Grel'Slyfer: Here we are once more. Hopefully those who read this story are enjoying it. We enjoy writing it after all.
Argentum: Well technically just me since I'm the only one working on this.
Marus: True… but not quite relevant. But we do have one relevant thing to say before we begin today's story.
Argentum: That's right… finally came up with a name for my eyes. Though I was bored and made it a pun.
Grel'Slyfer: Yeah… the new name for the eyes is Lyb'Craeft.
Argentum: Which was taken from the old English words craeft and teagor. So feel free to look them up and find out what the pun is.
Grel'Slyfer: Leave your guesses in a review and we will get back to you on them in the next chapter.
Argentum: Also I would like to apologize for how long it took to make this chapter… honestly I just couldn't write this chapter for some reason. Just nothing I wrote felt good. In fact… it still doesn't feel right. In which case I also apologize for that as well.
Marus: Now with that out of the way how about we begin?
Argentum: Sure I'll do it this time. Ahem… We here at the dark guard productions own nothing but reality building concepts and OC's. Everything else belongs to their respective owners. Now without further ado…
Everyone: Here's the story!
Hello= Regular talk
Hello= Thoughts
[Hello]= Radio
(Hello)= Telepathy/Mind reading
Chapter Seven: How I began my training or… how my torture began but I slept with a cute girl
I honestly wasn't expecting my day to begin the way it did… I mean sure I knew I'd have to wake up early in order to meet with my new teachers. But I didn't expect them to change their plans so… drastically… honestly in hindsight I'm not too surprised by how I woke up that day.
"WAKE UP MAGGOT!" Jolting awake I unsheathed my dagger and parried a knife thrust. Thankfully the one who attacked me seemed to take his failed attack well. "HAH! Guess that's one less thing I need to teach ya!" Blinking I stared at him in confusion before my brain finally booted up.
"Darius? Is that you?" Darius simply nodded with a grin. "Just what in the halibut are you doing?! You could've killed me!" He simply grinned while sheathing his dagger.
"Hey just needed to see if you could handle an attack in your sleep. And you did surprisingly well, unlike Cassandra who wasn't able to react in time." I couldn't help but sigh as I put away my weapon.
That's when I registered what he said. "You didn't actually hurt her did you?"
He waved me off while heading towards my room door. "No I didn't hurt your lovely lady friend. But she still failed the first test." He then looked back at me while leaving my room. "Speaking of tests… you have fifteen minutes to get ready and arrive at the mansions gates. Good luck!~" My eyes widened as I jumped out of bed and started gathering my things. My clothes were unfortunately still rather damaged from yesterday. Although the self repair charms had done their job. Nodding I grabbed my equipment and started running. Along the way I saw Cassandra pulling on a boot as she hobbled out of her room.
Seeing how she needed some help I grabbed her shoulder. "Guessing you got the same message I got?" Cassandra only nodded before finally tugging the boot on. Letting go of her I started running again. We didn't have much to say seeing how we were both going top speed… well at least she was. I was kind of slowing down for her. I was must faster after all, if only thanks to my lighter armor and higher dex stat. But I didn't want to leave her behind so I kept pace with my elven friend. Thankfully we still managed to make it within the fifteen minute mark. Albeit with barely ten seconds to spare. Once there we were confronted by our new teachers. Although Marus looked at me a bit disappointed.
Though with a clap Garus was the first to speak up. "Excellent! The both of you made it just in time. Now then before we begin let's lay down some ground rules." Both I and Cassandra stood straight at attention at his words. "Now first rule no matter how far ahead of one of you gets in your training… you're not allowed to slow down to let the other catch up." He seemed to look at me at that one causing me to gulp a bit. "Second rule… you do what we say no matter what it is. Third rule… unless absolutely needed no picking fights with other adventurers." We nodded at that as he continued. "Rule four the both of you will live at the mansion from now on. Rule five you will only take quests we give you until we've finished your training. Finally rule number six… no complaining! It's as simple as that." I couldn't help but grin as I nodded at that last one.
