable option as well, as the city was large enough to comfortably house hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions of people.
¡°Well, enough about that!¡± Peter suddenly proclaimed, clapping his hands together sharply.
Angelica could see some tenseness in his shoulders and in his expression. The idea of something being strong enough to wipe out or severely damage a city of this size must have put him on edge.
¡®Understandable. It makes me shiver just thinking about it¡¡¯
¡°I found something!¡± Felicia called out, popping out of the bush she was in like a jack-in-the-box with a strange bright red root held above her head.
¡°Ooooh! That looks interesting, in the bag!¡± Angelica grabbed the bag from her brother and held it out to their party member, getting a loud whine from the teen.
¡°Angelicaaaaa! Now I¡¯ve got nothing to d-¡°
Scree!
From the point of view of Haley, who relied primarily on mana enhancement to follow and keep up with the movements of [Iron-rank] adventurers and above, the speed that Peter moved at was almost like a flicker in reality. Only the briefest image of him in transit from his previous position to his newest one letting her know that he actually had moved the distance, and that he hadn¡¯t just decided to whip out the world''s new most powerful spell to cover a few metres of distance.
A rotted wooden wall ¨Conce something that she was sure the owners would have been proud of and admired for hours¨C exploded into planks of wood and shards of shrapnel thanks to Peter¡¯s sword. The screeches of beasts that Haley couldn¡¯t quite see from her position lit up the previous peacefulness of the city¡¯s ¡®entrance¡¯ and thick leather-like wings began to flap as they launched themselves out of the ruins and away from the red-haired teen¡¯s blade.
¡°What the hell are these things!?¡± Peter shouted, yelped and strafed to the side to avoid the large claws ¨Ctalons? ¨C of one of the beasts as it tried to divebomb him.
The beasts in question looked not too dissimilar to a bat, but above five times the size and with matted red fur over their head and abdomen and somewhat loose, pitch-black leathery skin. Their eyes a disconcerting milky-white and their ears about fifty percent larger than was comfortable to look at.
¡°I¡¯m¡.not entirely sure. Oooh do you think they¡¯re a new species!?¡± Angelica gasped excitedly, her staff appearing in her hand.
¡°They look similar to some bat-like beasts found in deep caves and other ruins but their colouring and body-proportions are unique!¡± Haley called out helpfully as she hopped back a few metres, not wanting to get in the way of such a prime opportunity to watch the three teens in action.
¡°Good enough.¡± Felicia¡¯s staff appeared in her hand much the same as Angelica¡¯s, her eyes glowing brighter with each moment that passed.
The first to start the battle, somewhat unsurprisingly, were the bat-like beasts.
A screech that seemed to echo off the ruins ripped itself out of the mouth of the closest beast to Peter, the air picking up and swirling around it as it began to flap its wings, charging directly towards the red-haired adventurer.
¡°Wind-based creatures? Interesting! Peter keep an eye on your flames, one wrong move and it could backsplash!¡± Angelica called out, magic circles lighting to life in front of both her and Felicia to block some of the faintly visible gusts of wind.
¡®Undoubtedly due to the mana comprising its form, without that it¡¯d be basically invisible.¡¯ Angelica let the thought pass through her mind without a second¡¯s hesitation so that it could finish its course and let more important matters take up precious processing seconds instead.
The charge of the first beast was easy to dodge for the party¡¯s leader, a light leap bringing him up and over the beast as it flew underneath him. In a spark of orange, flames lit up the blade of his sword in the middle of his leap, an excited grin on his face as he heaved his blade forward.
The arc of flames that spilled from his blade was far from the size or speed of his Power Stance, but that was to be expected considering that this was just the technique it was based on and not the Power Stance itself. Its flames ignited the winds beginning to swirl around the other beasts and violently expanded in a plume of light and heat that swallowed Peter whole before his feet could even touch the ground.
¡°AH!¡± Like a cannonball, the teen was flung back, colliding with the back of the first beast and sending the both of them into the ground in a chaotic blur of limbs, smoke and rocks.
¡°Peter! I told you to be careful!¡±
¡°Need healing?¡±
Haley could only blink owlishly at the wildly differing reactions from the two young women partied with the reckless red head before giggling quietly to herself. She wasn¡¯t too surprised to see such wild personalities, it seemed to be a staple of being an adventurer; some kind of quirk or personality defect that set you apart from those considered ¡®normal¡¯.
¡°Uuuggghhh! I¡¯m ok. I just wasn¡¯t expecting it to be that violent.¡± Peter waved off his sister''s worries, pushing himself off of the struggling beast before it screeched once more, its voice transforming into a twisting vortex of wind sent directly at the two mages.
The once again flaming blade of Peter was quick to bite into its head and neck, slaying it on the spot, but by then the vortex was already halfway towards Angelic and Felicia. Its twisting nature seeming to draw more and more wind into it, feeding itself and growing stronger on its way towards the two.
¡°Angelica, you handle that-¡° Felicia¡¯s words were cut off by even more whipping winds, cancelled out by a golden barrier of mana that appeared between them and the two ladies. ¡°And I¡¯ll keep the other ranged attacks off our backs.¡±
¡°You got it.¡± Angelica nodded her head, her pupils the size of pinpricks as she tried to take in as much of the wind vortex at once as humanly possible.
Of course, she could always just strengthen and increase the size of her barrier to block the vortex, that was a very realistic possibility. However, that idea was boring. She had what was, in effect, a brand-new spell before her and she wanted to add it to her arsenal. It was a simple process, so long as she knew the correct characters ¨Cshe did¨C then she just needed to put them together to get the exact same effect but with a reversed rotation to cancel it out.
A magic circle whirled to life before her outstretched palm, characters and rings appearing and disappearing at seemingly random before clicking into place with a soft glow. Only for a vortex half the size of Angelica herself to rip out of the opposing end of the magic circle, the slightly tinted winds of her own spell striking the rotating winds of the beast and cancelling it out in a large, continuous, burst of wind that nearly grounded all of the beasts and had Peter holding onto a chunk of debris to keep himself in place.
¡°YAY! IT WORKED!¡± Angelica yelled happily, so that she could be heard over the roaring winds, her vortex finally achieving victory over its rival as it came to an end, letting her rotating winds tear through the ruins and slice into most of the still living beasts in splashes of blood and pained screeches.
¡°Why do you always test things out mid-battle!?¡± Peter yelled out as he held his sword-wielding arm over his face to block against the winds even as they began to die down.
¡°Wha- You do the exact same thing!¡± Angelica yelled back; an accusatory finger pointed directly at him.
The sibling¡¯s argument, as amusing as it was for the two onlookers, was cut off by three beads of white-gold mana shooting between the two of them. They were fast but nothing impossible for either of them to follow, and their origin was as simple to deduce as breathing for the two teens.
¡°Felicia?¡± Angelica turned to give her a confused look.
¡°They¡¯re trying to run away.¡± Felicia huffed, clicking her tongue as the three beads detonated in balls of light and only one of the five remaining beasts dropped to the ground.
There was a yelp from both Kroll siblings before Peter shot forward, chasing after them without even a moment¡¯s hesitation.
Which, however, meant that the other three ladies were forced to chase after him as well to avoid being left behind.
Ruins turned into yet more ruins as they chased the bat-like beasts, vortexes of wind and arcs of flame heralding their arrival even before they arrived. Their journey brought them deeper and deeper into the sunken city and further from the ¡®entrance¡¯ as they kept moving.
The beasts, for all that their winds had the ability to damage any of the four of them quite easily, weren¡¯t the strongest creatures in existence. From what the four adventurers had seen they seemed to have high offensive power and rather lacked defensive power.
¡®They¡¯re probably ambush predators that use the darkness of the ruins to their advantage.¡¯ Haley mused as she leapt over a fallen pillar to follow Blessed Catalyst.
The ground beneath their feet turned from somewhat broken and chipped cobble streets to a large stone bridge that, while undoubtedly damaged by the ravages of time and battle-marks, still seemed to be standing tall and proud.
¡°Aaahhh dammit! Get back down here!¡± Peter hollered, waving his blade angrily in the air as the lack of buildings around them allowed the beasts to fly further into the air and spread out more.
An issue for all three teens, not just the mostly-melee oriented Peter.
¡°Peter! Stop running ahead without warning-¡° Angelica exclaimed as she came to a stop beside her brother, her breath coming out somewhat heavily as she hunched over a bit while trying to catch her breath.
¡®No! What are they doing!? Right here is-¡®
¡°DON¡¯T LET YOUR GUARD DOWN!¡± Haley¡¯s shout, as she ran up to the three of them with her mana-blazing, made the three teens jolt and turn to face her on instinct.
Above them, the three remaining beasts began to breathe in deeply. Only the quietest hiss of an inhale letting any of them catch onto what was happening.
Haley had seen the skills of the three teens first-hand, she knew that they were remarkable for their ranking. She knew that the three of them had talent and instincts above even that. However, she had been so busy jotting down notes and following after them that she had forgotten the most basic differences between them and herself.
Angelica¡¯s eyes widened in mild horror as she saw two of the vortexes closing in on the three of them, her magic circle only halfway through its formation. She was an idiot; she should have expected this. Of course, the beasts would strike back when it was advantageous to do so. She should have focused on slowing her brother down rather than-
¡°E-eh?¡± Her pink eyes softened a little at the sheen of ice that suddenly surrounded all of them, the arm suddenly around her waist tackling her and Felicia into Peter¡¯s side via the launched form of Haley.
¡°Everybody hang on tightly!¡±
Haley had forgotten one of the most basic differences between herself at [Silver-rank] and Blessed Catalyst at [Iron-rank], and that was ¨Cmost importantly¨C experience.
The three vortexes of wind carved into the bridge around Haley¡¯s hastily erected sphere of ice, carving through stone as easily as a knife could go through a leaf and shifting the dome further and further onto an axis until, finally, it could maintain its frozen grip on the previously flattened terrain of the bridge no longer.
Peter and Angelica¡¯s shouts bounced off the wall of the sphere they were trapped in as the four of them suddenly started to rise towards the ¡®roof¡¯ of the construct. Meanwhile, Haley and Felicia, knowing what was beneath the large bridge, simply tried to suck in the biggest breaths that they could and prepared themselves for impact.
And with a crack of ice and spray of water, the sphere struck the rapidly flowing water beneath the bridge and disappeared beneath its roiling surface.
Shadows within Shadows
¡°Hey hey! Great work you guys.¡± Tristana laughed, giving a thumbs up to the adventurers of Grembell as the twitching corpse of a furred creature ¨Chalfway between a lion and a bear¨C fell to the floor in two, distinctly separate pieces around their leader.
¡°Thank you, Miss Tristana!¡± One of the members, the only male of the three, called out with a sharp nod of his head and straightening of his posture.
¡®Military man, probably went from a knight-to-be program or a knight family into being an adventurer.¡¯ Tristana logged internally as she grinned toothily at the three of them.
¡°Yeah, you¡¯re welcome. You keep an eye on things up here and make sure that nothing gets deeper, kay?¡± She quasi-ordered, stepping closer to a steep drop-off further ahead.
¡°Will do. Is whatever¡¯s down there dangerous?¡± The leader, the young woman with long black hair, questioned.
Her expression was twisted ever so slightly in worry for the [Platinum-rank] adventurer, which Tristana could only internally scoff at.
Of course, she had no way of knowing what was at the bottom, even Tristana hadn¡¯t been told much before they¡¯d entered the mine, but the fact she had so little faith in a fighter of her caliber was vaguely insulting to the white-haired woman.
Though she wouldn¡¯t hold it against her, the unknown was always scarier than reality, after all.
¡°Hah! Come on, you know I can¡¯t say jack about what¡¯s down here. Talk to some of the Guild supervisors around here if you want that info.¡± Tristana crowed, swaggering to the edge of the drop, only the briefest light at the bottom letting her know the guild operatives had actually made their way to the bottom.
¡°If they¡¯re trying this hard to keep it a secret, I highly doubt they¡¯d tell us anything.¡±
¡°Yeah probably, they¡¯re all paranoid like that.¡± Tristana rolled her eyes before turning around to face the three of them.
¡°You three keep up the good work and let the other [Tungsten-rank]¡¯s know the same deal, ok? Nothing gets further down.¡±
¡°Understood.¡± The leader of Grembell nodded once more, turning her head to look behind her as the sound of heavy breathing echoed through the dimly lit ruins.
¡°Welp, looks like it¡¯s my time to go. Have fun!¡± Tristana grinned, giving them a two-finger salute before tipping backwards down the hole that was easily over 500 meters deep.
For a brief, peaceful, moment the woman just let herself enjoy the feeling of gravity pulling her faster and faster towards the ground and the wind rustling through her hair and clothes. It was a calm enjoyment, probably one of the few that she ¨Cas a person¨C actually had.
Though it couldn¡¯t last forever, and with a flow of magic into her body and a quick flip of her orientation and rotation, the woman hit the ground with a loud crack of stone and small shockwave of dust.
Walking out of the dust as if she had only jumped off the top of a table, and not a nearly universally agreed lethal fall height, the woman let her gaze wander as she walked.
All around her stood members of the Guild¡¯s ¡°Shadow Mooks¡±, as Tristana internally called them, doing various things from setting up lights and perimeters to actively taking samples of materials around them. These were the people that, for whatever reason, chose to work on things that the Guild didn¡¯t want to go public. Things that, whether for the greater safety of the general public or the Guild¡¯s own image, needed to be checked out with as much secrecy as was possible with this many people poking and prodding around the same area all at once.
Ironically, Tristana actually knew a few members of the Shadow Mooks that had been recruited specifically because they had managed to follow the clues and stumbled upon one of the various worksites they had had set up at the time.
Continuing her walk through the very obvious path that had been cleared out by the reconnaissance squad that had originally found the ruins, Tristana cleared a small low-hanging branch and whistled. The woman too focused on what she saw ahead of her to notice the way that several people around her jumped like spooked cats and reflexively held weapons out towards her.
Something which they were genuinely grateful for, considering that the last time a similar situation had happened, she had teased the poor operatives for the next six months about how jumpy they were.
¡°Ah, Promethea. You¡¯re finally here.¡± A middle-aged man with balding hair and a mild amount of heft to him called out, walking over to her with a small clipboard held in his hand and a quill etching something into the paper trapped into its grasp.
¡°Hey, you guys are all huddled down here, Keev. Not my fault that there¡¯s actually beasts that have to be dealt with up there.¡± She scoffed, getting a tired sigh from the man as he seemed to deflate just a little.
¡°I was not lambasting your arrival time, Promethea. I was merely making small talk.¡±
¡°Boo. Boring. Hit me with the interesting shit, like what exactly I¡¯m looking at.¡± She hummed; her green eyes still locked directly onto the point of interest itself.
A point of interest that seemed to be a humanoid figure with jagged horns curling out of their hair and large, bat-like wings spread wide behind them. Their skin, and everything on them, was a pale grey colour and completely unmoving yet seemed to be frozen in a state of struggle against the thick chains wrapped around its four limbs, neck, chest and wings. Probably the least interesting thing about the figure was their height, which even then sat at about 230 cm tall.
Though its not like they were standing straight up in such a state, so Tristana wasn¡¯t 100% certain on if that guess was correct or not.
¡°Well, while it looks like, for all intents and purposes, a statue. What you¡¯re currently staring at is a real, living, Asuran frozen in complete stasis from the time that the city fell, or perhaps even before that.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve never run across an Asuran before, but I¡¯ve read the reports on the few adventurers that have. They don¡¯t normally look this big and gnarly, right?¡± She questioned, resting her weight on one leg and crossing her arms under her bust.
¡°No. They normally exhibit horns or wings, not both. And their height falls primarily in the same range as a human, elf or beast-kin.¡±
¡°Hah! So, we¡¯re looking at some kind of Super Asuran then?¡± She joked, looking over at him.
It was probably a testament to how often they¡¯ve had to deal with each other that even in the face of his stone-faced expression of disappointment, her own expression of glee never faded for even a second.
¡°It seems so. Given the quality of the stasis it is trapped within, we can¡¯t tell how powerful it is. But given the quality of the stasis rituals set up, we can make some educated guesses.¡±
¡°Let me guess, we¡¯re looking at a [Platinum-rank] Asuran aren¡¯t we?¡± Tristana grunted, her gaze locked on the unmoving eyes of the creature, pupils shrunk and veins evident even in its grey-scale, frozen state.
¡°It¡¯s the only estimate that makes sense at this current moment. It¡¯s the only think that describes making fifteen separate stasis rituals all overlapped and working in tandem for a single living entity.¡±
¡°Fifteen?¡± Tristana gave Keev a confused look.
There was each individual chain wrapped around a portion of his body, eight in total, and then the wider ranging stasis field encompassing the entire Asuran itself. Which, unless Tristana had suffered some kind of concussion in recent memory that completely messed up every memory she had of how mathematics worked, added up to nine not fifteen.
¡°Yes, given the time that has passed since the fall of this city its only natural that the rituals would have degraded over time until they couldn¡¯t be maintained any longer. We¡¯ve found evidence of another six layers that, for various purposes, have fallen since their creation. Of course, the possibility of there having been more layers is always possible but unlikely.¡± Keev explained, stroking his chin as he looked over the Asuran, much like Tristana.
¡°If nine is enough to keep it in a stasis this strong, I highly doubt that they needed more than fifteen at its peak.¡± Tristana huffed, unfurling her arms as she took a few steps closer.
¡°I¡¯m glad you agree, Promethea.¡± Keev smiled, writing a few more notes down as he walked closer to the Asuran to stay by Tristana¡¯s side.
In response to him she merely huffed and rolled her eyes as she crouched by the boundary of the outer stasis field, resting one arm on her knee as she traced each character carved into the ground that made up the basis of the boundary.
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There was something here that didn¡¯t quite make sense, and she couldn¡¯t quite put her finger on it. Something that she remembered hearing back when she¡¯d been a gremlin of a teen smashing her way through adventurer after adventurer on her way to the next Big Rank.
Though whatever that was, she just couldn¡¯t bring to the surface currently. It had something to do with this whole ¡®Super Asuran trapped in a stasis field¡¯ situation though, of that she was absolutely certain. Yet which part of this situation it applied to slipped out of her grasp like sand caught in a net.
¡°Is there something about the boundary that interests you, Promethea?¡±
¡°Nothing in particular.¡± She lied as easily as she breathed, ¡°Just taking a look at its matrix to see if I could recreate it.¡±
¡°Of course, no doubt for some kind of combat technique.¡± Keev sighed, well aware what kind of person the [Lunar Warrior] before him was.
¡°What else? Besides, there¡¯s a few characters and symbols we¡¯ve created since the creation of this field that could streamline the process a bit and make it more combat viable, I reckon.¡±
¡°You just mean Fyi, don¡¯t you?¡±
¡°Of course I mean Fyi, Keev. Fyi makes every spell better.¡± She huffed in indignation as she stood up and pointed a finger at him accusatory.
Keev was hardly surprised to hear such a thing; Fyi, as a thaumaturgic character, was developed roughly 278 years ago and was remarkable in its ability to condense. Usually, in the case of turning a ritual like this stasis field into a combat viable technique, it was placed within the casting matrix of the magic circle. Turning what was previously a time-consuming ritual to cast into a simple action at the cost of its longevity and power without having to tear the spell apart and rebuild it from scratch in the first place.
Unsurprisingly, it was one of the most used thaumaturgic characters across all fields of magic since its creation.
¡°If you say so, Promethea. Now I need to supervise the rest of the operatives here.¡±
¡°Yeah yeah, off you go.¡± She muttered, waving him off belligerently before she turned around to continue looking over the stasis fields boundary.
¡®Now¡What exactly am I missing here?¡¯
XXXxxxXXX
Meanwhile, multiple layers upwards
¡°AAAAAHHHH!¡±
In a chaotic surge of water and tangled limbs, the three members of Blessed Catalyst ¨Cplus Haley¨C burst out of a cracked and dilapidated aqueduct and into a large pond that it had formed beneath it. The previously still blue water now going this way and that as the four of them struck its surface and shattered the previous calm equilibrium that it had managed to form over the who-knows-how-many centuries it had been here.
However, the impact and rushing water finally allowed the four of them to pull apart and regain their baring¡¯s enough to actually swim back to the surface.
The first to break the surface, rather fittingly, was Peter himself. A loud gasp leaving his mouth the moment that he had his head above the water and his arms and legs moving with quite a bit of force to keep him treading water with all his gear on him.
The next to rise to the surface was Haley, which Peter wasn¡¯t surprised to see in the slightest given what rank he knew her to be, though she was fairly quickly joined by his sister and friend as they both gasped for air at the exact same time.
¡°Is everyone ok?¡± Peter asked, his head on a rapid swivel as he looked between the three girls with worried looks.
¡°I¡¯m fine, just rattled.¡± Haley answered simply.
¡°Annoyed and wet.¡± Felicia muttered, clearly displeased with their current position.
¡°I¡¯m fine as well, maybe a bruise or two but that¡¯s it. Let¡¯s get up on that bank over there, I think I see a path leading away from here.¡± Angelica responded, flinging a hand out of the water to point at the bank in question and getting a loud cry from Peter as she flung some water in his eyes.
¡°Suck it up.¡± Felicia huffed, beginning to lazily swim to the bank in question, getting overtaken by the other three who seemed to be in much more of a hurry than her.
¡°Crap! I¡¯ve got stuff in here that the water is gonna ruin!¡± Peter yelped as he launched himself out of the water the moment he had solid ground within reach of his feet.
As quickly as he could, he began to pull all of his gear out of his bag, trying to separate papers and other more water-soluble items from everything else. He didn¡¯t have as much as Angelica and Felicia, he knew that for certain, but he still had more than a few items that he couldn¡¯t afford to have submerged in water for as long as he had.
¡°Girls! Are all of your- h-huh?¡± Peter¡¯s shout petered out with a confused mumble as his entire body slackened.
Swirling her hand in the air, with a small magic circle hovering over it, Angelica silently pulled droplets of water out of her clothes, hair and bag. A growing sphere of water hung perfectly still at her side, rippling and wobbling minutely with each and every drop that left her person and joined the greater whole that she was slowly forming.
At her side, with a rather displeased expression, Haley was currently using magic to slide thin sheets and spikes of ice off her herself and her gear. Shattering the ice to peel it off, telekinetically, with seemingly ludicrous ease before just letting it fall to her feet and rest on the damp soil that they stood on.
And behind them, only just making her way out of the water, Felicia hummed lowly. Like small hearths, her eyes glowed a dim golden-orange and steam began to waft off her form and off her possessions as well.
In the face of the three girls dealing with the problem so easily, and without even letting Peter know that they all had ways to easily deal with the issue, the red-haired teen could do nothing but kneel there silently. His eyes blank and his expression seemingly made of stone as he contemplated all of his choices in life that led to this current situation.
¡°Here, Peter. Let me handle that.¡± Angelica finally spoke, walking over and continuing her spell on Peter¡¯s gear.
For a moment, a brief few seconds, the teen considered making some kind of joke simply to try and get some childish revenge for the embarrassment at being the only one to freak out over his gear. In the end though, he just gave her a small smile and thanked her as he stood back up and stretched his arms above his head.
The fact that they¡¯d come out in an area as ¨Crelatively¨C safe as this was an absolute miracle. They¡¯d been at the complete mercy of the aqueducts through the city and if they hadn¡¯t gotten sucked into the very specific tunnel that led to this area, who knows where they would have wound up, or what might have happened to them.
¡°Man, what a lucky break that we managed to get out of that with only a few bumps, huh?¡± Peter laughed, getting a slight exhale from Felicia and a small smile from Haley.
The reporter would have preferred not to take the tumble in the first place, but the young team lead was absolutely correct in the fact that escaping with so little injury was the luckiest of lucky breaks.
¡°Mhm. But who knows where we are at the moment.¡± Haley sighed, trying to recover a mental map of their rough location in comparison to the bridge but utterly failing.
¡°Yeah, and its not like we¡¯ve managed to map out much of the ruins yet. Following the streets and paths was confusing enough. The aqueducts are sure to be much more sporadic than they were.¡± Angelica huffed, waving her hand and throwing the large sphere of water in the large pond with a loud ¡®plop!¡¯.
¡°Our only option is to go along that path there and hope that we run into some of the other teams deeper into the ruins.¡± Felicia stated simply, pointing in the direction of the path that connected to the bank that they currently stood on. ¡°I think we went a lot deeper than [Iron-rank]¡¯s like us are meant to go so we¡¯ll have to be careful.¡±
¡°If push comes to shove, I¡¯ll definitely help you guys.¡± Haley informed the three of them firmly, fixing some of her hair that had come loose from her ponytail.
¡°Alright! If we¡¯re all ready then, lets get going!¡± Peter cheered, trying to pick the mood of the three ladies back up as he grabbed his gear and slung his bag strap over his shoulder.
¡°You¡¯re such a child.¡± Felicia snorted quietly, getting a loud whine from her friend as the four of them started walking.
XXXxxxXXX
A cracked and broken chunk of wall slowly tipped forward; stopped from falling by the short-clawed, red-skinned hand that reached out of the shadows of the tunnel behind it.
¡°Alright, all of you out one by one. Remember, while combat is allowed it is to be avoided if at all possible. Understand?¡±
¡°Yes sir!¡± An average-height, but stocky, male nodded as he passed their leader as he held the stone wall.
Despite his stocky build, however, a good amount of muscle could be seen over his exposed arms and his steps were surprisingly light for a man of his size.
¡°Aye aye.¡± Another man, this one easily the tallest of the eight, with a very lanky build saluted casually as he ducked through the hole after their stockier companion.
¡°Yes sir.¡± A female, slightly taller than average but far from unnaturally so like the second of the eight, saluted far more strictly as she made her way out of the tunnel.
Her steps were tense and measured, covering the exact same amount of distance with each and every one, her posture perfectly upright.
¡°Whatever you say.¡± Another male scoffed as he made his way passed, the one that had raised objections to their plan earlier in the day before they had entered the ruin itself.
¡°Loud and clear.¡± A female, easily the shortest of the eight, said as she skipped past the leader and did a small twirl before hitting the ground, clearly enjoying herself as she smiled innocently at her compatriots.
¡°Mhm.¡± A somewhat tall male merely hummed as he nodded at their leader, his cloak well pinned to stop any unnecessary fluttering or movement and a blank black mask adorning his lower face.
¡°Yes, captain.¡± The last female of the eight ¨Cthe one that had spoken to their leader before entering¨C saluted seriously, far from the abject strictness of her earlier colleague but also far from the very casual nature of some of the others.
Tied to her waist, a thick leather bag was held, covered from top to bottom in magical runes and inscriptions that glowed faintly even right now. Their forms pulsed with low light as she moved, getting a small gulp from the young woman as she held the bag with her right hand to try and secure it more.
¡®No matter what, I can¡¯t agitate the key and ruin this bag before we get there. Just keep calm and stay steady. That¡¯s all you need to do¡¡¯
The runes pulsed dimly one last time before dying down, a bead of sweat trailing down her temple as she held the bag slightly tighter and took a deep breath while closing her eyes.
Slowly she opened them once more, her body uncoiling at the same time as their leader walked up behind her. His face twisted into a serious yet concerned expression at the same time as he grunted and gestured forward.
¡°Let¡¯s get moving.¡±
Danger and Opportunities
¡°So how far down do you think that aqueduct took us?¡± Peter asked as the four of them walked through the ruins.
Based on what he could see around him, it looked like they were currently walking through some kind of merchant or financial district. Carts, signs and buildings with large ground-floor windows surrounded the street they walked down, and twin ¨Cdried¨C aqueducts ran parallel to the street on either side. Small bridges and arches stretched from the street to the front doors of all the buildings.
Whether they be well made stone arches and mini-bridges or just simply planks of wood that looked ravaged by more than just the unhalting march of time.
¡°I¡¯d guess a couple hundred meters? The city seems to be on a downwards tilt starting from the water tower with the Aqualis crystal at the highest point.¡±
¡°Which makes sense.¡± Haley tacked on, holding her pointer finger in the air as she spoke. ¡°Given that the majority of the aqueducts seem to use only gravity to transport the water, where possible, it would make sense to put the tower at the highest point.¡±
¡°Precisely! It makes me wonder what they did before they managed to set up the Aqualis crystal. Perhaps just wells or ancient rivers?¡±
¡°Or just smaller crystals.¡± Felicia deadpanned, hopping over some debris from a crumbled building.
¡°That¡¯s also an option.¡± Haley giggled, before scrunching her face up in thought and scribbling something down in her small notepad.
¡°Jeez, we really did go pretty deep then. Not where Tristana would be though.¡± Peter commented morosely, clearly disappointed in the fact that he wouldn¡¯t get to show the legendary adventurer his skills personally.
¡°Peter. Your fanboy is showing.¡± Felicia grinned minutely, only seeming to take more joy in the way that his face lit up a bright red in response to her words.
¡°Sh-Shut up.¡± He mumbled, getting giggles from his sister and Haley ¨Ctwice the embarrassment for completely separate reasons¨C as he crossed his arms and hunched his back a little.
The laughter, and generally more vibrant atmosphere, around the three of them died out a second later, however, when Felicia clapped her hands together quietly.
From behind the gaps in her fingers, small beads of light began to filter out in the world and lazily float around them. The lights spread out more and more the further that they got from Felicia herself. Their brightness, enough for them to fully comprehend everything around them but not so bright as to hurt their darkness-adjusted eyes or distract them.
It was a simple action, a near silent one as well, but one that brought the other three back to reality. Reminded them of where they were and the stakes for getting complacent, of which they had already suffered and were lucky to have escaped relatively injury-less from.
¡°Anything?¡± Peter¡¯s question was joined with a cautious turn of his head, his eyes constantly moving to look for any kind of beast that could possibly be around them in hiding.
¡°Nothing so far. Just ruins¡and bodies.¡± Felicia mumbled, pressing her lips together firmly at the sight of so many corpses, long since decayed to nothing but bones and the occasional scrap of clothing.
It was something that all four of them had noticed as they walked, the increase in the number of bodies they could find strewn about the city streets and buildings. Back up at where they were meant to be stationed, they had come across two bodies in total over the two hours they had been there, and now they¡¯d be lucky to look in any direction that wasn¡¯t straight up and not see at least five.
