I looted the bodies, but didn’t have time to check what they gave me. The more pressing thought in my mind was how close I was to levelling up. The small fraction of experience I needed was an itch which threatened to distract me. With a conscious force of will, I ignored the voice in my head which told me to quickly attack a few of the crowd Merownis was handling. Instead, I turned on the so-called king.

It had kingly enough abilities, I supposed. Able to influence an army from a distance, and from what I could sense in Merownis’ mana and the faintest whiffs of Spirit in the energy being given off, it made the units stronger. I had no doubt Merownis would be fine, the scorpions and Sundercat were not built equally. At a higher level than them, even with the boost they wouldn’t be able to pin him down.

Focusing on the Scorpion King, I first took in its appearance. Distinctly less insectoid in various places, it was a real horror show even amongst the monsters I had faced so far. The gold of its carapace hid the gruesome nature of its form. Large, partially misshapen and asymmetrical legs sank into the sand from its weight. Two bulbous eyes, mostly black but with enough white to make me uncomfortable, sat above a nose that snorted as it smelled the air. All it was missing was a mouth, though the mandibles below were vicious and dripping with venom. “They aren’t supposed to have venomous bites, are they? That feels like cheating.” My gripe fell on deaf sand, but it made me feel better.

With its honour guard - or sons? - destroyed, the Scorpion King was in no mood to sit around. I approached cautiously, ready to move fast if it looked like it might retreat. I reminded myself that while the weaker scorpions were the norm, this thing was some kind of elite. Whatever advantages I had with my attributes were likely erased by similar buffs this thing had received from the System. I was about three quarters full of Spirit, half in health and mana. Scooping another handful from the Spirit Well, I impressed it upon Manasight.

The information I received didn’t change, my vision didn’t blur or become sharper. Instead, a silhouette of the Scorpion King rose up behind the real thing, dominating the skyline. This was its power. I was suddenly certain this thing wasn’t going to run from me. Its presence wouldn’t allow it, same as mine. I disliked that we were somewhat kindred, even down to giving power to our allies. Discomforted by the idea, I looked behind me to the distant sounds of battle and saw a smaller version of the same shadowy depiction of a scorpion, the conglomeration of soldier scorpions creating a similar effect though much less defined.

When I turned back to my fight, I yelped. Batting the unexpected projectile from the air, I couldn’t help tilting my head. “A potshot? Really?” I was truly offended. More importantly, I had been lucky. The attack had contained no signature of the threat it carried, silently aimed for the back of my neck. The tingle of fear which crept through my limbs served to shake away the final dregs of stiffness. Confidence and cowardice both disappeared.

In their place, a cool certainty slotted into my mind. One of us would die here, and that was it. Like a promise being made with Naea, the world seemed to agree. Two regal combatants were enforcing their claims upon the world. The sounds of Merownis tearing through the scorpions faded. The heat of the sun dulled. Even the sand beneath my feet seemed to compact, urging me to take the heavy step.

I pressed forward.

Without the Jingu Bang, all of my attributes and the good sense to activate Haste just before I got into range, I was barely able to avoid instant death. The fear tried to return, but instead I smiled. Ambushes, assassination attempts and the hidden blade of immense strength under its cloak? This thing really did fight like a king. I laughed. Anything less would have been too little. Dancing on the edge of death, I burned through my mana and faced the Scorpion King in an all out brawl.

Claw met Mana Bolt, staff met stinger and the force of our clashes caused shockwaves of sound to flatten the nearby sand. Soon we fought in a bowl of our own making and while I was aware we were getting closer to the underground caverns I didn’t stop. The first one here to take a step back would lose. With my accelerated speed and the weight of the Jingu Bang combined, I chipped at the king’s magically resistant body. I had given up on using Mana Bolts when a golden claw smashed aside one laced with destructive Spirit. This thing wasn’t called “Elite” for nothing.

Though the physical battle only lasted around ten seconds in real time, my time-bending skill had made it feel more like a minute. A minute of full exertion, compressed into such a short time, left me not just with a build up of exhaustion and a deficit of mana, but something new, too. In truth, the growing tension of the weapon in my hand was a large part of the reason I broke away.

Heavy in my hand, the Jingu Bang did what it could to voice its disappointment. Oh, you were enjoying that, were you? The staff was buzzing with unfulfilled potential. The true description of the weapon came to my mind easily and I understood immediately. Getting used to me, I see.

Item - Jingu Bang (Artefact)

The mischievous nature of its original owner still thrives within the wood of the Jingu Bang. It longs for adventure and will aid its wielder upon any path it believes to be interesting. If provided with a consistent source of mana, the Jingu Bang can become more attuned to its wielder.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

As my regeneration had risen, the amount of mana fed into the staff had started at substantial and doubled since. Each time I attacked with the weapon, the swing felt a little more natural, the staff’s weight modulating for maximum effect. I had never considered the artefact a simple stick, but in terms of usage, I had been downright disrespectful compared to the skill with which Master Thorn wielded it. Over the days since, I had become at least passable in the use of the staff.

