Waking up on a bed after falling unconscious has become something of a normality for me. At this point, I wasn't even surprised. Still, if I were to rank this particular instance of it in comparison to the others, this was by far the most comfortable. The bed wasn't itchy in the slightest, and I even had decent blankets this time. All in all, ten out of ten, would get beat up again.
That's not to say that I'm not pissed off at being beaten like that, cause I am. Even after all of my asspulls, Rana managed to reach even deeper and pull an even greater asspull than I did. Now, in hindsight it does kind of sounds right to me. She was supposed to test me, so slowly ramping up as the battle went on does make sense. I also shouldn't have expected to be able to best her in swordplay, so that was my bad there.
The worst part of this whole thing is that I can't even really be mad at anyone other than myself, since a lot of the issues I had with the fight was because of me. up until now I've been fighting untrained illagers and literal monsters. The closest to fighting actual skilled opponents I've gotten to was with Mason, and he was holding back massively. My inexperience with skilled opponents really shined through here, and I definitely made some less than stellar decisions. I shouldn't have let her draw Spada like that, I shouldn't have used a longsword just because I felt like it, I probably should've been less cocky.
Definitely that last one.
Right, I should probably get to the notifications for the actual fight. That is, if I even got anything for losing.
For having impressed a superior opponent, you have gained 5 Levels!
For passing the test laid out for you, you have gained 10 Levels!
For summoning your first Legendary item, outside of your own, you have gained a perk!
Magic Man
You are better versed in the mystic arts then most. Your magic now regenerates at RANK amount per fifteen seconds.
Fifteen seconds is an absolute fucking treasure. What once took me ten minutes would now only take me… carry the one… about two and a half minutes. Honestly, conserving my magic and waiting for it to recharge was an absolute fucking chore. Now I could use my more magic intense with not a single problem. Mostly. I'd still have to manage it properly, but now I could be more focused on actually using magic. Finally!
Of course, I immediately spent my newly acquired levels on the next rank of Magic, resetting me back to level zero.
Magic
Allows the use of mystical energies to bend the world to your will. Recharges at RANK amount per fifteen seconds.
RANK 3 – You have 30 mana points and can temporarily increase any skill's effects by 3% per point. Can imbue magic into Rare items. Next RANK costs 25 LEVELS.
I could feel my magical energy increase, and I used half of it while I applied Reinforcement, bringing up my total increase to eighty-seven percent. Ah yeah, that is the shit. The minor pain in my abdomen was already lessening, and I could finally get out of bed without feeling like it was being stabbed. Again.
My armor had been removed, leaving me bare chested and wrapped with bandages. Taking a moment to be grateful for rich people medical care, I noticed something peculiar. I wasn't in my room, as all of the machinery was missing, and the furniture was still properly placed. Not only that, but my bed wasn't even in my closet, which was mildly disappointing. I actually kind of liked it.
Pushing myself off of the bed, I made my way out of the room and walked into and through the hallway. I was still in the guest wing, so I was familiar with the way to go. Thankfully, they had left my boots on, so I wouldn't have to walk around barefoot. I have standards after all.
"Oh? You're up already? Good, it wouldn't do for you to waste time napping."
Well now, that was a familiarly rude tone. Rana had just come up the stairs, and apparently she was looking for me or something. She looked no worse for wear, though she leaned on her good leg slightly. Ha, suck it. "Well, I'm here now, aren't I? How's your leg by the way?"
She frowned, crossing her arms in front of her tightly. "Perfectly fine, how's your stomach?"
"Just peachy."
We stood there for a while, staring into one another in a way that reminded me of a really intense staring contest. Finally, she broke, sighing and pinching the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. "You aggravate me far too much mongrel. It'd be comedic if it weren't so annoying."
Mongrel. I didn't really give too much thought on it earlier, on account of the whole fighting to the pain thing going on, but it did feel a bit weird coming from her. Seriously, it reminded me way too much of Gilgamesh, and that made it weird. "So, what is with the whole mongrel thing anyway? It sounds a bit weird coming from you."
She cleared her throat and straightened her posture, turning away from me as she walked towards the other hallway where the actual residents of the house lived, beckoning me to follow. "I-It was the first thing I could come up with. And it sounds perfectly normal coming from me, you simply have no taste."
