Chapter 3
DOG DAYS
3RD PERSON POV
How to train your Adventurers.
What a wonderful Friday afternoon we have here in the Hero School also known as Heroics Academy.
The birds are chirping.
The critters frolic everywhere.
The sound of screams of terror and explosions filled the air.
Wait, what? Let's back up for a bit.
The sound of constant explosions is coming from the prestigious arena of the academy. Let's have a look.
At the center of the pit, four students fought. It was a two-on-two matchup. And sadly, it was a one-sided beatdown.
Will, the Healer, ran for her life. Screaming in terror, she dove to the ground as she felt the heat from an incoming fireball behind her. Not too soon, the fireball exploded in her previous position to which the redhead looked in terror. She turned her head towards the origin of the spell and screamed once again as she scrambled up to run once more. The enemy female Mage already has another fireball to throw with her name on it.
As the game of mouse and fireball continues, Will's friend, Dimitri, has her own problem.
Blocking the sword of her opponent, a male Warrior, Dimitri prepared a fireball in her palm. At such close range, her opponent won't dodge it. Too bad for her, her opponent is much more skilled in battle. Seeing the fireball in her hands, the Warrior grasped her palm, making the fireball destabilize and explode on herself. The Warrior threw himself back before the fireball exploded meanwhile Dimitri took the full brunt of the explosion. It sent her flying in the air before landing roughly on the ground. She was teleported away shortly, signifying her loss of consciousness and defeat.
"Dimitri!"
At the sudden elimination of her friend, Will got distracted and it was enough for her opponent. With a loud explosion, the match ended.
TIMESKIP
Saturday, no classes
Morning
Two loud smacks echoed in the dining hall as two girls smacked their faces on their table.
Elizabeth can only look at her two newfound friends in helplessness as she doesn't know what to do to console the two.
Currently, the two are wallowing in despair and throwing a childish tantrum in Dimitri's case.
These 3 girls became fast friends after the last-man team matchup. Dimitri railroaded Elizabeth to become friends which she happily accepted. Currently, said girl is trying and failing to console the two.
Will had her head down on the table, comically crying silently. Meanwhile, her best friend is crying loudly with her head on the table and smacking the poor table repeatedly.
"Why! Why do we suck so much! " Dimitri wailed.
Will just continued to silently cry in her spot.
The reason for their current dilemma is their losing streak in the arena. After that first team-up in the first week of school, things had gone downhill.
The combat practices do daily two-man matchups constantly to monitor students' progress. The reason for this is that some classes can't handle 1v1 fights, such as the Healer and Mage class. Only 2v2 and 4v4 matches are allowed in live combat practice with 4v4 being the monthly test at the end of the month.
There are no 1v1 fights unless it is allowed by the teachers. 1v1 matchups are only allowed in exhibition matches every weekend. The fighters must first schedule a match and have it approved by a teacher. These exhibition matchups range from 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, and 4v4 only.
Now, back to the girl's problem.
For the last two weeks, both girls had partnered up in live combat practice. Well, both girls had zero combat skills.
Granted, Dimitri knew how to cast spells and she is the most powerful of the two. Will meanwhile can heal and supply Dimitri with extra Mana to give her a massive boost in power. Sounds like a perfect team for the two friends.
No.
Their team composition is shit.
A Mage and Healer combo will not work. A Mage functions as the artillery in a team while a Healer keeps the frontline fighters alive to keep them both safe.
They lack those front liners in a 2v2 match.
This led to the two as easy pickings for anyone. Even with Will stepping up as a frontline and defense for Dimitri, she lacked the skills to actually do anything. Dimitri meanwhile is a beginner Mage who only has a fireball spell in her arsenal.
Their Magical theories and Combat strategies are helpful but they can't help them in not sucking so much. Magical theories only studied how Mana theoretically functions and doesn't actually teach combat spells. It also applies to Combat strategies as it only helps them in conditioning themselves in combat scenarios not actually helping them in improving their skills.
Suddenly, Dimitri looked up at Elizabeth from her position, making the poor girl jump in surprise.
"Eli, please tell me your secret. I beg you to teach me your ways." the dark-skinned girl begged her new friend. Her voice is dull and has lost its once cheerful tone.
"Ahm, you could, you know, train a lot?" the poor girl answered unsurely.
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh " Dimitri wailed on the table at the girl's answer.
"I'M SORRY!" The said girl apologized.
Unlike the two, Elizabeth is much more successful in live combat practice. With her experience in fencing (a reminder of her past), she had an easy time converting those skills into a new form of swordplay.
Together with her Rogue speed and agility, she developed a sword style focused on breaking in enemy defense through powerful sword thrusts. Her trusty Saber was a pretty good weapon in using the new style.
Elizabeth fought in the arena with deadly grace, earning her a perfect win streak. This led to her earning a reputation. The "White Rogue Princess" they call her. She became an idol to the student body (much to her embarrassment). This led to a lot of admirers, both boys and girls, vying for her attention. Unluckily for said admirers, her success didn't stem solely from herself.
Suddenly, a student burst into the dining hall. After catching his breath, he announced his purpose.
"Hey, guys. Brad challenged Alvaro again in a 1v1. It's now starting in the arena!"
Immediately, all the students left the dining hall in a huge hurry. Their destination: the arena.
"Ugh, that knucklehead doesn't ever learn. When he will stop challenging your partner, Eli." Dimitri groaned as she stood up to follow the crowd.
"I don't know. I kinda see it as charming. Brad really wants to surpass Clint" Elizabeth answered with a smile. She is happy about the distraction her partner made. Once the match is over, she'll make sure to reward him.
"I call it more stubborn than charming, Eli. Alvaro is way beyond his level after the thrashing he gave to him in the first week." Will pointed out to her.
Brad was the trash-talking giant in the previous 4v4 matchup. He was the one who got ko'd via Flight Express to the arena shield.
After that match, the giant Warrior constantly challenged Alvaro in a 1v1 fight. He lost every time but he always came back. It is now his 5th challenge this month.
"Well, Clint actually likes him. He just doesn't show it but he liked Brad's constant challenge." Elizabeth revealed.
"Wait, you mean Mr. Tiny Terror actually looks forward to Brad's challenges?" the redhead asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Please don't call him tiny terror." the Rogue pouted. She didn't like the name of his partner earned through his reputation.
Grasping the shoulders of the white-haired girl, making her face her, Dimitri told her the truth.
"Eli, my sweet summer child. Your partner is a small menace to society and a tiny terror to the school. The entire student body knows it. The teachers know it. Heck, even the animals know it. Just accept it, my child."
"He is not that bad" Elizabeth tried to reason with her friends.
The two girls looked at her with their eyebrows raised as if asking her to give them a good reason.
Elizabeth grimaced in surrender. Her partner is really a tiny terror.
After the one-sided beatdown in the first week, Elizabeth had partnered herself with the small Warrior as he looked like a good partner.
She was right in that department.
