Chapter 9: Teacher
…
It felt like years since climbing the Tower of Thanatos, but in reality it was only 3 short days. And in those 3 short days, I found myself in a predicament.
Lifting up the scythe once more with a heave, my gaze went straight to the straw dummy ahead of me. Without speaking, I sluggishly rushed towards the dummy, scythe held at an awkward angle at my side.
"HYA!" I attempted to swing the scythe at the dummy, but instead of slicing it in two, it simply hit the leather-bound hilt instead of actually being cut, causing it to be knocked over. That wasn't the end, though.
The momentum from the scythe caused me to completely lose my balance in the action, causing me to swing around once more before I fell unceremoniously to the ground. I also lost my grip on the scythe.
I laid there for a while on my side, not really wanting to move. I looked to the scythe, named "Deliverance" by the game, before returning to my thoughts.
It would have been easier on myself if I stayed with a simple one-handed longsword. Heck, even before that, if I stuck with my short one-handed katana life would have been easier. But I suppose I just really wanted to try and wield this scythe.
Moving to a sitting position, I felt a cold gust of wind hit my back. It was usually kind of windy in Therion, but I suppose it was just a really windy day today.
Staring back at Deliverance, I wondered how best to learn how to use it. Normally it wouldn't have been a big problem, except for the fact that I put most of my skill points into Agility rather than strength whenever I leveled up.
I tried to get used to swinging the darn thing with training dummies, but the scythe always felt like I was swinging around a university student's book bag, filled with super thick hard-cover copies of "Essentials of Economy," volumes 1 through 8.
In short, the thing was really freaking heavy.
It would have been easier if I had scythe related "sword skills," but seeing as I just got the scythe a few days ago...well, I had none.
I let out a long sigh and removed my mask as another cold gust of wind blew past me, causing me to shiver. I missed my scarf. I missed it so very much.
Deciding to take a break from all the scythe-swinging, I took out my journal and thought it best to write away my frustration.
-Day 362-
-After a katana, a longsword, and a simple dagger at one point, I am now moving on to using a scythe as my weapon of choice. I started practicing just yesterday, but it keeps feeling like I'm making little or no progress.-
-The easy solution would be to give up and go back to the swords, but it almost feels like cheating.-
-It's cold today.-
My pen stopped as soon as I wrote that last line. My thoughts stopped for a moment as I thought about what I should write next. Despite the fact that my journal doesn't need to be a masterpiece in writing, I still like to articulate my words. If I can't in real life, then I might as well in my written thoughts.
-My balance is always off, the blade itself is massively different from a sword, and I don't even have any decent scythe-based skills. Not to mention that the scythe itself is severely heavy.
If it were lighter it'd be a different story.-
A thought suddenly occurred to me.
Is it even possible to make Deliverance lighter?
It was an interesting thought as the wind blew with my thoughts. I knew little to nothing about weapon crafting. In Item Crafting though, it was common to try different combinations for the same item, but with varying stats. Was it the same with weapons?
I quietly closed my journal as I thought of someone who could answer my question.
Exiting from the Warp Gate in the town of Wileris, I almost immediately felt the light drops of rain on my face. I took in a deep breath, smelling the rain, as I let out a sigh of contentment. I always did like a good afternoon shower.
Walking through the streets, there were only a handful of people out today. As I passed the window of Cafe Zephyr, I saw that it was relatively busy. I almost considered stopping inside for a coffee or a meal, but that wasn't my destination. Perhaps later, but not now.
Navigating the streets, it wasn't long before I heard the sound of hammering. Turning a corner, I found a small open-air shed. Standing inside, hammering away at a hot ingot resting on an anvil next to a modest-sized forge, was someone I hadn't seen in a couple of months.
She was so focused on the metal in front of her, she didn't notice me walking up to her from her right. Even though I knew nothing of weapon-crafting, I was interested in seeing how she worked, so I simply leaned against the wooden post and watched.
