《Blacksmith》 Chapter 1 Another world The morning bell rang on a Monday morning in Forester Private High. As the bell began to ring the last person racing in the door was Erwin Schmeid. He''d spent the previous night hunched over his keyboard playing an MMO that had recently updated with a new raid. It was Erwin''s first attempt at the raid and to put it simply it didn''t go great. After several hours of bashing their heads against a seemingly unbeatable second phase, the raid party decided it would be best to temporarily retreat and attempt to gain levels. Erwin agreed to the retreat yet he decided rather than sleep at the already late time of midnight he would spend several hours grinding levels. Erwin''s impulsive decision led to a nonexistent response to his morning alarm and caused the current sprint to towards the classroom. Erwin, right before walking in the door, dropped his speed down to a brisk walk and trots into the classroom as if he wasn''t sprinting. To any immediate onlookers the thin layer of sweat that covers Erwin¡¯s brow gave away his ordeal but Erwin quickly wiped away the evidence with his uniform''s sleeve. Erwin raised his head only to be met by the contempt filled gaze of his fellow student''s. Their hatred is odd, it''s true that Erwin wasn''t an extremely sociable person far preferring to be playing games and watching moving to conversing with his peers, yet he still participated in class dialogue, did a fair share of any work, and gave everyone the respect they were due. The attitude of the class doesn''t match up with the Erwin''s personality. "Good morning, Erwin, so why are you running into class so late?" asked a feminine voice coming from Erwin¡¯s left. The voice is from the cause of Erwin¡¯s persecution, Elliana Charles. "Well, Ellie, I had some trouble with my alarm clock", replied Erwin without making eye contact. "You were up all night playing some video game," retorted Ellie with deadly precision. "More than likely," Erwin admitted "You really shouldn''t be spending school nights awake so long." Here comes the doting thought envious onlookers "you could develop a serious issue like insomnia, or hypersomnia during school hours in some cases sleep deprivation can lead to premature heart failure..." Ellie began listing sleep related issues to Erwin; he knews that it woudn''t cease until Erwin swore to stop. "Okay, okay I promise that if any of those things occur to me than I will stop playing so late." Not exactly going cold turkey, but Erwin hoped this would be enough to end the conversation immediately. From Ellie''s point of view, she was having a pleasant conversation with a friend but this perspective isn''t shared by observing students. Forester Private was one of the highest rated schools in the country, as such the majority of the student where moderately intelligent and come from families of considerable wealth. Of course, a few students hung at to the extremes, students that were extremely intelligent and come from poor families and complete idiots who have parents donate large sums of money to enter the school. To most of Erwin''s classmates, he belongs to the latter of these groups. According to his classmates, Erwin was the lazy child of a Walt street hedge fund manager and big shot lawyer that sues corporations for millions. There have even been rumors that the reason Erwin showed up to class late was because he was getting high behind the school, from the perspective of his classmates Erwin was scum.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Of course, many truths tend to be distorted in gossip. In reality Erwin''s mother worked as a criminal defense lawyer at respectable firm while his father was an accountant working at the IRS, and he neither had the funds or the desire to get high. He was in reality a boy from an upper middle-class family, who worked hard and got into the school via scholarships. He talked about video games a little too much and didn''t appear to be invested in education so now Erwin simply is the person everyone hates. "look at him walk in so casually" "How dare he of all people talk to Eliana so casually." "He''s just some no life gamer." Erwin heard bits and pieces of their whispers in the distance, yet hadn''t given them much care. They''ve never even used physical violence against Erwin. He stood tall enough and with a physique that wasn''t particularly in shape but wasn''t scrawny enough to be a victim, so nobody had put in the effort to hurt him. While Erwin attempted to ignore the whispers some people with more direct forms of beratement intervened. "You really shouldn''t be harassing Ellie so early in the morning." a handsome blonde man standinga head taller than Erwin with a toned body walked up next to Ellie. Ugh this again thought Erwin as Leonardo Antonio attempted to save Elliana from a threat that doesn''t exist. "Ellie is he bothering you again?" Raiko Yamamoto, best friend of Elliana and a serious face on any day, stood in front of Ellie subconsciously shielding her from Erwin, as if he may attack at any time. "No, I just wanted to talk to him," said Ellie. Don''t these things come in groups of threes thought Erwin having been in this situation before. "Your so kind to talk to him out of pity" said a deep voice from behind Erwin. Erwin looked behind shocked to find Salvador Cortez standing behind him. Thought that a six foot giant like you would be more noticeable; how the hell did you get behind me, thought Erwin slightly impressed, well I''ve had this dialogue chain before, so I''ll be taking my leave. Erwin slinked out of the conversation and found a nice seat at the far side of the classroom. Erwin did wonderwhy does Ellie talk to me so much? From an external point of view their conversation could appear to be anything from friendly dialogue to flirting, but why would she talk to him at all?It''s probably more of a pity situation. Which would make me her Quasimodo. Ellie followed Erwin with the intent to finish her conversation and sits directly next to him. Raiko sat next to Ellie while Leonardo and Salvador ploped in front of them and flip 180 to face each other. Damn, I thought everybody would have already picked their seats by now, thinks Erwin annoyed that he is sitting next to the four most popular students in class, he didn''t want any more eyes on him then necessary. "Alright everybody the bell rang, so let''s get to learning." Jessica Walls their history teacher brought the class to attention with a chipper attitude. Hhhhhmmmmm, out of nowhere a high-pitched squeal rang out from the surroundings, coupled with a golden circle forming within the ground. Before anyone had the time to react, a bright flash enveloped the room leaving it completely devoid of life. Chapter 2 Were all heroes now The light that encompassed the classroom faded as quickly as it appeared. The class of 23 people laid on a grassy field surrounded by several ornate but deteriorating columns. Many of the class were speechless by the sudden change of surroundings. "Is everyone okay?" Asked Leonardo taking the leadership. His yell surged everyone back to reality and they all gathered themselves and stood up. With a quick glance of her surroundings Raiko noticed no one is on the floor anymore. "It doesn''t look like anyone is hurt," she responded. "welcome, oh great champions of justice," A compelling voice, from an archway leading into a castle, reverberated through the surroundings. The class huddles in the middle of the field with Leonardo standing in front of them. "Who are you?" Leonardo asked politely while still keeping his distance. A tall, bulky but gray-haired man walked out of the archways. The armor and claymore he wore on his body is imbued with a brilliant luster and jewels to the point that anybody with military experience would surmise that its purpose isn''t combat but ornamental. Of course, most of the students from another world hadn''t even been in a fight let alone war, so all they saw was a man heavily armored and equipped with a large sword walking towards them. Many of the students began to back away in fear while Leonardo, Salvador, Raiko, and even Elliana to a certain extent refused to back away for even a second. Erwin was located at the circumference of the group taking note of the night sky and how he couldn''t see any of the known constellations. He basically figured out what was going on, and guessed that he wasn''t in any immediate danger. "I am Freud Bellimere, Lord of these lands, please follow me and allow me to explain the particulars of your situation," The Elderly introduced himself with a smile on his face. The friendly attitude causes the shaken students to relax to a certain extent. "Please, come, I mean no one any harm," Freud gestured to the archway leading into a large cathedral like building. The students scan at each other for confirmation, no one seems to be actively objecting, so they all begin to follow Freud into the building. Within the walls of the castle, the class was seated into a grand dining hall. An array of finely dressed servants walked into the room dragging in trollies of food a laying them on a large dining table, the smell of food flooded the room. The smells varied from savories meats to fine pastries many of which didn''t exist on the earth your familiar with, yet even with the slightest whiff everyone agreed that it would be delicious to eat. Many of the students had skipped breakfast on their way to school and were the first to sit and begin eating with no restraints. these students had already learned proper etiquette but it seems in a high tension setting they had forgotten how to act. The others feared that the food might have been drugged. We should give him the benefit of the doubt, thought Elliana as she sat near the head of the table. With the elegance worthy of a princess she sliced into a fillet of meat. This calm gesture inspired her nervous classmates to sit down and eat. It even convinced the hungrier classmates to stop cramming food in their mouth and remember how to act in a formal setting. "Now that everyone is seated, allow me to explain the situation," Freud begun to explain, "This may come as a shock, but all of you have been transported to a different world." Most students shook their head in disbelief, one student already guessed that though. A hint of panic began to flutter through the faces of the students. "This is joke has gone far enough!" screamed Jessica Walls who had remained silent up until now, yet, could not allow her students to be the subject of fear, "I demand that you return us, or I will call the police." She spoke bravely at Freud but the fear in her voice was obvious. This was noticed by several of the students who attempted to support her. "You tell ''em Jessica," exclaimed the always cheery Samantha Jackson on her left side and from her right. "Yeah, I''m tired of this incessive gag," affirmed Isabella Cortez while giving a stone-cold gaze to Freud. Freud responded with an understanding tone, "I see you all are still in a state of disbelief. That is quite expectant even in our world such circumstances are unheard of." With a wave of his hand the massive dining hall doors opened wide and a quadrupedal beast as large as truck walked in. The beast walked with the head of an eagle and large white wings, yet had the body of a lion. It prowled around the table of the grand dining hall, from the way it walked everyone knew that it wasn''t an animatronic or some kind of costume. "This is a Gryphon." stated Freud, "from what the oracles say, you come from a world devoid of magic. As such, a creature that exudes magic, like the gryphon, are non-existent in your world." The class was shocked at the magical beast that is from of them, even the previously irate Jessica took her seat. The only one without their mouth agape was Erwin he was curios of the mention of an oracle. Who are these oracles? How much do they know about us? Are they in charge of this world''s religion? From what Erwin knew of history and fiction religious groups in a medieval setting, were nothing but trouble.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "Alright so this proves that were in a different world." Salvador stated the newly obvious, while beckoning the gryphon to come closer. The gryphon, without a hint of shyness, walked towards Salvador. Salvador with same level of sincerity scratched the griffon under the scruff of its neck as if it was a common dog. Well, he was always good with animals, thought Leonardo as his friend quickly forgot the situation to play with a monster from a different world. "Now then, let me begin by giving my apologies. I am to understand that you all are youths, who have never seen the light of battle, but humanity is in grave danger," Freud explained the situation to them. According to him there are many different intelligent races that have, for the most part, lived peacefully. However, on the continent of Aryndal, there have been rising tensions between the magically intelligent elves, the physically dominant tierzal, and the logistical humans, with the humans at the losing end, as of recent. The reason, as explained by Freud, was that the elves, who were naturally gifted in magic, were using unheard of manic to take over lands that belonged to the tierzal. The tierzal were incapable of magic in their more human forms, however they can transform into beasts. In this form, they have a strength that exceeds any normal human and magic on par with most. Humans, on the other hand, had been dependent on their tactical and logistical knowledge to out think the instinctual tierzal and the academic elves. For the past three centuries, the tierzal were the dominant super power, with humans in second, and elves passively sitting in third. With their new magic, the elves had been relentlessly attacking the tierzal while the tierzal have been retaliating. Now they both prepare for full scale war and are taking massive amounts of farming lands from human dominated countries. At the rate the elves and the tierzal were going the empires of humanity will crumble before the next generation is born. "This is where you come in, according to the high priestess, The Gods have summoned you and only they have the power to return." "And who are these gods?" pondered Isabella. "They are nine beings of limitless power who have sewn the fabric of this world," Freud continued his expression changing to one riddled with regret, "and now they have chosen you all to be their needles. The lot of you are from a different world and as such have powers that exceed that of this world. We the kingdoms of man will come to assist you in any way possible, so that you may be the hero that humanity needs in this time. Surely, if you were to save humanity at their time of need the gods would reward and return you to your world" The student¡¯s expressions changed from one worried of the world to that of a child awaiting a Christmas present. To the students the realization that they could be heroes in a fantasy world excited them. The thought of fantastical adventures is captivating in adolescence, as we all are to know. To the young teacher Jessica Walls, the idea of students risking their lives in battle made her furious. She was a young but respected teacher. At times might have seemed like a student herself, but her students actually did depend on her. If there was ever a time for her to act as the adult this would have been be the time. "No, I forbid it," she yelled understanding what they were thinking, "everyone think about what this really means you''d be used as soldiers. You would face the hunger, pain, and diseases that soldiers face and every day you would have to fight for your very survival." The student thought about being trapped in a different world filled with fantastical dangers and enemies lurking in every corner, the fear of a horrible death replaced that of the desire for adventure. As frightened faces filled the room one person stood up, because his sense of justice wouldn''t allow those who were in need to suffer. "Everyone, I''m going help the people of this world," Leonardo stood up speaking confidently as if putting himself in danger to help others was the natural thing to do, "Look we need to return home and these people need the help of heroes, I''m going to help these people and we''ll return home. These people are as much a victim as we are, they''ve been forced to fight a war that they don''t want to fight, so who will fight with me to save the people of this world and return home." "Obviously, I''ll be fighting with you, Leo," said Salvador. Leonardo and Salvador give each other a look of faith thinking that they could save everyone if they worked together. "Don''t you think I''m going to leave you idiots to fight this war on your own, you''d probably get yourselves killed," said Raiko smirking as if she had just saved their lives from themselves. "Well if you¡¯re going I''m going too," joined Ellie. She knew that she couldn''t leave her best friend with two hot headed boys. The four friends looked at each other they knew that they would save everyone. From the viewpoint of the students, the four of them stood as if they truly were heroes of legend and almost instantly their fears turned to conviction. The entire class stood up ready to fight in a war and be heroes. Jessica Walls looked dejected and simply sighed as if she had failed to protect her student. "Don''t worry Jessica, we''ll be just fine," assured Samantha right next to her while placing a hand on her shoulder. Jessica Walls, slightly angry that her student called her by her first name, returned Sam''s smile happy that her student was being so brave in the face of adversary. "I promise that I won''t let any of you get hurt," she promised this knowing that she might not be able to keep, yet prepared to do everything in her power to keep her promise. The class was in agreement they would become heroes and fight for the people who could not fight for themselves. With that, Freud led the class out into the training grounds to begin their journey. Chapter 3 Classes for all Dammit, dammit, dammit I got caught up in the moment and got myself involved in some extra-dimensional war, thinks Erwin who was quickly regretting his decision to join a battle when he had no experience fighting an any way. Erwin had done some thinking and the probability that 23 inexperienced soldiers go to battle and all 23 come back is terrifyingly low, as such his excitement for going on a hero¡¯s quest had quickly plummeted. Freud Bellimere leads the class into the castles training grounds where many soldiers train with both swords and magic. Erwin takes sight of the weaponry and begins to internally panic, however the sight of magic causes him to quiver with excitement, no no I can''t let the fire balls and lightning bolts confuse me. We''re heading into a dangerous situation and I need to be ready for it. It isn''t like Erwin could coward out and attempt to get out of this situation, when literally everyone else was joining the battle, it would only increase the hatred of his peers but it isn''t like he wanted to risk life and limb fighting elves and werewolves. The group is welcomed by a woman with porcelain skin and golden blonde shoulder length hair that glistens even in the moon light. She wears a tightly fitting, but not provocative, white habit that accentuates her natural curves for all intents and purposes in any world she would be considered a beauty. Every boy, and even some of the girls, blushed at the sight of her to the point that they didn''t even notice when she began to speak. "Welcome, I am the high priestess of the gods, Jeanne Evastus," Jeanne speaks with a soft voice as if the sound would break her at any moment yet everyone could hear her without problems as if she was speaking with them individually. She picks up a phone sized slate of metal out of a crate. "This is a solima slate an ancient creation given by the gods so we could fight the creatures of this world. Drop a small amount of blood on the face and it will display your experience in levels. Your strength will be quantified and displayed on this screen as well as any abilities that you may have." The guards begin handing out Solima slates to all the student. Erwin brimming with curiosity pricks his finger and drops some blood on the slate causing it to glow with bright red and black text began to form.
Name:Erwin Schmeid Race:Human
Class:Blacksmith Level: 1
Strength: 10 Magic: 10
Defense: 10 Resistence: 10
Agility: 10 Abilities: Translation, Transmutation
Pure tens across the board. Is that good? Is it bad? It''s ten-time better than someone with ones, Erwin curious on how his stats measure up to his peers¡¯ glimpses Leonardo''s slate glowing bright red. Leonardo, with Freud standing next to him, stares at the slate as the red-light changes into black text.