Even she didn't think it was that good of an insult. Truly, this is a good day.
Putting my smug satisfaction to the side, I did have a serious question to ask Rana. "Before I passed out, you said I passed. Why?"
She must've heard the sincerity in my voice, as her expression softened slightly, and her voice lost its passive aggressive edge. "You were never expected to win. The odds were stacked against you to an unfair degree, and you were given little time to prepare. While finding out where you stood in skill and power was important, it was a secondary priority. A leader must do what they can with as little as they can get and have the dedication to follow through. Should you have given up, asked for more time, or wasted your meager prep time, you would be unworthy of becoming a Noble Knight. That is why I am not the candidate, among other reasons. I do not believe I would be able to effectively lead people, much less a territory. We can teach skill, but we cannot teach personality, if that makes sense."
It made sense I guess, but it's still a dick thing to do. Still, it was a mildly touching statement, but I refused to let it end on such a serious note. "Ah, I see. So, it's thanks to my charming personality that I made the cut. I always knew that it'd do me good one day."
She scoffed, sticking her chin up and not looking at me. Surprisingly enough, she didn't have a snide remark, instead just staring ahead and continuing forward. It was fine by me of course, but I couldn't help but feel ignored by it. Maybe that was intentional?
We stopped at a seemingly random door, its plain white color blending in with all the other doors. Rana opened it and stood off to the side. Taking the initiative here, I stepped forward and greeted Raynaldus and Opal, who both sat at a desk looking as if they were waiting there for this exact moment. Opal too center stage, pointing toward a chair and pushing her fingers together in a steeple position. "Please, take a seat Darius. We have much to discuss. And congratulations on passing the test. You may be subpar skill wise, but we can train that in due time. At least, if Rana is to be believed."
The fact that I have Rana to thank for my acceptance as a candidate made me feel weird. I don't like it.
I took the seat across from them, noting how it seemed to make me feel smaller than them. I heard the door close behind me, and Rana step towards my side as Raynaldus began to address me. "We will be departing for the capital tomorrow morning. As everyone is eager to see you compete, we will be departing in two groups. The first group will be Opal, Citrine and her family, and me. The second group will be you, Rana, Emery, and Evanora. If we hurry, we can make it in under a week. However, as we wish for you to train during the trip, we will be taking a little longer than that. Around two and a half weeks, if not longer. In order to avoid zombies, creepers, and other unsightly monsters, we will be traveling by ourselves. There will be no guard with us, so you must fend for yourselves. That said, while we may be separate during the night, we will meet together during the day. Our meeting places will be marked on the map given to you before we leave. Until then, get some rest. Any questions?"
Seemed pretty straight forward. We separate during the night to keep our numbers small in order to make sure we don't attract any attention while we sleep, and we meet every once in a while during the day. Simple, and I didn't take almost three times as many words to say it. "No questions sir."
He nodded, before turning his head to Opal and tilting it. They stared at one another for a while before she sighed and turned back to me. "Rana will be in charge of your train while you are traveling. I expect the both of you to get along, do you two understand me?"
She seemed to give a look to Rana with that last part, and I couldn't help but feel like a child watching someone get in trouble. Ignoring the sudden urge to go "Ooooh" at Rana, I gave a quick nod, an action that Rana soon copied, though a bit more stiffly.
Opal, satisfied with our responses, smiled. "Good. Now you two are dismissed. Try and get some packing done."
Standing up from my chair, I quickly grabbed the door handle before Rana could, opening it for her and taking a small amount of joy from watching her squirm. She had been about to do the same thing, but since I had done it before she could, she was just left there with her hand groping the air. She had the face of someone who just told the waiter "You too" after they told her to enjoy her meal. It was great.
Eventually she composed herself and stepped through the door. Following suit and closing the door behind me, I let out a sigh of relief as-
An elbow found its place a little bit to the left of my wound, forcing me to wince in pain. Thankfully, magic enhanced Reinforcement made it easy to work past.
Rana didn't say anything as she extracted her elbow from my abdomen and walked away with a huff, her shoulders stiff. Worth it.
