Greetings, dear readers. Welcome to the newest chapter of Gamer Emblem Awakening.
As those who have written at least somewhat extensive reviews of the last chapter may have noticed, I have chosen to reply to those reviews individually via PMs directly on the site instead of answering them when I write a chapter. I mainly have two reasons for this choice.
First, it's easier to respond to the reviews this way, as I can address each one individually instead of lumping all the responses together.
Second, it lets me communicate with my readers in a more direct and efficient manner, which is honestly something I should've gone for from the start. Sadly, it was only recently I discovered that you can actually do this.
As a consequence, I will only respond to reviews if the reviewer has an account on the site. On the plus side, I can address any questions you may have regarding this fic, on the condition that I don't fear risking any spoilers if I do answer them. General rule of thumb: If my answer is vague, it contains spoilers.
So I recently completed Bravely Default – both endings – and all in all, it was a great experience. An innovative combat system, superb soundtracks, a really cool detail embedded in the final boss battle, this game has a lot going for it. On the other hand, it also has its flaws (as does just about every game).
Not only that, but I recently got started on the sequel, Bravely Second. The core mechanics are still there, and many things have been polished or just plain improved. Among the aspects are the characters and their interactions with one another. Yew and Magnolia are just adorable together, and the new asterisk holders are practically overflowing with personality. It also helps that the conversations contain a lot more humor than the first one, making it easier – at least for me – to get more engaged in each character.
While I have yet to unravel the full story in that game, I already find myself engaged in completing it, if for no other reason than to find out what Kaiser Oblivion's deal is and why he just HAD TO crash the peace conference after everything that had been done to ensure peace.
But enough about my latest videogame ventures. Enjoy the chapter!
Copyright disclaimer: I only own the plot of this fic. For a full copyright disclaimer, please read chapter 1.
Head-on is how I live. – Kjelle
Chapter 21
It's time to duel!
Straight chivalry meets twisted trickery!
"Hah!"
Nah flips into the air and brings down her flame covered leg in a burning axe kick. I reinforce my own leg and send my own kick to meet hers. The collision results in a small shockwave that sends the dust around us flying. Nah and I hold our positions for a split-second before gravity makes itself known again as Nah begins to descend. I break out of the lock and spin up for a snap kick. Nah catches my foot and swings around it like a monkey before she comes up and aims a kick at my head. I lean backwards and thus only feel the draft from her swing. I use my backwards momentum to flip back and get Nah off my leg. We quickly separate and get back in our combat stances.
Nah and I circle each other slowly, neither showing any openings. Good. She's disciplined, despite her fierce fighting style.
I tense my legs, and Nah follows suit right after. We rush each other and clash with our forearms locking against each other. I'm impressed by her strength. She managed to stop me, even though she's about as small as Nowi. Though my musings are cut short as Nah grabs hold of my arm, leans into my guard and opens her mouth. I see an azure glow build up in the back of her throat. Thinking fast, I slam a palm strike on her chin. The sudden impact shuts her mouth and sends her head back. A miniature explosion rocks the half-manakete's head before she loses her grip on my arm and stumbles backwards with a hand on her head and her face showing pain as smoke escapes her mouth and nostrils.
"Oww… Now I know how wyverns feel when you clog the only exit for their fire breaths." Nah groans as she struggles to regain her balance.
I ease out of my fighting stance. "Had enough for now, Nah? That looked like it hurt."
Nah shakes her head and gets back in her fighting stance with a determined glare. "Not before I pay you back for that stunt you just pulled, Uncle Jack! Do you have any idea how it feels having a blast of dragon fire trapped in your mouth?"
I shrug and get back in my own stance. "You're telling me. Unlike you, I can't breathe any flames."
Nah rushes at me with renewed vigor. "It hurts like crazy!"
I time the moment we clash and send a sweep kick at Nah's feet. As I predicted, she leaps over me. So I lean down and transition into a hook kick aimed upwards where Nah will be.
Except my kick only hits air.
I have half a second to blink in bemusement before my instincts scream at me to get back. I flip backwards, and Nah crashes into the ground with a burning fist one moment later. As I get back up, I notice a pair of dragon wings on her back that shimmer out of existence.
I raise an eyebrow. "Huh. Neat trick. Didn't know you could do a partial transformation into a dragon."
Nah smiles at me proudly. "Cool, right? I figured that out on my own when I realized I draw power from my dragonstone – which both Mother and I can use to transform into dragons in the first place. The only problem was that it took a lot of practice to get the transformation right."
I nod in approval. "That's a useful skill, especially considering how a dragon's body works." I coat my arms in wind magic, even though I know this'll put me at an elemental disadvantage. "Ready to take it up a notch, Nah?"
Nah sets her own fists ablaze with an excited smile. "You bet I am, Uncle Jack!"
Our battle cries ring out as we charge in for one more clash.
*Boom!*
We stand stock-still, fist meeting fist in the center of a charred and barren circle on the ground. We glare at each other, both of us still pushing back.
Then we both ease up on the pressure and sigh in relief.
"Good. Very good." I remark. "I can tell you've trained hard, Nah. That wasn't just brute force and dragon fire you were throwing around. You've honed your skills and moves well."
Nah beams at me happily. "I'm so happy to hear you say that, Uncle Jack. I trained until I dropped to become this strong."
I scratch my head. "That's another thing I've been wondering ever since you joined up. What's with this whole "uncle" thing?"
Nah tilts her head quizically. "Isn't that obvious? My mother kept saying that you're the brother she never had while she grew up, so I just assumed that you're part of the family."
"And it never occurred to you that I'm not a manakete, unlike you two?"
Nah shrugs. "Not really. I mean, Father's a human too, and Mother had no problems marrying him. I've never thought it strange. Besides, so what if we're not related by blood? What matters is how much we care for each other. You're the one who taught me that, Uncle Jack."
Huh. Here I am, listening to my sort-of niece basically destroy everything that all the talk about "pure blood" stands for, and she makes it sound natural. She's been raised well, both by her parents and, apparently, future-me.
I shake my head and smile. "Can't argue with that, especially since I'm technically the one who said it. And, honestly? I'd be thrilled to consider you family as well, Nah." I wave her to me. "Come here."
Nah walks over with a curious expression.
When she gets close enough, I wrap her in a hug. "This is actually the first time I meet you, but it's good to see you, Nah. I'm glad you're here."
I hear Nah sniff before she returns the hug. "I've missed you so much, Uncle Jack. You always brightened up our family. You were always there for my birthdays. You inspired me to become strong, so I could protect my family and friends. And when you died, I… I was heartbroken."
I rub Nah on the head gently. "It must've been so hard for you, losing your entire family. But that's what we're working to prevent. This time, we'll fight together."
Nah pulls back and nods determined, even with tear streaks still on her face. "You're right. I'm finally strong enough to protect those I care for. And I'll do everything in my power to do just that. That includes you, Uncle Jack."
I chuckle. "Hey, that's my line. There's no way I'll let you kick the bucket before me."
"Don't say that! I already lost you once! I don't want it to happen again!"
"Oh… Sorry."
Nah sighs. "Don't mind. I just…needed to get that off my chest. Gods, I've been wanting to say that for so long."
I nod. "Well, there's no need for you to hold anything back any longer. Your family's here, and while I can't speak for your parents, I'll always have time for you, Nah. Just let me know, and I'll hear you out, no matter what it is."
Nah smiles and nods. "Thank you, Uncle Jack." Then she glances at my hand. "By the way, will you be okay? That burn looks nasty."
I look at my right hand. It's covered in burn marks from our final clash.
"Eh, I'll be fine." I assure the half-manakete.
"You sure we don't need a healer to look at it?"
"No need to worry, Nah. I'm good."
Nah looks at my hand skeptically for a few more moments before she nods. "Well, whatever you say. I'll go see what Mother wanted to talk to me about. See you later, Uncle Jack."
I wave at Nah as she leaves. "Take care, Nah. Remember, I'll always have time for you."
Your relationship with Nah has improved!
I wait until Nah is out of earshot. The moment I feel I'm in the clear, I grasp my right hand and wince. Good Ashera, that hurt! That's what I get for using wind against a fire user. But elemental disadvantage aside, Nah hits hard! Maybe I should have Anna look it up, just in case…
Rose nods as she reads through the book in her hands.
"All right, Gregor. The broth needs to boil for about another minute. That's when you add the potatoes and spices, and the rest should finish on its own just in time for dinner."
Gregor nods and gets back to chopping potatoes. Considering our future children have joined the group, it only made sense to let them join in on various tasks alongside the rest of us. Sure, it took some time to work out a new schedule, but better that than be lax on the planning and imply lazy favoritism. Hence, the current situation with Rose guiding Gregor through the cooking of today's dinner through a cookbook that just so happens to hang off her book skirt. From what I could gather, every book on Rose's book skirt is actually multi-purpose for the sake of versatility, which is why every single book is so thick.
Rose laments that she herself hasn't become thicc, but I digress.
Half an hour later, Gregor hits a ladle against a frying pan, signaling for everyone that dinner is ready. We're soon all seated around the campfire with our bowls filled with stew.
Yeah, turns out stew is among the easiest healthy meals to cook while out on the field. Repetitive? Yes, but redundancy has to be accepted for the sake of efficiency. That's army life for you. Of course, the situation would be different if we had a professional cook with their very own cooking tent and ingredient storage, but that's reserved for much larger military units.
Nah is the first to place down her bowl after three full servings. The half-manakete pats her stomach with a satisfied sigh. "Phew. It's been a while since I had a proper meal. That was great."
Donnel frowns at his daughter's words. "How long's a while, Nah? Yer still growin' right? Not eatin' properly could be bad for ya."
Nah shakes her head. "Well, between fighting against murderous corpses every day and trying to scrape by with what we could get our hands on, eating properly was quite far away from our minds. I'm amazed that we found food so frequently before we went back in time, small though our meals were."
Noire nods. "It's true. We were often hungry, but we never starved. I guess we have Laurent to thank for that. How he managed to ration what food we could find into enough meals to at least have us keep going, I'll never understand."
Rose shrugs. "He's got a galaxy brain, minimum. There's a reason he was one of Lucina's two top tacticians as well as our second-in-command."