Name: Leonardo Antonio Race:Human
Class: Vanguard Level: 1
Strength: 100 Magic: 100
Defense: 100 Resistence: 100
Agility: 100 Abilities:Translation, Limit Break, Book of Armaments
"You''re a Vanguard like I and you started with higher stats than I, to boot." Freud laughs while patting Leonardo on the back. "You even have two combat abilities, at level one, that''s rarer than an ophalsto''s pearl." All the students, in fact, acquire high stats. According to the soldiers that huddle around, all the students have battle oriented classes and their starting stats are at least 30% higher than the average soldier, from the soldier¡¯s perspective these students really were heroes with the blessing of gods. However, as Erwin learns, this doesn''t apply to hisstats and class. Se realizes that they are lower, and the blacksmith class isn''t usedcombatively. "So, what''s on your solima slate, eh Erwin," asks Johnathan Jones. J.J. snatches the slate from Erwin sweaty palms and is brought to hysterics by what he saw. "Why are your stats so low?" J.J. hands Erwin''s solima slate to another classmate.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. "Ah shit, he''s right there 10s," Jason Morrison exclaims his face contorted in a sadistic smile. "That''s fucking hilarious," agrees Michael Williams. To these particular students, Erwin''s exceedingly low stats are form of divine punishment, and as such any persecution towards Erwin is completely justified. The three begin laughing manically because of the opportunity that has just presented itself. Jeanne who was observing the students, attempting to spy weaknesses in new recruits, hears laughter in the crowd. She walks towards the laughter with the intention of stomping out any form of civilian ease. "May I see what''s so funny," her cold gaze froze the three. Their laughter immediately becomes silent and their idle posture becomes upright. As if she called them to attention with her eyes the three go into suspension. Michael hands Jeanne the slate that caused all the commotion and she inspects it fascinated by its contents. "So, you are Erwin Schmeid?" She asks. Her emotionless face as cold as ice, yet Erwin observes the slightest curling in the corners of her lips as if she''s happy about what she had just discovered. "Yes, mam," responds Erwin. His face turns pink so he shifts his gaze away from her face and looks down at the floor. Jeanne responds by gently lifting his chin raising it back up so eye contact is reinstated. "Your class is an artisan based and your stats are average for that class. I apologize but It seems you might have no use on the field." Her facial expression looks quite somber. she thinks this news would lead to Erwin sinking into a depression.Erwin with a dejected face looks down at his feet again, and thinks to himself, hell yeah! Sweet vindication. Now I have a great excuse to not fight, laze around in a castle, and still reap all the rewards of being in a new world. The kind-hearted teacher, Jessica see''s the look of sadness on her student''s face and attempts to ease his mind, "Don''t be so down on yourself, Erwin. I have a non-combat class too "scholar" so it isn''t like I''m gonna be much help in a fight either." Jeanne¡¯s eyes dart from Erwin to Jessica, "Oh, a scholar you say, you might have the potential to be a new War Mind." Since humans were not as strong or magical as the other races they heavily relied on the tactical and logistical prowess of people who had the genius to. Without raising a single blade, they''ve change the course of entire wars, these people have been came to be known as War Minds. Not all war minds have been scholors, their potential to be a war mind is well known. "You might be the most valuable person in this country. I''ll have you moved from physical training to tactical classes immediately." Jessica Walls stares shocked at the sudden importance placed on her, "Pardon?" is all she can musteras several soldiers escort her back into the castle to learn from the finest minds in the kingdom. "Don''t worry, Erwin, we won''t leave you behind," Ellie says with a smile on her face. "Oh no, I wouldn''t want to be a burden," He responds attempting to wriggle out of fighting. "You might have proficiency in support magic," Jeanne offers. Erwin and Ellie give her a confused look. "I suppose I should explain, Magic, and the use of it, boils down to two parts. A magic circle and a chant by using both of these in succession a spell can be cast, of course, as in any rule there are exceptions, but we''ll cover that on a later day." "So, how does that relate to proficiency, as you called it?" Isabella asks. At this point, much of the class is paying attention to the explanation of magic. "Any person can use any spell, if they know the circle and chant, yet the magnitude and consumption of the spell will be different based on the individual user of the spell, of course this does not apply to spells which can only be used by people who have the ability. We have taken the initiative and retrieved an array of books containing spells for all classes so please peruse them while your training, you might be surprised at your hidden proficiencies." As Jeanne ends her explanation, the class is excited to learn what kinds of magic they can use. Even though it was night, in this universe, many of the students had just woken, up so they practice magic into the late night.
Over the next few days the newly ordained heroes received rooms in the castle as well as personalmaids to help them with basic living. Much of their free time was spent learning about the world they had found themselves in. They also spent a large amount of time understanding the new powers they had recently been given. What magics they were proficient in and what weapons they had skills with for some classes like pyromancers and archers this was easy for others this was not so easy. Erwin falls in the latter category, he has low profanely with every form of magic. The only magic he can use with proficiencyis the transmutation skill, which is a unique for the blacksmith class, yet transmutation lacks any real potential. Transmutation is an ability that has to be triggered with a magic circle and chant, while many combat abilities only require chants and some can be activated immediately. From the perspective of his classmates, Erwin is viewed as dead weight, nothing more than someone to drag the team down, this didn''t improve public opinion of him. Chapter 4 The feeling of being useless On the afternoon of the fourth day, Erwin found himself in a secluded region of the training grounds with J.J. "Well look at you, flirting with Elliana as if your so much better than us," J.J. says while acting like a stereotypical bully, all in all it''s a cliche way of treating people. "You should really stop pestering Ellie with your weakness." On Earththese hedidn''t have the guts to attack anyone least of all Erwin, however in this world the diffrence in stats made attacking Erwin nothing more than an adult stepping on a child. J.J. hits Erwin in the gut with the butt of a magic staff. Even though, J.J., as pyromancer, has low physical his assault on Erwin easily brought Erwin to his knees. Erwin with no plausible means to defend himself could only take the blow now and drink a healing potion later. Erwins eyes are filled with fear all he can do is lie on the ground and curl into a ball. J.J. starts getting angrier at the weakness that Erwin shows sweat beads down his red spiky hair, he can''t believe that someone like him could ever talk tosomeone like Ellian, if even I can''t. J.J. coils his legs to stomp on Erwins fingers. He knew Erwin would heal them, so he didn''t feel bad about crushing a digit or two. He dropped his leg with all his weight behind it. "AAAAAHHHHHH!" Erwin screams in pain as his knuckles disjoint. "What can''t handle it, you little bitch," For reasons unkown to Erwin, J.J. continuously gets angrier the more pain he causes to Erwin. J.J recoils his leg in attempt to chrush another finger. He puts on a wicked smile and prepares to stomp. "AAAAHHHH!," to Erwins surprise it isn''t him screaming. He raises his head up and J.J. is on the floor holding his stomach with a heavy leather training ball sits next to him. In the opposite direction he see''s three diffrent kinds of stares, an angry glare fromRaiko Yamamoto, a concerned look fromElliana Charles, and an indifferent gaze fromJeanne Evastus. Erwin guessed what had happened Raiko used her abillitiy Speed of Light, an ability that sped up an object proportional to the mana applied to it, to attack J.J. with the force of a professional baseball pitch.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. "Are you all right?" asks Elliana as she crouches next to Erwin. Raiko begins dragging the unconsious J.J. out to the training ground, more than likely to be punished by Freud, and Jeanne leans against the wall taking the role of idle obsever. Elliana examines Erwins recently stomped fingers. "Your lucky, if this was broken it would take longer to heal," "If I was lucky this wouldn''t happen in the first place plus your an excellent Healer anyway I''m sure it would heal fine," Erwin gives a wry smile as if to show he had a handle on everything. Ellie sighs and begins to chant a healing spell. "The Sword lost his shield he refused to let her die the gods were forced to yield he refused to let her lie" Erwin smiles he likes the sounds of chants they sound very poetic to him. According to modern scholars chants are a recalling of historical records, and by reciting them, people pray to the gods for the ability to use their mana to create magic, this applies to humans as well as other humanoid creatures. The light that encompases Erwin''s fingers dissipates leaving a fully healed finger. Ellie smiles at her acomplishment and gazes into Erwin''s eyes. "Elliana, may Erwin and I have a moment alone?" Jeanne asks finally reacting to any of the events. "Of course, Ms. Evastus," she responds her face turning red because she was caught having a moment with Erwin. She quickly scurries off without looking back to show her blushing face. "Here, drink this it''ll stop your incessant shaking," Erwin looks at his arms they''re shaking uncontrolably were they like this the entire time. He takes the bottle and drinks a swig of it which causes him to cough a lillte, this is his first time drinking hard liqour. Jeanne shows her first full smile, actually, her entire face seems to soften at the sight of Erwin gaging. Erwin notices this and thinks he might like this face more than her normally cold face. "so I can guess what this conversation is about," he says after his coughing fit is over. "Good, I thought I would have to have this conversation with someone who didn''t understand his position, but at the very least you''re a perspacious man," her smile immediately shifts to a nuetral one, yet her features stay the same showing the compasion she feels. "I have an old friend, Alphonse, a succesfull blacksmith living on the outskirts of town. He was reluctant to take on a student, even more so when he found out you''re new to this world, but with awie bit pressing he''s agreed to take you as an aprentice. Ipresume you have no cavilon starting tomorrow" "not at all," he responds. Erwin is happy thinking that he wouldn''t have to fight, yet he still felt dejected as if it wasn''t his choice at all, that the world had decided he has no worth fighting. Jeanne rested a hand on Erwin''s shoulder knowing full and well what it meant to feel useless. chapter 5 A masters guidance The next day Erwin finds himself at the foot of a large one-story house at the outskirts of town. The building was completely made of smoothstone making it look like a small castle rather than a person''s home, it must of cost a fortune. The surrounding vegetation is completely dead, or more accurately it had been burned to a crisp it seems like 15-meter radius of the house is scorched. "AAAAAAAA," Erwin hears a deep voiced shriek coupled with an explosion coming from the back of the house. He runs around the perimeter of the house, to be greeted by a muscular man in his early forties. Even though he is young his hair is completely white and the end of his beard is noticeably singed at the tip with a small fire at the end, he also has a look on his face as if someone had just started a birthday party when it was so obviously not his birthday. "oye, boyo, over here," he begins waving at Erwin with a smile on his face. All Erwin can do is look back staring at the small fire at the end of his new master''s beard. Alphonse notes this and realizes the small pilot light at the end of his beard. "oh, well would ya look at that," he says while laughing and smothering the flame with his hands, "nice t'' meet ya, I''m Alphonse, but most call me Al." "I''m Erwin," the lower class in this world didn''t have family names. Erwin didn''t want to give the impression of superiority, so he omits his last name. "Well don''t be so stiff boyo, we''re family now," Erwin relaxes his shoulders this was the first time he met someone so genuine in this world. Many of the soldiers, servants, and peasants just treat him like a hero it makes it difficult to have anything close to a conversation. The two of them sit next to an anvil while sipping a cold wine, Erwin doesn¡¯t drink that much but it he likes the sweet taste. "Now then how well do ya know your own skills, let''s see you make a steel broadsword." Erwin is handed a lump of pig iron and Al points towards a forge, equipment, and raw material. All right this shouldn''t be too hard. First create an iron ingot, then iron plus coal equals steel, mold that into a length of metal about 5 cm wide and 50 cm long, after that I''ll have to add a fuller as well as sharpen the edges of the blade. Erwin was quite good at chemistry in school and understood weaponry because of his time spent on video games, so creating a steel broadsword from iron, in theory, should be easy. From his own tests, he understood the limitations of his own transmutation skill, he can use it continuously for about an hour without reenchanting, it''s also easier to transmute a metal in liquid form so a smelter is necessary. Only non-living things can be transmuted, yet certain items counted like wool, cotton, tanned leather and the such can be transmuted. Within 90 minutes, Erwin finishes his sword and takes pride in the luster it creates. This is the first time Erwin has created something from scratch; the feeling of being able to take pride in one¡¯s own work is new to him. He smiles at the blade at goes to inform Al on his progress. To Erwin''s surprise Al has finished every drop of the large bottle of wine and has abruptly fallen asleep. Erwin wonders Should I wake him up? or would that be rude? Is it ruder to not wake him up? I''m just gonna wake him up. "Al, I''m done with the sword," Erwin says reaching his hand down at the slumped man. The moment Erwin touches Al''s shoulder the man jumps up with the alertness of young boy. His eyes open as if he had never been asleep at all. "Ah, yes let''s take a look see at this blade of yours," Al picks up Erwin¡¯s broadsword and thinks hmm maybe this kid has more potential than I gave him credit for. Al has been a blacksmith for many decades now and has held hundreds nay thousands of weapons in his hand. At a single glance, he can tell the quality of weapon, and therefore the quality of smith who made it. He would have guessed that a blade of this quality would be made by a blacksmith''s apprentice with a at least a year¡¯s worth of training under his belt. Al mumbles the traits of the sword to Erwin as if he was hypnotized by the blade. "The pig iron had most of the impurities taken out during the smelting process, the carbon percentage is within three percent of the optimal amount, the blades balance is almost perfect it seems the addition of the fuller moved the center of gravity by several millimeters only dropping the quality slightly. No jewels embezzled into the hilt, you¡¯d be surprised at the number of apprentices place gaudy additions to the sword as if it would increase its sharpness. Boy, come look at this." Al takes out a magnifying glass and holds it up to the edge of the blade. Erwin peers through. "So, what do you see?" Al asks with a wry smile on his face. "Small lacerations at the edge, with a larger laceration appearing abruptly, as well small trenches at the edge of the blade" Erwin attempts to identify any problems the blade may have but he couldn''t see any glaring issues. All he can do is give a confused look.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it "These small trenches are a telltale sign that ya transmuted the edge of the blade instead of sharpening it with a whetstone," Al explains. Erwin wonders silently Why would I need to sharpen manually when I can just transmute it? "I''m sure your wondering why would I need to sharpen it manually when I can just transmute it," Al answers knowing exactly what his young pupil is thinking, "ya see these trenches at the edge of the blade have a tendency to become larger as the blade is used, with the eventuality bein'' that the blade will completely shatter. Since transmutation lacks the precision to completely get rid of these trenches we smiths use whetstones to sharpen the edges. Also, the leather grip should be coated in a varnish. In its current state, the oils of the body would slowly cause it to deteriorate. The use of a catalyst when creating the steel would have also reduced the time to make the sword but we''ll have plenty of time to discuss that." The mistakes that Erwin made where that of a rookie, so much so that they couldn''t really even be considered mistakes more like unrepeatable happenings. The fact that these were the only mistakes for someone first sword impressed Alphonse, what this child lacked in numerical stats he more than made up for in ingenuity and a steady hand. Al quickly taught Erwin the proper method to sharpen a blade, as well as how to apply varnish to tanned leather. He also went into a rather complicated discussion on how catalysts work for transmutation. Erwin already understood most of it from just hearing the word catalyst, in his world a catalyst is something used to speed up a reaction and isn''t used up in the reaction itself. It works much of the same way in this world, while transmuting to substances together add a catalyst to the mixture to speed up its fusion. For example, if he had added Nitrogen from the air into the iron carbon reaction he could have shaved off 20 minutes from his smiting time. Erwin found the information useful from a logical perspective, however what really amazed him was the knowledge that he could transmute substances from the air itself. He had never made the connection itself but it makes complete sense the air is filled with non-living matter why wouldn''t he be able to process it through transmutation. Much of Al and Erwin''s conversation, for the next month, follow this pattern. Where Al would teach Erwin a concept and he would use the lecture to make three other assumptions. For example, days in to their master student relationship, Al teaches Erwin how to identify different metal by their texture, luster, mailability, and melting points. Many of these metals Erwin has heard of before like steel, titanium, and silver. However, some metals were completely new to Erwin Orichalcum, pyronite, and cryonite are completely new concepts to him. Orichalcum is a heavy metal that gets stronger when mana is added to it commonly used in armor, Pyronite is a metal that produces a flame when heated its uses include torches, bonfires, as well as beacons, cryonite is a metal the creates a chill when mana is applied commonly used as refrigeration in people''s cellars. Erwin guesses that the periodic table in this world is must be the same as my world, so the molecules must be what''s different. What is it that makes them different though? is the existence of magic? "Are magic ores the product of metal reactions with the addition of mana? If I used mana to break the bonds of the alloy would I be able to get its reactionary material" Al is surprised by Erwin''s question and even more excited by Erwin''s actions. After asking the question, he almost immediately begins to work on a small amount of orichalcum. After several hours of tests, and some helpful hints from his master, Erwin turns orichalcum into its composite materials of silver and titanium and use them to once more create orichalcum. Of course, learning magical synthesis and how to derive reactant material is only a natural part a blacksmith''s education, but most learn them months into their training to have a student naturally come to a conclusion and successfully attempt it in practice in few days of training is unheard of. Al''s methodology of teaching would also be called by many as peculiar. Even though their solima slates clearly stated blacksmith, Al didn''t consider that the limitation of the transmutation skill. He taught Erwin it''s application in potion crafting. How it could be used to transmute nonliving matter from premroot and hiemleaf to create both health and mana