"Another win for the Gauntlet Hero's Party!"

The arena erupted with cheers after Elias cut down the last of the giant rat swarm.

After we had recovered from the stress yesterday had caused, all three of us went back to the coliseum. Maria and I had two more days before the King wanted us back, and Elias had agreed to travel with us, so we decided to do everything as a team. In the coliseum, we entered as many fights as we could, and leveled up a lot. Maria and I were both level 35, and Elias was stuck at level 40 for now. I absorbed parts from all of the monsters we fought, and got a few skills, but none of them looked super interesting. I also got to test the skill I got from the slime, Air Strike Guard. When I use it, it conjures two arms on someone made from a translucent solid light blue energy. The same material the effect caused by Air Strike Bash looks like. This skill automatically blocks attacks targeted at me from behind. For example, if two people on opposite sides of me shoot arrows at me, I'll blow the arrow from the front, and Air Strike Guard will automatically block the attack coming from behind me. The neat part about this skill is I can put it on other people as well, and it defends them the same way. I had tried using this on an enemy too to see if I could get the arms to restrain them, but I couldn't. We also got a lot of money from selling the parts I didn't absorb, and I used that money to buy a bunch of miscellaneous objects to see if I unlock anything interesting.

Torch Gauntlets Obtained
Chain Gauntlets Obtained
Rope Gauntlets Obtained
Pipe Gauntlets Obtained
Nail Gauntlets Obtained
Iron Bar Gauntlets Obtained
Topaz Gauntlets Obtained

etc

Overall I got a couple interesting skills. The Rope Gauntlets gave me two skills. Second Bash, and Rope Shot. Rope Shot fires a rope from my gauntlets that will automatically tie itself to something, but I need the gauntlets equipped to use that skill. Second Bash appeared to allow me to use Air Strike Bash a second time, ignoring the cooldown. They also both shared skill ranks. The Topaz gauntlets gave me Lightning Kick, a pretty strong looking offensive skill. It was neat to know not all my skills will involve punching.

"What are you thinking about Ash?" Maria asked me. We were walking from the coliseum to our inn for the night. The horde of giant rats was our last fight for today, and we'd have to go back to the capital tomorrow.
"Our recent battles?" Elias guessed.

"Something like that. Just going over how strong we got over our time here."
"We did get in quite a few fights." Elias said.

"Yeah. Maybe it was a good thing everyone found out you were the Gauntlet Hero."
After me being the gauntlet hero was revealed, we got a lot of time slots for fights. Partly because other adventurers were busy trying to join my party, and partly because everyone in the city wanted to see a legendary hero fight. Apparently my fight against the metallic slime was spoken about as if it was legend. I get that it was dangerous, but they're talking about it like I beat some legendary monster. Maybe to a normal adventurer it would seem unbeatable.

"Elias, how do you think the three of us scale to other adventurers and monsters?"
"A lot of adventurers are stuck at level 40 if they haven't proven their loyalty to the crown. With you included, we would be stronger than the average party of adventurers. When it comes to monsters, it would probably take a dracoboar to threaten one of us."
So we had gotten pretty strong then! I'm certainly feeling a lot more confident about taking on any threats coming my way! But…

"What's a dracoboar?"

"A dragon boar hybrid. They have the toughness and magic of a dragon, and the raw strength and endurance of a boar." Elias explained.
"That does sound dangerous. How do hybrid creatures come to exist?"
"Please don't answer this…" Maria pleaded.
"Dragons are capable of reproducing with any creature, and the result will be a hybrid between that creature and a dragon. Usually just that creature, but with dragon traits like scales, or larger claws."
"I guess that's good to know…" I'm not thinking about the implications of that.
"Is it really?" Maria asks
"I'm not sure…"