Having said his piece Darius stepped forward. "Now for your training schedules…" We turned to him with determined looks. "We'll be rotating the both of you between the three of us each day. During the early hours of the morning, you'll both be with me for pure physical training. Mid-morning I'll be taking Smith for archery practice while Garus takes Cassandra for sword practice. In the afternoon I'll take Cassandra for battle awareness training while Marus takes Smith for his own sword training. Finally in the evening Garus will take you both out on a quest that tests what you've practiced during the day." Having said his piece he then grinned. "Speaking of early morning training… It begins now! Both of you have half an hour to run two hundred laps around the mansion!" Both of us simply blinked as he snapped his fingers. "Chop! Chop! Your time has already started.~"
Both our eyes widened as we began running. Although I went clockwise and Cassandra went counter-clockwise. Had actually almost run into one her the first time we made our way around the mansion. Around reaching the halfway mark, I had noticed that Cassandra was slowing down and was still only on her eightieth lap. I couldn't help but hesitate for a moment, well before remembering the rule of not slowing down my own training. Besides I may be faster but I'm pretty sure Cassandra is waay stronger than I am. Taking that to heart, and also deciding that Cassandra wouldn't want me to slow down for her I kept going. Along the way I saw Darius nod at me, as if he knew I had made a good decision.
Though confused on how he may have known what I did I kept going, deciding that it really didn't matter. Eventually I had made my laps around the twenty minute mark, while Cassandra kept on running. I felt kind of bad, especially since I was told to just sit down and wait. I think they're trying to use us against one another. It was a clever tactic I had to give them that, even if I didn't necessarily like it. Although it did seem to work for when my friend, because as she saw me sitting the princess redoubled her efforts.
Eventually the time was used up and Cassandra was now on her knees panting in frustration. I could only smile sadly seeing how she was only five laps short of the goal. Darius on the other hand could only smile as he clapped his hands.
"Well done the both of you, especially you Ms. Cassandra." We both looked at him in confusion at that. Especially Cassandra who tried refuting what he said.
"But I didn't make the final laps? No Michael was the one to finish it all!"
He shook his head at that. "Yes he did indeed finish… however I expected him to." We both looked at him in confusion as he kept grinning. "I understand there are differences in your abilities. However I knew you'd be motivated by his success! I knew you wouldn't be able to finish the laps, but I wanted to see exactly how far you could go." Her eyes widened in understanding as I nodded my head, now having my previous thoughts confirmed. However as he pulled out two large packs from behind the gate, I knew what the next test was going to be. "And now it's time for the strength portion of our physical training!" I grimaced as he threw a pack to Cassandra and then me.
I barely managed to catch it, gritting my teeth I lifted it up as I saw Cassandra also do so albeit with more ease. It was then we were both instructed on various strength exercises as we handled our bags. This time it was I who could barely keep up. In fact I was failing a fair bit of the challenges we were given. It was a struggle and although both of us were left steaming messes on the ground by the time it was over… I was the one now struggling to breathe. Thankfully Darius only seem to simply nod his head at my condition.
"Like I said the both of you have different abilities. Still you… Like Cassandra… did better than I thought you would. Although only a bit better unlike our elven maiden." I couldn't help but chuckle a bit at that. Grinning himself Darius once again clapped his hands. "With this I hereby conclude this early mornings training!" We both gave a small cheer at that as he continued. "Next up will be a hearty breakfast before we split you two up for individual training." Sighing in relief I saw Cassandra stand on shaky legs I tried to stand as well. Somehow managing to do so, I started limping my way after Darius who had already made his way inside the mansion.
Turning to Cassandra I decided to strike up a conversation. "So… feel as bad as I feel?"
She gave a small giggle before answering. "Probably… though I will admit this training will no doubt provide wondrous results." I nodded in agreement as we made it inside. Waiting for us was Darius who then led us towards the dining hall. As we approached I could smell the wondrous scent of eggs and bacon. I couldn't help but lick my lips at this. It was exactly the kind of energy food I needed right now.