elixirs respectively. Transmutation also had applications in tailoring, where it could be used to craft cotton, wool, and silk into durable clothing. Al also had multiple experimental workshops where he would test potions, armor sets, and magical weapons. These at many times would end in explosions that left both Al and Erwin with mild burns but the burns were not permanent and the information gathered is. Erwin was also taught the theological values as well local flora and fauna. The two had lectures on the political standings of the world how the human countries were made up of a central monarch, devised up of several high lords and their smaller bannerman. There was also an in-depth lecture on this world''s bestiary. Erwin memorized hundreds of monsters some predators, some prey, others could even be domesticated and yet this was only a small pool of monsters that mad up the greater ecology of this world. Erwin was given taught how to characterize a monster¡¯s nature and attack. Some tactics where simple, if it has long claws it will it will attempt to scratch you, yet others where trickier like how to estimate a monster¡¯s weight from the depth of its footprints. Through much effort and some shear talent he was able to slowly master these skills in theory, yet had no real-world experience. According to Al these lessons where only half complete. For Erwin, the month he spent with his master was filled with intrigue, discovery, and an entire world he had never experienced before. He quickly had forgotten his status as a hero, his terrible stats, and even his classmates that were off fighting monsters who knows where. If it was up to him he would have spent the rest of his time in this world with Al tinkering away in that workshop, but unfortunately for him the world had a different plan. Chapter 6 A day in town Erwin Schmeid sits in excitement as his master, Alphonse, prepares a pot of stew for breakfast. Today is no ordinary day, it''s the day that Erwin takes a step closer to making his own legendary weapon. A legendary weapon is a weapon with many special magic pre-assigned to it. Earlier in the week, Erwin had the opportunity to sharpen Leonardo''s weapon, Rantzau, a sword held by the country as a national treasure and given to Leonardo. Erwin also had the opportunity to watch first hand one of Rantzau''s brilliant moves. Without a circle or even chanting Leo activated Full Cowl, a move the coats the blade entirely in pure mana anything that touches the cowl of pure mana is slowly obliterated. After seeing the divine blade coated in a wonderful blue aura that could only be compared with heaven''s light, Erwin couldn''t help but to desire to create his own legendary weapon. There is one problem however, it isn''t like legendary weapons could just be crafted out of the blue. In fact, no one in modern time knew how to create a legendary weapon capable of multiple spells. The only thing a modern blacksmith could create is a magic weapon, which can only contains one spell. Be sure, a magical weapon is an excellent piece of equipment being sold by only high-level blacksmith''s at extremely high prices, yet it wasn''t like the too could be compared. It''s as if a magical weapon is opening an oyster and finding a pearl while a legendary weapon is opening an oyster and finding a diamond mine. Erwin, on this fateful day, is jittering in his chair because he was told that today is the day where his master would teach him the basics of crafting a magical weapon. For most students, this would be after years of training, to have someone learn it in only a month is quite remarkable, but at this point in time Al has stopped being surprised by Erwin''s learning pace, simply accepting it as fact. Erwin had several days ago seen Al using a strange material while making a magical weapon, and, of course, Erwin had some questions. One question led to five others, and by the end of it Al knew it was time to teach him the whole lot. "Hey, boyo, don¡¯t drown in that stew of yers!" Al yells to Erwin as he chugs the bowl down as if it were his god given mission, "I can understand yer excitement but it isn''t if the anvil is running to the river. Besides before we can start the lecture, I need a supplies from town. Oh, and a bushel of rice for the evening" Al hands Erwin a list of items that he needs to be fetched. Erwin doesn''t like the idea of this side quest impeding his progress, but is willing to get it done to get to the story. Erwin heads into the town of Telenbrim. Under the shadow of castle Grandfall and the protection of the Bellimere name, the town is one of the largest bustling cities in the country of Hegemara only beaten by the countries capital. The first time Erwin came into town he spent hours lost in its maze-like allies until finally finding his way back out, but today he has no such fears. Erwin walks with the familiarity of someone walking down their home town. He knows exactly where he is heading, and intends to get there without delay. "Hey, Erwin," within a crowd of people Erwin sees a hand waving at him. The crowd moves onand Elliana Charles stumbles out with a red face and deep breaths of exhaustion. She begins speaking through her panting, "It''s been a what, a week?" "Yeah, Last time we talked was eight days ago when I repaired your staff after it was crushed by, what is called again? You said it was some big furry thing with a coiled tail," Erwin is slightly annoyed by the delay, but still enjoys the company. "A nandibar broke it." She responds her expression quickly changing from blood red smile to a pale white stare. Whatever happened to her must have really scarred her. Elliana regains her composure and once more smiles at Erwin, but instead of the friendly smile from earlier this one has a tinge of embarrassment to it . She looks down at her fingers and begins fidgeting with them as if she''s a child caught causing mischief. "so, um, I''m lost," she says refusing to make eye contact. "Pardon?" Erwin responds with wry smile. Erwin decides to take this opportunity and lecture the usually doting Elliana. "I got lost," she says in almost a whispering volume. "I couldn''t hear that," Erwin presses his hand around his ear in a cone shape. His mocking posture should have irritated Ellie, but she kept her same smile. Internally She''s happy that Erwin is taking the initiative in the conversation, even if she is trying to hide it, "You''ve been living in this city for what a month, and you¡¯re still getting lost in it. What would have happened if I hadn''t showed up? Would you have simply wondered these streets for eternity. Become the city ghost that haunts the streets at dark foggy nights" Erwin places a hand on his chin and can''t think of anything else to mock her about. "are you done yet," "yes, and extremely satisfied." "Alright. I was planning to meet Raiko in high district, but well, I took a wrong turn and now I''m just lost in the streets," Currently they''re in the artisan district. High district is about 20 minutes away, helping Elliana wouldn''t be any trouble at all. On most days Erwin wasn''t too fond of this kind of fraternizing but today he''s in a good mood. Even if it did delay, Erwin decides that helping her is worth his time. "lucky for you, I happen to know the way to high district. Would you like me to guide you?" "I''d be grateful if you did," She smiles at Erwin¡¯s offer. She was actually quite worried about wondering the streets alone and at random. Plus, the fact that it''s Erwin helping isn''t too bad either. The pair make their way to high district. upon entering high district, Ellie takes notice of a regal carriage being drawn by a colossal white stallion with a horn. "Look a unicorn," Ellie''s eye shine with the wonder of a young maiden. The unicorn is pure white with a golden mane and matching reins that are as gold as the purest ingot. It''s no surprise that Ellie is enamored with. Erwin, in an opposite state as Ellie, is amazed at the sheer size and strength of the beast. The unicorn is easily twice the size of a normal horse and it''s easily pulling a carriage meant for four horses.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. "heayhnhnm!" The Unicorn wildly thrashes using it''s shear mass to break its reins and releases itself from the carriage. Two guards rush the beast in an attempt to bring it to a calm, but they underestimate its strength. The Unicorn lunges forward driving its large horn directly under the collar bone of a guard, almost simultaneously using its muscular hind legs it kicks the second guard square in the chest easily breaking his ribcage and slightly puncturing his lungs. Erwin takes a piece of graphite from his pocket, quickly etches a magic circle, and chants the transmutation spell. "Please, if only for a moment, let me enter your realm, We will be one with Anselm" Erwin transmutes a crude shield and mace from the stone building next to him and runs into battle without thinking. At this moment, the unicorn has set its sight on its master. A young girl no more than fifteen, wearing a regal red dress with black adornments, sits on the dirt. She is sitting paralyzed the closest thing to movement she can do is quake in fear, for the first time in her sheltered life she feels fear, true fear. Her once loyal steed looked at her with dark dilated pupils baring the canines once used to protect her. Is this the end? she thinks unable to move a single muscle. Erwin rushes in and slams down his mace on the unicorn¡¯s snout. To Erwin¡¯s surprise, even in this situation, his attack simply bounce off doing absolutely no damage. But it did distract the unicorn which is all Erwin needed. The unicorn''s attention turned towards Erwin. pouncing forward, the unicorn digs its large caninesinto Erwin¡¯s left arm piercing through the shield but not being able to completely break it. The shear force of the unicorns tackle is enough for Erwin to drop his mace putting it out of his reach. Erwin uses his off hand to transmute the stone pathway to the hooves of the unicorn, and not a moment too late any closer and the horn would be going through his skull. Erwin unintentionally uses a high level tranmutation skill, simultaneous transmutation, which allows him to transmute all for hooves at once. This, however, did not impede the unicorn''s ability to tear into Erwin''s arm. "Ellie, heal!" Erwin''s panicked shout forces the still Ellie and the shivering wealthy girl back to attention. "I''m on it," she responds lifting her magic staff to cast a single person healing spell without a chant. Erwin¡¯s arm is healed allowing him to continue his fighting, while Ellie turns her attention towards the guards that were previously attacked. "Hold her down for a few more seconds," exclaims the wealthy girl. Erwin continues to keep transmutation on and reinforces his shield as well as the unicorns stone bindings. The fear in his face is obvious, but the onlookers, who hadn''t immediately ran, take note of his bravery. "we aren''t lost for time, For she lie and endure, the world echoes with Evasta''s chyme and we feel the cure," Erwin hadn''t noticed the chant, but is surprised when the massive force biting down on his arm lessens. The unicorn¡¯s eyes return to that of a normal horse and removes its canines from Erwin. The once feral monster that attacked people looks once more like the majestic beast of lore. Erwin happy to be out of such a near death situation wipes his brow and lies down unable to move his body anymore. Since transmutation is deactivated, Erwin''s hastily made mace and shield as well as the unicorn''s stone bindings crumble, the fact they had lasted that long was a testament to Erwin''s growing skills at transmutation. "are you alright?" Asked Ellie kneeling next to Erwin with a worried look on her face. "Thankfully, you healed me, so I''m only exhausted," Erwin attempts to hide his fear behind a smile, but it''s obvious what he''s really thinking. Ellie smiles back deciding rather than condemning his impulsiveness she complements his bravery. "Thank you, if it weren''t for you my men surely would be dead," The lady gives a curtsy to Ellie and the weary Erwin. Ellie brings Erwin to his feet. Ellie thinks she''s more worried about her men than herself. It¡¯s rare to see someone more concerned about the conditions of other people in these times, Ellie takes note of this in the woman she just met. Before they can continue the conversation a larger group numbering 10 secure the wealthy young lady creating a perimeter where people couldn''t get any closer to the scene. These guards aren''t just run of the mill city guards they appear to be battle hardened high-level soldiers. Their movements were precise and carried a silent dignity to them. Erwin knew if it were a battle between the 10 of them and every classmate, even with the element of surprise his classwould easily be crushed. "there¡¯s evidence of foul play. Prepare to remove her majesty," "No not yet, I wasn''t able to properly thank my heroes," Before she could even give her name, both her and the unicorn are ushered towards the inner city. The entire situation completely vanishes the onlookers disperse, the carriage is removed, even the guards that were attacked have gone back to their business like nothing had happened. only leaving Erwin and Ellie stand in the middle of the street dumbfounded. "Well, we should only be a couple of minutes away from where your supposed to meet Raiko," Erwin says finally breaking the silence. "Oh god, I had completely forgotten," Ellie responds. The two walks down the street and Ellie''s face isn''t the usually happy one that most people love. It''s sterner as if she''s captured deep in thought. "You ran in," She finally says looking at Erwin with soft eyes. The two stopped and Erwin gave her a quizzical look. "Even though you knew how weak you were, how anybody would have done better. Everyone, even I, simply stood there stunned, yet you ran in as if you were a hero from a movie. You''re always doing that." "Always? When have I ever done something like that before?" "Well, I believe it was three years ago, when we first entered the academy. This small kid, no more than twelve, propably from the middle school, was being picked on by a senior. A real scumbag trust fund kind of guy, He had to have been 190 centimeters, yet even though you were much smaller than him you stood tall inbetween him from the kid. When the kid had the opportunity to run you immediately prostrated yourself, apologized, fully aware that you were now the target. You distracted him until the kid got help. From what I saw you tried to play it off, but you did getpunched in the gut. "You saw that? It''s kind of embarrassing. "The thought of a girl seeing him in that kind of position makes him go red with humiliation. "I thought it was pretty cool. I saw what was happening to that kid and simply stood there thinking how I might help, but you did help." She responds her smile slowly returning. "It''s easy for someone strong to stand up and say they''ll be a hero, but for everyone, even someone like Leo, would without strength buckle under the pressure and simply stand there. You on the other hand stand your ground even when you couldn''t fight, even if it meant taking a couple of hits you got the results you wanted. To me someone like that is a real hero," "That''s a nice thought, but in the end, I''m utterly useless. I don''t have the strength to protect myself, let alone be a hero to others. In the end I''m better off doing what I always do and stay out it." "Nonsense, don''t forget what just happened. Even though you couldn''t fight, even though you don''t have any proficiency in magic, you used the only skill you had to protect everyone. In a terrifying situation, were everybody froze, you were able to calmly remain in control allowing us to succeed without anybody dying. so, don''t call yourself weak... because you¡¯re the strongest person I know... and I love that about you." Ellie looks up with a red face, thinking what she had just said sounded like something from a romance film. By this time the two have reached their destination, and Ellie scurries away without looking back. Erwin simply stands their thinking so that''s what she thinks of me. "oh shit, I still need to go to the market." Chapter 7 Dheginsea Ravine What am I doing here? Erwin thinks to himself as he sits in a tent sharpening weapons and reinforcing armor. Yesterday, Erwin found out that the magical weapons were born from the parts of monster''s. When a monster is killed rarely a piece of the monster, like the claws, hide, or scales, emit mana. The piece can then be inspected for the magic type, using a spell. For most people, the monster loot would be useless at this point, however, a skilled blacksmith is capable of using the monster''s remains to create a magical weapon. While learning how to create magical weapons, but before he could learn the actual intricacies of creating magical weapons. Jeanne Evastus interrupted Alphonse''s lecture. She invited Erwin to the class'' leveling expedition to DheginseaRavine. DheginseaRavine is a large chasm dividing the northern mountains of Dheginseawith the southern country Hegemara, the ravine itself contains a plethora of monsters and ores making it a great place for rookies to train. Of course, Erwin had no interest in fighting monsters or raising his consistently low stats, but as Alphonse recommended, "Yer gonna'' need higher stats to transmute in a timely manna'', plus higha levels are the only way to get new transmutation skills." Al gave a knowing smile happier than usual.Now, Erwin finds himself in a tent waiting to go into battle. Erwin''s current level is 8, most of those he gained from transmutation practice, yet his stats only went up by few increments. In contrast, most of the class is currently in the mid-20''s which they gained through combat. A quick comparison would cause anybody to conclude that Erwin would be useless, and should stay at base camp. But he has one trick up his sleeve. Recently, Erwin had been experimenting with transmuting the air. He had learned in chemistry class that using the Haber process ammonium could be made from Hydrogen and nitrogen. Through multiple experiments, and a couple of minor explosions, he was able to make ammonium nitrate in one transmutation reaction. Ammonium nitrate is an extremely volatile chemical, meaning he could surround an enemy in it, then create a spark to set if off. It isn''t much of a trump card, but it does have potential. If given more time, Erwin could have further transmuted ammonium nitrate to either make nitrous oxide or nitrocellulose, but he''d have to wait until he gets back to fully attempt those experiments. "Everyone, gather ''round. We''ll be heading down the trail shortly," shouts Freud Bellimere. He is dressed differently from when he first met the student''s rather than the illustrate golden armor that shone in the moon light he''s wearing a shockingly simple steel armor as if to indicate that he fears nothing. Contrasting the simple armor, Freud holds the Bellimere legendary family weapon, the Macedon. A war hammer with a magnificent luster that gives it the look of newly chrisened jewelery, yet everyone knewthe countless battles that were fought with this brilliant weapon. Next to Freud is a young man with vibrant red hair in his early-twenties a large build that towers over many of the rank and file soldiers. He''s in a heavy expensive orichalcum armor, but the paint is worn and the breastplate is mildly dented. "This is Iskandar, my first born and the current heir to house Bellimere." Freud explains and pats Iskandar on the shoulder. seeing them stand next to each other the resembelance is rather obvious. Their height, build, even much of their mannerism are mirror images. "He and I will be the only ones joining you into the ravine, the soldiers here will be staying in town." The mining town is only a few kilometers away from the DheginseaRavine entrance. Erwin wonders why the soldiers are even necessary it wasn''t as if they were attacked by monsters on the way here, yet he did feel better having them here. DheginseaRavin does lead to tierzal country it''s possible that they''re afraid of attacks from another country, or maybe the class having to fight bandits is the worry. "greetings!" Iskandar shouts with a manly bravado like someone who once slayed the demon king. From the look on his face, one would immediately assume that he''s just some spoiled lordling that spends his time chasing woman and terrorizing the local bars, given his mannerism nobody would blame you to think he some ignorant brute. "I apologize for not being able to greet you on your coming there were territorial disputes north of here that demanded my attention." "What happened?" Asks Samantha Martin with a seductive smile. She is immediately attracted to the well-built man in front of her and decides to take this opportunity to do some passive flirting. "I won''t go into details, but many of the minor lords have taken advantage of the chaos of the fighting between the elves and the tierzal, and the subsequent confusion on our part, to take new land. My personal army and I went out and... quelled such rebels with force." "How terrible," Sam responded with doey eyes and began embrace Iskandar''s arm, purposefully allowing her breasts to squeeze up against it. "I know. You should give my friend and me a couple of pointers on how to fight." Sam gestures to Isabella Cortez, who was completely content in allowing her friend to have fun with a boy now coldly clutches her Spear. "It would be a pleasure to learn how to fight better." Isabella didn''t seem to have any desire to flirt, which greatly disappointed her friend, Sam. "Come one Izzy where''s your sex drive?" "Now then shall we duel. I would love some combat experience," Isabella''s matter of factness causes Sam to sigh and resign in shame as her plan was foiled. In the end, what was supposed to be seducing a handsome man u-turned into the class spending the morning running combat drills. Erwin decides head back to his tent located near the outskirts of the village. He was offered a room at the inn like the other students, but politely declined because it wouldn''t allow him to do any smithing. He instead opted for a small tent at the outskirts of the village where he would be able to set up a makeshift forge. At the other end of the village the battle ready other-worlders prepare themselves for their first expedition. The class had a pretty good split of ten close range fighter, eight long range fighters, and four supporters. The basic expedition plan is to divide themselves into two large teams consisting, of long range and close range. Half of the students would fight while the other half followed and rested and the two teams would switch every few leagues. While support would fluidly move through the teams providing help were needed, support also had a large amount of mana potions on their person. It''s a simple but effective strategy allowing most the team to gain a decent amount of combat experience.