I was alone in the hallway once again, and I finally had time to fully digest the conversation with Raynaldus. Well, conversation is a strong word. I sure as hell did a good job listening though.
Anyway, as the full weight of the conversation hit me, I couldn't help but tilt my head back and let out a breath, a grin forming on my face. These next few weeks would be important ones, and I'll be damned if I didn't make a montage of it.
Now if only I could put on Eye of the Tiger.
…
The trip started off simply enough, as the girls and I got comfortable in our carriage. In any other situation this would be great. However, not long after we ended up making our first stop, and Rana decided it was time to begin training.
Which brought us to now.
"Parry!"
Following her instruction, I angled my blade and parried her strike. Taking the advantage, I went for a thrust for her open chest and-
Her sword clanged loudly against my own, pushing it to the side and fucking up my balance. I stubbled, and she took the opportunity to push her blade against my neck. "You were sloppy. It seems that you are not predisposed to melee combat. Normally I would suggest you focus on other skills, but the other paragons will most likely try and force close quarters combat onto you. So, it seems we will be continuing this."
Damn it, it was like training with Mason all over again. The main difference being that she isn't a badass with a beard, and Mason wasn't kind of a cunt. Yeah, I said it.
It would've been better if we weren't training with the longsword, but Rana was insistent that if I were to wield Spada, I had to be at the very least good with it. So, longsword training. Yay.
We got back into position, readying our blades, and waiting five seconds, before rushing one another. The sound of our blades meeting was almost melodic, the screech of metal against metal somehow bringing a sort of calm over me.
I twisted my sword slightly, pushing hers out of the way and kicking her back. From there, I swung my blade towards her midsection. Despite not having Spada out, her reaction time was still impeccable, and she parried my attack with a practiced ease.
Ignoring the vibrations of her strike on my sword, I met her next attack with my own. Circling the blade, I managed to push through her attack and strike her shoulder. The practice sword barely cut through her shirt, but it was enough for me.
Unfortunately, Rana wasn't of the same mindset. Flicking her wrist up, she pushed her sword against my chest. "Better. Though you still left yourself open. Don't bother going through with an attack like that if it's not going to keep them down. Your opponents won't be phased by something like that, so you'll just leave yourself open."
That's an annoying fact about this world. It seems they caught a case of the bullshit, and now fantasy rules apply to them. So that means that most sword wounds won't mean shit against them, and they might be able to even heal it as we fight.
I know it's a bit hypocritical coming from me, but their powers are bullshit.
"So, Rana, on a scale of one to ten, how close am I to be acceptable at swordplay?"
She pressed her lips together and crossed her arms over her chest. "Two. Tell me mon- riffraff, why do you assume I'll spare your feelings?"
That was presumptuous of her. I knew that she was going to be blunt with it, I just felt like being sure. That being said, wasn't going to let this opportunity go. "Oh, because you want to fuck me."
Her lips thinned even further, and her eye began to twitch. The only sort of penetration that would end up happening that day would be her sword piercing my flesh.
Worth it though.
…
During the times we were actually in the road, I wasn't allowed to sit idly. Even then I was being trained, though in a less physical capacity. Whether it be discussing proper strategy for taking care of the different archetypes or discussing different weapons and ways to use my powers. Like now.
"How does it feel? How much farther can you see?"
I was focusing my Reinforcement on my eyes, pushing my base eyesight to the extremes. Things seemed way clearer, and colors were far more vibrant. Not only that, but I could make out details that would've been unknown to me once.
This whole thing started after she questioned me on how I had increased my strength before. It was an innocent question, and one I had answered truthfully.
She then proceeded to slap the ever-living shit out of me.
"I can't believe you didn't think to use it like this. Your idiocy is almost hilarious, you crooked nose knave."
To be fair, she did have a point. I mean, using Reinforcement on a single part of me to make it more effective sounds obvious in hindsight, but it had never really crossed my mind.
Rana tugged on the reigns a bit, turning the horses to the left slightly. "Now try using it on your hearing. Try and listen to what Miss Evanora and Miss Emery are discussing."
The women in question were sitting inside the carriage, the wood between us muffling anything they could be saying. At least, for people with normal hearing anyway.
