Early next morning, Eris left for the guild.
The birds are singing.
The children are playing.
The thieves are crying.
‘A perfect day,’ she thought with a smile.
The streets are already bustling with adventurers looking for a head start on the day’s pick of the quests.
Vendors are hawking their products.
“Looking for at least a D rank healer to help raid a dungeon!”
“Selling freshly baked loaves of bread! Cheap and delicious!”
“Come check out my wares! They sell out fast!”
Finally, she made it to the guild.
“Welcome back Eris!”
“Good morning Mina! I’m looking for a sword instructor. I need experience with a rapier.”
“Lucky for you, a retired adventurer is in town. He is experienced with all kinds of swords, I will speak with him. Also, I bought you a little something,” she said with a wink.
[Lucky Charm]
A crude statue of the goddess made from wood. You can tell that the sculptor put a lot of effort into it.
+5 luck
“I made it just for you, good luck on your test later this week!”
“Thank you!!” she said with a polite bow.
“Follow me Eris, the training grounds are right this way.”
The training grounds is a medium sized open-air courtyard behind the guild.
A few adventurers could be seen attacking training dummies, or clashing against each other with wooden swords.
Mina points at the man sitting at the edge of the courtyard.
He appears to be in his mid 40s, with a scar tracing the side of his cheek.
His hair is speckled with flecks of gray.
A sword lay on the ground next to him, worn, seeing its fair share of battles.
“He used to work as a mercenary during the great war. Now that the war is basically over, he now serves as a sword trainer for newer adventurers. Seasoned in battle, he is perfect for you.”
Eris nods politely.
“I’ll have to get back to work now, have fun training!”
As she walks away, Eris approaches the man.
He frowned, looked her up and down, and furrowed his eyebrows.
“What is a child like you doing here? Scram, this isn’t a daycare.”
“I– I wish to learn the art of the sword from you.”
He sighed.
‘I suppose I’ve met stranger adventurers in my life.’
“You? Do you even know the proper stances? Proper strikes? How to use aura? Show me.”
She fumbles with her sword and pulls it from her left hip.
“I don’t know how to use aura. However, I do know how to use magic and I am willing to learn.”
“Your stance is flimsy,” he said with an exasperated sigh as he adjusted it.
She starts swinging.
‘Quite a high quality sword. However, she lacks experience.’
“A sword is a finesse weapon. With a rapier, you need precise, fast strikes. Don’t swing it like a club. You are disrespecting all the swordsmen. Again.”
Again.”
Again.”
They trained till noon.
“Let's reconvene after lunch…”
Her hands are on her knees, gasping for breath.
He pulls something out of his bag and unwraps it.
A rich, roast pork smell wafts in the air.
She gulps.
He takes a swig of water.
“Hungry?” he asked, offering half of the sandwich.
“Th- thanks. I forgot to ask, but what’s your name? Can I hear your story?”
She politely accepts the sandwich.
“My name is Erik. You do not need to know my backstory. I was just a simple mercenary, after all,” he said between bites. “Now I am just a pitiful old man with nothing left behind, except the sword.”
Eris took a nibble of the sandwich.
Her eyes widen, and she takes another bite.
‘Delicious!’
Although she did not need to eat, there is something special about eating together with other people. Eris would rather save her money on something more “important,” like gear.
She did not know that she would take such pleasure from a mundane act such as eating, but it had been a while since she had eaten.
They ate in silence for a while.
“So, what’s your story?”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Eris was caught off guard by this question.
She cannot reveal that she has technically “stolen” this body.
“An orphan born from war.”
Erik strokes his beard thoughtfully.
“Is that why you fight? You escaped from the orphanage?”
Eris scanned her memories.
“I… Left the orphanage at a young age and learned how to scavenge. I used to take care of other kids, but they’re gone now…?”
Her stomach sank.
‘What happened to those kids now?’
“Never mind, let's move on to aura training.”
He dusted the crumbs from his pants.
“Let’s get started. First things first, let me explain what aura is.”
Aura is a projection of your will, he explains. However, it is different from magic.
“You can inject aura into, say, your feet to run faster. Or, you can inject aura into objects.”
He swings.