On the carriage ride back to Einsbrey, I tried reading through the tomes I bought. This time, the writing was reacting to me, and changed shape into letters I could read. At the time, Power and Wing Blow were the only spells I had attempted, guided by Maria, but with the tome, many more spells and applications were shown to me. I could do more than just impacts with wind magic, and I could do more than just buff my attack with support magic. I could buff my other stats, and even use debuffs. Using debuffs was harder than using buffs though. When I asked Maria why, she told me personality matters when it comes to magic, and generally someone with a stronger personality has an easier time buffing people, and a harder time debuffing people. I think I know what she's talking about. It's like the difference between wanting to build yourself up, or tear others down. There are a lot of examples of people like that in my world. Someone who is inclined to tear others down would probably have a very easy time using debuff magic. Using all the time I had on the journey studying magic, I learned quite a few more spells. I wasn't quite at the level where I could cast Erste spells without incanting, so I guess I'll mostly be sticking with Zweite spells for now

"Ahhh it feels great to be back." Maria had a big smile on her face when we arrived back at the capital.
"Was being in the same city as your parents that bad?"
"It wouldn't have been if they didn't make you fight a monster they designed to be unkillable."
"Oh yeah, I absorbed it, but I don't know what happened to it."
"Can you pull the things you absorb out of your gauntlets?" Elias asks.
"That's something I'll have to test. Not now though, pulling out a monster in a densely populated area would get people hurt."
"How about a material?"
"I only ever absorbed enough materials to unlock a new weapon. The slime was the only thing I kept absorbing after I unlocked a weapon. In other words, I think the other items were consumed to make the gauntlets I use."
Elias quickly bought two apples.
"Have you absorbed one of these?"
"Yes I did." I switch to the fruit gauntlets.
"Alright give it a shot." Elias tosses one of the apples to me, and starts eating the other one. I absorb the apple into my gauntlets, then attempt to take it out. To my surprise, I can.
"Oh! I could take it out. I just had to think about it and put my hand over the gem and I could just grab onto it."
"Well it's good to know you can do that." Elias said.
"What are the limits on this? Do you have infinite storage space?" Maria asks
"I don't know if we can really test that…"

Fortunately we arrived at the castle, so I had an excuse to change the subject.
"Alright team, the King had told us we're going to be doing hero training, so Elias and Maria, prepare for people possibly stronger than me."
"I'm excited." Elias responds. Maria stays silent, with a determined look on her face. We walked into the throne room, and surprisingly, given my track record, we were the first ones here.

"Welcome back Gauntlet Hero. I trust your trip went well?"
"Yeah I'd say it went pretty good." We gained a lot of levels, and I got a few interesting skills too.
"Like hell it did!" Maria seemed furious.
"Everything worked out, didn't it? Now you can travel without worry." The King coolly responds.
"Wait… did you know what was happening regarding Maria's family?" I asked. Now that I think about it, the King had mentioned that nobles would be watching our fights, but I didn't think much of it.
"Of course. Beyond this being a good opportunity to gain strength, it also served to deepen the bond between comrades, and remove a rather large distraction."
"But what if Ash had died?!"
"I had faith in him." The King responds with a smile.
"How did you know everything would work out well?" I think I have an idea why, but I need to make sure.
"Maria's parents initially wanted to marry her off to Earl Traye, but in terms of political marriages, a legendary hero has far more sway than any noble. Not only are legendary heroes revered as gods by many, but most if not all royalty is descended from a legendary hero. In fact, my Great Grandfather was the previous Sword Hero."
"... so if I understand this… even just being associated with a successful hero would practically guarantee you would reach a position of high power?"
"Correct. You yourself may find yourself in a high position someday, so make sure you look out for opportunities." The King says with a smile.

After he says this, I hear the sound of chatting behind me. Turning around, I see Ben walking in with a group of about 5 other guys..
"Hey Ben. Who are they?"
"Oh hey Ash, been a while! These are some guys I met at a bar. We had nice conversation, so I asked if they wanted to travel with me and they said yes."

That sounds fishy, but I don't sense any bad blood between them. I hope they're all good people. I'll just trust that Ben has a good instinct for friends.

"I heard you were providing relief for a tsunami. How did that go?"
"Oh it went great! With these guys' help, we repaired probably a hundred houses over the last few weeks. We also escorted several shipments carrying food and medicine. I didn't level up much, but Heralds Bay is doing a lot better."
Ben is a pretty reliable guy. Plus he was already pretty strong, so it makes sense he was doing something that wouldn't get him many levels. I'm more so wondering about what Katagi was doing. As I was thinking this, I saw Katagi walk into the throne room. He honestly didn't look very good. He looked kind of pale, and had bags under his eyes. There may have also been a few grey hairs.