Once at our destination Darius spoke up as we grabbed a seat at a fairly large oak table. "Now then… while today is an exception. For the most part the two of you will be cooking breakfast before training begins. We'll handle lunch and dinner, that way you two can get some afternoon rest and can focus on your lessons in the evening." The two of us nodded our heads as he continued. "In fact as part of your early morning exercises, we decided that the two of you would be purchasing our food. Of course we'll be imposing challenges to you as part of the trip. So don't think it'll be easy." He gave us a pointed look as the two of us voiced our understanding.
Darius smiled at that as Marus spoke up as he brought in breakfast. "Just remember that you'll be feeding five different individuals. For now just enjoy your first meal with us." Seeing the food he was placing down made me want to simply grab all of it. Thankfully I restrained myself as Marus and Garus sat down. "Alright! Time to dig in!" With the go ahead given I gave quick thanks for the food before beginning my gluttony. I was completely starving and didn't care how I looked like.
I mean… I just want to eat! Who can blame me?! As I ate I noticed something from the corner of my eye. It was Cassandra who seemed to have even more food than I did. Blinking I stopped eating to watch her devour plate after plate. In fact Garus, Marus, and Darius also stopped to just watch. It was both fascinating and horrifying to watch. Fascinating because she was still eating like a delicate and proper princess… but horrifying because of how quick she was eating. Huh… why can't I stop watching?
After a couple of minutes she stopped to look at us. "What?" We quickly said nothing and went back to eating our own meals. Although us four guys were now rather subdued in our speed. Cassandra on the other hand simply blinked before going back to eating. With that I could honestly think that we would need enough food for an entire army… If only to keep our elven princess properly fed…
Behold the devourer of delicious meals! The majestic elven Line break!
It was now time for my archery training with Darius… and it was way more aggravating than I thought it'd be. We were back at the range and Darius was having me shoot at the farthest targets. However every time was about to shoot Darius interrupted my concentration.
"NO! You need to aim a bit higher! The wind is going to come in you know!" It was like that every step of the way, in fact so far I'd only fired off two arrows in the twenty minutes that we've been here. My nerves were sizzling, yet I dared not complain about his instruction. It was one of the rules after all. Pulling back again he stopped me once more. "NO! Now you need to aim lower!" Gritting my teeth I let the arrow fly after a quick adjustment. But like the other times I wasn't able to hit my target. He sighed before speaking once more. "That needed to be a bit more to the right."
Closing my eyes I took a few deep breaths before turning to him. "Alright… can I ask you a question?" He simply nodded his head. "Well… I know you said I needed to take everything in before firing. However… you never really told me how to read the wind… or really any other obstacles before we started. Would it be alright if we started with any tips on those things?"
He rubbed his chin before nodding. "That would probably be a good start." He then paused for a moment before continuing. "Okay a good start would be to start out aiming with your eyes, but then begin feeling. And by feeling I mean that you need to feel out the wind, how taut the bow string is, and the way the arrow is slightly twisting as you aim it. After a while these things just become second nature. Now give it a go." Nodding my head I did as he suggested. Thankfully he was patient with me this time and after a minute I let loose the arrow. The arrow was still off the mark; however I got closer than any of my previous shots.
Nodding my head I made a small comment. "Honestly I'll take that small improvement over nothing." Darius laughed and slapped me hard on the back causing me to hiss.
"I suppose that's fair enough. Thankfully all you really need now is more and even more Practice!" I sighed but nodded my head at that, after all unlike swordsmanship. Archery wasn't dependent on sparring… no you got better by simply shooting the bow. Sure a tutor could correct your stance and teach you a few tricks. Real skill was developed simply by the individual. Laughing Darius spoke up again. "Whelp! Don't worry about not having anything interesting happening! Cause from this point on I'll be giving you challenges to complete!" My eyes bulged as he continued. "Speaking of which… At the farthest target you have ten minutes to fire as accurately as possible… twenty arrows at it! Your time starts now!"
I only hesitated for five precious seconds, after that I started firing as best as I could. I really should have seen this coming… Suffice to say I didn't hit the target once during my archery training this day.
Behold the devourer of delicious meals! The majestic elven Line break!