His aura dyes the sword in a deep, crimson red.
It produces a small shockwave.
Erik tosses a small stone into the air.
It shatters.
“Right now, your aura lays dormant inside your body. It can be trained through meditation, but it is extremely slow, although necessary for swordsmen.”
He explains that, through life and death battles, your aura will surge.
“In terms of aura mastery, I believe I am roughly in the advanced area.”
He interlocks his bony fingers with hers.
“I will inject some of my aura to stimulate your aura.”
Eris feels something warm stirring within her.
She felt a sharp pain.
“Uhgh,” she groans.
“Right now, your aura is weak. You need to circulate your aura to open the channels. Right now, your channels are like a dusty trail. Once you master it, you can use aura at will, with the channels being comparable to a major trading city.
Thin strands of silver aura flow from her fingers, then quickly dissipates.
[Basic aura obtained!]
“Hm. Silver is quite rare, it means your aura is undefined. I suppose you haven't had much life experience yet. For me, since I had many fights in my life, my aura is red. It is tempered through anger, rage, and passion.”
Erik balls his fingers into fist, with a faraway look in his eyes.
He has a dreamy smile on his face, seemingly recalling a special memory.
“Anyhow, you can’t be the only person I train. Come back tomorrow, remember to practice daily! I hope someday you become a master spellsword that I could be proud of! All I wish for is to train new adventurers as my legacy. I do not wish to be forgotten.”
“Thank you for your guidance,” she says with a quick bow. “Then, let us be off.”
He starts walking away.
“And thanks for the sandwich!” she shouts.
He waves without turning back.
She wipes her brow and approaches the training dummy.
Getting into stance, the rapier pierces.
‘Not good enough.’
Recalling Erik’s instructions, she perseveres.
‘Again.’
‘Again.’
‘Again.’
[Basic swordsmanship obtained!]
Tonight, she will postpone hunting.
As the light fades, adventurers slowly trickle out of the training grounds.
Eris decided to head back to her shack.
Creak.
She sat down and began to meditate. Similar to circulating mana, aura is also circulated in the same way.
The room fills with a dim, silver glow.
Shadows seem to come alive, dancing across the walls.
Beads of sweat began to form on her face, furrowed in concentration.
Eris will continue to practice until later tonight, when the black market opens.
Following the merchant’s directions, she made her way into an old bar.
With her magic sense, she can detect several presences inside.
Immediately, she felt several pairs of eyes sizing her up.
The bartender is wiping down a shot glass.
“You lost?” he asks carefully.
The mercenaries appear rough, sitting in the corner playing cards, throwing glances at each other.
Eris approaches the bar counter, climbing one of the barstools.
She motions to the bartender to come closer.
“Late at night, when demons roam, the spirits come to play, in…?”
“Elderflower fields,” she whispers.
“Right this way, customer,” he grins.
Behind the counter, the back bar filled with half emptied bottles of alcohol began to dissipate.
The shot glass in his hand vanished without a trace.
‘Smart, they hired an illusionist.’
Eris was wondering why the description on the bottles didn’t look quite right. The illusion… Wasn’t perfect, but it worked well enough.
Candles flicker dimly in the tunnel.
After a few minutes of walking, she entered an antechamber.
“Weeelcome dear customer, what brings you here todaaaaay?” the man says with a long drawl.
“We have a wiiiide selection of merchandise, slaaaaves, tooomes, illegal famiiiliars, and mooore!”
“Is there a fight club?”
“Of cooourse my dear customer! Right this way!”
He points to the second tunnel to the left.
Eris starts to briskly walk down the tunnel.
As she got closer, she could hear chanting.
“Fight fight fight!”
“This is a scam, gimme my money back!”
“I have my money on that guy with the axe!”
“Ah, ahhh!”
One of the fighters is trembling.
“Excuse me, where can I sign up for the fights?”
“The fights are usually only restricted to slaves or people unable to repay their debt, however, if you pay the entry fee of 2 silver coins, we can make an exception.”
Clink. Clink. Clink.
“Follow me this way. Do keep in mind that though we don’t ask any questions, your safety is not guaranteed. It is up to the fighters to decide whether or not to spare their opponents. Since you are not contracted, you get to claim a prize if you do win. Good luck!”