"Hey Katagi, been a while. You okay man?" Ben manages to casually approach him and put his arm around him.
"Oh yes, I'm fine. I was just very busy over the last few weeks. The trip back here was a nice rest."
He considered travelling as a rest? He must have been working really hard. But if I assume the trip back would be at least one full day, and he had someone else driving the carriage for him, shouldn't he look a bit better rested? I turned to the king, and he seemed to notice the same thing that Ben and I did.
"For today heroes, have a long rest. I shall have the finest rooms prepared for you, and every worry you have shall be taken care of." The King gives me a look that says 'Find out what's going on with him', then shifts his focus to everyone in the room. "Tomorrow, the heroes and their parties will fight in a friendly three way battle. I permit the use of skills and magic, but absolutely no lethal or permanent damage is permitted by anybody. But for today, the heroes shall catch up with each other, and their parties shall mingle. Is this understood?"
There were various responses along the lines of 'yes sire'
"Right! Where's Elzabell?" I suddenly ask.
"You took so long to ask that I almost feel insulted." Elzabell walks out from behind a pillar.
"Were you waiting for me to ask so you could make a dramatic entrance?"
"Maybe, or maybe not. Anywho, I bring good news. Now that I'm closer in level to you, and possibly won't cause your next quest to go off the rails, I am permitted to travel with you again."
"Great! But I thought you were going to work for the King? Don't get me wrong I'm glad-"
"I get it. I'm just deciding to take a breath from alchemy for a while. Plus… there is another benefit." She says smiling evilly to the king.
"That evil smile doesn't fool me, I know you're trustworthy." The King sighs.
"What is she talking about?"
"A legendary hero is allowed to give any and all of their party members class ups. They still have to go through me, but I will be far more lax on giving permission."

"So Elias and Elzabell can get class ups?"
"Not yet. I will permit them both to receive class ups in five days. Hopefully at that time Maria will be able to class up as well."
"Understood!"
While we were having this exchange, everyone else was standing around awkwardly. Ben breaks the silence.
"Alright, Break Team! You know what to do! Katagi, Ash, let's go to our rooms."
Ben's party started mingling with mine as the three of us left. I just noticed I don't think Katagi has a party. If he did, they weren't here at least.

The three of us walked through the castle to where Ben was leading us, to a study room. I think it was the same room we were in on our first night here.
Ben seemed to be having trouble thinking of what to say, so I started us off.
"So Katagi, what did the king assign you to do?"

"I was sent to help a town that had waves of mutated monsters constantly attacking it. The cause ended up being some kind of toxic waste coming from the earth. I absorbed all of it I could, and helped out in every way I could think of."
"It was a lot of fighting, but it sounds like you solved the problem efficiently. Great job!"
"Thanks… To be honest, dealing with the toxic waste was only a week, but everybody in the town also had other problems that I ended up helping with. That was the other two weeks."
"Hold on." Ben interjected. "You mean you helped every individual person with their problems?"
"Yes. There was an old lady struggling to hang up laundry, there was a man who needed to carry a lot of lumber to help with reconstruction, a kid who lost their cat…"
Katagi kept going on and on until Ben stopped him.

"You helped everybody with every problem no matter how small? When did you sleep?!"
"There is a period of around four hours when everybody is asleep. Granted, for three nights someone had night terrors, so I did my best to help with that."
Oh my god no wonder he looks to be in such terrible condition. He was practically working twenty hours a day. You could say Katagi is being the best hero possible, or you could say he's just torturing himself. Ben puts his hands on Katagi's shoulders and looks him in the eyes.
"Look man, you need to draw a line somewhere. Doing every little thing for everybody will only wear you out, and make them less self-sufficient."
"What kind of hero would I be if I chose not to help, even with the small things?!" Katagi was sounding a little insane now. Probably partly from exhaustion, and partly due to being told he shouldn't have been pushing himself as hard as he did.
"Look, I'm not saying don't help people, but if you run yourself into the ground then you're of no help to anybody." Katagi looks away ashamedly, calming down a bit.

