As days went by, Shinra found himself engrossed in the books of the library. Being born into the lowest class had alienated him from any sort of literature, so when he discovered that he not only had the ability to further his life through a mystic craft, but also that there was a whole slough of knowledge readily at his fingertips, he jumped straight in.
Every day he would train and then shoot up the marble stairs of the library. The robed elder, clearly seeing his enthusiasm, had assisted him plenty in his book selection.
“You should look for books on fundamental combat. All the other kids know the basics to fighting, so it would be good for you to get started as soon as possible. After that, you should look through practical magics and combat to see what you want to focus on. Your abilities are out of common knowledge, so if you need help just come ask me.”
“Thank you, sir.” Shinra responded politely.”
The robed elder–now donning gray–responded with the warm smile of a jolly old man.
…
‘Practical combat… basics to combat and survival, ah, this is probably the right one.’
He pulled the book from the shelf and flipped to the first page.
‘In this cruel world, the only reward is life.’
Those were the starting lines to the book.
‘Before learning how to fight, one must know how to survive. No fights in this world are fair and there are an infinite number of possibilities that can lead to your downfall, even in the most harmless encounters.’
“What the…” A book he thought would teach him how to finally beat Eve in a sparring match suddenly became much more serious now.
‘Lesson one: Know your enemy. Before ever engaging in battle, you must identify its weaknesses, blindspots and habits. You need to know the location of your target and how many there are. You need to scout out any potential threats that may interfere with your battle and beneficial geographical landmarks you can use to your advantage.’
‘Lesson two: plan. Make a practical plan on how you will defeat your enemy. Never engage if the plan seems undoable or if the enemy is overwhelmingly powerful.’
‘Lesson three: haste. Attempt to take out your enemy and evacuate to a safe location as fast as possible, reducing the risk of external factors that you may not see coming.’
‘Now that you’ve learned the basics to killing, we will move on to survival. Lesson four: avoid direct confrontation: If you are able to achieve your goals without fighting, then don’t fight. Avoid any combat unless left without any choice.’
‘Lesson five: self-reliance. Always rely on yourself. It is never too late for your closest companions to fail or even betray you. Your mistakes are the only things that will cost you.’
‘...’
For someone that was only a few years into the double-digits age range, those lessons were quite harsh. Many people, especially children only feel the thrill of the process or the fear of the encounter. The perspective of the author however treated the world coldly, disdaining errors and mechanical failure. Perhaps that’s what it takes to survive in this ‘cruel world’ as the author describes. To Shinra, these were the guiding steps of a battle-worn veteran that had suffered the cruelties of nature. In a way, he was similar to him. Even as a child, he knew that the world could take away the things most precious to him. He had felt it first hand when that leviathan tore apart his village and took from him the most important person in his life. That time, when he cried on his raft, safe from danger, he felt ice cold like being encased in a cocoon of chains. Although the author of this book seemed like a teacher to most, to Shinra, he was someone that was desperate, desperately wishing that others would never feel the pain that he did.
Shinra spent the rest of the night going through the rest of the book which taught him the theory to fighting well. One again one, one against many, many against many. Every page was written in delicate detail as if it was the author secretly reflecting on a mistake he had made in the past.
Instead of ‘position to counterattack’, it read ‘position to kill after deflecting reckless blow.’, Instead of ‘protect lower body while attacking’, it said ‘protect from enemy counterattack while attacking.’ It felt like whoever the author was, had missed the kill on a counterattack and had been hit in his lower body. It felt like he had left his lower body open to a counterattack and suffered the consequences. It was quite depressing, but Shinra read on, long into the night.
The moon was bright that night, its light shining through the window, bringing a different luminance to the candles in the library. Shinra could be spotted in a remote corner of the library with his face resting firmly atop the open ‘basics to combat and survival’ book.
…
Step… step, step, step…
As the robed elder was doing his late night inspection, he found Shinra, soundly asleep on the library table.