Chink! Chink! Chink! Chink!
She hammered away at a consistent pace. She didn't hammer with an incredible amount of force, nor did it sound or look like she was hammering with too little force. It was just the right amount that made it sound satisfying. Maybe even a little therapeutic.
Looking around, other than the anvil and the forge, I saw two tables: One displaying a variety of swords and knives, while the other was barren with nothing on it. Otherwise, not a bad shop. A bit small, but not bad.
After about a minute or so, She stopped hammering and the ingot shone with a bright light as it extended and changed shape into something familiar.
As soon as the light faded, the actual design of the sword itself looked quite good. Not too flashy, but not too dull either. The blade was thin, with a silver color and almost quiet gleam to it. The hilt was wrapped in a leather band that gave it a sort of authentic look.
I decided to finally speak up: "That...that's a pretty...pretty nice one that you...you've made there."
Lisbeth let out a small gasp as her body gave a small jerk of surprise. Her face instantly met mine, and her hand was up as if she was about to slap me.
For a moment her eyes held a small fear, but the second she saw me her eyes dimmed and she let out a small sigh. "My God, Phantom. You need to not scare me like that." Her hand dropped back to her side.
"I...I'm surprised that you still...you still remember me, to be...to be perfectly honest."
Lisbeth, instead of having brown hair, now had dyed pink hair. Other than that, she still kept the same tan short-sleeve shirt over a black long sleeve, a simple black skirt, and a plain brown blacksmith's apron.
She turned and picked up the sword she just forged, looking it over. "Ha, I couldn't forget you and your stutter even if I wanted to."
Before I could reply to that, she turned back to me, still holding the sword. "But seriously, I wouldn't even have this shop without you. So...thanks."
I gave a nervous nod. "No...no problem."
She placed the newly made sword on the display table, next to her other pieces. Once she did, she moved to the empty table. "So!" She spoke with a renewed vigor. "How can I help you?"
Opening and scrolling through my menu, I spawned Deliverance in my hands. I walked around to the other side of the empty table, placing the scythe on it."Um...I was...I was wondering if it...if it was at all possible to...to make a weapon lighter."
Lisbeth tried picking it up, struggling for a moment. She was able to, but She immediately placed it back on the table.
A moment later, she brought up her Appraisal skill, analyzing Deliverance. She continued to look at the stats while having a pensive look on her face. Crossing her arms, She told me "I mean, at my current level I can make it SLIGHTLY lighter with the Weapon Enhancement System, but not by much." Lisbeth paused for a moment. "I assume you can't wield it due to its weight?"
I ran my hand through my hair. "I mean, technically I...I can, but it...it keeps throwing me off...off balance. It certainly doesn't...it doesn't help that I have virtually no...no scythe-based skills."
Lisbeth raised an eyebrow. "You don't? When did you start using a scythe?"
"About three...three days ago."
She brought her hand to her mouth, closing her eyes in thought. "Well like I said, the best I can do is maybe make the blade itself slightly lighter…" She trailed off. I let out a sigh.
"Well...If that's all that can...that can be done, then that's that."
"Not so fast." Lisbeth's eyes popped open. "If you wanna learn some scythe skills, I think I know someone." I tilted my head, curious. She continued. "I have a good friend in the Knights of the Blood Oath guild, and She told me that they have a person who acts as a weapons expert: You know, to train noobs in their specific weapon type so they can be tip-top shape."
A guild? I thought. "I mean...that sounds incredible, but...but I have no...I have no intention of joining a guild."
"Oh, don't worry about that." She waved her hand. "I'll get through to my friend. You'll be able to train without having to join the guild, no problem."
"Really?"
"Come back tomorrow in the morning." Lisbeth tapped Deliverance a few times. "I'll be able to adjust the scythe and probably have an answer from my friend by tomorrow."
"...Thanks. So much." I opened my menu to send her a payment, but Lisbeth slapped my back.