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Soon the party went along the path into ravine towards the massive mountains of Dheginsea. The party has a effortless journey into the ravine itself but once in it find themselves quickly facing monsters. Leonardo and his team took to the lead while Iskandar observes and giving advice when neccessary. "You mustn¡¯t just wail on your enemy. Observe, look for their weakness and attack it with precision," Contrary to his initial impression, Iskandar appears to be slow and methodical rather than brutish and rash. He is quick to spot the places were the student''s falter. He allows them to lean on themselves, yet speaks when neccessary, as if this is all second nature.so, these are instincts honedin actual combat. It''s the greatest different between us, but I will catch up, nay surpass him, Leonardo thinks to himself ever so confident in his own potential. Salvador thrashes his gauntlet covered fists against the carapace of a beetle like creature the size of a large dog. Known as skrill this creature travels in swarms. On the lower end of its respective food, skrill are easy game for the party. Even though Salvador''s punches should be strong enough to warp steel the skrill only looked annoyed and ferociously pounced on Salvador causing him to fall on his back. "Don''t just wale on its outer shell look for a weakness and exploit it." Iskandar takes the point of his sword and with a swift precise movement stabs the skrill between a gap in its armor easily severing its brain stem. "Thanks, I thought I was done for.," Salvador pants in-between breaths but still manages to bring himself back to his feet readying himself to continue. Well at least failure isn''t an earthshattering hindrance for this one, Iskandar thinks seeing the laut but tenacious composition of Salvador. Iskandar can hear the clinging of metal and flesh followed immediately by a sound familiar to that of a butcher slicing through meat. The source of which is the newly formedduet of Raiko Yamamoto and Isabella Cortez. From training in the village earlier the two had learned a mutually beneficial ability combination. Isabella''s class is Spartan, known for wielding a spear and shield. Boasting high attack and defensive, Spartans are what make up the front line of any well manned battalion. One of their strongest skills is Gaebulg the only long-range skill in their arsenal of abilities, which causes the Spartan¡¯s spear to increase in mass and upon impact cause an explosion with a concussive force, likely to cause damage anybody in a 3-meter radius. The drawbacks of the attack are obvious. A Spear thrown is a spear retrievedanother flaw is the increased mass of spear. Meaning armatures, like Isabella, have issue with the spear not going far enough causing this causing explosive damage to the thrower and those close by. However, Raiko can use her rare ability Light Speed to greatly increase the speed of Gaebulg. "The waters quake with its wake, as if lack luster lands are the end, The beast from the sea means death, but not if he takes a breath," Isabella infuses her spear with Gaebulg. The crackling red and yellow scars bellow through the polearm as if it might explode at any moment. Isabella readies her spear her spear behind her head while her shield hand supports the extra weight. She gives a weak throw which by all means should crash to the ground giving an embarrassing metal clunk and a disastrous explosion. However all Isabella has to concern herself with is the direction of the throw. Upon leaving Isabella''s hands the spears velocity increases. It barrels down like a cannonball and hits a pack of ten skrill. Although the spear only pierced through one the destructive force of the explosion that followed is enough to completely eradicate the near skrill and badly wound several skrill farther away. Immediately after the explosion, Raiko dashes in using light speed. She stabs her blade into a surviving skrill and with a grace not found in the other students she turns and stabs a second skrill. Out of all the students Raiko is the only one with any formal training. Taking kendo classes when she was in middle school, yet only an amateur when it comes to real fighting. Just like previous strikes, Raiko grabs the spear to return it to Isabella. But rather than bolting back, with light speed she stumbles and falls to one knee. "Dammit, I''m out of mana," Raiko says to herself under her own breath. The amount of Mana someone contains is like an invisible stat that varies from person to person. It''s common for children to come home stumbling with mana exhaustion but by puberty it''s expected that someone be able to estimate their mana. Of course, Raiko up till a month ago had no experience in mana, so this misstep is to be expected in many students. Under normal conditions Raiko is cool headed easily willing to take a step back to observe the situation, but in an adrenaline-fueled battle has forgotten her own limitations and is now silently regretting her own hubris. From a shadow out lunged a large skrill ready to attack the weakened Raiko. Myrmidons like Raiko, exchange defense for speed, so an attack from a skrill of this size will pierce through her armor and cause substantial damage. Raiko recoils in terror closing her eyes not ready for the massive pincers that are about to take a notch out of her. Ploomf. To Raiko''s confusion she didn''t feel any pain. She looks up and Instead see''s the large skrill clawing at a bright blue transparent wall. The wall floats in air strong and unwavering the skrill wouldn''t be able to get through it with its attacks. "Well don''t just stand there and piss your pants. The barrier won''t last forever," Samantha yells at the stunned Raiko causing her to take a shot of a mana flask and uses light speed to return with the spear. Samantha''s class is Phalanx a support class that focuses on defense magic. She can create barriers, reinforce existing structures, and increased people''s physical and magical defense. To the party, she acts as the all-purpose shield allowing them to make mistakes without it being detrimental. Raiko returns ready to fight again. A drove of skrill at least thirty strong rush towards the area of the explosion. "The explosion must have alerted them," Isabella deduces while adjusting her glasses to confirm what she sees. "Don''t worry. This many is easy," Leonardo points his sword towards the horde and begins to charge forward. However, his collar is grabbed by Raiko. "Don''t just bolt down there unwittingly. Let the mages handle them," Raiko says with a sigh grabing Leo by the collar attempting to save Leo from his own brashness. Isabella is about to mention how Raiko was only moments before doing the same thing and almost got herself killed. But before she could comment a flurry of magic went over her head. A collection of fire, wind, lighting magic is shot at the Horde leaving nothing but a muddled collection of corpses. The smell itself is nauseating leaving many at the front lines holding their noses, fortunately a down draft quickly dissipates the smell. "All right soldiers, I can see the might of heroes in you, keep haste and we''ll see if you have their blades too," Iskandar exclaims leading to the students to cheer in pride. Iskandar is genuinely surprised at the student¡¯s innate progress. They made a couple of mistakes, but the potential they show it''s promising. Maybe these kids will do something amazing. Chapter 8 Surrounded At the very back of the expeditionary force, Erwin and Freud stand watching the rear guard. Not too far, the two of them can hear the sounds of swords hitting flesh and magic being fired, even closer they can hear the heroes taking a rest before once again heading into battle. Freud, leaving the task of leading to his son, watches the back line allowing the heroes to focus on the battle in front of them. New soldiers shouldn''t be fighting a two-front battle, is his thought process.Erwin, having little to no value on the front line, stands with Freud occasionally killing weaker enemies. A small skrill crawls out from behind a rock, it''s probably a smaller scavenger that feeds after the larger herd kills prey. Erwin has transmutation on consistently, even with his low mana transmutation can be held on for an extended length of time, so he won¡¯t have to recast it for an approximately 10 minutes. He uses transmutation to bind the lower half of the skrill then drives a short sword through a gap in the armor. "Looks like Al''s really putting you through the ringer. Teaching you how to kill skrill with ease, seems like something only he would teach a blacksmith," Freud states after watching Erwin trap and kill multiple skrill. "You know Alphonse," Erwin responds mildly shocked. Al had never mentioned knowing Freud. In fact, Al hasn''t said anything concerning his past, at first Erwin didn¡¯t really care. Working on smithing was far more interesting than chatting about their respective pasts. But overtime Erwin had noticed that not only did Alphonse not answer questions. He avoided them like the plague, yet Erwin understood someone¡¯s business is their own. Alphonse has the right to his own secrets and as such he left those stones unturned. "Of course, He and I have known each other longer than a Lord knows his flag. When he was no older then ye, he came to my father, raving about some spectacular forging process increasing the durability of equipment." Erwin looked at Freud with curiosity what forging process was he talking about. Then it clicked, he must be talking about the Loden Process, A transmuting process using magnets to mass galvanize materials. Before the Loden Process galvanizing weapons and armor was slow and expensive only the finest blades had an extra coat, but with its creation mass production of galvanized metal means even foot soldiers could have anti-corrosion weapons. "Most lords would have sent him away, thinking him as nothing more than ignorant child with mad ravings. But not my father, he saw a fire in the young Al''s eyes. He gave Al a workshop where he mass produced high-end weapons. Being of the same age, we quickly became friends. He even introduced me to my wife. We had falling out when we were younger didn''t speak for years, but made up before I was wedded. Actually, after my officialcoronation, I haven''t made the time to speak with him." In a few sentences Erwin learns more about Al''s life than the past month living with him. wonder why he doesn''t talk about it. "you know if your transmutation is fast enough you can transmute multiple spears from the ground and use that to stab a target from long range, that was one of Al''s favorite attacks." Frued laughs most likely reminiscing about a long past adventure. His face shifts to a solemn expression, maybe not all of his adventures were laughter.
The sun is at high noon meaning the expedition is at its halfway point. The amount of skrill have greatly diminished, most of them probably returning to their nests along the side of the local mountains. In fact, for the last kilometer there hadn''t been any skrill at all. Samantha attempts to lighten the mood with nonchalant banter "You know if it weren''t for the monsters this place would be pretty romantic." "What makes you say that?" asks Isabella almost certain ofwhere this conversation is heading. "Well, the position of the sun and mountains makes it look like the sun is always setting. the tree''s have a vivacious green. The smell of blossoming flower''s enclose us. It all give off the impression of being one with nature," Isabella reflects on her surrounding noticing the gentle presence of nature, that she was previously ignoring, "hmm, you actually might be right about that." "The cool mountain breeze gently lifts up the skirts of young maidens, creating a scenario that can only lead to one thing. The two young lovers find themselves rolling in the grass, as soft as a mattress yet a fragrance that loosens carnal desires." Samantha giggles at Isabella¡¯s blushing face. Isabella had expected the conversation to take such a turn, but still isn''t ready for when it does. "Why do things always turn like this. You know people are gonna start thinking that you¡¯re some ditzy dumb blonde," Sam, in contrast to the impression she gives off, is actually an intelligent person. Even though she comes from a well-off family, she gets high marks on test and is perceptive of the people around her. "I''m smart enough to know that the opinions of people like that aren''t worth shit," Samantha makes a knowing smile and pulls Isabella closer to her. "plus, as long as I have my best buddie, who cares about other people¡¯s opinions." Isabella returns Sam¡¯s thoughts with a smirk. The expedition team approaches two mid-size mountains, that look like one mountain was split in half. If it wasn''t for the narrow path in-between this is where the expedition would end. "We should pass Lover''s Peak in several minutes. After which we''ll be in the dragon country, Dheginsea." Iskandar said knowing everyone had relaxed. "Things will get harder from now on, prepare to fight larger animals." "All right I wanna kill a fire breathing, village burning, damsel kidnapping, ferocious dragon of the sky," Jason says holding his mace in the air. "Don''t be an idiot, Dragons aren''t normal animals, they''re a type of tierzal," J.J. responds contentedly. "And they''re stronger than an army, if they transform they''d kill you instantly." "Plus, they''re isolationists, so it''s not like you''d see them so close to the border," Raiko adds. "All right, all right, it was just a joke, can¡¯t a guy dream," Jason looks down disparaged that his dreams of saving a princess and taking the dragons gold had been crushed before they even began. The group is in the middle of Lovers¡¯ Peak with the two mountains several feet away from them. The rocky peak is divided by a dirt path. The path itself is narrow only allowing several people, at best a single carraige, to pass at a time. In war times the path itself had no tactical advantage, so it was mostly forgotten except by those wanting to explore Dragon territory. "Hhhhhmmmmm," A familiar high-pitched squeal rings out from the surroundings coupled with a golden magic circle. "We''re being teleported," Leonardo yelled not knowing where he was being sent or who would be waiting on the other side. Fighters ready their weapons, magic users have perform their chants. The all consuming light swallows them leaving everyone shielding their eyes. The lightly quickly fades and everyone opens their eyes. Immediately everyone notices two rocky mountains on either side ofthem. They were still in-between lovers peak.Leo was certainthat they were to be teleported somwhere, not even expecting the enemy to come to them. "Rawr" A quadruped beast walking with the body of a lion and the tail of a scorpion roars from one end of the mountain pass. The massive horned beast bursts into a run with might like a tornado about to hit a barn. Some student''s buckle in terror from the sheer size of the beast. Every step sounds like an explosion it''s clear that this beast is orders of magnitude stronger than the monsters they''ve met so far. "A fucking Manticore. Dammit, they''re not ready for that." Iskandar screams while taking the lead right behind him follows Leonardo. If it was only Iskandar and Freud, they could have fought the manticore with scant difficulty, but right now Iskandar also has to protect the rest of the party members. His main concern is making sure that nobady behind him gets injured. He''s so focused on the manticore that he forgot the first rule of being ambushed. Assume there are always more enemies. "Sam shield," Yells Erwin from the back of the party. Most of the students hadn''t noticed because the overbearing roar but behind them hundreds of skeletal soldiers were also teleported in. Most of them are close range soldiers armed with swords, shields, and pikes, but several dozen are equipped with bows and arrows. The skeletons unleash a flurry of arrows with enough speed to pierce to armor. Arrows soar through the air ready to hail down on the party. Fortunately, the arrows hit a durable blue semitransparent wall. Sam started casting her barrier magic before the teleportation magic had finished, so she''s ready for Erwin¡¯s call. The shield is able to hold against the arrows but since they were coming in consistently Sam couldn''t bring her barrier down. The temporary safety is mitigated by the rush of the other skeletal soldiers. The magic users facing the skeletal soldiers aren''t ready for the rush of the close-range skeletons. They retreat, mixing into the close combat party members who have yet to notice the skeletal soldiers. The destruction of the party¡¯s formation causes the whole team to go into a panic. Not sure of where to be or what to do the entire team is in a disarray. Freud, in front of the horde of skeletal soldiers, swings his Macedon with a violent grunt shattering the steel thick bones of several skeletons. Even though the skeletons were brittle compared to Freud''s strength their numbers would consume him quickly. Bloody fuck, I won''t last long like this,He thought while trying to prevent the hordes progression.However, before they had the chance to surround Freud, amassive dirt palisade forms in front of him, allowing him a moments reprieve. Freud glances behind seeing the comparatively small Erwin crouched on the floor casting transmutation magic. "Excellent work boy these walls might have just saved our lives." Freud looks even farther behind Erwin. Eyeing Leonardo and Iskandar fighting the manticore, while Raiko, Salvador, and Elliana attempt to bring the other students back in formation. "Dammit, at this rate we''ll still be killed." Freud shifts his gaze back to Erwin who is still on the floor transmuting his hastily made dirt palisade to make sure it isn''t broken down by the skeletons on the other side. "Boy, do you think you could hold down a larger beast with transmutation." "Yes, but without me the wall will break in a few minutes," Erwin looked up afraid at what might have been just propositioned to him. "Bind the manticore. The rest of us will route the skeletons," Freud knows what he''s asking might be unreasonable. To ask the weakest person to single handily take on a beast that makes grown men cower in their beds is preposterous, but this isn''t some ordinary weakling, to Freud. This is the student of Alphonse, a man that had saved his life on countless occasions, a man that he could easily trust to watch his back on any day, one of the only men he could call a true friend. It isn''t a difficult leap in logic to trust the abilities of Alphonse''s student, nay it''s almost easy like trusting gravity to keep you falling.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Erwin was afraid of him asking that question. The fear made his heart stop for a moment, but he looks up and see''s Freud''s face. He sees a face full of confidence one that actually believed in that he could do it. I''ll do it, I can do it, I will do it. These thoughts reverberate in Erwin¡¯s head. "I''m on it," He says hiding his fear under a mask of bravery, but unable to stop the constant shaking. Erwin bolts toward what he most fears.