My training with Darius had concluded shortly after he started giving me challenges. Now it was the afternoon and I was beginning my training with Marus. Suffice to say that the training… was painful…
"AGAIN!" Gritting my teeth I charged into battle once again… Only to yell out in pain as Marus once more smacked my wrist. Backing up I glared at his wooden sword. The thirty eight inch blade was taunting me. Gaining an almost feral look on my face I charged in once more. I struck a couple of times and redirected a few blows. Yet like what had been happening for the last hour, my sword was knocked out of my hands with a quick strike to the back of them. Letting go I quickly shook my hands from the pain. Noticing just how bruised and red they were, eventually the pain subsided but my hands kept shaking.
Noticing my hands Marus sighed before speaking up. "Alright we'll take a small break before starting up again." As I nodded gratefully he continued. "Now then let's talk about your rather poor performance." At my grimace he laughed. "Hahaha! Don't make such a face it doesn't suit you!" He then looked at me seriously. "Alright first off I can tell that despite having some aptitude for fighting, you've never have truly used a sword against an actual person. You've never had to fight skill to skill before and that isn't your fault. No you were an archer not a swordsman." At his words I couldn't help but nod and bring something else up.
"While that is true… I also wasn't that much of an archer before becoming an adventurer. And while I did study some hand to hand, they were more or less hobbies of mine."
Marus hummed in acknowledgement before continuing. "An understandable situation… Now let me tell you a major flaw you have going on with you right now." I nodded as he went on. "You see a mistake you're constantly making is that you keep trying to block with the tsuba or guard. Now while that might work with a crossguard. A tsuba is too small for that sort of thing." I was about to ask what it was there for then, but was cut off by Marus holding a hand up to keep my quiet. "Now don't misunderstand me. It is there to keep swords from cutting off your fingers, and also to stop your hands from riding up onto the blade. However your issue is that you're making it obvious that you're trying to block with it. So I can just simply adjust the cut of my blade and hit your hands. What you should be doing is using the blade itself, while you obviously shouldn't just block with the edge. You can use the blades curve to your advantage."
Seeing my confused look Marus smirked before showing me a variety of different blocks. He then demonstrated a number of counters one could follow up with. It was… not what I had expected. For while I had guessed a few of the stances he was demonstrating, I couldn't even imagine most of the different guards and parries.
Looking at my stunned face Marus laughed before speaking once more. "Haha… alright… understand this, a battle between swordsmen is like a chess game. One must always keep in mind how one attack could be countered or blocked. Feints, lunges, slashes, or even simply moving a leg back could be the key to victory. Above all else… don't let your guard drop, be swift in all your movements, and always be precise." He then smirked at me. "And! If you do all these things… you might just survive long enough for all of this to become instinctual." I could only nod with determination as he pointed his sword at me again. "Alright! Break time is over! Have at you!"
With a surprise lunge he attacked me once again. As my eyes widened I was barely able to bring my sword up to shift his blade up. Even then his attack had grazed my cheek. Ignoring the light throb of pain I pushed his blade away before striking at his head. Using one of the blocks he had just showed, Darius deflected my strike away from his body. Seeing his counter coming I jumped back, his own strike barely missing me. As we looked at one another Marus simply nodded as he rushed me once more. Raising my weapon up I made sure to keep it in front of my body to try and drive off his assault.
I simply couldn't do it, though I had taken his advice to heart. My body simply wasn't used to moving like this. Fortunately I was able to keep Marus from hitting my hands this time… Unfortunately he struck at any exposed part of my body. My shoulder, my legs, my sides, and even my arms… I just simply couldn't keep up. Marus really wasn't taking it easy on me, and I was soon covered in welts and bruises. After one final failed slash from myself, Marus spun to the side and brought his weapon up. Striking my chin and sending me onto my back. My jaw was broken and I quickly held it as I used a healing spell.
YEESH! If I was still a normal human I would've been knocked completely out! It was both a reminder of just how far I had come… while also reminding me of just how far I have to go. Looking down at me Marus simply nodded his head while holding his hand out to me. Smiling I took it as I stood up. "So… How was that?"