¡°Do you think that one of the other teams has already been through here?¡± Haley pondered aloud as she looked around.
¡°You mean like Red Panther?¡± Felicia asked, tilting her head to the side ever so slightly.
¡°It¡¯s definitely possible. There¡¯s so much ambient mana in the air that I don¡¯t think I could tell any residuals apart, but they¡¯d be faster than us and got to enter the ruins before we did.¡± Angelica mused, rubbing her jaw with her thumb and forefinger as she thought it over.
¡°Though we can¡¯t rule out that we just haven¡¯t come across any yet.¡± Felicia reminded the other three, the incident on the bridge still fresh in her mind.
¡°That¡¯s true. At the end of the day, we need to just keep moving while keeping an eye out.¡± Peter sighed, clearly not happy with their circumstances but unable to think of any other option that they might have.
¡°Well, lead the way, oh great leader.¡± Felicia deadpanned, pointing a finger down the right fork of a street that was coming up ahead.
¡°Hm? Why that direction?¡± Haley questioned, leaning forward curiously to try and see if she could see or sense something that she may have missed beforehand.
¡°I can sense a cathedral.¡± Felicia gave the brunette a thumbs up before very lightly nudging Peter forward, getting a good-natured sigh from the teen.
¡°May I ask¡why?¡± The young woman asked hesitantly as they all continued walking.
¡°Felicia is a [Saintess], so she¡¯s always trying to visit churches and cathedrals.¡± Angelica began explaining, trying not to laugh as Haley began to scribble into her notepad in a blur of motion and paper flipping.
¡°Because they¡¯re interesting and getting in the good graces of the gods never hurts.¡± Felicia filled in the next part, looking away just in time to miss Haley beginning to scribble away on her notepad fast enough that Angelica was almost afraid it was going to light on fire.
¡°I see. Yeah, that totally makes sense, you seem to focus primarily on Solyre though, aren¡¯t you a follower of their teachings?¡±
¡°Mhm. But I¡¯m not bound to him like [Sun Saint]¡¯s are, he was just the only god we had a church for in our village. So, I learnt a lot about him growing up.¡± The white-haired girl answered as she ducked under a crumbled pillar that Peter helped lever up a little more for their convenience.
¡°Oh! I see.¡± Haley nodded quickly, ducking under the pillar just a moment after the [Saintess]. ¡°I¡¯m surprised though, usually someone can barely manage to handle the wishes of their primary god, let alone being able to appease and please multiple.¡±
¡°I think it has something to do with her qualification.¡± Angelica said tacked on, making the reporter whip her head toward her with gleaming eyes. ¡°Unlike other saint-based qualifications, such as [Sun Saint], [Magic Saint], or [Sword Saint] hers is broad and pretty all encompassing, like Peter¡¯s [Warrior]. There¡¯s a good chance that there¡¯s something about Felicia¡¯s mana, or maybe her body or psyche, that makes her especially malleable and useful to the gods.¡±
¡°Oh, that definitely sounds like it''s on the right track.¡± Haley nodded, ¡°One of my colleagues actually did a report a few years ago on a [War Saint] that had managed to establish a permanent connection with two separate gods, and their qualification is far from broad in category.¡±
Meanwhile, as this conversation was being had, Peter sidled up to Felicia¡¯s side and gently tapped her with his finger.
¡°So¡.Are you really ok with them just talking about you like that?¡±
¡°It¡¯s not like they¡¯re insulting me. There¡¯s no reason to care.¡± She shrugged, getting a small hum and shrug from the red-haired teen as well.
If Felicia had no issue with it and they weren¡¯t saying anything rude then who was he to stick his head into the situation?
A few minutes later, the party of four found themselves essentially breaking into a half-ruined cathedral with debris blocking the front door. The four of them hopping through an already broken and shattered window and entering the premises with only the echoing crunch of glass beneath their feet.
¡°I feel like I¡¯ve just committed some kind of heresy by entering a cathedral like that¡¡± Haley muttered, hugging herself and shivering slightly.
¡°Ah I¡¯m sure it¡¯s not that ba-¡° Peter began, starting to wave off Haley¡¯s worries with an easy smile.
¡°We probably did.¡± Felicia confirmed bluntly, getting a loud choking sound from Haley as she inhaled sharply and swallowed some spit involuntarily.
¡°Wha- r-really?¡± Peter paled himself, looking far less casual about the situation after the confirmation from his childhood friend.
¡°Though I don¡¯t know how much this particular god would care. Their influence is almost entirely depleted from this place.¡± The [Saintess] tacked on dryly, running her hands over a ruined pew silently as Peter and Haley both fell to their knees and sighed loudly in relief.
Felicia continued to walk around the dark, empty cathedral silently. Small balls of light floating around her with another quiet clap of her hands and finally filling the space with much needed light, allowing everyone to see exactly what sat inside the cathedral itself.
!!!!!
A small gasp left Angelica¡¯s mouth and Peter leapt to his feet in an instant, his eyes just as wide as his sisters and his skin just a few shades paler than was natural for the exuberant leader.
¡°This¡This shouldn¡¯t be like this. Not with the building still standing.¡± Haley muttered, slowly twisting herself onto her knees and placing a hand on the floor to steady herself as she rose to her feet.
All around them sat swords. Artwork, the real deal, murals and statues. Simple blades, elegant blades, ceremonial blades, and used blades. Murals of great battles, statues of elaborate and awe-striking blades, artwork of powerful men and women wielding their blade of choice and artwork of just the blades themselves.
All of these surrounded them from the floor to the ceiling and everything in between, a cathedral built and well-purposed for the sole love of nothing but the blade.
Yet, in this entire cathedral ¨Cfrom the entrance to the very back wall¨C not a single blade, art piece, statue or mural lay unruined. Every single blade was cracked and shattered; their hilts withered, and their sheath¡¯s frayed at the seams. Every single art piece torn, shattered or ruined with ugly blotches of colour so old that it would be impossible to separate it from the paints that made up the art itself. Every statue lay as rubble and dust at their base and every mural lay cracked, covered in craters and ruined with those exact same ugly blotches of colour.
This place, which had clearly been a place made to lovingly worship blades and all they represented, had been ruined and made a mockery of in every single way it possibly could have been, short of bringing the entire structure down. Not even the statue of the god the cathedral was built for ¨CFelicia guessed Aegian¨C had been spared, with only it''s incredibly large marble base even letting the four adventurers know that something had once existed there.
¡°W-What the hell is this¡?¡± Peter spun around, his head on such a constant swivel that he could feel himself growing dizzy.
Stolen novel; please report.
Yet even then he didn¡¯t dare stop, as if worried that if he stopped looking for even a moment, he would miss something that would make all this make sense.
¡°This¡isn¡¯t just from the city''s fall.¡± Felicia clenched her fist and bit her lip slightly as she looked around slowly, her eyes settling on where the statue of this cathedrals god should have been.
¡°Some kind of falling out? Maybe the people of this city were betrayed, or perceived a betrayal, from the god?¡± Haley tried to suggest, but even that suggestion felt weak.
Because, in brutal honesty, she didn¡¯t want it to be true. Because if that was true, if the people of the city vandalized a cathedral to this extent, then the simple fact of the matter is that the reason this city might have fallen could have been that god themselves.
The god¡¯s punishing people was far from an unheard-of occurrence, but there was limits as to what the punishment could be for a given slight. There should be limits as to what the punishment could be for a given slight. If this was all that was necessary for a god to be allowed to end an entire metropolis of this size¡?
Then it was only a matter of time before two [Platinum-rank] Saint¡¯s battled each other and did something that neither would walk away from. Something that was sure to make this all look like a cheap joke.
And that thought scared Haley, more than anything else she had ever come across in her entire life.
¡°No. It can¡¯t be¡The presence of the God would be far more permeated through-¡°
Peter¡¯s hand slapped over Felicia¡¯s mouth as silently as he could manage, getting confused looks from the others. His finger coming up to his lips silently in a shushing motion before he pointed in the direction of the broken window that they themselves had used to enter. The balls of light floating around them dimming out of existence as Felicia caught onto his meaning.
¡°-ill funny that he ever had a cathedral this extravagant.¡±
¡°Well times were different, perhaps he just stopped caring about the pomp and eye-catching nature of things like this.¡± The male said, clearly not caring much about his answer even as he said it.
¡°He¡¯s a God. There¡¯s no chance they¡¯d ever want to lose out on more attention and faith. Especially since we¡¯ve been-¡°
A hand grabbed the edge of the window and two feet landed agilely on the wooden portion of the broken architecture, their body tipping forward to continue their entrance into the cathedral before she caught sight of the four adventurers already inside. Her fiery bronze-coloured eyes widening in alarm as she noticed them, her features slackening just a little in surprise.
At her waist, a bag covered in hundreds of magical runes pulsed dimly with light at her sudden stop before darkening once more.
Before any of the teens could do anything, the girl in the window spoke, her eyes seeming to glow eerily in the darkness of the ruins.
¡°Well¡.This is unfortunate.¡±
XXXxxxXXX
Meanwhile, Dragon-Scale Academy
Alec panted quietly as the sounds of wood on wood, cries of pain and grunts of exertion washed over him, his hand curling and uncurling as he shook it at his side.
Yet again, he found himself in the courtyard opposite Callum, sparring the freckled young man at said young man¡¯s behest. His own impatience having allowed his opponent to score a hit on his hand, which led to his current predicament of trying to get the tingling feeling out of it from the force of the strike.
¡°Wow Alec! You¡¯re seriously getting better.¡± Callum congratulated the teen, smiling brightly as if he still wasn¡¯t the victor of pretty much every one of their fights.
¡°I still¡can¡¯t get past¡.your defenses.¡± The teen argued, finally letting his hand rest at his side as his other hand supported his weight on his training blade.
¡°Ah. Well¡Defense is sort of my thing.¡± Callum sheepishly admitted, scratching his cheek with a small laugh.
¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve noticed.¡± Alec snarked, starting to straighten back out as he got his breath back.
¡°Though¡¡± Callum opened his mouth to continue, only to freeze.
Quickly, his gaze fell to the floor and both of his fists tightened. A worried expression made its way across Alec¡¯s face as he prepared to ask Callum what, or more accurately who was bothering him ¨Cand if they¡¯d done so again recently¨C but before he could,
¡°Ah, here you are. I thought I might find you out here.¡± A jovial voice called out, making both males jolt and turn to look toward it.
¡°Headmaster Xyn!¡± Callum greeted, undeniably shocked to see the man out and about as he struggled to figure out how he should stand while addressing him.
It was honestly a little amusing to watch, seeing him go from a more casual stance to something far more military-esque to an at-ease stance and then some combination of casual and at-ease. His limbs flopping this way and that as his mental turbulence seemed to go straight to his motor-controls with no filter in sight.
¡°Headmaster Xyn.¡± On the other hand, Alec was far calmer in his address, merely giving the man a small nod as he approached.
Not because he had any less respect for the man and his position than Callum, definitely not, but because he had already spoken to the man once before and gotten a preliminary taste of his personality. Not to mention that it was just the slightest, tiniest, bit difficult to treat him with the same level of courtesy after he cut Alec¡¯s stomach open faster than the teen even had a chance to react to.
¡°Ah, don¡¯t be so stiff, neither of you are in trouble or anything. At least not from me or any of the staff.¡± He hummed, waving his hand dismissively.
¡°Phew!¡± Callum relaxed so quickly he nearly fell to the ground, wobbling unsteadily as he used his practice blade as a support to keep himself upright.
¡°That¡¯s good to know.¡± Alec merely sighed in relief, getting the smallest of chuckles from the headmaster as he raised an eyebrow.
¡°Were you expecting to be in trouble, Alec?¡± The man crossed his arms and rested his weight on one leg, a garbled sound leaving Callum¡¯s lips at the man¡¯s jesting question.
¡°No. I just couldn¡¯t help but get a bit nervous.¡±
¡°Yes, I can see how that would be.¡± Xyn nodded, cupping his chin between his thumb and index finger as his gaze wandered over the fairly silent and still training grounds.
¡®Ah, it had been so energetic and full of action beforehand. What a shame. I suppose this is what I get for accepting this position.¡¯
¡°Well, not that it matters.¡± Xyn suddenly announced, throwing his arms up in a shrug and turning his attention solely on Alec. ¡°Alec, mind following me?¡±
¡°Ah, uh, of course?¡± The teen nodded a little unsteadily, having not expected anything like this.
Callum was the more experienced, and more refined, student of the two. Unless he truly was in trouble for some reason and the headmaster had decided to lie to him, what reason would he have to go for the blue-haired teen instead of his freckled counterpart?
Giving a very unsure and confused wave to the spiky, green-haired young man he had been sparring with, the late teen began to follow after Xyn. His blade ¡®sheathed¡¯ through the leather loop at his waist as he followed the man, silent yet undeniably curious; trying his best not to let it show and maintain his composure even as the man seemed to take a nice, meandering path through the academy.
¡®I have to give Alec his props, I thought he would have cracked and made some kind of comment or asked a question by now. Perhaps our next pickup will offer me something more fun.¡¯ Xyn thought to himself, making an abrupt turn and grinning subtly as he caught Alec do a half-stumbled turn in the effort of following after him.
After a few minutes, Alec¡¯s expression began to furrow more and more in confusion as they not only headed into the dormitories but began to head directly for where his own room was located. Steadily they approached Alec¡¯s dorm, his door growing closer and closer before Xyn turned and knocked on a door.
Olivia Kio¡¯s door, to be exact.
¡°Hello. Can I help- H-headmaster!?¡± Olivia¡¯s hands suddenly grabbed the edge of the door and the frame at once as her eyes blew wide, her voice rising more than a few decibels in surprise.
¡°Ah, hello there Olivia. I appreciate the greeting, but I can hear you at your normal volume, no need to shout.¡± Xyn teased the girl, creating an embarrassed blush across her cheeks in return.
¡°I apologize Headmast- Dius?¡± Olivia blinked owlishly at her fellow trainee as he just gave a small, shaky, smile and wave at her from behind the headmaster''s back.
¡°Ah yes, I brought him along too because I have a proposition for the both of you. You aren¡¯t busy now, I¡¯m guessing?¡±
¡°No! Of course not, please lead the way, Headmaster.¡± She said quickly, grabbing her training blade from somewhere behind the door and stepping out into the hallway, closing the door smoothly behind her.
¡°Why gladly, Olivia.¡± Xyn laughed, turning on the heel of his foot and resuming his stroll down the hallway, now followed by the two newest trainees of the Dragon-Scale style.
An uncomfortable, for the teens, silence resumed as the stroll did. The two of them trying to keep their gazes locked straight ahead but failing as the lack of noise or anything stimulating began to get to them.
Slowly, Alec found his attention sliding to his left, his eyes naturally following suit, towards Olivia. About a second later, Olivia seemed to mirror him, her wandering eyes bringing her attention to Alec.
Quickly, the two of them looked away from each other, neither one of them wanting to admit to staring at the other, and more than a little knocked off-center by the headmaster¡¯s odd request and subsequent meandering.
However, try as they might, neither teen could stop their attention from drifting back to each other. Since, while neither teen wanted to admit it, the other was pretty much the only thing of stability they had within the academy walls, thanks to how often they had been forced to pair together.
With a raised eyebrow, Olivia cocked her head briefly in the direction of the headmaster¡¯s back ahead of them. Her expression falling flat when Alec just silently shrugged and shook his head.
Within a moment of contemplative silence, Olivia perked up and gestured to the sword at her hilt and then the sword at his, getting a pensive expression of Alec¡¯s own before he wobbled his hand from side to side and winced minutely.
Olivia silently sighed and massaged her forehead with the tips of her fingers, trying to see if she could figure out exactly why the headmaster had called for the two of them specifically. Raising her head once more, she brought both of her hands up to continue her silent communication with Alec.
¡°If you were both so curious, you could have just asked. But thanks for staying silent, we¡¯re finally here.¡± Xyn suddenly announced, making both teens freeze up, slight tints of red crossing their cheeks as they realized that they had been caught red-handed.
¡®This is the Headmaster¡¯s office, right? When did he start leading us here?¡¯ Olivia tried to go over the past few minutes in her mind, only to realize that she¡¯d been so focused on trying to figure out his intentions that she¡¯d stopped paying attention to her surroundings in their entirety.
At least a quick look over at Alec and his expression let her know that he was in the exact same boat as her.
¡°Both of you take a seat.¡± He offered cordially, walking around his desk to sit in his cushioned seat as both Alec and Olivia sat down in theirs.
The seats that they were offered were nice, undeniably so, but also far simpler in design and materials than that of the headmasters. Though neither teen was exactly expecting to be seated in the same kind of opulence as Xyn in his own office of all places.
¡°Now, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re both wondering why I brought you both here, right?¡±
¡°Yeah.¡± Alec nodded.
¡°Among other things, certainly.¡± Olivia nodded as well, her eye twitching slightly at the plain answer of her fellow trainee.
¡°Well, it¡¯s quite simple. I have an offer for the both of you. You¡¯re free to refuse if you wish, but hear me out first.¡± He raised his hands to placate the both of them just in case they decided to start bombarding him with questions.
Both teens, however, chose to stay silent as they waited for his proposal. A rather refreshing change of pace if Xyn had to say so.
Letting out a low, slow, breath he leant forward over his desk. His elbows came up to rest on the edge of the wooden top and his fingers interlaced loosely just below the level of his lips.
¡°I wish to offer the two of you private lessons with myself. You¡¯d still be free to take all the other lessons the Academy provides, but you¡¯d have the option of joining these special ones too.¡±
¡®We¡¯re seriously being offered-¡®
¡®-Lessons from the Headmaster himself?¡¯
Both teens tensed in their seats, their expressions going taught and beads of cold sweat forming on their temples as they realized exactly what was being offered to the two of them. An invisible aura, a weight unlike anything they¡¯d ever felt before, seemed to push itself down on their entire bodies and not a single speck of mana left the man himself.
¡°So¡.What do the two of you say?¡±
Reject Defeat!
Krinvoth Ruins, 10 Minutes Ago
¡°So, our destination is the Cathedral of Aegian, Captain Betaro?¡± The red skinned, horned woman asked, clutching the strap of the leather bag firmly to stop it from jostling around as much as possible.
¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. You¡¯ve never been here before, have you Elise?¡± The tallest of the group, Gryn, asked curiously, getting a small shake of her head.
¡°Not surprised. Some of us haven¡¯t been apart of this team for eons like you and the Captain.¡± The rebel of the group, Shun, snorted; rolling his eyes when he got multiple narrow-eyed glares and raising his hands in mock surrender.
¡°As a reminder, some of us that have been here for ¡®eons¡¯ are more than equipped enough to ship you right back to the village.¡± The strict looking woman, with her hair done up in a tight braid that rested over the front of her shoulder and short ¨C5 centimetres¨C, curved back horns, warned.
And Shun was more than aware that the woman, named Viole, would be willing to do so if he pushed any buttons too far. Apart from Captain Betaro, it was undeniable that she held the most sway out of the team of eight, being its Vice-Captain and all. However, knowing that she was willing to do so and accepting that she would do so are two entirely different things.
¡°Oh yeah, like anyone else is going to fill in for my position. We¡¯re swimming in new recruits that are able to leave the village.¡± Shun scoffed, yelping as a hand grabbed one of his horns and shook his head violently for a moment.
¡°Thank you, Elise.¡±
¡°You¡¯re welcome, Captain.¡± She nodded dutifully, letting go of Shun¡¯s horn and sticking her tongue out at him when both Betaro and Viole looked away.
¡°Wha- You cheeky little-¡°
¡°Silence.¡± The curt, snapped, order from their Captain ground the other seven of them to a halt, mana running to their ears and eyes as Betaro began to look left and right slowly.
Something had him cautious, and Elise truly had no wish to see what it was going to be. Especially in an area swarming with natives that absolutely wouldn¡¯t take kindly to them being here.
¡°Trained.¡± The cloaked male, Beez, murmured; their eyes locked on the distance, in a thin gap between two crumbled buildings.
¡°And closing in fast. We can¡¯t outrun that.¡± Viole spoke, her eyes narrowing in the same direction that Beez was looking.
¡°Then we won¡¯t. Elise, take Shun, Beatrice, and Gryn and continue heading to the Cathedral. We¡¯ll deal with this and take an alternate method to meet up with you further down.¡±
¡°Wha- Are you certain Captain?¡± Elise¡¯s face twisted in worry as she took a step forward, only to turn to stone as Betaro held a hand up toward her quickly, pausing her in her tracks.
¡°Okie dokie!¡± Beatrice saluted animatedly, the short, exuberant girl bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet.
¡°I gave you an order. Now, go.¡±
¡°Yes sir.¡± She gave a resolute nod before turning to her impromptu teammates and running off down a side-street, their steps following after hers as the remaining four members stood in their places silently.
¡°We should continue moving, Captain. It will no doubt alert whoever is approaching if we continue staying still.¡± Viole suggested, only to raise an eyebrow curiously when Betaro just sighed quietly in disappointment.
¡°I admire your dedication, Viole. But I told you all before, so long as our Lord is freed from his shackles then it does not matter if we reveal ourselves. Besides¡¡±
The ground beneath their feet began to rumble and the mana in the air began to jitter and jolt in excitement. The wind stirring ever so minutely in response to something that none of the four could yet see but could more than sense was approaching.
¡°..Looks like they were on high alert regardless. How careless of me.¡± Viole sighed, taking two steps back as the final member of their team, the stocky male known as Vethin, stepped in front of the other three firmly.
¡°Incoming.¡± Beez spoke, his singular word, all the party of four needed to kick themselves into high gear.
In a blur of speed, showered in dust and pieces of flying rubble as they burst through the wall of a building nearby, an armoured figure appeared. A large, thick bastard sword held over their shoulder with magic flaring over its form as their feet meet the ground, sparks flying into the air alongside dust and shards of stone.
¡°Whoever you are, leave this place at once!¡± A tower shield of thick, silvery-blue metal appeared in Vethin¡¯s hands, his body bulging slightly as his mana surged inside him.
The heavy bastard sword and the thick tower shield met in an explosion of mana and a shockwave. The ground beneath their feet carved away into the dust that streamed outwards from the two of them.
¡°You¡¯re strong!¡± Vethin¡¯s feet sunk half a centimetre into the rock beneath them as his armoured opponent began to actively push against him now that his inertia had been depleted.
¡°You will not get a second warning.¡±
An echoed clap was the only warning the other three red-skinned fighters got, another building exploding into a shotgun blast of rubble that bounced off the strengthened bodies of Betaro and Beez and stopped telekinetically in front of Viole.
¡®That¡¯s all? I expected more from such a prime opportun-¡®
¡°VIOLE!¡± The rough, callous hand of her Captain wrenching her to the floor by her shoulder was the only thing that registered in her mind for a moment.
It had been so quick, so unexpected amidst all the other sensory jumble around them that it had taken even her mind a moment to catch up to the reality of the present.
The drops of blood, flung over Betaro¡¯s shoulder by the very blade that cut a thin line through his pectorals, that landed on her face were the first things to finally register in her mind. His thick, black, blood trailing slowly down her face as she pushed herself to her feet. A magic circle forming in front of her outstretched hand just a moment after the third member of the attacking party leapt back.
¡°Captain. Are you alright?¡±
¡°I will be¡¡± Betaro huffed, the tips of his fingers ghosting over the skin around his wound.
¡°Bleeding.¡±
The word that he spoke was simple, done quickly and in a matter-of-fact tone. Yet the power behind it was undeniable, his words seeming to warp reality itself at his very whim.
Yet despite their confusion and hesitancy, the result of that power became apparent to the three adventurers the moment he moved his hand away from his injury, the thin but mildly deep cut sitting there, devoid of any blood.
¡°Neat power you got there.¡± The rocks and rubble that surrounded the three red-skinned fighters began to rattle and float.
An annoyed click of her tongue left Viole¡¯s mouth as the magic circle over her hand shattered and rebuilt itself in an entirely new formation.
¡°Mind telling me how it works before you¡¯re arrested?¡± The speaker was a young man, looking to be somewhere in his early twenties, with straight black hair cut fairly short and a rather simple mages staff held in one of his hands.
¡°Beez, handle the stealth operative. Viole, with me.¡±
¡°Mmm.¡±
¡°Understood.¡±
¡°Oh well. Red Panther, preferable capture.¡±
¡®It¡¯s four on three but we¡¯re still the ones left at a disadvantage. We¡¯ll hold them off for a few moments or until one of us is severely injured before making our retreat. That should give Elise and the others more than enough time to reach the cathedral and continue lower into the ruins.¡¯
Rubble clashed against rubble and metal crashed against metal as the unseen, unheard signal went off between the seven combatants. Their mana surged through their bodies and the air around them. Yet, while Red Panther saw this as merely an adventurer¡¯s duty, Betaro and his team knew what it truly was.
A side-story, a preamble to the real show that was to happen regardless of if they escaped this fight alive or not. Their true objective had already been accomplished, everything after that was just silver linings. Elise had gotten away with The Key, they had nothing else to worry about.
XXXxxxXXX
¡°Well¡.This is unfortunate.¡±
¡°¡Who are you?¡± Peter¡¯s grip on his blade tightened, his expression sharpening as the most likely scenario slowly made its way to the forefront of his mind.
¡°Woah, woah. Calm down. I¡¯m just an adventurer, like you.¡± Elise quickly said, hopping forward into the cathedral and raising her hands to be beside her head in a half-hearted surrender.
Shun, Gryn and Beatrice were quick to follow after her, their hands also in an identical form of surrender, though Shun¡¯s expression told them all they needed to know on what his thoughts were about that.
¡°Adventurer¡¯s like us? Really?¡± Angelica couldn¡¯t help but scoff a little.
As long as she could remember she had been surrounded by people of other races, to the point that she was fairly certain she could name somebody by name that she knew from almost every single race that existed in the Twin-Continents. Yet, in all her seventeen years of life, she had never ¨Cin stories or in reality¨C seen nor heard of a race with red skin and horns.
Who, or what, ever these four were, they weren¡¯t meant to be here. Angelica wasn¡¯t quite sure how she knew that, or where the confidence in that knowledge came from, but from the depths of her soul to the tips of her toes she knew that to be true.
¡°We are, I swear it.¡± Elise replied simply, looking for all the world to be telling the truth as she took a few steps forward.
¡°Want to try again?¡± Angelica warned, getting a curious but understanding look from Peter.
As much as he wanted to believe them too, even he had not escaped the unnaturally disconcerting feeling the four red-skinned figures in front of him did not belong. Almost like a compulsion from something he couldn¡¯t see, nor understand, that forced him to keep his guard up around them.
At her side, Shun pressed his lips together thinly and frowned at the tone of Angelica¡¯s warning and the cautious poses the four adventurers had taken. As far as he could see, the four of them had no reason to be this hostile towards them, so the fact they were was annoying to say the least.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Here they are, on a fool¡¯s errand to uphold a thousand-year tradition that was apparently so important that they couldn¡¯t allow even the slightest imperfection for a single generation and already they were hitting roadblocks. It felt like the Gods were trying to prove that Shun was right for doubting the ¡®holiness¡¯ of the tradition and how vital it actually was, and yet it seemed like he was the only one that saw the signs.
¡°Whatever do you mean?¡± Elise blinked owlishly and tilted her head to the side, trying to ignore the beating of her heart in her ears and the cold sweat that was forming over her hands and armpits.
The amount of pushback from the adventurers truly wasn¡¯t much of a surprise to her, they looked incredibly different from any native race and hadn¡¯t been in the adventurer¡¯s camp they had set up outside the mine the day before. But the fact that this was likely to turn physical, and fast it seemed, was the furthest thing from what she wanted that was possible.
The Key was a special item that had taken a long time for their village to procure and properly create, it wasn¡¯t exactly fragile enough for her to worry about its integrity. What she was worried about, though, was the potential for these adventurers to find out about its existence, which would pose more than one problem for the party of four.
¡°UUuuggghh! Enough of this!¡± Beatrice groaned loudly, dragging everyone¡¯s attention to her.
The smaller girl took two strong steps forward, massively accelerating with each one, before she launched herself high into the air. Curling her legs to increase the speed of her forward flip, space warped and shattered into the form of a large metallic hammer held in her right hand, joined soon by her left a little further down the shaft.
¡°Woah!¡± Peter tackled his sister out of the way as both Felicia and Haley threw up shields of magic to defend themselves.
Barely half a second after Peter made contact with his sister, and both of the mage¡¯s shields began to flicker to life, the large, flat surface of the red-skinned girl¡¯s hammer struck the cracked floor of the cathedral.
The ground beneath their feet cracked and burst into thousands of shards of stone and moss. The cracks racing across the floor in the time it took the magnitude of the strike to register in their minds; curving up at the vertical incline of the walls and supporting pillars and winding their way up only to stop just short of the ceiling itself. The entire building groaning and shifting ominously as the swirling wind from the strike itself finally died down inside. Beatrice using the momentum of her strike to leverage her hammer further into the disintegrated stone beneath her and flip herself up and forward, landing just behind the two mages with a devilish grin and a gleam in her bright yellow eyes.
¡°WHEW! What a strike that was, huh ladies?¡± She grinned, stepping forward and spinning at the same time, bringing her hammer up and around from its brief resting point on the ground.
Haley quickly spun around while launching herself away from Beatrice and back towards Peter and Angelica as best she could, used to having to manoeuvre away from enemies ¨Cusually Beasts¨C to put the martial fighters between her and them.
Felicia, meanwhile, leapt high into the air with a pulse of eye-wateringly bright mana in an instinctual attempt to keep away from the clearly melee-focused girl.
The heavy metal hammer swung clean through where both girls had been standing without hitting hide nor hair of either of them. Though instead of the disappointment or annoyance that Haley had been expecting, she only got another devilish grin instead.
A few metres above her, Felicia clapped her hands together to prepare a spell. Dimly the edges of her irises lit up like the moon during a solar eclipse, her mana swelled inside her as she kneaded it into the complex shapes and figures required for her spell.
