“Master, why did she offer you dinner in a hundred years, you would be dead by then.” William asked as he looked up confused.

Blake watched Quni for a few seconds, but shook his head, “No, I have a rare blessing that will allow me to live for about thirty thousand years.” he said as he kept watching Quni.

He wasn’t sure what kind of elf Quni was, but now that he looked at her closely he had to admit that she was beautiful, While she was in no way an overly curvy woman, she did possess an ample chest and rear, and her legs did show that she spent a reasonable amount of time working out, her toned thighs and calfs holding her up with ease, her hair was a short chin length reddish brown, and her eyes were a deep green, her ears naturally hid under her locks. Her attitude was usually rough and uncommitted but considering her kind's life span she has likely been at this job for anywhere from fifty years to a few hundred, which really meant she is just bored with the same bullshit, not that he could blame her.

Blake smiled and looked down at William, “OK, after this, we will go to the training area, I want to check your skills.” he said with a smile.

“Test my skills?” William asked back confused.

“Right, we know your powers, but we need to check how skilled you are without your powers.” Blake said calmly, as Quni and Jill came back over, “If you don’t know how to use your weapon and armaments then you are just a fool, so I will see how well you can use your sword and give you pointers on how to use it better.”

“But why, most people just use their weapons with their powers.” William said back a bit confused.

“Because, William, how you use your weapon is just as important as using your power, if a bow user doesn’t understand how to shoot a bow, then their powers need to work harder to correct the shot.” Quni said back before Blake could respond.

“Exactly, if you know how to use your sword right then you don’t have to rely on your power, making you a more powerful combatant, you will see when we spar.” Blake added quickly, then turned to Quni, “The training areas have the same enchantments as the cage, right?”

Quni nodded, “Yeah, but it has a limit so don’t knock him out more than three times a day.” she said then looked at William, “Hey, if you can knock your master out, I’ll reward you ok?”

William smiled wide, a newly determined glint in his eyes, “Right, I will, Let’s go” he said with an enthusiastic tone.

They walked over to the table so that Blake could grab his sword and shield, then went to the training area with the team, the team and Jill stood on the outside of the rails that marked one of the training fields, while Blake and William walked to about the middle.

Blake drew his sword, got into a readied stance, and watched as William took a stance like a Roman legionary, then he spoke out, “Don’t use your powers, just use your muscles and come at me.”

William nodded and started shuffling closer, until he got into Blake’s reach, then roared as he swung wide, only to get deflected by a shield, stepping back to not take a counterattack, then settled into his guard again.

[his form in the guard is great but his sword skills need polish, and his swordplay also needs a bit of refinement.] Blake thought as William started an onslaught of attacks in rapid succession, none of the attacks were particularly good, [ he understands edge alignment and has a good idea for his weapon's reach.] Blake took a step back as William started panting after about a minute of attacks.

Blake looked over, tilted his head, and asked, “Are you okay, need a break?”

William dropped his guard and sucked in deep inhales, “How were you able to block all of my attacks, I was sure a few would get in.” he spoke between breaths, wiping away some sweat with the back of his hand.

Blake smiled and dropped his guard too, “Well, you are better than most, but you are too used to relying on your powers, your guard is good, but you open it too much when you attack, also you are not an attacker, you should be waiting for attacks of opportunity not forcing me to lose my guard.” Blake said back and watched as the teen started to settle, “now this time I will attack back every five swings you take.”

William nodded and took up his guard, closing the gap between them, swinging hard for Blake’s forward leg, but Blake counter with a perfect parry.

William shifted and came in for a thrust, using his shield to block the line of attack, however, he found Blake’s shield blocking him, slamming his shield with his shoulder he created a gap, then closed again.

This time he thrust low in an effort to get under Blake’s shield, catching nothing but the rim of the shield hitting his hand down.

Using the chance William swung his sword overhead, at the exposed head of Blake, but Blake was ready and blocked the blow with his own sword.

William kicked back and then lunged into a thrust, but Blake spun and let the teen lose his balance as he brought the sword down on William’s back, knocking the teen out into a heap on the packed sand they stood on.

Blake let out a sigh, then put a foot against the teen, “Heal, Quick Recovery.” he cast, snapping William awake as he rolled over.

“How?” William asked a bit disappointed.

“You did good, but you kept trying to get through my guard, over trying to get me to slip up, I said you are not the attacker, wait for a chance to strike.” Blake said as he sheathed his sword and reached down to pull the teen up.

William took the hand, then walked over to his sword and picked it up, “I don’t get it, how do I win then?” he said a bit annoyed.

“The same way I did just now, wait until your opponent makes a big move that will leave him defenseless then attack.” Blake said as he watched the apprentice think over the fight.

“So, I am not supposed to attack?” William asked confused.

“No, you are meant to keep the enemy from seeing your friends, while attacking the enemy whenever they stop being mindful of you.” Blake said back with a smile, “How about a mock battle?”

William looked confused but nodded.