‘Hmm, what a kid.’
However as he got closer, the image of the book he thought Shinra was reading started to deviate further from the fundamental combat book he envisioned.
‘What is that book?’
Having been this library's librarian for decades, he knew all the books that came in and out, yet this one seemed odd to him.
Gently sliding the book from beneath Shinra’s head, he started to read.
‘No author, huh… the title is quite basic, similar to my recommendations, I guess this is how he got it. But I don’t remember this book, perhaps I’ve grown old…’
‘Identify weaknesses… plan… kill?’
As he read farther, farther than Shinra was able to read, he was visibly worried.
‘Killing techniques should only appear on the second floor… I wouldn’t have made a mistake like this…’
The first floor consisted of mostly basic skills to help trainees fight, but they would never teach them how to kill, especially not in such concise detail. Kids so young usually weren’t prepared for the truth, but as they grew older they would become accustomed to the cruel nature of the world. It was a wicked function of society, slowly guiding them towards the first step towards no return, forever trapped in a ruthless competition to survive.
However, it wasn’t just the ‘how to kill’ tutorial in the book that surprised him, it was that the author seemed to be describing how to kill… people. Every blindspot, every weakness, every counter-movement all seemed targeted at humanoids.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
‘Hah, it’s my fault. I only hope that he grows up like everyone else.’
…
…
…
Yawn
“Ah, huh, ah, wher, where am I?”
‘Oh, did I fall asleep on the table last night? Where’s the book?’
Shinra quickly went over to the location where he had first found the basics to combat and survival, yet this time it was empty.
‘Huh?’
He looked everywhere: under the table, the bookshelves–even though it obviously wouldn’t fit down there–, and all the other sections of the first floor library.
“Elder, elder, do you know where I can find a book called the ‘basics to combat and survival’? I was reading it last night and it was gone after I woke up.”
“Basics to combat and survival? I’ve never heard of it, could you tell me who it’s by and how it looked?”
“Hmmm… well… It didn’t have an author… and it was a brown leather book. It looked kind of old and worn.”
“No author? I don’t think there’s a book like that in this library kiddo, sorry I can’t be of any help.”
‘Hmm? But I was reading it last night? I know it’s real…’
“Ah, I’m going to be late for training this morning, bye elder.”
Sigh
‘I don’t think I can hide it from him forever… Maybe I’ll show it to him when he goes to the academy–if he goes to the academy.’
…
That same evening, Shinra came back again.
Hopeful, he went back to the same place and looked for the book he had been searching for, to no avail. Every day from then on, he would read as many books as he could, learning about history, fighting, geography, history, wild-life and vegetation, yet nothing felt the same as that first read. There was something different about that book that he never found in anything else… something, primal.
It was also during these few months of repeating this same process that he realized that he was perhaps severely lacking talent in combat. Every day he and Eve would have a friendly spar, which she always won, dominantly. Most of the time he would struggle to even get a single hit on her. Throughout the weeks and months, he would try blades, blunts, polearms and even hand to hand, yet nothing would work. Eve on the other hand was proficient in almost anything she picked up, especially the halberd, quickly becoming her weapon of choice.
The only shining star in his training was that his mysterious power seemed to progress similarly to his peers. Every time after physical training, he would try to manifest as much of his vitalic energy as possible, and every day, that verdant orb in his hands became bigger.
…
“Hah!”
It was early morning at the square. Shinra swung his training blade towards Eve with victory in his grasp. However, with one swift deflection using the rear end of her halberd, she borrowed the momentum of Shinra’s swing and imbued it into her own, bringing the ax head to his neck.
“You lost.”
“Hah… I really can never win against you. I’ve tried every weapon but nothing feels right.”
“Have you tried any ranged weapons? Like a bow?”
“Would those even work under water…?”
Eve looked at him with noticeable surprise and giggled.