¡°Dammit Beatrice.¡± Felicia¡¯s entire posture broke as she flinched instinctually at the voice that came from the air behind her, her concentration breaking a moment later as the bite of a small, sharp, blade surged through her back.
¡°Awww come on Shun! They were totally gonna attack first!¡±
¡°Shit! Felicia!¡± Peter crouched low and launched himself up to his friend and the newly revealed Shun.
Flames roared to life around his blade as he swung out at the red-skinned male. His strike fast and his aim true, at least before the chain that wrapped around his blade and tightened, clotheslining the teen thanks to the fact that he refused to let go of his blade.
¡°Yeah! Hold him still, Gryn!¡± Beatrice cackled, sprinting forward three steps before slamming her hammer into the ground.
Unlike the debilitating strike that had nearly brought the entire cathedral down on their heads from earlier, however, this time the ground seemed to almost bounce when she struck it. The sound of rubber stretching before snapping back into place filling the chaos-filled cathedral as the small girl rose to take the place of Shun and Felicia as they fell to the ground.
¡®Snowflakes?¡¯
A fractal magic circle, unlike anything Blessed Catalyst had ever seen in their lives, hung in the air before Haley. Its ice-blue form, sustained by the outstretched palm the reporter kept on it and frigid, moisture condensing fog spewed out the other side.
Its effects seemed harmless at first, merely cooling the moisture in the air and creating small beads of ice in the form of snowflakes that lazily floated through the air. The real danger, however, became blatantly apparent from the exact moment that the frigid air hit the magically constructed chain wrapped around Peter¡¯s blade and the small hammer-wielding girl in the air alongside him.
¡°Agh!¡± Both Peter and Beatrice hit the ground with heavy thuds and loud cracks of ice.
Peter landed on his feet, his flaming blade now free of the constricting chains as the metal links that had been touched by the frozen air shattered into hundreds of pieces upon hitting the ground. Beatrice, however, hit the ground with the entire right half of her body frozen in place. The damage negligible but the debilitating effect of Haley¡¯s spell on full display for everyone to see.
¡°Great job, Haley!¡± Angelica praised her, a vortex of cutting winds surging through the cathedral and forcing both parties away from each other.
¡°Three spellcasters and a single martial? Bit lopsided don¡¯t you think?¡± Shun grinned as he stood up from his crouch, wiping some dust off his cheek.
¡°Like you¡¯re one to talk! You have three mart- h-huh?¡± Peter blinked a couple times before swivelling his head this way and that.
There had been a fourth member with them, the woman that had first entered the cathedral through the window. Where was she? Was she also a cloak and dagger type like the ¡®Shun¡¯ that stood beside the hammer-wielding girl?
If so, he couldn¡¯t sense her; which was worrying for more reason than one. Wait- no. There she was, heading towards¡the broken platform at the back?
¡®Come on Elise. Just enter the tunnel quickly and keep going! Leave us behind!¡¯ Gryn thought anxiously, using a spell to quickly reconstitute the lengths of chain Haley had broken and attaching the ends of them to two short swords that warped into his hands.
¡°THE OTHER GIRL IS TRYING TO ESCAPE!¡± Peter¡¯s cry seemed to echo through the entire cathedral hundreds of times over, freezing all seven other occupants in their tracks.
The fastest to act was Peter, being the one to have noticed the disappearance of Elise in the first place. The red-haired teen launching himself in her direction.
The next fastest were Elise and Shun in tandem, Elise making a break for the tunnel that Blessed Catalyst still had yet to discover and Shun flinging himself in the direction of Peter to block his charge off.
Following this, Angelica, Haley, Gryn and Beatrice were all the next to act. Shards of ice exploding into snow and sparkling fragments as Gryn¡¯s blades tore through the ensuing barrage and the energetic horned girl bouncing around the cathedral to avoid the barrage of fireballs fired at her from the Kroll sister.
And as this happened, Felicia frowned darkly as she tried to heal the slashes on her back, clenching her teeth together as a broken chain fragment bounced off her back a little bit too close to the exposed wounds. She knew that experienced clerics, mages and saints could heal themselves and still keep fighting as they did so, but she found herself utterly unable to do so. The pain from the injury stopped her from focusing on anything except making it stop.
Further back in the cathedral, Elise clutched the strap of her bag and bit her lip. Her footsteps light yet hurried and her knuckles white from the force she held the strap with as she ran. She should stay back and help her allies; she knew that leaving them at a numbers disadvantage wasn¡¯t safe. Yet at the same time she knew that this would be the perfect time to escape and reach their Lord while none of the four could catch up to her.
Completing the mission was one thing, but abandoning her entire team to do so left a sour taste in her mouth. However, that sour taste would have to stay. She couldn¡¯t let this fail after her teammates had given her this opportunity, she just had to have faith that they would win and/or escape. Her form disappearing behind the empty platform with a hurried dive as Shun ground himself to a halt in front of Peter, a small trail of dust left behind him from his sudden stop.
¡°What is she trying to do?¡±
¡°Beats me! Can¡¯t let you get close though!¡±
A longsword crashed against both of Shun¡¯s daggers and a few bricks beneath the horned teen¡¯s feet cracked as the force went all the way through him and into the floor.
¡°You¡¯re invading these ruins!¡±
¡°UUuugghh. Could you be anymore textbook?¡±
Sparks flew in the air as Shun threw both of his arms to the side, Peter¡¯s longsword scrapping along their edges before digging into the bricks with a flare of its orange flames.
¡®He¡¯ll be expecting me to try and stab him. So with this timing he¡¯ll never expect-¡® Shun threw one of his daggers at the other teen¡¯s face; Peter jerking his head back in response to narrowly dodge the blade, only receiving a light scratch along his cheek in return.
But that had not been the goal of Shun¡¯s attack. No, the horned teen had expected Peter to somehow dodge or block that surprise attack. The palm of his hand impacted solidly with Peter¡¯s core, though not as hard as the red-haired teen had expected from a proper strike.
¡°Hold a blade.¡±
A jolt of pure molten metal surged through Peter¡¯s body, his teeth clenched, and his eyes bugged out. His blade clattered to the ground with a ring of metal and a surprised sound from the teen, even as he instinctively ¨Cyet sloppily¨C leapt back to avoid the follow-up stab from the second of Shun¡¯s blades.
¡°You¡¯re shitting me, you could even dodge a stab after that?¡± The teen griped as he scratched his head, looking between the extinguished blade on the ground and the wide-eyed, panting form of Peter who was clenching and unclenching his now empty fist in confusion.
¡®What¡¯s happening? Whenever I try to think about picking my blade back up nothing reacts and all the strength leaves my hands but the moment I stop it all comes right back.¡¯
¡°HAHA! A martial fighter without a weapon! Not much use are youuuu?¡± Beatrice giggled, hitting the ground beside him with a small bounce to bleed off the rest of her momentum and swinging her hammer as she twirled.
¡°Wha- What did that guy do!?¡± Peter hopped into the air to avoid the first swing of the girls hammer and buckled his legs to duck down and reverse roll away from her second ¨Chigher¨C swing and her final third follow-up.
¡°Dunno. Wanna try again?¡± Shun appeared at Peter¡¯s side, his dagger hitting a wall of light and bouncing off with a low ¡®pong¡¯ sound.
¡°Felicia!¡± Peter turned back to look at his friend in relief for her help in defending him, only to see both his sister and Felicia charging spells as Haley continued her assault with the chain-user.
¡°DODGE YOU IDIOT!¡±
His sister¡¯s scream was followed, within a single second of each other, by the sound of glass smashing from behind him and the impact of Beatrice¡¯s hammer directly into his back.
The world turned to a blurred kaleidoscope of colours, jumbled sounds, and body-wide pins and needles as Peter ragdolled across the length of the cathedral and slammed into the already damaged wall. His body cratered in its form as blood seeped from a few shallow cuts gained from the impact and his eyes went in and out of focus at complete random.
Blessed Catalyst, for all their talent and instincts, were still inexperienced in the grand scheme of the world, especially when it came to combat with sapient, intelligent enemies. Felicia¡¯s decision to jump in the air with no way to move around proved her inexperience, Peter¡¯s decision to look away from his enemies in his relief at his friend¡¯s recovery proved his inexperience, and Angelica¡¯s lack of focus in the wake of her brother¡¯s impact proved her inexperience.
The sound of stretched rubber snapping back into place seemed to reverberate in Angelica¡¯s head as Beatrice appeared at her side with a devious grin. Her hammer, for once, not mid-swing toward her but rather held behind her in one hand as her other hand reached for the red-haired [High-Sorceress].
¡°BEATRICE DON¡¯T!¡±
The short girl jolted at the sound of Elise¡¯s voice, her eyes widened only fractionally in surprise and worry.
¡®What is she doing back here? She should have just kept going, we would have caught up. Buuuuut, I suppose it¡¯s not the end of the world. After all, we win.¡¯
Her hand touched Angelica¡¯s stomach much like Shun¡¯s had with her brother a few moments earlier, the girls pink eyes widening in surprise and horror as Beatrice tilted her head up just a few degrees to look her in the eyes. The corners of her lips upturned into an expression that looked, genuinely, demonic.
¡°Use mana.¡±
Blessed Catalyst were inexperienced in terms of the wider world, but they were not the only ones. Gryn and Vethin weren¡¯t quite as experienced as Betaro, Viole and Beez but they still had year¡¯s worth of experience to fall back on. Beatrice, Shun and Elise had none of this experience, however, being the three newest members of the team.
Beatrice¡¯s inexperience became apparent in the exact moment that she spoke those words, a lightning-fast lance of pain surging through Angelica before it disappeared as if she had been dumped in a bucket of ice water.
¡°W-wha¡?¡± The girl¡¯s pink eyes slowly slid back down to the horned girl in front of her as the mental fog from the pain faded and she realised that her hand was still pressed against her stomach.
The arm pressed against her stomach swung limply to the ground as all the strength in her shoulder seemed to drain out of her, her left leg buckling and sending her toppling to the ground as well. Drool slowly seeped from the corner of her lips to the ground as her eyes stared, unfocused, on the far wall opposite to the direction that she had sent Peter flying.
¡°Fhat de wuck¡?¡±
¡°BEATRICE!¡±
The monster that went bump in the night
Elise cursed as she ran forward, one hand holding the leather bag at her side as steady as she could as she made a mad dash for her teammate and friend.
She had had a bad feeling about leaving the three of them behind, an itch at the base of her horns only corroborating her worries. An ill omen amongst her people, supposedly a gift from their God to warn them of overuse of their inherent ability.
Elise had never put very much stock into those beliefs, even if that itch in her horns had kept her from danger more than once in her training. But now, as she slid to a stop beside the body of Beatrice and launched herself high into the air to avoid a small ball of fire, she began to understand where they had originated from.
¡°W-What just happened?¡± Angelica muttered, patting her hands all over her body as Felicia clicked her tongue and fell into a kneeling position by Peter¡¯s side to begin healing him.
The burning, agonizing, feeling that had shot through her spine when the small girl ¨CBeatrice, apparently¨C had spoken those words had been more intense than anything she had ever felt in her entire life. She understood now why that dagger-wielding man was so surprised by her brother being able to dodge his attack, the sheer level of pain had left her completely unable to respond to the new girl''s rescue of her comrade. Her thoughts static and her senses naught but pins and needles.
Yet now, nothing about her felt different, except the lingering echoes of the pain that she had been put through.
Experimentally she called forth her mana, only to hum as it pooled lazily in her hand like she had expected it to. No difficulties, no anomalies, just regular mana control.
Ahead of her, hitting the ground rather roughly with a small hiss, Elise placed Beatrice on the ground and scrunched her eyebrows together in worry at the state that the young woman was in.
¡°She overdid it. That red haired girl there, clearly using mana is too hardwired into her existence.¡± Gryn muttered quietly, so that none of the adventurers across from them could hear.
¡°What¡¯s happening to her though?¡± Shun asked as quietly as he could, standing beside Gryn as the ¡®guards¡¯ of the party as Elise looked her over.
¡°A¡stroke, I think.¡± Elise muttered weakly, her hands shaking just a little as she went to place them down on Beatrice¡¯s shoulder.
¡°Elise, no. You can only hold one at a time and the moment you grab the Key it¡¯s going to end it. Let me do it. The moment she¡¯s up, though, we¡¯ll go.¡± Gryn whispered sternly, managing to just barely suppress his flinch as Shun sliced through and deflected a small barrage of icicles.
¡®They¡¯re up to something, whatever they¡¯re trying to do I can¡¯t allow that. But I also can¡¯t go on a full offensive since Peter and Felicia are tied up right now and if push comes to shove it looks like they have three combat-ready fighters¡¡¯ Haley grit her teeth, a small amount of mist rolling off her ankles as her mana flared ever so minutely around her.
¡°Haemorrhagic Stroke.¡±
Both Haley and Angelica tensed up in preparation for the attack that they knew was going to come, their arms brought up in instinctual defense and their mana flowing through their body at full blast to prepare for any kind of spell that they would need to cast.
Currently both their melee frontliner and their support healer were unable to take part in the combat, so no matter what happened, they couldn¡¯t afford to go on the defensive and leave them unprotected. An uncomfortable situation for both women but one that they both knew was a necessity.
¡°Woah!¡± The short girl jolted from flat on her back to her feet in a second, the slight wobble of the ground beneath her, much like that of slime, the only indication of how she had managed such a feat with such seeming ease.
¡°What happened to me? Why¡¯s the fight stopp- AH!¡°
It was quick, the actions of the other three red-skinned fighters, almost quicker than Angelica and Haley could react to. The moment that the short girl had sprung up to her feet, the other three had taken off running, the chain-user having whipped her off her feet and carrying her over his shoulder as they sprinted for wherever the fourth one had gone before.
¡°Oh no you don¡¯t!¡± A magic circle spun to life in front of Angelica as she pulled an arm back, the wind around them swirling in preparation for her spell before Haley¡¯s arm whipped out and slapped across her chest.
¡°Angelica, no.¡± The wind around them swirled faster for only a single moment before dying down as the magic circle faded into small motes of light that quickly broke down to nothingness.
¡°Haley, why-¡° Angelica tried to question, only for the reporter to turn on the heel of her foot as the three fighters, and their struggling companion, disappeared behind the platform.
Rather obviously, Haley¡¯s eyes went down to the form of Peter, who was currently holding his head and wincing a little as a very nasty looking bruise incrementally shrank in size at the hands of Felicia and her magic.
It didn¡¯t take a genius to understand what she was trying to get at, and Angelica was far beyond that point. A sad expression crossed her face before she crossed her arms and clicked her tongue.
¡°You¡¯re right, starting a fight while that idiot is still in this condition isn¡¯t smart. But letting them get away isn¡¯t a smart decision either, they clearly have some kind of agenda here in these ruins.¡±
¡°Of course we aren¡¯t just going to let them get away, but we need to wait for Peter to recover first and then we¡¯ll go after them.¡± Haley tried to placate Angelica, biting lightly on the nail of her thumb as she tried to think the situation through.
At the absolute forefront of her thoughts were only two questions.
What was that strange ability that they had, and what was their purpose in these ruins?
XXXxxxXXX
¡°Dammit Gryn put me down!¡± Beatrice finally snapped, whacking his shoulder and wrenching herself out of his grip, continuing to run alongside the other three as they made their way out of the tunnel that they had gone down.
¡°You¡¯re being awfully rude to the person stopping your brain from starving itself of air.¡± He grunted, charging clean through a dilapidated wall as the rest of the team slowed down only a few steps to avoid slamming into it before he had broken it down.
¡°Yeah, yeah. Thanks for that.¡± The short woman mumbled beneath her breath, her eyebrows pinched together, and her cheeks puffed out ever so slightly.
¡°Speaking of, I¡¯ve hit the limit of mine. My negation has worn off.¡± Shun relayed to the team as they ran, clicking his tongue in annoyance.
¡°Ohhhh? So, a hundred meters is your limit, huh?¡± Beatrice teased, looking over her shoulder to grin mockingly at him.
¡°It¡¯s 173 you brat!¡± The teen snapped, gnashing his teeth together as the girl just stuck her tongue out at him and waved her hands mockingly beside her head.
¡°That reminds me, you have 149 meters around me to play with, Beatrice. Any further and I can¡¯t keep it going.¡±
¡°Got it! But could you really not get it to 150? Make it nice and ¨Cy¡¯know¨C even?¡±
The tall man just decided not to retaliate in response to the girls mocking, merely looking ahead of them as he continued to run.
He was aware that those four adventurers were going to continue chasing after them, he had seen the way that the white-haired girl amongst them was healing their frontline combatant. It was only a matter of time before they actually managed to catch up and the more distance that they could put between them and the adventurers the better.
In an idyllic world, they would be able to meet up with Captain Betaro and the other, stronger and more experienced, members of their squad, but Gryn wasn¡¯t putting much stock in that future. Too many things had already gone wrong and who knows if someone has managed to kick up some kind of alarm already. Expecting a bail-out and not getting one was far more dangerous at this stage than just moving forward while expecting no assistance.
¡°Shun, where are we going?¡± Elise suddenly asked, turning towards the dagger-wielding teen at her side and getting an annoyed click of his tongue as he vaulted a half-rotten and disintegrated cart.
¡°How the hell am I supposed to know?¡±
¡°Because you¡¯re the best out of the four of us with directions!¡± The girl snapped, clutching the bag at her side tighter as a jostle on her end caused the entire thing to light up in bright runes.
¡®I¡¯ve been agitating it too much with all this running around, the preventative measures are going to shatter soon at this rate.¡¯
¡°Why the hell do you have to be such a know-it-all?¡± Shun grumbled, taking a quick moment to look around and go into autopilot for a moment while trying to figure out their location.
Honestly it was a skill that Elise was jealous of, the ability to just zone out the world to focus on something more important. She had tried to do it multiple times and just found herself utterly unable to, the young woman far too sensitive to the world and everything around her to ever zone it out or ignore it consciously.
¡°!¡± The girl¡¯s eyes widened as she felt a spike of mana, her own mana swirling to life inside her as she kicked off the ground hard enough to crack the stone beneath her and flung herself into the air and to the side.
The other three were quick to do the same, not because they¡¯d sensed the same thing that she had, but because she had reacted in such a way. A chain of Gryn¡¯s wrapping around her outstretched arm, alongside those of her allies, and pulling her in towards him as a familiar cloaked figure burst through the side of a building.
Based on the height and rotation of his body, he had clearly bounced off something at least once before slamming through the building, but the speed and elegance that he curled his body and twirled to land back onto his feet with was nothing short of awe-inspiring. The next moment Viole appeared at his side, soaring through the air while avoiding a barrage of something that moved too fast for the team of four to see on her way to land behind their cloaked comrade.
In quick succession the rest of their team and three unfamiliar adventurers descended on the street intersection after Beez and Viole. The building beside them cracking and crumbling under the force of a blow and forcing the four of them back down to street level to avoid being crushed under the building that they had been standing on.
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¡°Elise!?¡± Betaro¡¯s eyes widened in shock and mild horror as he caught sight of the four of them, only for them to crinkle up in pain as the razor-sharp edge of a blade bit through his chest once more, black blood flying high into the air.
The wound was shallow, despite the blood that it drew, luckily enough for the horned man, but it was enough to slow his reactions just enough to let the lightly armoured woman skip back unharmed. The short blade in her grasp glinting in the light of a nearby, faintly glowing, crystal as she cartwheeled backwards just far enough for her feet to land solidly on the wall of what looked to be an old store.
In the time it took Elise to blink, the woman had cleared the distance between them, their faces only about fifty centimeters apart by the time that the young woman even realized what was happening. A choked gasp left her lips as she tried to stumble back, bumping into Gryn¡¯s chest clumsily as Betaro crashed into the woman¡¯s side, his blade and hers grinding against each other as her feet met the ground and slowed them both to a halt.
¡°Get out of here!¡± A vein in Betaro¡¯s arm bulged and throbbed as he tried to push the woman back, a vein in her own forehead beginning to stick out as she pushed back.
¡°Ohhh?¡± The four youngest of the red-skinned fighters froze on instinct as the eyes of the black-haired mage locked onto them, a sharp grin on his face. ¡°Are you four important by chance?¡±
Whatever he tried to do next, as a magic circle spawned to life facing the four of them, they never got to know. A thick wooden beam from one of the crumbled buildings nearby crashing into him and exploding into a thousand wooden shards and a thick smog of sawdust.
¡°You four. Leave. Now!¡± Viole snapped, flinching on reflex as three sharpened stones crashed into a previously invisible barrier set up around her.
¡°Where the hell are we meant to go!? We can¡¯t exactly just run down the street!¡± Beatrice griped, yelping and diving into a roll as Vethin and the heavily armoured figure crashed through where the four of them had just been standing.
¡°Shun!?¡±
¡°I¡¯m thinking!¡± The teen snapped using the tips of his daggers to try and plan a route out of there internally.
His daggers waved up and jabbed in the air as he tried to find the best, safest, way out of here for the four of them. His body being tugged and thrown around as the four of them ran, dived and otherwise flung themselves around the battlefield to try and avoid the ongoing fights.
The teen bounced off the ground, sprung into the air thanks to the spell of Beatrice, and flipped lazily as stone spikes stabbed through where he had just been. His hair flapping and whipping over his eyes as he approached the ground headfirst, only to be caught by Gryn and tucked protectively to his chest as the older man rolled with his momentum, the wall to their side crumbling from the force of a nearby strike.
A stray piece of rubble from the wall exploded out of the structure and dinked ineffectually against one of his horns. The sound reverberating through his mind as his eyes widened in realization and he rolled out of Gryn¡¯s arms and to his feet, looking directly at Beatrice.
¡°I¡¯ve got it!¡±
A spike of mana from their side, where they had come out of the tunnel from, stopped him in his tracks as he turned to look towards it, his daggers raised in preparation for a surprise strike.
The air grew warmer and the moisture in the surrounding area seemed to diminish greatly as he stared in surprise, annoyance and horror at the attack closing in on their battleground down the street that they themselves had run down.
Almost as tall as the buildings that surrounded it, and about half as thick as the street itself, a burning arc of flames roared down the street, setting millennium old cloth alight and instantly charring the wooden beams that made up a lot of the building''s supports.
¡°Woah!¡±
¡°Incoming!¡±
¡°Group up!¡±
¡°To Elise!¡±
Multiple shouts overlapped each other, just barely heard over the roar of flames as the two groups separated in bursts of motion. Bodies sliding to a stop as the flames tore through the ruined intersection that they had just been fighting through; both of Shun¡¯s hands around Beatrice¡¯s ear as he said something to her.
¡°YOU AREN¡¯T GETTING AWAY!¡± Peter¡¯s shout seemed to echo through the empty city as his flames died away, the teen¡¯s form high above the intersection as flames licked off the edges of his blade and his hair waved in the updraft created from his own attack.
¡°More adventurers?¡± The leader of Red Panther questioned, seeing the figures of Angelica, Felicia and Haley sprinting down the street after their own leader. ¡°Perfect. You four focus on capturing anyone you can! We¡¯ll back you up!¡±
¡°Yes sir!¡± Angelica saluted sloppily as she slid to a stop, her staff out and pointed towards the invaders.
¡°More of them? What kind of luck is this?¡± Betaro growled, holding a hand over his bleeding chest wound.
¡°NOW BEATRICE!¡±
¡°Huh?¡± Betaro and Viole both turned towards their subordinates in shock as they felt the sudden influx of mana aimed towards the girl as she leapt in a low, fast arc towards the center of the intersection with her hammer held all the way behind her.
¡®This feeling- It¡¯s different!¡¯ Angelica tried to backpedal as she saw the muscles in the smaller girl¡¯s arms tense.
Only to jolt sideways as the head of the girls'' oversized hammer slammed into the ground and shattered the entire intersection beneath them. The swing motion completed before the red-haired girl had even been able to see it move.
Her opening strike in the cathedral had been powerful, nearly bringing the building down on their head just from the singular strike alone. This strike, a Power Stance of some kind, was that attack cranked straight to twelve. The entire intersection caved in on itself like a pane of glass, all fifteen combatants falling into the hole that formed beneath them before they¡¯d even realized that a hole had opened. Dirt, stone, wood, crystals and oh so much more rained around and past them as they tumbled and fell, bouncing, rolling and jumping from debris to debris as best as they all could.
¡°SHUN!¡±
¡°GOOOOOOOING DOWN!~ AAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!¡±
XXXxxxXXX
¡°Hm?¡± A single, slender eyebrow raised as Tristana¡¯s eyes slowly rolled from the analyst babbling beside her to the ceiling of the cavern they were in, about 70 meters ahead of her, past the Super Asuran and in the opposite direction to the hole that she had leapt down to get here.
That was¡fifteen mana signatures she could sense. A surprising amount considering the orders that had been spread amongst the [Tungsten-rank] adventurers, though when the cavern that they were in began to rumble and crack ominously, the reason for that became apparent.
¡°W-What the hell is happening?¡± A nearby Shadow Mook cried out, leaping away from a small setup table when a stalactite crumbled from the ceiling and crushed it beneath it.
¡°Promethea!¡± Keev cried, shieling his head with a clipboard and looking up at her with wide, confused eyes. ¡°What¡¯s going on!?¡±
¡°Visitors, Keev. We¡¯ve got some visitors on their way down in 3¡2 ... .1¡¡±
The ceiling of the cavern opposite to where they stood exploded in catastrophic crashes of stone and crystal, a wave of dust tearing through the room so fast that stalagmites, pillars and buildings wore down subtly just from the sheer force of the rushing dust. Keev standing behind Tristana as she just stood firm, weathering the dust sandblasting without a word nor a flinch of any kind.
To their side, the middle of a pillar cracked and crumbled under its own weight as the edges wore away, crashing to the ground and only creating more chaos and confusion amongst the analysts and Shadow Mooks behind her.
¡°Augh!¡± The woman¡¯s eyes went to her left where a group of four teenagers, though the brunette looked a little older than the rest, rolled out of the thicker dust directly surrounding the crash-zone itself.
Dust, sweat, bruises and trace amounts of blood covered their forms as they came to a stop, two girls curled protectively in the arms of the lone male of the group and the brunette trying to free herself from an ice-based cocoon of some kind.
¡°Hey, are you brats alright?¡±
¡°Bra- T-Tristana Promethea!¡± The spiky red-head of the group awed, unwrapping his arms from both of the young woman in his grasp and trying to get up at the same time as them.
¡°Yeah that¡¯s me, so?¡±
¡°I¡¯m fine! Well, nothing serious, you know?¡± He said quickly, grinning excitedly at her.
¡°Yeah, I get that.¡± She chuckled, looking over the other three with an experienced analytical eye.
The brunette with them was a Guild Reporter, which meant that these three were meant to be here, so that was good.
Well, ¡®here¡¯ as in the ruins, not quite their current location. Though based on the overlapping coughs and shouts she could hear from the dust cloud, she didn¡¯t exactly imagine that they had planned to make their way all the way down here.
¡°ELISE NOW!¡±
The shout was from a male, the gruffness and depth of its pitch was a dead giveaway, but who burst out of the dust was decidedly not the person that had shouted. A young red skinned girl with the mangled scraps of a leather bag hung around her should-
Tristana¡¯s green eyes widened in alarm and horror as she disappeared from her spot faster than any of the occupants of the cavern could ever hope to follow. Her kick-off creating a shockwave the flattened all the dust against the buildings and walls of the cavern while sending Keev and the four teens back on their asses once more.
The blade that she tried to summon to her hand shattered into motes of nothingness as her perception of the world ground to a halt, all the mana in her body going flat and limp no matter how hard she tried to coax it out. Her arm stretched out as best as she could to block what she knew was about to happen.
The collapse of the cavern ceiling had brought with it an influx of mana-sensitive crystals and unsettled those that existed within the cavern, filling her senses with too much jumble for her to properly notice before she had seen it. But the pitch black, void-like sphere in the young woman¡¯s grasp was impossible to ignore or mistake once she had seen it.
Zynthan, a metal blacker than night and heavier than steel, a metal outlawed across the entirety of the Twin-Continents for one reason and one reason only-
Tristana flipped and twirled chaotically through the air, her mana surging through her body the moment that she left the twenty-meter radius around the sphere and speeding her senses back up as she spread her legs and arms to re-orient herself and land in a crouch with a singular hand on the ground.
-That one reason was because it, alone, was a metal that despised mana to the point of outright negating it, no matter what form it came in.
A throbbing pain shot up her arm from where her hand had clipped the sphere on her flight past it as the sound of chains bending and snapping filled the cavern. A huff of annoyance leaving the hulking figure as they snapped a broken manacle off their wrist and took a singular, solid step forward. Their large, muscled mass bending forward to pick up the Zynthan sphere in one hand.
¡°So¡this is how my freedom was attained? How fascinating.¡± Their voice was deep and gravelly, their arm moved lackadaisically to the side before snapping forward, hurling the sphere into the chest of one of the armoured adventurers now in front of her.
There was a crack of metal as the sphere, turned cannonball, slammed into his chestplate; the defensive enchantments inlaid in the gear shut down in a singular instant and leaving it nothing but refined metal against the speed and power of the flying Zynthan sphere. A pained groan leaving the adventurers mouth as he hit the ground like a sack of bricks, clutching at the sphere buried in his chestplate with twitching, shivering fingers.
¡°Huh. I thought that would be the end of him. It looks like smithing techniques have gotten better since I was sealed. No matter.¡±
The air around the ¡®Super Asuran¡¯ began to swirl as his mana started to flare out of him. A thick, deep crimson colour reminiscent of blood surging out of him as stones and rubble began to rattle and float throughout the cavern.
One by one, everyone in the cavern fell to their hands and knees, forced there by the sheer, overwhelming presence of his power as a deep, sadistic laugh bubbled forth from his lips.
¡°Ha¡Haha¡.HahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! They tried so hard and yet this is all that came of it! I, Lord Trexin of the Asuran people, have escaped my shackles once more! I¡¯m FREE!¡±
Screams and shouts of alarm filled the air as the mana flaring around Trexin doubled in size and tripled in intensity; lightning arcing through the cavern and melting the stone it touched to slag in an instant. Those closest to him, being the Asuran girl that had thrown the sphere and the red-haired teenager from before, slid back along the ground a few meters from the sheer, buffeting strength of the wind that he kicked up.
