Roberion was already feeling the effect of the recovering potion on his body. The wound on his chest would take some time to heal, but in 15 minutes tops he would be in better fighting condition and with no chance of the wound reopening. The loss of his perk Trashed and Scattered is felt, but he would make do with potions. He dismissed the macabre club. The challenge was finished.
“Thank you General Kannon, I’m sorry for my not so warrior-like approach.”, Roberion still tried to assuage Kannon's temper. He just wanted to take his rewards and go find the Shade, then finally look for this Research Station.
“Shining Crow, excuses don’t work with me. If failure could be reversed with words, the fiznaults wouldn’t be in this situation”, the eyes of Kannon glinted, “But I digress, let’s talk about your rewards, first the one you are in more need of.”
Without no more than a second, Roberion just felt the impact and the sound of soil being crushed. Looking down, what he found was a spear, a fiznault spear. He hoped for a spell blueprint, but he kept hope in his heart. She said rewards after all.
“You always need to be extravagant kid, one time that will be your undoing.”, Raijin said with reproach.
“Noted grandpa”, Kannon said emotionless.
Roberion was having a hard time taking the spear off the ground. But with some strength in the right locations and digging around the spear worked. The fiznaults didn’t help him, only seeing him work. It seemed this was another test, or they were only having some sort of fun at his expense.
The spear was not heavy neither light. It has good weight, is heavy enough to do damage and him to feel the hit, and light enough to not to mess his movement. Still, it didn’t seem that impressive. He didn’t feel any enchantment.
“This spear is one used by almost all the fiznaults soldiers. No enchantment, just early-VIII tier, enough to do some damage in this place.”, saying that she takes a long look at the big body of water. The lake that separated here from where the ancient construction was.
“It will be enough for you to fight when you summon that knight creature. When I mean fighting, I actually mean fighting. Most of the time, running away is not an option. You need to learn to hold you ground. This spear is for you to do just that, no excuses for the lack of weapon.”
“Now, for something that a kid like you would really want was a reward. A spell blueprint. I had two in mind, both of them improve your body. The one I wanted to give you was the one that improve the durability of your body, but seeing you fight, the best one would be one that helps you to increase your easy of movement.”
“It removes the air interference, honestly it is one of the most useful ones if used right, being one of the spells that is most found in people arsenals.”
Kannon coughs a little embarrassed, “Besides the already mentioned easy of movement, if used underwater, it would have a weird effect of making you being pushed by the surface as oxygen and other gases accumulate around you.”
“Hahahaha, I remember when little Kannon was launched like a torpedo out of the water, yelling and crying. Ah, such good memories.”, Raijin said with good humor.
“She was such a cutie. I tried to calm her down with a story only to find her sleeping in my lap”, Fujin said with a happy smile.
“Stop it! We are talking about Shining Crow here.”, she looks at Roberion.
“For your third and last reward, it is one, let’s say, last resort. Use it when you are fighting something you can’t beat. Maybe it will be enough to defeat if or to help you run away.”, as Kannon says that she takes a colored packet and throws at Roberion.
Roberion catches with easy, but what he saw was both beautiful and weird. The last thing he hoped was to find another symbol with power printed in the pack.
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The symbol was a weird one, having a holographic component. He also didn’t feel the same impact as the Phoenix of Creation or the Man Ouroboros. Maybe it was because of the material or something else. But the symbol was still impressive, anyway.
In one of the holographic images, a text above is read Brotherhood of Gains. Below and occupying most of the image was a monstrous muscular male cyclops doing the front lad spread, why do I know the name of this pose? I don’t know nothing of this. Roberion felt the information invade his head. He didn’t know anything about muscles aside from common sense.
This red cyclops seemed powerful. His body size was massive, almost too big to fit on the image frame. Its veins seemed to contract like snakes ready to attack. It was very different from the other hologram image.
In this next image, the text Fellowship of Aestheticism could be read. Just below was a female red cyclops doing the side triceps pose. Roberion was mesmerized by the beauty of it. Her body seemed to be sculpted by the gods. If the male Cyclops was like a test to the limits of the flesh, this female Cyclops was like the limits of how a body could be transformed into art.
Her body was still big. She could kill Roberion in no time, but she was less bulky than the male one, being more athletic. It was really breathtaking. Roberion didn’t know a being could look so powerful.
“Hey Shining crow, stop—”, before Kannon could interrupt Roberion's musings, Raijin stopped her. Annoyed, Kannon kept her massacre of the undead as if it was something automatic.
Roberion kept his focus on the information printed on the packet. There, a colorful text is written, the text provocative: Open the packet to win a collectable card. Collect all 126 of the different cards to win a special membership to Brotherhood of Gains/ Fellowship of Aestheticism!!! Be one with your muscle!
Roberion, not thinking much, opened the packet and took out the collectable card. In it, there was a humanoid orange female doing the side chest pose. This time, the card was a normal print. It didn’t have any holographic effect. It wasn’t magical and didn’t give a sense of power as the holographic image, but the card was still beautiful, truly a work of art.
I will collect all of them. I will even keep this packet. Absent-mindedly, Roberion took out the other item inside. It seemed to be a sort of applicator with a needle at the edge. Before he analysed it or read the instruction manuals within the packet, Fujin yelled.
“KANNON! Why did you give drugs to him???”, Fujin said furiously.
“Grandma, I already told him that is only for emergencies”, Kannon said placatingly.
“No! Drugs are bad for your health!”, Fujin looked at Roberion pleadingly, “Please don’t use it, let’s destroy thi—”, before she continued, she was stopped by Raijin calmly, as he put his hand on her shoulder.
“Sweet Fujin, you know that maybe will come a time that his only way to live is using it as a last resort. Let’s have faith him that he won’t get addicted to this thing after using it.”
Now that Fujin said it, there is really a warning in the pack about it. I was so entertained by the hologram that I didn’t notice, mused Roberion as he looked at the pack.
Wait, I didn’t receive my spell blueprint. Remembering the only item he didn’t receive, the most important one, and already using as a way to change the topic, he asked Kannon about it educatedly.
“Excuse me, General Kannon, but where is the spell blueprint?”
Kanon looks a little embarrassed and gives the spell blueprint to Roberion, obviously she forgot after her grandparents’ teasing.
“Here it is. It’s made of blackwood, and will probably break apart after its first spell use. But you don’t need to worry. This spell is easier to remember how to cast. The spell name is Minor Air Movement”
The spell blueprint seemed made from the same material the armor the soldiers used, similar to even Kannon’s, but Kannon’s had a superior quality to it. This one seemed simpler.
“Shining Crow looks like it’s time to say goodbye.”, said Kannon, already looking forward, focused on the undead. Roberion felt that she had already grown tired of him. “My grandparents will accompany you to where you can find Shade. Don’t show any disrespect and do the mission with honor. Be a good assistant. The village is depending on it. A good work is the best and only way you can pay for all the help we gave to you.”
Roberion would do that for sure. They didn’t need to try to reach to the goodness of his heart. If he didn’t do that, Shade probably wouldn’t let him accompany her to the Research station. The fiznaults probably already knew that, but Roberion gave a firm nod, anyway. There was no need for words.
Roberion’s mental list:
Blackwood spear
“Now I have a weapon to fight when Percival shows up. It still a little underwhelming though.” by Roberion
Type: Weapon
Tier: early-VIII tier
Incarnation: Ordinary
Line: ?
Enchantment: None
Notable items:
Minor Air Movement - Spell blueprint - Need to learn it later
Unknown Drug from Brotherhood of Gains/ Fellowship of Aestheticism - Medicine - To read the instructions on the way to meet the Shade