At the other end of the battle. Leonardo and Iskandar are fighting the manticore. Leonardo swipes his blade at the manticore''s body, but is unable to cut through the steel like outer shell of the manticore. Iskandar constantly attacks the beasts far faster tail making sure that it didn''t attack Leonardo. "Keep your distance, one sting will kill you in minutes," Iskandar says while fighting the beast. Even though Leonardo left an arms length between them, the manticore still had the upper hand in the battle. The manticore''s claw glows a bright blue as mana collect in them, then in one fell swoop, it swipes its claw creating a projectile directed at Leo. With his quick instincts, he''s able to block the attack using Rantzau to guard. Even though physical damage is prevented, he can feel his knees start to buckle. Dammit, at this rate my stamina will run out before I can do anything. After the manticore''s attack it take a moments rest. Leo notices its arms relax by a little and uses that as an opportunity. He wraps his blade in a full cowl, dashes forward and uses the full weight of his body on one downward slash going through a piece of exposed flesh on its shoulder, with the intent of cutting of an appendage. To Leo''s surprise, not only was he unable to severe of the arm, the slash only made a small cut. I put everything in that attack. How high is its defense? The small cut is able to accomplish nothing,but make the beast angrier. The manticore jumps backward four meters and lets out a ferocious roar. A violent red fire begins to form around its mouth, but rather than spread forward as a flame should it condenses itself to one finite point within the manticore''s mouth. With one more roar a beam of pure energy barrels down toward Leonardo. Iskandar, without a moment of hesitation, jumps in front of Leo taking on the full brunt of the beam. Iskandar uses his arms to block the direct blast most of the shock is absorbed by his orichalcum armor, but the intense heat still brought Iskandar to his knees using all his strength just to stay conscious. Leo see''s Iskandar on his knees weakened from the beam. That blast was intended for me, yet he took it. If it had it hit me I would be nothing more than dust. For the first time, his life Leonardo Antonio felt powerless, purely unable to fight the enemy in front of him. This weakness brought out a rage that he had never felt before. A rage that made him want to do nothing more than kill the enemy in front of him. He stands up with a mild shake in his arm, from anger or fear not even he knew what it''s cause is. "Limit break," he yells as a brilliant white light gathers around him. Limit break increases the strength of the user by a factor of five with the drawback being that afterwards the stamina of the user is depleted forcing him to rest. The manticore is heavily panting, still as stone from the beam it had just fired. It''s still recharging. This will be only opportunity. "I''ll finish this in one last attack," Leo raises his bade to the heavens and begins chanting. "On Monday, I took up my Spear," For it would pierce revenge, On Tuesday, I wielded my Axe For it cut the through the climax On Wednesday, I threw my Knife, For I need to stab the life, On Thursday, I drew my Bow, For the will to make him know, On Friday, I carried my Maul, For no one be a doll, On Saturday, I brought down my Hammer, for the world needed to clamor, On Sunday, I sheathed my Blade, for it was over and I laid." "Book of Armaments" Leo yells as seven gold weapons surround him, each one corresponding to a line in the chant. The heroic arms catapult themselves at the manticore each one reaching magnificent speeds. The first to reach is the hammer the with force like missile it strikes the manticore in its chest leaving small cracks in its exoskeleton. It''s working, a few more and it''ll be dead, Leo thinks but the manticore wouldn''t allow itself to be so easily beaten. The manticore swings its segmented tail rapidly deflecting the five other weapons before they have a chance to make contact, due to its small size the knife is able to pierce one of the manticore''s leg. Leo looks at the manticore stunned at the amount of damage he had done. That was my strongest attack. It didn''t do anything. Hope quickly drains from his face, fear begins to slowly well up. No, I have to keep fight. I can do this. I have to do this. The manticore shakes of the little damage it received, its tail is mildly damaged but will heal quickly. The Manticore makes a mad sprint towards Leo ready to tear his throat out with one direct slash. Leo sure of that his own strength will pull through readies his blade. The manticores speed increases with every second, getting closer and closer until reaching max speed. At max speed Leo''s defense, even with limit break, is no match for the manticores claw, but he still holds his ground believing I''m the only one can kill him. The manticore, half a meter away, launches up on its hind legs. Its claw comes in at a speed immeasurable to its former long-range attack cutting thought air like a jet. Leonardo is stands his ground believing that surely, he can dodge. He leaps backward but it''s too slow at the manticores speed he''ll rip straight through his chest cavity. Am I dead, he thinks right before impact. The manticore claws cut through air itself appears to move as it''s claw reaches for Leo. The initial impact of the attack is enough knock the wind out of Leonardo''s lungs leaving him gasp. The attack is so strong that he is thrown backward a meter, slamming down with the force of a meteor. Leo looked down at his chest cavity expecting to see a gaping hole, but to his surprise there''s only a minor dent in his armor. What the hell. At that speed, I should have been split in two. The confused Leo looks up at the manticore. Its hind leg is entombed in stone. As it''s front legs drop to the ground stone crawls up its legs restricting its movement. Leonardo looks to his side seeing Ellie heal Iskandar, and to his side he sees Erwin with his hands on the dirt. "You two need to go rally the troops," Erwin says with a sternness that Leo hadn''t seen before. "No, I can kill it. I have to end this," Leo gets back on his feet and starts marching towards the manticore. The look in his eyes is furious, the eyes of someone more concerned on his own personal vendetta then the mission as a whole. "God dammit, can you put your personal egotism away for god damn second, and go where your needed!" Leonardo looks at Erwin, seeing the sweat beading down his face. The sound of his voice, a mixture of fear and anger. Erwin is terrified. Pale faced from the hulking beast that stands in front of him. Unable to fight, yet still doing the only thing he can. "He''s right we have to rest the panic, and lead a charge." Iskandar says finally back on his feet. He looks at Erwin seeing determination where Leonardo saw fear. He gives a confident smile, the spitting image of his father. "He''ll be able to handle things here." "Your right," Leo responds accepting that he was focused on his own childish wishes. The two runs towards the class, with them leading the charge the skeletons shall be of minor concern. Erwin can almost focus wholly on the task at hand. "You should go with them to," Erwin says with eyes still locked on the manticore. "They''ll need your help," "What if you get hurt?" Ellie asks standing behind Erwin with her legs shaking at the sight of the manticore. "I won''t let you die." "Don''t worry I have no intention of getting hurt." "but wh-," "Just go," Ellie looks saddened, but understood that she has to do what''s best for the party. She leaves following Leo and Iskandar. Erwin know focuses one hundred percent of his attention on the beast in front of him. It''s confused by the fact that that it can''t move its legs, hopefully, it would remain that way. Erwin can feel his mana running low. He''d been using it consistently without hesitation because he was sure that this exact scenario wouldn''t happen. But as is How long will I last. He already feels his mind getting weary. Why the hell am I here? I would have been happy sitting in the workshop hammering away at some steel, yet I just can''t stand here and allow people to get hurt. Maybe Ellie''s right, and I''ve got some hero complex. The manticore figures out it''s situation. Using its hind legs as leverage to force its front legs free. Erwin quickly remakes it''s shackles and uses pig iron, from the earth, to reinforce them. Dammit, this isn''t the time for introspection. I need to focus. The manticore gives up on breaking its restraints and begins collecting flame in its mouth. From studying, Erwin knows about the manticores hyper beam, but he never dreamed that the heat would be this violent. Even if it''s only charging the beam, Erwin feels as if he''s in an oven, slowly roasting from the like a potato. I can''t let him launch that beam. Erwin seamlessly transitions from transmuting the manticore''s legs to transmuting the air around its head. Transmuting air is far more difficult than other material. Due to its lower density, it doesn''t conduct Magic the same way, so Erwin didn¡¯t have the option of simultaneous transmutation. Hopefully, it doesn''t break free. In several seconds, an explosion goes off at the manticores head. No damage is done, but the flames disperses. The manticores attack is nullified. Fuck yeah, Erwin smiles transitioning back to its feet. Erwin can feel his transmutation getting weaker. His mind weary at this rate I''ll last what... less than a minute. Erwin hopes that things behind him are faring better, but didn''t dare look back, even the slightest distraction would spell doom. His vison begins to fog. Dammit not yet, not yet. He closes his eyes, devoting everything to keeping the beast in binds. Some cold sweat rolls down his face, yet firm hands are kept as the manticore struggles. He can feel the last shreds of consciousness fading knowing that if he rests that would be the end. Dammit, Dammit, Dammit. Boom, A fireball struck the manticore in the face, causing little to no damage. Erwin awakens his consciousness returning with a burst of adrenaline. He doesn''t need an explanation that''s a good enough signal as any. Erwin turns going into a full sprint. In seconds, the manticore will break free from his bindings, in a second it would be on Erwin, in less than a second it would devour Erwin. He bolts with all his remaining might hoping that he can outrun the manticore, not even thinking what might happen if he falters. Erwin can just barely here the sound of voices in front of him, but, with his vison slowly fogging once more, he can''t make them out. Just keep running "Fire," Iskandar yells as Erwin runs in a frenzy of limbs stumbling every half step. The entire class releases any long-range magic they have aimed at the two sides of lover''s peak. The resulting force causes the mountain side to collapse on itself, releasing tons of rubble on the manticore killing it almost assuredly. The rubble falls with the ground shaking like an earthquake, with a cloud of dust obscuring the scene. Iskandar, even with his injuries, is the first to run into the clearing dust cloud. He sees Erwin in fetal position nervously shaking unable to even let go if conciusness. "Ellie!" he screams at the top of his lungs. she''s already beside Erwin casting healing magic. She ran before the dust even gathered the only keeping her behind was her own speed stat. "3rd degree mana exhaustion, healing magic, followed by heat magic, make sure he doesn''t lose consciousness, if any signs of atrophy cast cure magic," she begins to say in a low voice. Iskandar doesn''t know if she''s telling him or herself, but still uses fire magic to warm Erwin up. Unlike the 1st degree mana exhaustion Raiko was dealing with earlier, which can be solved with a mana potion and some rest and left untreated could mean fainting. 3rd degree mana exhaustion meant that Erwin had rejected any notion of bodily limits. He could die from exhaustion, hypothermia, even some of his limbs could go through rapid atrophy leaving him permanently injured. Within ten minutes Ellie is able to stabilize Erwin''s condition. Risk of death has fallen to zero, but he still had to be kept conscious and preferably active. Elondra Luther, the second healer of the party, was able to heal the other members of the party. The mostly had minor injuries, so he made short work of healing them. Erwin is being shouldered by Freud keeping pace. Freud towers above Erwin creating an uncomfortable slant for Erwin to walk on, but any support is better than none.. "Good job, back there," Freud says in a calming tone. His usual spirited tone is quiet, sincere. For the first time, Erwin feels as if he''s talking to an equal rather than some teacher. It almost makes him want to blush. "Don''t mention it," Erwin responds attempting to be nonchalant like some cool aloof action hero. Of course, this is said through a mumbling fatigued mouth, so any nuances of heroism are lost "We made it through that without a soul lost, it was a bloody miracle. Everyone can see that. I know for a fact that your friends can see that," Psh, friends I don¡¯t they think of me as a friend. In the end things will return to how they always are, Erwin thinks inside. They didn''t like him, and he certainly didn''t give a rat¡¯s ass about them. In the end, he''ll be happy back at the forge. "Yeah, you did great back there." Salvador said giving Erwin a stalwart pat on the back. Erwin winces in pain hopping a little bit from the impact. "Ooh, sorry. not at your best yet, he," "Yeah we went into quite the panic. It''s pretty embarrassing actually," Michael says. Erwin looks around and for the first-time in... well ever he doesn''t see eyes of contempt staring back at him. Their faces aren''t screaming useless or scum, they almost look like the faces of actual friends. Even J.J.''s expression shows signs of approval. For Erwin, it''s like looking at completely different people. Maybe I was wrong about them. Maybe things could be different. Chapter 9 Midnight Bonfire Ciri sits in front of a billowing fire almost entranced by it, her short golden hair shining in the heat. She prods it with a loose stick not to better kindle the flame, it''s large enough as is, but just to occupy herself during these slow moments. "Why are so sullen?" asks a sardonic voice from across the fire. The startled Ciri almost leaps of the rotting tree she''s sitting on. "Oh, it¡¯s just you, Sten. You shouldn''t startle me like that, I almost bloody fell over." Her thick elvosh accent sounds cute to Sten when she''s surprised like this. A real hick this one, he thought smugly as she gathered herself. "It wasn''t as if I was trying t'' startle you. Hell, I''ve been sitting here longer than you''ve." The Elvish accent is also present in Sten''s speech but it''s far more formal having a more noble peerage behind it. "Plus, you shouldn''t get distracted so easily it might be deep woods, but where still in Dheginsea. We can''t be three days away from either a human or tierzal settlement." "I''m sorry, I couldn''t stop thinking about those humans. They were, what, less than a score old. I know they grow fast, but putting someone so young at the front lines seems wrong." "You''re too kind Ciri. It several years those greenhorns will be veteran soldiers, more dangerous than any beast." At that moment Hertha marches in from the trees hulking a large Stag, with Osmund silently following behind. Ciri gives a famished look eyeballing the dead stag with hearts in her eyes. "Ya'' must be starving by now. Don''t worry your pretty little head Osi here will cook this guy up and we''ll feast. Osmund looks at Hertha with disapproval. It''s easy to tell that he doesn''t like being called "Osi", but Hertha only returns a wry smile. Osmund can only sigh, and begins to cut into the stag. Meticulously cutting of the hide and slicing off fillets of meat. He marinates the meat with crushed lemons and sprinkles an arrangement of spices and salts. Ciri watches with voracious eyes as the meat is skewered and placed on a rotisserie. Every few minutes she reaches toward the simmering flesh only to have her hand slapped away by a stern faced Osmund. Hertha smiles and pulls a bottle out of her traveling sack. "Don''t worry Ciri. I never leave without some good ale. This is Rotberg too, it''ll keep you warm while we wait for the grub,"
Several cups into the Rotberg, Osmund finally takes a rotisserie of the fire checking how well it has cooked. "That looks about right," he says eyeing the meat with a squint as if he''s looking through an imaginary microscope. Ciri almost pounces on him to get to the food immediately shoving a chunk in her mouth while another two are gripped in her hands. "Teleportation really takes it out of you doesn''t it." Ciri nods her head through bites. Her short hair bobbing up and down like child. Compared to her companions many would consider her nothing but a child playing at being a soldier. But she is one of three who can use the Heart''s Amulet, so her presence is mandatory on the mission. "I rendezvoused with the northern garrison," Sten said while holding a juicy sliver of flank, his eyes locked with the fire in front of him. His tone is serious now, not a hint of a happy man was left in it, eyes dark almost inhumane as if at any moment they would swallow up the fire they gazed at. Ciri takes notice of this change in tone, it happens in all her companions. Is it a byproduct of experience, this heavy presence almost like standing in water? Will this be me one day? she wonders while listening to Sten. "They want us to pull out, so they can launch a charge on the yigdra." "What we came all this way, and we don''t even get to fight? What a fucking waste of time!" Hertha yells in dissatisfaction, the Rotberg is really taking a toll at her. "You don''t need to tell me! It took me three moons to gather those skeletons and another sennight to capture that manticore. We gather the information and those bastards get the credit." Sten responds the darkness fading from his eyes leaving the usual happy commander everyone knew. The alcohol probably helps, but the company of friends aids more than all elseat calming a serious air. "Actually, I haven''t heard what was gathered," Ciri says she hasn''t drunk much, so is more inquisitive than blithe. "Oh right, you and Hertha had to leave so you could rest, teleporting isn''t an easy task is it. Well, it wasn''t a grand sight. There were twenty-four yigdra, as you know it, but they only had twenty-three along with them. They had strength, but the moment teleportation occurred, most of them went into a panic. The only ones left fighting were the crownless king, his son, and two of the yigdra."This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "Were they of any worth?" Hertha asks expecting much of the yigdra, that up until now were only considered fable. It would be terribly disappointing if all the stories added up to them being a gathering of craven children. "Surprisingly enough they were quite the heroic duo. One a vanguard... or possibly a spartan put up a respectable fight with the manticore, but he would have lost in adrawn out battle. He was able to rally the troops allowing them to break through the skeletons, he''ll probably make a good general. If he lives that long. The other one was especially impressive, I put him on the top of the list, probably a terramancer. The boy bound the manticore with earth magic, allowing the others to regroup and charge the skeletons. turned our little encirclement into a simple skirmish, the clever bastard," "A terramancer, maybe you should take him as your apprentice, eh Osi." Hertha added giggling under her breath at the idea of the stoic Osmund teaching some poor child the inner workings of magic. "The boy''s a fool. Ended up going into 3rd degree mana exhaustion. Being brave is one thing, but dyeing in the process just makes you ''nother victim," Osmund looks into the fire deep in thought. Ciri is surprised by the almost fatherly advice. Maybe he would make a good teacher? "So, you think they''re goin to be any real threat?" Ciri asks through a half full mouth marinate covering her face. Sten hands his hanker chief over causing her to blush and clean her face. "The garrison commander, thinks so. He''s planning on ambushing the yigdra and capture them." Sten explains. "Why''s in th'' bloody hell is that? What planning on having some turncoats? The day I see a human in an elf army is the day I drink wine with a vanir and fuck a dragon." Hertha interrupts with a look of disdain. It''s apparent she isn''t sharing any fond memories of humans. "There''s half a chance they know something about the Aesir corpse. We might be able to use these weapons, but relying on something we don''t fully understand is a fool¡¯s folly." Sten explains "Not that it matters. The real soldiers are fighting on the eastern borders against the tierzal. All that''s left for our little espionage teams are scores of inexperienced wealthy brats either hoping to be safe from the front lines or hoping to make some war turning act of heroism." Osmund begins to rant while staring at the fire his usually bass of a voice increases in tone revealing that maybe he also has had too much to drink. His alcoholic tone reveals small amounts of his hegemonic accent. "Hell, ya remember the commander at the garrison. That pompous fool couldn''t tell his cock from his sword, and he wants to lead an ambush. They''ll be routed faster than the taxman on a bad harvest." Everything goes quiet as Osmund stupors in a silent rage. Then out of pure silence everyone starts laughing, even Osmund''s face grows into a grin. He missed these quiet nights drinking with friends simply sitting around a fire complaining about politics. "Be that as it may, we have our orders." Sten gathers himself stomping out the laughter with a serious face. "Osmund, you are to continue your work in Telenbrim, gathering information and the such. The rest of us are heading back to Astal" Being the only one that speak the human language of vetran fluently, Osmund is the only one that can be sent to Hegemara. As much as he disliked being in larger cities, Osmund knows that he has a duty, and the information gathered is more valuable than an entire battalion. Osmund sighs and nods his head in agreement. "You still working in that bakery?" Ciri asks. Osmund nods happy that at least he could do something he loved. "Your pie is just to die for. I could eat a hundred and still have room for a dozen more" "Yeah, we know you''ve eaten half the deer," Hertha says pointing at Ciri''s feet which are riddled with bones. Ciri''s face turns red with embarrassment.Did I really eat all of these alone?