I raise an eyebrow. "Huh. Guess some praise is in order the next time I see my intellectual student. By the way, Rose, who's the second tactician?"
Rose gives me a knowing smile. "Oh, I think you'll meet him soon enough, Dad. Honestly, you should already know who it is by this point. You married Mom, for crying out loud. It doesn't get more obvious than that."
…
Oh… Yeah, I see where she's going with that. Really should've seen that one coming.
"Say… Can I eat the campfire too?" Nah asks tentatively.
The others in my generation look at the half-manakete like she grew a second head.
Vaike scratches his head. "Uh… Why the heck would you even want to do that, kiddo? You'd just, you know, burn yourself if you chewed the firewood."
Nah shakes her head. "No, not the firewood. The fire."
Nowi drops her fist on her open palm. "Oh yeah, that's right. You ate that fire spell back during our last battle." Nowi gives her daughter a bright smile. "That was so cool! Can you teach me how to do that, Nah?"
Nah rubs her chin. "I'm not sure. Uncle Jack's the one who taught me. Well, technically speaking at least. I kinda just went with what he said."
Nowi gives me an expectant look.
I really hate what I'm about to do.
"Sorry, Nowi. I have no idea how future-me even managed to figure that one out in the first place. I kind of know how it works, but I have no idea how to teach it."
Nowi slumps forward with a dark cloud hanging over her head. Donnel does his best to comfort his wife while the rest of us try our best to pretend one of our most innocent(?) companions isn't suffering from a temporary depression. Come on, Nowi, stop guilt tripping me with your cuteness!
Gregor shakes his head. "Eat campfire not good idea. Fire important for keeping wild animals away. So eating fire bad, yes?"
Nah's own mood deflates, though thankfully to a moderate extent compared to her mother. "Oh. No, I understand. I… I'll manage."
"Hey, just because you can't eat the campfire doesn't mean you can't have a snack." Rose tells her and reaches behind her back. Out of nowhere, she picks up a small log, big enough to make for good firewood.
As Nah notices the log, she gets starry-eyed. "Is that…applewood?"
Rose nods smiling. She snaps her fingers and lights a flame on the apple wood stick. Then she hands it over to Nah. "Make sure to eat the fire slowly, Nah, or you'll put it out."
Nah accepts the burning log with all the reverence befitting a sacred artifact, complete with trembling hands and eyes wide in awe. She slowly brings the burning end of the log to her mouth and nibbles on the tip.
Nah's expression turns into one of pure ecstasy. "Shhooo gooood~~…"
I'd probably suffer a heart attack from the cuteness overload if it wasn't for the burning log. The fact that my sort-of niece is completely fine with a burning piece of wood in her face just looks weird. Dragon slayers, I tell you…
"Hey, I just thought of something." Gaius brings up. We (minus Nah, who's off in her own little world) turn to the Assassin, silently asking him to elaborate.
Gaius points his spoon at Nah. "That kid's kinda special, don'tcha think?"
Anna rubs her chin. "Special how? And aren't normally her parents the first ones to say something like that?"
Gaius shrugs. "Maybe they are, maybe they're not. But my point is, Nah gives me the creeps."
Donnel gives Gaius a mild glare. "Now wait jus' a second, Gaius. My daughter sure ain't normal, but callin' her creepy's takin' it too far. Yer kid's not normal either, but ya don't hear me raisin' a fuss over it. Er, no offense, Noire."
Gaius waves a hand in front of him. "Whoa, cool it, Curls. That wasn't what I meant. I mean, just think for a second. Nah's the child of Nowi and you. That means she's half dragon and half whatever made you go from a scrawny farm boy, to chopping a stone pillar in half. And she was trained by Buttercup."
The others freeze up and go wide-eyed before they slowly turn their heads back to Nah, who's hugging her piece of burning applewood while slowly savoring the flames with a blissful smile.
"D-mn…" Sully breathes out.
"Little girl actually scary little girl, no?" Gregor adds for confirmation.
Gaius nods. "Exactly my point. Up until now, we've all seen instances of what happens when Buttercup takes someone under his wing for a few years. Every single one of our future kids have some ability or other that's about as crazy as Buttercup himself."
"Hey!" I protest indignant.
"But Nah?" Gaius continues unperturbed and hikes a thumb at the half-manakete. "She's a dragon who probably inherited whatever made Curls freakishly strong in just two years. And I wouldn't put past Buttercup's future self to make use of every bit of it." The Assassin pops a new bonbon in his mouth. "Well, we've already seen what this kid's capable of. Girl's a monster. No, not in that way, Nowi! Put that axe down! What I meant was that Nah's so strong, it's scary."
Nowi blinks before she puts down Donnel's axe (When did she retrieve it from the arm's tent – on the other side of camp?). "Oh." is all she says.
Gaius breathes a small sigh of relief before he clears his throat and turns back to me. "Bottom line, you created something terrifying, Buttercup. Please tell me that's the craziest you're doing with our future kids?"
I shrug. "Heck if I know, Gaius. I mean, I can't speak for my future self." I rub my chin in thought. "Speaking of which, Rose, can you tell me whether I took anyone else under my wing in the future, besides all the others from your generation that we've already met?"
Rose grins. "Oh, there's a few more, at least. And I'll say this much; Nah isn't the wackiest nutjob among us. Neither is Noire, for that matter."
Noire frowns. "Like you're one to talk."
Rose shrugs. "That's because there's a method to my madness, Noire. Though whether the madness is mine or the Author's, I'm still not sure about."
Night has fallen in camp. First shift in night watch is coming up, and I'm on it. I'm tending to the campfire a bit before I go look for a spot with a good viewpoint.
As I poke the firewood with a stick, Nowi sits down beside me.
"Hey, Jack?"
"Mmm?"
"You know how we keep treating each other as family?"
My mind wanders back to that night so long ago when I first formed my relationship with Nowi. When we became sort-of siblings in all but blood. Come to think of it, Nowi and I have had quite a lot of conversations by a campfire at night.
"Honestly, I'm unsure of how much time I've devoted to that particular thing." I admit. "Be honest with me, Nowi. How much of a family have I really been for you?"
Nowi scoots closer to me while keeping her eyes trained on the campfire. "As much as you could." she answers. "There's no point in you beating yourself up over it, Jack. You did the best you could at being a brother for me while balancing everything else in your life. I'd never demand more of you than you could give, and neither should you demand yourself the same."
I turn to the manakete. "Still doesn't really answer my question."
Nowi rolls her eyes. "Fine. If you really want a straight answer that badly. For what it's worth, the time and care you gave me allowed me to relive a part of family life that I've forgotten." Nowi leans in and gives me a side hug. "I'll never forget what you've done for me for as long as I live. And I'll make sure to pass that on to Nah, so she can have some of her own childhood back as well." Nowi sniffs up a tear. "The poor thing. She lost her family, just like I did."
I return the hug. "Then, as her mother, I guess it's a good thing that you try to help her at least relive and find some of what she's lost."
"Well, you carry part of that responsibility too, buster." Nowi points out.
"Huh?"
"Come on, don't think I haven't connected the dots. We started this whole sibling thing long before I met Donnel, so it's only natural that Nah sees you as part of her family. And from what I've seen when she's with you, you mean a lot to her."
I scratch my cheek. "Yeah, can't argue with that. Sometimes, Nah gets so affectionate that I'm afraid I'm stealing Donnel's role as her father."
"Don't worry, Nah would never allow that to happen. It's just that she values family very highly." Nowi winks. "Bet she's got all three of us to thank for that lesson."
I smile at my sister figure. "Heh. Shows that we did a great job raising her."
Nowi joins in on the smiling. "I know, right? Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about."
"I'm listening."
"I want you to become Nah's godfather." Nowi tells me with a straight face.
…
"…Huh?..." is my intelligent reply.
Nowi pouts. "What, that's all you have to say? No shocked recoil? No rambling of how honored you are or that you doubt your own worth for such a duty? Man, what a letdown."
"No no, I'll get to that part." I explain. "It's just…how can you deliver that with a straight face? Being a godparent is serious stuff."
Nowi nods. "Good, at least you get that much. But who said I had to ask with all kinds of fanfare and all that nonsense? It's a question, so I ask it. Simple as that."
I blink twice. I mean, sure, she's right about that, but I somehow expected a bit more formality.
Oh, who am I kidding? I'm talking to a millennium old child who's not necessarily part of the more posh part of human society. Of course she'd ignore the boring parts of formality.
I rub my chin in thought. It does sound like a great idea, but there's a few points to check off first.
"What about Donnel?" I ask. "What's his opinion of making me the godfather of his daughter?"
Nowi snickers. "Do you even need to ask? You're the first one who taught Donnel how to fight. Of course he'd trust you with important stuff."
That's…a good point. Even now when Donnel's pretty much found his own style, I can tell that the guy looks up to me. Heck, if it wasn't for my rapport with Lon'qu, I would've considered making Donnel my lieutenant instead. That's one point checked off. Now for the second one.
"And how about Robin? We're married, so accepting your and Donnel's proposal would make Robin Nah's godmother by default."
Nowi shrugs. "I admit I don't consider Robin a sister or anything close to that. I guess you'll just have to talk with her about it. I mean, it's not like you have to decide right now."
I sigh in relief. "Oh, good. Here I thought you wanted my answer right away. I mean, I'm still getting used to being a parent. But having a niece that I could also become the godfather of? That's a lot to take in at once, and I've at least had time to process my own role as a father. Robin might need some time for this herself, between managing the army and loading all those ships with whatever we'll need."
Nowi nods in approval. "Good to see you put that head of yours to good use."
I give her a sour look. "You make it sound like I'm more muscle than brains."
"When you just suspect someone you care about is in danger, you kind of are." Nowi points out.
She's…got a good point there… I'm all for problem solving for getting around my opponent, but if they point their weapon/magic at my wife or daughter? Screw strategy. That poor fool will die, preferably in a way that makes everyone in a one-mile radius think twice about attempting the same thing.
"*Sigh* Fine, so I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed." I admit.
"And you don't need to. So long as you think your actions through, that's good enough for me."
Nowi stretches her limbs and yawns. "Ugh. It's late. Better go to sleep now. Good night, Jack."
"Good night, Nowi."