Reinforcing my ears, I focused on the voices that came from inside the carriage, the once muffled sound becoming crystal clear.
"-believe you'd ask me that!"
Huh? Emery seemed scandalized over something. Whatever it was, there was no way in hell I was missing out on what could be a comedic goldmine.
I focused a bit more on discerning what was being said, listening as I picked up Evanora's voice. "What? You can't say that it's surprising. I mean, it's pretty obvious that you've done it."
"That doesn't mean you should just ask that out of the blue! That's a very personal question!"
Was listening to two women have a private conversation a douchebag thing to do? I dunno, probably. But it was either that or go back to passive aggressively sassing Rana again, and I've gotten a bit bored of that.
Evanora's voice could be heard once more, a small amount of amusement present in it. "That doesn't answer my question though. How was it? Knowing him, it was either amazing or disappointing. There is no middle ground."
Him? Normally I'd say it would be arrogant to assume they're talking about me. However, considering there really wasn't anyone else who would fit the bill, I think it's justified.
Emery began to speak, and I could practically hear her fold her hands in her lap and shrink into herself. "F-Fine, but only because we're friends. Right, okay then. Well, he was a little rough at times, though he tried to be gentle when he could. And he was so… passionate! It was like a warm hug."
I blinked. There was no way they are talking about sex. I mean, do women even talk about that sort of thing? I thought that was just something popularized in media? Maybe they were talking about the time I let her rant to me? There were a few hugs involved there, and I was probably a bit rough since I was in a bit of a bitchy mood.
"What about his dick?"
Well never-fucking-mind then. That just blew any theory other than sex out the god damn window. Shit, now I was feeling self conscious about it. Leaning against the wooden barrier between us, I-
A loud whistle forcefully brought me out of my eavesdropping, making me jump as I clasped my hands around my ears in pain. Note to self, loud noises fuck my world up when Reinforcing my ears.
Canceling the Reinforcement, I turned and glared at Rana, who looked back at me with a self-satisfied smirk on her face. My face flushed as I began to angrily question her. "What the f- what was that about exactly?"
She closed her eyes, holding her head high as her smirk widened. "Your face suddenly looked very punchable, so I decided to do the nice thing and simply get your attention. You are welcome."
Her smugness didn't last long, as her distracted stare cost her and a sudden bump in the carriage stumbling. She somehow managed to fall into me, her chin hitting my thigh with a loud slap. Well, when an opportunity like this just falls into my lap, who was I to turn it down? "Well, this certainly wasn't how I imagined you'd come onto me, but I have to give you points for your boldness."
I could tell she wanted to retort, but as her mouth opened and closed like a goldfish, she abandoned the idea. Instead, she got up, pushing her elbows into me in a way that was probably supposed to hurt, and sitting back up. She gripped the reigns, setting the horses back on track as she fumed to herself, shoulders stiff and back looking like a rod.
The rest of the ride went by rather uneventfully, and eventually Rana calmed down enough to begin sassing me again.
I never did find out what Emery and Evanora were going to say next.
…
Rana wasn't always on my case for something, and sometimes I even got some time to myself to relax. And of course, why not spend my spare time Crafting some cool weapons and stuff?
Honestly, this was long overdue. I mean, I should've done this as soon as I got rank four in Craft, but then I got distracted with the potatoes and it spiraled out of control from there. Still, there were a few good things to come from it. Such as my new Oil Sprayer 9000!
I never claimed to be good with names.
Anyway, the Oil Sprayer 9000 wasn't much on its own, and is even kind of worthless in most scenarios, but it was never meant to be used on its own. No. it is simply a small piece of a far greater puzzle. Well, technically it was a piece in multiple puzzles, but that didn't sound as cool.
Bow Shield
Uncommon
A shield made in the same style as a bow of a ship, it is too large and unwieldly to use normally. It has two armored canisters of oil connected to an Oil Sprayer 9000 and can use the oil to shoot fire out of the front. If the wielder desires, they can use the mechanism to cause a large explosion in front of the shield, directing the blast up to ten feet in front of it.
Oh yeah, that's that good shit. It had taken me a few sessions of fevered designing and more than a few fuck ups and explosions. On a side note, I am no longer allowed to work within one hundred feet of where our camp is.