Yet, throughout it all, Tristana stayed crouched in the exact same location she had landed in earlier, her blade slowly forming in her grip as she watched the form of ¡®Trexin¡¯.
¡®Ah, that¡¯s right. That thing I¡¯ve been forgetting about this whole situation. It¡¯s-¡®
Monsters are not made equal
Lightning crackled through the ruinous cavern and the wind swirled as Trexin¡¯s deep cackle danced on the winds and reverberated off the walls. His mana swirling alongside the wind and pressing down on everyone and everything in the cavern, regardless of whether it was friend or foe.
On his hands and knees, muscles tensed and veins throbbing from the sheer effort he was putting in just to stay that elevated, Peter grit his teeth. A quiet grunt of effort forced out of his clenched jaw as the ground beneath him rumbled slightly and nearly sent him flat onto his face, beads of sweat rolling down his face and neck and dripping to the ground as he tried his best to look up towards the laughing creature.
¡®Come on! Move body. You can¡¯t protect yourself, let alone your friends, if you don¡¯t move! Just¡.Move!¡¯
Slowly his neck craned, and his arms budged, raising his head just a scant few centimeters. His eyes sharpened into a glare even as they turned ever so slightly red from both irritation and the exertion he was trying to force out of his body.
¡°Ohhhh?¡± Instantly the dark eyes of the winged behemoth snapped onto Peter and his struggle, a spark of intrigue filling his eyes as he raised an arm to stare at a tattoo inscribed on the inside of his forearm.
Through the sheer exertion it took to keep his head raised, the buffeting winds that made his eyes tear up and the slight lack of focus that his vision was afflicted with from how irritated his eyes had become, the teen was unable to make out any kind of writing on the tattoo, but what he could see was seven sets of twin symbols inscribed on his arm. But whereas the bottom five of those sets seemed faded and shattered, the other nine were in perfect, bold ink with no damage or weathering in sight.
¡®Tattoos? Some are faded, maybe magic stuff?¡¯
Over the buffeting winds and crackling lightning, the lips of the winged menace moved minutely, words uttered that were unable to force themselves over the travelling gusts. A confused look crossing Peter¡¯s expression as he tried, and utterly failed, to make out whatever it was that Trexin had said.
¡°Hey, hey. I feel left out here.¡±
Air quickly, mercifully, rushed into Peter¡¯s lungs as all the pressure weighing down on him disappeared in a single instant, a silver-blue tint over his eyes as his arms shook and trembled. The mana in the air hadn¡¯t decreased, in fact it had only gotten worse, as far as the teen could tell, but for some reason, it didn¡¯t feel oppressive anymore.
¡°Hah. Using your own mana as a shield for all these weaklings? How noble of you.¡± Trexin laughed, his gaze dragging Peter¡¯s alongside it to find Tristana taking slow, relaxed, steps towards the towering creature.
Held at her side was an immaculate silver blade unlike anything that the [Iron-rank] adventurer had ever seen. A single edge to its blade with a few small spikes on its spine and what appeared to be a snow-white crescent moon for its handguard and a pommel that looked almost like a miniaturized moon.
¡°Well what else was I meant to do? You were gonna kill them and I don¡¯t wanna deal with that lecture when I get home, you know?¡± Tristana joked in response to Trexin mockery, getting a twitch of his left eye as his wings began to slowly stretch out and his lips stretched into a wide, intimidating, grin.
¡°Oh, there¡¯ll be not ¡®getting home¡¯ for you, human.¡±
¡°You wanna bet?¡± She asked, an eyebrow raised and a cocky grin on her features as she stopped walking forward and raised her blade to point the tip at his face. ¡°Because I think that you asuran¡¯s aren¡¯t going to be returning to your home. Whatever dark, damp hole that may be.¡±
¡°Hot air and empty words.¡± Trexin grit out, even a blind man able to tell that he was taking the woman¡¯s confident words to heart far more than she was taking his malicious mockery.
Tristana, seeing that her own taunting was far more effective than the Asuran¡¯s, grinned darkly and opened her mouth to say something else, only to lurch forward at the exact same moment as Trexin lurched to the side. A set of two bone white blades exploding out of the old, moss-covered ground beneath them and landing firmly in his grip as he moved.
In a catastrophic clash of might, the two met only five meters from the red-haired teen that Trexin seemed to have taken some interest in. Tristana¡¯s momentum proving too much for Trexin¡¯s to handle, sending the both of them flying away from the teen and through the wall of a building.
¡°How dare-¡° It was a simple swipe of her blade, small glittering lights of silver-blue following behind like the trail of a comet, but the force of the strike blew the behemoth away from her like he was a piece of paper in a hurricane.
The ruined building that once stood above Tristana shattered into particles so small that not even dust remained, a large crevice opened in the side of every building in front of her. Perfectly in line with where the edge of her blade had swung through the air.
That attack, one of her simplest, was known as Lunar Dust. An attack that she had a Power Stance for, but preferred to use it as just the base technique due to the speed that the attack could be used with. Besides, she had plenty of other techniques that worked better as Power Stances and a few spells to boot, having one technique that wasn¡¯t turned into a Power Stance wasn¡¯t exactly a loss of attack potency on her end.
¡°Well now¡¡± Trexin¡¯s voice rumbled from the shadows of the building that he had been blown into, slow steps echoing through the cavern as he walked back out.
Unlike before, the giant of an asuran was far more wary of a sudden advance from the woman, both of his blades raised into a loose defensive stance and his legs crouched ever so minutely to lower his center of gravity and prepare him better for a sudden kick-off.
Honestly, Tristana found it to be quite an ego-boost. Who else could claim that they¡¯d managed to break the arrogance of a creature like this in just one, technically two, attacks?
¡°It seems like I¡¯ve been in stasis for quite a while if a human can match me in pure physical ability.¡±
¡°Heh. Did I bruise the Lord¡¯s ego?¡± She mocked, gesturing for him to come at her with two fingers.
Once more the winged asuran¡¯s mana swirled around him, but whereas before it had been an all-encompassing, oppressive aura, this time it was a thin, fiery flame that seemed to almost make the veins beneath his skin glow.
¡®Yeah, there we go. I thought so.¡¯ Tristana grinned to herself, swirling her blade once, leaving a strange trail of silver dust in the air, and levelling her own stance at the man as he roared and charged her.
The surrounding area turned to naught but craters, gashes and ash as the two of them began to battle. Gouts of fire, explosions of silver and super-compressed blades of air shot through the vicinity with every moment that they continued their battle.
Silver met white again and again as the two slashed at each other; Trexin began on the offensive, and continued to do so whenever space was made between them that he could then close, but within moments every time, Tristana met and matched his intensity and more. The, comparatively, small woman deadlocking his blades as if he wasn¡¯t double her muscle-mass and nearly double her height and the monster of a man swinging each of his blades with a speed unnatural for such a large, muscled form.
Off to the side, Peter stayed hunched down at the sides of his sister and friend, his feet dug into the ground and his arms wrapped behind both girls to keep them from flying back or falling over from the violent, whipping winds. Across the cavern from them, he could see the red-skinned fighters doing much the same, hunching down to weather the winds and huddled together to stop any unfortunate accidents.
So far, the combat was being contained by both of the monster¡¯s interest only in each other, but all it took was one area of effect too large or one dodge mistimed and the rest of them were going to be dragged into this as well. Whether they wanted to be or not.
A stinging pain lit up Peter¡¯s cheek as the air in front of his face seemed to explode briefly, his eyes focusing immediately on the forms of both Tristana and Trexin as they separated with a shockwave that cratered the earth beneath them and both slid to a stop.
The wet feeling that rolled down his chin from the stinging pain made it clear exactly what that pain was, but its cause eluded him; at least for now.
¡°Well, ain¡¯t that unusual?¡± Tristana chuckled, her eyes seeming to glow ever so slightly in the shadows of her fringe as she adjusted her grip on her blade. ¡°What business do you have with our dear little adventurer over there?¡±
¡°I hardly see why you should know.¡± Trexin scoffed, fizzling out of reality to Peter¡¯s senses, only to reappear twenty meters away with both of his blades crossed to defend from Tristana¡¯s one.
¡°Cause I¡¯m curious.¡± Tristana purred, the ground cracking beneath the two of them as their muscles bulged and their mana flared. ¡°You¡¯re asleep for who knows how long and suddenly wake up with a vendetta against a kid that¡¯s ¨Cat most¨C 19? Oh, that reeks of something going on behind the scenes.¡±
To the side of the two behemoths of might, Elise¡¯s eyes widened in shock and fear at seeing their Lord, spoken of so reverently in the stories of their people, deadlocked against an adventurer of the modern day. The sheer sight, the sheer thought of such a thing just didn¡¯t compute in her mind after all the stories of his might that she had heard of.
The Asuran that had transcended the entirety of humanity, the Asuran that had lead their people in their Holy Crusade, the Asuran that had been such a threat that even the greatest coalition of Krinvoth¡¯s warriors at the same time couldn¡¯t hope to kill him.
And now here he was, stalemated by a human woman of all things, being pressured both in combat and to reveal the targets of the Asuran people. She couldn¡¯t let this keep going on, she couldn¡¯t let all of their work be for nothing, she wasn¡¯t strong enough to stand by her Lord¡¯s side, but she didn¡¯t need to be to be useful.
¡°My Lord!¡± Despite the crushing pressure of the woman¡¯s mana, her own flaring mana and the adrenaline coursing through her body allowed her to move.
Her kickoff was quick and the blade in her hand properly prepared to swing, her mana coalescing into the necessary shapes and patterns within the metal of her blade to activate the single technique that she knew. The distance between the two of them seemed to disappear at a snails pace as the mana surrounding her pressed down on her entire body at once, her pupils dilating and her sense of time warping under the cognitive enhancing effects of adrenaline and fear.
It happened faster than she could even fathom, her body hitting the ground like a sack of bricks as everything failed to react to her mental commands, a pillar of stone nearby shattered explosively and a dark grin crossed the features of Trexin as he lowered his mysteriously outstretched palm.
¡°Hold a blade.¡±
There was a clang of metal on stone from the dust cloud that had once been the stone pillar, an interested hum resounding out of the cloud as Trexin approached Elise.
¡°So this is how it feels¡.freaky.¡±
¡°I admire your bravery, girl.¡± Trexin spoke quietly, leaning down and picking her up by the back of her shirt like an unruly kitten. ¡°You allowed an opening that otherwise would not have shown itself. But you are not permitted to enter a battle of this level.¡±
¡°I- Um¡Y-Yes sir.¡± She stuttered, trying her best not to sound too awestruck or scared as she meekly nodded her head.
She had acted on instinct and nothing else, the fact that she had gotten out of it with only a shallow scrape and not evisceration was already a miracle.
¡°Now, all of you, leave.¡± Elise yelped as she was flung back into the chest of Captain Betaro with an idle flick of Trexin¡¯s arm.
¡°You think I¡¯m gonna let them do that?¡± Tristana¡¯s voice called out, a swirling tentacle of dust shooting out of the cloud, only to clear and show Tristana as she landed in a deep crouch only about four meters from the asuran Lord himself.
¡°Surely you must realize now that you can¡¯t hold a blade, do you truly believe you still hold the power to challenge me without it?¡± Trexin grinned, levelling a blade at her, only to flinch back on instinct, barely avoiding the uppercut that the woman shot at his chest.
¡°All that and more, sleeping beauty!¡± She crowed, her mana flaring around specifically her fists as she stepped in and struck the man¡¯s stomach with her left, her right snapping up to swipe a blade away before it could make contact.
The next strike of hers met the flat of Trexin¡¯s blade and stopped dead in its tracks, Tristana ducking low to avoid a swipe at her head and spinning on one leg as an axis to bring her other leg up and around. Silver-blue light trailed behind her foot, leaving the image of a crescent moon behind it as her heel struck the raised forearm of the asuran.
Silver light exploded out of her foot as it made contact, separating the two for only a moment before she was rushing back in, jumping over the rushed swipe at her hips and kicking out with both legs. Her first strike hit the flat of the man¡¯s right blade, her body twisting with her momentum to bring her other leg around and down, only to meet the hastily raised flat of the man¡¯s other blade. Once more she spun with her momentum, bringing her first leg back around and hitting the man in the jaw as the shockwave from her first two strikes blew his arms away, leaving him unable to block and scoring her, her first truly clean hit of the skirmish.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
The back of the asuran Lord¡¯s head met the ground before even his feet were able to get the memo, his wings flaring out and curling around to defend himself as she flipped forward in the air and brought her heel down on the defensive cocoon that he had formed. Once more the image of a crescent moon flashed in the air behind her leg as she brought it down.
The explosion of silver-blue mana that engulfed the two of them tore into the ground and gnawed hungrily at everything that it touched, stopped just short of the onlookers as the sound of a heavy impact was heard and Tristana flew out of the dissipating mana with her arms held in a strong blocking stance.
Hitting the ground feet first and sliding back a few meters, Tristana lowered her arms and whistled, impressed at her own display of power, as she watched Trexin¡¯s wings flap, bringing him up and out of the crater she had used him to ¨Cpartially¨C create. The woman swaying on the spot as Trexin closed in on her and jolted to one side suddenly, throwing off the timing of the man¡¯s attack and leaving him open to the punch that she dug into the side of his ribs.
Another shockwave of mana and wind cracked out of her fist and the man was hurled away from her, Tristana hot on his heels as she chased after his ragdolling form and ground her heel into the ground as a ball of dark red fire bloomed to life between them.
There was a crackle of lightning through the air once more as the ball of fire detonated, consuming Tristana entirely in its heated grasp. The giant, muscled form of Trexin barreling out of the thick black smoke at the same moment with his gaze locked on Blessed Catalyst.
Haley, the only one of Blessed Catalyst that even had the capability to begin reacting to such speed, was only able to get a single half-formed crystal of ice to form on the ground between them before he was within striking distance of the four. His blade raised and bloodlust in his eyes as the arteries beneath his skin glowed a brilliant orange.
Two hands wrapped around the horns of the asuran Lord and his upper body jerked forward slightly from the momentum of something landing on his back.
Both feet of Tristana dug into the spine of Trexin as she pulled on his horns with all her might and jerked her body back, forcing the monster of a man to follow alongside her inertia and tumble back. Leveraging the position on his back that she had managed to gain, the woman forced his back to curl as far back as she could make it amidst his fall and levered his feet off the ground using nothing but her own mana-enhanced strength.
Now upside down and midair, the woman brought her feet both in and kicked out, letting go of his horns at the exact same moment to launch him away with a shockwave and a vapor cone of air.
Landing with a single hand on the ground, Tristana grinned and struck a quick pose while upside down before tensing her arm and flinging herself back into the air and onto her feet. The woman¡¯s lack of movement, for once, allowed everyone else to see the injuries that she had sustained from the battle so far.
Which, in their visible totality, numbered only a few small pink marks along her arms, legs and face from the fireball that had consumed her entirely only a few seconds prior.
¡®Damn, for a guy of his strength he¡¯s really pushing me hard. Though my lack of a blade definitely helps him out.¡¯ The [Platinum-rank] adventurer thought to herself, crouching slightly as she felt a stir in his mana and leaping towards him as he made a charge once more.
She had expected him, as he had done earlier, to make a charge towards the red-haired teen and his party once again. Whatever beef this ancient monster had with him was evidently something serious and something that he wouldn¡¯t be letting go anytime soon.
At least the kid himself seemed just as confused as she felt; meant that he didn¡¯t have some kind of deep dark secret that she¡¯d probably have to try and pry out of him after this.
Yet instead of what she had expected, he instead made a beeline dash directly for the other adventurer party that had crashed down here with them. The three of them having made their way out of the zynthan sphere¡¯s influence and currently aiding their armoured companion out of their ruined armour while simultaneously healing them.
It was a smart move, targeting one party enough times for her to start anticipating it and suddenly make a break for the other party without warning. If she had still been a [Tungsten-rank] adventurer, it may have been a viable option. However, she also knew, in her heart of hearts, that his hatred for the red-haired teen wasn¡¯t something faked, nor was it something easy to ignore.
Her left foot impacted the right wrist of the man and ground both of their inertia to a dead halt as she flipped back and he spun on the spot, the edge of his second blade just barely nicking her as it slipped underneath her arm amidst her backflip. Landing on the ground she followed her momentum without letting it die off just yet, crouching low and swiping out with a foot that just barely missed his own as he raised his leg.
Rolling back along the ground to avoid that very same foot as he tried to stomp on her head, the woman rolled on a suddenly uneven piece of terrain and flipped herself back to her feet with a small wobble.
A blur of white to her side forced her attention on it involuntarily, her eyes on sheer instinct moved to track the sudden motion that she had caught in her periphery.
It was one of Trexin¡¯s blades, no doubt thrown in the brief moment that she had been avoiding his stomp. Its form flipped smoothly directly towards the crowd of teens crouched nearby; unable to move due to the sheer power output of the two and the destruction that followed their strikes.
If she had still been a [Tungsten-rank] then this little ploy of his may have been successful, however one didn¡¯t become a [Platinum-rank Warrior] of any kind without some form of magical proficiency.
It took barely a fraction of a second for her spell to spring to life, not even a magic circle spawned in doing so. Such was the sheer knowledge and proficiency that she had with her spell, a spherical dome of silver-blue mana that, like everything else she had done, held a remarkable likeness to the moon.
With a hiss not unlike that of a hot metal rod being dunked in water and the sound of glass cracking, the blade buried itself halfway into the spherical shield, stopping with a good fifty or so centimeters until it would have struck Peter head on. No doubt ending his life instantly with no hope of recovery.
Very slowly he fell backwards from the crouch that he had previously been in, landing on his butt with a small ¡®oof¡¯ and an expression drained of both colour and exuberance as his eyes focused on nothing but the tip of the blade in question.
¡°Hey, don¡¯t look so scared.¡± Tristana appeared outside her shield as if she had flickered out of, and back into, reality instead of actually moving, her right foot lifting and looping on a notch in the handguard of the blade. ¡°After all, you¡¯ve got me here to protect you lot!¡±
Her shield shattered as she kicked forward, ripping the blade out of the magical construct and throwing it across the cavern and directly into the waiting twin blade of the man in question. Both blades struck each other in a crack of wind and an explosion of sparks before he was able to throw them both up into the air, grabbing them both with slightly heavier breathing as they flipped through the air and fell back towards the ground.
¡®This woman, what the hell is she? To not only match my power but push me back too? This is inconceivable, but the truth can¡¯t be ignored. If this keeps up, she¡¯s going to kill me and everyone else that freed me from stasis.¡¯ Trexin scowled to himself, able to still sense that none of his subordinates had moved from their previous position.
Despite him giving the order for them to do that, he was hardly surprised to sense that they hadn¡¯t. They likely hadn¡¯t moved for the exact same reason that none of the Twin-Continents adventurers had done so, it would make them a target more susceptible to being caught in the crossfire of his fight with the woman.
Now, the only question was what could he possibly do to get himself and his subordinates out of here alive?
¡®This big guy is no joke. To last this long against me is no small feat, blade or no. But I can¡¯t let the fight go on for too much longer. The mana in the air is already beginning to spark and rise. Even without synchronization occurring, we¡¯re both outputting so much that we¡¯re about to hit the threshold for amplification. The moment that happens, we can say goodbye to keeping any of our allies safe.¡¯ She quietly clicked her tongue as she thought over her options.
She couldn¡¯t allow this to go on any longer but just deciding to stop the fight wasn¡¯t exactly a viable option either, no she had to figure out something else to do to end this quickly. Even another thirty seconds of combat at the level that they had been going at it¡
¡°You¡are strong.¡± Trexin finally spoke, getting a raise of one of her eyebrows and a confident grin in return.
¡°Yeah, I like to think so, thanks.¡±
¡°I can tell that you don¡¯t want this fight to continue either.¡±
¡®Oh? Is he going to try and strike a deal with me? Perfect, if he lets his guard down to offer or demand something, one strike to the heart or kidney should be able to do it.¡¯
¡°Yeah, that¡¯s one way of putting it. You gonna try and demand I stand down or something?¡± She snorted, cracking her neck with one hand to brace it.
¡°Despite my appearance, I am not a simple-minded brute.¡± Trexin huffed, clearly unamused by her comment, and even less amused by the grin she shot him in response. ¡°Create a magical contract with me that you will allow myself and my subordinates to leave unharmed and I will answer any three questions that you ask beforehand.¡±
¡°My Lord no!¡±
¡°Silence!¡± The roar of the winged asuran was more than enough to shut down the horned asuran that had called out; a clean-shaven, muscular man that looked to be the leader of the asuran¡¯s squad.
¡®Ok, this offer puts a damper on the instant-death plan.¡¯
Those three questions were, ironically enough, probably the only thing he could have actually offered that would have given her pause. Since getting information out of any asuran was infamously difficult, with any knowledge gained done so in spite of their vehement denial to treat them as anything but mortal enemies.
¡°Lady Promethea¡¡± The soft murmur of one of the girls nearby, with red hair and pink eyes, snapped her out of her internal musings, allowing her to finally make her decision.
¡°Deal. I shall allow you and your subordinates to leave these ruins unharmed given that you answer my three questions truthfully.¡± She spoke taking a few steps forward and holding a hand out, a small flame of mana igniting around her outstretched palm.
In response to her words, the man merely clicked his tongue in annoyance, no doubt having hoped that she was be stupid enough not to notice the easy backdoor he built into the wording but stepped forward and clasped hands with her regardless.
¡°Very well. I, Lord Trexin, agree to these terms.¡±
¡°Great!¡± She beamed, knocking both of their hands up enthusiastically and taking two steps back as both of them cut out their outputting mana to allow everyone in the cavern to move around without that pressure weighing down on them.
¡°Lady Promethea, are you sure this is wise?¡± One of the more powerful adventurers, a black-haired young man from the part of three, asked cautiously, looking between her and Trexin.
¡°There¡¯s adult things going on right now, just keep looking after your comrade and let me handle this.¡± She said, shooing him off with a flippant wave of her hand.
¡°Are you going to ask your questions or not, woman?¡± Trexin growled, aware that neither he nor his subordinates could safely leave until she did so.
¡°Touchy touchy.¡± She muttered, shaking her head. ¡°Fine, for my first question. Where do the asuran people come from?¡±
Behind Trexin, she noticed at least three of his asuran supporters flinch at her sudden question. Good, she¡¯d managed to hit a piece that they hadn¡¯t wanted aired yet.
¡°Tsk. Starting off weak, aren¡¯t you?¡± Trexin scoffed, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes as he held both of his blades under his armpits, trapped between his biceps and torso.
¡®He seems a lot less worried about it then his supporters, was it more common knowledge when he was still around?¡¯
¡°Just answer the question.¡±
¡°Fine. The asuran people come from the Continent of Rejection. Ask your next question.¡±
Tristana pressed her lips together, unimpressed with the amount of information that she had been able to glean from that question. Not a brute indeed¡
¡°That ability you used to stop me from holding my blade. How does it work?¡±
The change in his demeanour was instant, veins in arms and neck bulging as his teeth grit together harshly.
The fingers in Tristana¡¯s hand curled and tensed as she felt a timer begin counting down in her mind, more and more mana flowing into her hand as the numbers ticked down.
¡°It¡¯s a racial ability.¡± Trexin finally spit out, his eyes zeroed in on her hand with a glare that could have set even water on fire.
¡®That sensation¡Even the art of contracts has improved since I last roamed the land? Three more seconds of silence and I would have incurred the penalty of the contract.¡¯ That realization worried him, more than he would like to admit.
He had to get out of here, he had to get out of here as soon as he possibly could. And unfortunately, that meant playing along with this aggravating woman and her questions.
¡°The rejection of phenomena. By placing an open palm on someone or something and speaking what we wish to reject, an asuran is capable of outright denying the function or existence of whatever we desire.¡±
The moment that he said that, the man¡¯s mouth clicked closed, a small hiss leaving the [Platinum-rank] adventurers lips as she realized that there was more that he was able to get away with not saying by the way that his mouth suddenly slammed shut.
Likely, it had something to do with the weaknesses or limitations of the ability, based on the fact that he refused to say it.
No matter, knowing them would be more useful but knowing that they existed was good enough for now.
¡°My final question, why were you targeting the red-haired brat over there?¡± She smirked, jabbing a thumb over her shoulder towards the teen in question.
Her smirk only grew when she heard an indignant shout from the teen in question at being called a ¡®brat¡¯.
¡°¡Three gods slighted our people in the past. He displays signs of being blessed by one of those three gods. An unfortunate blight from an uncaring, unfeeling deity.¡± Trexin answered, his arteries glowing orange for a brief moment again before he turned on the heel of his foot to approach his subordinates now that the three questions had been answered.
It was unfortunate that she couldn¡¯t do it herself, but by now every [Tungsten-rank] and [Gold-rank] adventurer was bound to be on high alert and gathered above. Even with nine of them there was no hope of them making it out ali-
Or they could just teleport away now that Trexin had the time to focus, that too.
With a deep sigh, Tristana¡¯s palm smacked into her face and held firm, a deep grumble leaving her lips muffled by her hand as she cursed quietly to herself.
Leave it to her to actually take the mental effort to plan something clever and just completely forget about the simplest way out of the ruins. She was never going to hear the end of this once the rest of her party found out.
They would find out about this despite her best efforts, she just knew it.
¡°I¡¯m blessed by a God?¡±
¡°The worst possible one, apparently. Great job.¡±
¡°¡Unfair.¡±
¡°What a scoop!¡±
Tristana sighed once more and lowered her hand as she heard the voices of the teens behind her.
Now, after all that fun and excitement, she had to do the most boring part of this dumb job: clean-up. She really hoped that none of these kids were expecting to go through life as nameless, background adventurers that just showed up, did a job and left again.
Because, quite frankly, if they were hoping for such a future, it had just been shot out of the sky like a bird caught in a dragon¡¯s breath after everything that had happened today. They would be lucky if they ever went somewhere without the Guild covering it from now on. Gods help them if they actually manage to do something impressive or noteworthy.
Though, she supposed that most teens would be pretty stoked with becoming minor celebrities ¨Cthat also happened to have an eye of the Guild looking directly at them¨C by their age, right?
Celebrities and Lessons
¡°I can¡¯t believe we¡¯ve got to sit off to the side like kids in timeout.¡± Peter pouted, seated on some rubble with his elbows propped up on his knees and his palms on either side of his face.
¡°Well, what do you expect? We came across people we ¨Capparently¨C weren¡¯t ever meant to know about sneaking into these ruins and then happened to break multiple hundreds of meters below where we were meant to be and stumbled upon a top-secret Guild operation. Honestly, the fact that we haven¡¯t been executed or arrested is already a blessing.¡± Angelica explained, trying to get her brother to stop grumbling when honestly their luck had been nothing short of casino-emptying.
¡°The Guild wouldn¡¯t do that.¡± Haley denied with a shake of her head before stopping and pondering for a moment, which very much did not help any of their moods. ¡°Well, maybe the arresting part. But I¡¯m just worried about what¡¯s going to happen to my story, there¡¯s so much juicy stuff in there!¡±
¡°What a shameless reporter.¡± Felicia droned, jabbing the brunette in the side with a finger and getting a loud yelp in return.
¡°Well, what do you expect me to do? I went with you guys because I was expecting to get a good article out of it, and I got a godly one instead!¡± She gushed, clutching her notebook to her chest and turning this way and that as she squealed quietly.
¡°There¡¯s no possible way that they don¡¯t take that story and burn it to a crisp.¡± Angelica deadpanned, giving Haley a half-lidded stare as the reporter pouted even more and clutched her notebook tighter.
¡°Well, they¡¯re not meant to since I¡¯m a reporter and there¡¯s others here too and we¡¯re not meant to be something that regular adventurers can get in the way of.¡± She began explaining, only to be cut off by Angelica.
¡°Except this isn¡¯t a regular adventurer, this is a [Platinum-rank].¡±
¡°Yeah, except that. There¡¯s really nothing I can do to stop her if she really decides to get rid of the story except go to my higher-ups when I get back.¡±
¡°Which you can¡¯t do if you get arrested too.¡± Felicia added in helpfully, only to tilt her head to the side as Haley shook hers.
¡°Even if I am, it¡¯s common practice to visit reporters no matter where they¡¯ve been placed and get a truthful recounting out of them. It''s one of the ways that the Guild¡¯s reporters have developed to get around situations where a reporter has uncovered something that higher ranked adventurers or employees don¡¯t want to see the light of day.¡±
¡°Doesn¡¯t that make you like a separate faction inside the Guild?¡± Peter asked, a little confused about how the Guild¡¯s reporters could have so much power.
¡°Sort of, we¡¯re still very much a part of the Guild but the Guild Master himself has a pretty vested interest in keeping us as individualistic as possible. Not to mention that a bunch of the higher-ranked adventurers agree and help enforce his ruling.¡±
¡°So¡.is something bad going to happen or not?¡± Peter¡¯s eyebrow raised as he asked, the teen startling a little as she wined and buried her head in her hands.
¡°I don¡¯t know! This suspense is killing me!¡±
¡°¡¯Sup Runts?¡±
¡°AH!¡± All four of them jumped at the sudden voice of Tristana in front of them, Peter and Angelica hugging each other while Felicia had both of her hands up at about chest level with her fingers curled weakly and Haley fumbled for her notebook that she¡¯d accidentally thrown high into the air.
In response to this, Tristana could do nothing except burst into a fit of laughter that left all four teens in various states of embarrassment. Her arms crossed in front of her and her hands clutching her sides as she laughed.
After seeing her in the fight with Trexin and the sheer intensity that she had gone through it with, seeing her now when she was calm and relaxed felt like nothing but pure whiplash to the four teens. Where had the rough, brutal-yet-skilled adventurer that had manhandled a winged behemoth of a man gone and where had she been hiding this relaxed, teasing demeanour in the meantime?
Though it''s not like that teasing nature of hers hadn¡¯t shown up amidst her fight with Trexin, some of her comments flashed through the teen¡¯s minds as she finally calmed down from her laughter and began speaking again.