Nowi walks over to hers and Donnel's tent and opens the flap. Right before it closes, I catch a glimpse of Nowi crash on her bedroll. She's asleep before she even lands. I suppose it's a good thing. As the old saying goes; children who sleep well, grow well. That would explain how Tiki got so…well-grown by the time of Awakening. Man, did puberty hit that manakete hard, or what?
"Heya, Jack? You up for some night watch?" Vaike, my partner for this shift, hollers as he approaches me.
I nod and get up. "Sure. Might as well get this over with. I'll go for a lookout point in a tree somewhere close.
Vaike grins. "Sounds good to me. Though, could you help me with putting a few traps around camp first? You know, in case someone gets the jump on us?"
I rub my chin in thought before I agree. I'd normally ask Donnel for that kind of task (considering how easily he manages to outplay Panne), but I think Vaike and I can craft good enough traps if we put our heads together. Sure, I can survey a wide area with Mind's eye, but that's something only I can do. Better make things easier for the others in the coming shifts.
Turns out Vaike turned a bit of a new leaf during the trip. While traveling, he kept asking Donnel for pointers in trap making, since he wanted to learn how to hunt for his own food sometimes. With how efficiently the Barbarian guided me in crafting the simple, yet effective traps, I'd say Donnel's a good teacher. That, or old Teach is also a diligent student when he puts his mind to it. Vaike's intelligence may be questionable, but the man has his brilliant moments. They're just very infrequent.
We've just put the last trap in place and are looking for good vantage points when we hear footsteps from within the camp. Vaike and I share a look before we nod in sync and hurry back to camp.
By the time we return there, we see Nah walking around. Though her posture seems oddly slumped.
"Snrr…"
I do a double take. Was that a snore?
Nah turns around. That's when we finally see her face; eyes closed, mouth open, and a bit of drool leaking from the corner of her lip.
"Is she…sleepwalking?" Vaike asks dumbfounded.
I nod equally dumbfounded. "Seems so. Come on, let's guide her back to the tent and put her back. If we wake her now, she might react violently."
A shiver goes up Vaike's spine before he nods in agreement.
Just as we move to guide Nah, however, the half-manakete stands ramrod straight, to our further confusion.
"Unca Jaack…" Nah mumbles in her sleep.
She's dreaming about me? That's kinda adorable. The only reason I'm not hugging her right now is for fear that she could lash out. Waking a sleepwalker while they're walking can be jarring for everyone involved.
Those pleasant thoughts get thrown out the window as Nah's right hand clenches into a fist and is set ablaze with azure flames.
"Fight me!" Nah yells – still asleep – and charges me and Vaike.
We dive out of the way with a yelp. Nah's fist crashes into the ground a split-second later and leaves a sizable, smoking crater.
Dear Naga, her character profile wasn't kidding about the violent sleepwalker part! Nah could potentially tear the entire camp apart in her sleep!
Nah's nose twitches before she zeroes in on my position. While I desperately try to figure out how to stop her sleeping assault, my niece charges me for another clash. I desperately weave and dodge her blows, only using minimal contact to deflect her blows in order to prevent any crippling collateral damage. How in the world am I supposed to stop Nah without risking her getting a rude awakening?
"Jack! Catch!" Vaike shouts.
I glance in his direction and barely react fast enough to catch an object that the Barbarian threw at me. Upon closer inspection, it's one of the firewood logs from the campfire, still burning on one end. I risk a quick glance at Vaike himself while still remaining weary of Nah. Vaike grins and gives me a thumbs-up. I frown in confusion for a moment.
Then the proverbial candle lights up above my head. Of course! Fire!
Nah rushes me with her right fist primed for another blazing punch. I flip the burning log to hold my palm against the end that's not burning and crouch in a stance. As Nah throws her punch, I duck, step into her guard, and shove the burning end of the firewood in her fortunately open mouth.
Nah stops cold upon the impact and stands still as a statue. She opens her eyes bleary and blinks. "Mwa?"
Then her eyes land on the burning log shoved into her mouth. Nah eases out of her fighting stance and grabs hold of the log instead before she stumbles back to her tent while mumbling "Yummy…"
I activate Mind's eye as she disappears behind the tent flap. My mana powered "sight" lets me "see" Nah devour the last of the fire on the log before she lays back down and hugs the log like a plush toy.
Only then do I deactivate Mind's eye and sigh in relief. "Great thinking on tossing that piece of burning wood, Vaike. I think you just saved our hides."
Vaike rubs the back of her head. "Aw, shucks. It wasn't much. I just figured, if she really likes to eat fire that much, she should calm down if we give her a late-night snack. I mean, it works for me if I can't sleep."
That one reply pretty much sums up Vaike in a nutshell. Occasional moments of brilliance, buried under a massive pile of weird thinking and clumsiness. The thing is, we wouldn't want him any other way. That's what makes Vaike, Vaike.
…
…
"So… Night watch?" I ask in the awkward silence.
Vaike nods. "Night watch."
Your relationship with Vaike has improved!
Mine and Vaike's shifts are thankfully uneventful, save for that incident with Nah, which suits us just fine. We've had enough terrifying action from the future generation for one night, thank you very much. Donnel and Gaius come out of their tents a few hours later to relieve us and take up their own shifts.
"Say, can anyone of ya explain why Nah's huggin' a burnt log in her sleep?" Donnel asks puzzled while scratching his head.
Vaike and I share a look before we both sigh. "It's a long story." we reply in unison.
Donnel raises an eyebrow at our reply, but ultimately drops it with a shrug and goes to find a good lookout point, while Vaike warns him of the traps he and I set up earlier.
"Hey, Buttercup?" Gaius asks me before we part ways.
"Hm? What is it, Gaius?"
"There's…something we need to talk about." Gaius explains while chewing the stick on his latest lollipop.
"I'm all ears."
The Assassin sighs. "Well, I've spoken a bit with Noire. Between what she told me how you were like in the future she came from and what I saw for myself with how you treated Nah, I think I'm starting to see how you care for children."
I nod. "Well, good on you. Think that's something you want to practice yourself in the future?"
"That's exactly it. I think I'm starting to understand why you were so protective of Noire, which led to…you know, that thing that happened back in our tent before Blossom joined up."
I nod. "Ah, that. Yeah, I could've definitely handled that better."
Gaius nods. "No doubt about that, but that's not why I brought it up. What I meant to say is; I think I'm starting to see things from your perspective. Sure, you overreacted, but so did I. And, honestly? After talking to Noire and finding out how she had it growing up, I feel you brought up a fair point." He rubs his head. "What I meant to say is; I'm sorry for the way I acted back there. It was rash, it was shortsighted, and we never tried to reconcile until Nowi butted in."
I nod sagely. "Yeah, we owe Nowi for that one. And as things stand, I owe you and Tharja an apology too for my own reckless behavior. Putting Noire so far ahead of you was a terrible decision on my part, both as your commanding officer as well as your ally."
Gaius chuckles mirthlessly. "We're both pretty narrowminded when someone important to us is in danger, huh?"
I join in with a smile. "That we are, Gaius. That we are."
"…"
"…"
"…"
"So… We cool?" I ask after some silence.
Gauis nods. "We cool. Though I can't say the same for Tharja. That's something between you and her."
Sigh. Figures I'd have to solve that particular issue one-on-one with our resident Sorcerer. Wouldn't that be lovely, trying to get back in her good graces – or at least no longer being blacklisted by her.
"I'll open that can of worms when the time comes. Well, the watch is all yours and Donnel's, Gaius. Good night."
Gaius replies with a silent nod before he hops into a tree.
Your relationship with Gaius has advanced! Your relationship with Gaius is now "Neutral"!
Timeskip: The next morning
"We're going back through the snow?!" Nowi shouts as she notes the landscape ahead of us slowly turn white.
I nod. "Yes. We need to make at least one more stop before we head straight for Port Ferox." I pull out my map and point at one last circle. "We've already traveled a bit to the west, so if we turn northwest from here, we should be able to cut through the Feroxi countryside and reach our destination in the shortest time possible."
"Well, couldn't we have just gone straight from the beginnin'?" Donnel asks and traces a completely straight line from where we picked up Nah to the last circle.
I shake my head. "Not if you want to cross thick forests and the occasional river without any bridge in sight. The way we're going, we'll just cross one river, and there's a bridge right in our path, which lets us cut through the snowy landscape with ease afterwards. Overall, that's the most efficient travel route."
Anna gives me a lopsided smile. "Oh? You're not one to stop and smell the flowers?"
I turn to the merchant with eyes brimming with tears. "I miss my wife."
Everyone else give flat looks.
"Then why'd ya go on this crazy road trip in the first place, ya moron?" Sully fires back.
I turn around and cross my arms. "Fine, be that way! Don't come to me once you realize how important this trip turned out to be!" I huff irritably.
Nah sighs. "You're just like I remember you, Uncle Jack – down to the random mood swings. How Auntie Robin put up with you, I'll never understand."
I grin at my niece. "You might when you yourself fall in love with a man one day."
Nah rolls her eyes. "Grownups… I swear."
That's when I pick up on a small detail in Nah's comment.
""Auntie" Robin?"
Nah nods. "Yeah. I mean, she's your wife. That pretty much makes her my aunt by default, right?"
"Only to the extent that she's even considered family for you three." I explain. "Who knows? She might like the idea – after she's gotten used to being a parent."
Nah smiles. "I like the sound of that. And even if she doesn't, I'll have you know I can be very persuasive."
I raise an eyebrow. "Really? What's your reasoning?"
"Hug her and bombard her with puppy-dog eyes until she relents." Nah answers. "I heard that's how my mother convinced you to take her on the trip that ultimately let her meet my father."
I turn to Nowi with a sour expression. "You told her?"
Nowi shrugs. "Not my fault you're a sucker for whatever those you care about ask for, Jack. I mean, you'd become Robin's personal slave for a whole month if she so much as hinted at asking you."
"You can't prove a thing." I claim defiantly.
"Then what about the time you whipped up a whole picknick basket on your own so you and Robin could have a private dinner outside the capital?" Nowi counters. "Robin was concerned the mess hall could get a little cramped for dinner when a few foreign dignitaries came to visit, and you ran off to the palace kitchens, just to make sure she'd have her dinner on time and in peace."