Anyway, this shield was my first step into steampunk design, and eventually maybe even something like power armor. Until then however, I would have to start small. Such as shields, or things like the boom hammer. That's right, I made the mother fucking boom hammer!
Boom Hammer
Uncommon
A trick weapon used by the old hunters, and crafted by the workshop heretics, the Powder Kegs.
A giant hammer equipped with a miniature furnace. When ignited and fired, it emits a volley of flame that explodes furiously upon impact.
Crush the beasts, then burn them - the brute simplicity of the Boom Hammer was favored by hunters with an acute distaste for beasts.
I'm like ninety percent sure that was just straight ripped from the in-game description but considering I kind of just copied the weapon myself, I didn't have much ground to stand on. Still, I did add some oil to it in order to give it that little extra oomph. Because there is no such thing as overkill.
There were a few other designs I had in mind, but they were still in the whole early development stage and I wasn't done working out some of the kinks. Though I did have one final toy to play around with. Though it was a bit… much.
The Fuck You Flame Laser
Uncommon
A flamethrower so strong that its flame is more akin to a laser than an actual flame. With an effective range of over ninety feet, this can do some real damage.
I don't even know how I did it. All I did was test how well I could stack my perks onto Craft and wondered if I could use Magic and Reinforcement on my skills.
I can by the way.
The FYFL was an absolute beast of a machine, about the size of rocket launcher, if a bit bulkier. I had designed it to be held like a mini gun and could probably shred even more than that. Hell, a test with one of the nearby trees fucking atomized the whole tree, and some of the surrounding forest.
It was a devastating forest fire.
On a side note, I am also no longer to field test my creations in an area with a lot of flammable materials.
…
It wasn't all work and no play however, and there were certainly a lot of times where I got to actually sit back and relax. Unfortunately, these moments were pretty much restricted to the night. Hey, it could've been worse. I could've been forced to stay on guard duty with Rana the whole damn time.
As things stood, we each had our own little tent to keep us hidden from any monsters, their limited intelligence making this entirely possible. Of course, I had immediately renovated mine to feel more like a miniature cabin. The walls of the tend were a bit more taunt, the wooden supports doing wonders. The shape wasn't that weird cone shape either, as I had managed to set up a square frame for the cloth. The final touch was a nice plastic roof that I could cover in case I was feeling pissed at the moon, though I preferred to leave it be.
It was there that I laid back, cherishing my view of the stars on top of my padded makeshift mattress, covered with my cloth blanket, letting sleep slowly take me. it was a peaceful experience, and one that I really enjoyed. So of course, it was immediately ruined.
"Heeeyyy, Darius! I was jusht wondering if you wanted to talk and shtuff, ya know?"
Emery had barged into my tent, an empty bottle of wine in hand. Seriously, I have no idea how she even found that stuff. I know for a fact that we didn't pack any alcohol with us for the journey. Where did she even get that?
She stumbled forward and fell down on the side of the tent, groaning as she rolled over and sat back up. I pinched the bridge of my nose before propping myself up on my elbows and turning my head to face her. "Yeah… why not? Anything on your mind?"
I had expected another alcohol fueled rant, just like the last time. What I didn't expect was for Emery to quiet down and hug her knees to her chest, looking down towards the floor as her fingers tapped against her shins. Even the strand of hair at the top of her head seemed to dip down a bit. "So… whatcha gonna do if you win? You gonna pack up and leave?"
That was an odd question. To be honest, I hadn't really thought that far ahead. I was a bit too focused on the tournament itself to really worry about what I was going to do after. "I've no clue. Probably."
She hummed, pushing her head further into her knees. She stood quiet for a while, before turning her head to face me. Her expression was… surprisingly blank. "I get that. You gots shtuff you gots to do. Can't get held down by nobody."
Her voice wasn't shaky, and she seemed to be perfectly fine. And yet, there was a quietness to it that gave me pause. Maybe it was the wine in her, but she sounded kind of… sad.
I shifted myself over to sit next to her, my bare shoulder touching her clothes one. We sat there for a while, Emery eventually choosing to lean against me. She looked up at me, her finger poking my cheek and jaw as she frowned slightly. "I liked your beard. Made you look roguish. Like a sexy hunter man."