He smirked before patting me on the shoulder. "It was better. But you still have a long ways to go my student." Hearing that I laughed, not even refuting his words. He seemed to like my attitude if his own grin was anything to go on. Looking down he then picked up my weapon and tossed it to me. "Alright… Again!" He attacked me as soon as I caught my bokken. Surprised I wasn't able to block his strike to my shoulder. Gritting my teeth I hit his wooden blade away before attacking.
The results were just like before, but on the plus side I knew that I was improving. I just wished that I didn't have another hour of this!
Behold the devourer of delicious meals! The majestic elven Line break!
It was finally the end of the day and we were now in front of the guild hall with Garus. Looking at my elven friend, I could see that like myself Cassandra was covered in welts and bruises. Though unlike me she had a black eye that I couldn't help but wince at. Normally I would've healed all of our injuries but… Well our teachers said we'd get stronger by letting everything heal naturally. They also said it was a reminder to get better so we didn't get as many injuries next time. So in other words… so we didn't get as injured every day. Honestly while I understood what they were getting at… it still annoyed me.
Seeing our conditions Garus nodded before speaking to us. "Alright seems as if the two of you have continued being productive. Now for the last bit of training for today…" He trailed off as he brought out a request. "For our quest today we'll be dealing with a lesser Leshen" I couldn't help but squint at the creature depicted on the request. I really didn't know what to make of the elk skull wearing monstrosity. Its mossy and moldy fur clothes did nothing to hide its mossy proportions. It was the first time I have seen a leshen, let alone a picture of one. Garus must've seen my confusion for he spoke up again. "Leshen are woodland guardians, though their more demonic then their ent counterparts. This one in particular has been purposely luring travelers deep into its domain to feed on them."
Cassandra growled at that. "Such creatures must be exterminated then." Garus shook his head at that.
"While it may be true that Leshen are dangerous creatures. They are still forest guardians. In fact they have some relation to the fey. But I will agree that this one must be stopped before it kills anyone else." We nodded at that as we than began to head out. As we hiked to our destination Garus told us more of the fey creature. "Now be warned since you are going against a guardian of nature, you should know that they are masters of nature magic. Even lesser Leshen have been known to crush adventurers in a cocoon of roots. This one in particular has been noted to also use life drain through it wood magic." I couldn't help but perk up at that.
Hmm… nature magic huh? Sounds like an interesting magic to copy for myself. I couldn't help but smirk and instinctively activate my now named Lyb'Craeft eyes. Currently I could keep my eyes activated for seventeen seconds. Still not enough for what I wanted but I was getting closer. In fact they've been easier to use with my increased levels. Though practice still helped immensely. Turning them off I turned to Garus.
"So since this is still part of our training what is it that you want us to do?"
At my question Cassandra slightly tilted her head towards him as Garus explained. "Heh now that's a good question! Well… to put it simply I want to the two of you to fight it with purely physical skills." He then turned to me. "Though if you want to you can copy its magic, you just can't use it in the fight. After all despite what you said about being able to copy all kinds of magic. Right now we are purely training your physical bodies." I wasn't too surprised that he remembered what I said to Luna the other day. So I just nodded my head in understanding. Honestly I was just glad that he'd let me do my thing. With that out of the way, for the rest of our walk we spent our time discussing the Leshen's strengths and weaknesses.
Eventually we arrived at the forest where our foe was residing. It was almost night by then and the dim light only made the forest seem alive. Honestly it was kind of scary… taking a few deep breaths I turned to Garus who was simply looking at us both.
"So… do we just go in and try to not die?" Garus chuckled before nodding, not even saying anything as he gestured for us to go in. "Okay then… Cassandra let's go." My elf princess simply nodded before we walked inside the tree line. Immediately I could tell that there was something very unnatural in this forest. So much so that I faltered in my steps and activated my Lyb'Craeft. I could see numbers going haywire all around me. Narrowing my eyes I was able to tell that we had just entered a domain spell. In layman's terms… the entire forest was basically a part of the Leshen. Taking a deep breath I continued forward, doing what I could to understand the magic being used.