¡°Ah, gods that was good.¡± She chuckled, wiping a small tear out of one of her eyes with a finger before taking a quick moment to breathe in and out deeply and calm herself down. ¡°Alright, kiddlings. I¡¯ve just finished my talk with that party over there so now it¡¯s your turn.¡±
¡®Here it is. How much trouble are we going to get into¡?¡¯ Angelica thought to herself, trying her absolute best to keep the nervousness off her expression.
Unfortunately, both Felicia and Haley were far better at that task than she was, but at least she didn¡¯t come in dead last. That particular honour went to her brother and his complete lack of a poker face.
¡°So, to get the boring stuff over with, this place was somewhere that you four weren¡¯t meant to be and definitely weren¡¯t meant to see.¡±
¡°It wasn¡¯t our fault we fell down here!¡± Peter argued back, clicking his mouth closed as she looked over at him without her body or expression moving a single centimeter.
¡°Yeah, believe me, I¡¯ve already gathered that from the brief rundowns you four gave to the others. However, fact of the matter is that you girls, and guy, did see this place and did see and hear things that you really weren¡¯t meant to.¡±
¡°So, what¡¯s going to happen to us now?¡± Angelica asked, almost shyly, as she twiddled her thumbs together and tried her absolute best to look the [Platinum-rank] adventurer in the eye.
Their potential future as adventurers pretty much entirely hung in the balance right now. And the acknowledgment of that had the girl scared, more so than anything else she had ever faced in her life up until this moment.
With the singular, understandable, exception of Trexin himself.
¡°You worried about something, by chance?¡± She questioned with a small, cheeky grin, as she looked at Angelica. ¡°You seem to be under the impression that something is going to happen.¡±
¡°Not under the impression. Just¡.worried.¡± She weakly countered, the twiddling of her fingers picking up their pace as Tristana just gave the four of them an impish, intimidating, grin.
¡°Banishment, Exile, Jail, Death. They¡¯re definitely all punishments that await the four of you for the level of secret that you¡¯ve just stumbled upon.¡±
Her words had the blood draining out of the four¡¯s faces quicker than water down a drain and their expressions slackening into nothing but pure disbelief and fear.
Her words confirmed every last one of their worst fears, and the fact that all of them were on the table was something that none of them particularly wanted to hear. Especially after the near-death experience marathon that today had turned out to be for them.
¡°¡But not something you need to worry about!¡± She cheered with both of her hands thrown up beside her face.
Peter collapsed off the side of the rubble he was using as a seat and Haley slowly slid down with an expression halfway between dizzy and nauseous. Angelica and Felicia only blinked in stupefaction at the woman¡¯s surprise reveal.
¡°Relax, brats.¡± Tristana snorted, lowering her hands to cross them over her chest. ¡°In all honesty, having little Miss Reporter there has probably been your biggest saving grace of this whole thing.¡±
¡°Hm? Because of the agreement between the reporting branch and the rest of the Guild?¡± Haley questioned, blinking rapidly and pointing at herself weakly.
¡°That¡¯s right! In all honesty, I reckon that keeping some of this stuff in the dark is just a recipe for disaster but some of the higher-ups amongst both the adventurers and the Guild admins believe it easier to keep the peace if it¡¯s simply just not out in the open. Now that the four of you are aware of all of this stuff, expecting you to stay quiet about it is out of the question entirely, as is expecting you to slink off quietly and go back to your regular lives.¡±
¡°So¡what¡¯s going to happen then?¡± Angelica asked, trying to figure out where this conversation was going and finding herself thrown for a complete loop.
¡°Well normally I¡¯d enter a Magic Contract with the four of you to keep quiet about all of this and you¡¯d simply just have a bunch of scrutiny from the Guild. But then that would require placing our dear brunette here to a contract that limits the information she can relay, and that¡¯s a big no-no now, isn¡¯t it?¡± Her green eyes slid over to Haley once more with a devious grin on her face, her thoughts on the predicament more than evident to the four of them.
¡°That¡¯s- that¡¯s right.¡± Haley nodded.
Her brain, sluggish from the lack of adrenaline and anxiety, began to kick back into gear. Pieces of the puzzle slotted into place slowly as Tristana talked more and her own ¨Climited¨C knowledge of the reporting branches¡¯ rules and stipulations came to the forefront of her mind.
¡°Forbidding a reporter to report something can only be done by a reporter''s direct higher-up or the Guild Master himself, any adventurers or lower-ranked employees that attempt to do so are subject to incredibly strict punishments.¡±
¡°And wanna know who isn¡¯t here in this little cavern with us? Your higher-ups or the Guild Master.¡± Tristana¡¯s grin seemed to sharpen for a moment as she spoke, her fingers tensing and squeezing her own arm roughly.
¡°Which means that you can¡¯t stop her from reporting any of this without punishments falling on everyone here.¡± Angelica mumbled, the girl clutching her chin with her forefinger and thumb as she thought through what that would mean.
¡°Bingo! Which, and I cannot stress this enough, really has the Shadow Mooks here twisted into a pretty big pretzel. I can¡¯t lie.¡± Tristana joked, jabbing a thumb over her shoulder towards a larger gathering of said ¡®shadow mooks¡¯ that she spoke of.
¡°Then why not take us out?¡± Peter questioned, only to yelp as his sister slapped him over the back of the head.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
¡°Peter, are you nuts!?¡±
¡°Dude.¡± Felicia just gave her friend the driest of stares that she possibly could.
¡°Why?¡± Even Haley was giving Peter a look of minor devastation, which was probably what hurt him the most.
He knew that he really messed up when even people outside Angelica and Felicia were giving him that kind of look.
¡°Pffttt, I like your guts kid. But they thought that too, and the simple answer is because I refuse.¡± For a brief moment, a few pebbles at her feet bounced off the ground and her eyes glowed in the shadow of her fringe, the four of them shivering as they felt the ever-so-brief pulse of mana that left her body.
¡°I didn¡¯t just go through all of that shit and let them get away just for those murky bastards to turn around and merc you kids the moment it finished. Casualties are always something that¡¯s expected in a quest, but when you quest with me that shit ain¡¯t going to happen when I have the power to stop it.¡± Tristana smirked and poked her thumb against her chest while straightening her back out a little, oozing confidence in a way that only someone of her rank possibly could.
¡°So, what¡¯s happening then? I¡¯m not getting where this is going.¡± Peter pouted, clearly getting impatient with Tristana not just coming out and explaining their fate.
¡°Ah, well that¡¯s simple. If you four agree to tell a slightly altered version of the truth, with all the big things left intact and just a few innocuous details left out or changed, you all get to become minor celebrities!¡± She exclaimed, clapping her hands together and giving them a wide smile with her eyes closed.
¡°¡.huh?¡± Peter¡¯s surprised sound seemed to perfectly encompass the look of shock that painted all their expressions, the four of them staring at her with wide, unblinking eyes.
¡°HAH! Yeah, I thought you¡¯d react like that!¡± Tristana cackled, clutching her sides again as she took a quick moment to get her laughing fit over with before she crouched down to be a little more even with her eyeline.
¡°Look, I¡¯ll be honest with you kids. After all this, there was no hope of you ever fading into anonymity like before all this happened. This option is the best of three worlds where I don¡¯t get in trouble, those guys over there don¡¯t get in trouble, and you don¡¯t get in trouble. You agree to this, and you still get to release that hit piece of yours without any trouble or fuss.¡±
She looked pointedly at Haley and pointed a single finger at her too for emphasis.
¡°And you three not only get public backing from me and some of the other higher-ups here but also fame and notoriety that can seriously help push the three of you through the ranks while the Guild has a convenient excuse to keep an eye on you without it raising any suspicion.¡±
This time she looked at Blessed Catalyst, sliding her pointing finger to cycle between the three of them like sonar.
¡°This deal¡.seems really difficult to refute.¡± Angelica muttered, her eyebrows furrowed, and lips pressed tight.
¡°That¡¯s the whole idea. It¡¯s meant to be a good deal for you four.¡±
¡°This is really, really important to the Guild. Isn¡¯t it?¡± Peter asked, his voice quiet and his gaze serious as he locked eyes with Tristana.
¡°More than any of the five of us know, kiddo.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll agree.¡± Haley said suddenly, making everyone look over at her. ¡°This deal, it¡¯s the only way I can release this story in anything close to its truest state without getting in trouble. It''s too good to give up.¡±
¡°I agree as well.¡± Peter suddenly announced, making both Angelica and Felicia jolt slightly. ¡°I can¡¯t let Angelica and Felicia get in trouble for something that I¡¯m just as responsible for.¡±
¡°Jeez, you¡¯re acting like we chose not to act too.¡± Angelica sighed, crossing her arms and shaking her head. ¡°I agree too, Miss Promethea.¡±
¡°I, as well.¡± Felicia nodded, both of her hands clutching her staff so tight that her knuckles began to lose their colour.
¡°Ey! There we go! Trust me, there¡¯s some pretty nice upsides to this deal.¡± She tried to assuage their worries, only to snicker suddenly. ¡°But I was serious about not getting to go back to anonymity. I hope you¡¯re ready to be reporting about these three for a while, Miss Reporter.¡±
¡°I- uh- Yes of course! They¡¯re all so interesting that I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be able to get plenty of stories even if I can¡¯t join them on any quests.¡±
¡°That¡¯s the spirit! Now let¡¯s go over what details you kiddo¡¯s have gotta change, ok?¡±
As the four of them nodded and listened to Tristana¡¯s words, Peter couldn¡¯t help but think about their wayward fourth member currently off who-knows-where in the world doing who-knows-what.
What had he done? Who had he met? Where had he gone? Peter wondered about all these things and more. Yet the first thing that he thought, and the main worry that stuck inside his brain like a particularly catchy song, was quite simply: Alec was already struggling with his self-esteem even when he was still an active member of their party, how would he react seeing them constantly in the World Quest magazine?
Peter could only hope that his friend wasn¡¯t much of an avid reader of the magazine, or, at the very least, didn¡¯t take their sudden fame to heart.
¡®Hah! What am I thinking? No matter how famous we become, I¡¯m sure that Alec will be right alongside us. All he has to do is focus on himself and what he needs right now. Man, I can¡¯t wait to hear about how much he¡¯s grown when we finally meet back up again! I want to know what he¡¯s learned!¡¯
XXXxxxXXX
Dragon-Scale Academy, Private Training Room 1
¡°Oh, come now, do you kids not learn?¡± Headmaster Xyn laughed, an arm curled behind his back as the other held a simple wooden training blade within its grasp.
His blade blurred back and forth as he blocked and deflected blows from both Alec and Olivia in quick succession. His feet danced elegantly as he maneuvered himself to always keep both teens within the same general direction that he could keep his eyes on.
The man seemed absolutely adamant not to let either teen circle around him and catch him in a proper pincer. Yet even on the few chances that they managed to pull off something genuinely clever to escape the cone he kept herding them into he was always quick to shut down their attack and herd them right back into the ¡®cone¡¯ in front of him.
¡°Keep an eye on my blade, yes, but you have to focus on more than that.¡± Xyn lectured, twisting his blade to throw Alec¡¯s to the side, using him to block Olivia¡¯s rising slash and nearly making the both of them tumble over each other.
¡°Crap! Sorry!¡±
¡°Augh! Why weren¡¯t you prepared for that!?¡±
Both teens tried to untangle themselves as quickly as they could, only to scream in surprise and fear as Xyn swiped his blade in their direction, picking the air inside the room up into a gale-force wind that threw the both of them across the room.
¡°And that¡¯s death number five for both of you, I do believe.¡± The headmaster hummed smugly, resting the tip of his training blade on the ground and using it to prop his weight up.
Instantly both teens just went limp, exhaustion and defeat in their slow groans as they realized that their lesson for the night was over.
Xyn had to give them their props though. When he had asked them earlier if they wanted to take private lessons with him, he hadn¡¯t expected Olivia to ask for one right away, and for Alec to agree with her. He could admire that kind of dedication in a student.
Though it was rather late, and he hadn¡¯t been expecting to run a lesson at the moment, so he¡¯d agreed on the caveat that the lesson would end once he had ¡®killed¡¯ the both of them five times.
He had had to make sure that things didn¡¯t end too fast, of course, but the both of them had genuinely done better than he had initially thought that they would.
Even in some of the regular lessons that he had filled in for before, very rarely had any of the students actually realized that he was actively herding them, let alone figure out a way to break away long enough to get an attack in.
And while neither Olivia or Alec had even come close to getting an attack to actually land the both of them had figured out what he was doing surprisingly quickly.
Had the both of them actually been trying to work together, they may have actually gotten close to hitting him, but unfortunately that future had yet to pass.
¡®Between the two of them, their feelings of inferiority keep pushing them to keep trying and keep improving. The only problem is that those feelings are also directed at each other. So, neither one can truly break away to work for a proper victory because the other one is usually left trying to handle me alone for a moment and that sets the other off. Olivia¡¯s feelings of inferiority are far more obvious and aggressive, but Alec¡¯s are no less powerful.¡¯ Xyn mentally catalogued the two, listening to the conversation between the two silently with fairly rapt interest.
¡°So close¡¡±
¡°That wasn¡¯t close at all, Dius. Are you kidding me?¡± Olivia huffed, rolling Alec off of her and standing up, dusting herself down as he stood up as well.
¡°Towards the middle, you did especially well-¡°
¡°You mean the middle where I was tripped mid-attack and landed on my face while you used the opportunity to engage the headmaster?¡± She scowled, her grip on her blade tightening as the memory came to mind.
No matter what she had tried she had just been a sidenote to Alec and his performance that entire bout. It¡¯s like he was trying to mock her by rubbing his natural skill in her face.
¡°No, I mean right after that where he winded me and you held him off.¡± Alec denied quickly, shaking his head.
Despite his best attempts, the teen couldn¡¯t help but get slightly aggravated with the pearlescent-haired girl. Why couldn¡¯t she see that he had been pulling her down the entire time? She had been at the top of her game the entire match and he just felt like he was stuck with a jammed wheel the entire time, failing no matter what he tried and how he did so.
¡°He only winded you because you were pushing him too hard, meanwhile none of my attacks even got close to making contact.¡±
¡°Neither did mine. Do you think that I secretly had the power to hit him and just chose not to the entire time? At least you could break out of his cone without assistance.¡± Alec threw both of his arms out to the side as he argued.
He was just trying to help her calm down and give her a few points of praise. How had it turned into an argument like this where she was doing nothing but getting angrier at him?
¡°You are completely insufferable! Do you find it amusing to just refute all of my points for the hell of it?¡±
¡°For the hell- I¡¯m saying that you were doing better than me!¡± Alec blinked rapidly and shook his head as he leant back a little, thrown completely off his game by that singular comment.
¡°By pointing out that I was playing a supporting role for you? I don¡¯t want to hear that kind of thing from a genius like you.¡±
¡°Genius!? I¡¯m not any kind of genius what are you even-¡°
¡°I¡¯m done.¡± Olivia snapped, cutting Alec off and storming out of the room with a stiff, silent bow towards Xyn and a slam of the doors.
Left standing in the room, shocked mute by the girl¡¯s words and her sudden departure, Alec could only blink owlishly at the door as he slowly lowered his hand, trying to wrap that entire argument around his head and actually understand what the hell he had said that had pissed her off so badly.
¡°How about you head back to your room and rest for the night, Alec?¡± Xyn suddenly suggested, mulling over the argument himself. ¡°It¡¯s fairly late and I think the both of you need some time to cool off before seeing each other again.¡±
¡°I- yeah. You¡¯re right. Thank you for the lesson.¡± Alec muttered in a daze, giving a small bow to Xyn as well and making his way out of the room.
None of that conversation made sense and the more he thought it over the less sense it made. He had been trying to tell her that she shouldn¡¯t be annoyed because she had actually been able to do things while he had required her help to do everything that he had actually managed to do. She was undeniably the MVP of that bout and yet no matter what he said or how he said it, it was like she heard completely different words coming out of his mouth.
As he turned a corner to start going down the stairs of the building he yawned and rubbed one of his eyes. The lethargy from such a high-intensity spar finally caught up to him now that the fighting ¨Cand argument¨C was over.
¡°Whatever, who cares. We¡¯re just too different to ever get along, I don¡¯t know why I try.¡±
And by the time that he got back to his dorm room, the teens muttered grievances disappeared in a ¡®thump¡¯ of his body onto his bed and the complete lights off of his consciousness. The teen asleep before he could even begin enjoying the comfort of his bed.
All that glitters is not [Gold]
¡°Ah, I see that you two finally got enough training that you weren¡¯t kicked out of the Power Stance classes.¡± Xyn chuckled as he walked into his private training ground and saw both of his students practicing the exact same motion in slow, careful arcs.
He had told the both of them that he was willing to hold a lesson tonight, which was why they were here. Yet he had gotten a bit carried away with the proper lesson that he was teaching for some of the more experienced students and ended up arriving at his private lesson a bit later than initially planned.
About 16 minutes late, but he doubted that either of the teens in front of him cared that much.
Based on their movements and the way that they were trying to form their mana through their swords, the technique that they had finally learnt was Glancing Scale.
Ironic, considering that the proper learning order of the Dragon-Scale techniques actually began with Iron Scales and then Glancing Scale, but he supposed that when you ran a school like they did, messing up the ¡®proper¡¯ order was to be expected.
Not to mention that the difficulty of the technique was actually making the two teens play nice and work together for a change, a welcome pace after the argument that they had had a week and a half ago.
The Headmaster may have had the ability to step in before now and prune their inferiority complexes, but in all honesty he didn¡¯t want to. They were both big kids ¨Cbig, immature and somewhat na?ve, kids¨C and the whole point of Dragon-Scale was to give their students their own freedom and agency to do and act how they please.
Within reason, of course.
Neither of them started random fist fights in the middle of a hallway nor were they being disruptive in class aside from a few cases where they started to get a bit too heated. Neither of them was obligated to like the other and Dragon-Scale didn¡¯t need, want or care if they did or didn¡¯t. So therefore, neither did Xyn.
However, he could admit, from a teacher¡¯s point of view, why they continued to get placed together even as both the teens¡¯ annoyance with the status quo continued to get more and more evident by the day. The scene in front of him only proved it.
Their rate of growth was, quite frankly, disturbing to watch. Especially to those that had already hit their limit at or just above average proficiency.
¡°About time.¡± Olivia huffed as the two of them slid out of their stances and let their blades fall to their sides.
¡°Getting continually denied was annoying.¡± Alec grumbled, stretching his arms a little as Xyn shrugged his coat off and grabbed one of the many practice blades hung on the eastern wall.
¡°Oh, I¡¯ve heard all about it. It¡¯s been a running bet amongst the teachers to see if either of you two would try sneaking into a class for a while now.¡± He admitted to the two teens, grinning slyly as he heard the both of them click their tongues at once.
It was that similarity between the two of them that always made him curious how they could continually go from working well together to being on the verge of blows, yet in his heart of hearts he already knew that that very same similarity was the answer.
Also, teenage hormones. Gods above how he didn¡¯t miss dealing with that.
¡°Ah.¡± Alec jolted slightly before his expression shifted into one ever so slightly more self-conscious as he spoke again. ¡°I don¡¯t know why they thought I would do that, sneaking into places isn¡¯t something I¡¯d ever do.¡±
¡°Cause it¡¯s only bad if you get caught, right?¡± Xyn chuckled with a raised eyebrow, seeing straight through his lie.
At his side, Olivia gave Alec a look of pure surprise and confusion before she perked up a bit too and a flash of understanding shot through her eyes.
¡°No of course not! I can¡¯t believe that someone would ever think to do that.¡± She denied with a shake of her head.
¡®How amusing, dear Alec here has the instincts to instantly deny any wrongdoing but not the acting to get away with it. While little Olivia doesn¡¯t have the same reflex to lie but is much better at pulling off a convincing fa?ade.¡¯ Xyn thought to himself, only chuckling externally and spinning his sword in a slow and flashy fashion as he walked over to them.
¡°If you two say so. How about we go through Glancing Scale for today¡¯s lesson? Since the two of you seem to have it on your mind and the formation of both of your mana was all wrong. If you tried turning your versions of the technique into a Power Stance, you¡¯d blow your sword to smithereens.¡±
Olivia¡¯s gaze sharpened and her grip on her blade tightened halfway through his comment, a flash of something darker dancing across her eyes at the same time as Alec just huffed in annoyance and crossed his arms at the man¡¯s comment.
¡°Well? What do the two of you say?¡± He asked with a somewhat cheeky hum, wobbling the tip of his training blade in their direction mockingly.
¡°Fine.¡±
¡°Fine.¡±
Alec jolted slightly at the venom in Olivia¡¯s voice, and even Xyn raised an eyebrow. He was absolutely certain that she would have heard far worse comments from some of the teachers that he had employed at the school and yet he¡¯d never heard about her getting this angry from a single comment, what could he have possibly said that set her off to this extent?
¡°That¡¯s the fiery spirit I¡¯m looking for!¡± The Headmaster rolled with the punches and gestured for them both to raise their blades, ¡°Now, let''s see how you do with a proper strike first!¡±
XXXxxxXXX
The Following Day, Zenik Adventurer¡¯s Guild Branch
¡°Let¡¯s see. No. No. Noooooo. Ew definitely not.¡± Noelle Kio muttered to herself as she read through the flyer¡¯s for some of the [Gold-rank] quests held within the specific floor that she stood on.
After about three weeks of waiting and putting it off to do ¨Ctruthfully nothing of any real importance¨C the Kio [Summoner] was finally willing to make good on her promise to her younger sister and her friend.
Of course, the fact that she needed some more materials for some of her stronger summoning spells was a good reason to go after a new quest too. But she¡¯d say it was for Olivia and her friend, because that made it sound way nicer and less selfish.
So, here she was, now trying to find something at the bright and early time of 11am that was both valuable enough for her tastes and safe enough that she could get away with bringing two [Iron-rank] adventurers with her.
¡°Though they are martial fighters¡¡± She mumbled to herself, setting the bar of expectations just a notch lower in her mind as she kept looking.
She needed something that her summons could deal with that wouldn¡¯t outright crush them and the two teens she would be bringing with her, something that ideally was slow and as squishy as possible.
At the level of a [Gold-rank] quest such things didn¡¯t really exist anymore but a woman could hope.
Finally, after a few minutes of looking, where she lost a perfect quest to another party just before she could grab it, she finally found one that was close enough to perfect and quickly ripped it off the wall. It was a simple extermination quest for a Water Spirit, but it required quite a bit of travel directly north of Zenik to actually reach the lake that it was supposedly forming inside.
There had been a quest for an Earth Spirit as well, but at this level such spirits were usually beginning to forgo regular stone for gemstone in their make-up and they were an absolute pain to deal with.
The Water Spirit would be faster and harder to hit, but at least majority of her summons would still be able to interact with it without just uselessly bouncing off, so she decided to go with it.
Olivia and her friend would be pretty useless against it but that was going to be true either way, as martial fighters, so she really didn¡¯t care. Besides they¡¯d be getting cuts of the pay regardless, so neither of them had room to complain.
Since she wasn¡¯t allowed to take the quest out of the building and couldn¡¯t try and hide it either, she had to stay here so that it couldn¡¯t be taken and find some other way to get the two of them into the Guild Hall. Lucky for her, she knew exactly what to do.
At her feet, two purple magic circles lit to life, their soft glow illuminating the young woman as her hair and some of the frills on her clothing waved in a non-existent breeze.
¡°Go, my children. You know what to do.¡±
XXXxxxXXX
Dragon-Scale AcademyThis novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
Alec sighed as he sat on the sidelines of a class, forced to watch and not join in as two of the stronger, more experienced students duked it out.
It was a special opportunity to watch a match that actually went beyond the hyper-slow and careful sparring that newer students like Alec were confined to.
Since it was such a rare opportunity, he was surprised that he didn¡¯t see Olivia here either; not that they would have exactly been trading notes on the fight if she was.
This was a fight between two people that had learnt nearly all of the Dragon-Scale Power Stances with only two out of their grasp. Supposedly the only two that weren¡¯t just handed out on a whim due to their power and complexity.
Personally, Alec thought that it all came down to the individual that was actually using the technique ¨Che and Tyrius when it came to using Fortress Piercer was a prime example¨C but if that¡¯s what the school and headmaster wanted to do, then that¡¯s what they could do. It was no skin off his back.
The two students continued to fight, magic flaring in the air and techniques and Power Stances constantly shifting the balance between the two of them. Glancing Scale and Iron Scales ¨Ca technique based around the flat blocking of a strike by dispersing the force of the strike with the flat of the blade and their mana¨C were the main two technique¡¯s put-on display but some of the higher finesse techniques like Crushing Claw and Dragon¡¯s Might made their appearances as well.
Those technique¡¯s being an evolution of Glancing Scale involving using the deflection of an opponent¡¯s blade to open them up to a devastating strike by essentially inducing a pseudo-amplification within their blade, and the sole pure-offense technique taught within the Dragon-Scale style that just involved a high-level of physical reinforcement alongside a particular release of mana upon contact.
They were fascinating techniques, things that Alec had yet to see within the vastness of techniques and powers that the world had to offer and something that he doubted he would have ever gotten to see if he had stayed in Blessed Catalyst.
Yet watching this fight only made him bored.
Another long, slow sigh left his lips amidst the high-intensity cheering of the students around him as one of the student¡¯s Dragon¡¯s Might clashed head on with the other¡¯s Iron Scales. The shockwave from the dispersed force of Dragon¡¯s Might shrouding the two in dust and sandblasting the closest spectators ever so slightly.
¡®Glancing Scale or Crushing Claw would have been a better option there. The strike was a simple overhead one and could have easily been parried to the side to use either technique even if they couldn¡¯t take the time to turn it into a Power Stance.¡¯ He thought to himself, trying his absolute best to suppress a yawn as he quietly stood up and began to make his way out of the stands.
There was the slightest bit of guilt in the teen¡¯s soul as he did so, thinking about the internal commentary that he had kept up the entire time that he was watching the fight. How he had broken down their fighting styles and commented on the mistakes that they made constantly.
He didn¡¯t think for even a moment that he could beat either of them in a fight, at least not at his current level, but as a spectator looking from the outside in things just looked so¡.obvious. He knew that it was a common phenomenon, where someone watching something picked up things that someone doing the thing didn¡¯t due to the differences in stimuli that their brains had to contend with.
¡®But come on! Apart from the few moments where the both of them kicked it up a notch for some rapid skirmishes and I couldn¡¯t follow them it felt like I was watching two idiots dying of thirst while constantly stumbling around a pitcher of water!¡¯ He groaned mentally to himself, clutching at his hair with both of his hands and silently suffering amidst his exit.
Finally letting out the breath that he had kept so painfully contained in his lungs during his silent temptation to scream, he untangled his slightly grown hair from his fingers and let his hands fall to his side.
¡°Whatever¡ it''s an exhibition match, it''s not exactly like they¡¯re going to go all out in the middle of a crowded training room.¡± He muttered, finally leaving the building with his sight locked on his hand that trembled ever so slightly.
For some reason that even he didn¡¯t know, though, after watching that fight, he felt itchy and antsy. Like he needed to do something himself to work some energy out, but he didn¡¯t know what.
Nothing like this had ever happened to him before, even when Blessed Catalyst had joined with another [Copper-rank] party for a quest a few months before Alec¡¯s departure and he had watched them spar amongst themselves.
¡°What¡¯s this feeling? Why am I¡.angry?¡± He muttered stopping mid-step and staring at his hand as he slowly clenched and unclenched his fist.
Above him, silent and unnoticed, a raven constructed of purple mana circled the sky, its eye zeroed in on Alec and only him as it suddenly dived down, its form shifting and changing in a cloud of purple. Alec¡¯s body jolted as he turned on the ball of his foot and looked up, only to have a centipede the size of a human man fall from the sky and wrap him up completely. Its form sinking into a magic circle as the teen thrashed and screamed into the constructed carapace that placed itself just perfectly to muffle his screams.
XXXxxxXXX
The moment that he saw the scenery around him change, as he and the purple mana construct rose from the ground, Alec jerked sharply allowing himself just enough freedom to rip some of the construct¡¯s limbs off and fling himself out of its grasp along the floor.
Only to jerk violently as he collided with something back-first.
¡°Ah, what the- Dius!?¡± Olivia made a surprise sound as they both turned around to see the others there.
Namely, the innocently grinning form of Noelle as she wiggled her fingers at the two of them and the two guards that stood at the doorway with their arms crossed, looking as still as statues.
Despite that, however, Alec didn¡¯t dare to think that they weren¡¯t ready to move at a fraction of a moment¡¯s notice, they were too dangerous to ever do so.
Idly, he wondered how Noelle could ever be so comfortable around them, who oozed danger and power, unlike anyone that the blue-haired teen had ever seen outside of Alexandar. Yet even with that old man he had always been joking and jibbing and generally kept the danger that he emitted to a rather low level. So for the pearlescent-haired female to so casually draw their ire and then just ignore it, it was just something that Alec couldn¡¯t understand, no matter what angle he tried to approach the situation from.
¡°Hiiii~ I¡¯ve brought you here to pay up my end of the deal.¡± Noelle explained in a sing-song voice, clearly having fun.
¡°Did you have to do it like that!?¡± Olivia snapped, pointing in the direction of the constructs that had already begun to fade into small motes of light.
¡°How else would I do it?¡± Noelle questioned, placing a finger on her lips and tilting her head to the side.
¡°Obviously you could just-¡°
¡°Since it''s not like either of you can teleport or anything.¡±
Noelle¡¯s comment, simple and to the point, froze Olivia in her tracks, her fingers clenched into fists so tight that Alec was worried for a moment she would start hurting herself.
¡°We¡¯re going to be going after a water spirit, so I hope that the both of you are ready to get wet.¡± Noelle giggled, clearly finding the mental image to be at least somewhat funny.
Alec didn¡¯t even humour the thought, knowing exactly what kind of slippery slope that idea would turn into. He¡¯d rather not put himself in undue duress or harm, thank you very much.
¡°What a sick joke¡¡± The words were whispered, barely loud enough for Alec to hear as Noelle proudly walked out of the quest room.