In the following live combat practices, the two worked very well. Like a hammer and anvil, perfect match. Clint became the anvil. Always at the front in battle. Tanking and dishing out blows that Elizabeth can't take. He was an unstoppable wall that was going to crush whoever was unlucky to cross swords with him. Elizabeth meanwhile became the hammer. As Clint takes all the attention to himself, she targets any vulnerabilities in the enemy team. By the time the enemy team finds her, it's too late. They would be stuck between a hammer and an anvil. So far none have escaped the two.
Clint's fighting style revolved around a mix of CQC and swordplay. His longsword which is taller than him seems to be a hindrance but he actually made it work. Clint used his sword in various ways, adapting to what situation he was in. He also mixed his swordplay with brutal CQC which he demonstrated in the first week.
This fighting style earned him a fearsome reputation in the student body. No one and absolutely no one, wants to fight him voluntarily (except Brad).
Outside of combat, Clint is not far different from Elizabeth. Elizabeth is a quiet person because of shyness while Clint is quiet because he is just a silent person in general. He never initiates a conversation unless it is needed. He is also intimidating even for his small size with his blank cold look.
It was this reason why Elizabeth's admirer never bothers her. They fear whatever consequences that would happen if Alvaro gets them. With his emotionless look, they can never tell what his mood is, leaving them on eggshells around him.
"Let's just go to the arena, girls. " Elizabeth sighed. They continued their trek after that towards the arena.
Timeskip
Arena
Morning
The arena was bustling with activity as students waited eagerly for the fight. Some had already started betting. This is what our three heroines found as they took a seat on the arena sidelines.
"Hey, give me some popcorn! " Dimitri called out to a nearby vendor, who is allowed inside every weekend only and must have a permit by the headmaster, to buy some.
"Any drinks for you, girls?" the vendor, an old granny, asked them as she handed out a huge tub of popcorn to Dimitri from her inventory (a good use of it).
"We'll have some if you had any, granny. " Will replied to the old woman who smiled as she showcased her products.
After buying their drinks (and coaxing Elizabeth to try the popcorn), the match is finally starting.
Coming out from the right gates, Brad emerged.
He was a tall dark-haired young man. Dark-skinned and had very short but curly hair on his head. Standing over 6 feet, the armored giant is ready for combat. His broadsword strapped to his side in its hilt.
He arrived at the center of the arena pit, waiting for his opponent.
Emerging from the left gate, a small armored warrior came out. He is very small at 4'9 feet. He looked comical as he dragged a very long sword behind him. As he arrived at the center, the audience couldn't help but compare them to David and Goliath.
The teacher/proctor then spoke through a magic rune.
"OK, lads. This is a 1v1 match between Clint Alvaro and Brad Summers. Well, start the match shortly in my signal. Prepare yourselves."
Brad unsheathed his sword and went to a sword stance. His feet were wide and his sword was held in front of him. Clint meanwhile didn't take a stance. He stood in a neutral position with his sword grasped in both hands, one on the handle and one on the blade.
Seeing that combatants were ready (or in Alvaro's case being relaxed) he started the match.
"Begin"
With an explosive charge, Brad immediately moved to take a swing to the smaller warrior. His entire body was coated in a translucent blue aura, something Clint noticed. Brad raised his sword with both hands to cleave Clint from his shoulder to hip.
*Boom*
The ground exploded in a pillar of dust as Brad missed. His target had leaned out of the way at the last second.
"Tch" he cursed in his head.
Clint is on his guard after that failed opening move. He can clearly see him pulling his fist for a devastating punch. Brad can do nothing but hope his new technique works.
*Bam*
Clint's counterattack hit Brad clean on the stomach. Everyone in the arena winces at the sound of armored fists hitting his armor. It was like the sound of a car crash. Expectedly, Brad was thrown away by the attack. Clint's fist was a signature move of his, able to fling away foes even bigger than him with his powerful blows. His strength was so powerful it was enough to bend and warp armor with one strike. This blow commonly ends the fight immediately after it is struck. That was what everyone expected.
They didn't expect Brad to rise up immediately as if he just didn't take a huge blow.
"Hahahaha, fuck yeah it worked baby!" Brad exclaimed with laughter. He started patting the area where Clint's fist landed.
There was no damage. The armor remains unscathed.
He looked at his smaller opponent and opened his arms to showcase his undamaged state.
"Look at that, tiny terror. No damage at all. My new technique worked and now I'm gonna whoop your ass." he said with a smile.
Victory is finally in his grasp.
Contrary to his expectations of disbelief from said opponent, he was wrong.
Instead of a look of disbelief, the tiny terror was a far more terrifying reaction to his reveal.
He had a small smile.
"Oh, he has done it now," Elizabeth muttered, something her companions noticed.
"OK, why is that?" Will asked her.
"He's gonna kill Brad, guys. I bet my panties on it." Dimitri said in a low terrified voice. This earned her a look of disgust/embarrassment from the two.
Shaking her head from her friend's antics, Elizabeth spoke.
"In my short time with Clint, I found out a few things about him." she started.
Below the pit, Brad took a step back. Alvaro never smiled. Seeing his hesitation, Clint went offensive.
"One of those is that Clint is secretly a battle maniac," Elizabeth said to the two.
"Fuck! " Brad cursed as he hastily used his sword to block a powerful swing from Alvaro. Alvaro had closed the distance between them in such a short amount of time, it surprised him how fast the smaller warrior was. At the right time, he swung the sword he was dragging in full swing.
*Clang*
He succeeded in blocking the sword swing but not the following headbutt. Alvaro had used the full swing as a faint to get in close and deliver a powerful headbutt.
"Fuck!" This is bad for Brad. Disoriented by the blow, he can't defend against the follow-up attacks.
A right hook to the face
A body blow
And a powerful uppercut as a finisher
Brad was thrown to the ground after the combo. Alvaro started walking around Brad while examining his work. No damage, the only true damage Brad took is the possible concussion he gave.
He was impressed.
Groaning in pain at the huge headache, Brad slowly stood up. His head is pounding in his skull but his body is undamaged. His technique had done its job. Somewhat.
"Ugh, how… how the fuck did you bypass my technique's defenses?" he asked in confusion.
His brand-new technique had taken all the blows with no damage except for the headbutt. Somehow, that opening headbutt managed to pierce through his defenses. What just happened?
"You figured out my technique from the first week, right?" Alvaro asked.
"Ya?" he answered with uncertainty. Why did he ask?
"Well congratulations, you did step one of the technique. Now, you just have to figure out the next steps," he explained with a smirk.
Fuck, I knew it.
Brad cursed in his head. It's no wonder he easily managed to replicate the technique. Turns out, he was missing various steps. How many steps did he miss?
Cursing in his mind, Brad took his sword stance. He is now on the back foot as Alvaro had a means to pierce his defense. He just needs to figure out how and counterattack appropriately.
How did he do it? Think, think.