It would be quite useful later on, especially if I could use it to create powerful traps. Next to me I could tell that Cassandra was a bit on edge as well, but was actually handling it better than myself. I couldn't help but smirk at how much braver she was than myself.
Turning back to the task at hand I stopped and narrowed my eyes at an elk. It was looking directly at the both of us, however what unnerved me were its glowing amber eyes. That's when we heard a sound that still chills me to my bones. The noise sounded like a child's voice, however there was something very off about it. Not only could I not tell its gender but it also sounded very inhuman. After looking around and pulling out my bow I turned towards the elk. Turning on my eyes I noticed how the elk was the source of the noise. Something I didn't notice before seeing how the sound came from all around us. But looking at it I saw its mouth move as the noise grew louder. Bumping into my side I saw how Cassandra was breathing a bit heavily.
That for some reason angered me more than anything else. So taking out an arrow I quickly shot the elk in the head. The sound that followed made my ears bleed, the elk screeched with a sound so unnatural that it even hurt my eyes. Next to me Cassandra dropped to her knees and threw her helmet off before covering her ears. Gritting my teeth I turned back to the elk only to have my eyes widen. For in a rather grotesque display, the elk had twisted its body and began turning into the leshen we were sent to hunt. Regretting it almost immediately I let go of my ears and shot another arrow at the monster. Quick as lightning the leshen threw a human skull at the arrow. The creature now only having twenty around its waist. No doubt the skulls were collected from its victims.
Gritting my teeth I put away my bow and brought out my sword. Sparing a look at Cassandra I frowned at her condition. Blood was coming from her ears and out between her fingers. She was quite out of it, not that I could blame her. Elves did have a much stronger sense of hearing than humans. Looking back towards my opponent I decided to buy my companion some time to recover. So taking a deep breath I rushed the leshen. It noticed my charge and brought up its wooden claws and blocked my first cut. My tachi bit into its left hand but didn't cut all the way through.
I tsked before unleashing a flurry of cuts, stabs, and slashes against the leshen. Unfortunately not only was it tough but it was also fast enough to keep up with me. Pushing me away it made a sort of crow noise, that's when a murder of large crows came and attacked me. Gritting my teeth I quickly cut them down as I turned towards the leshen. Its hand was glowing green, using my Lyb'Craeft I saw what it was doing and jumped back. I almost didn't make it as large roots erupted from the ground. They were covered in thorns and moved quickly as they shot towards me.
Narrowing my eyes I started cutting as fast as I could, root after root met my blade but more kept coming. As I was overwhelmed a number of roots started coiling around me, trapping myself in a cocoon of roots and branches. When my vision was completely blocked that's when I felt and saw it. The roots glowed an ominous red and started draining me of both life and magic energy. Gritting my teeth as I felt my strength leave me I fought as hard as I could. But I didn't quite yet have the strength to break free. Thankfully as my eyes began to become heavy, I heard a yell of strength and another screech as the roots dropped me. Breathing heavily I looked up to see Cassandra attacking the Leshen.
Grinning I sheathed my blade and got out my bow, aiming at our enemy I let loose an arrow. As the monster screamed in pain as the arrow hit a shoulder. Cassandra taking advantage of this used her superior strength to cut off its left arm. The sound it made was worse than anything before, however this time Cassandra didn't even flinch. Only attacking with my ferocity, this made me grimace seeing how the noise from before had probably burst her eardrums. Getting up I put away my bow and unsheathed my sword. Rushing forward I joined my elven friend in the assault. We attacked as one unit driving the Leshen back.
However our attack was cut short as it screeched at us, and using the sound waves it created pushed us back. At this point even my ears wouldn't be able to take more abuse. Quickly standing up I helped Cassandra do the same as the Leshen raised its remaining hand. Suddenly the forest seemed to come alive as all the trees seemed to attack us. Doing what I could I started cutting through branches and roots.