“Vinry, Jessica, and Block care to help me?” Blake called out, and the three joined in walking up with their weapons, “We are going to have a mock battle, I will take on the role of a boss monster in a dungeon, you are all tasked with taking me down, I’ll give you three minutes to come up with a strategy. Also, I will be using my magic to defend myself so you will need to land five or more hits in rapid succession to win.” he said then walked over to Claira, Winry, Sarena, and Jill, scooping up a cup of water that Jill held out for him.

“So, what are they doing?” Winry asked.

“Mock battle, they will have to find a way to take me down while I am at full power.” Blake said back.

“Blake, are you expecting them to use Heavy Guard that William has?” Claira asked.

Blake nodded, “That is their best chance, but William has the mentality of an attacker not a tank like me. I hope this will break it.”

“A bit cruel, don’t you think?” Claira asked, and he nodded at her.

“Then why do it?” Sarena asked.

“Because that is how you win a dungeon, someone needs to keep the boss occupied, that is the role of a tank, Block and Vinry are the attackers, and Jessica is the support. If William fails to keep me focused on him then they will all lose.” Blake said back and heard an Oi from William, “just watch closely and see if you can find mistakes that they make in the attack.”

Blake walked back out and drew his sword, “Holy Shield, Holy Ward, Holy Bastion.” he cast over himself and took up a guard, “You guys ready, William, you know what your role is?”

The teen nodded, then roared as they all started to move, noticing Vinry vanished, Blake felt her behind him and he swung while ducking, but he found nothing but the sole of her boots as she leaped backward, just as Block got into range, bringing his axe down on Blake.

The attack from Block would have ended the fight if Blake hadn’t brought his shield up just in time to deflect the blow behind him, taking the chance Blake rushed out and towards William slamming his shield against the teen and forcing him down a bit, before swinging out hard, throwing the teenager out of the way as he made his way towards Jessica.

Before he could reach her, Vinry appeared in front of the priestess, parrying Blake's swing, and taking a chance to stab at Blake’s sword arm. Blake just added more force, throwing her out of the way, and turned back to Jessica, who was actively moving away, chasing after her at a brisk walk.

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“William, just do it, we will support you!” Vinry yelled out from behind Blake, but he was attacking the supporter.

“Heavy Guard!” William shouted, and Blake felt his mind pulled towards William, the vision of his surroundings shifted as William seemed bigger and more dangerous, as his feet started to move, “Oh shit, what now.”

“Keep your guard up and wait for him to try and attack us.” Jessica told him just as Blake was about to close the gap.

Blake brought his sword down, with most of his force, the impact sliding the teenager back a bit in the sand, then attacked again, getting a grunt from the teen as he slammed his shield on his. Then a ping of an attack on his back cleared his vision and he swung at Block, only to get parried.

“Now!” Block roared, and a new ping rang.

Blake swung back and tried to cut down on William, but the teen blocked the blow with his shield, followed by a ping to his left, Blake swung his shield, catching Vinry and sending her a bit back, then a new ping at his abdomen got Blake to thrust back at the teen, who again blocked the blow, and a final ping from his right broke the defense spell as he swung to hit at Block, only to lose consciousness as the feeling of a blade at his exposed neck came in.

Blake opened his eyes and sat up. “Who landed the last hit?” he asked as he stretched his neck.

“Vinry did, sir.” William said from beside him.

“Good job Vinry, are you okay? I hit you pretty hard with my shield.” Blake asked as he looked up.

“Yeah, Jessica was quick on the Heal, as soon as you turned, I took my chance.” Vinry said then patted William on the shoulder, “You did pretty good newbie, it feels nice when I fight on a team.”

“Yeah, it's just I was taught that Heavy Guard is a suicide power that people with a death wish use, so I never used it before.” William said as he looked down at his hand which was still shaking.

Blake got up and stood next to William, “It is not, it is the power to protect those you care about like teammates, you will get stronger and more powerful.” He said with a hand on the teenager’s shoulder.

“Yeah, but your attacks, every one of them was so hard and heavy, I felt like you would shatter my shield, I was so scared that if I wasn’t careful, I would lose, and you would win.” William said in a shaky voice.

“Fear is a good thing to have, but you have to remember that you are not fighting on your own, like when I knocked you aside, Vinry stepped in and stopped me from getting to Jessica, your job is to buy time.” Blake said in a cheerful tone, “Also, I am the strongest on the team, so, of course, my attacks will be hard, but you kept your guard up and took your chances, every time I got a chance to attack Vinry or Block you took those chances, that is what a heavy knight is meant to do, what Paladins, and wardens do, we protect our teams by buying them time will taking our chances.”

“So, my job in this team is to draw the attention of monsters so that everyone else can fight without worry?” William asked and looked up, but turned to Jessica as she placed her hand on the other side of him.

“No, your job is to get the enemy to not protect themselves from your teammates while you chip away at their defenses.” she said in a sweet tone. “Now, Blake, is a team effort counted as a personal win?”

“Yes, which means William has technically knocked me out, I think we are done for today.” Blake said and turned to leave with Jessica.