Ah, right. Rana had made me shave it before we left, saying something about properly representing the Jewels family. I didn't particularly like it, since it made me look like one of those pretty anime boys, and I wasn't about that life. I'm twenty-three damn it, not seventeen. Still, I had no doubt that a decent stubble would grow in time for the tournament, but I wasn't gonna tell her that. "Sexy hunter man? Aren't you a flatterer."
Emery hummed in agreement, nodding her head against my shoulder. The action inadvertently pushed her deeper into me, leaving her head laying against my chest. "Darius. I… I… think you're a cool guy."
The pause between "I" and "Think" made me want to pry further, but considering her drunk state, I decided against it. No need to make her say something like that when she's not fully conscious of it. "You're a cool gal too Emery. The coolest even."
She didn't say anything, but I could feel a slight increase in warmth on my chest. Looking down, I saw her cheeks blush a cherry red, and her lips stretched into a happy smile.
No way I was going to ruin that.
Instead, I chose to lean back, laying back down on my mattress and letting Emery lay down with me. She nestled her head into the crook of my neck and rested her hands against my chest. Careful not to disturb her, I tossed the blanket over us and let out a sigh, falling asleep.
Later that morning, Emery would apologize profusely about what had happened, and blamed the alcohol, saying she would never do it again. Of course, later that night she would barge in once again and "drunkenly" demand that she stay for the night. I, of course, would oblige her, taking special care not to say anything about the lack of alcohol on her breath, or the full bottle of wine in her hand.
The stars were especially beautiful that night, but as Emery snuggled closer into me, I knew they were not what I would be cherishing that night.
…
Whenever we would meet up with Raynaldus and Opal's group, it would often devolve in the same way.
"Dodge!"
I ignored Brynjar's shout and instead sent a blast of fire through Pupil, catching the man by surprise. Off to my side, I could just barely see Citrine rushing me with her staff. Taking Master, I reversed my grip on it and caught the staff on my blade, throwing her off balance and kicking her in the chest.
The sound of shattering glass caught my attention, and I could see the fumes from a broken splash potion leak into the air. Focusing Reinforcement on my legs, I jumped upward, just barley making ten feet. I sent my grapple out and slammed feet first into Evanora, sending her to the ground with a loud thud.
Turning around, I could see both Brynjar and Citrine rushing the me from opposite sides. Citrine was closer, so I turned my attention to her. She sent a fireball through her staff, which I countered with ray of ice from Master.
Brynjar must've thought this was his opportunity, as he swung his axe for my "exposed" back. Unfortunately for him, my shield materialized from my back and blocked his attack. Vanishing the shield, I spun on my heel and brought both my swords down on him. They clanged loudly against his armor, but it was enough to send him stumbling back bit.
Not forgetting about Citrine, I then my blades back, letting the spin into her. Not wanting to be left weaponless, I summoned my boom hammer and activated it, watching as the hammer glowed an ominous orange. From there, I gripped the hammer with my hands and slammed it into his stomach, an explosion ringing out and sending him flying.
Vanishing the hammer, I spun back around just in time to catch my blades. Citrine had used her staff to form a sort of barrier around her, but it looked to have drained the staff of most of its charge. I leapt forward, slamming my blades against her staff, and pushing her back with my superior strength.
Sending her stumbling, I trapped her staff between my blades and twisted them, freeing the staff from her grip. Kicking it away, I held both blades to her throat.
"Alright, that's a match. Good work Darius, you're doing better than ever."
Opal called the match, and I vanished my blades and picked up Citrine's staff, handing it to her. Thanking me, she walked over to Brynjar, probably to check him over. That boom hammer is something special.
Making my way to Evanora, I knelt down and offered her a hand, which she accepted. Pulling her up by her prosthetic, I gave her a pat on the back. "I see you're attempt to drug me are still on going."
She laughed slightly, putting a finger to her chin and pretending to be in deep thought. "Well, is it really considered drugging someone if you fail?"
That argument would hold up in court the same way telling the judge that her tinder profile said she was eighteen. At the end of the day, she's still ten, and you're still a pedophile.