"Uh…"
"Wasn't there that one time when ya butted heads with Frederick over who would have a certain place to pitch a tent?" Donnel asks while rubbing his chin. "Think there was somethin' about the spot havin' the nicest view of the sunset, and ya couldn't decide whether Chrom or Robin would get that spot."
"Well…"
"And then there was time Jack ran to forest outside capital after Robin say door to room a bit cracked." Gregor adds. "Spent all day chopping trees to make new door."
"Face it, Jack." Tharja tells me. "Robin's got you all wrapped around her finger."
I throw myself at my daughter with tears streaming down my face. "Rooose! They're ganging up on meee!"
Rose rolls her eyes and keeps walking unperturbed, even as I hang off her shoulders. "It unnerves me how much of a drama queen you can be, Dad. Wouldn't surprise me if that's where Severa got her theatrics." she mutters.
We've been walking through the thick snow of Ferox for a few hours now. Nowi was all too happy to be reminded I can Transmute a path through the snow for easy travel both for us and for our carts. However, I was confronted with a conundrum when I started handing out the cloaks; since I never expected to meet Rose on the way, I realized that we're one winter cloak and one bedroll short each. What to do, what to do?
"You've been starin' into the cart for a while now, Jack." Sully remarks from behind me. "Somethin' on your mind?"
I lean back out from the canvas confines and face the Paladin. "A logistical problem. All our bedrolls and winter cloaks are already in use. If one more joins our group, that means we're one bedroll and winter cloak short."
Sully grimaces as she understands what I'm saying. "D-mn. That ain't good. Think we should stop in a town on the way here? Wouldn't want anyone to freeze out here in the snow."
"That sounds like a plan. That should at least cover the bedroll."
Sully raises an eyebrow. "And the cloak too, right?"
I shake my head with a smile. "Nah. I've got that one covered."
Sully gives me a skeptic look before she shrugs.
As we resume our march, I walk close to her. "All right, my turn. You've got something on your mind as well, don't you?"
"Muh? How can ya tell?"
"You hardly ever speak much while we march unless it's something you think is important. I guess it goes to show how much faith you put in the ones in charge." I explain.
"Only if I think they've earned their positions." Sully replies. "Ya wanna pull rank, ya d-mn well better earn it first."
I nod. "That's a good way of thinking. Which is also my point. You wouldn't approach me while I inspected the supply cart unless you had something else to talk about."
Sully sighs. "D-mn… That's some sharp observation ya did there, Jack."
The Paladin glances back at the rest of our group, most notably Nowi clinging to Nah with her near perpetual smile.
The ghost of a smile forms on Sully's own lips. "Seein' all these kids from the future seems to have put a lot of us in a better mood. Guess all that talk about raising kids being worth the trouble might be true after all."
I smile with her as I glance at Rose. "I'd say it's a matter of how much you care for the young ones, but I agree. So, that have anything to do with what's on your mind?"
Sully nods. "Pretty much. Starting with Lucina, all these future kids we've met all have parents among us Shepherds. So it got me thinkin'; will I have a kid too?"
I raise an eyebrow in amusement. "I fail to see why not. I mean, you're a married woman, so there's no stopping you and Vaike, is there?"
Sully's cheeks turn as red as her hair. "I didn't mean it like that! I mean, sure, Vaike and I could- No, wait. Grr! That's not the point!"
I'm having way too much fun with this, as indicated by my snicker.
"D-mn it, Jack! Get serious!" Sully yells indignant.
I wave it off. "Fine, fine. I'll hear you out. Promise."
Sully huffs and looks away, blush still going strong, and not because of the cold.
"I've been thinkin' lately…" she eventually tells me after she's cooled off. "If I had a kid in the future, what'd that kid be like? I mean, from what we've seen, there's all kinds of variants. Chrom's and Miriel's kids are just like 'em, except they swapped genders. But then there's kids like Tharja's and yours, and they're nothin' like their parents. Well, maybe your kid's about as crazy as you are."
I give Sully a guarded look. "Is that supposed to be a compliment?"
"What I'm sayin' is; I'm not sure how my own kid would be like, provided I'll even have one." Sully finishes, completely ignoring my question.
I decide to play along and rub my chin. "Well… What would you like your child to be like?"
"It better not be some spineless brat, that's for sure." Sully replies immediately. The Paladin scratches her head. "Other than that? I dunno… I mean, I chose the life of a knight on my own, so whatever path my kid's chosen in life, I just hope it's their own choice too." A small smile forms on her lips. "Though if it were up to me, I'd like to have a daughter."
"Okay? Why a daughter?"
"I'd love to train the little girl to be strong. Strong enough to take on anybody. Strong enough to surpass me when she grows up. I want her to be livin' proof that women can be just as strong as men." Sully explains. "Spendin' the days trainin' with my family. Now that's a life I could get used to."
My inner anatomist wants to point out that men naturally have more muscle mass than women, and therefore have greater natural aptitude in gaining physical strength. That being said, you can grow strong in a number of ways. Robin's a great example of that. She may lack my raw power, but her strategic mind can mop the floor with me before I even understand what's going on. That's not to say that Robin's weak, though. I'd hate to be on the receiving end of one of her lightning spells. Elemental advantage aside, lightning magic hurts, d-mn it!
"Well, what'll you do if your child's nothing like that?" I ask.
Sully sighs. "I'd probably feel bummed out for getting my hopes up, but I'll get over it. So long as my kid made their choice and stuck by it, I ain't got no reason to complain. H-ll, I'll support 'em, no matter what they choose, 'cause that's what I would've wanted when I grew up."
I nod sagely. "That's a good attitude to have towards parenting, Sully. Well, assuming you even become a parent."
Sully smirks. "Heh. I'll blow you all outta the water. You'll see."
Your relationship with Sully has improved!
I'm faintly reminded of Lissa's declaration that her unborn child would do something similar when he grows up. When did the women in our army get so competitive about parenting? I know mothers can get eccentric, but that happens after childbirth, for crying out loud!
"Hey, I think there's a town ahead." Gaius tells us from his temporary lookout point from the top of our supply cart.
Noire sighs tiredly. "Finally. We've been walking through this snow for hours."
"Hey, it's not that bad." I tell my student. "I paved a way through the snow, remember? Imagine walking through the actual depth of it all the way to the town."
Noire shivers upon imagining it. "How did you manage to travel through this landscape before? Didn't you have a much larger caravan then?"
I shrug. "We traveled pretty light, all things considered. Some of us even had a special trick for traveling easily in this environment."
To demonstrate, I leave the trail I Transmuted in the snow and activate Mana soles. From my first step on the untouched snow, I walk on the white substance as if it were solid ground.
Noire looks at my feet and blinks twice.
Then she slumps against the supply cart with a purple depression cloud hanging over her head.
"Sensei. So mean…"
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!" I ask indignant.
Noire turns back to me with her eyes brimming with tears. "You're telling me I could've spent all those winters playing with the others in the snow without exhausting myself by walking through it? You never taught us that."
Wait… Is she guilt tripping me?
I give Noire a flat look. "Don't even start, Noire. No trying to manipulate your teacher, you hear me?"
Noire's crocodile tears stop. Then she turns to Rose with an upset frown. "Rose! You told me Jack-sensei's a sucker for puppy-dog eyes! Do you have any idea how embarrassing that was?"
Rose shrugs and places her hands behind her head with a carefree smile. "Huh. Guess it only works for me, Nah and Nowi. Who knew Dad had an innate resistance against puppy-dog eyes from certain females? The more you know, I suppose…"
"You mean to tell me you didn't even know if it would work?! How dare you use me as a test subject?!"
"It's, as Laurent so often puts it, for science. Be proud. You've advanced the field of science that is my Dad's mental landscape."
Noire's indignant face morphs into a sinister snarl. "I will not stand for being ridiculed by this! Face me, you stick!"
Rose freezes in her tracks. The groaning sound of an unoiled metal valve opening echoes through the air as Rose slowly turns her head towards the Archer with her eyes glowing red.
"Care to repeat that, Noire? Did you just call me skinny?" Rose asks with a voice that could freeze nitrogen.
"You heard me, Rose."
My student and daughter butt heads. Sparks fly between their eyes.
"You'd better take back what you just said, you two-faced psycho, or else!" Rose growls at Noire.
"Who're you calling "psycho", washboard chest?! That's the pot calling the kettle black!" Noire snarls back.
"You wanna go, cow?!"
"Bring it, witch!"
What follows is the two girls wrestling around in the snow. I look at the ensuing catfight with a massive drop of sweat forming at the back of my head.
"They're a lot livelier than I expected." I muse. "What brought this up?"
Nah sighs. "Noire and Rose know exactly how to trigger each other. One wrong move, and it all snowballs from there."
"Shouldn't we put a stop to this?" Nowi asks concerned as Noire and Rose tumble away from the trail and into the thick snow.
I wave off her concerns. "Let's leave those two to cool off a bit in the cold. That should teach them to bicker in the middle of a winter landscape. So long as they keep the violence mild, it should be fine."
While the girls are busy having an epic catfight in the snow, I notice we've been approached by a squirrel. A squirrel in a robe made of black moss and red leaves, and a small flower on the head. The fact that there's hardly any trees or foliage in sight surprises me. These critters usually never operate without some kind of cover due to the nature of their work and their place in the food chain.
I bend down to the squirrel. "Konan? Why did you approach me from so far away from the nearest cover? Isn't that dangerous for a squirrel?"
Konan nods. "That would normally be the case, Jack, but as you can see, I was left with little option. I am here to bear news that you are approaching one of the humans you tasked us to seek out."
I nod and dig out a hazel nut from my bag, which I hand to the squirrel. "As I figured. Looks like we went for the right town."
Konan finishes the hazel nut and nods. "As far as our investigation could uncover, this and one more place have humans who match your description. The others, we could not find."
I nod. "Yeah, I remember Itachi told me that when he gave me your report. That probably means I will have to search for them outside this continent."
"If that is the case, I am afraid we cannot help you anymore in that task. Our network only covers this landmass. We know next to nothing of what happens beyond the sea."
I give Konan a smile. "For what it's worth, you and your comrades have been a great help in finding the companions that have joined us. And for that, you have my heartfelt thanks, Konan."
Konan nods. "I shall pass this message on to Nagato, then. He will most likely be pleased to hear that our performance was satisfactory."