The moon is clear in the sky, not a cloud for miles the sun would come up in several hours. Sten takes a look at his pocket watch, and most the night has already past. "We should be heading back. Ciri are you good for a warp." "yes sir," she responds happy and full from the hearty stag that sat in her swelling stomach. "Shall we take our leave then." Everyone looked at each other somewhat saddened by their parting, but knowing full well that they mustmeet again. "Will you be alright, heading back on your own?" Ciri asks Osmund with a worried look on her. Her concern makes a small grin grow on his face. "Don''t worry I''ve sobered up enough for bandits to be of no concern. Plus, I''ve got my old friend here to keep me company." Osmund gesures to the wepon on his belt his Aesir Weapon put him at the advantage against assailants. Sten, Ciri, and Hertha walk away from the fire and gather around each other. Ciri clutches the Heart Amulet around her neck and whispers something, almost silently. Osmund couldn''t quite make out what she had said. Certaintly it couldn''t be a chant, the Aesir Weapons don''t require chants. A bright light encompasses the group accompanied by a magic circle appearing beneath them, and without a trace Osmund is alone. He sighs looks up at the moon and simply gazes into its light with the contrasting orange of the fire the surroundings have a peaceful ambiance. What a wonderful night to say goodbye. Osmund''s face goes grim darkness dulling his eyes in shadow. He kicks dirt into the fire, completely smothering it nothing left but lingering smoke. The world quickly grows dark as if it could attack at any moment, the warmth he had is completely gone leaving only the familiar cold chill every soldier is accustomed to. It''s a long way to Telenbrim, but there''s nothing to fear. I''ll be back home someday. Chapter 10 The lingering fog A collection carts and wagons creek and rumble as the group of student''s travels down a dirt road. A fog lingers in the forest making it hard to see, but there''s still enough light out to make traveling safe. They spent a day at the village next to Dheginsea to lick their wounds and now are traveling back to Tellinbrim. Erwin sits in the back of a wagon, he''s sure that the amount of solders has increased. The current number is approximately fifty or so. Is it because we were ambushed he thinks but that really doesn''t matter because things have been going well for Erwin. Since the manticore attack, and Erwin¡¯s act heroism, many of his classmates had turned their opinion of him. Leonardo came around Erwin''s tent apologizing for what had happened. He received a thank you from Raiko and Salvador who were accompanying Leo. Several hours later, Isabella and Sam even dropped by. Isabella gave the standard thank with a smile, while Sam was extra thankful and gave Erwin a large kiss on the cheek for his bravery. For the young and unadulterated Erwin, the feeling of another person''s lips on his cheeks was completely unexpected. Sam ended up giggling at Erwin''s face redder than merlot, and adorable stuttering thanks that was the only thing that Erwin could muster up. Isabella quickly pulled Sam away before Erwin had a full-blown heart attack. Erwin''s happiness wasn''t purely from the rather stimulating kiss from a ravishing young woman. Iskandar and Freud inspected the ambush sight, at Lover''s Peak. Although they weren''t able to find any clues on who attacked them. Upon inspection of the manticore''s body, they were able to find a magically charged claw. Erwin inspected it using a spell and found it imbued with an attack known as air claw within it. This is the big reason he''s so happy. Al had promised on teaching him how to make magical weapons when he got back, but now he can not only learn how to make magical weapons, he has the material to make one. Erwin sits in the back of the wagon admiring the silver claw radiating with energy. What do you want to become? He thinks eyes piercing into the claw as if at any moment it would respond. The obvious thing to make a knife or a sword that could cut through wind, but he could also make a bow that shot a gust and didn''t need arrows. Maybe, he wouldn''t make a weapon at all and the claw could be used to make a shield that would create a shield with an invisible gust around it. A cowl that used wind to speed the wearer up. The possibilities are endless, and that filled Erwin with a childlike anticipation. "How long are you gonna keep staring at that?" Erwin fumbles with the claw only to barely catch it. To his surprise Elliana is sitting in the same cart with a frustrated look on her face. "You know if you look at it like that I might start getting jealous." "Sorry, I was just a little lost in thought," Erwin responds pushing the claw into a pocket in his coat. According to Ellie, she simply had to be in the same wagon as Erwin to make sure his condition is stable. She did, however, conveniently forget to mention how the effects of mana exhaustion only last a few hours, and that Erwin showed after effects. "Is it just me or are we moving slower than when we arrived." Ellie looks outside noticing that it''s already sunset. The forest surrounding the ravine only took several hours to journey, yet it has easily been twice that long. "No, your right. It''s been far too long. Do you think where lost?" "I doubt that," Erwin said peering his head over the wagons to look around. "I doubt Freud and Iskandar would get lost. This area is still under their banner, even with the infighting," Erwin exits through the wagons rear, slightly stumbling when he tries to gain his footing on the uneven fog covered terrain. "Now that you mention it. This fog surrounding us is abnormal." Erwin grabs Elliana''s hand and helps her off the wagon, making sure she has an opportunity to find sure footing. Ellie gives a shallow curtsy to express her thanks. She really enjoys playing the part of a princess, Erwin thinks giving a mocking bow in return. "Wait," Erwin says attempting to not lose the plot. "What do you mean by abnormal?" "Well I don''t know much about meteorology," she prefaces "but this thick fog doesn''t make any sense. Fogs occur when there''s a shift in temperature. The air quickly becomes cool usually in the morning after a shower. That''s why fog usually happen on winter mornings. But today there hasn''t been any rapid changes in temperature or even the hint of rain." Erwin changes pace from a brisk walk to a mild jog. Ellie follow suits. The way he sees it there are three possibilities, fogs work differently in this world, an animal is creating the fog, or someone is creating the fog. On most days, Erwin would probably chalk it up to an odd otherworldly phenomenon, but the memory of being ambushed is still fresh in the mind.
In several minutes, Erwin makes it to the lead cart. Freud is riding in front on a horse with Iskandar riding directly behind him. Freud''s eyes stare into the distance, almost searching. "Freud," Erwin said in a forcibly calm tone, attempting to hide the worry in his voice caused it to crack a little. Freud looks down at Erwin, still paying most of his attention to the surroundings. Ellie notices Freuds concern for the environment almost confirming her suspicions. She also notices Erwin''s worried state and rests a hand on his shoulder. "This fog it isn''t natural, is it?" Erwin asks calmed down by Ellie''s consolation. Freud sighs, "I was hoping that we''d be able to resolve this before you children caught on, but it seems I underestimated your intelligence. Yes, the fog is unnatural, there seems to be traces of mana in it meaning someone is using a spell to create it. We believe that another ambush is under way and have slowed down to make dose out a source."The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "Couldn''t they just warp in? Like last time." Erwin asks. "If they could warp in, the fog wouldn''t be necessary. The fact that they are using it as cover suggests that for some reason they are incapable of using their teleportation magic." Iskandar adds without turning his head. His logic is sound the cover of fog isn''t really needed if you can just show up. so, what is happening? Was teleportation a onetime attack? Is this a fake out to surprise them when they do teleport in? Are they being attacked by a different group entirely? "How can we help?" asks Ellie ready with a supportive glance. "The best thing you all can do is inform the others of the current situation." Freud say in a hushed tone, "be sure not to incite a panic. Elliana, you do the actual talking, a woman¡¯s touch is necessary in this." Ellie nods preparing to tell everyone. She grabs Erwin by the arm and drags him behind.
"God damn, this wine is worth a village," Osmund says with a hint of annoyance, "Aren''t you lot supposed to here on a mission. With this much to drink you''ll be too tipsy to swing a sword, yet fight the yigdra." Osmund looks at the raven-haired elf that sits in front of him. Smoking a mace sized pipe, sitting on barrel of Ealiodin wine while leaning on a tree, his solemn stare would make a grown man to cower for a moment. "Well, Vothe how ya liking babysitting our little lordlings." Osmund gestures around him at weapons and armor that have yet seen a drop of blood with people even more mollycoddled. The camp''s soldiers are a collection of by fourth borns of fourth borns too incompetent to squire, to craven to fight. They had hoped that venturing to the Dheginsea ravine would be an excellent opportunity to enjoy the sights like a summer vacation of sorts. Now they''ve been ordered to fight, most of them got themselves drunk to dull the fear. Vothe stares back at Osmund. If he''s irritated his face doesn''t show it. The stern looks in eyes is always present, not a man alive has seen a smile on it. Osmund doesn''t really think of Vothe as a friend, but certainly isn''t unsettled by him like many others. "They''ll fulfill their role nicely," Vothe said monotonal, apathetic to his comrade¡¯s fate. Osmund sighs. Hopefully, they won''t do anything to rash. He didn''t have any fondness for these soldiers, but to have so many young boys die suddenly would leave a black spot on Osmund''s conscious. "What brings you here. I was under the impression you were sent back to Tellinbrim?" Vothe asks while exhaling a cloud of mist, that spreads out and settles creating a dense fog around the camp. The amount of fog exhaled greatly outclasses the lung capacity of a normal man. "With this damn fog you made, it''s nearly impossible to see my hands in front of my nose." Osmund points at Vothe with facetious anger. "The fact that I stumbled into this camp was dumb luck. You should really establish a barrier by the way. It''d be embarrassing if the enemy walked in with the same ease." "Noted," Vothe responded. "Currently, I''m on my way to Tellinbrim. If you''d open a shallow end in this fog. I''ll happily be on my way." Vothe thinks silently for a moment, as if weighing whether or not helping it¡¯s worth the time. Vothe eventually waves his pipe with an air of nonchalance allowing the fog to thin at the far end of the camp. "My thanks," Osmund says with a wry bow. "Oh, I''ll be takin'' this too." Osmund picks up a barrel of the Ealiodin wine and jaunts out of the mist with a smile. Vothe sits silently apathetic towards the pilfering of supplies.
Soon after Osmund leaves, the disheveled soldiers of the camp begin to wake. Their lack of agency is surprising, but in the end Vothe didn''t care all I need is spell fodder. In fact, their incompetence is quite the asset almost guaranteeing nobody will catch on to the plan. "Well Ei''clr, my plan, does it precedes as expected? If the plan fails because your smoke doesn''t live up, I''ll have you demoted to my chambermaid." A short almost impish man walks up to Vothe with a look of unearned superiority. Behind him follows a young serf. Probably a peasant farmer who thought he hit the jackpot by squiring to a D''nuh, only to be greatly disappointed by the man he serves. "Yes, sir." Vothe says standing straight in attention. Contrary to his demeanor, Vothe absolutely despises this child dressed in military fatigues. Vothe is glad that he''d be done with this caravan of fools in short time. "Y''as, we''ll have the yigdra in our possession in a matter of moments." says the commanding D''nuh. For the life of him Vothe can¡¯t even remember his name. Not that he wants to commit it to memory. "Milord, what of the soldiers?" a reasonable question by the young squire. His name is Kimmly as Vothe recalls. "What of them? You think I fear some withering old man, his lot of human¡¯s soldiers, or even the mythical yigdra. With the Aesir at our side, we are unstoppable!" The captain screams at the top of his lungs. The troops begin to gather around him. One by one they look up at their leader in awe of his assurance, his confidence in the face of battle. "How long have we been weak in the shadow of their pillars. Well enough. We, the elves, are the chosen troops of the Aesir given their blessing in form of divine weaponry. We have lived in the shadows long enough subjugated by the tierzal and the humans. Now is our time let them all now our might." The elven soldiers are filled with determination. something completely new to these young soldiers that up until this point acted like spoiled jackanapes. "Hoorah! Hoorah! Hoorah!" They yell with their new-found confidence. The D''nuh commander stands tall with the undeniable belief that he will win. Vothe has returned to sitting on a barrel of wine. He unfolds a small scrap of paper, orders from his benefactor lordEviksen, and reads it for the last time. Targets: Terramancer- approx. 5'' 10". black hair. dagger. Earth-binding magic. Vanguard- approx. 6'' 6". Blonde hair. legendary blade- Rantzau. caution when approaching Pyromancer- approx. 6'' 1" red hair. Magic staff. uses long range fire attacks Healer- approx. 5'' 6". black hair. Magic staff. Capable of healing without chanting Terramancer and Vanguard must be captured. Ensure the survival of all yigdra by any means necessary. Vothe commits the orders to memory. He crumbles the paper into a ball and drops it into on the ground. The fog encompasses and begins decomposing the crumbled ball of paper until it completely vanishes. It won''t be long now the yigdra are approaching. Chapter 11 The lingering haze The air is thick with a heavy fog. Most would expect a caravan of people in this kind of fogto be loud, managing their way, yet the only sound stirring is a hundred pairs of feet slowly making their way through the woods. The caravan¡¯s wagons, rather than being organized in a straight line, form a circle. Soldiers, tactfully positioned on the circumference, stand guard watching for anything that stirs in the oblique fog. Erwin walks next to a wagon in the center ready for the impending attack. Looking around, he notices his fellow classmates also ready for battle. After the ambush, most of the class feels ashamed for the frenzy they went into, but not this time, they''re ready with clenched teeth and weapons in hand. Even though the front line is made up of Bellimere soldiers, who¡¯s stats and experience out class the young students, the students are no war fouls, ready to fight with all their effort Erwin, even with his new found popularity, still can''t fight, so he plans to hang back and provide support in the form of transmutational binding. "You''re not gonna do it. Right?" Ellie asks looking Erwin straight in the eyes. "Don''t worry Ellie, my days of gallantry are over. From now on I''ll stay here in the back. I''ll leave the fighting to all of you." Erwin responds hands in the air and an innocent enough voice. "huh, you now every time you fight you end up in writhing on the floor in blistering pain. But there is something I want to say while we''re here-" Harooh!The war horn echoes in the distance. signaling the sighting of the enemy forces, but Erwin still couldn''t see nor hear them. "Ellie," he says in a hushed tone, as if the enemy could hear his words, "They''ll need you up there." "Dammit, that''s exactly what you say before you get yourself hurt." She whispers back with an accusatory tone. Angry at Erwin¡¯s suggestion that she''d just leave again. "But you''re right. If the enemies attacked they''ll need a healer. Just, remember, keep your head down." Ellie runs toward the front lines leaving Erwin under the care of several soldiers. "Haah!" Erwin can hear the grunts of people fighting as well as swords clanking not half a kilometer away.Wait. That doesn''t make any sense.Even inexperienced, Erwin knows the strategic advantage of the fog.Why aren''t they using long range spells. Is their goal not to kill us? Erwin prepares to go into a sprint.No. I shouldn¡¯t be rash. If I can suspect the attacker¡¯s motivation, then Freud probably knows them too. I should focus on what I can do.Erwin climbs on top of the wagon, not even considering the idea of a stray arrow hitting him. With a good lay of the land, He takes note of the attacking force coming from the northeast stretching to the eastern edge of the caravan. He can''t identify the exact number of soldiers, only their general shape, but he can''t make out the same shape from the south west.A wall on that end, that''s how I help.Erwin rushes south east.