"Don't worry about money, it's on the house my friend. Call it a thanks for that down-payment back when."
I was stunned, not going to lie. I did nothing for a moment, before I decided to take off my mask and look her in the eyes. I bowed. "Thank you so...so much, Lisbeth. Seriously." I straightened back up. "You...you don't happen to have...to have that rainstone still, do you?"
Grinning, she told me "Of course I do! That thing is yours after all!"
I gave a hollow laugh in response. "I didn't know whether or not. Thanks. I...I'll still keep it reserved if you...if you don't mind."
I walked at a semi-slow pace towards the forest at the edge of Nolfret on Floor 39. It's hard to believe that, almost a year of being in Aincrad, 40 floors have been cleared. At least, that was what I heard last.
Earlier this morning, after receiving an upgraded Deliverance, Lisbeth told me that the Knights of the Blood Oath cleared me training with their weapons expert, despite not being a member. After being told their base was at an old mansion on the edges of Nolfret, I departed immediately.
Upon walking through 5 minutes of forest on the edge of the town, I saw what I assumed to be the mansion acting as the guild's Headquarters in a sizable courtyard.
The courtyard was overgrown with grass and vines, most of which were dead. An empty fountain was also overgrown, with a couple of flowers growing from the vines near the top. The mansion itself looked pretty cool. It looked victorian at first glance, being on the larger side. It had a dark green color scheme, with vines overrunning it easily.
It kinda looked like the CLUE mansion or the Old Chateau. Whether that was intentional or not, it carried a certain appeal for me. Right next to the patio were two red and white flags that had a symbol of a cross with the initials K.O.B. in an odd font.
There wasn't anyone outside the mansion oddly enough. It seemed almost dead. Did certainly look cool though.
A moment of nervousness followed as I walked up the steps and raised a hand to the door knocker.
Knock knock.
I folded my hands, tapping my index fingers together for a minute until the door opened. Standing before me was a large man with a large axe strapped to his back. His hair was orange and curly, with a scraggly beard. The most interesting things about him though was his red and white armor and the lax smile present on his face.
Overall, the entire vibe I was getting from this guy was that he was way too trusting.
"Can I help you?" He said in a lax but deep voice.
My index fingers tapped at a faster rate. "Uh...yes you can. I um...um, was told that-that-that-that-that-that-" My words flooded out like a broken record. I never was good at talking to people after knocking on their doors like a salesman.
I immediately stopped talking and took a deep breath. "Ok...Sorry-sorry. Let me...let me start over."
The guy shrugged. "It's fine. Take your time."
Another deep breath. I went over what I needed to say in my head. "I was told...told that someone here could...could help me with my...with my weapon…" I paused, thinking of the next words to say. "I was supposed to...to ask for Asuna."
He let out a laugh that could only be described as hearty. "No problem, kid. Here, come inside." The man stepped to the side, inviting me in.
Taking a step within the mansion, I found that the foyer was remarkably similar to something straight out of an Agatha Christie novel. The floorboards and walls looked like they were formed of longboards, carrying a mahogany color to them. Above me was a wooden chandelier with flames dancing on the candles.
The decor itself was simple, with two flags similar to the ones outside hanging on either side of me when I walked in. I could faintly hear people talking in other rooms and what I believe sounded almost like marching.
I awkwardly looked at the man. "Um...should I...should I wait here, or…?"
"If you want to, you can." He motioned to a green velvet couch a few feet away, against the wall. I almost immediately made my way to it and sat down, sitting straight up and legs together as I kept my hands folded.
The man grinned. "Alright then, wait here while I go get Asuna." He then walked across to the living room where he walked up a narrow spiral staircase up.
My eyes behind my mask darted to different corners of the room, taking in everything I could in order to get my mind off of the nervousness. My word, this felt like a job interview. I was thankful to only have been in one of those before being rejected, but...hm…
Every so often there would be one or two people coming in view of the foyer. They were wearing the same red and white uniform, but otherwise I ignored them and they ignored me.