It was a repeat from before; although this time I had Cassandra to help me out. Looking over to her I couldn't help but blink as she easily cut through everything. What's more she was one handing her longsword as her new shield blocked that which she didn't cut. Looking at her I could tell she still wasn't quite so used to the shield. However her strength was more than enough for the task at hand. It made me grin as I used my speed to cover the rest of her openings. Eventually there was nothing left around us but we were tired. Tired not only from the assault but also from our earlier training. It had also made me realize just what our trainers were trying to do with us.
They plan to completely break us down and build us back up. Pushing us to the very brink of death itself! Ordinarily I'd be impressed with such a plan. However in my current situation it just annoyed me. Jeez… can they not send us against creatures this powerful as we literally start training!? Shaking my head I saw how our foe seemed to be struggling. No doubt it had used most of its power in its most recent assault. Grinning I stepped forward only for my vision to swim. Falling to my knees I felt something around my ankle. Looking at it I cursed as I saw a red glowing vine draining me of my strength. Cutting it I tried to stand up but fell again.
The blasted thing had drained me of whatever I had left. Seeing my condition Cassandra looked between me and the Leshen that seemed a little better now. Shaking her head my elf friend did something that I really didn't expect. She picked me up and threw me into the air, she then charged the Leshen. Seeing where she was going with this I twisted my body around, and as I fell towards our foe I struck out as Cassandra distracted it.
As I cut it in half Cassandra decapitated its still screaming head. I then fell hard onto the ground… groaning in a tired mess. Seeing me Cassandra smiled before falling next to me. She wasn't nearly as tired since she didn't have any energy drained from her. But I figured she deserved a bit of a break as well. Looking up I couldn't even see the stars, the trees blocking out all light.
As I looked I heard a quiet voice next to me. "THAT WAS A TRUE CHALLENGE WAS IT NOT?!" I looked over to Cassandra before speaking.
"YEAH IT DEFINITELY WAS!" She looked at me confused for a moment.
"WHAT?!" Blinking it was then that I remembered that I was still partially deaf and she was completely deaf. Chuckling I sat up while gesturing her to do the same. As Cassandra did so I cupped her ears and used what I had left to heal her eardrums. Once healed I collapsed again, at my plight Cassandra laughed before picking me up. "Thanks for that." I only gave her a thumbs up as she put me over her shoulder. I was completely out of energy and was forced to swallow my pride. As we met up with Garus he only laughed as he saw my situation.
"HAHA! Seems you youngsters had a rough time in there eh? But seeing how I can't feel the Leshen's corruptive influence anymore I assume you dealt with it?"
Cassandra nodded before replying. "We have indeed; it was a challenge and even made me deaf for a while. But the both of us have triumphed!" Garus blinked for a moment before slapping his face.
"Oh dang it! I am so sorry! I completely forgot about your heightened hearing!" Even though I couldn't see it I knew Cassandra was giving him the evil eye for that. "Hehehe… well… all's well that ends well! Come let us head back for that juicy hundred K reward!" I only heard a portion of what he had said, but I heard enough to know that we were heading back.
Going over the day's events I couldn't help but inwardly groan. Ugh… today sucked…
Behold the devourer of delicious meals! The majestic elven Line break!
After making it back to the guild and turning in the quest. We went straight to dinner where this time I almost ate as much as my elven princess. I was starving from having my life force nearly sucked out of me. As we ate Marus asked us how we felt about fighting our first Leshen.
We answered as one unit. ""I hated it."" That got them all to laugh and say that was the general reaction to those creatures. In fact they even laughed about how most newbies even had nightmares afterwards. Both me and Cassandra looked at each other and sighed at that. It was just what we needed… after all… what's not to like about having more nightmares thrown on top of the ones we already suffered from? Ah… sarcastic comment is quite sarcastic. After dinner we were led towards the two different baths and cleaned ourselves up. Once free from both grime and blood Darius led us towards our rooms.
Pointing to two rooms next to each other he spoke. "Alright the one on the left is for our fair lady, and the one on the right is for Mr. Smith. Now the both of you get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow will be even more hard training!" As he left I turned to Cassandra and shrugged before entering my room. Looking around I couldn't help but let my left eye twitch. Because now inside it I could see some parts of the floor damaged. I then remembered this was the room I met that crazy axe wielding demon in.