Dammit, they¡¯re coming on this end too.Erwin didn''t notice from afar, but several soldiers are sneaking in from the fogs vanishing point. Judging by their light green armor and curved swords, they must be the enemy. Erwin only notices them because he was purposely going to areas with no soldiers.We''ll have to route these soldiers before I can build a wall. Erwin puts on his best Freud impression to call some nearby soldiers, ¡°Men!" The shocked soldiers turn to see Erwin pointing at green armored soldiers trying to sneak in camp. "I''ll bind them. You finish them off." Ewin squats down pressing his hands on the ground focusing his mind on transmuting the soldiers in front of him, Fortunately, he pre-casted transmutation, so the green soldiers have no opportunity to respond. The ground beneath, grows like moss, surrounding their feet making it impossible to dodge. Before they can claw their way out of the dirt shackles a blade comes from their blind spot. Erwin obscures his own vison, the sight of a person dying not 3 meters away isn''t something he¡¯s ready to see.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Erwin, after a moments reprieve, looks back at the battlefield ready to bind more soldiers. But before he even noticed the fog had thickened. He can''t make anything out, not the enemies several meters in front of him, not his allies who should have been in spitting distance, he can''t even make out the clinging of blades any more, as if sound itself is being smothered by the wretched fog. In an attempt to make anything out, Erwin squints his eyes, but it seems pointless the fog is designed this. "What the hell was that," Erwin whispers to himself sporadically turning his head. Just for a moment, he saw something in his periphery, a shadow maybe. He can''t even tell how far it was 5 meters, 10 meters it just blends into the environment, as if it¡¯s one with the fog. Erwin turns frantically trying to look for the shadow. Behind him he sees the shadow again, but now it''s starting an approach. Slowly almost at a walking speed it lurches closer to Erwin. The shadow is now 5 meters away in range of Erwin''s transmutation.I''m not taking any chances.Erwin transmutes a set of spikes under the shadow. The spikes rise piercing the shadow at all ends, but rather than piercing the creature the spikes only phases through the shadow. "That''s not a shadow," Erwin whispers to himself. "It''s smog?" It appears to be an amorphous dark smoke simply phasing through the spikes Erwin had created.The fog speed rapidly increases from a brisk walk to a full-blown sprint. Erwin still confused to what he''s fighting grasps the knife on his belt. In a mere moment, the fog is on top of Erwin. Erwin takes a swipe of his blade at the smog monster. Knowing full well of its futility he darts back.The blade went through like nothing was there,he thinks now knowing physical attacks are pointless.Fuck it. I''ll blow it to smithereens.He clenches his hands attempting to gather the air around him, but a notable lack of mana in his hands prevent him.Fuck, did I unconsciously disengage the spell when the smog rushed me. Erwin realizes he doesn''t have the time to chant again. Her runs from the smog trying to put some space between them. However, the smog is far too fast for someone with Erwin¡¯s agility to outrun. He decides to change tactics if it couldn''t be outrun maybe it could be blinded. Erwin reaches into his pockets pulling out the manticores claw and two finger sized plates of adamantium. From his other pocket he pulls a sliver of pyronite he usually used for a lighter.This is not the time for experimentation, but I hardly have a choice.Erwin grips the pyronite in his hands applying an extremely precise amount of mana, little so the pyronite didn''t ignite, but enough for it to shine. Erwin spikes the charged pyronite into the ground directly in front of the fog, which has returned to a walking speed. He grasps the two plates sandwiching the manticore claw in-between and forces as much mana as he can muster into one of the plates. Erwin''s logic goes as follows. Magic weapons work by applying mana to weapons, but the manticore claw didn''t conduct mana as much as metal like the adamantium. Any mana Erwin applied would simply dissipate into air before it could charge the claw, so Erwin theorizes he could make a mana capacitor.By taking two parallel plates of adamantium, placing the magic imbued claw between, and applying a magic current to one plate, as the magic moved from one plate to the other the claw would be magically charged by proximity. Fortunately, Erwin''s logic is to close enough. The manticores claw begins to emit a small glow, proving that the spellair clawhas activated. Erwin takes the charged claw and swipes it at the pyronite on the ground. A blue slash races from the claw and strikes thepyronite, causing an explosion of blinding light. Erwin''s improvised flash bang appears to work as the smog recoils from the light.This might be my only opportunity.Erwin begins chanting transmutation. "Please, if only for amome-" Before Erwin can even finish the first line of the chant, the smog gather''s. An arm springs out of the smog, and a heavy hand grips his mouth. Erwin couldn¡¯t even let out a scream.Now¡¯s my chance.Thinking that this smog monster is actually the mastermind of the fog,Erwin drives his knife into the smog man''s arm. His strength isn''t enough to severe a tendon, but the hand''s grip loosens, freeing Erwin¡¯s mouth. Erwin, without thinking, attempts to chant once more. "Please, if only for a moment, let me enter your re-AAAAHHHH," Erwin screams in pain as another hand comes from the smog. This one lunging a dagger into his chest.Dammit I can''t let it kill me,Erwin thinks trying to focus his mind through the pain,just need to cut hit him again. Then I can run.His eyes become blurry unable to focus on the smog in front of him, he can feel his knee''s becoming weaker. Erwin''s consciousness fades as he falls to the floor, hitting with a disparagingthud. Chapter 12 The lingering soldiers Miles from the battle of yigdra and elves were nothing could be heard and only a dim fog could be seen. Stands a traveling carriage with three men sitting in front. The men are excruciatingly bored simply staring at the artificial fog encompassing the forest. It''s not as if they could engage each other in conversation either, too much words in this business is risky. That man you sit next to today could in all likelihood could be the man you stab tomorrow. All they really know of each other are their names, and even that¡¯s up in the air. The three waits patiently, there''s Piek a tall, bald, dark skinned elf, wielding a maul with ease. Lem wielding strong staff and a stronger look in his eyes, as if it he could pick a fight with any one of them. The last of the trio stands out most of all. A relatively young man, gentle features, fair complexion, no one would think of him twice, let alone with a sword and shield. He introduced himself as Kimmly, but it can easily be assumed that no one gave their real name. Rstrstl, Through the bushes at the end of the forest the three can hear someone making an approach. They gather their respective weapons ready to kill whoever might wonder in. With a calm stride and a dispassionate face, Vothe enters the clearing carrying three bodies. On his right shoulder he carries a red-haired boy as well as dark haired thinner boy. His left hand, covered in his own blood, drags a large blonde-haired boy, several inches taller than Vothe. "Well, if it isn''t the silent wolf Vothe, this is the first time I''ve seen you bleed." Where the three didn''t know each other at all, they were all familiar with whispers of the silent wolf. In certain circles, well known, as a man who would do anything for coin. Several rumors had even spread about him ranging from that he was born of dragon and human, that he''d assassinated the old Hegemaran king, even so far as to say he himself was royalty questing for vengeance. The legitimacy of these rumors is widely accepted as preposterous, but they do create a reputation for the one called Vothe. Piek had even worked with Vothe several times before. Even without his aesir weapon, he killed with a methodical precision. Calm covered in the blood of his enemies, it could only be compared with a hawk setting its eyes on prey uncaring for the prey itself. Vothe walks in with a wordless professionalism, taking note of the three elves in front of him. Two brutes like Piek and Lem are to be expected, but he is surprised by the appearance of the young serf, Kimmly. Damn, Eviksen. Sent a spy to watch the spy. Vothe thinks dropping the three seemingly lifeless bodies on the floor, and pulls his sleeve to inspect his wound. "Vothe, you dirty bastard!" A stammering scream comes from the bushes that Vothe had just exited. "D''nuh Amain?" Kimmly says surprised by the commander covered in blood appearing out of the green. He wasn''t so much shocked by the appearance of Amain as much as how Vothe was followed. Knowing the silent wolf''s reputation, he shouldn''t have been so easily tracked. "Kimmly," Amain continued pointing his finger accusatorily at the three Elves sitting in front of a carriage. "Arrest this man for crimes against the king. I will not ha-," Vothe walks up to Amain still ordering Kimmly. With a dart of his hand, Vothe grabs Amain by the neck. "What the hell are you d- AAHHH!" Amain''s skin turns a dark black the very flesh disintegrating. From the look on his face, coupled with his scream, everyone knows the pain must be excruciating. Chunks of his flesh start falling off, withering before touching the ground. Amain falls to the floor coughing up a black pool of blood. In seconds, nothing is left but ash, which will quickly be swept by the wind. Kimmly can feel a lump grow in his throat. The aesir weapon Fog Horn, so this is the power of the gods. Kimmly was briefly informed of Fog Horn the pipe could create an inert colorless odorless gas. While the user is in proximity of the gas, he can set it off, turning the inert gas into a deadly corrosive agent, reducing the target to dust. Vothe must have planned for Amain to follow him so he could wipe them all out. The entire volume of the corrosive gas can be activated from a single source, meaning all of the elves fighting the yigdra share their leaders fate. Kimmly would also be a corpse if Vothe didn''t take heed of him at the delivery sight. Vothe walks up to Piek, as if nothing of note had happened. Piek, refusing to make eye contact, hands Vothe a leather sack. Vothe walks away saying nothing more. By the distinct jingle of the bag, it''s assumed that the bag is filled with coin. How much does it cost to buy so many lives?
Soon after, Erwin wakes to the ricketing of a hooded wagon. His head hurts, as if someone dropped him on a rock and was quick to drop him again. A distinct pain remained in his chest. From the look of it, the wound was a shallow stab directly under the collar bone. It¡¯s size and location mean no organs are damaged and blood will properly clot. A good guess says the purpose of the stab was to sedate him with a poisoned dagger. His hands are cuffed in what Erwin recognizes as mana absorbent shackles. He doesn''t know exactly how they function, basically when the wearer tries to use mana the shackles activate absorb it, making it near impossible to cast a spell or interact with magical objects. Erwin takes note of his surroundings. Next to him he recognizes J.J. and Leonardo, similarly shackled. The two seem to be injured far more than him. Covered in bruises as well some shallow cuts, probably earned attempting an escape only to be find out they can¡¯t cast spells. On the other side of the carriage, two well-built men sit. One dark skinned wielding a maul. The other has a scarred face and was eyeing an analog watch. "The yigdra sure have some neat stuff." He said while fiddling with the dials of the silver watch. It isn''t a surprise that he''s never seen a watch, common folk have no need for exact times, so only the wealthy have time measuring devices. "So, how are we splitting the loot." Piek gazes towards the front of the cart making sure that Kimmly can''t hear. "You take the trinket and a solima slate, I''ll take the other two solima slates." Lem looks at him and back at the watch. It''s quite the gamble, a solima slate could get at least a dozen silver dollars, but the watch could be worth more depending on who it¡¯s sold too. Lem could probably sell it to an artificer for a good price. "Well enough," Lem responds with a smile, "and course as far as the boy is concerned we didn¡¯ find a penny." "Yes, our man Vothe must of picked them clean before droppin¡¯ them off," Piek responds. From recent evidence, the two had discerned that Kimmly couldn''t be trusted. Where Piek and Lem are freelancers hired by a middleman, Kimmly''s a bought dog, working directly for some lord. That would explain why he was given the task to spy on Vothe. Erwin instinctively winces at the two giving them a cold star. Lem notices and directs his attention to Erwin causing him avert his gaze, hoping to not cause a scene. He knows better than to antagonize them. "Well look who''s awake, the sheep in wolfs clothing," Lem said grabbing Erwin by the hair, dragging his face to eye level. "You know, usually I would go into some speech about how if you try to escape it wouldn''t turn out well. How I''d do to you what I did to ya friends, about how as long as you sit tight and mind your manners we shan''t harm a hair on your head. But I think I won''t really need to go into such a long-winded threat." Lem places Erwin''s solima slate at eye level. "Look at you, a yigdra, but only a blacksmith with the stats of a child. I''m half surprised that you don''t buckle under the weight of your own coat. I''m glad I never read those damn stories about the all-powerful yigdra, who could match arms with aesir," Lem had a mocking smile on his face while Piek was fighting his laughter, the two look as if they had met Dracula and he turned out to be hemophobic. "Back off! He might be weak, but he¡¯s stronger than the two of you," Leo yells in his rage he had forgotten his position as prisoner. The formerly dejected face, now looks brave when protecting someone. Like any act of bravery, it is aptly rewarded, Lem punches Leo square in the jaw, his body falling to the floor. However, Leo simply looks back with eyes filled with fire. As clear as day, those burning eyes stated You might beat me down, but I will stand in front of the devil himself to protect those who in need. Lem gives Leonardo a dastardly look as if he wants nothing more to pound that confident face. From experience, he knows if he starts he wouldn''t be able to stop. The client wouldn''t appreciate the destruction of the goods, and Lem wouldn¡¯t appreciate the destruction of his payment. That should have been enough to get the message across, Lem thinks seeing a dejected Erwin staring at his shackles. Contrary to Lem''s thoughts, Erwin has not given up hope, far from it. He observes his shackles thinking, how do I get out of these shackles? If he could transmute, the lock could be forced open or a key could be created. With enough mana, he could overpower the absorbance of the shackle allowing him to cast a spell. Hell, with enough brute strength he could simply break the shackles. Unfortunately, Erwin lacks the ability to transmute, the mana to overpower, and the strength to break free. So, what do I have, Erwin thinks trying to solve the problem from a different angle. He lacks weapons, probably dropped after being kidnapped, but he does have some of his smithing gear. A small amount of cryonite, a stick of graphite, the manticore claw, the adamantium plates, and some copper pennies. Looking to his side he also takes note of J.J. and Leo sitting next to him. J.J. had been completely silent for the last few minutes. It''s unlike him, most would expect him to be in a fit of anger. Next to him, Leonardo has returned to his seat on the wagon. Hopefully those two are ready for a fight. I can''t fight my way out of this alone. Erwin redirects his attention to the Shackles once more. The claw and copper coins seemed completely useless in this situation. The adamantium could be used to make a key, it''s a mana conductive material so transmuting it, even in solid form, should be easy. Still nothing can be transmuted with these damn shackles. The shackles themselves are shoddily, by god, Erwin can eyeball the impurities in the metal. It''s easily assumed that the inside of the shackles follows the same quality of artificery. If the insides can be warped, even a little, I might be able to overcharge the shackles. That would allow me to cast a spell. Now the hardest part. How can Erwin break warp the shackles? The simplest idea would be to use the cryonite to freeze the metal. As the metal cools any water trapped in its poorly made openings would expand causing the metals inside to bend, lessening the mana absorbing effect. If I could just use the cryonite. The damaged shackles could be overcharged. Erwin turns his attention to his guards. They don''t seem to be the most attentive jailers. Lem is still fiddling with the watch, in amazement of its many knobs and dials. Piek on the other hand is teetering on the edge of slumber. With some covert movements, Erwin moves the cryonite from his pocket to his mouth. The cold mineral is pressed beneath his teeth, making sure not to touch his flesh. I just need to concentrate my mana to my teeth. Erwin''s plan is dependent on the fluidic property of mana. Mana can be pooled at particular places of the body. Allowing it to seep through his pours, he can slowly excite the cryonite in his mouth without exiting having it drained by the shackles. It should be noted that when most people use mana to cast a spell their entire body or at best their hand releases mana, rarely spells require mana to be focused on a limb, it''s beyond unusual for mana to be focused on teeth.