I nod in agreement. "You do that."I fish out another hazel nut. "And while you're at it, pass this one to him as well, okay? As a token of my gratitude for a job well done."
Konan accepts the nut. "I will. And remember, Jack; should you ever be in need of our services again, you need only call us. We are never far from you, so long as you do not travel at sea."
"I'll keep that in mind, Konan." I look around me. "So, how exactly will you get back unnoticed? For that matter, how did you even get here without being detected by any predators?"
"That is simple. I need only use the same technique again." Konan answers and wraps her tail around the hazel nut.
Then she places her paws together. A moment later, she vanishes in a swirl of red leaves.
I do a double take at where the squirrel was just a moment ago. Did she just perform a leaf body-flicker? No, wait. This is somewhere close to average by this point. Freakin' Nagato and his bush-style nut jutsu…
I rise back up from my crouch and survey the area. Looks like Rose's and Noire's catfight has carved out a curiously curvy furrow in the snow from all the tumbling around. A closer look at its shape reminds me of a pretzel.
"The only reason you're calling me out on my chest is because yours is a forsaken wasteland!" Noire yells as she pulls Rose's hair.
"Ow! And the only reason you're going for my hair is because the developers didn't put more stock in yours!" Rose counters.
I facepalm with a sigh. "Okay, Nowi. You might have a point. We'd better break up that fight, or they'll be out here in the snow until nightfall.
The two girls separate and get into their respective stances. Noire with her bow in one hand and sparks dancing along the other, and Rose with Kirby in a pitching stance.
"BLOOD AND THUNDER!"
"Magikazam!"
"Girls! I said mild violence!" I yell at them.
We barely make it into the town before we stumble upon an argument between a Knight and a Sorcerer.
Wait a minute. That blonde Knight looks familiar.
Kjelle Lvl 31 Class: Knight
Cassius Lvl 42 Class: Sorcerer
Kjelle points her lance at the Sorcerer. "Dishonorable cur! You killed my master, and now you will face me!"
Cassius scoffs. "If that pile of pudding was your master, I'd advise you to just keep walking."
Considering my track record with these future kids, that dismissal has me slightly triggered.
Kjelle tightens the grip on her lance. "Craven dog… You claimed a hostage! He'd never have lost in a fair fight!"
A horrified town maiden places a hand on the Knight's shoulder. "Nor would he have wanted this, Kjelle. If I lose you as well, I…" Tears start to flow down her cheeks.
"You won't lose me. I swear it." Kjelle assures her gently. "And I swear your husband will be avenged!"
Cassius gives an uncaring shrug. "If you want to run headlong into the grave, girl, I won't stop you." The Sorcerer indicates a place outside town with his head. "We can duel in the ruins ahead."
As we see the two walk off towards their destination, Sully frowns.
"I dunno… Somethin' feels fishy about that guy. If what the girl in the armor said was true, there ain't no guarantee he'll fight fair."
That's when the town maiden approaches us. "Please! You have to do something!" she begs us.
I raise an eyebrow. "We can at least hear you out. All right, what's going on?"
"It's my friend, sir. I fear she's walking into a terrible trap!" the maiden explains. "That scoundrel Cassius would never fight an honest duel. My husband took a similar stand against his tyranny not long ago." She puts her hands over her eyes as her tears break out. "The brute took a girl hostage and then cut my husband down as he lowered his weapon!"
I scowl. "And now you fear Cassius will pull a similar trick against that armored girl."
The maiden nods. "*Sniff* I can't let her suffer the same fate… I'd die, I would!"
I nod. "I understand."
I then turn in the direction Kjelle and Cassius walked in. "All right, let's crash their duel!"
Vaike gives me a quizzical look. "Ya sure about that, Jack? Ain't it rude or something if you interrupt a duel?"
I give the Barbarian a smirk as I march towards the ruins. "Oh, we'd never do something foul like that, Vaike. We're just witnesses to an honest duel, aren't we? Besides, if someone else tries to butt in, we could just call foul play and stop it before it affects the outcome. In the end, we'll still keep it fair and square."
Anna gives me a flat look. "You just want an excuse to kick his butt, don't you?"
I place a hand on my chest. "Moi? Please, Anna. I'd never rob that young lady of her opponent! Of course, if he's got lackeys who don't know a fair fight from a dirty one, well…" I grin. "No one said beating up a bunch of cheaters made the world a worse place."
Gaius shakes his head with an exasperated smile. "You just love twisting words in your favor, don't you, Buttercup?"
"You need to have your way with words when moving around snobby nobles, Gaius. They may prefer to keep their hands clean, but they can pull some seriously dirty moves at times."
The Assassin raises an eyebrow. "Speaking from experience?"
"Comes with being married to Robin." I explain as I set out for those ruins. "With both our ranks come high social standings, and with high social standings come the expectations for us to attend the occasional fancy party thrown either by some noble with too much money in their coffers or even at the palace." I shrug. "But it's mostly me acting as Robin's silent bodyguard while Robin does most of the talking. She's the smoother negotiator between the two of us anyway."
"Robin under threat of assassin, yes?" Gregor asks.
A sinister scowl forms on my face. "No. It's to make sure those aristocrats keep it professional instead of trying to get fresh with my wife."
Rose smiles at Nah and points at me. "Told you he's got a seventh sense when it comes to my mom."
Nah raises an eyebrow. "Then what's the sixth?"
Rose shudders. "Ever wondered how he could spot us and know exactly what we were doing, even though we were clearly out of sight?"
A similar shudder runs down the half-manakete's back. "You mean that time when we-"
"Yes."
"And he flew in like a hawk, chewed us out, and-"
"Yes."
Nah tries to hide her head inside the hood of her coat. "Oh gods… I always knew he had more than five senses."
Quest alert:
Side quest: A duel disgraced
You've just arrived at a town in the Feroxi snowfields when you stumble upon a young Knight challenging a man of questionable morals to a duel. According to a local town maiden, said man of questionable morals is likely to pull a dirty trick and turn the whole fight into an unfair one. Hurry to the site of the duel and make sure it stays fair!
Objective: Defeat all enemies.
Rewards: 7 000 EXP, 7 000 gold
Bonus objectives: Don't let Kjelle die, Allow Kjelle to finish her duel.
Bonus rewards: 1 000 EXP, 1 000 gold
So, these are those ruins where Cassius proposed they hold their duel. "Ruins" seems like a bit of a strong word for this place. Sure, it looks pretty abandoned and run-down, but the core structure seems intact. Heck, the roof is still on top and in one piece, offering much-needed shelter from the constant snowfall.
And, as expected, there's a sizable group of less-than-friendly looking people spread throughout the place.
One of them, a Barbarian, steps out in the snow as we approach the short set of stairs to the entrance.
"Hey, now. What's this merry ragtag group doin' all the way out here?" the ruffian asks rudely.
"Well, we heard that there'd be a duel taking place here, so we came in hopes of seeing it." I explain. "I guess that's why you're here too?"
The Barbarian grins. "A duel, eh? Yeah, our boss did mention there'd be one. In fact, he came here with some armored chick not too long ago."
One of his comrades, a Dark Mage, looks at us with an arrogant grin. "Though I guess it depends on how you define "duel". If you lot expected a good old-fashioned one-on-one, this ain't it." The other ruffians laugh at the explanation. "See, our boss likes to tip the odds in his favor a lot. No doubt he's locked that armor girl in the audience chamber with himself and a number of our buddies, just waiting to turn her into a giant pincushion before he delivers the finisher! This is our hideout, see? Our place, our rules."
I continue approaching the ruffian hideout, even as the ruffians keep up their mocking laughter. I respond with a grin on my own.
"That so?" I ask as I draw Harvest Moon. "See, we've heard rumors in a nearby town of how you guys keep oppressing the people living there, and that doesn't sit well with us."
"So what?" a Mercenary sneers. "Yer gonna crash the boss's fun just because it's the "duty" of a bunch'a goody two shoes?"
"Oh, we'd never dream of butting in on that duel. That would just make us hypocrites. But, just like you said, our definition of a duel is a one-on-one match." My grin grows wider while the others draw their weapons behind me. "On the other hand, that means it's open season on the rest of you punks."
BGM: Fury sparks, Tales of Vesperia music
The Barbarian in front readies his axe. "Ya think we're just gonna let yer lot into our turf like that?! None of ye are gettin' in!" He eyes the women in our group with a toothy grin. "'Cept for the women. They're more than welcome to have some fun with us."
I roll my eyes as I build up speed into a run. Seriously, could these guys be any more stereotypical?
The Barbarian swings his axe with a battle cry, only to cry out in confusion as I jump over the swing.
"Too slow." I comment and use his back as a springboard to launch myself at his fellow ruffians inside. I idly note Sully run through the guy with her lance before she rides on and smacks the still impaled Barbarian into a Knight.
"He's exposed! Get him!" a Sorcerer calls out. A quick headcount reveals a total of six Dark Mages, Archers and said Sorcerer aiming at me. All six attacks launch in perfect sync.
*Boom!*
"Hah! How do ya like that?!" the Sorcerer shouts smugly.
I nod in approval from behind him. "Nice teamwork. I'm impressed a ragtag group of outlaws could coordinate an ambush like that on the fly."
The Sorcerer nods sagely. "Yeah, we had to practice a bit before- What the h-ll?! How did you get behind me?!"
I grin and point the end of Harvest Moon's pommel at him. "The same way I get behind anyone else; I used stealth."
*Wham!*
The Sorcerer goes down like a sack of bricks. Man, I love Gale step.
Gaius parries a Steel Sword from a Mercenary and backflips over the follow-up shot from one of the Archers earlier before he stops beside me.
"Show-off."
"You have much to learn, Gaius." I tell the Assassin smugly.
A tic mark forms on his temple. "Don't even start, Buttercup."
At this point, the Mercenary's getting tired of getting played by Gaius and runs up to him with his sword ready for a brutal overhead swing.
"Free for all!" *Wham!*
Only for the ruffian to get blindsided by Vaike's shoulder tackle. The Mercenary gets knocked down on the ground and gets an axe to the chest half a second later.