The teen wanted to look over at Olivia, to ask what those words meant and why she sounded so hurt as she said them. To ask why she had reacted so violently to her sister''s words and why there seemed to be this odd distance between the two Kio sisters.
However, at the end of the day, Alec knew that he¡¯d only make the situation worse if he did so. Because he wasn¡¯t the social one of the group, he never had been ¨Cthat was more Peter and Angelica¡¯s scene¨C and he likely never would be. His social skills were nowhere near the level needed to actually get to the heart of the matter without utterly fucking the situation up beyond all hope of repair.
So, he didn¡¯t look. Alec didn¡¯t turn to see what her expression looked like and he didn¡¯t allow the question whirling at the forefront of his mind to tumble from his lips.
Instead, he snatched it all up and pushed it as far down into his psyche as he possibly could and then slammed the lid shut and just let out a small, humoured breath.
¡°Has your sister always been that carefree?¡±
¡°¡If by ¡®carefree¡¯ you mean ¡®stupid and na?ve¡¯ then yes.¡± Olivia finally retorted back, a small hint of mirth creeping into her own tone as she spoke.
¡°I suddenly dread joining this mission with her.¡±
¡°As you rightly should.¡±
¡°Are you two coming or not!?¡± Noelle barged back into the quest room with a large pout and squinted eyes, clearly not impressed by having been abandoned by the two teens.
¡°Calm down, we¡¯re coming.¡± Olivia snapped back, though the heat that had been welling up in her before was oddly missing.
With quiet steps, the two teens followed after her. Their footsteps in near-sync as they went down the flights of stairs to approach the desk on the ground floor to apply for the quest in question.
¡°You think that Xyn will be worried about us suddenly disappearing?¡± Alec suddenly brought up, getting a silent raise of Olivia¡¯s eyebrow before she answered.
¡°Unlikely, he seems like someone that rolls with the punches pretty well. Not to mention I think he¡¯ll be able to find out where we went fairly quickly.¡±
¡°True, he definitely has ways of getting information.¡± Alec nodded along, thinking over the situation himself.
He was a bit sad that they would be missing out on some training sessions with the headmaster, but a [Gold-rank] quest wasn¡¯t something that he was likely to experience for a long time and the opportunity was just too good to pass up.
Also, the pay was very, very nice.
If ¨Chowever¨C he had known what he would end up running into during the span of this quest, Alec Dius might never have agreed to go on it even if that pay had been doubled and given solely to him. Because the Twin-Continents were a land of strife and combat where civilizations fought for every ounce of territory that they claimed as theirs at every hour of the day.
And outside those borders, living in their own society almost entirely separated from the kingdoms and empires of man, elf, and other, lay a species whose destructive capabilities had yet to be fully discovered, for their own continued survival.
XXXxxxXXX
Meanwhile, Elsewhere
¡°The three of you have a simple mission.¡± A stray ray of sunlight glinted off the rapier strapped to the man¡¯s side, his gaze locked impassively on the hordes of training figures beneath him in the courtyard of the castle.
¡°Of course, my liege. Name it and it shall be done.¡±
¡°Before he can be allowed to grow and flourish in freedom, slay the anomaly ¡®Alec Dius¡¯.¡±
¡°It shall be done.¡± The three figures knelt behind him stated in unison, a small, cruel, smile making its way across his lips.
¡°You¡¯re bound by the pride of the Von Lung household you three, succeed or don¡¯t bother returning.¡±
¡°Yes, my liege.¡± The shadows seemed to stretch and warp supernaturally over the three of them, their forms disappearing entirely from view with one final, echoed, statement.
¡°For the glory of the Von Lung¡.¡±
A [Gold]-en opportunity
Three Days Later, Xyrtahn North
Sweat dripped from Alec¡¯s chin as he hopped back from Olivia, a click of her tongue reaching his ears as she shot out of her defensive stance, having tried to catch the blue-haired teen in a regular Glancing Scale. Their blades met three times in quick succession, a cut along Alec¡¯s shoulder stained the very real blade in his opponent¡¯s hands.
Taking a step left, the teen forced Olivia to take a step in the opposite direction to keep her distancing for a proper strike, only for her knee to make contact with his shin as he quickly stepped back in the opposing direction.
With wide eyes, the young woman stumbled back, thrown off-center by the sudden and unexpected twist and jerk of her own leg. Alec, quick to capitalize on the opening that he had created, took a heavy step forward his blade trailing behind him as he tunnel-visioned on closing in on Olivia before she could get back up.
The sound of metal on earth reached his ears almost at the exact same time as the sensation of her foot kicking his weight-baring leg and making it buckle just as hers had.
With a startled yelp, Alec crashed into Olivia, the both of them sent tumbling to the ground in a tangle of limbs, hair, and cloth; both of their blades dropped on instinct.
¡®What the hell¡?¡¯ Alec stared blankly into the ground as he felt Olivia squeeze his neck between her arm and ribcage while his left hand held her right knee and his right hand clasped her face.
As he breathed heavily, he thought over the last few seconds of their spar, replaying it in his mind to try and figure out how everything had gone so wrong.
The answer, for once, lay not in his own failing but rather came from the quick thinking and sheer skill of Olivia. In the moment between her transition from stumbling to hitting the ground back-first, she had stabbed her blade into the ground to use it as a stabilizer and struck out at his leg with her own.
The kick had been weak and done barely, if any, damage to him but had been just enough to break his stance and destabilize him entirely, something he hadn¡¯t even thought about in his eagerness to outright win the spar as quickly as possible.
With an especially loud pant, the teen took his hand off Olivia¡¯s face and placed it on the ground beside her head, taking the time to finally begin freeing himself from the tangled mess that the two of them had become. Something that Olivia herself was all too eager to join in on, the both of them breathing heavily as they rolled away from each other and stumbled to their feet.
He was surprised that Olivia wasn¡¯t saying anything about him keeping his hand on her face for as long as he had but based on the fact that her breathing was just as heavy as his, and she seemed to be pretty deep in thought as well, she most likely didn¡¯t even notice all that much.
It was actually a refreshing change of pace for the Kairahlian, being able to spar with Olivia without some kind of barbed comment or dirty look. In fact, she had almost looked excited at the opportunity.
Alec reckoned, in the privacy of his own mind, that it was due to the fact that not only were there not really any other options, but also because if she wasn¡¯t doing something with him, she¡¯d have no excuse to avoid her sister.
¡°You two done?¡± Alec sighed and turned around to look at Noelle as she asked her question, just barely missing the twitch of Olivia¡¯s eye at her sister¡¯s apathetic tone.
The woman was sitting on the back of a constructed horse and seemed to be checking her nails for something, utterly uncaring of the spar that the two of them had been having and had just finished.
There was one part of Alec that felt disappointed that his spar had apparently been so boring that an onlooker couldn¡¯t even find it somewhat interesting. There was another part of him that rolled its eyes and said of course she wouldn¡¯t be interested; she was a mage through and through and there was no point getting hung up over it.
¡°Yes.¡± Olivia ground out, stomping forward and ripping her blade out of the ground, flicking Alec¡¯s blade off the ground with her foot, grabbing it with her free hand, and throwing it back at him.
The startled sound that he made has he tried to grab his blade without being cut or punctured got a small giggle from the elder Kio sibling though. So at least his panicked attempt at survival was amusing to their [Gold-rank] keeper¡?
XXXxxxXXX
Later that day
Alec wobbled unsteadily atop the constructed horse that he had been forced to ride by the other two Kio siblings.
Noelle had at least been merciful enough to summon it with appropriate riding gear and taught him the barebones basics of how to ride a horse, but that was it. Meaning that the poor teen had to actually work on gaining some kind of proficiency all by himself as the other two, clearly far more experienced and trained than a country hick like him, continued to keep a pace that genuinely had Alec worried for his ability to keep up at times.
¡®How the hell do the two of them make it look so smooth? Do they even have spines?¡¯ He grouched internally, wincing as he shifted wrong by accident and hit the saddle quite a bit rougher than he was intending or expecting.
¡°So, Alec.¡± Noelle suddenly called out, twisting her back and neck to look back at him.
¡°Ah! Uh, yeah?¡± He blinked in surprise, having not expected the elder sister to suddenly call out to him.
Honestly even having Olivia suddenly strike up a conversation would have been less surprising than this.
¡°Tell me a bit about yourself. It¡¯s super boring just travelling in silence and you seem like a pretty interesting young man~¡± She smiled, her expression just a touch too sharp and her eyes a hair too half-lidded for him to take her statement as something innocent, however.
¡°Ah, well I wouldn¡¯t say I¡¯m very interesting.¡± He shook his head, memories of his past flashing through his mind as he thought about what to say next. ¡°I grew up in a small town in the south of Kairahl in an orphanage.¡±
His expression took on something far more melancholic as he spoke, his gaze wandering to something that neither of the two women could ever hope to see.
¡°I grew up in that orphanage, I never knew my parents and neither did anyone else in town, I just appeared one day on the doorstep and was taken in.¡±
¡°Ooooh! A mystery!¡± Noelle gasped in excitement, one of her hands leaving the stirrup to cover her mouth with her fingers.
¡°Heh, not quite. As far as any of us have been able to figure out, they were most likely just a random couple that couldn¡¯t or wouldn¡¯t raise a child.¡± He chuckled and shook his head.
¡°Awwww! Phooey. What else?¡±
¡°Hmmm, I was raised alongside my three best friends in the entire world, Peter, Angelica, and Felicia. Peter and Angelica are siblings who appeared in a pretty similar way to me while Felicia was the daughter of the town¡¯s bishop. But when he died during a beast attack no one stepped up to take care of her, so she ended up in the orphanage.¡±
¡°Jeez, were there any children that still had parents in your town?¡± Noelle half-joked with a raised eyebrow and a teasing grin.
¡°Of course there were.¡± He huffed, giving her a dry gaze before he continued. ¡°The four of us had to share a room in the orphanage, which is how we all met and got closer. It''s also how we discovered the dangers of children with access to magic.¡±
The teen shivered a little at the memory, missing the excited and curious gaze of the woman that seemed to almost bore into him.
¡°Oh? Magic? Do tell.¡±
¡°Angelica, she¡¯s a [High-Sorcerer]. Which also meant that when she was younger, she had a habit of accidentally casting spells.¡± He said, not really willing to go too much further in detail.
As much as he found some of those stories funny, he also wasn¡¯t exactly in a mood to go exploring through the hundreds of dangerous or embarrassing mishaps to find the more innocent stories, so he just decided not to.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
¡°Oh? How fascinating~ And where would she be now? Some magic academy I assume?¡± Noelle purred, clearly interested in the fate of Angelica now that she had been brought to her attention.
¡°No.¡± He shook his head, still surprised by the feeling of his hair swishing around in slight lag-step to the rest of his head.
He had never had hair this long before and he still found it weird and a little bit difficult to adjust to.
¡°The four of us created an adventuring party together when we were fourteen.¡±
Both sisters startled at this knowledge, getting even Olivia¡¯s gaze to snap onto Alec with raised eyebrows and a slightly slackened jaw. He could hardly blame them; the Guild didn¡¯t officially have any minimum age for joining as an adventurer, but it was a pretty open secret that anyone below sixteen would be found ¡®not skilled enough¡¯ to be an official adventurer by any sort of entrance proctor.
On some days he almost wished that that had happened to the four of them, just so that he wouldn¡¯t have had to realize exactly how useless his ¡®talent¡¯ with blades actually was. But that was an unfair wish, especially on the part of his friends, so he never let the thought linger for long, usually by trying to find something to distract himself.
¡°Fourteen? How in the Twin-Continents did you manage that?¡± Noelle asked, too surprised to even try and tease him as she normally would have done.
¡°Peter was the one that convinced us all to give it a try after a small beast attack on our village. He practically dragged us onto a merchant cart heading towards Kret and wouldn¡¯t let us get a word in edgewise.¡± He explained, staring at the neck of his horse as his thumb ran idly over the stirrup in his hands. ¡°The moment we got there we didn¡¯t even have time to look around before he was shoving us towards the Guild Hall. When we got in they tried to turn us away but he was insistent that we had the skill and strength to handle at least the lowest-ranking quests and beasts, so they humoured us and had us do a test.¡±
¡°And you all actually managed to pass?¡± Olivia asked, fully dragged into his conversation now; the young woman no longer able to pretend to ignore it while secretly listening in as she had been beforehand.
¡°We did, believe it or not.¡± He chuckled, scratching the back of his head for a moment, his gaze never rising. ¡°As a party, we were able to handle the [Copper-rank] construct that they created for us without any serious injuries, so they didn¡¯t really have any kind of leg to stand on, especially when Angelica began to recite their own rules back at them.¡±
¡°Ohhhh~ Well how interesting, that makes you the youngest party in decades then, wouldn¡¯t it?~¡±
Alec stiffened slightly at her wording, his jaw clenching just a little as he gripped the stirrup tighter.
¡°Yeah, it did. At least a hundred years if records are to be believed.¡±
¡°Fascinating. To think that sweet little Olivia would meet someone so interesting.¡± Noelle giggled, turning to look at her sister who very deliberately turned away from her and huffed quietly.
¡®They¡¯re the interesting ones, not me.¡¯ Alec wanted to say aloud but didn¡¯t, confining such words to only the privacy of his mind. ¡®I¡¯m just an idiot who thought he could coast by, by his friends¡¯ side and ended up dragging them down and holding them back.¡¯
The rest of the conversation Alec let wash past him, silently listening to Noelle bugging Olivia until she snapped back and the two of them started to bicker and argue.
It was almost refreshing to see her anger directed at someone that wasn¡¯t him, after over seven and a half weeks of having to deal with it, but even then, the anger that she showed to Noelle seemed a lot more¡visceral. As if the anger that he had seen from her so far was just a fractured shard of the real thing that was now rearing its head.
It had Alec, in all honesty, rather worried about how this quest was going to go if that was actually the case. But whatever issue(s) they had between them wasn¡¯t something that he was qualified to, or should, look into and get between.
So, he silently just hunkered down, trying not to fall off his horse as he accepted his role of playing background interference and watchdog to try and make sure this quest ended well. That position, if absolutely nothing else, was something that he was pretty comfortable in doing.
XXXxxxXXX
Two Days Later
¡°Alright you two, let¡¯s go over the plan for when we get to the Water Spirit¡¯s abode tomorrow, kay?~¡± Noelle grinned, winking at the both of them as she twisted back to look at the both of them.
Currently, both Olivia and Alec were side by side as they rode through the unpathed wilderness of Xyrtah, both of them looking miserable for entirely separate reasons.
A particularly deep deformation in the ground, enough to make the horse he was riding jolt but not stumble or fall over, bounced Alec in his saddle and caused his entire body to seize up for a moment as the shock went through the horse and straight into him. His expression, somehow, falling even further as he very lightly bit his bottom lip to stop himself from saying something he may regret later.
Olivia, meanwhile, very purposefully kept her gaze straight ahead of her, moving languidly with the horse she rode but specifically avoided looking in the direction of her sister.
To her credit, Noelle didn¡¯t let either of their misery slow her down. Her mouth opened and an explanation spilled forth as if they were all in a comfortable living room with snacks and drinks on the coffee table between them.
¡°The quest is a pretty simple one to go after a Great Water Spirit before it can accumulate and condense more mana and become a Lord Water Spirit.¡± Noelle explained, not unlike a lecturer or professor in Alec¡¯s mind, not that he had very much experience with those things himself.
The threat that this Water Spirit could become a Lord was worrying though, for more reasons than one. If regular creatures used the ancient threat scale that title may not have sent as many shivers down the teen¡¯s spine, but unfortunately that scale was kept and solely used only by the biggest and baddest creatures across the Twin-Continents. Its reputation was well-earned and stained with blood even to this day.
The scale, from weakest to strongest, went from [Lesser] to [Regular] ¨Cor just unmarked for ease of description¨C to [Great] or [Greater] then up to [Lord], and finally to [Grand]. A scale branded to dragons, leviathans, elementals, and a few other creatures that humanity dare not take lightly. A Great elemental was already a tough task to take down but if it became a Lord, they had absolutely no hope of dealing with it even if all three of them laid their lives down to do so.
Idly, he wondered how The Lady of the Tides: Serephene Varthni had managed to take down a Grand Leviathan all by herself and whether that rumour actually had any truth behind it or if the entire thing was fabricated. On the one hand, she was a [Platinum-rank] adventurer and if anyone could do something as monstrous as that it would be one of them. On the other hand, a Grand Leviathan was a [Platinum-rank] threat in its own right and usually required active military responses from kingdoms and empires to deal with. So, Alec wasn¡¯t quite sure what to believe and how far in either direction to lean; he hadn¡¯t been as a late child when he had first heard the rumours and he still didn¡¯t.
¡°If it''s that close that it¡¯s a legitimate worry, wouldn¡¯t a [Tungsten-rank] be a better choice?¡± Alec questioned, wobbling unsteadily as he tilted his head to the side and unconsciously leaned in that same direction.
¡°Awww, don¡¯t you worry about that. It¡¯s close but not that close.¡± Noelle cooed at his worry, ¡°Besides until it actually gets to that rank it''s not really worth it for a [Tungsten-rank] to come all the way out here just to disintegrate it in a couple attacks.¡±
¡°Their job is to deal with these kinds of threats before people are put in danger. Turning down easy money due to pride is asinine.¡± Olivia scoffed, proving that she had indeed been listening to her sister¡¯s words even if she hadn¡¯t been reacting.
¡°I¡¯m sure that there are definitely some of them that would be willing to help, but a lot of them just can¡¯t do anything. I mean what is a swordsman meant to do against an elemental? It¡¯s a hopeless battle no matter how you look at it.¡± Noelle giggled with an uncaring shrug.
Behind her both Alec and Olivia glared at her back with twitching eyes, more than a little annoyed at yet another flippant comment about melee-based fighters like them.
¡°Game plan. What is it?¡± Olivia ground out, clutching the stirrup in her hands so tight that Alec was worried for a moment she was shatter it entirely.
¡°Oh! Thank you, dear sister~¡± Noelle gasped in realization that she¡¯d gotten off-topic and smiled brightly at her.
Olivia, on the other hand, suppressed the urge to flip her sister off.
¡°So, you two are going to sit on the side because this really isn¡¯t something for [Iron-rank]¡¯s to be handling but make sure that you aren¡¯t anywhere behind me, kay?¡±
¡°Easy enough.¡± Alec nodded.
¡°I knew you¡¯d get it Alec~¡± She purred, seeming to take a small amount of delight in the very light shade of red that dusted his cheeks, ¡°You two just watch and make sure not to get too close since water spirits are pretty well known for their wide-spanning attacks. Try to learn a thing or two while watching and leave it all to me.¡±
¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Olivia asked dryly, one eyebrow raised, and her posture slouched forward ever so slightly.
¡°Of course not. It¡¯s going to be in a lake where it can use that water for greater attacks than it can regularly pull off so I¡¯m going to use my summons to herd it away from the water and hopefully get its core while I¡¯m at it, which is why I need you two to keep a distance. I don¡¯t know what direction I¡¯m going to need to herd it.¡±
¡°At least you¡¯ve thought it through.¡± The younger Kio sister huffed, clearly not having the highest opinion of her sister¡¯s strategic skill.
After having watched her nearly get in trouble with the Guild Guards twice, Alec was pretty inclined to agree with his fellow trainee on that front. Not that he¡¯d ever admit as such to Noelle¡¯s face.
Nice and teasing she may have been, but he highly doubted that she would take to ¨Cessentially¨C being called an idiot very well, especially with the emphasis and pride she put in her magic.
¡°Thank you! Now let¡¯s keep going so that we can set up camp and get to the water spirit nice and early.¡±
Alec, having spent five days travelling with her by now, was more than aware that despite her words, she would be the last of the three of them to actually wake up and get ready by a good hour, if not two. He opened his mouth to try and suggest not speeding up and only ended up spluttering as Noelle took off with Olivia shortly after, leaving him to try and catch up with a scant five days of horse-riding practice.
When he caught up to them an hour later with dirt all over his face and shirt, and a twig sticking out of his frazzled and tangled hair, he didn¡¯t think he would ever hear someone laugh quite as hard as Olivia did.
Though at least that made her fall off her own horse in response, silver linings.
[Gold] vs [Gold]
¡°So, today¡¯s the day.¡± Alec muttered, sitting beside the campfire and using a simple wooden ladle to pour some heated porridge into a similarly simple wooden bowl.
¡°That¡¯s one way of describing it.¡± Olivia muttered, yawning quietly into the crook of her arm as she held a hand out for the ladle, scooping herself up her own serving of porridge.
¡°You don¡¯t seem very excited.¡±
¡°By watching my sister show off for who-knows-how-long all while spouting about how great her magic is? Not particularly.¡± The Kio girl replied spitefully, not that he could really blame her for that response.
Noelle had actually been rather nice to him, surprisingly nice given the circumstances, but even then, she had still been a bit of a bitch when it came to magic vs martial prowess even to him.
Growing up with that for just one year would have put Alec¡¯s mental strain firmly in vein-popping territory, let alone the potential seventeen years that Olivia had been dealing with it.
¡°Yeah, that makes sense.¡± Alec agreed numbly, nodding slowly as he took his first spoonful of porridge.
As he slowly chewed, he couldn¡¯t help but let his mind wander, bringing him right back around to why he had asked the question of Olivia in the first place.
¡°Listening to your sister gloat the whole time isn¡¯t exactly my idea of fun, but being able to see a Great Water Spirit in person seems like it¡¯ll at least be interesting. And seeing a fight between two [Gold-rank] fighters will be entertaining if nothing else.¡±
¡°So, you¡¯re just looking to get a good show out of this?¡± Olivia questioned, though the slight upturn of her lips and tilt to her tone let him know that it was more of a humoured question than an interrogation.
¡°Not like I¡¯m getting any battle experience out of it. Besides, the last high-level fight I was near I didn¡¯t even get to see it properly.¡±
¡°What a shame.¡± Olivia hummed, taking a mouthful of her own porridge.
¡®This is nice, when she isn¡¯t at my throat for some reason Olivia is actually pretty cool to be around.¡¯
¡°Any idea when Noelle will actually be up?¡±
¡°Better get comfortable, we¡¯ll be waiting a while.¡±
¡°Oh, joy.¡±
¡°Joy, indeed.¡±
XXXxxxXXX
Great Water Spirit¡¯s Lake, Midday
¡°Alright, you both stay back here.¡± Noelle ordered, one hand on her hip and the other pointed at a small patch of trees close enough to the lake that they could get a good view but thick enough to act as makeshift shielding if needed and far enough to let them get a running start if also needed.
Alec would have liked to praise Noelle, a [Gold-rank] adventurer, for choosing such a place for him and Olivia to stay in but she hadn¡¯t been the one to find it.
Olivia had.
Which sort of ruined his image of [Gold-rank] adventurers just a little bit, but his image of [Tungsten-rank]¡¯s had already long since been tainted by Alexandar so he really shouldn¡¯t have been surprised.
¡°That¡¯s the plan.¡± Alec deadpanned with a sarcastic thumbs up.
¡°Don¡¯t let us slow you down. Go on. Get to it.¡± Olivia deadpanned, making a shooing motion with both hands towards the lake.
If Noelle was at all hurt by her sister¡¯s actions and words she didn¡¯t show it, just giggling and turning around to make her way down to the edge of the water.
Both teens tensed with every step that the young woman took, the mana in the air began to shift and the surface of the lake began to shake and roil in ways that were far from natural.
Tensely, left in suspense, both teens watched with wide, unblinking eyes and bated breaths for the appearance of the Water Spirit causing all of these unnatural phenomena.
However, the first thing to leave the water wasn¡¯t the spirit itself, but rather a beam of water. Fired with speed that neither of the two teens could follow, with a diameter of about five centimeters, it was an opening move deserving of its status as a [Great] elemental.
However, Noelle had not approached the lake unprepared.
Showing her forward thinking for the first time since Alec had met her, the beam of water struck a mana-construct with an appearance much like that of a storybook pixie that left one of the many frills of her sleeve.
Alec had expected the construct to enter some kind of power struggle with the beam in the brief moment he was able to comprehend it. What actually occurred, however, was the complete shattering of the pixie near-instantly upon contact with the beam, its body disintegrating into tens of thousands of sparkling shards that surrounded Noelle in a circular barrier. The beam glancing off the barrier and flying high into the sky, where it then unraveled and fell to the ground once more in the form of a light sprinkling of rain.
¡°Oh wow, aggressive, aren¡¯t you?~¡± Noelle giggled, watching the water of the lake bow inward, stretching the outskirts even further out, before suddenly rebounding back on itself, a large sphere of water bouncing out of the center.
The moment it did, a magic circle spun to life on the wet ground at Noelle¡¯s side, mana gathering and condensing above its form into the next summon of her choice as the sphere began to morph its shape.
She was more than happy to let the water spirit have its moment to shine, it gave her just as much time to set up her ideal combination of summons without having to panic or engage in any fighting herself.
¡®Oh, goody. Looks like its preferred form is a humanoid one, that means that my assumption for my summon was right.¡¯
Noelle took a few steps back as her summon fully materialized, a frog-type beast with odd, warbled patterns on its back and legs, four eyes and standing at roughly the size of a large dog.
¡®Its leaping power should be enough to stop it from being caught in most of the spirits wide-reaching attacks and its ability to stand on water speaks for itself. If its preferred form was a beast or leviathan this guy would have been in some real trouble.¡¯
It was an odd peculiarity of elementals that had been noticed and reinforced many, many times over the millennia¡¯s since their first discovery, the fact that despite being able to change forms at will, each individual one tended to have a preferred body-type to stay in. The latest theories on that particular habit, penned by the head of the Royal Litvarnan Magi Academy: Grethul Fira Vonnalis, labelled it as a psychological habit based on both the type of mana that made up majority of its form and notable things that had interacted with it in its past. Also describing that its body-type could give insights into the kind of fighter it was and the tactics it was likely to employ.
Between humanoid, beast, and leviathan, their forms could vary quite drastically, and their tactics even more so. For a summoner like her, who tended to split and categorize her summons into similar categories, it was like a game of rock-paper-scissors.
Beast trumped humanoid, humanoid trumped leviathan, leviathan trumped beast.
So now that she¡¯d identified its preferred body type, she had this in the bag. She might even be able to finally get it through her sister¡¯s thick head how great magic could be!
¡°Go.¡±
The command was simple, assured in itself and the summon followed it dutifully.
The ground exploded in a deluge of mud and roots as it kicked off the ground with enough force to probably cave Alec¡¯s sternum into his spine. Its form disappearing from the teens¡¯ sight but evidently not the elemental¡¯s.
Spikes of water rose from the surface of the lake in an arcing pattern, the speed of their formation so quick that Alec blinked, and where once a regular lake had sat, now a spiked monstrosity of a wall jutted from its surface.
The only thing that let either of them keep track of the fighting was when the giant frog slammed to a halt against an upturned wave, dissolving it in a crack of condensed air and a spray of water more akin to shrapnel. Left momentarily halted in the air due to the lack of springboard beneath it, the summon reared its head back and jerked forward, its tongue launched directly at the abdomen of the elemental.
The elemental was slow, comparatively, in its response. Its body languidly turned in the air to face the incoming tongue and its arm outstretched towards the frog before its hand clenched.
The tip of the summons tongue came to a halt only about twenty centimetres from the elemental¡¯s abdomen, aimed squarely at the dark, pulsing core sat at its center. The reason for it coming to a halt became clear to Alec when he heard a small intake of breath from Olivia and followed her line of sight.
Two of the frog¡¯s eyes slowly rolled down as about seven separate spears of water skewered through the large beast, the tip of its front leg just barely kept above the surface of the lake.
¡®Its lack of movement made it a pretty easy target. If it had kept moving it probably wouldn¡¯t have been caught so easily.¡¯ Alec thought to himself, looking over as a pulse of mana caught his attention.
A reaction that was shared by the elemental as its face sucked inwards and its entire head inverted, the water of the lake surging on top of Noelle and slamming down with enough force to make the ground rumble beneath the two of them sway the trees rather dangerously.
¡°Woooow!¡± Three beams of water shot from the surface of the lake, a pixie once again sacrificing itself to form a protective shield around its master.
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Noelle sat on the back of a large eagle-looking summon, her hands alight with condensed mana as three magic circles glowed in the air behind her.
¡°You¡¯re really skilled with those spikes, aren¡¯t you? Their activation is way faster than everything else you do. It¡¯s fascinating!¡±
Two more of the four-eyed frogs shot from their magic circles, able to use them as springboards and using that to fire at the lake more like missiles than living creatures.
The third circle, meanwhile, was summoning something a lot larger than just those two frog¡¯s. An exterior more like carved stone than living flesh and an appearance not that dissimilar to a knight, a single glowing eye shining from the shadows of its helm.
With a slightly shaky breath, Noelle grinned down at the elemental, trying to act like the very faint fatigue gnawing at her wasn¡¯t there in the slightest as her largest creation fell to the ground like a meteor. A small vapor cone covered its form as it fell, four more beams of water striking its ¡®armour¡¯ as it did.
Apart from small chips of the stone and gouges not that dissimilar to a small scratch on a regular person, they glanced harmlessly off the summon, yet even that much damage was enough to make Noelle¡¯s eyes widen.
¡®You¡¯re kidding me. This golem is my most durable summon-¡®
Briefly, against her own will, the memory of the Dune Worm from Alec¡¯s memory flashed to the forefront of her mind before she shook her head vigorously.
¡®-Second most durable summon in my repertoire. For its beams to be able to leave even that much damage is bad news.¡¯
The golem struck the ground in a catastrophic clap of compressed air and cracked stone, its eye glowing brighter and brighter as its five-meter-tall form leaned forward.
A small heat haze wavered in front of the golem''s visor, the glow of its eye eclipsing the shadows of its helm completely before firing a beam of pure fire directly at the elemental.
Steam and water vapor parted around the superheated air against its master¡¯s will, carving a trench through the lake as it neared the elemental. The mana in the air surged and the banks of the lake lowered by a quarter of a meter as a tidal surge of water surrounded the elemental and its core.