He tried to remember the simplest details of the start of the fight. His thoughts went to the part where the headbutt impacted him.
A look of realization came to his face.
Impact
"Now you get it."
After his statement, Alvaro went back to attacking him. Desperately, Brad defended himself.
Block
Parry
Dodge
Sidestep
Block again
Push back his sword
He used every advantage he had. His height means he had longer strides compared to Alvaro which he used to properly position himself to block incoming sword strikes. His longer arms easily repositioned themselves in sync with Alvaro's attacks, bobbing and weaving to all sides to find a weak spot in order to pry him open and deliver a more devastating blow than the first.
*Clang*
*Clang*
*Clang*
Steel clashing against each other echoed in the arena. The two fighters locked in combat as the shorter one attacked aggressively, his long sword cleaving in the air which the taller opponent blocked. The shorter would then weave in any direction around his opponent and strike again. The taller one would follow his movements and block the attack. They are locked in a stalemate. Brad was stuck in a defensive position as Alvaro whittled his defense as he attacked from all sides.
As the battle progresses, Alvaro's attacks become faster causing Brad to hastily keep up.
Shit, I can't keep this up for longer.
Blocking another strike, Brad thought of a possible step up to his technique in order to win.
Output, that was the key. The technique coats my entire body in a strong layer of Mana akin to a second skin. This coating would then absorb any physical blows from any sources.
He frowned as he remembered one key detail from the start of the fight.
But that headbutt, I knew I felt it. Alvaro is also using the technique but his is much more powerful. I felt the Mana around my head break before the impact. It was like a car getting hit by a train.
My Mana is the car and Alvaro is the train.
I need to match up his output.
With determination in his heart, Brad took a gamble.
With a huge leap backward, Brad disengaged and created much-needed distance between himself and his small adversary. Alvaro looked at him in surprise. Well, he's gonna be shocked by what he had in store.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAA! " Brad roared as he gathered as much mana and condensed it all over his body.
"Holy shit, Brad's going super saiyan!"
One of the students shouted and true to his words, Brad does look like his going super saiyan. Kinda.
An aura of erratic blue Mana had enveloped his entire body. It was luckily translucent enough to see Brad's figure.
His eyes went white. His mouth gritted in concentration and they can see his hands shaking at how tight he is holding his sword.
Alvaro only watches Brad, waiting.
After a few seconds. The erratic aura calms down. It became a deep blue aura wafting over Brad's skin.
Brad felt powerful. Lots of Mana is currently rolling all over his body. Victory is finally his.
"Looks like I got you now tiny terror" he smiled.
"Looks like it," Alvaro answered apathetically.
"Let's end this"
With a huge smirk on his face, Brad charged at him. Alvaro didn't look scared, instead, he waited in his position for Brad to arrive.
Getting in the right position near his opponent, Brad swung his sword. It swung in the air, threatening to cut Alvaro in half. Alvaro saw the attack a mile away and ducked down to roll away.
The next thing that happened shocked the entire arena.
As Alvaro ducked down the swinging sword, the sword itself produced what can only be described as a deep blue air slash, like in a video game. The air slash traveled in the air before crashing onto the ground, leaving behind a huge line of carved earth.
Upon seeing the damage of the unexpected result of his experimental technique, Brad can't help but holler in joy.
"Oh, yeah! That's what I'm talking about"
He then looked at Alvaro who was kneeling on the ground after his dodge roll, frowning as he surveyed the damage.
"Looks like it's here you will lose, tiny terror."
The crowd roared in excitement.
"Get him, Brad"
"Beat that tiny terror"
"You the man, Brad"
The crowd hollered to Brad. The underdog is finally winning and the tiny terror will be taken down a peg.
"Hehehe"
Chuckling to himself, Brad started to slowly walk to Alvaro. Better savor the moment.
But to his utter surprise, Alvaro suddenly stood up and started walking away.
Wait, what?
Brad looks at him in confusion, he can see him going to the gates but why?
"Hey! Where the hell are you going?! " he shouted at him.
Alvaro stopped and looked back at him.
"Fight's over" he simply said.
"Oh, you are surrendering, Ha!" Brad laughed. To think the tiny terror will surrender to him. He started laughing uncontrollably at the thought.
"No, because you already lost," he voiced out while walking away.
What?
Still laughing uncontrollably, Brad saw him holding up his hand.
Three fingers up.
He looked at it in confusion. He can still hear the crowd hollering and cheering for him to finish the fight but somehow he is entranced by the said three fingers.
The first finger came down.
The second finger.
And finally the last finger.
Brad didn't know what happened after that. He just suddenly found himself face-first on the dirt. His head was pounding. His body isn't responding to his brain. The world is somehow spinning. Vaguely, he can hear the instructor screaming at him.
Then everything went black.
Back to the trio on the stands.
"What the hell?" Dimitri exclaimed as they watched Brad suddenly collapse after doing the most awesome power-up attack in real life.
The instructor rushed to the down form of Brad. After checking him, he then announced Alvaro as the winner as Brad could no longer fight, much to everyone's confusion and disappointment.
"What just happened, did Alvaro do something to him?" Will asked in confusion about what just happened to the only person who had an inkling idea what just happened.
Said person is already standing up to greet the winner of the match.
"Boo, we demand an-hey!" Will dragged Dimitri to follow the Rogue. She then gave her friend a pointed look to which she received a pout as an answer.
"Wait up, Eli"
Will called out to her friend as they waded through the chaotic crowd of students currently yelling for an explanation.
It took them a few minutes and a fireball to the feet before they caught up to Elizabeth. They found her already happily talking to said tiny terror with a bright smile.
"Oh, it's you two," he said with a blank tone.
Oh, this jerk.
Will doesn't like Alvaro at all. Yes, he did give her a nice gift, a mace, and a shield, but she didn't like how he treated Elizabeth.
He treats her like an unwanted pet or worse, a pest.
Seriously, a beautiful girl is blatantly giving you signs that she likes you and you just ignore it.
I would kill to be in your shoes, asshole.
(Will is bi)
"Helloooo~" Dimitri greeted him with her usual sunny smile.
Will opted to stay quiet as she might accidentally blurt out her unpleasant thoughts. She did give a wave though.
Alvaro just stared at them. Awkward silence.
.
.
.
.
.
After a few seconds of silence, Elizabeth went ahead to save her friends.
"So…. Did you have a good fight?" she asked.
Alvaro looked at her before answering.
"It was good until Brad made a stupid mistake."
"Wait, what mistake? He was doing great before he collapsed after his last attack" Will asked with a frown.
"Ya, that was a cool spell of his was about to whoop your butt before he collapsed that is. What was that by the way?" Dimitri added. She is curious too.
Alvaro started walking towards the dining hall to which the three girls followed him before he started talking.
"That last attack was his mistake," he said.
"But he did the On Guard spell right, right?" Elizabeth asked.
Will and Dimitri look at each other in confusion.
On guard spell?