Noire's locked down in a shootout with a pair of Archers. The outlaw sharpshooters are at a homefield advantage and make good use of it through strategic choices of cover. Noire, for her part, gradually gets more and more annoyed at how hard it gets for her to find an opening to take aim.
Nah flips over Noire's latest choice of cover, a slightly broken crate, and huddles close to the Archer.
"Need help?" the half-manakete asks.
"Just get them out of that stupid cover." Noire mutters and Traces an Iron Lance.
Nah smiles. "Got it."
Right after two more arrows sail over the crate, Nah sprints out from cover and takes stock of the Archers' positions. She then jumps on top of a barrel, flips over a General's axe swing, and kicks off a pillar to land in a position where she can flank the Archers in cover. The half-manakete's fist lights up in azure flames as she grins.
"Over here~."
The stream of flames makes the Archers scramble away from their position – and right into Noire's sights.
"Aha!"
The arrows fired from Noire's bow revert back into Iron Lances midflight and pierces through their torsos. The Archers manage to stumble two more steps before they collapse on the ground.
Rose twirls around a lance thrust from a Knight that she engages in a narrow corridor. The Knight pulls back and places his shield in front before he charges at the cheery Dark Mage with the intent on bashing the shield into her.
Rose smirks and tenses her legs. As the Knight reaches the proper distance, Rose jumps, grabs hold of the top of the shield, and uses it as leverage to flip over the surprised Knight. As she lands, she pulls out Kirby and coats the pink plushie in a white shell of mana. Rose winds up before she lets Kirby fly right at the Knight's back. The impact staggers the ruffian and makes him stumble a few steps. At this point, Rose catches Kirby on volley and kicks the plush toy at an angle. Kirby bounces off the wall and hits the Knight in the head, dazing him slightly from the impact. At the same time, Kirby bounces away from the Knight and into the air. Rose jumps after Kirby and spikes the toy right on top of the Knight's head. As she lands, she points up into the air behind the Knight.
"Look, a shooting star!" Rose shouts cheerfully.
"You really think I'll fall for that old tri-" *Wham!*
The Knight keels over as Kirby, still cloaked in that white mana shell, smashes into the back of his head with the force of a heavy mace. Rose holds out her hand and catches Kirby as the plush toy comes back down.
"Aand done!" Rose declares and snaps her fingers. A lightning spell hits the downed Knight, finishing him off.
Rose frowns as she holds up Kirby and stares the doll in the eyes. "You know, with all the acrobatic moves I keep pulling off, you'd think my DEX stat would be higher at this point."
Rose's DEX increases by 2!
The Dark Mage grins in triumph. "There we go!"
*Clang!*
The General in front of me grunts as he tries to push me back with his Steel Axe. I look back at him with a bored expression. Seriously, with all the passive buffs on my stats, my STR is so high that the ruffian might as well try to move a boulder with just one arm. On the other hand, Tracing a weapon heavy enough to tear through his armor would be a bit of a hassle, since he's got backup coming in from behind him. All right. Looks like I'll have to break through with something fast. And I've got just the thing for this.
I push back enough to send the General back with a kick to his chest. That small amount of distance gives me enough time to swipe my hand over Harvest Moon's blade and coat it in a golden glow of mana. Time to take a leaf out of Sora's book, who took a leaf out of Captain Hook's book.
"Ars Caelum!"
I dash right at the group with my now shining sword and unleash a flurry of slashes while alternating between targets. I flick some blood off Harvest Moon as the glow dies down. The ruffians collapse from the assault soon after.
"Next." I call out as I look around for another opponent to fight.
Donnel parries a sword swing form a Myrmidon and backs away slowly, trying to get a feel for his opponent's pace. Unseen by the Fighter, a Dark Mage grins as he charges up a Nosferatu spell in the hopes of blindsiding Donnel.
What the spellcaster doesn't realize is that Tharja's standing right behind him. That is, until the Sorcerer of the Shepherds grabs him by the back of his head.
"Are you even trying?" Tharja asks bored as she roasts the outlaw alive with an Elfire spell to the head.
"Alright, men! Form up!" a General shouts. A trio of Knights join up at his side, followed by a pair of Mercenaries behind them and an Archer providing covering fire.
Gregor smirks as he shoulders his new Iron Axe. "Seems like busy day for Gregor, no?"
Anna whips out Gilthunder and twirls the keyblade into a reverse grip. "Hey, could you shoulder some of my share while you're at it? I'd love to check out what they've got stashed in here, but I can't do that while I'm busy fighting for my life."
"Oy! Anna not try to run away on robbing spree again, no?" Gregor asks indignant. "Gregor not exactly springing chicken."
"Neither am I." Anna admits. "'Course, mooks on this level shouldn't be too much of a hassle except for the big guy. I just want more time to count my gold."
"Anna need better hobby." Gregor remarks. "Or maybe friend to spend time with, no?"
"What are you talking about?! Sacks of coin make for wonderful company!"
One of the Mercenaries pick up on the conversation. "You hear that, boys? Sounds like that chick's got some nice big bags of money. How about taking her prisoner so we can help ourselves with some of that sweet gol-"
*Brrzzt!*
The Mercenary falls to the ground as a zapped and charred husk. The ruffians look at his smoking form in horror before they redirect their sights at Anna, who points Gilthunder at them with a displeased expression.
"Leave my gold out of this." the merchant orders the outlaws coldly.
The ruffians huddle together in fear of Anna's sudden change in demeanor. That proves to be a mistake, as the merchant drops a Thundaga spell right on their heads. Even as they contemplate their blunder, Gregor charges in with his axe and sends them flying.
The Hero gives Anna a grateful smile. "Many thanks."
Anna shoulders Gilthunder with a huff. "That's what they get for picking on a girl's best friend."
"Anna really need better hobby." the Hero mutters with a sweatdrop.
Sully blocks a Myrmidon's downward swing with her lance. A smirk is all the warning the ruffian gets before Sully lets go of one end of her lance, causing the sword to slide off to the side. At the same time, Sully steps to the opposite side and hits the back of the Myrmidon's knees. A roundhouse kick to the face sends him on the floor, and Sully's lance through his chest finishes him off.
Sully looks through the corridors.
"We've got this place pretty well mapped out now." the Paladin mutters. She eventually comes up to a set of sturdy looking double doors, guarded by half a dozen more ruffians standing around it.
Sully scowls. "Jack, I think this is it!"
I come out from a side corridor and look around. "So it would seem. Good call, Sully."
As the ruffians standing guard tense up and get ready to fight, Sully scratches her head. "But how the heck're we getting in? The mooks aside, that door looks sturdy."
I scratch my chin and look around for options. A battering ram might do the trick. Now, where can I find-
"All clear on this side, Jack!" Donnel reports as he runs out from the opposite side corridor with Nowi in tow.
I snap my fingers. Yeah, Nowi will do.
Union Strike: Dragon Rage
"Nowi!"
Nowi grins and transforms into a dragon. "V for victory!"
The ruffians do a doubletake upon seeing Nowi transform.
I rush at the three standing on the left and shift Harvest Moon into scythe form. The first ruffian swings at my head. I duck low, spin, and bat him to the right with Harvest Moon. The second ruffian conjures a purple rune circle under my feet and one over my head. I run out from the spell a split-second before black spikes erupt from the circles.
"Still too slow." I mutter as I smack that ruffian in the same direction as the first one.
The third ruffian tries to run me through with his sword. Unlike the first two, his approach is careful and measured. I swing Harvest Moon a few turns before I aim at his feet. He jumps over the scythe, but is forced to block as I continue spinning. The impact blows his guard open, letting me send him in the same direction as his two comrades with a hook kick.
On the opposite side, Nowi barrels straight into a Knight. His efforts at stopping her charge are completely fruitless, and instead get worse as Nowi keeps pushing until a Barbarian gets caught in the fray. Nowi backs off and flips sideways to smack both ruffians to the left with her tail. Another mighty flap of her wings sends her on a crash course with an Archer. Said Archer takes a shaky aim at Nowi, only to miss as she twists around the arrow's path through the air and comes close enough to send that ruffian flying in the same direction as the previous two.
Our combined assault is so well synchronized that each ruffian collides with one from the opposite side, leading to three pairs of ruffians standing in front of the double doors. Nowi and I get in position in front of them. I toss Harvest moon into the air, move my arms clockwise, and cast a funnel of wind that pushes the ruffians against the doors.
"The rest is yours." I tell Nowi.
"Err… RAGE!"
Nowi takes a deep breath and launches an azure sphere of concentrated dragon fire at the ruffians. The wind funnel speeds up the fireball, making it hit the ruffians like a cannon shot.
*BOOM!*
I catch Harvest Moon in the way down and high-five Nowi after she reverts to human form, both of us having matching grins on our faces.
"Aw yeah!"
"What a team!"
BGM ends
A side effect, and the main intent, of our Union Strike was that the double doors got blown clean off their hinges. We march into the audience hall and are met with the gaping stares of everyone inside, including Kjelle, Cassius and a few more of his minions. Figures the jerk would have backup for the fight.
"Wha- How dare you intrude here?!" the ruffian Sorcerer shouts at us.
I crack my neck with a mocking smile. "Oh, we just heard that there's a duel going down here, so we came to see it. Only problem was, your lackeys just wouldn't let us in through the front door, and in this weather too. The nerve of some people, I tell you."
Tharja rolls her eyes. "This coming from you, of all people."
"Hey, I'm only a jerk to those who deserve it."
"Master Jack?" Kjelle asks tentatively. "Is that you?"
I give the blonde Knight a smile. "Oh, looks like I found the one I was looking for. Don't mind me for now. How about we talk later?"
I note that her armor is scratched and even singed in some places. That, combined with the slight labor in her breath, means she probably took a beating before we got here. Considering she had to fight alone, I'm impressed she managed to stay in such good condition against such a numerical disadvantage. And against ruffians who won't hesitate to play dirty at that.
Kjelle blinks before she nods. The Knight is about to turn back to her opponent when Sully walks up to her and claps her shoulder.
"Hey. You got a second?" the Paladin asks Kjelle.
Kjelle's eyes widen upon seeing Sully. "Ahh!"
Sully blinks. "What? Something on my face?"
Kjelle shakes her head. "N-no, you just…remind me of someone. Forgive me. I have no time to talk."