After what felt like an eternity, I finally saw someone else descending the stairs. When she reached the bottom, I finally got my first good look at Asuna. She had chestnut colored hair, and a fitting red and white uniform. Other than being, admittedly, quite pretty, there were two major points of interest about her.
The first was the rapier that was strapped to her side. I could tell it was a rapier by both the hilt, which was a beautiful light green with a circular handguard, and the blood red scabbard's thinness. In short, it looked like one of the most beautiful swords I had ever seen, looking like it was more decorative than made for combat.
The second point of interest was her eyes. When she started to walk into the foyer towards him, our eyes met and I immediately felt something cold behind her hazel eyes. I couldn't tell anything else except that she had a serious, almost emotionless…
...no. Emotionless was not the right word. No one without emotions would have eyes like that.
It was almost as if it was...a loathing.
I immediately stood up, putting my hands behind my back. It felt as if I was standing at attention to an army general…
"You're Phantom, then?" Her sharp words yanked me out of my thoughts.
"Um...yes, that...that would be...be me, miss." I felt nervous before, but her presence made me feel like I was being carefully examined and judged. I wonder if this is what it's like when people think they see me observing them.
She folded her arms. "Take off your mask."
Normally I would insist that I would like to leave my mask on, as it was something that I felt offered me a certain...protection, for lack of a better word. It was almost like a blanket, or a shield. It made me feel safe.
But her aura intimidated me.
Forcing myself not to talk to avoid embarrassing myself further with my stutter, I brought both hands to my face and slowly removed my mask. My hands had an iron grip on the thing, as my nerves kept getting the best of me.
I blinked a couple of times before Asuna looked me in my viridian green eyes. I felt vulnerable, scared, on edge. I think I fidgeted in place.
"You have no intention of joining the guild. That's what Lis told me. Correct?" I nodded. She let out a sight, closing her eyes. "Normally I'd reject training with our members since you yourself are not one, but...I owe Lis a favor." She started to walk away. "Follow me." I did as she instructed, still holding my mask in my hands, transferring it to just my left. I wanted to put it back on...but I didn't know if she wanted me to keep it off, or if she would get mad at me if I put it back on, or what. I didn't know the rules.
Ironically enough, I didn't pay as much attention to the house around me other than the fact that every room was beautiful and modestly decorated. Honestly, I was doing everything in my power to make sure that I didn't upset Asuna. She scared me. So I mainly kept my eyes to her back as I followed her.
We eventually made it to a staircase going down. At first I thought it was a basement, but it felt like it was becoming nicer and nicer the farther down we went: The wall was lined with suspended candelabras, and it felt relatively brighter the longer we walked.
Eventually I heard voices that sounded like they were exerting themselves, most likely training. When we finally reached the bottom, the basement looked nothing like a conventional basement.
While the floor was basic cobblestone, the walls looked like they were made of polished wooden boards. The place was lit by several more suspended candelabras, along with a suspended chandelier similar to the one in the foyer and a fireplace by one of the walls. The place was also SPACIOUS, like, a college gymnasium sort of spacious.
There was also a huge variety of basic weapons that lined one of the walls, ranging from swords to spears, from shields to knives and even hammers. Finally, there was a green velvet-covered table by the wall opposite of the weapons with two chairs on opposite sides, but then there was the center of the room:
A lady taking on what I assumed to be trainees, a boy and a girl respectively.
"HYAA!" The boy who had brown hair and a longsword did a diagonal slash travelling up towards his opponent. Similarly, the girl with black hair and a hammer did a vertical swing downwards, towards the lady's head.
The woman they were fighting against, who remarkably had long grey hair in a single ponytail moved so fast that I was only barely able to figure out what she did.
CLACK! The next thing I knew, the sword shattered into a handful of pieces as the hammer hit the ground. The woman sweeped the legs of the girl, causing her to fall on her back. The women then flicked both of her wrists toward the boy and the girl, causing both of their health to go into the yellow.