They both mouthed quietly before focusing back on the conversation.
"He did it right at the first half of the fight, you saw how he was undamaged by my first attack? That was him doing it right."
"Oh," Elizabeth nodded in agreement to him.
The two meanwhile are so lost in what they are talking about.
"Wait, wait, wait, back up for a minute. What are you two talking about? On guard spell? Explain!"
Dimitri exclaimed. Her curiosity is killing her with how the two are talking nonsense she couldn't understand. Will's head is already smoking trying to understand the conversation.
Dimitri's abrupt exclamation stopped the two in their tracks.
Looking at the two girls, Alvaro asked Elizabeth.
"How did you become friends with these two?"
"Hey/hey"
Elizabeth merely smiled and answered him back.
"They are a better company than the others when you're away."
"Eli!" The two girls cried as they hugged their beautiful friend.
"Take that jerk, she said we're better company" Will gloated at him. Happy to have a win against the asshole.
"*Sigh* Let's just get to our usual spot before I explain. I'm too hungry for this"
Alvaro is going to have a headache dealing with these three girls.
Timeskip
Will's POV
At least he found a good spot.
Elizabeth's short partner led us to a grove hidden at the northern side of the school just behind the stadium.
Currently, we are under a gigantic tree, its canopy perfectly covering us from the sun. Under the cool shade, we relaxed as Alvaro and Elizabeth prepared what appeared to be a picnic. Elizabeth sets down a huge blanket from her inventory and Alvaro starts pulling out food.
"Isn't this a lot for 4 people?" Dimitri asked with a hesitant voice.
I dumbly agreed to her as I watched Alvaro pull out a literal buffet from his inventory. I can feel my stomach growling in hunger. If someone would look at me right now, I'm sure they would see me drooling.
" What do you mean? this is all for me." said the monster, shattering my hunger-induced musings.
"WHAT?!" we both cried out.
We then looked at laid-out food. It can feed 4 families in one go and he says it's all for him.
This guy's a glutton
We thought as he sat down and proceeded to eat.
"Clint" Elizabeth's stern voice cuts him off before he can take the first bite.
He looked at her in a deadpan look.
"No" he simply said.
Elizabeth pouted at his answer. She then looked at him with an intense look as if she was trying to set him on fire.
Me and Dimitri just stood awkwardly before the two.
After a few moments, he finally relented.
"All right, they can eat some." he sighed.
"Yay" we exclaimed in joy. Both of us then dove in to eat. That chicken looks especially delicious.
"Next time, bring your own food, you freeloaders." we ignored him in favor of eating. That glazed chicken looks delicious.
"Oi, you bitch. Don't hog the whole chicken." no! That chicken is mine!
I can hear Elizabeth laughing as we wrestled for the right to eat the damn chicken. I want it!
Timeskip
"Aaaaa… I'm stuffed. That was a good meal."
I leaned on the tree trunk with a satisfied sigh. That was one of the best meals I had. Dimitri is also leaning on the tree beside me, patting her stuffed stomach with a satisfied smile. Meanwhile, Elizabeth is leaning on the tree just beside me, sandwiching me in the middle. She is reading a book after her light meal (she finished eating first).
Alvaro meanwhile is lying on the grassy ground sprawled, sulking in defeat after I won the glazed chicken. A worthy prize.
Suddenly, Dimitri sat up from her position.
"Oh wait, you guys forgot to explain about that spell earlier."
"Aaa… I forgot about that. I got lost watching you three." Elizabeth sheepishly answered. She hid her face in embarrassment with her book.
"The On Guard spell?" Alvaro said with an eyebrow raised as he looked at us from his position. The guy didn't even bother to move, too relaxed in his position.
Dimitri simply nodded at him.
"It's no use for a Mage like you or your Healer friend." he snorted.
"But still, it's like the current advance spell we know of." Dimitri reasoned. "We want to know how it functions maybe it can help us," she added with a sigh. Her expression turned sad.
I looked at my friend in worry. Our poor performance in battle still nags her. I then gave the jerk a mean look which he completely ignored, the asshole.
He then looked at Elizabeth.
"This is the reason you brought them to me?" he asked her.
Huh?
"Well, they need help, and I… I thought you could help them out." Elizabeth said with a quiet voice. "They're my friends and you're the only one I knew I could count on." her face went red saying that line.
"Aaaah, you're our friend too, Eli. Right Will?" Dimitri suddenly pulled me and Elizabeth in a tight one-armed hug. Our faces squished together with me in the middle. Elizabeth's smooth skin is so soft, thank you, Dimitri.
Alvaro sighed while watching us. Dimitri kept gushing about how a good friend Elizabeth was and that she would surely spoil her well.
"Okay, I'll help these two suckers."
"Hey!/Hey!"
He then sat up in an Indian sit.
"First, both of you have no lick of combat skills at all." he pointed out.
"Well sorry if we don't pick fights every day like you." I snarked back at him.
He raised an eyebrow at my remark.
"I'll have you know I'm the most behaved boy in our family tree. I have never been in a fight in my whole life."
"That's a load of bull… fruitloops." I caught myself before I cursed in front of Elizabeth. Don't want her to learn curses, stay innocent my sweet child.
"I agree with Will here, how can someone like you who had no violent experience be so good?" Thank you, Dimitri, my point exactly.
Ever heard of the phrase 'Learn, Adapt, Survive and Repeat'. " he said.
That's a weird phrase.
We both shook our heads in a negative response. Alvaro had an explosive sigh as he looked down at the ground, palming his face. He is mumbling incoherently in a quiet voice.
Did he just call us uncultured swine?!
I was about to give him a piece of my mind when suddenly looked back up.
"Okay, this will be harder," he said before addressing us. " Okay, first of all, do remember that we are in a world that the players said is a game, right?" we nodded at him.
"That means this world is vastly different than ours, so we need to learn and adapt to whatever we have right now. We got lucky at first that the players built the foundation of our current civilization before they vanished but we need to move our own now.
You are in New World now girls. That means all the rules back in the old world don't work here. Yes, we built ourselves a proper civilization but it's fragile.
The best part, you both volunteered to defend it. This is not simple volunteer work. In this job, you need to kill or get killed. That's what you brought yourselves in entering this rabbit hole.
Monsters and unknown threats roam in this world and we will be tasked with bringing them down before they will kill you.
So girls, tell me. Why are you here in this school?"
We listened in rapt attention to his rant. I just realized how dangerous this job is. As part of the hero division, I would need to go to the frontline as a field doctor where monsters lurk. Even if I try to be a city doctor it wouldn't be guaranteed with how low in manpower the frontline are.
His last question is giving me doubt of why I'm here. I'm just plain old Will who can't hurt a fly. Heck, I'm the worst in fighting. Maybe I should drop out.
"I want more to this life."
I looked at Dimitri in shock. She actually answered him. She is looking at Alvaro with such determination I almost didn't recognize the happy-go-lucky girl.