"Don't worry. It won't take long." Sully assures her. "So listen. These lowlifes have no honor. You know that, right? If you meet 'em head-on, you'll just end up with a sword in your back."
Kjelle frowns. "Head-on is how I live."
Sully smiles in approval. "Ooh, I like you. And that's all the more reason I can't let you charge off on your own."
"Don't try to stop me!" Kjelle protests.
"I'm not stopping you. I'm coming with you." Sully explains. "You just focus on finishing your duel, and I'll kill any idiot who gets in the way. Though, that's pretty much what we've been doing this past half hour or so."
Kjelle nods in surprise. "R-right!"
"B-Boss!" one of the few remaining ruffians stutter out. "We're trapped! And they have us outnumbered!"
"Don't you think I can see that, you moron?!" the Sorcerer snaps at his lackey. "No matter. We'll push through their ranks and hightail it out of here. But first, I've a naïve fool of a girl to take care of."
Warning! Warning! Boss-level enemy approaching!
The leader of the ruffians finally steps up, Waste tome in hand.
Kjelle gets in a combat stance with her shield raised. "If you believe in any gods, you'd better pray to them now!"
Cassius grins. "My, my. Aren't we confident?"
Kjelle sends him a cold glare. "I don't fear you, coward!"
Cassius nods. "Aye, I suppose not. Most fools assume that liars and sneaks like me are weak. They want us to be weak, see? They NEED it. It lets them hold on to the fantasy that right prevails in the end." The Sorcerer smirks arrogantly. "Heh. They can think what they want. A cocky fool is an easy target. Truth is, in the end, it's the clever ones who always survive."
Kjelle scoffs. "A man who takes hostages in order to win a duel has no claim to cleverness. Even an animal would not stoop so low! But enough. I've no more words to waste on the likes of you. My master will have vengeance!"
Cassius flips his tome open and begins channeling mana through the pages, causing them to glow purple. "Wrong, girl. Your master will have COMPANY!"
"And company, he shall have." Kjelle declares. "That company will be YOU!"
Kjelle drops her shield, stabs her lance into the floor, and reaches into the gaps between her pauldrons and breastplate. The sounds of clasps coming undone echoes in the hall. Then the top half of her armor falls off and folds along her waist until it surrounds her like the petals of a flower. Kjelle's upper body is still covered in chainmail, but the real surprise is what's revealed on the inside of her armor; hidden blades that fold out over the edge of the armor, adding a circle of sharp edges around the blonde Knight.
Cassius does a doubletake. Nowi oohs in fascination. The lollipop falls out of Gaius's mouth.
"What the h-ll?!" Sully asks shocked. "She had that underneath her armor the whole time?!"
"Is that…a bladed combat skirt?" I ask baffled. "How do you even make something like that?"
"Makes one wonder why she didn't just pull it out from the start." Rose muses. "Oh, wait. This whole fic is mainly from Dad's perspective. Of course it looks cooler for the readers if she does it only after she appears on-screen."
BGM: The battle of concepts, Haikyuu! OST
Kjelle rips her lance out of the ground and charges at Cassius with a battle cry. She brings the lance down with a twohanded swing, but Cassius jumps aside. Kjelle reacts quickly and chases after the Sorcerer while pivoting. This is where the blades in her skirt make themselves useful, as her pivoting turns said skirt into something resembling a circle saw that prevents anyone from getting too close. Cassius casts a quick Flux spell on the ground to get some space between himself and the Knight. His expression mirrors his displeasure of his situation, as indicated by the tears in his robes from Kjelle's bladed skirt.
Cassius conjures a pair of rune circles over his shoulders and launches spheres of dark magic at Kjelle. The Knight weaves between the spells with relative ease, but her progress is impeded enough for Cassius to cast a more elaborate spell. A purple rune circle as wide as he is tall forms in front of him and spews out a black mist. Kjelle notices this and, not taking any chances, uses her lance to pole vault over the mist and towards Cassius for another overhead strike. Cassius rolls to the side and points his open hand at where Kjelle lands.
"Gotcha!"
The mist that originally lingered around where the Sorcerer stood gets blown away from Kjelle's landing. The Knight's eyes widen when she discovers that a rune circle was hidden under the mist all along. Said rune circle glows brightly before an explosion of mana erupts from it.
*Whoom!*
The only thing louder than Kjelle's pain filled shout is the noise of the dark spell. As it dies down, Kjelle pants, with burn marks from the spell on her body in a few places.
"What's the matter, girl? Weren't you going to avenge your dear master?" Cassius taunts.
Kjelle readies her lance with a growl. "I'll make you eat those words."
As she charges anew, a pair of Myrmidons jump in to intercept her.
"Move it!" the Knight roars and twirls her lance while spinning. "Crescent moon!"
Kjelle puts her spinning motion into a big horizontal swing, made bigger by the length of her lance. Both Myrmidons get batted aside like ragdolls from the violent swing, but the attack had Kjelle so committed that it leaves her open for Cassius, who has another spell ready.
Kjelle tumbles backwards from the blast, but gets back up quickly and renews her efforts. This time, her attack proves successful, as the Steel Lance bites into Cassius's side before he can dodge completely.
"I know I ain't the smartest one around…" Vaike muses as the duel rages on. "…but is strength and smarts really opposites of one another?"
I shake my head. "Not exactly. While it's true that those who spend their time studying normally end up physically weaker, that's because they often end up with sharper minds instead. And it's fully possible to be both strong and smart at the same time."
Vaike scratches his head. "So, uh… Is this even a battle between those two?"
"No. Those two aspects aren't in conflict with one another. If you were to choose between one of them, what would you choose? The strength to combat any enemy, or the wits to plan unparalleled strategies? Any decent tactician wants both. The wits to form a good strategy, and the power to see it through."
I frown at the intense battle going on. "However, this isn't such a clash. It's another sort of battle between concepts; a clash between chivalry and deceit. That's what separates a worthy tactician from an unworthy one. Those who involve the innocent in their schemes will never find true strength."
Cassius points at the ground under Kjelle's feet. A black rune circle forms on the floor, and Kjelle finds herself unable to move. While she struggles, six more rune circles form around her.
"See you in Hell! Waste!" Cassius shouts triumphantly.
Dark purple spikes launch from the rune circles. In response, Kjelle slams her lance into the ground.
"Spirit barrier!"
A transparent blue bubble forms around the Knight, causing the spikes to break upon impact. At the same time, the rune circle under Kjelle's feet fades, allowing the Knight to approach the Sorcerer.
"No! I will not fall here!" Cassius shouts defiantly and launches a stream of dark magic at Kjelle.
Kjelle responds by twirling her lance again before she thrusts it right at the incoming dark magic.
"Soul crush!"
The tip of Kjelle's lance glows pink. As the polearm makes contact, the stream bulges before it bursts along its length, starting from the point of impact and continues all the way to Cassius. The final burst knocks the Sorcerer off-balance.
Kjelle rears her lance back and throws it at the ruffian Sorcerer with a war cry. The Steel Lance pierces Cassius right in the solar plexus, causing him to lose his breath and cough out blood. Kjelle rushes into the opening and grabs hold of her lance.
"Victory is mine!"
The Knight jumps into the air with Cassius still impaled on her lance. Then Kjelle points the impaled Sorcerer to the ground and kicks off his body to jump further up, while dislodging her weapon at the same time. As Cassius falls to the ground, Kjelle reaches the beams holding up the roof. There she flips around to hit them feetfirst, and uses her leverage to launch herself back down at Cassius lance first.
*Boom!*
Kjelle drives Cassius into the ground with enough force to form a small crater, her Steel Lance piercing clean through his heart. Cassius gives one last shudder before he goes completely still. Kjelle rips out her lance and flicks some blood off it while standing back up, tall and triumphant.
BGM ends.
Cassius has been killed!
Kjelle has leveled up!
Vaike whistles in appreciation. "Dang. That girl's got some great skills."
I nod. "You're telling me. Good thing she's our latest recruit."
Gaius gives me a sidelong glance. "You planned this all along, didn't you, Buttercup?"
I smirk. "What gave it away? My contract with the squirrels? The route we've been traveling these past few days? The accuracy of finding new allies? My dazzling looks?"
"The looks are debatable." Rose comments bluntly.
"Rose! How could you?!"
"Kjelle!"
We turn to the direction of the voice and find the woman from the town we visited earlier. Despite the fact that this place was a battle zone mere minutes ago, she seems unusually undeterred by the death and chaos left behind from all the fighting as she approaches Kjelle with a relieved smile – and a long wrapped bundle in her arms?
"Thank the gods you're safe!"
Kjelle returns the smile with a nod. "I kept my promise. Your husband can rest in peace now."
"I may have a way to thank you." the wife of the Kjelle's late master tells her and unravels the cloth around the bundle. It reveals an impressive lance underneath. Let's see.
Dragoon Lance, Polearm, Base damage: 75, Rare
This heavy lance is presented as a gift for any soldier who qualifies to become a Dragoon, an elite soldier famous for their skill with polearms and incredible physical prowess. Because the training required to qualify for such a prestigious role is so grueling, this weapon has come to symbolize its wielder's work ethic and dedication. This notion is well-grounded, as any dragoon worth their title can use this lance with ease, despite its weight. The tip is designed specifically to pierce the scales of a dragon, though it can also be used to pierce just about any other target.
Deals 300 % more damage against draconic creatures.
"This was his." the town maiden explains. "And I'm sure he would have wanted you to have it."
Wait… Kjelle's late master was a dragoon?! Drat! He would've probably been a great help against Valm if we got here sooner! Oh well. From what I've Observed of Kjelle, she can perform enough for both of them, especially if she uses that lance.
The look in Kjelle's eyes tells me she's tempted to accept, but she eventually shakes her head. "This is a precious keepsake. Its rightful place is with you."
"I'll not forget my husband for lack of a memento, dear." her late master's wife replies and practically shoves the lance into Kjelle's hands. "Now please, take it."
"You're certain?"
"Absolutely."
Kjelle gives it some more thought before she nods. "Then…thank you."
"Just swear to take care of yourself, Kjelle. Swear you'll stay safe."
"I swear it." Kjelle promises with a smile and takes hold of the lance.
Kjelle got a Dragoon Lance!