“Of course you dummy. How do you think we can fight anything at all underwater? With a little bit of magic and some technology, it’ll work the same as it did on land. What have you been doing in the library? Based on how much you like it there, I would imagine you could figure out something like this.”
“Uh…”
“Nevermind, try some of the ranged weapons, I think you’ll like them.”
The first thing he picked up was a bow and arrow and aimed it at a rock about 15 meters away.
‘I just have to put the arrow here, aim, pull… fi’
“OW!”
His grip on the bow had clearly been too high. When he released the arrow, it scraped against his hand leaving a noticeable mark.
“Move your hand down a bit and put your back into it. Using a bow requires more strength than you think, especially one that will fire well underwater, even with the support of magic.”
After a few more shots, this time not hurting himself, he put the bow and arrow down.
“Try some of the other ones and see if any of them suit you.”
On the table were an assortment of other weapons and gadgets, all of them typically specializing in ranged combat. There was a slingshot, a crossbow, an arbalest, alongside an assortment of hand-thrown weapons like daggers, tomahawks and javelins. There was even a blowpipe–’yeah, definitely not that one’. He looked around for a bit, yet his attention was always caught by one thing. It was a double-edged dagger with a thin, three meter, chain connecting it to a counterweight that also acted like a handle.
He picked it up.
“Hmm… quite the weapon you chose there. I’ve never seen anyone use them, maybe you’ll be the first.” Eve commented sarcastically, clearly not expecting Shinra of all people to handle a chainblade.
He swung it around a little, almost cutting himself on the cheek, but it felt right for once. The momentum of each swing, the weight of the chain, everything was how he imagined. Maybe this was the one.
“I like it.”
“You sure? Don’t regret your choice later.”
Shinra was completely tuning out Eve, mesmerized by the fluidity of the chainblade. Holding the end of the chain with one hand, he swung it around cautiously, as it was one of the few training weapons made out of metal. However, as he got the hang of it, he started increasing the speed. The knife blade at the–although dull–connected with the floor, making small dents. Dust from his reckless practice rose into the air, causing a small disturbance in the area.
Cough
Cough
Cough
“Shinra, STOP!” Eve shouted, causing Shinra to halt abruptly
“Are you trying to kill me? I can’t breathe when you do that, and it gets in my eyes.”
“Ah… Sorry.”
“Whatever… I’ll forgive you, we are friends after all.” She responded with a mischievous smile.
“There aren’t many manuals that teach you how to use that type of weapon. Go ask the elder librarian when you go to the library. Learn how to use that thing properly.”
“Mhm.”
…
That afternoon, Shinra arrived at the library.
“Hello Elder.”
“Your visit is certainly expected, and no, I have not found that book you were looking for.”
“Ah, elder do you know where I can find books that teach the chainblade?”
“Hmm? Don’t tell me you’ve taken up the chain blade. You’ve already asked me for books on other weapons, when are you going to stick to one? The gap between you and your peers is only going to widen, especially if you use such a rare weapon.”
“Elder, it really feels like the right one this time, please help me.”
“Hah, fine, don’t regret it later though.”
“Um, and also, are there other things that are similar to my power? I can increase its potency like any other type of starcalling but I don’t think I can make any stars.”
“Hmmm… I’ll see what I can find. But let me tell you this. In the past, long before the Shattering of the main continent, there were a myriad of magics and sorceries that were unrelated to the stars. However, they have all been lost to time, as after the Shattering, all other magics were simply overshadowed by starcalling. There is however one downside. The farther someone is from a star, the weaker their powers become. That is why the Great Abyss poses such a threat. The deeper you venture, the more the abyss takes a toll on you, diminishing your powers while slowly making you go insane. You however, may not have that issue, as your power comes from yourself, at least from my perspective. There are many books about the past history of our world on the second floor. I'll bring you some of them you might find interesting.”
“Thank you elder.”
“Mm. Here are the chainblade manuals, there aren’t many since there have been basically no chain blade masters in history. Good luck, young one.”
“Mm.”