Eris pulls out the statue, and rubs it.
“On one corner, undefeated, the master of monsters, beastmaster Suse!”
“Annnd on the other corner, a new challenger approaches! Will she take the crown??! Place your bets and cheer for the fighters!!”
The crowd goes silent.
‘A literal child? Who’s sick idea is this?’
The woman who led her to the arena snickers from above.
“Easy money!” a man shouts. “I place my bets on the man in the cowl!”
Eris draws her rapier.
“Sorry, I won’t be going easy on you just because you are a child. I have debts to pay.”
He sighed deeply.
“May the goddess have mercy on your soul.”
He summoned multiple monsters.
Mana leeches, a hawk, and ember crows appear from magic circles on the ground.
He raises his staff.
“Good luck.” he whispers.
A fireball flew towards her.
The crowd quiets with baited breath.
Steam fills the arena.
“Huh?”
“I cast [Gust]!” he shouts frantically.
The steam dissipates, revealing nothing.
“Great job Suse! Not even ashes are left behind!”
Suddenly, specks of black converse and condense into a ball behind Suse, revealing Eris.
Suse senses the change, jumping back, sending mana leeches towards her as she leaps at him.
Click.
A brilliant flash of light covers the stadium.
The spectators cover their eyes.
The light fades, revealing Suse on the ground, with Eris pointing her blade towards his neck.
He raised his hands above his head, dropping his staff.
“I surrender. You got me,” he said, bowing his head in defeat.
Eris sheathes her sword.
A stream of profanities spew from the mouths of angry spectators.
“This is a setup! There’s no way beastmaster Suse just lost to this child!”
“Yeah, give us our money back! We want a refund!”
There are murmurs of agreement.
“Silence.”
A figure hops down from the top stand.
“She won fair and square as a challenger. If you do not accept, fight me.”
The guards raise their spears in agreement.
The cloaked figure looks towards the two.
“I am known as the owner of the fight club. I’ll have my eyes on you.”
He leaps up on the walls, hopping back to the top stand.
“Congratulations, unknown fighter. You may claim your reward at the front desk.”
The crowd is staring daggers at her.
She gulped and walked away.
“Thank you for sparing me,” Suse whispers. “Meet me later, I will send a gift as proof of my sincerity.”
“...”
She continued walking.
“Here's 10 gold coins for winning your fight. Now begone. You disgust me,” the woman said as she shoos her away.
Eris’ eyes shine at the amount of money, even though they can’t tell through the blindfold.
She skipped away with a pep in her step.
“Hey? It’s me, Suse. How did you do that? That was a crazy fight, you disappeared suddenly in the middle of the fight, are you a vampire.”
“...”
“As thanks, I offer you this egg.”
She checked the information.
[Monster Egg]
Leathery to the touch, a faint heartbeat could be felt. Maybe try pouring mana inside?
No further information
“No thanks. I want that hawk. What am I going to do with an egg? Make an omelet?”
“...”
“Fine.”
She smiled and tossed him a gold coin.
“[Hawk], I release you from our contract! From now on, you are binded with…?”
“Eris.”
“Eris!”
A ball of white surrounds the hawk, disappearing along with the hawk.
“You may call upon him whenever you need. Take care of him, and thanks for everything!!”
Sprinting out of the black market, she concentrates and conjures small dirt platforms, hopping onto the roof of a nearby building as the platforms collapse.
The stars are sparkling in the sky.
She gasped for air, and sat down on the roof, spreading the hem of her cloak.
[Summon Hawk]
Eris hungrily devours the hawk.
She stole the corpse of a mana leech she bisected earlier, consuming that too.
[Keen Sight obtained!]
[Mana drain obtained!]
[Life drain obtained!]
The mana particles seem more refined. You began to see the world more clearly.
Down below, a couple of people dressed in white rushes into the bar.
A faint scream could be heard, with a couple flashes of light.
They appear to be from the church.
A woman down below leading the men seems to glance in her direction.
She squinted, then glared at her.
Eris got up and started to weave and jump across buildings.
The woman pressed her fingers to her ear, saying something that couldn’t be made out.