Quest alert:
Side quest: A duel disgraced
The tyranny of Cassius has been brought to an end, thanks to your efforts. The townspeople can finally rest easy. Here's to hope the last victim of such underhanded dueling tactics was the late warrior who stood up to him before staying his hand at the sight of a hostage.
Objective: Defeat all enemies.
Objective cleared!
Rewards: You gain 7 000 EXP! You gain 7 000 gold!
Bonus objective: Don't let Kjelle die, Allow Kjelle to finish her duel
Bonus objectives cleared!
Bonus rewards: You gain 1 000 EXP! You gain 1 000 gold!
BGM: Frog's theme, Chrono Trigger music
As we get ready to leave the ruffians' hideout, Sully approaches Kjelle with a proud smile. "Looks like the good guys won after all. Ain't that a kick in the teeth?"
Kjelle nods in gratitude. "Thank you for your help, but I fear other tasks yet lie ahead of me. I still have to find my parents."
Sully sighs. "Aw, h-ll. Your parents are missing? That's rough, kid. Any idea where they might have gone?"
"I have a ring my father gave my mother, but precious little else to go on." Kjelle explains with a hint of frustration.
Sully rubs her chin. "Mind if I take a look?"
Kjelle smiles. "No, of course not."
She reaches into a pouch around her hip and retrieves the ring in question. Sully accepts the ring and gives it a good, long look.
The Paladin blinks bemused. "Well, I'll be d-mned… Kid? This is MY ring."
Kjelle's eyes widen. "Your ring? But then…"
Sully grins. "Hah! I get it. You're one of the kids who came back with Lucina, yeah? Which means…I've got a new lead for you on the parent front, kiddo." Sully flicks the ring back to Kjelle. "I'm your mom."
Kjelle catches the ring with her mouth agape. "Y-you?!"
"You expecting someone prettier?"
Kjelle shakes her head vehemently. "N-no! Of course not! I mean…" The Knight smiles at her newly revealed mother. "You look as beautiful now as I when I knew you."
Sully breathes a sigh. "Har! So I'm not all wrinkled or missing a hand or anything? That's a relief."
"You were a beautiful and vibrant woman, despite the ill times we lived in." Kjelle recalls with a fond smile. "You taught me how to be strong. You taught me to survive."
Sully claps Kjelle on the pauldron. "All right, kid, sit down. I want to know every last detail about the future."
Kjelle nods excited. "You bet!"
Sully smirks. "Is that how you address your mother?"
"I mean, y-yes! Yes, ma'am!" Kjelle corrects quickly.
"Much better."
Kjelle giggles. "Hee hee. You always were tough on me."
Sully nods sagely. "That's right. Any child of mine is gonna have to learn to respect their elders!"
Kjelle's entire posture relaxes as she sits down with Sully. "It's good to see you, Mother."
Sully's mouth twitches before she breaks out in a megawatt grin and pulls her daughter into a sidelong hug. "Aw, c'mere, Kjelle! We're gonna be great together, you'll see! Hey, Vaike! Get your lazy bum over here and say hello to our kid!"
As the Barbarian stumbles over, a small tear forms on the corner of Kjelle's eye.
"My family… How I've missed these moments…"
BGM ends
To be continued
Kjelle's character sheet
Kjelle Lvl 32 Class: Knight
Sully's daughter from the future. She has inherited her mother's strong will and unrelenting work ethic, and thus made a name for herself as "the second woman to end all men". But behind her stern exterior is a warmhearted maiden, caring and loving towards those who gain a special place in her heart. Under Jack's tutelage, she has developed a skillset similar to Einheria Venus, holder of the Valkyrie asterisk. Recordholder for highest standing jump.
Born on September 29th.
Titles:
Flying armor (+ 10% movement speed)
Second woman to end all men (+ 10 % CHAR)
HP: 6 200 / 6 200
MP: 2 100 / 2 100
STR: 45
VIT: 60
DEX: 51
INT: 20
WIS: 20
CHAR: 26.4 (24 * 1.1)
LUCK: 17
ITEMS:
Dragoon Lance (equipped)
Steel Lance
Concoction
Skills:
Polearm mastery, Lvl 58 [24.0 %], Passive
The spear is believed to be the first weapon man ever wielded, mainly for the purpose of hunting. Long and slim, polearms are easy to use but difficult to master due to their length and rigidity. Those who master these weapons not only gain an advantage in range – they can also attack in more ways than many other weapons offer. It has the added benefit of looking awesome AF too.
Increases attack speed and attack power by 290 % when attacking with a polearm of any kind.
Armor lore, Lvl MAX, Passive
Any warrior worth their profession knows the value of bodily protection, but you go beyond mere understanding. You hold a passion for all things related to armor; from the way a polished breastplate gleams in the sunlight, to the smooth hinges in a well-oiled gauntlet's finger portions. No detail is too small for your scrutiny when inspecting armor. Thus, your fascination with this defensive equipment allows you to utilize it to its fullest potential, be it simple leather padding for the forearms, or a full suit of plate mail, fresh from the forge.
Passively increases the defensive properties of all armor worn. All armor gains 50 % more durability.
Acrobatics, Lvl 47 [21 %], Passive
A fighting style developed by soldiers who excel at movement and hit-and-run tactics. The skills learned from mastering this style are very powerful to use in combat, but also run the risk of leaving the user open for counter attacks due to the heavy commitment in every single technique. Careful planning and calculated moves are required to use this style to its full potential, lest the user simply jump headlong into their demise, only to find themselves a sitting duck. Time well, and you can fell even the strongest of foes in a single move.
Passively increases movement speed by 13 %.
Skills mastered:
Crescent moon
Jump
Judgement
Spirit barrier
Soul crush
Preview of the next chapter:
Jack: We're back!
Nah: Yarne! Fight me!
Yarne: You're on, Nah!
*Nah and Yarne tear up the landscape as they clash*
Noire: Oh no, not again…
Frederick: Tell those two to finish up quickly. We set sail for Valm soon.
Next time on Gamer Emblem Awakening:
Imperial naval clash! Beware the scourge of the sea!
Morgan: Hey! It's finally my time in the spotlight, yet I hardly get any mention?!
Jack: Oh, we'll get there, son. Wouldn't miss bonding with you for the world.
Omake: Armored youth (or: Alternate build for Kjelle)
Sully flicks the ring back to Kjelle. "I'm your mom."
An elated smile grows on Kjelle's face. Her eyes light up like stars. "Truly? You are my mother?"
Sully flashes her a grin. "D-mn straight, kid! Welcome to the family!"
"This is a most joyful occasion!" Kjelle celebrates with a thumbs-up and teeth gleaming in the faint lantern light. "At long last, I have been reunited with my dear mother! In celebration, I shall do 200 squats while wearing my armor!"
Sully whistles in appreciation. "Hey, that sounds like a great idea. Tell you what; if you can't do that, I'll do 400 pushups with Vaike sitting on my back."
Kjelle beams. "How marvelous, Mother! And if you cannot do that, I shall perform lance drills all night long with rocks strapped to my wrists!"
Sully gets drawn into her daughter's enthusiasm. "And if ya can't do that, I'll run around all of Ferox – on my pinkies!"
"Mother!"
"Kjelle!"
"MOTHER!"
"KJELLE!"
As their mutual enthusiasm reaches the boiling point, mother and daughter sprint out into the snow, snow plumes billowing high in their wake. The others look after the sprinting duo with blank faces.
Vaike throws his arms in the air. "What the h-ll is up with my family?!"
The first light of day shines over the horizon. The world slowly wakes from its nightly slumber – save for one individual who is already up and in full gear.
"YOOOUTH!"
Rose chucks a tome from within hers and Jack's tent and nails the Knight in the head.
"D-mnit, Kjelle! It's at the crack of dawn!"
New skills:
Ars Caelum Lvl 16 [72 %], Active, Cost: 143 MP
Roughly translates to "sky technique" in Latin. Let your fury as a swordsman loose, with a mana coated sword in hand. The frenzied series of slashes you unleash might seem a bit uncoordinated, but a bit of finesse can whittle down even the toughest of opponents when this move is used properly. Just don't tell the resident keyblade wielders. They might complain about copyright infringement.
Base damage: 85 % of the user's STR per hit (15 hit combo). Element: None
Jack's encyclopedic corner
Iron maiden, Armor, Very rare
While it looks like any other suit of armor at first glance, this intricate piece of protective gear hides a secret on the inside. Undo a few clasps, and the top half folds out to form a combat skirt. To compliment this feature, blades have been added on the inside, which fold out and point around you when this armor transforms. Just make sure to wear something protective underneath this armor while you wear it, lest you run the risk of cutting yourself with the blades.
Waste, Tome, Rare
A dark tome that only a master of the dark arts is qualified to craft. The rune circles drawn within its pages are connected with each other. This intricate drawing technique allows the holder to channel mana for casting multiple spells at the same time, significantly increasing their efficiency in battle. Of course, accomplishing this feat requires enough skill in dark magic to focus on casting multiple spells at the same time, even if each one is identical. As such, the dark magic users who wield these tomes are often also the only ones qualified to craft them in the first place. In fact, many have come to believe it a prerequisite, even though it is technically untrue.
Damage dealt from dark-element spells increases by 8 %. Casting time is reduced by 50 %.
Skill available when wielded: Waste.
Requirement to wield: Dark mastery Lvl:60
With this chapter, the mini recruitment arc around Ferox is finally over, and the Ylissean league is ready to set sail for Valm.
As indicated, I had a few ideas regarding Kjelle's build. I first planned on basing her on Rock Lee from the Naruto series, mainly for laughs. But then I played Bravely Default, and met Einheria. My thought process went somewhere along the lines of:
"Well, this lady sure looks interesting."
From there, a seed was planted and would eventually grow into Kjelle's current build. So, yeah. Kjelle is basically a Bravely Default reference. Her armor itself can count as a reference to Einheria as well. In an optional endgame cutscene, Einheria explains that her combat skirt has blades sticking out in every direction to maximize the damage she causes whenever she comes down with one of her Jump attacks. Considering how hard the Valkyrie job can hit with its signature moves, that says something about her commitment to eliminate her foes. Also, she's blonde, which is part of the reason why I had Sully marry Vaike.
That will be all for now. Until next time.
VipeR out.