Well, that analogy broke down almost immediately. "That doesn't sound right, but I'm not the potion expert here. So, you win for now."
Putting her hands on her hips and raising her chin up, she gave me smug smirk. "Of course I do. Now, how about you help me clean up the glass? Don't want an innocent animal accidentally eating it without us being there to study the effects, now do we?"
She was a weird one, but that was fine.
I spent the next twenty minutes picking up glass, joking around with Evanora as I did so. Taking the final shard and placing it in my inventory, I turned around and waved later to Evanora, walking back to camp.
This was usually how it went, and if things went as the usually did, Amethyst would soon be doing her best to work up the courage to asked me about the fight. It was weird interacting with her at first, since we didn't really talk back at Spudnik outside the occasional greeting. However, she's a nice enough girl, and the way she tried to always be composed while explaining something that got her excited made me want to ruffle her hair every time.
Just as the scrolls foretold, Amethyst slowly made her way over to me and cleared her throat. "S-So, what was that explosion that happened when you hit father with the hammer?"
Chuckling slightly, I leaned against one of the carriages and crossing my arms. "That's my boom hammer Amethyst. Whenever I activate it, the very next hit lets off quite the explosion. It's pretty awesome."
She nodded quickly, before slowing down as she tried to control it. Despite her attempts to maintain her composure, I could see excitement in her eyes as she asked another question. "And the blades? How did you do that thing where they flew back to your hand?"
The girl had a strange fascination with my twin falchions and seemed to enjoy them more than any other weapon so far. "Well, like I told you before, they're enchanted to do that. Did it my self actually. Though your mom taught me the basics, obviously."
She blushed, having been called out for her repeat question. Curtsying, she walked back to her parents, leaving me alone by the carriage.
"We don't have time for you to be lazying about you jester. If we want you to be up to snuff for the tournament, you need to be spending every moment training in one form or another."
Or not, as Rana soon appeared out of what I assume to be her personal portal to hell. Still, she had a point. If I wanted to be prepared for the tournament, I should probably get back to the grind. Clenching my fist, I let out a sigh and followed Rana back to the field, a good hundred feet away from camp.
Just you wait tournament, cause I'm going to paint the town red when I get there.
…
Sadly enough, this is going to be my last update until the 22nd of February. I know, it's upsetting, but I do have personal commitments to take care of.
Many have been wondering, "Why should he qualify for the candidacy?" So many have been wondering that in fact, that I didn't want to pick and choose. That and those comments are mean, you meanies.
But seriously, it's a bit of a complicated situation. For one, they have a bit of a problem with their lack of suitable options, something Raynaldus says when he is first introduced. Picture it like this, a lot of people know about this one thing, and they all want it. So, they do whatever they can to "prove" that they should have that one thing, inadvertently proving why they shouldn't have that thing.
For another, being a good fighter is a second priority. Despite the immediate issue of the tournament, they still need to choose based off of long-term priorities. Someone able to handle the responsibility and strive with it. Is Darius this person? Ehhh, maybe. Again, the lack of options thing comes into play. While the other options are trying to prove themselves to be a great candidate, they end up annoying Raynaldus and he says fuck it and leaves.
Now, for combat. Despite losing against Rana, he has displayed enough to be considered combat wise. A mixture of his strange abilities combined with him changing weapons and adapting on the fly makes him somewhat unpredictable, and much like sword fighting, that unpredictability can overwhelm a skilled enough fighter. Then you have him learning how to fight with a longsword as they fought, something which Rana comments on. If he can learn to be a slightly better swordsman from just one fight, imagine what he could learn within a few weeks. Despite melee combat being something that he's not too proficient it, he does have a few perks that stack and make learning it far easier. Remember, he became proficient with a blade in a month with Mason, and that was with him also working in the village most of the time. This adaptability extends mentally as well, as he spends a week learning the economy and then breaks it in just as much time. Sure, it may have been through bullshit potato science, but you get my point.
Overall, is Darius the ideal candidate? No, not at all. However, he shows the ability to make up for it and learn. You can teach skill, but not personality.
This has been A Doocent Henter, and I'm hoonting my way downtown.