Oh the irony… Shaking my head I went over to where my trainers had left my stuff. Seems as if they grabbed our stuff from the guild hall dorms. Getting dressed in a white shirt and black pants I went over and simply plopped myself down on the large bed. Sighing I went over the day's events, it was Tiring with a capital T. I can quite honestly say the only time I've felt this exhausted was when we ran from Nel'Ren. Just simply remembering my greatest enemy made me grit my teeth in anger. Shaking my head I was about to try and fall asleep when I heard a knock at the door. Blinking I jumped up and walked over to it, opening it I couldn't help but blink in surprise as I saw Cassandra standing behind it. Her hair was upbraided and she was in a white dress.
Being polite I quickly spoke. "Oh is there anything that you need?" Cassandra nodded but as she spoke, she did so with a blush while looking down at her feet.
"Umm… you know when they said that most "newbies" would have nightmares after fighting a Leshen?" Seeing how she wasn't looking at me I said yes as the princess continued. "Well… while I don't want to sound like a coward I was hoping I could sleep with you like we did in the dungeon… If only for the night so the nightmares won't be as bad… if you wouldn't mind that is…" Her voice trailed off a bit at the end but I couldn't help but smile lightly.
Patting her head I spoke up. "Honestly… that sounds like a good idea; also I don't think you sound cowardly at all." She looked at me smiling as I stepped back inside.
That's when she noticed the damaged floor. "Oh… what happened there?" Looking over I sighed before telling her, this got Cassandra to giggle a bit before commenting. "Well you weren't harmed by it so that is all I care about." I gave a small heh at that before we both moved over to the bed and lied down. We both then sighed as my companion spoke up again. "Today was truly a challenge."
I nodded my head at that. "Yeah… but I at least went up a level." She looked at me curiously at that.
"Say… what is your level anyways? Don't think we ever talked about such things before."
I hummed in acknowledgement before answering. "I'm actually at level fifty now. How about yourself?" She grinned before answering.
"I'm actually at level fifty seven! So I guess that means your level is a bit behind mine." I gave a small humorous chuckle of agreement at that before she continued. "Hmm… speaking of numbers… I also believe we've never talked about how old we are. I turned seventeen three months ago. How about yourself?"
I thought for a moment at that. "Actually… I turned sixteen last month. Completely forgot about it with everything going on." As she nodded I sighed and continued. "Honestly it feels like yesterday that I was just going to school and trying my best to pass all my classes. But in my head I know it has been more than an entire year. Time sure does fly by…" As I trailed off Cassandra hugged my side as I unconsciously put my arm around her.
"I can sympathize… there are days where I wake up and think everything that has happened has just been a dream. But then I look around and realize that it was all real. I… I miss my family…" I couldn't help but hold her closer at that.
Thinking about my own family I couldn't help but agree. "I understand completely." As she nodded and buried her face into my side I simply let her cry a bit. Eventually I heard her breathing lighten and I couldn't help but smile at that. "Goodnight princess." Closing my eyes I then let sleep take me as well.
Behold the devourer of delicious meals! The majestic elven Line break!
Argentum: YES! Finally done! I truly hope all of you can at least marginally enjoy this chapter!
Grel'Slyfer: Oh I think they'll like it mostly for the fluff there at the end.
Shadow: Oh yeah… so plan on getting together with a beautiful elf girl?
Argentum: Maybe… Maybe not all of you will just have to wait and see.
Cassandra: I mostly see it as two traumatized individuals giving one another comfort. I mean we did the same with Chris.
Grel'Slyfer: True… alright amending Shadow's question. Planning on getting together with a cute thief and a beautiful elf princess?
Argentum: Ugh… I'm not saying anything. In fact I think this has gone on long enough. Cassandra mind ending this off?
Cassandra: Of course snuggle friend. This has been a Dark Guard production now signing off.
Everyone: Goodbye!
Argentum: Oh yeah… if any of you are curious go ahead and leave a review on whether or not you want me to show my younger self's stats.
Shadow: Oh and I personally suggest looking up what a Leshen is. While you might find a different version than what we found it is still fascinating.