"You said it yourself, this is a new world. I'm glad I was brought here with my entire family but I want more than being confined in a single city.
I want to explore. To see what the world could offer and what I could find. That's why I'm here because I know it will be dangerous. I don't know what will be ahead of me and I would need all the skills I could get. That's the reason Why I'm Here."
She passionately said. I never thought she would feel confined in the city, our last bastion. I envy her. Her determination is something I couldn't muster.
Suddenly Dimitri looked at me. It made me jump a little as she stared at me. I looked at her questioningly to which she rolled her eyes and gestured her eyes towards Alvaro. I turned towards him and saw him staring at me intensely. It made me sit rigidly.
Both of them are staring at me before it hits me.
They are waiting for my answer.
"Ahm, this is embarrassing," I said. My reasoning is much more embarrassing.
"Just spit out," Alvaro said, already losing patience.
"OK, money. I need money to help mom. There I said it." I blurt out with a red face.
It's embarrassing!
I covered my face in embarrassment. I then felt Dimitri hug me.
"That's my friend, always a mama's girl." she teased.
I look up at her with a deadpan face to show my disappointment to her. Tease me about my height, not my mom. With a battle cry, I threw myself at her and started wrestling her down to the ground. She yelped but managed to catch me and fought back. We then proceeded to tussle on the ground.
"Ah! You bit me you gremlin!" Dimitri screamed.
Elizabeth's soft laughter echoed as I tried to make this gorilla pay. Suddenly Alvaro spoke.
"Training starts tomorrow morning. 7 am sharp. Don't eat breakfast."
He then stood up from his position and started walking back towards the castle.
I stop smacking Dimitri who I am straddling while she is trying to defend herself. We watched him walk away in confusion.
"Uh… What?" said the girl beneath me.
"He's going to train you two tomorrow so better prepare yourselves," Elizabeth said after stifling her laughter.
We then enveloped her with a hug, thanking her for helping us out.
I'm sure we're not gonna regret it.
Timeskip
Sunday, no class
Noon
I take back my words. I regret it now, Elizabeth. Why?!
Alvaro's brand of training is hell. Just earlier this morning, he snuck into the girls' dormitory to drag us out of bed. How did he do that? He didn't wait for us to get dressed out of our pajamas before he dragged us to his spot, the grove. And then our hell began.
We first dressed into our combat outfits, our Healer and Mage outfits respectively, by Elizabeth's urging. Thank her kind heart. That gratefulness died immediately as Alvaro trained us for the next few hours.
He dumped a load of textbooks to Dimitri. Each one of them is much more advanced than the school text. When we asked where he got them he simply answered "Pirates" much to our confusion. Dimitri could only look in despair at the huge stack of pirated books. She hates studying, she is too active, and sitting in one place is the worst punishment for her.
She had it easier.
The bastard trained me by beating the crap out of me.
Just because I can heal myself doesn't mean it doesn't hurt, you fucking jerk.
He trained me in combat using wooden weapons (thankfully). The premise is basically simple. I just need to hit him once and we go to the next phase of my training which is spellcasting. Easy right?
Wrong.
The bastard is far beyond my level of skill and he didn't even have the tact to go easy on me. I lost count of how many times he bludgeoned, smacked, punched, and headbutted me for the past hours. Every time I collapsed in pain due to my bruises and injury, he would just make me heal myself and go again.
At Least he gave me pointers beating me up.
"Parry with your goddamn shield, not block."
"It's a buckler shield, what did you expect when you blocked my swing, huh!?"
"Gravelyn's thighs! Use your mace like a baton, it's not a baseball bat."
"Keep your center and don't overreach."
For the entire morning, we trained. Me and Alvaro sparring, Dimitri reading her books and Elizabeth who is practicing her swordplay (she joined us not soon after we began our hell training).
After a few hours of training and a snack break, Noon finally came.
That meant lunch and I already knew who to go to. Seeing Dimitri looking eager, I think we had the same idea.
"What the…" Alvaro jumped in surprise. Who wouldn't if he suddenly found himself two girls looking at him hungrily (not that type of hunger you pervs.).
Elizabeth could only laugh as she set up the usual picnic cloth as we followed Alvaro and helped out in setting down the food. He ended up smacking Dimitri's wandering hand a couple of times and I'm proud to say I got smacked 2 times.
After we set all the meals down, we finally ate.
"Oi, leave some for me!" The jerk called out as I emptied the fries.
"Mmm mfm (payback)" I said to him with a mouthful.
"Swallow your food, Will" Elizabeth chastises me while eating her share with graceful etiquette.
"Sorry," I apologized after swallowing. Alvaro then used my distraction to steal some of my fries. My precious.
"Hey!"
"You snooze, you lose."
As I argued with the small menace to society, Dimitri quietly stole as much food without getting our attention.
Linebreak
"How does this training help us by the way?" I asked the only guy in our group.
Currently, we are resting while waiting for our food to digest inside our stomachs. It will be a shame if we just vomit them out in the middle of training. All of us are currently lying on the grassy ground, just watching the clouds pass by. I'm in the middle between Elizabeth and Dimitri while Alvaro is beside Elizabeth.
"Yeah, how does even reading advanced books, thanks, by the way, help us in combat?" Dimitri chimed in.
Sitting up and bringing my knees close, I look at him while waiting for his answer. He had his eyes closed as he lay on his back. I know he's not sleeping, even with how relaxed he is. Unlike him, Elizabeth is actually asleep. The cool breeze and soft grass made her comfortable enough to sleep after training and a good meal. I then as she slept on her back, her hand was holding on to Alvaro's. A small pang of jealousy came to my heart.
Suddenly he opened his eyes to look at me before speaking.
"First of all, both of you have no combat skills at all so we're starting at the basics," he said.
I can only look embarrassed at that fact while Dimitri groaned at the fact.
"Let's begin with your team composition," he continued. " It is shit. A Mage and Healer duo just doesn't work in the field even though the two can theoretically synchronize."
I nodded in agreement. Theoretically, the two of us can be an unstoppable team. With me constantly transferring Mana to Dimitri, she can fight in an indefinite amount of time by having a lot of Mana to use. But out in the field, we can never have the chance to do it as our opponent quickly stops us from doing our combo. Something that our fellow students abused.
"So, we need to change your team dynamics."
Wait, what did he just say?!
"How?" Dimitri chimed with a confused look.
"By turning your healer into a frontline." he simply said.
" Wait, we already did that and it didn't won't work," I said to him, My embarrassing performance last Friday is still fresh in my mind.
He then suddenly looked at me with narrowed eyes. I stiffened under his stare.
" It did not work because you're an amateur in combat. A fact that your opponents abused in full," he said. " This is why I'm training you in combat, to make you get used to fighting and to start developing your own way of fighting."
" It might surprise you but you are currently the most dangerous element in your team."
"Huh?" I tilted my head in confusion.