It seemed that the Jingu Bang considered me adequate, too. It was practically begging me to return to my hasted state, but I glanced at my mana pool and grimaced. As much as I wanted to see what the staff was building to, it could wait another minute. The Scorpion King was gracious enough to give me the few seconds breather I needed thanks to its own tiredness. While I hated that it had an approximation of a face, I was able to use that grim visage to see the thing was surprised.

I glanced at its claws. The speed of the combat had left them smoking from friction alone, stress fractures clear as dark flesh showed through the golden armour. I rolled my neck. “Yeah, I’ve got a sting, too. Let’s go.” Half of my mana recovery spent on myself, half on the Jingu Bang, I shot forward.

I had just enough time to awkwardly swipe a Mana Shield in front of the incoming blow before it landed. The shimmering barrier slowed the attack by less than a blink. Expectations being the bitch they were, I was smashed hard into the sand because the staff had refused to fight. It did so by making one end incredibly heavy, allowing the shaft to extend as much as I wanted.

I was basically left holding a petulant bungee cord. Thankfully, the retraction had pulled me away from the worst of the damage the Scorpion King tried to inflict. It still hurt like hell, and I cursed the weapon at my side. If I hadn’t given Merownis Severance, I would be swapping the two. Despite the mana I fed it, There was a genuine reticence in the staff to fight at full strength without the effects of Haste, which set my teeth on edge.

If it hadn’t also saved me from dying, I would have tried to snap the thing over my leg. While I would probably just break my femur for the trouble, the gesture would have felt good. Even if the staff hadn’t interceded, the speed of the king was more than I had expected. It had been holding back in the first clash, then? After the other sneaky tactics it had employed, I shouldn’t have been surprised but I couldn’t help being impressed.

“Fine,” I huffed. The Jingu Bang didn’t have many ways to express itself, being a fancy measuring stick, but it managed to convey an apology by refusing the mana I fed it for a moment. I understood the gesture and shook my head. “You’re forgiven already.” While I didn’t like conceding control to the weapon, the close brush to death had reminded me which of us was more experienced in a fight. “Take it away.”

Haste.

At level one, the skill had been able to eat only a few mana per second. The effect had been intoxicating, but more of an equaliser between myself and those with higher speed. Against Master Thorn it had barely kept me in the fight, the ratman still eclipsing me in acuity even without the skill. However, at level two, that changed. Able to use up to eight mana per real time second on the skill now, the effect became much more pronounced. Even more of the frozen world had come under my control, and it took something special like an Elite monster to challenge my reign there.

I didn’t like the provocation. There was a growing sacredness to the dampened world of slowness which I was protective of. It was my court. Only I was allowed here, and this Scorpion King had enough speed to break into my realm. So, the Jingu Bang was granted a place here at my right hand. Invited, it brought with it a gift. Some of the mana I had given it raced up my arm.

With time to spare thanks to the skill, I watched the mana flash through my channels and arrive at its destination. Unlike my own mana, which felt like either a nearly imperceptible flow of water, or the crystals of draconic power, this was something more solid. This mana sang a song of battle, my heart beating with the force of a war drum at its presence. The quality was staggering. The mana aimed itself right for the Haste skill bundle in my calves and when the two met, the complexity exploded. No longer contained on my ankles and lower leg, the skill wound itself all the way up and over my knee.

Then, before the System could tell me anything, I fed the skill all the mana I could.

“Shall we?” A voice asked in my head. While I had never heard the voice before, its childlike excitement was known to me. I smiled, not even needing to answer the question as the staff blurred into action all on its own. My body moved by instinct, but they weren’t my instincts. The soul of combat existing within the Jingu Bang was in control now. Mostly. “You’ll have to stop fighting me, so I can fight the nasty bug!”

“Sorry,” I apologised, not even phased by having a conversation with my weapon. I relaxed my muscles, and the battering of the Scorpion Prince continued. Its screech was deepened by my speeding perception, but it was all music to my ears. Just die, you gaudy roadblock.

In short order, the Scorpion King did just that. While the Jingu Bang was finishing the fight, I took the time to read the System explanation for the skill.

Congratulations! Skill created due to cohesion between your weapon and a skill!

Haste + Mana Savant + ??? -> King’s Training (Epic)

The previous wielder of your weapon underwent a grand journey with it. While wielding the Jingu Bang, for a large mana cost, the techniques and talents of the previous wielder are imprinted upon the bearer.