Both teens on the sideline hunkered down and defended their faces with their arms as a blast of air and water vapor ripped through the forest surrounding the lake. Their eyes squinted and their hair waving in the wind as the beam continued its attempt to tunnel through the elementals shield and eventually came to a halt with a splutter.
Atop her flying mount Noelle cursed while trying to even out her breathing, a small bead of sweat dripped down her temple and onto her cheek as she stared down at the unharmed form of the elemental as the spherical shield began to spin and churn in place.
She had been hoping that the golems beam, one of the strongest attacks available to her, would be enough to at least put the core into harms way but evidently, she had overestimated the boost in difficulty that so much water would add.
¡®Another four shots at that intensity and for that long and I¡¯m toast. I¡¯ll have to leave the bulk of the fighting to my Demon Frogs and just keep the golem in my back pocket if things get dicey.¡¯
With her mental command sent to her three-fighting summons, her Demon Frogs were off with a vengeance. Gouts of water sprayed in the air and ripples of movement along the lakes surface turned to violent, churning waves beneath both their kinetic force and the water spirit¡¯s own magical touch.
The water spirit¡¯s arms waved not unlike that of an orchestral conductor, only about ten times faster, raising and lowering the water around it with a speed and precision that none of the three humans had ever expected to see out of a Great elemental of all things.
If the battle had been nearly impossible to keep track of with just one demon drog beforehand for the two spectators, then keeping track of anything now was genuinely impossible.
Or at least, it was.
The demon frogs were a lost cause for the two [Iron-rank] teens to keep track of and the golem was a near immobile fortress wall that had yet to do anything past its introduction.
The water spirit, then, was the only thing both staying still enough and active enough in the fight for their attention to turn to.
Both teens could only feel despair at seeing the gap in skill between them and two [Gold-rank] combatants, their own feelings of inadequacy gnawing at them relentlessly. Their hearts tore at them and their minds forced them to continue watching, unable to learn anything due to their own weakness and unable to look away because of that very same weakness.
The tongue of one of the demon frogs broke through the ¡®radius¡¯ around the elemental that it was keeping its defenses at, its right arm swiping up to rest behind its left shoulder as a thin stream of water burst from the lake beneath it. The stretching and elongated tongue met the stream of water and followed its flow up and to the right, flinging it away from the elemental¡¯s core in a wide arc.
Alec¡¯s eyes widened as the form of the water spirit briefly overlapped with an image of a faceless, featureless swordsman deflecting a blade to their side.
The demon frog flipped and twirled chaotically through the air for a moment with a surprised croak at its sudden change in orientation. The gaze of the water spirit locked solely onto its form and one of its hands rose in the direction of the summon.
The temperature of the air surrounding the lake rose by a fraction of a degree. The head of the elemental inverted once more to lock its cold, dead, and unfeeling, recreation of eyes on the glowing helm of the golem. Its arm went limp as its other arm rose to face the golem.
The tongue of the second demon frog punched clean through its abdomen and struck the deep blue core, pushed off course by the swirling water of its body but still able to fling the core outside of its main body and high, high into the air.
The elemental startled and for the second time, its arm went limp as its face inverted yet again to track the flight path of its core, watery wings almost identical to Noelle¡¯s summon bursting from its back.
Olivia¡¯s eyebrows rose and her fists clenched. A realization striking her as a logbook unfurled within her mind and scratched short, hurried notes down within its pages.
The water-made wings of the elemental beat once, launching itself into the air in a gust of wind and a spray of the lake water beneath it.
The wings of Noelle¡¯s summon widened as far as they would go and beat powerfully, launching them both forward as sweat dripped heavily down her face and her fingers desperately clutched at its feathers.
Trees rustled and the wind whistled as the two teens took off running, their gazes on the water spirit with only the briefest looks needed to navigate the crowded and tangled expanse of the forest.
¡®Its every movement is fluid; it rarely breaks the natural limitations of the human body. It can be replicated. Use the opponents¡¯ force not your own. Circular motions. Waving motions. Thin streams, crushing waves.¡¯ Alec leapt a toppled tree and kicked off the trunk of a tree at his side, thin slices left on the both of them.
¡®It struggles to track multiple things. Offensive multitasking ability is high. Its head never turns more than 45 degrees in either direction. Defensive multitasking is low. Instinctively sticks to human sensibilities. Capable of breaking on conscious thought. Core is its top priority.¡¯ Olivia leapt that same toppled tree alongside Alec, her fingers gracing the wood of the tree and denting it beneath her grasp far more than her physical strength would ever allow.
Both teens felt like they were seeing the world in a way that they never had before; their bodies burning, their brains throbbing, their mana pulsing. Colours seemed brighter and sounds seemed sharper. As if they had lived in a muted, grey-scale world of imagination before that had now been unlocked.
The two teens split around a tree perfectly placed in the middle of them, their trajectories near mirrored in their angles and speed. A flapping wing of actual, living, flesh caught Olivia¡¯s attention, her neck craned just far enough to let her see the creature out of the corner of her eye as she ran.
A hawk, about the same size as a cocker spaniel, with black irises and a purple pupil stared back at her as she ran.
¡®A psyhawk? They¡¯re used for tracking. Why here? Why now? Why me?¡¯ That feeling, that intense focus and frenzy, began to die down within her.
Both Olivia and Alec met back around the opposite end of the tree; the blue-haired teen immediately pulled a step ahead where previously they had been neck and neck.
¡®No. NO! Ignore it! Not here, not now! The elemental! Focus!¡¯ Her eyes focused back on the elemental, and even though it took a few more losing steps, she felt that same focus return to her as the water spirit fired three beams of water at her sister, killing yet another pixie.
Meanwhile, up in the air, the water spirit dove to catch its core before it could strike the ground, grasping it in its hands right before it collided with the ground with enough force to shatter its humanoid form and sway all the centuries-old trees around it.
¡°Now!¡± Noelle swiped her hand, a magic circle glowing over her palm.
Four gargoyles spawned to life in the air around her, their loud, high-pitched screeches igniting the air as they all flew down towards the impact zone of the elemental. Furling their wings, the four gargoyles hit the ground with heavy cracks in a square around the reforming water spirit, all four crouched in identical poses.
Arching their backs to raise their heads to the sky, four simultaneous screams ripped their way out of their throats. Their wings spread wide at their sides as translucent barriers formed between them, using their bodies as the corner points.
¡®This is going to leave me on empty but that barrier will only last until those gargoyles run out of breath and I¡¯d rather the elemental dead than be overly cautious.¡¯
Noelle fought the wave of dizziness and nausea that overcame her as two more giant summoning circles appeared in the sky on opposite ends of the barrier. Two very familiar golems dropped from them and struck the ground with enough force to shatter the earth beneath them and topple trees even as far back as Alec and Olivia were.
The heat hazes around the opening of their helms began to grow more intense and the glow of their eyes grew ever brighter. The water spirit struck and collided with the barrier wherever possible to try and escape and found itself perfectly trapped inside, unable to do anything more than crack its prison with its quick, panicked attacks.
Once more, one final time, its face inverted to stare up at the sweaty, pale, darkly grinning form of its enemy. Its watery eyebrows furrowed as its expression twisted into one of pure rage. Four more arms of water burst from its abdomen, two on each side, and ¨Crather than hold an open hand out towards her as it had done with her demon frogs¨C pointed at her.
From the outskirts of the fight, Olivia¡¯s eyes widened as she realized what was about to happen before it even occurred, her arm reached forward, and her mouth opened in a scream that had yet to even make its way into her throat before it happened.
A bead of water appeared in the air and fired a condensed beam at Noelle, striking another pixie and glancing harmlessly off the shield it created.
Just as that shield faded, a second bead of water appeared, firing a condensed beam of water at her and murdering yet another pixie.
As that shield fell, a third bead of water appeared, firing a condensed beam of water at her, ending a third pixie in short order.
By the time that shield fell, Noelle could feel her confidence waning, a fourth bead of water appeared at her side and fired a condensed beam of water, ending the life of the fourth pixie without mercy.
Instructing her eagle-summon to dive low didn¡¯t change a thing, a fifth bead of water appeared at her side all the same and fired a condensed beam of water at her, killing another pixie right as the beams of fire left the helms of the knights and the barriers flickered to death.
The two beams met in the middle atomizing the elemental without hesitation or mercy, the last thing to disappear of its water-made form being its sixth and final hand, still pointing right at her.
A sixth bead of water appeared behind her. The elder Kio sibling turned on her mount to stare at it in horror as she felt nausea and vertigo surge through her body, leaving her unable to do anything else but stare.
A condensed beam of water fired from the small bead, meeting no resistance as it punched right through Noelle¡¯s lower back and out of her stomach in an explosion of mana and blood alike.
The mounted summon beneath her let out a shrieking cry of pain as its body began to dim and flicker, its wings no longer able to sustain their flight and causing them to nosedive.
¡®This¡isn¡¯t right. I¡¯m meant to be a cool¡role model for my lil¡¯ sis¡.¡¯
¡°NOELLE!!!¡±
The Lost Luster of [Gold]
¡°NOELLE!!!¡± Olivia¡¯s shout was loud, guttural in a way that Alec had never heard before, let alone out of the lips of a girl as generally collected as she was.
In an instant, the hyper-focused states that both Alec and Olivia had been in shattered into a thousand pieces with all the subtly and care of a window struck by a cannonball. The pearlescent-haired girl already four, sprinted, steps in the direction of her elder sister¡¯s nosedive by the time that Alec caught on to her plan and followed after her.
The oversized bird that Noelle had summoned to give her an aerial view of the battle and keep her away from most of the danger screeched in despair and anger as it tried to flap its wings and level itself out mid-nosedive. Its failure to do so more than apparent to the two teenagers as they pushed themselves as hard as they could to meet up at the expect impact zone.
And then, in a very worrying display of sparkling purple mana, the summon shattered into a million and one pieces with one final screech of despair. The elder Kio sister left to tumble and fall headfirst toward the ground with a thin stream of blood trailing her limp body.
¡°Shit! If she hits the ground like that-¡°
¡°I know!¡± Olivia cut Alec off, pushing herself as hard as she could.
She wouldn¡¯t be able to make it, she could tell. She¡¯d get close, so agonizingly close, but she wouldn¡¯t be able to stop her sister from hitting the ground. There had to be something she could do, something that her useless mind could come up with to save her sister.
Olivia¡¯s next footfall came down especially hard as her head perked up and a flash of understanding went through her eyes. The realization lancing through her entire form like a bolt of lightning in a single moment compressed into not even a full second.
Olivia¡¯s lead on Alec disappeared in an instant as she paused mid-step, her lone leg bent even further than before ¨Cinto something more resembling a sprinters stance¨C and her body tilted so far forward that she either took off running right then and there or she¡¯d be getting a nice face full of dirt.
The mana in the air, already shaken and disturbed from the sheer amount of it that the two [Gold-rank] combatants had been throwing around, spiked around Olivia and funneled into her. Her body a sponge for as much mana as the world was willing to give her in the short amount of time that she had to act.
As her body filled to burst with the foreign mana, rebounding the rest that tried to funnel in and found no more gaps with which to fit itself, she acted.
Her first step propelled her ten meters in a single motion, reaching Alec¡¯s distance ahead of her and doubling it. Her second step added another five meters to her personal best record, her hair waving in the wind and mana crackling off her skin. Her third step halved her previous distance, her arms outstretched before her in preparation. Her fourth step brought her into direct contact with her sister, the two of them hurtling sideways across the forest and rolling painfully after their collision.
¡®A Magic Contract!¡¯ The realization as to Olivia¡¯s sudden burst of speed was hardly a difficult one for Alec to work out.
He had felt that exact same phenomenon, of the sudden influx and rebound of mana, many times by this point in his journey and was intimately aware of what caused it. When he had done it, and when he had felt it, it had been caused by the activation of Power Stances; a prelude to an attack of devastating proportions. However, as Alexandar had so helpfully explained to him, a Power Stance was nothing more than a particular application of a Magic Contract.
For the briefest of moments, he wondered, and worried, what she had traded for that particular burst of mana-enhanced speed, but the sound of a heavy impact and the ominous creaking of a tree very quickly broke that line of thinking off at its base for a more pressing concern.
It took him a matter of twenty-two seconds to catch up to her and her sister, already seeing her fumbling through her backpack for something as Noelle lay limp on the grass. A small moan of pain left her lips as she shifted slightly and some red seeped into her dress, which was already a bit too large for Alec¡¯s liking.
Taking a guess that she was looking for something to help stem the bleeding, Alec knelt down on the opposite side of Noelle and grabbed a roll of bandages out of his own pack.
¡°Here,¡± He held the roll out to her with an insistent shake of his hand, ¡°Use mine for now.¡±
It was gone from his hand almost before he was able to react, the girl going to work with a rushed, but still effective, wrapping around her sister¡¯s stomach. Though Alec had to lift her into a sitting position for her, both to make sure that she had both hands to work with, but also because every groan and whimper of pain seemed to make Olivia flinch as if she had been struck.
He didn¡¯t imagine that she would do her best work if she was the primary cause of such noises.
¡°Alright, alright. There. Its done.¡± Olivia muttered in a slight daze, checking over her work to make absolutely certain that she hadn¡¯t messed anything up.
¡°That looked like a pretty dangerous hit.¡± Alec pointed out as he looked at the bandages from his own side, trying to burn the memory of how she had done them up into his mind.
You never know when knowledge like that was going to come in handy, after all.
¡°I know.¡± Olivia snapped, getting a small jolt from the other teen.
He tried not to take too much offense from it, her sister had just been shot through the stomach, after all but he didn¡¯t think that snapping at him was the best course of action here either.
¡°Is she going to be ok long enough for us to get her back to Zenik?¡± That shot had looked pretty well aimed and there was a lot of blood.
He had never studied it but he was also fairly certain that the kidney or liver was somewhere around where that beam of water had pierced through her two. And he was fairly certain that at least one of those two was an organ that you were meant to aim for for a quick kill, too.
¡°Nooooooo, she¡¯ll be completely fine. Of course not!¡± Alec gritted his teeth and tried to take a calming breath as the girl snapped at him once more.
¡®Keep calm. She¡¯s panicking and emotional. Her sister just got fucking shot. Keep calm and be the rational mind here.¡¯ He repeated to himself.
Maybe if he did it enough the hot, broiling pit of oil in his stomach would calm down enough that yelling back at her wouldn¡¯t feel like a really cathartic idea.
¡°Well, we don¡¯t have her mounts anymore and we¡¯re going to need to rush.¡± He explained, coughing as Olivia¡¯s bag made direct contact with his chest and sent him sprawling onto his ass unceremoniously.
¡°I¡¯ll carry Noelle, you carry the gear. Now let¡¯s go!¡±
Alec got up silently as the pearlescent-haired girl set her sister up on her back gingerly, his eye twitching minutely.
He was trying to be the bigger person, he really was. But she was making it so tempting to be petty back to her.
¡®She¡¯s lucky this is an actual emergency.¡¯
With a heavy kick-off the two teens started sprinting back towards the rough direction of Zenik, both unaware and uncaring of the pink-pupiled hawk following them from the sky.
Its majestic form gliding casually with its eyes locked on one thing and one thing only.
XXXxxxXXX
That Night, Xyrtah Countryside
Alec had noticed it the entire time that they had been running towards Zenik; the way that Olivia seemed to twinge at stronger than normal impacts, the way that her stamina flagged far sooner than his own despite the fact that it had always been comparable, the way that she had occasionally zoned out and stumbled multiple times, nearly sending both her and her extremely injured sister toppling to the ground.
That impact with the tree, after she had stopped her sister from hitting the ground, had left its mark on Olivia. He hadn¡¯t checked, because how was he even meant to, but he¡¯d put down some pretty good money on a bet that a good portion of her back was a marvelous shade of purple right now after an impact like that.
Which wasn¡¯t good, not in the slightest. Because if she pushed herself too far then she was going to collapse as well and if that happened then Noelle could kiss her chance of survival goodbye and Alec didn¡¯t know nearly enough about survival tricks to keep himself and somebody else alive.
So, through great effort on his part, which once again left him wanting to scream at his very much unwilling partner, he had managed to convince her to stop and make camp for the night by pointing out that there were some ingredients for low powered healing potions in the vicinity and that it might help Noelle to have some.
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The fact that she was still glaring at him, though, was very much wearing thin what little patience remained after an entire day of this treatment.
And to think that he had shared such a peaceful breakfast with her too.
¡°Here. Its not much but it¡¯ll do.¡± Alec sighed, holding a thin wooden bowl of heated stew out to her.
Olivia just grumbled from her seated position. Her eyes shifted from her sister to the offered bowl of food slowly. The two sat in silence for a moment longer before she clicked her tongue, and her arm snapped out.
There was the unmistakable sound of something hard hitting the side of the wooden bowl before the hot stew and small, diced cubes of rabbit and edible leaves landed on his shirt and in his hair. The teen unable to stop any of this as his body locked up in sheer surprise, the stew missing his eyes only by divine miracle.
He had known that she was angry, that she didn¡¯t like him, and that she was stressed beyond anything he could even fathom, but he had never expected that she would react that violently to some simple good will.
His wide blue eyes stared into her own wide red eyes, a flash of something that he couldn¡¯t bring himself to care about flashed through her expression at right about the same time as hot, bubbling anger spilled forth into his own.
¡°Wait, Alec-¡° She began, reaching forward for him only to jolt back as he shot to his feet in an instant.
¡°ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?¡±
He wasn¡¯t one to explode with anger like this, he didn¡¯t really have much of a temper. Not like Peter and Angelica. Yet right now it was the only thing he could feel, his rational mind shot dead and his impulses raging wild.
¡°Wha- You¡¯re accusing me of doing that on purpose!?¡± Now it was Olivia¡¯s turn to leap to her feet, her previous expression hardening into something that Alec, looking back, assumed that his probably looked like too.
¡°Of course I am! I spend the entire day dealing with you and your temper and now you throw my food back at me!?¡±
Now, let it not be said that Olivia was an especially emotionally mature individual at this point in her life. She was far from a loose cannon, but she was also very, very far from a stone-faced stoic.
¡°Me and my temper!? My sister got shot through the stomach! You expect me to just sit back and accept that with a smile on my face and a buff of my nails!?¡±
¡°Of course not but gods dammit I¡¯m being treated like I¡¯m the one at fault for it!¡±
¡°Is that what this is about!? You¡¯re just trying to play the victim here!?¡±
Alec growled and for a moment all he saw was red, his arm swiping to the side and throwing the bowl into the side of a tree with so much force the impact shattered it into a thousand tiny pieces. The wanton destruction of his own property helped to calm his temper, but only just enough to keep him from doing anything else along the same lines.
¡°Why do you always do this!?¡±
¡°So, this is my fault now!?¡±
¡°THAT!¡± Alec screamed, his foot stamping on the ground and a finger pointed accusingly in her face. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m talking about! Always taking my words and just- just- twisting them!¡±
Alec¡¯s breathing came out heavier as he finished his sentence, his hands hovering apart from each other with tense, curled fingers as he made small erratic motions to corroborate his words. This wasn¡¯t what he should be doing right now, she didn¡¯t deserve to be in this fight with him and he shouldn¡¯t be escalating it, but he just couldn¡¯t help it.
Every word she spoke, every action she made, every time he noticed her glaring at him, he just couldn¡¯t stop the bellows from pumping more air into the raging fire of his anger.
¡°Twisting- I don¡¯t do anything like that! How dare you try and call me a manipulator!¡±
¡°Then why the hell are you always getting so angry at me when I just try to give you a compliment!? I try to congratulate you on doing a good job and all I get is spiteful words and hateful godsdamn eyes!¡±
¡°You call those compliments!? Flaunting your power in front of my face and driving the point even further home?! In what universe am I meant to look you in the face and accept such a fake, self-congratulating lie like that!?¡± Olivia screamed back, her face red and her body tense and coiled, as if she was about to leap at Alec any moment now.
It did not ¨Cin any shape, form, or capacity¨C help the heightened tension between the two of them that could have been cut by a knife.
¡°What. The. Hell. Are you talking about?¡± Alec seethed.
¡°Oh, now who¡¯s the manipulator!¡± Olivia crossed her arms and rolled her eyes dramatically, getting a twitch of Alec¡¯s eye in return for her effort. ¡°You really think that I¡¯m so stupid that I can¡¯t realize when someone is gloating right in front of my face? You think that I can¡¯t recognize a genius when I see one?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not a genius.¡± The words tore themselves from his lips before he could even consciously register that he was saying them, but he didn¡¯t disagree with them in the slightest, ¡°And I¡¯m not gloating! I¡¯ve never gloated to you! What the hell would I have to gloat about? Getting my ass kicked again?¡±
¡°Are you trying to piss me off on purpose or are you just a platinum-grade moron?¡± She hissed, leaning forward and poking a finger against the side of her own head a few times, ¡°You stop training beyond the bare minimum for weeks and then catch up in a matter of days, you pick techniques up like nothing I¡¯ve ever seen before, you keep up with me despite the fact that I¡¯ve been training for my entire fucking life and no matter what I do I can¡¯t widen that gap and you have the gall to say that you aren¡¯t a genius? That you aren¡¯t gloating every time you wave your blade in my face!? You¡¯re THE most infuriating person on the face of the Twin-Continents and somehow you don¡¯t even realize it!¡±
Alec, for a moment, let her words hang in the air between the two of them. Trying and failing to come up with a response for a few moments as his brain struggled to comprehend the words that she had just spoken. However, in his anger-riddled state of mind he didn¡¯t want to stand there and think over a proper response. He wanted to act, he wanted to scream and most importantly he wanted to make sure she left this conversation hurt.
¡°Is that why you¡¯ve been treating me like the scum of the earth? Your own insecurities?! Are you insane? You¡¯ve won four out of every five spars we do, you¡¯re so consistently ahead of me in zoning its crazy and your experience as an adventurer is better than me in every way! You think that I¡¯m ahead of you? I¡¯m so far below you its actually soul-crushing and yet I¡¯m being screamed at because the pampered princess isn¡¯t the absolute best at everything!?¡±
Olivia spluttered and took a step back in shock, her arms out at her side as if to catch herself should she fall. The next moment, however, her fists clenched at her side and her expression darkened to a level that Alec had never, never seen on her.
¡°How dare you call me-¡°
But right now, he couldn¡¯t find it in himself to care.
¡°Princess. Because you¡¯re a spoilt girl who throws a hissy fit when she can¡¯t be the best at everything and if you don¡¯t learn to accept a fucking compliment and chill the hell out. Sooner or later, you¡¯re going to end up like her!¡± He took a strong step forward and pointed at the limp, pale form of Noelle.
His last shout seemed to echo through the darkened forest, the fire beside them crackling faintly yet sounding like nothing short of a cacophonous chorus of elephants to the two teens. Both of their breaths came out in short, heavy bursts as they realized the words that had come out of their own mouths, especially Alec¡¯s.
Yet, before either of them could do any more than gulp with suddenly dry and heavy mouths, clapping echoed through the trees around them.
The nature of the echo was unnatural, its origin impossible to decipher as it bounced off the trees without losing any sound, trapping them both in a surround sound of clapping from which no source could be found.
Though, neither of them needed to locate the origin of the clapping itself to figure out where it originated from. There were far more tells than just that clapping if one was skilled enough to notice them, and the two teens more than met that standard.
Quickly they both turned to look up at the branches of a particularly tall and thick tree nearby. Three shadow-cloaked figures stood within the branches clad in black leathers and dyed clothes.
Alec wanted to guess assassins, but he didn¡¯t imagine any kind of assassin that would so blatantly show themselves like this, let alone give up such a prime opportunity as the one that their argument had gifted them.
And then the lead figure, stood upon the closest branch to them both, gave a wide, cruel grin, and suddenly that thought of them being assassins became far, far more viable.
¡°Oh wow, who would have thought that you¡¯d be in a lover¡¯s quarrel when we found you. How absolutely scandalous.¡± The vampire grinned, giggling slightly as his greased-back hair glinted slightly in the dim light of the fire.
¡°Shameful.¡± One of the figures in the branches above muttered, shaking their head.
¡°How like a human to be so emotional and daft.¡± The third figure scoffed, rolling its bright red eyes.
¡®They¡¯re clearly assassins, but who would vampires like them be after? Dius? No, why would assassins ever be after someone like him? They must be the owners of the Psy-hawk from earlier today, which means me or my sister. My sister¡¯s already down and they¡¯re taking the time to gloat like this, so it¡¯s most likely her but I can¡¯t rule out them going after me for being a Kio too. Dammit, this is the worst possible time for this.¡¯ Olivia slowly shifted her stance and took a cautious step back towards her sister.
¡°As much as I¡¯d love to stay here and talk.¡± The lead figure droned, lolling his head to the side as his voice dripped with so much sarcasm it nearly melted clean through the branch he stood on, ¡°I¡¯d rather not waste my time nor my precious breath on a filthy miscreant like you.¡±
¡°Funny, I could say the same.¡± Alec shot back, shifting back a step as well as Olivia shifted back another.
¡°Hm, clever. Team, eliminate the target.¡±
Olivia lurched back in a blur of motion, prepared to defend both herself and her sister with every ounce of physical and magical might that she had, her arms crossed over her torso and her gaze narrowed.
Her actions, by far, were fast enough to keep up with all four other combatants within the forest. In fact, she out-sped the two figures from the higher branches by a not insignificant margin. If she had been in the path of attack, she would have been more than prepared and able to act appropriately despite the injury she had accrued earlier that day.
However, she had made one singular mistake in thinking that it was her that was the target they spoke of.
A singular drop of blood landed on one of her arms as a dagger cut a thin line across Alec¡¯s chest despite his twist out of their direct line of attack and a shallow, but bleeding, cut opened along the side of his neck from a thin throwing knife that imbedded itself to the handle in a tree to his side.
Neither Noelle Kio nor Olivia Kio were the targets for this attack, Alec Dius was.
[Gold] illuminates all threats
The hot sting of pain, and the wet redness of his own blood, filled Alec¡¯s senses as cuts were opened along his neck and chest. His teeth clenched and his eyes wide with startled alarm as he did his best to dodge both of the attacks at once.
Not once did he ever expect for something like this to happen, even after the sheer animosity that Crowell had shown him on that journey to Zenik seemingly so long ago. Though, thinking back on the kind of temperament that the vampire heir had displayed it probably shouldn¡¯t have been as surprising as it was.
Of course, he would be the kind of person to send assassins, really shitty ones if their willingness to show themselves was evident, to deal with his problems.
Though that may just be a noble thing instead of a vampire thing, he¡¯d heard plenty of stories about things like that after all.
Another slash at his head had him ducked down and an attempted thrust of a swords blade had him tumbling to the side just in time for one of the vampires to flail a leg out and strike him, throwing him across their campsite and into a tree.
The pillar of wood and leaves shook and groaned ominously as the crack of its bark subsided. The leader of the group already halfway across the distance between them to finish the blue-haired teen off once and for all by the time that both of his teammates began their own dash forward.
The vampire leader ground himself to a halt in front of the crumpled form of their target and raised his blade high in the air for an easily choreographed execution. A demented grin spread across his lips and a dim glow to his red eyes.
The clash of metal-on-metal rung throughout the campsite.
Both of the vampire lackeys faltered mid-dash with wide-eyed, surprised looks as they struggled to comprehend reality.
¡®There¡¯s no way!¡¯
¡®When did he have the time to-?¡¯
From beneath the shadow of the tree¡¯s canopy and the assassin standing over him, a vindictive grin graced Alec¡¯s features. His eyes blazed with a refusal that had the leader snarling as he tried to press down harder with his blade, forcing the teen to push back more with the two hands bracing his own blade above him.
¡®He managed to grab his blade while tumbling across their gear? What kind of human has reflexes like that?¡¯ The assassin shifted his stance to try to stab the tip of his blade into Alec¡¯s head instead, only to suddenly snap it up at his side.
The pinpoint thrust of Olivia¡¯s own weapon slammed into the flat of the assassin¡¯s blade and sent him flying back. The vampire landing on his feet easily but now no longer able to keep the pressure on their target, allowing him to get back to his feet.
For a moment the two sides were still as they kept their eyes on each other, the two teens taking only fractions of a second to take wary glances at each other. Their argument may have been the furthest possible thing from a pressing concern at this exact moment in time but it had still happened and neither of the teens could exactly act like it didn¡¯t.
However, neither of them would get the time to come to terms with this new, high-octane arrangement, because the vampire trio began their assault.
Sparks filled the air and grunts of pain and exertion filled the forest as the five of them fought, sharpened edges slicing through air and skin alike in whistled songs of violence and death.
The three vampires had the upper hand but even the slightest gap in their defences was punished with great efficiency, their regeneration dealing with the wounds easily enough but sapping at their stamina and making them falter each time.
Without a word, both Alec and Olivia suddenly dashed in opposite directions, passing each other and swapping the vampires they were dealing with in an instant. Both of the weaker assassins startled at the sudden inclusion of their primary target, one of their blades deflected harmlessly and the other leaving a thin slice along his bicep. The leader of the group ducked low to avoid Olivia¡¯s decapitating strike, sprung into the air with a push off the ground with his arm, and spun slightly to avoid her follow-up.
The sudden switch in opponents and their respective fighting styles gave the two teens just enough time in charge of the fights to press their own rhythm into the combat instead of letting the assassins take charge.
The opponents they were dealing with were still stronger and harder to take out than the teens themselves, but now with the benefit of them controlling the pace of the battle and not the vampires, they had slightly more breathing room than before.
Thin slices opened up along Olivia¡¯s arms and legs as she squeezed her way through a particularly brutal thrusting combo from the leader and struck out with her own piercing thrust. Her tongue clicked and her body already leaned back and curled to launch herself away from the leader as he deftly dodged to the side and readied himself for another thrust.
At the same time, Alec cursed as he fought off the two other assassins. His blade and body in near-constant movement to avoid taking an attack that was too damaging. His mind was running at a million miles per hour and he could feel the ache in his muscles from the constant effort it was taking to deal with them.
Reflexively he blinked as he brought his blade up to deflect a swipe for his head and had sparks shower over him; the force of an impact digging into his stomach and flinging him back once more. The strike to the stomach, from what he could recognize as the leg of the vampire he had deflected the strike of now that he had his eyes open, enough to make space between them but not enough to fling him off his feet.