"Currently, Dimitri only knows a single spell, fireball. That fact alone made her a non-threat. But unlike her, you have more to offer. You're much more physically enhanced than Dimitri albeit by a small margin but you can also heal her and yourself. This made you the most targeted member of your team."
His explanation made sense. Our opponents normally always aim at me, separating us before finishing us off.
"That's why you needed to learn how to fight."
"Oooh,'' I nodded to him. "How about spellcasting? What do I need to learn about it?" I hope he has advanced books for me.
"Nothing," he said before closing his eyes and going back to sleep.
"What?!" Me and Dimitri cried out in alarm. What does he mean by that?
I want to have some cool spells too.
"It's exactly what I said, nothing," he said with his eyes closed. "I can't help you in spellcasting because a Healer's magic system is vastly different from a Mage's. Ask Dimitri how her magic works and compare it to how you heal."
I looked at Dimitri in question of what he was saying. Dimitri sat up from her position to an Indian-style seat.
" Okay… So my magic works via formulas, like physics stuff." Wait, what? My eyes widen at that fact.
"You know physics?"
"I will punch you, Will." She raised her fist.
I raised my hands in surrender. Don't tease her intelligence, got it.
"So where was I? Oh, remember my fireball spell?" I nodded to her. "That's just me igniting the oxygen and keeping it locked in a spherical Mana container before throwing it. On impact the container will shatter, making the fireball inside explode once it makes contact with the surrounding oxygen." she looked so proud explaining that.
I underestimated how smart this girl was. I bow to your intelligence.
"So how does your healing work?" she asked me. She looked excited as this was the first time we shared how our magic worked. Too bad I have to disappoint her.
"I don't know," I said to her, cringing to my lackluster answer.
"What do you mean you don't know? How do you even heal someone if you don't know how it works." Dimitri tilted her head in confusion. Me too girl.
"I kinda just do it. I don't know." I confessed to her "It just happens okay. When I want to heal, it just happens."
It's one of the confusing aspects of my magic. It just happens. Whenever I want to call my healing, it immediately answers and does the rest. No need to direct it or command my Mana.
"A faith or belief system." Alvaro suddenly chimed in, making us both look in his direction.
He then continued.
" Will's magic stems from a faith or belief-powered magic system. Basically, it's like a cheat code in magic."
"How?" I asked him. I'm now very curious.
"By bypassing all the rules in a magic system. Mages had a limit to how much output they could have in magic but Healers don't have that. How many times did you heal yourself to this day Will? Did you feel any bad effects?"
My eyes widened in shock. I can't remember how many times I healed myself. I lost count at 20 and yet I didn't feel any Mana exhaustion at all. I should be suffering like Brad is now.
" I'll take your silence as you don't know and you just saw it. The reason why you are not in a state of Mana exhaustion is because you're piggybacking your magic in a system that powers your magic infinitely."
My jaw dropped.
"That's broken." I heard Dimitri say behind me.
"It is but there is a catch."
"What catch?" I wanna know. If I had infinite power then there would always be a catch.
"Belief or faith." he simply said.
Huh?
"That's it?" I asked him with confusion. There is no way that's simple.
"Yes, that's it. You just have to have faith or believe that you can do the spell and the system will do the rest."
"But I warn you, if you lack faith, then your spell will fail and the backlash will be immense." there it is.
"That's easy. Will just need to believe in herself." I felt Dimitri's hand on my shoulders, reassuring me.
A chuckle came out of Alvaro.
"Oh, you don't know, it's hard to believe in oneself." he chuckled. He then addressed me. "Will, make a simple spell like a fireball. Do it and you will see what I mean."
He then went back to sleep, this time, successfully.
"It's not that bad, right?" Dimitri said.
"I hope so, Dimitri. I hope so." I said back to her.
Timeskip
Thursday, school day.
Late afternoon. 4 pm.
Our training continued even on weekdays after our classes ended. The Grove became our usual meeting spot (much to Alvaro's outcry). We even joined Elizabeth in eating lunch with the reclusive Warrior and enjoying our time together (and also stealing Alravo's food. It's just too good.).
My training has already shown improvements. I found a good rhythm in combat. Get in close and pummel the target. I abused how effective I am in close range. Bashing and pushing using my Mace and shield in my target's personal space. Alvaro was actually forced to abandon his wooden sword because it became unreliable in combat against me. I'm proud of this accomplishment.
I am still losing in our spar but hey, improvements.
Meanwhile, my spellcasting is awful.
The first time I tried to cast a fireball, it exploded in my hand. My hand came out badly burned, 3rd degree burns if my knowledge was right. Dimitri turned hysterical once she saw the result of my failed attempt. Elizabeth fussed over my injury. Alvaro just gave me a look of 'I told you so'. Luckily I healed it back to full health in two healing spells. No scars or phantom pains.
I was also forbidden from practicing spellcasting without company. The girls are worried I will blow myself up next time.
I continued my spellcasting with no success. The only improvement I got is that I managed to make the backfire explosion into a tiny firecracker. It stings but bearable.
Alvaro then gave me advice after the 44th firecracker exploded in my hand.
Try using other elements, a safer one at that. Maybe you might get some results.
And so I did.
First, I tried water but we don't have any and Alvaro won't share his.
The second is wind. No visible effect when I tried to make it blow on the jerk himself. ( I would later find out in the later years that I actually did it but the bastard is just too tough to be bothered with wind.)
I skipped Earth because I didn't wanna damage the school grounds.
My last resort is lightning or electricity. It was the winner.
When I tried it, electricity coursed through my Mace (the steel one). I now had an electric mace. My foes will be electrocuted with my blows.
Too bad it also electrocuted me. The electricity on my weapon runs wildly over it before jumping onto my body, electrocuting me. Dimitri's howls of laughter echoed in the Grove when she saw my hair sticking out. Sweet Elizabeth thankfully fixed it for me. The bastard meanwhile just gave me a smirk. I'll show him.
I continued to practice the electric mace spell which I called Enchant: Thunder. It's a cool name and everyone agrees (Alvaro doesn't count). I just need to find a way to contain the electricity in my weapon instead of letting it run over it.
I tried many times but all ended in failure.
Timeskip
Will's Room
Night, 7 pm
"Urgh…" I groaned in my bed. After a hard day of training, I still haven't mastered my spell.
Tomorrow is the next combat practice and I need to make a change. I can't let Dimitri down with how hard she is also training.
The last time I saw her training, she was controlling about six fireballs in mid-air. It was much more complicated than mine.
What am I missing? Faith and belief? I have belief. I believe that I can do it. Faith. I have faith in myself.
Wait, faith?
Do I need to pray to God to make this work?
You know what? I'm already desperate, might as well do it. Mom and I are not religious. Our stance on religion is pretty neutral. We believe in it but don't usually show it.
Dear lord, if you can hear us from this world, please help me. I needed to make this work so I won't disappoint my friend tomorrow. I'll be super grateful if you help out. Amen.