A chime sounded, and a banner was displayed above them saying "WINNER!"
I looked to Asuna, who didn't acknowledge me. She simply watched the fight with her cold stare.
"You two have gotten better," the woman spoke with her back to the two of us. Her voice was kind of boyish, while not completely lacking in femininity. "However, you two lack coordination!" She shouted the last two words, emphasizing them by slamming her fist in her palm. "If I was someone out for blood, you two would be dead! Game over, you lose, you ded! GG no re!
As she finished her speech, the two had gotten to their feet and gave her a short bow.
Asuna cleared her throat. "Yalis, a word?"
The woman, now named Yalis, turned to face the both of us. Her apparel was somewhat simple, wearing a long sleeved black tunic, with it tucked in to what I initially believed was a dress that reached the floor, but upon a second look I realized that they were pants. Hakama, I think. Her look was completed by what I think was an obi-sash around her waist.
She stretched her arms on her way over to us. "Hey, Lieutenant. Who's the kid?"
"This is Phantom. He's going to be training under you." Asuna said.
"What is he, a new recruit?" Yalis asked.
Asuna shook her head. "I'm acting on a favor. Not a recruit, he needs training to wield a scythe."
Yalis let out a mock-laugh. "Hah! Someone had a favor on you, Lieutenant?"
Asuna turned her back and walked back towards the stairs. "He's in your charge." She walked up the stairs immediately, disappearing to the floor above.
As I watched her walk away, I felt an arm around my shoulder. "That girl is something. I break all the toys I get, and she's nice enough to return them for new ones."
Silence.
"Kidding!" She gives me a shove forward, nearly throwing me off balance as I try to not fall over. "But seriously, let's get started."
I turned back around and saw her walking to one of the sides of the room. I expected Yalis to pick up a new weapon and immediately get to training, or something along those lines. Instead though, she walked straight over to the velvet-covered table, sitting in one of the chairs.
She pulled up her menu, and without looking away she called to me. "Come on. Take a seat."
Confused, I quickly made my way over and sat down across from her, hands folded in front of me. Was she going to interview me, like a job? Ask me some questions about myself?
I was surprised when she summoned what looked like a deck of blueback cards from her inventory and started shuffling them.
"You familiar with Poker, kid?" She asked as she ribbon spread the cards across the table in a half circle.
"I...I know how to...how to play, yea." I said. Yalis flipped the cards with her finger, revealing the fronts of the cards, before she collected the cards back to her hand. She shuffled two more times after that.
"Good, good. That makes things easier." She placed the deck in front of me. "You wanna cut?"
I looked to the deck, then back to her. "If...pardon me, but why...but why are we...are we playing cards?"
Yalis gave me a stern look. "Do you want training?"
"...Yes."
"Then cut the deck."
...I wanted to say something else, but similar to my experience with Asuna, I decided to keep my mouth shut and do what I was told.
After I cut the deck, Yalis asked "Do you have a hundred col on you?" I nodded in response. "We will both draw on a money pool of one hundred col. After 5 hands, whoever has the most col wins. Agreed?" I nodded again, summoning 100 col from my inventory onto the table as Yalis did the same.
"We're playing 5 Card Draw for all hands, no wilds." She said as she dealt the cards. After that, Yalis placed 5 col in the center of the table. "It's 5 col to ante up."
I mimicked her and placed 5 col before proceeding to look at my cards. I kept my face blank as I stared at the jack, queen, king, and ace of different suits. It would have been a straight, but I was missing a 10.
Yalis across from me was keeping a remarkably straight face as well. However, I could observe something was different about her, but for some reason I couldn't quite pin down what it was. "Your bet, kid."