Small miracles.
Once more he leveled his blade at the two vampires as they closed in on him and dashed forward himself, intent on not letting them grasp the flow of the fight from him so easily.
He had been training in a primarily defensive sword style for the last month and thus was far better these days at defending himself but the constant attacks from the two of them weren¡¯t giving him time to do anything except defend himself. He needed to change things up, to make some kind of wild play to tip the scales and put him firmly above the two of them so that he could take them out and go help Olivia with the leader.
He just had to figure out-
!!!
The earth and trees rippled and tore like paper as a slash of mana hurled itself through the forest. In a spray of blood, one of the vampire¡¯s hands fell from their wrist, an echoing scream unheard under the roar of the technique as it continued for another five meters before it spluttered out of reality entirely.
From his position, now a good three meters back from where he had been, Alec panted slightly while knelt on the ground. However, his gaze wasn¡¯t on the two vampires that had been closing in on him, but rather on the originator of the technique that had cut their ¡®battlefield¡¯ in half, Olivia.
That technique wasn¡¯t one of the ones of the Dragon-Scale sword style, which meant it was a personal one since he had never even seen it before. It had only been the briefest influx of mana that had even tipped him off that something was happening, which he was glad for. If he had kept moving forward, he likely would have ended up with a lot worse than a severed hand.
However, the potential danger that he had just barely managed to avoid didn¡¯t even register in his mind. No, all he could think of were the opportunities that her ¡®new¡¯ technique had added to the battle.
With a wide-reaching, ranged attack at her disposal, their original battle partners had been far more apt than either of them could have ever realized. Which meant that the opponents he should be facing weren¡¯t the two extras, but rather the big bad leader himself.
He couldn¡¯t take out the leader himself, he doubted he¡¯d even be able to do something even vaguely debilitating, but he didn¡¯t need to. So long as he could deal with the leader long enough for Olivia to take out the other two, as he knew she could, they would win.
Meanwhile, across the battlefield, Olivia clicked her tongue as she saw the unharmed form of her current opponent grinning cockily at her. The smug asshole undoubtedly assured of his victory now that he had seen and so easily avoided her ¡®ace¡¯.
It burned to admit that such a thought was correct.
She didn¡¯t have the necessary specs to deal with this guy, not even the required fluidity or eye for sword techniques, she was a terrible opponent for him. The element of surprise and the advantage that it had given her had crumbled to dust by now and it was showing. The opponents she¡¯d be better at dealing with would be the duo over by Alec, not this smug ass.
An influx of mana picked up the battle tempo once more. Everyone¡¯s attention turned to Alec as he pushed down with a kick-off far too powerful for the speed that he had showcased beforehand and rocketed across the battlefield. The two lackeys that he had been facing before chased after him with everything they had.
Olivia¡¯s eyes gleamed and she took off in a charge directly at the blue-haired teen. A whisper danced on the edge of her thoughts as her heart pounded in her ears and her gaze swiveled between the two lackeys constantly.
The speed that Alec had taken off with had surprised them, scared them, reduced them to acting on nothing but instinct and reflex to have a hope of keeping up with him. There was none of the grace and finesse that she had seen and experienced out of the two of them beforehand, only raw emotion and nature laid bare.
It lasted for only a second, but that second was all that she needed to get her heart going yet again.
It felt different from when she had been watching the water spirit, fuzzier, but she felt that same focus return back to her as she swerved around Alec with only the barest of gaps between them. People were difficult, tricky, and manipulative with their blades, she had learned that lesson far more than once.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Beasts, however, were far easier to read. And right now, their panic and frantic actions to catch back up to Alec and kill him made the two of these Vampires nothing higher than that.
¡°Your opponent is me.¡± Her voice came out in a whisper as the both of them dug their feet into the earth to slow their velocity and allow them to react properly to her rapid approach.
¡®How predictable. Come at me, minions.¡¯ Her arms twitched and her blade flashed upwards, missing the left minion by only a hair''s breadth as he instinctually jerked his torso back, a few hairs sliced off without a shred of resistance.
¡®Right now, I feel incredible, and I don¡¯t know how long this will last.¡¯
XXXxxxXXX
The tip of Alec¡¯s blade blew past the leader of the vampire trio in a crack of air and a buffet of wind. The man¡¯s eyes wide and teeth clenched as he followed the blade with his gaze and slid to the side.
¡°That¡¯s General Tyrian¡¯s-¡°
Whatever the man was about to say, Alec could pretty accurately guess, was cut off by the man himself as he brought his blade down and met the flat of Alec¡¯s own blade. In a screech of metal and a brief glint of sparks the vampire''s blade slid down his own until it met the handguard of his blade and stopped with a jerk of both of their arms.
In a lightning-fast manoeuvre, the man pulled back, expecting to unbalance Alec from the sudden lack of force. But instead, the teen only used the chance to place his blade in front of him in preparation for the strike that he knew was coming.
One strike. Two. Three. Five. Seven. Ten.
Sparks and metal clashing against metal filled their part of the battlefield in an all-encompassing cacophony of visual and auditory static as the two fought.
Alec hissed as cuts opened along both of his forearms and only spurred himself to move faster, deflect better, and parry more smoothly. His body, even with the mana he was pumping through it, had already reached its physical limits as far as pure mechanical speed was concerned but yet he tried.
This vampire had more stamina and far, far better technique than him. He couldn¡¯t ever hope to somehow win out in a contest of either of those. Yet if he didn¡¯t find some way to end this onslaught or weather his way through it properly, then he was as good as done.
¡®Gah! His movements are so precise, its like the tip of his blade never wavers a centimetre! He just keeps going and going without an end in sight, how the hell is he keeping his movements so fluid at this speed!? It¡¯s ridiculous!¡¯
A deeper cut opened along the side of his abdomen and a cut bled from his cheek. He was losing, his only job was to hold out until Olivia could finish her own fight and he was being overwhelmed this quickly. How was he ever meant to- Wait.
¡®Fluidity?¡¯
For a moment the image of the water spirits deflection of the four-eyed frog''s tongue appeared in his mind''s eye; the sound of their screeching blades shifted. The vampire leader¡¯s eyes widened as he leant too far forward from the sudden deflection that the teen had done, meeting his blade with his own and leading it back smoothly.
Their target hadn¡¯t moved like this beforehand, what had happened? What had changed?
Completing the Glancing Scale, Alec brought his blade back forward in a wide sweeping arc directly at the vampire leader¡¯s head. The sharpened point of the sword missing only by a centimetre as the assassin suddenly buckled his legs and dodged beneath it entirely.
At least, that had been the plan. As he felt the thin slab of skin and muscle slap against his head and blood filled his vision, he realized that his dodge hadn¡¯t quite been as smooth as he had thought beforehand. Despite his best efforts, the teen had still been able to nearly slice the entirety of the vampire¡¯s forehead off, failing only by the barest piece of flesh that was already starting to knit itself back to the rest of his head.
Alec couldn¡¯t afford to let this opportunity slip past him; he couldn¡¯t afford to let anything slip past him right now.
It was only the whistle of the air around his blade that tipped the vampire leader into the approaching attack. The vampire launching himself into the air with a small ¡®hyup¡¯ and tried to wipe the blood out of his eyes while he had a bit more time before being attacked.
The first thing to touch the ground wasn¡¯t his legs, no, it was instead his blade. Balancing on top of his blade with a single eye open, the leader avoided the swipe at his legs and kept Alec from moving too much all at the same time. It was a simple matter to flip himself forward and bring his leg down on Alec¡¯s head, given his position.
At least it was meant to be.
With a flowing movement to the side, the teen avoided the leader¡¯s leg and brought his blade up, blocking the surprise attack from the man and smoothly sliding it to the side once more.
Again, and again he deflected and redirected the man''s strikes as the two were locked in a second battle of rapid strikes and flying sparks. Yet again Alec found himself unable to do anything else but desperately defend but now he found himself gaining far fewer injuries.
The key had been in those movements he had seen from the water spirit, the flowing, continuous nature of them. Two blended actions naturally occur faster than two joined actions, and faster yet again than two disjointed ones. The focus it was taking to actively keep himself in a constant ¡®flowing¡¯ state was slowing him down, leading to more injuries, but it was still faring far better than before.
Lead each action in the next, not just in terms of the movement of his sword but with his entire body as well. Leave himself flexible and fluid in everything he did. Those were the tenants he repeated to himself as sparks showered over him, his blade wearing down further and further under the relentless assault of the increasingly aggravated vampire.
¡°JUST DIE ALREADY!¡±
The leader¡¯s scream seemed to echo through the forest as he thrust his blade forward with his mana surging around him. A surge of mana from behind the blue-haired teen seemed to drown even that out.
Olivia was close to finishing her own battle off, he could tell. Just the barest glances he had been able to give in her direction over the course of his own fight had been enough for him to keep a basic track of her fight, and the two minions were on their last legs.
The surge of Olivia¡¯s mana, as it washed over Alec¡¯s senses, seemed to shatter something delicate inside him. The razor-sharp calm and focus that had been enveloping him crumbled like broken glass around him and his body almost vibrated with pent-up energy.
It was like he had just had his head dunked underwater without warning, dulling his senses and disorienting him in a second. Leaving him utterly incapable of responding properly to the mana-surging attack heading directly toward him.
Without the time or focus to properly create a Power Stance, he was left with no choice but to desperately gamble on a flat defence with Iron Scales and his own power. It would shatter his blade without a doubt and leave him defenceless but at least this way he wouldn¡¯t be-
¡°ALEC!¡±
The teen startled and faltered amidst bringing his blade up to block the strike and turned his head just enough to look back at the furious shout from his ally.
Olivia was mid-sprint towards him already but too far to make a difference in the fate that was about to befall him. The cut-down forms of the two minions still in free fall from where the young woman had undoubtedly severed their top halves from their bottom. Her eyes ablaze with a focus and intensity that he had never seen out of a single person in his entire life, a focus and intensity that seemed to make something stir inside him.
Fear, determination, anger, indignation; he didn¡¯t know.
¡°WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? KILL HIM ALREADY!¡±
¡®You think I haven¡¯t been trying!? That I¡¯ve just been waiting for some kind of stylish ending or something!?¡¯ He could feel his rage mounting inside him, his teeth grit and his grip on his blade tightened. ¡®You think I¡¯m some kind of genius but I¡¯m not! A genius could deal with this! A genius is actually skilled! I¡¯m a godsdamned nobody!¡¯
His gaze turned back to the vampire leader and soul-crushing despair flooded him instantaneously. It was too late for him to use Iron Scales; it was too late for him to use any Power Stance in his arsenal. He had lost his edge and gotten distracted to boot, he had no way of making it out of this any longer. This attack was going to hit him head on and it was going to kill him.
He was about to die.
Fear overloaded his every neuron, and his heart hammered in his chest like it was trying to physically break out. His muscles tightened and constricted with as much force as they could physically manifest, and his mana surged around him with all the might that his body could produce.
¡°ALEC!¡±
Tension, fear, pain, worry, exhaustion, mana; they all turned to nothing.
In the face of his imminent death, Alec found himself unable to do anything but lock up and fear. In the face of his certain death, Alec found himself devoid of all else but his instincts. Instincts he had not experienced before, instincts that he was not aware that he held, instincts that only a handful of individuals in the entirety of history could claim to have also held.
The tip of his blade scratched along the tip of the vampire leader''s own blade and his movement began. Blankly, smoothly, the flat of their blades sparked against each other, the surging mana around the vampire¡¯s blade eating away at the metal of his own and invading its chemical bonds. Calmly, rapidly, his own mana instinctively rushed into the hilt and blade of his own sword to fight back the encroaching threat.
As he had done before, he curled and twisted his blade to redirect the strike to his side and behind him. His reflection glinted off the flat of his enemy¡¯s blade as it shot past him, he never noticed a thing.
The assassin already began to pull his blade back, having expected to be met with the same move as before and preparing his defence. His defence was focused on his blade, his ego assured him that it would be enough for him to block any kind of strike that Alec could throw at him, as it had in the past.
¡°I¡¯m bleeding, Mr Dius.¡±
¡°Your blade cut me. Your unenchanted, unmoving, regular blade managed to do this to me.¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t allow the blade to cut me like this, Mr Dius. ¨C.. I must put active effort into protecting myself from such things, Mr Dius. Your blade can hurt me just as much as that beast lying over there could, it is not special.¡±
The last of the vampire¡¯s mana burned out of the blade of Alec¡¯s sword, leaving it pooled in thick, swirling vortexes of energy all throughout his blade. Again and again, they clashed, strengthening each other, speeding each other up, pulling more and more mana in with as much force as they could muster.
The leader of these assassins was undoubtedly a [Silver-rank] opponent. But his ego had led to him being struck before and it would lead to him being struck yet again.
He was faster than Alec, stronger than Alec, and tougher than Alec. All of that was true.
He was not, however, invincible.
The barest whisp of his mana left the weakened and scarred metal of his blade and he let it fly.
The edge of his blade met the flat of the vampire¡¯s and cut clean through it like wet paper. The vampire¡¯s eyes widened, and he tried to jerk his body out of the path of the teen¡¯s sword. Despite his efforts, the edge of the teen¡¯s blade bit into him all the same and continued its path unabated. A spray of blood trailed his blade as it left the torso of the assassin and a drop from the man''s now-healed head injury dripped onto Alec¡¯s brow.
And a moment later, the two halves of the vampire flung themselves into the trees behind them so hard they painted the forest red, and the winds howled with enough force to throw both teens clear off their feet and into some nearby bushes.
[Gold] is softer than first thought
It was with a great amount of pain, and a fatigue that Alec had never experienced before, that the teen pulled himself out of the bush that he had been flung into at the end of his fight with the vampire assassin.
A loud groan left his lips as he clutched a tree trunk at his side to help him to his feet and begin his walk back towards the battlefield in question.
A sharp feeling in his foot made him pause for a moment, his gaze turned downwards, and his foot raised to see what, exactly, he had trodden on that had nearly pierced the sole of his boot.
¡®A shard of a sword?¡¯ He blinked owlishly at the item, his brain struggling to fit the puzzle pieces together as everything seemed to just haze together for a moment.
It didn¡¯t look like the top half of the vampire¡¯s blade, not only was it a lot smaller than what he had cut off but the metal was the wrong colour and- Ah, Alec was fairly certain he knew where the shard of the sword had come from now.
Expectantly, his gaze moved to his right and his arm raised, confirming his suspicions.
In his hand was the hilt of a blade, and nothing else. His final strike to the vampire had destroyed not only his enemy and their blade, but his own blade too. Whether it was all the damage that had been done to it over the course of the fight, the sheer amount of mana that had been stuffed into it for that final blow, or some combination of the two he didn¡¯t know. What he did know though, was that he¡¯d definitely rather take the destruction of a blade than his own death, so it was a small price to pay, all things considered.
It did mean that he was now completely defenceless if something happened, but he¡¯d cross that bridge when he got to it, he had a few more important things to do. Like see if his allies were still ok and then take a long, long nap.
Careful to keep an eye on the ground for anymore shards of his own blade he made his way back towards the destroyed remains of their camp in search of Olivia and Noelle.
Luckily for everyone, Noelle was easy to find as her position hadn¡¯t changed in the slightest over the entire course of the fight. Alec wasn¡¯t exactly an expert in medicine, nor was he really even ¡®proficient¡¯, but he took the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest and the fact that he couldn¡¯t see any new injuries on her to mean that she¡¯d been about as untouched by the fight as she could possibly be given the circumstances.
Good, that was one less thing for Olivia to kill him over when he finally found where she had been flung to.
A loud groan, just as pained as his had been, sounded off from behind him and he knew then that Olivia had gotten up from whatever bush or shrubbery she had been thrown into.
Gods, he could just never do anything right when it came to her, could he? First, he kept accidentally doing all this stuff to piss her off, then he lost his shit at her and finally, even after she still chose to help him, he ended up throwing her around like a ragdoll. It was no wonder that she kept seeing all of his actions in that bad light that she had screamed at him before the vampire¡¯s arrival.
¡°Are they dead..?¡± Olivia called out as she stumbled over, getting a short, unsure hum from Alec as he walked over to the top half of the assassins leader.
A quick kick to the side of the head got nothing but an involuntary twitch of the corpses eye that made him jolt instinctively before he realized what had happened and sighed silently in relief.
¡°Leaders dead at least.¡± He announced with a voice that just sounded exhausted, even to his own ears.
Feeling something wet on his forehead he brought a hand up to wipe his forehead off and brush some hair out of his face. When his hair seemed to stick to its new position, he realized that what he had been feeling may not have been sweat.
Though considering the number of cuts and bruises that he could see and feel over his body, he wasn¡¯t surprised by the fact that he had apparently already been bleeding enough to coat his hand in it to that extent.
¡°So are these two. We¡¯re all good.¡± Olivia replied, collapsing on the ground beside where their fire had been with a half-pained, half-relieved moan and resting against her gear pack.
¡°Cool.¡± He was quick to join her at their ruined campsite, though instead of using his gear as a back rest he just lied flat on the ground, staring up at the sky.
They were both silent for a moment, just breathing in deep breaths of relief and trying to relax their bodies despite the myriad of injuries that coated the both of them.
And then, because they had taken the time to try and decompress and do something like that, their reward was the immediate blistering-sting of pain that surged across their entire bodies as their brains suddenly realized that the danger had passed, and those nerve-signals could be allowed to reach them.
¡°Ow! Ow ow ow!¡±
¡°Ah! Hah! Gods- ouch!¡±
Alec wondered what cruel god had decided that this would be their reward for successfully managing to stave off their opponents and come out the other end alive. It was almost like they were being punished for staying alive, though he supposed the other option was being dead.
He didn¡¯t really like that option.
¡°OooooowwwWWWW! Of all the- Could you have mortal enemies that aren¡¯t such pains in the asses to kill next time, Alec?¡±
¡°Its not like I asked for them to show up.¡± Alec grumbled, now laying with his arms out to his side and his legs splayed just a little, like a starfish.
¡°¡.Speaking of, why do you have vampires going after you?¡± Olivia asked slowly, unsurely.
After the fight that she and him had had before the vampires had attacked, she wasn¡¯t even sure if she was allowed to ask such a question. She had let her emotions get the better of her all over something so stupid, she could see that now that her life had flashed before her eyes.
It wasn¡¯t that anything she had said was incorrect from her point of view, not at all, but the fact that she¡¯d let it rot and fester inside her to the point that she¡¯d exploded at him like that was something she never should have allowed. Especially since¡
¡°It was on my journey to Zenik.¡± Alec suddenly answered her question, getting a surprised look from her, ¡°I was coming from Kret with a more experienced adventurer to teach me some tips and tricks for going solo.¡±
¡°Ah, that new watcher system the Guild implemented, right?¡±
¡°That¡¯s the one.¡± He nodded slowly, evidently just as fatigued as she was, though that wasn¡¯t much of a surprise.
¡°Sounds useful.¡±
¡°It is. But while we were travelling together, a Vampire General with their own charge landed in front of us. Apparently, he was the rival of the man that was escorting me and took me to be some kind of apprentice of him, like the younger vampire was for him.¡±
¡°That sounds about right. Vampires have a fairly hierarchal caste system so a general having an apprentice sounds pretty standard from what I know.¡±
¡°Well, that apprentice was actually the heir to their bloodline and had a personality worthy of sewer sludge.¡±
¡°Ah.¡± Olivia stared blankly at the tree line ahead of her as she began to see where this story was going.
¡°Yeah, the younger vampire began to get annoyed by the general and my escort chatting amicably and tried to attack his mentor, only to be thrown at my escort, who promptly threw him at me.¡±
¡°I take it, given you¡¯re still standing here, that you managed to win that fight, and the general didn¡¯t take kindly to you killing his heir?¡± She drawled with a roll of her eyes, turning to look at him and blinking owlishly when she saw him just giving her a confused look.
¡°No, we stalemated, and both my escort and his mentor agreed to call it quits before things got worse and we all separated. Why did you assume that I¡¯d beaten him?¡±
And here was the crux of the issue, why their fight had even happened in the first place. That dumb, stupid naivety of his that refused to let him see what was so blatantly in front of his face.
¡°Because I know how well you fight and pick things up, Dius. I¡¯ve experienced it myself. I don¡¯t doubt that if that other vampire hadn¡¯t broken things up-¡°
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¡°I would have-¡°
¡°Stop!¡± Alec¡¯s mouth snapped shut as her shout seemed to briefly echo through the previously silent forest, her expression stoney and her eyes unflinchingly boring into his own.
¡°Just¡stop. Let me speak.¡± She basically commanded him, taking a deep, quiet breath in to seemingly try and re-centre herself after that short burst of anger.
¡°Alec, you¡¯re a genius. Your level of skill when it comes to using and picking up sword skills is something I¡¯ve never seen before, and I come from one of the greatest adventuring families in the entirety of Xyrtah. Not that my family is a great reference point.¡± She grumbled quietly.
Alec wanted to ask what she meant by that, but having spent a few days around Noelle now he had a very basic idea of what her family may be like. Also, he didn¡¯t want to interrupt her and make her even more mad, even if he really didn¡¯t agree with what she was saying.
¡°The point is, that your skill and instincts with a blade are ridiculous and to watch someone like you continually say that you aren¡¯t skilled is just insulting. Do you think it''s funny, or makes you look humble, to say things like that? I¡¯ve lived my entire life looked down upon for my lack of talent in spell-craft and have had to put everything I have into bladework. Only for you to, time and time again, come along and so easily catch up or deadlock me like it''s nothing.¡± Her voice began to rise in volume slightly as her emotions caught up to her, but Alec still kept his mouth shut, seeing that this was clearly something that she needed to get off her chest.
¡°You slack off and catch up almost at a whim and I just don¡¯t get how you do it so easily so yes, you¡¯re a genius. Because how else do you describe that!? I¡¯m trying to prove that my family¡¯s comments, that their constant looking down and belittling of me for being a poor spellcaster doesn¡¯t matter. But how can I do that when I¡¯m constantly stuck to you at the hip!? How can I do that when no matter how much I think I¡¯ve improved you¡¯re right there at my side, always making me look like I¡¯m stuck in place and unable to improve? I¡¯m stuck trying to compete against a godsdamn genius who seems to stay level with me just to toy with me and it''s infuriating!¡±
Tears began to well up in the corner of her eyes as she placed a hand over her chest and continued to look at Alec while talking, guilt pressing down on him further and further as she explained her side of their constant arguments.
He had never caught onto even half of what she was saying despite all their time ¡®stuck at the hip¡¯ as she put it. If this was the way she saw it then¡He really couldn¡¯t blame her for her attitude towards him this entire time, honestly it felt sort of deserved now that he was learning her reasoning.
¡°Just laze about and fall behind or actually put your back into it and leave me behind! It''s like you¡¯re choosing to stay level with me on purpose and it''s soul-crushing, Alec! I can¡¯t- I just can¡¯t do anything in this situation. I just want to prove that I¡¯m just as good as my siblings, but I can¡¯t because of you and you just keep denying it and rubbing your superiority in my face!¡±
¡°I¡¯m not¡¡± He muttered, averting his eyes as he saw a tear roll down her cheek.
How was he meant to handle something like this? He felt sick, physically. Hearing her words, seeing her reaction, it hurt him. He didn¡¯t want to make anyone feel like that, least of all someone who had just helped him escape certain death.
¡°I grew up in the countryside of Kairahl with three childhood friends.¡± He began himself, hoping that he could at least try and explain his side of the situation before she cut him off.
Luckily for him, it seemed like she was too busy trying to wipe away her tears and re-compose herself to cut him off.
¡°From the moment she knew it existed, one of my friends could summon and concentrate mana like its what she was born to do. Another one of my friends could walk into a church and immediately catch the eye of a minor celestial or perform small miracles. And my best friend in the entire world was ridiculous with any weapon you put in his hands; I¡¯ve never even seen him lose a fight before.¡± He admitted, resting his hands behind his head and using his new position to tilt his head forward and hide his eyes from her with his slightly grown-out fringe.
¡°We formed a party, as you know, and I¡I couldn¡¯t keep up. I don¡¯t have that same drive that they do, I don¡¯t have the same kind of skill that they do. And when I met you, I saw that same kind of thing, that drive and skill that I¡¯ve never been able to grasp. There are a heap of things that you¡¯re better than me at, especially when it comes to swordplay but¡I never realized how everything looked from your end.¡±
He hated this, this dark, sinking feeling in his chest. This guilt that clung to his mind and weighed him down mercilessly. How was he meant to make things right? How was he meant to fix this?
¡°I¡I¡¯ve never seen myself as a genius, I still don¡¯t think I am. Because I¡¯ve seen what real geniuses are like, and I know that I¡¯m just not the same. It¡¯s why I try so hard whenever we¡¯re put together so that I¡¯m not left behind again. I just¡ I don¡¯t¡ I was never trying to keep pace with you on purpose, or to insult or mock you or anything.¡±
¡°¡You¡¯re an idiot.¡±
¡°Yeah, I know. Don¡¯t worry.¡± He sighed, though there was the slightest huff of air as he spoke.
¡°I¡¯m being serious, you¡¯re the biggest idiot I think I¡¯ve ever met. But I don¡¯t want to know what kind of monsters your friends were if they made you look slow.¡± She muttered, her lips twitching just a little.
¡°You¡¯d like them I think, especially my friend Peter, girls tend to like him.¡±
Olivia¡¯s eyebrow twitched and a small rock found its way into her hand, her wrist snapped and dug the rock into his side with a small crack of air before it fell to the ground softly.
Alec¡¯s resulting cry of pain, and the way that he seized up and spasmed in pain while clutching the newly formed bruise, was just too much for Olivia to handle. A long, hardy laugh left her lips and her hands clutched her sides. A laugh so long and so unexpectedly joyous that Alec couldn¡¯t help but join in with just as much force even as both of their bodies began to protest their actions, and their injuries flared up in anger.
¡°We nearly died!¡± Alec wheezed, his arms wrapped around his chest and stomach as he lay on his side.
¡°Because we¡¯re both so damn stupid!¡± Olivia joined in, having collapsed onto her own side and in full-blown hysterics alongside her blue-haired ally.
¡°All because we were both jealous of each other!¡±
¡°And neither of us realized it!¡±
Both of them continued to laugh until their bodies could no longer physically handle it, coughing fits wracking their forms as some of the larger cuts on their bodies re-opened, flooding them with just too much pain for them to continue.
Alec now lay on his stomach on the ground with his chin against the dirt to keep his head propped up, meanwhile ahead of him Olivia lay on her side while trying to stretch her leg out as her calf cramped up, a look of discomfort clear on her face as she tried to do so.
¡°I¡¯m sorry¡¡± He finally spoke when it looked like her leg was no longer trying to kill her via cramping.
¡°Huh?¡± She turned over to look at him, her expression sobering up a little as she saw the look on his face.
¡°For everything, for making you feel that way, for not realizing. It may not mean much to you but¡I¡¯m sorry.¡±
Her face twisted and her eyes darted around, from her left to him, then back to her left, then to him again, then to her right, then back to him, then up, and finally back down. No doubt wrestling with her own emotions just as Alec himself had done before speaking up.
¡°It¡does, actually. Mean a lot. And for what it''s worth, I¡¯m sorry too. I shouldn¡¯t have taken out all that stuff with my family on you.¡± She muttered, her fingers twiddling together almost anxiously. ¡°And¡I didn¡¯t mean to, by the way.¡±
¡°Didn¡¯t mean to, what?¡± He questioned, tilting his head a little and smudging his cheek with some blood-stained dirt.
¡°Knock your bowl of food back onto you. I was trying to grab it but went too quickly and¡.hit it.¡± She admitted quietly, not unlike a child admitting to something that they knew they shouldn¡¯t have done.
¡°Oh¡¡± Alec had nearly completely forgotten about that, given everything that had happened afterwards, but knowing the truth behind that incident now, for as small as innocuous as it seemingly was¡
Well, knowing the truth actually helped to make him feel a little bit better amidst the suffocating waves of guilt that still drowned him beneath them.
¡°Now I¡¯m going to bed! We need to be up as early as possible to get Noelle back in time to save her.¡± Olivia suddenly announced, turning on her side to put her back to him and grabbing her pack to get her sleeping bag out.
¡°Ah, right.¡± He¡¯d completely forgotten about Noelle in all of this.
As Olivia settled into her sleeping bag and rapidly fell asleep, softly breathing in rhythmic patterns within minutes, Alec turned to look at the elder Kio sister with a scrunched-up gaze. She looked pale, and shaky, not to mention that the makeshift bandages they had used to wrap up her injuries were a worrying shade of colour, mixed with far too much red for his liking.
Olivia was right, she needed to get back to Zenik as soon as possible, she really had no time to waste.
Slowly he got up, fighting back mentally against the constant waves of fatigue that threatened to swallow him whole.
¡°Olivia.¡± He called out, he didn¡¯t get so much as a twitch.
¡°Oliviaaaa!¡± He called out a bit louder, still nothing.
Shuffling over to her he nudged her with his foot, barely getting a single shift in her breathing, and even then, he was certain that that was only because of the momentary change in her position.
Alec knew then that she would have no chance of waking up early enough to make it back to Zenik in enough time to safely keep Noelle alive.
Well, he¡¯d been thinking about ways to try and lessen some of this guilt that he felt for what he¡¯d accidentally put Olivia through, so this should be at least a solid start.
XXXxxxXXX
Olivia groaned in both exhaustion and pain as she awoke, feeling a dull pain over her entire body that was less than pleasant but far less than it should have been. At least the bed beneath her was comfortable enough to offset some of the pain.
¡Bed?
In an instant her eyes flung open, and she sat bolt upright, not even caring for the throngs of intense pain that flowed through her body. Because what she saw around her wasn¡¯t the forest that she had fallen asleep in, or the small room of some country-town villager who had found and been kind enough to help her.
No, what she saw around her was the infirmary of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, something she only recognized due to having been sent here once before during one of her first [Copper-rank] quests. And, for the life of her, she couldn¡¯t understand why or how she had gotten here.
What had happened after she fell asleep?