"I guess you're right."
"Just remember to set boundaries, and make sure you get eight hours of sleep a night, no matter what."
"I'll do my best." Katagi is looking down while he says that. I think he means it, but doesn't think he can do it.
"We can make a start today. Katagi, go to sleep! Right now!" I say
Katagi immediately starts slumping over.
"Wait, we need a bed!" Ben shouts.

Ben carried Katagi over to a guest room. Katagi really did fall asleep immediately once someone gave him permission. I hope he rests well. Ben and I went back to the study lounge, kind of sullen.
"Well Ash, what did you get up to?"
"I've got a story for you!" Suddenly I'm no longer sullen, itching to tell my story in the most epic way I can!
I explain my journey to Ben in the best way I can. Recounting events like an adventurers tale. Honestly, it's a lot of fun seeing Ben's excited reactions to my storytelling.
"Then, I ran forward. I yelled to Elias 'GET BACK', and I shoved my fist inside the slime, and blew it apart from the inside!"
"AWESOME! That was the end, right?"
"The slime was still capable of moving."
"No way? After THAT?! How did you beat it?"
"Turns out when it's in small enough pieces, I can absorb it. It also probably helps that it technically wasn't alive."
"Woaaahhh."
Honestly Ben looks a lot younger than he is when he's listening to a story.

"So does that mean you and Maria are going to be a thing now?"
"Is that really your biggest takeaway from this?"

"Hey, it was just an honest question."
"Even if her parents want us to get married, I'm not sure if that's what Maria wants. Also, I have a duty to protect the world before any sort of romance."
"Oh yeah… do you have any idea what's going to happen once the countdown runs out?"
"Nope. I'm hoping it's nothing. Worst case scenario, it's some natural disaster that can destroy all of civilization, like a meteor shower."
"Yeah, let's hope it's not that."

Ben and I passed the time with idle chat until it was time for dinner. Katagi woke up a little before dinner, already looking much better. We ate dinner then went to our separate rooms.

"Good morning heroes. I trust you rested well?" The King greets us as we enter the throne room after we had breakfast. Ben and I looked over to Katagi, who looked much better.
"Yes your majesty, I'd say we slept well" Ben says.
"Very good. For the next week, we will be making sure the heroes and their parties are martially trained, and mentally ready for battle. For today, all the heroes will fight each other. For the next three days, the heroes and their parties will train against my best knights, then on the final day, the heroes and their parties will all battle. The final two days before the countdown will be for rest and preparation. Does everyone understand?"
"Yes!"
Katagi raises his hand.
"Your majesty, I don't have a party. Will I have to fight alone on the final day?"
"Of course not. I will have some of my elite knights join you. However, it would do you good to find people you can trust. No matter who you are, strength has limits, and it's best to have people you can fall back on."
"I understand." Katagi looked a little pained.

Apparently our party members would be doing individual and team training over today, and they also get to watch all of us heroes beat the crap out of each other. All of us made our way to the training grounds, and got ready. The training ground is a large hard dirt field. I checked my stats before the fight.

Ash Kane | Lvl: 35
ATK: 97
DEF: 104
MAG: 71
MDEF: 93
SPE: 97

Overall my stats had gotten really high. I recall Ben saying his attack stat was over one hundred, and I managed to get my defence stat over one hundred too. I can assume he's gotten stronger since then, and either way I still wouldn't want to get hit by him. Katagi's base stats were also higher than mine, so I'm not sure how I will scale up to him after all this time. From his recount of events, he spent a whole week almost non-stop fighting strong monsters, so I can expect his level and range of abilities to be pretty high, but I haven't been around the world enough to have expectations for his fighting experience and abilities. Either way, Ben is looking like the biggest threat. He's had a level lead on us from day one, has the biggest party, and probably has more fighting experience than the both of us combined. Well, party doesn't matter for this first fight, but it will matter a lot for our final fight.
All three of us take places on the field a fair distance from each other, forming a triangle. The King himself is watching over this match, and once we take our position he begins speaking in a booming voice.
"Heroes! Are you ready?" He has a good announcer voice.
We all nod. Me and Katagi make eye contact, and he looks at Ben. It looks like we came to the same conclusion.
"Make sure to change to blunted weapons!"
All of us change our weapons. Well, I don't really need to. So I guess I have an advantage in that regard, I don't have to switch to a weaker weapon because all my attacks are blunted anyway.
"BEGIN!"