Hope the big G hears my prayer.
I then pulled my cover and went to sleep. A big day is waiting for me tomorrow.
Unknown to me, I was heard but not someone I knew.
Pitiful child, of course, I would help you. You're the first to ask for my help after all.
Timeskip
Friday, Live combat practice
Morning, 10 am.
"You ready, Will?" Dimitri asked me as we both stood in front of the gate towards the arena pit.
"Of course." I simply answered her. Too afraid my voice would falter in nervousness.
We then heard our names announced to come on the pit.
"Let's kick some butt." At least she is excited. Must be eager to use her new spells on our opponents.
We both walked together into the pit. Entering the pit, we are greeted by the students waiting and cheering but not for us. They are cheering for our opponents who are also entering the pit.
It's the same Warrior and Mage duo.
"Well, well. Look at what we have here, the loser duo." the female mage said. "Here for another beat down?"
"Ya, you girls should stay in the-"
"Finish that sentence and I will roast you," she warned her teammate. "Boys right?"
"Yeah, boys."
"Amen to that sister."
We both agreed to her, a fellow victim to boys. Too bad our boy is much worse.
Finally, the instructor came up.
"OK, boy and girls. I want a clean fight. This is a 2v2 team fight, it will end when all team members in one team are either unconscious or surrendered. No inflicting serious injuries." he sneered at the last part towards the Warrior. Dude what did you do to get on his shit list.
Now begin!
Immediately as he announced the fight to begin, I was already halfway on the field.
I need to get in close. As long as I am in the Warrior's space, she can't throw fireballs at me.
With a plan in mind, I charged in.
"Get her!" The mage ordered her duo. As her warrior charged towards me, I saw her facing Dimitri.
Looks like it's going to be a magic Duel between them.
I then focused on the Warrior sprinting towards me. His sword was low on the ground, I already knew he could easily bring it up with a slash once we reached each other. I already had an intimate experience with that after making that mistake with Alvaro.
Not this time.
I continued my charge, not slowing down, both arms low. I need to time it right. As we close the distance, I can see him clearly going through the motions into an upward slash. Moment of truth.
5 meters
4 meters
3 meters
2 meters
Now!
I immediately sidestepped away to his left. His sword missed me by a huge margin. He looked surprised at my ability to dodge his attack.
Please, you're slower than Alvaro.
His sword is already in the air, his body wide open for me to punish.
And so did I.
Hope it works.
Have faith, child.
A crackle of electricity echoed in the Arena as my mace was covered in electricity. He could only widen his eyes before I went under his guard and swung.
Hard.
*Thunder*
It was devastating. His body bent over my blow but it didn't stop there. My electric Mace broke his armor on impact. Shrapnel flew to both of us. Luckily the enchantments in the arena protected us both. At the zenith of my swing, his body flew straight back towards his previous position. His body roughly landed on the ground before rolling away and stopping at his teammates' feet.
Said teammate is in shock.
"What the… ?" she can only stare in shock.
Meanwhile, I waited for the inevitable backfire of Enchant: thunder. Waiting for a second, there is no backfire. I looked in shock at my weapon. The electrical current is perfectly contained in the mace head like I had envisioned it to be.
I then looked back to our opponent with a smirk.
You're in trouble now.
And it looks like she knows it.
A few moments ago
Dimitri's POV
Look at her go.
I watch with a smile as my short friend charges in with no fear. The Warrior then charged in to intercept Will. Looks like I would be dealing with the Mage.
"Ready to lose?" she said to me with a cocky smirk.
"That's my line to you." I trash-talked back.
She didn't like my reaction. Normally I would flinch away in fear but not this time. I am now more powerful.
Alvaro really doesn't know how much of a gem those books are. All of them are a Mage wet dream with how many creative applications they had in magic.
My musings were cut off when she suddenly launched a fireball towards me.
*Boom*
A huge explosion covered me in smoke and dust. Luckily I had my Mana shield protecting me.
"Hah, you haven't improved at all." I heard her laugh. Let's change that.
I blew away the dust covering me with a simple wind spell. The crowd gasped in shock at my uninjured state.
"You were saying?" I cheekily said to her.
"How?" She looked at me flabbergasted as to how I came out uninjured.
Like hell I would tell her.
Magic in this world is pretty creative. Unlike in the Harry Potter universe where you needed a wand and a spoken spell to do magic, here in this world, you can do everything with magic. You just need the right formula.
She took offense to my silence. Five fireballs went flying towards me immediately. Trying to overwhelm me with numbers huh? Might as well show off my own fireballs.
I sent out five of my own fireballs to meet her own.
"What!?" she screamed in alarm. Understandable after all if I see my own fireballs get absorbed by other fireballs and not explode, I would be shocked too.
She then ran as my fireballs, now bigger after absorbing hers, flew toward her. She took a dive, safely dodging the five balls of death as they passed by on top of her.
Panting from panic, she stood up while looking at me angrily. Oh, you'll like this next trick.
I pointed behind her, emphasizing my point with my fingers. She looked at me in confusion. By the sound of the audience's shocked gasp, she finally turned around. She turned around to see a giant fireball floating in the air.
"I advise you to run now." I'm so bad.
She immediately ran for her life, the giant ball of death following her. It was the size of a small car so the damage would certainly knock her out.
It was a very neat spell I found and made. Creating a small opening and absorption point in the fireball, I created a simple way for it to grow in power once it made contact with heat. The absorption point will absorb heat and pass it into the opening. This made the fireball grow in power once it absorbed her fireballs.
Meanwhile, my method in controlling it to chase her down is by leaving a special imprint inside the core of the fireball. These special imprints are connected to me giving me limited control. Simply making them fly is easy enough.
Combining all of these, I created the Fire Seeker orbs.
A crack of lightning suddenly cut off my musings.
The limp body of the male Warrior went flying towards the female Mage's feet. I then looked in the direction where he came from.
"Oh my,"
I looked in shock at Will. She finally did it. She is currently looking at her electrified mace in awe. She then looked at the mage with a smirk.
That's my cue.
The female mage, still in shock of her partner's defeat, didn't see my Fire Seeker orb coming towards her.
*Boom*
Now that's an explosion.
Will POV
That's an overkill if I see one.
The explosion was big enough to destroy a small house. A huge plume rising up in the air. Luckily, the instructor announced our victory and the safety of our opponents.
"We did it!" I raised my arms up in joy looking towards my friend. She mirrored my action and ran towards me.
"We won, Will. For the first time." my big friend grabbed me and spun me around in happiness. Normally I would be angry at being manhandled like this but I'll let it slide this time. I'm too happy with our victory right now.
We both happily left the pit and were greeted by Elizabeth on the exit. She commended our performance, much to our joy, and congratulated us for our first win.
"Wait, where's Alvaro?" I asked her. I just noticed he wasn't with her.
"Isn't he always with you, Eli?" Dimitri added.
"Well. He didn't watch your match per se." she nervously answered.