Looking back down at my cards, I wondered the best way to proceed. I could try and go for the straight, but that's a 1 in 13 chance that I'll get my 10...Could I give up more of my cards in hope for a new pair...the odds of me getting a pair of cards if I return 4 and keep the ace are relatively higher...but a pair is significantly lower than a straight…
I finally looked up from my hand before putting some of my col in the pot. "I'll raise you 10."
Yalis put a hand to her chin. "Hm…" A few moments later, she put more col in the pot. "Here, I'll raise you 10 more." Inside I was getting worried, but I managed to keep my face neutral.
Taking a deep breath, I matched her bet.
"How many cards, kid?"
"...I'll take one card."
She threw one in my direction face down before taking one from the top herself. "I'll also take one card."
When I flipped over my new card, my heart just sank. It was a 3. A far cry from the 10 I needed. Hopefully Yalis wouldn't catch on. Maybe I could bluff her out...would it work?
I placed a stack of col in front of me. "I'll raise you 20 more col."
It wasn't even 5 seconds before she called. "Showdown time, kid. What do you have?"
I sighed, placing down my cards. "Ace high." A small part of me hoped she didn't have anything either.
However, that hope was immediately dashed when she showed me her own cards, after which I was internally kicking myself. "Pair of fives." She didn't even say it smugly, She just said it as plainly as if she was describing the weather. "Ready for the next round?" She gathered all the cards back into the deck before placing it in front of me. "Your turn to deal."
Our game continued, and it became more and more apparent that Yalis was a good poker player. It was hard for me to read her, to tell when she was bluffing or when she was telling the truth. I was able to win back a small amount of money, but after a handful of more rounds, I lost all 100 col.
"Good game, kid." She told me as she shuffled the cards a few more times. Not that great, but not horrible either."
"Not bad? I lost all the col."
"True." She drew a single card from the deck and started twirling it between her fingers. "If you fight with the mentality you play with, you'll lose a lot more than a bit of col." She paused for a moment, as if thinking what to say next. "What level are you?"
"Thirty-nine."
She nodded in approval. "Not bad. I assume you know that speed in a fight can be the factor that determines if you win or not?" I nodded. "Am I right when I say that you tend to think hard about what moves you should make in a fight before acting?"
This caught me off guard. That was...by and large, how I mainly fought. I nodded hesitantly. "If I may-"
"How did I know that?" Yalis gave me a smirk. "You know, fighting and poker, while obviously being incredibly different, have a lot of similarities. You have limited resources that can act for or against you, you can choose to fight or to flee, and most importantly-" She flipped the card in her hand, revealing it to be an ace of hearts. "-you need to make in-the-moment decisions."
With a flick of her wrist, the card suddenly disappeared. "You took your time when deciding what to do in our game. While not inherently a bad thing, it allows the other person to get a better read on you. If you take your time in a battle setting, it can mean the difference between life and death."
I finally understood. "Are you...are you saying that...that our game was...was a test?"
The card reappeared in her hand. "I prefer the term 'training.' You didn't think I would just be teaching you how to fight physically, would you?" Yalis dropped the card on the table and stood up, walking to the center of the room. "'All battles are first won or lost, in the mind.' Do you know who said that?"
I stood up from my seat awkwardly, facing her. "I...I don't. Who said that?"
She shrugged. "No idea, all I know is that it's a quote." She flicked her wrist, and a kunai appeared in her hand. "Now then, Phantom. Show me what you can currently do with that scythe, and we'll work from there.
WEW!
I am so sorry that this chapter took so long. I actually hammered out the first 5 pages really easily, but I just...got in a slump. I seriously didn't mean for this chapter to take as long as it did, but here it is.
Anyways, I don't have a lot to say or commentate on, but I sincerely hope you enjoy it. And if you DON'T enjoy it, tell me in a review, because I genuinely need constructive criticism. I want to make this story as best as I can, and I'm scared of NOT making it the best that I can.
Thanks again, and Merry Christmas! I promised myself I would write a Christmas special before the 25th, so assuming I don't get hard block, I will see you all real soon!
-Silver