Katagi immediately rushes at Ben. Ben begins to brace himself, but I interrupt him.
"Stardust Strike!" Stardust Strike is a skill where I attack with a palm strike, then release a stream of stars from my palm. However, I don't have to actually hit anything to fire off those stars, so this skill works well as a ranged attack too. Ben's eyes widen when he realizes Katagi and I are teaming up on him, and momentarily changes his focus to my skill.
"Intercept Smash!" Ben smashes the ground with his Axe, which produces a shockwave that scatters my stars away from him, then he barely manages to catch Katagi's swing with the handle of his axe. Katagi keeps swinging at him, but Ben masterfully blocks every swing, not needing to move his axe much to intercept a wide variety of slashes. He takes a swing at Katagi, forcing Katagi to jump back. The swing produced a 'Whoosh' sound loud enough to hear from where I was. Geez even blunted getting hit by that would cause a lot of damage. It looked like Ben couldn't move his axe as fast as we could move our weapons, but was using skill to make up for that. We'll have to overwhelm him then.
"Second Sword!"
"Quick Rush!"
Katagi was now dual wielding, and swinging both of his swords at Ben, who was having a harder time blocking. This left him open! I was able to quickly close the distance with Quick Rush, and land a punch to his side. When I landed the hit, I saw Ben crack a grin.
"Great Quake!"
Ben smashed the ground with his axe. It appeared to be an aoe skill that affected the area around him, and Katagi and I were in range. The ground cratered around where Ben struck it, and the ground being displaced acted like a lever, launching both of us into the air.
"Tempest Swing!" Ben shouted with a smile. He swung his axe, and a giant slash of wind came towards us.

"Vacuum Slash!"
"Air Strike Guard!"

Katagi managed to nullify the wind slash coming at him, but landed pretty badly on the ground. I wasn't facing a good direction to block the slash, so I used a skill to help myself block it. Tempest Swing collided with Air Strike Guard and I was sent flying. Part of the attack still hit me. My shoulder really hurt. I decided to stick back for a bit while the pain fades.

"I, the Gauntlet Hero, am the source of all power. Weave together a spell that will aid in my victory. Zweite Speed." I placed a speed buff on Katagi, who was now swinging faster than Ben could block. Ben was gritting his teeth.
"Great Quake!"

Is he trying the same thing again? Katagi was now fast enough to leap out of the skills range before Ben could activate it, but it looks like Ben was just trying to create distance.
"Change Axe! Small Steel Axe. Second Axe!" Ben's axe instantly changed to a one handed battleaxe, and then the same axe appeared in his now empty hand. Normally when we change our weapons, it takes three seconds, and we have to think of the name of the weapon. From the looks of it, using this skill allows you to instantly switch to a weapon you say the name of.
Now that Ben had two axes, he was able to block all of Katagi's swings, even with the speed boost. Was Ben just that much more skilled? Katagi seemed to be getting more desperate, and using more skills. Ben was also calling out skills in kind.
"Arbor Arc!" A wide arc of wood quickly sprouted out of the ground after one of Katagi's swings. It looked like a follow up swing.
"Oh please, you think the Axe hero is scared of wood? Treefeller!" With one swing from Ben all the wood was destroyed before it could even reach him. I'd definitely have more trouble with Arbor Arc. It was just a bad choice against Ben.

"Vine Whip! Acid Slash! Crimson Blade!"
"Erste Flare Burst! Erste Stonewall! Water Smash!"