What?! That jerk didn't watch us?
"Where is he?" I growled. My happiness was replaced with rage at that asshole. Does he really not believe in us to win?
Elizabeth squeaked in fear at my rage (sorry) and immediately blurted out where he was. The Grove. I excused myself to my friends to talk to him. Alone.
My rage grew stronger as I walked towards the Grove. It went full throttle when I saw him sleeping on the grass under the shade. I stood up before him with my hands on my hips, my expression stuck in anger. Time to wake up fucker.
"Oi." I loudly called out to him.
His only reaction was to open an eye to look at me before closing it.
I impulsively kick him in the head. That was my mistake.
I don't know what happened but I found myself on the ground. My arms were pinned at the side of my head. Alvaro was on top of me, pinning my arms. His face looked down at me with his natural cold look. I really hated how emotionless this bastard is.
"Oi, why are you not in the arena with Elizabeth? You are supposed to be with her, watching us. " I growled at him with narrowed eyes. I tried moving my arms but his grip was strong. Why are warriors this freakishly strong even with how small they are?
He looked at me with a frown before answering my question.
"Elizabeth is a big girl, she doesn't need me," he said. Bullshit. She is literally clinging to you.
One of the few things I found out in training under this small bastard is how their relationship worked.
I don't know how or why but Elizabeth clung to Alvaro like a lifeline. She is always with him. Sometimes she would ask for pointers before going back to training not far from him. The girl is too dependent on him.
Their friendship is one-sided.
Elizabeth viewed Alvaro as a close friend. Meanwhile, Alvaro doesn't reciprocate it. I don't know if he views her as a friend or a pet with how cold and emotionless he is. The only hint of emotion I saw in him was his anger and annoyance toward us and others. He's too confusing.
" Elizabeth might need to learn to be independent of herself but it doesn't mean you shouldn't be there. Are you really that unfaithful to us that you already expected us to lose again?"
I was surprised to see a bit of a reaction to him after saying that. A small smile.
He let go of my arms and lay beside me. I looked at him in confusion but he just ignored me and went back to sleep. Oh, this bastard.
" Answer me damn it?" I yelled at him.
"I didn't go because you will lose. I didn't go because you already won."
That's not what I expected him to say.
"The moment the instructor called out your opponents, you already won. Those two are too weak to fight the two of you. Even without that new spell of yours, you will win against them."
He already predicted our win just like that.
Wait a minute.
"How did you know I made my spell work?!" I rounded on him in surprise.
"The sound of thunder is a huge clue, Will." he snorted.
Oh, I didn't know it produced thunder when using it.
"Now, go to sleep. You just came from a fight and used a lot of Mana in your first successful spell. Take it as your reward." he continued as he lay beside me.
I do feel tired. My first spell took a lot in my reserves due to me overpowering it a bit. I kinda feel sleepy as he pointed out.
" You better not do something weird or I'll taze you. " I warned him. I now have a magic taser and I'm not afraid to use it.
I laid down beside him facing the sky.
Sleep came to me quickly.
Wow, I'm really tired huh?
Absently I heard a voice before sleep claimed me.
Rest well, Child. You have fought admirably.
Timeskip
So he is a cuddler in his sleep.
I woke up as the sun was about to set. I slept the entire day away. Luckily, Live combat practice just does 1 match per student and they are done for the day.
I then found myself unable to move. The source? The small menace held me tightly in his sleep. I tried to wiggle out of her grasp but his hold went tighter. Waking him up was useless as he was knocked out completely, shouting doesn't work, and poking or pinching him doesn't work. His body is too sturdy to be affected physically. I accepted my fate after a few minutes of failed attempts to escape. Might as well get comfortable and go back to sleep.
His warm and comfy at least or this will be uncomfortable for me.
I closed my eyes to sleep again, surrendering to my fate.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here? Two love birds cuddling together. How sweet."
My eyes opened wide as I heard someone.
I was greeted by the sight of a grinning Dimitri and a pouting Elizabeth.
"So… this is what you meant when you wanted to talk to him alone?" My partner said, wagging her eyebrows suggestively.
I naturally panicked.
"THIS IS NOT WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE!" I screamed. I tried pulling myself out of Alvaro's hold but the bastard is clinging to me like a leech.
Don't look at me like that, Eli. I will feel like a homewrecker if you do.
Dimitri laughed at my predicament as I tried to escape my current entrapment. I even resorted to kicking and slapping the knocked-out warrior to wake up to no avail.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth is looking at me like I'm some homewrecking whore.
"Hmm, go back to sleep." the bastard had the gall to mumble in his sleep.
"THIS IS YOUR FAULT!" I delivered a perfect right hook to his face.
Needless to say, I cried when I broke my wrist. Dimitri's laughter echoed in the Grove as night finally came.
Chapter end
Omake
"Any sign of the hero?"
"Negative sir, I had made contact with time lord Ioda and he had troubling info.
" What is it? "
" The hero doesn't exist in this timeline sir, Ioda confirmed."
" Tsk, so the Loremasters are right. We are really in a dead timeline."
" What do we do now sir?"
" Same as always, operative. We adapt and survive. If we are in a dead timeline then we are just gonna make sure it doesn't become one. What did Ioda see? Did he give advice?"
" There was one but I don't trust it."
" Out with it, operative."
" Look at the South, salvation will come in its direction. "
Silence
" That city huh? Do we have any operatives in there?"
" We do sir. "
" Give them these orders. "
" Sir? "
" I want them to make a list of candidates. We need to find the hero and Ioda just gave us a huge clue. "
" Are you sure sir? "
" Yes, the Dragon of Time is not in our inventories even if we had it originally. The most likely answer is that the Hero is one of the civilians unknowingly. Just like in the original timeline. "
" It will be done, sir. I'm sure Headmaster Gray will give us a few candidates."
"Good, any sign of movement from Shadow Fall or Drakath."
" The operators had reported increased activity in shadow fall but no movement. The Archmages are still looking for Drakath together with the Yami no Ronins."
Silence
"You're dismissed, operator."
"Sir"
Footsteps
"*Sigh* how bothersome."
Guild Conversations
Guild master and Operator Void Highlord Leon.
Healers and other Light-affiliated classes to have a faith/belief system. The reason why is the existence of Aranx and the Elemental God of light. Based on the lore, Celiritas, the God of Light, is the most active elemental god due to her empowering her people which is basically all good affiliated people/class. Her reason for being so active in helping the forces of Good is to make sure the world is in balance. It's why she allowed the paladin order to be wiped out when imbalance happens in the world order. Aranx also helps due to him being the Guardian of Lore. He will help anyone who may be part of his plan to ensure the continued existence of lore. This is shown when he teamed up with Dage the Evil
Note:
Try playing the game itself. Just download Artix game launcher and you are set to go.
We the players have a personal project to increase the player base to 10,000.
Currently, we still have an average of 6,000 players an improvement to our 4,000 average last year.