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Erwin needs all his focus if he''s to slowly sieve mana into the cryonite. If his passive captures saw him everything would fall apart, and he couldn''t keep his eyes on them while working. This is where a distraction would come in use. Erwin gently brushes elbows with J.J. sitting next to him. J.J. responds with a furious look in his eyes causing Erwin to recoil in fear for a second. However, Erwin noticesrunes matching a fire spell engraved on J.J.''s shackle, his nails withered thin give away how. I guess we''re all planning to escape, knowing that he hadn''t given up calms Erwin, it won''t be possible to escape if even one of us lose their will. Erwin bares his canines revealing the cryonite in his teeth. J.J. gives a frustrated look back at Erwin, but his sigh indicates the he''s willing to cooperate. J.J. looks at Leonardo maybe a little too happy to do what he''s about to do. "Dammit! you son of a bitch, you''re the reason were in this fucking mess!" J.J. leaps onto Leo slamming his cuffs on Leo''s annoyingly righteous face. "You fuck. You had to convince us to fight. I had a future, I was gonna go ivy league, CEO of a fortune 500, everything was gonna be perfect. But know I''m gonna die because your fucking hero complex." J.J. persists, his furious expression as real as the punches he''s throwing. It''s not as if he has to hold back Leo''s defenses will keep him from getting any permanent injuries. Lem and Piek watch for a moment at the yigdra fighting like children. Until finally pulling the two off each other. With a firm blow to the gut for both J.J. and Leonardo are planted in their seats, now on either side of Erwin. "If you try that again I''ll cut of your arms." Piek yells at J.J. holding a knife to his throat. "Retched yigdra are becoming more hassle then your worth." Piek returns to his seat seemingly, unfazed by the J.J.''s outburst, he quickly falls back to a somnolent state. J.J. stares daggers at Erwin, demanding results with his eyes. Erwin with a poised smile flashes a pair of keys hidden under the palm of his hand. Now all that''s left is an opportunity to pass it to them. This might be a little clich¨¦, but it''s worth a try. "Can we stop? I need to use the bathroom." Erwin says trying to put on the most innocent face he can muster. Piek, still half asleep, barely gives his words a thought. Lem gives it a moment¡¯s thought, as if to discern whether he wanted to sit in a carriage filled with urine for the next day. Lem turns to the front of the cabin. "Aye, Kimmly stop the cart the yigdra needs to take a piss." He yells to the driver. Thank god. Erwin thinks. If he''d read a little more of those stories he might have caught on to our plan. The carriage comes to halt. "All right let¡¯s get going, all of you out. we''re not stopping again so empty yer piss barrels now. And Piek wake up would you, if ya spend so much time asleep I''m taking your cut." Lem says causing Piek to grudgingly wake up. J.J. is the first to get up seemingly in a rush to get out the door, on his way Erwin quickly gets up using the opportunity to pass both keys to J.J. The two walk out of the carriage without raising any kind of fuss. Behind them Leonardo silently trudges out, his face showing none of the bravery it once had. Stepping out of the wooden carriage, Erwin notices the scenery had changed. Where the trees were once an array of Oaks and Elms, they are now cold weather ever greens and spruces. How long was I out? Erwin thinks. They couldn''t have gone too far north, maybe a higher elevation. They could be on a mountain meaning they''re probably deeper in Dheginsea. The landscape confirms Erwin''s theory. The carriage is parked along a cliffside. Looking at the horizon, they must be several miles above sea level. Erwin takes note not get too close to the precipice when they escape, falling off would surely spell death. "All right get at it," Lem says pushing the hesitant Leo out of the carriage. Leo stumbles forward causing both him and J.J. to fall in the dirt. Piek¡¯s face is bubbling with laughter at the sight of them in the dirt. A sadistic smile contorting his face. "Well you two just can''t keep your hands off each other, now can you," He giggles. behind him, Lem also spatters a chuckle. J.J. pushes Leo off with an angry grunt. Getting up he makes a face as if he''s about to retort but decides to keep his mouth shut. Erwin notices Leo fiddling with something in his hands. His expression has also changed, his former confidence showing once more. Looks like Leo got his key. Now when should we release the cuffs? Erwin thinks. The best time would be... BROOM. In front of him, J.J. surges fire out of the palm of his hand using the fire to burn Lem. I guess we''re doing this now, Erwin thinks. With a surprise attack, Leo strikes Piek in the chest. But with only his bare fist Piek barely staggers, instead swinging his down on Leo''s head. Leo rolls away by the skin of heels. He quickly tries attacking again knowing that elves have stronger magical abilities, if Leo gives him time to chant even his defense won''t hold. J.J. doesn''t let up his flame surge, engulfing Lem in flurry of fire. All his pent-up rage manifesting as constant blaze of red and orange. "You really are an angry one." A calm voice comes from the flame. One devoid of pain as if it had just sit down in a look warm bath. "If you don''t learn to manage such anger, your flames won''t burn even a fly." The flame surrounding Lem instantly doubles in size. Even J.J., a pyromancer, recoils from the heat given off. The inferno condenses followed by a rapid expansion. Creating an explosion sending J.J. flying and even knocking Leonardo to the ground. Erwin standing several feet away from the explosion can still feel the shock move through his bones. If I was any closer I would be puddle right now. Erwin see''s Leonardo quickly getting up being met by both Piek and Kimmly ready to fight. J.J. writhes on the floor clutching damaged ears. Dammit without proper weaponry we can''t hurt them. I need to make a weapon. Erwin looks around for something to transmute, but years of erosion had turned the once stony path into a pile of loose dirt. Dammit, what can I use to make a weapon. He continues his search, even a bundle of stones would be of more use than nothing at all. Alas nothing can be found, and weapons can''t be made from thin air, could they? Erwin feels something strange in his hands, like gravel is pooling in his pores. He looks at his hands covered in a black rock. They feel as if they are transmuting, but what are they transmuting? To Erwin, at this moment, it doesn''t matter, he focuses on the sensation in his hands. Gather the stones in my hands. Shape it into a blade. In several seconds, Erwin''s hands are clammy covered in his sweat, but a crude sword is in his hands. The sword is a deep black, the edge is dull, spotted with flaws, but a weapon is a weapon. "Leo, take this!" Erwin says throwing the newly crafted sword. The sword lands next to Leonardo the tip imbedded in the ground. Leo grabs the short sword swinging it with a speed easily matching his enemies. Both Piek and Kimmly charge Leo attempting to attack him from both sides, but with one large swing he¡¯s able to keep them at bay. The two outmatch Leonardo in experience, three or four stats might even be higher than his, but Leo''s high offence and defense give him the edge right now. As long as he can prevent them from using magic then he has the upper hand. Erwin creates a second sword. It probably wouldn''t do much good in J.J.¡¯s hands, but a sword is better than fighting bare handed. Once more Erwin throws his stone sword. "Use this!" he screams as the sword lands. J.J. grabs the sword and charges into the flame engulfing Lem, under the assumption that if his magic resistance is high enough to walk in flames unscathed then his defense must be weak. Surely, he isn''t dealing with some unstoppable monster with stats so unimaginably high that any action would be moot. J.J. lunges at Lem striking the wooden staff in his possession. If it''s a magic staff it could be the source of Lem''s magic, the reason he didn''t have to cast a spell. J.J. strikes it with the sword putting the entirety of his weight behind the strike. The staff doesn''t crack. If it was simple wood it would have easily cracked in two, it had to be a magic weapon. J.J. frantically swings his sword the stones withering away with every strike. But the same can be said about the staff he''s attacking, with every swing of the sword slivers of wood fling up in the air, until. Crack. Simultaneously, both the black stone sword and the wooden staff break. The flames surrounding the two immediately dissipate. Lem''s expression goes pale with worry, knowing that in a fist fight he doesn''t have a leg to stand on. He needs a spell quickly. "I dema-¡± Before Lem can stammer a line, J.J. Drives his burned fists into his face. He doesn''t give Lem any time to breath, mounting him, grabbing his collar with one hand, and thrashing his face with the other. Nearby, Leonardo quickly realized how brittle his sword is, and has gone on the defensive. He carefully attempts to improve the life of the blade striking with different parts. Slowly panting he goes over his options tip... used. Middle... used. Hilt... used. Pommel...used. He''s quickly running out of options, only two maybe three strikes until the sword shatters. Kimmly picks up on Leonardo''s hesitation. "Keep his attention," He says to Piek. "I''ll cast," Piek rushes Leonardo as Kimmly retreats. Piek puts all his weight in a horizontal slash too wide to be sidestepped. Leo dodge backward afraid to use his sword to block. I need to stop the other one. If he casts we''ll be overrun with spells. Leo charges Piek only to be rebuked by another swing of his maul. Again, he thinks refusing to give up. He charges once more. "You never learn," Piek smirks under his breath. He prepares to swing his maul again, but instead of seeing a boy charging at him, Leonardo shifts his stance and throws the sword like a javelin straight at Piek¡¯s face. However, Piek''s reflexes aren''t as dull as to let a thrown sword get the better of him. He tilts his maul and does an upward strike with the intent of sending it flying. but instead of flying or breaking in two, the sword shatters into numerous tiny specks. The even distribution of stress was fortuitous for Leonardo. The shards of stone fly into Piek¡¯s eyes temporarily blinding him, Leonardo takes this opportunity in full and makes a b-line past Piek. Leo passes by Piek certain that he¡¯ll be preoccupied, but if anything, his guard is even higher. Even while rubbing specks of stones out of his eyes, listening for his enemy¡¯s movements is paramount to success. Before Leo can get past Piek¡¯s reach, Piek pivots on one leg bringing down his other leg. Leo feels the massive force of Piek bringing down his heavy knee, halting him to a dead stop. Fuck, he thinks, he''s gonna finish his chant. Out of the very edge of his vision, Leonardo see''s someone bolt past Piek and him. It was Erwin running with a short sword in hand. He runs toward the chanting Kimmly and drives the sword short in his sword shoulder. "GUH!" Kimmly grunts as if he''d just been given a minor bruise. He drops his sword, but still has a shield strapped to his arm. With a swing of his arm, Kimmly bashes the face of his shield into Erwin, sending him back three feet landing on his back. Undeterred, Erwin climbs to his feet tightening the grip of his short sword. He dashes forward quickly closing the distance between him and Kimmly, but still slower than Kimmly. Kimmly readies his shield arm. Aiming straight for the head, Kimmly brings down his shield, but legs slip throwing him off balance. The firm landing, he was standing on become loose as if standing on gravel. Erwin wastes no time aiming for Kimmly''s chest. But Erwin has never killed and at the last moment his aim diverts. Lodging the blade in the flesh under his collar bone. Kimmly smiles. A sickening and toothy smile that doesn''t match his otherwise gentle face. His iron shield pulses red scars shining as if it might explode any second now. Erwin recognizes it as the ability Gaebulg. "Fuck!" he says surprised by the violent red light. If Gaebulg activated in this situation Erwin would be nothing but a collection of limbs. "Agh!" Kimmly screams as Erwin twists the sword in Kimmly''s chest with one hand and grabs the shield with other. Pulling the shield out of the howling Kimmly''s hands, Erwin throws it into the cliff face. But it''s too late, the red scarring on the shield doesn''t dissipate. "It''s gonna blow!" Erwin yells scrabbling to the ground with a tense thud. He begins to transmute encasing the shield in a thick mess of dirt and rock. His hope that was that encasing it would reduce the heat impact and any concussive force, which is correct, but not entirely thought out. BOOM! The explosion causes a flurry of debris to fly through the sky. The stone surrounding the shield acts like a fragmentation grenade hitting Leonardo in the chest and striking Piek in the head. Piek falls to the floor, the bloody gash in his skull, a mixture of blood, bone, and brain make his condition clear. Piek is undoubtedly dead. But nobody had time to morn. The once stable cliff face shows signs of instability, with large factures crawling through the ground. Everyone stops what they¡¯re doing for a moment, J.J. snaps out of his anger completely disregarding the unmoving man under him, Leonardo eyes safe ground only a couple of steps away. Like walking on ice showing cracks, everyone knows they only have moments until their weight pushed them to death. Leonardo and J.J. without heed of their surroundings bolt to the edge of the fractures, but running with all their weight proves to be too much for the cliff. The ground shaking apart, Kimmly and Erwin are in full sprint to the edge, much farther from safety than J.J. and a Leo. Kimmly is faster than Erwin by a leg, but Erwin is right behind him running with all his strength. The cliff still tipping over, at a thirty degree, moments from the point of no return. Still time to make it, Erwin thinks trying to keep pace. Moments away from the edge Erwin can feel the ground he''s walking on begin to crumble until he couldn''t feel anything under him. In an instant, the world goes dark and silent. Chapter 13 Twilight woods When someone wakes, they come out of slumber in two ways. One way is peacefully, slowly lifting away from the peace of sleep to a new day of possibilities. The other abrupt, forced out of calm to only to be flung into the complications of life. Our lives are filled with both, sometimes a weekend will allow to us to wake at our leisure, other day''s the sound of an alarm will push us out the door. For Erwin, waking tonight follows the path of the latter. The sheering pain in every inch of his body begs him to fall back to sleep, but the fear of death keeps him awake, at any moment something could kill him. Looking up, he had to have fallen several miles. The slope of the mountain probably the only reason he survived, trading death for bruises and broken bones, not a terrible deal. Erwin climbs up to his feet, from the extreme pain in his left arm and lower rib cage, both are probably fractured. Fortunately, his legs are only cut and bruised, and he can standup without too much pain. The carriage is only a few feet away cracked in two places leaving a strew of wood scattered about. Where are the horses? Erwin thinks, that''s odd they were tied to the carriage. Erwin walks closer to the carriage, maybe he could salvage something, a healing potion would be a blessing right now. Hmph. Erwin tripped over something lying in the tall brush, it felt oddly soft unlike a stump or stone. It''s hard to see in this lighting, darkness is quickly approaching 30 minutes maybe hour until daylight fades. Erwin takes a closer look prodding into the grass until identifying it. "Agh!" Erwin yells in horror. He had found the corpse of Lem. He had probably not been as lucky as Erwin and landed on his head on the way down. Looking at it, Erwin finds himself gawking at the corpse. He hadn''t seen many before, only at funerals cold and with peace on their face. But this is completely different, Lem''s face contorted in pain still red and bruised, the sight of it makes Erwin queasy. He gets ready to leave the corpse where it is but thinks, he might have a potion on him. A potion in these conditions could mean life or death. He doesn''t like seeing a person, even one like Lem, in this kind of state, it makes him sick to his stomach. But he really doesn''t want to end up in the same state. Erwin slowly moves his hand to the corpse, as if at any moment it might awaken. He reaches into Lem''s coat and begins to feel around for anything. First, he checks the inner pockets finding two solima slates and a watch. Damn, he thinks, not wanting to be doing this any longer than he needs to. Next, he moves to Lem¡¯s belt, checking for anything strapped on, he finds a dagger and a vial with green liquid inside. "Thank god," Erwin announces wasting no time chugging the green vial. His blood begins to clot at the cuts and the pain his body dulls. The healing potion is low-grade, but still a blessing. Now, he''ll be able to walk without worrying on collapsing in pain. With a clear head, Erwin can now focus on his surroundings.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Crk Crk. Erwin hears something in nearby shrubbery. Is someone approaching? Crk Crk Crk. No that''s not getting closer. Erwin approaches the stationary sound, crouching close to the ground as to not make any sounds of his own. He gets closer brushing past leaves to peer on the sound. Crk Crk Crk. Erwin see''s several dark brown wolf like creatures eating the carriage''s horses. Judging by the red stripes along their spine, these are baskerhounds. Nasty little creatures that carry disease magic, any wound would slowly rot the victim until otherwise treated or dead. Many look at them more as rats than dogs, burning down entire forests to extinguish a nest. Erwin sees them huffing a green poison out of their mouth, the horses flesh hardening to a tough slate of meat. The pack bite into the meat creating a small Crk. Those horses won''t last long for a pack of five, and Erwin has to intention on being their next meal. Erwin backs slowly away. Without warning, the baskerhounds simultaneously stop eating, their heads darting up to inspect their surroundings. Their pale green eyes stare directly at Erwin, and for a moment he thinks that''s he''s been caught. But with the same speed, the entire pack runs into the forest away from Erwin. That''s odd, my presence shouldn''t have them running. Erwin doesn''t like this, this feeling as if something is watching. Something just out vision, close it breath on the brushing against the neck, as if at any moment it could come from anywhere and surround Erwin from every angle. I need to leave. Now. Erwin disregards stealth going into a full sprint, or the very best he could manage with his injuries. But, He can still feel the shadow of a monster creeping on his, following him, until. Slash. Erwin hears the air cut and his own blood dripping down his back. Even after drinking the potion, the pain causes him to make a silent screech. Accepting the futility of running, Erwin turns pulling the dagger out of its sheath expecting a fight. But the creature standing in front of him isn''t something he''s ready to face. A hulking beast of a creature, covered in dark scales harder than most metal. Weighing at least a ton and standing twice the size of Erwin, a drake. Any bravery he felt quickly flea¡¯s as the scaled beast lunged at Erwin biting into his left arm. He could feel his bones breaking the instant the monster sunk its teeth into him. "Aaahh!" Erwin screams in pain. He stabs the monster repeatedly in the neck, but with every stab it becomes clearer that he wouldn¡¯t even be able to break the monster''s scales, let alone draw blood. The Drake twists it''s head tearing away the flesh on Erwin''s arm. "AAAHHH!" Erwin screams again even louder than the first time, his forearm severing at the elbow leaving a bloody bone. Erwin had lost his arm, but is now free. Clawing at the ground he frees himself from under the drake, getting up to his feet and running. Erwin runs without care, without direction. He doesn''t know if the drake is fallowing, but it doesn''t matter he needs to keep running. The only desire in his head is to run in a singular direction, without care for anything else, not for survival, not to get revenge, no bravery, no fear. Just run this way, with an impulsive desire that could only be described as lunacy. His eyes begin to darken. His body twice as heavy than the moment before. He slows until he can barely be carried by his own legs. Erwin drops to the floor his consciousness fading once again.