Ben had used some spells to counter Katagi's skills. A burst of fire destroyed the vine, the wall blocked the acid, and one of Ben's axes created a burst of water, putting out the fire from Katagi's skill. Ben is still easily shutting down Katagi's skills.
"I, the Gauntlet Hero, am the source of all power. Weave a spell that will grant me the strength to beat the giant in front of me. Zweite Power." I buffed my own attack before running back in. I learned my lesson from before, if I just rush right in he'll respond with an aoe skill. That's why instead of going for a strike, I'll grab his axes. From what I've been watching, my speed stat looks a little higher than his, and with Zweite Power, I may be able to match him in strength too. If I can just grab his axes, then his technique doesn't matter. Katagi notices me closing in, and jumps back. Ben turns towards me, and swings one of his axes. I manage to lean back just enough to avoid it, and then lunge forward to grab it with my left arm as he's turning it around for another swing. He swings his other axe at me, and I catch it on my gauntlets. Even though I blocked it, and this is theoretically only half as hard as he can hit, it still hurts a lot. Even with a strength and attack buff, my muscles are straining to hold his arm back. I slide my arm up the blade of the axe, then grab the handle of his other axe. Now neither of us can use our arms. Fortunately I got a skill that doesn't require my arms.
"Lightning Kick III!"
"Erste Flare Burst!"
I landed a lightning infused kick to his leg, right in the peroneal nerve, and then I got hit by a burst of fire. My brain went into fight or flight upon experiencing this. As Ben's body buckled from having one of his legs stop working, I took advantage and let go of one of his axes to land a right hook right to his jaw.
"Flarefist!"
With an explosion of heat and force, Ben was knocked back a fair distance, and made an X with his arms.

"Ben is out of the fight. The fight is now between Ash and Katagi." The King said in a voice that still made it through to me despite my daze. Only having instinctual thoughts to fight, I rushed at Katagi.
"Arbor Arc!"
While mindlessly dashing forward, I got hit by a wave of wood. I got knocked back, and managed to turn it into a backroll to stay on my feet. However, this distracted me for too long. Katagi had used the wood that skill created as a stepping stone to jump above me, and swing his sword down on me.
"Meteor Sword!"

I caught the sword on my gauntlets, but the impact sent me to my knees, and the stars from the skill went past my arms and began shredding my body.
"AAAAHHHH"
While I was busy screaming in pain, Katagi quickly hopped behind me, and delivered a blow to the back of my head, and my vision went dark.

I awoke with a gasp to Maria healing me.
"What happened!?"
"You lost." Elzabell promptly answered.
"If you hadn't run into the Sword Hero's attack, you probably could have won." Elias helpfully added.

Maria looks down in though for a few moments before asking
"It was the fire, wasn't it?"

It takes me a few seconds to respond. "Yes."
"What's this about fire?" Elias asks.
"Ash got hit by a chimera's fire breath about two weeks back." Elzabell answers.

Ben, Katagi, and the king had walked over to me.
"Damn you got a fear of fire or something? I hope you can get over that before you have to fight somebody who has fire magic." Oh god, any time I fight a person they could have fire magic.
Katagi shallowly bows to me. "Thank you for the speed buff Ash. I did my most to make the best of it."
"That's just rubbing salt in the wound…" I responded. Now that I think about it, Katagi was moving pretty fast. Did I really lose because of my own spell? Ehh given my mental state at the time I doubt I would have won even if he wasn't buffed.

"All three of you fought well." The king said. "However, it is clear all of you need more training. Ben, you did well to fight off two opponents at once, but you appear to be weak to grappling. Katagi, you had a general lack of skill with your weapon, to the point that even though you were much faster than Ben, you couldn't land more than a couple hits. Ash, if you face any opponent that uses fire, you will fight mindlessly. If this were a real fight, you would have died. All of you have weaknesses that will need to be worked on over these next few days. I expect you to work together, train together, and become as powerful as possible together. Is this understood?"
All three of us have heavy expressions on our faces. I guess nothing like a real fight shows us where our weaknesses and deficiencies are. Overall Ben is still the best out of all of us. He's really good at preventing people from getting too close for him to use his axe effectively, so his weakness is hard to take advantage of. As for Katagi and I, we could both lose to opponents below our level because of our weaknesses.
"Yes. We understand." Katagi says, speaking for all of us.

I get up, and all of us prepare for the training to come.