They went about five steps before William ran past them, got to the stairs, and ran up. Followed by the rest of the party, they eventually got upstairs and saw William talking with Quni, his posture was a bit defensive before Quni looked over and Blake just nodded.

Quni smiled, picked William up and kissed his cheek, then set him down, while he did stay on his feet for a few seconds, then fell over and started to blush up a storm, finally breaking and running back over, and everyone had to snort a laugh as William looked up a lipstick kiss still on his cheek.

“Why are you all laughing at me?” William demanded in protest.

Jill walked over and wiped a finger and showed it to him. “It is over big brother, you are marked, no girl will ever like you now.” she said in the sweetest tone, getting everyone even Blake to nearly fall over.

William quickly wiped the mark away on his sleeve, “It’s not like that, she said I would get a reward if I beat Blake, and I did, I wasn’t expecting a kiss.” he said a bit angry but still mostly embarrassed.

Claira walked over and patted his head, “You know it is considered rude to wipe the kiss on your sleeve…” she said and walked away.

“What…?” William said.

Jessica walked past giggling, “Helgan has no fury like a kiss besmirched.” she said in a sing-song tone that got William’s face a bit redder, and his breathing sped up.

Winry walked over and patted his shoulder, “I have known Quni for a while and she will not take kindly to you now.” she said and walked away, followed by Vinry, Sarena, and Jill who were all shaking their heads.

Block walked over and hugged the boy then whispered, “Nice to know you, good luck.” then put the teen down.

Blake walked over and pulled him along over to Quni, “Quni, my apprentice wishes to apologize for his rudeness, he genuinely appreciates your show of favor to him and didn’t mean to insult you, Right, William?” he said in a stern tone getting Quni to turn around.

William gave her a short bow, “I am sorry, I didn’t think about what I was doing, please don’t hurt me.” he stammered out.

Blake watched as she smiled and patted his head, “Aww, adorable, tell you what I accept your apology if you can get as strong as your master.” she said then looked up to Blake, “Claira had asked for you to take a private check of your power rank.” she gestured to a door not too far away.

Blake nodded and followed her to a side room with William, as they walked in Quni was followed by four other receptionists dressed in a similar uniform, but he walked calmly over to the dark mirror on the far wall and placed his hand on it.

Name: Blake Winters. Class: Paladin. Race: human.

Current power rank: 112, current biological age: 25, actual chronological age: 25.

Health points: 330/330, Spell Points: 150/200, Spell Power: 75, Energy points: 150/150

Strength: 80, Dexterity: 61, Constitution: 72,

Intelligence: 55, Wisdom: 51, Charisma: 50,

Trust: 38, Faith: 16, Honor: 7.

Physical Skills: Halberd proficiency(mastery), longsword proficiency(skilled), bow proficiency(trained), heavy armor proficiency(renowned), shield combat proficiency(trained).

Magic Skills: Basic Light Magic, Intermediate Light Magic, Advance Light Magic, Basic Holy Magic, Intermediate holy magic, Advanced Holy Magic, Grand holy magic, magic proficiency (Famed).

Abilities

Energy point abilities: Power Strike, Rend, Shield Slam, Heavy Guard, Devastating Blow, Rebuke, Cleave, Sunder, Blade Wind, Power Lunge, Earth Shatter, Skyward Spike, Tortoiseshell, Wall of Iron.

Spell point abilities: Smite, heal, cure conditions, dispel curses, dispel magic, quick recovery, holy blessing, holy ward, holy shield, Hallowed binding, death respite, sun flare, burning smite, greater heal, Solar Forge, Light Prison, Light Weapon, Light Barrier, Angel's Songs, Hallowed bastion.

Unique abilities: Judge’s eye (passive), Drill sergeant (passive).

Blessings: Blessing of the Long Breath, Blessing of Life tongue, Blessing of the Peerless, Blessing of the Indomitable (16%), Divine Emissary (Justice, Honor, Life), Blessing of farewells x 2, Penta-loved.

Titles: Troll Slayer, Daemon of the Forest Moon, Champion of Yari’s Yard.

Current equipment.

Weapons: Long sword.

Armor: oak shield.

Blake smiled at the information and held it while looking over his shoulder to the onlookers, William had fallen over at the high rank he needed to achieve to get Quni’s forgiveness, two of the receptionists were on the floor too, shocked in horror at the thought of his power rank and his soon to be confirmed guild rank, a third looks to have fainted, and the fourth seemed to be going back and forth between her clipboard and the mirror, while Quni looked at him directly, a bit more of a hungry look in her eyes, getting Blake to finally remove his hand.

“So, am I good to leave?” he asked nervously.

Quni walked over while smiling, “Tell me, Blake, why are you not in charge of your team?” she asked pointedly as she licked her upper lip.

Blake took a step back, “Umm, because I am the new guy, and I don’t have much else to give.” He said back a bit uncomfortable with the slowly closing space.

Quni let out a hum at the idea, “So, you are just a teammate, and you have wives somewhere out there, likely humans?” she asked pointedly but continued before he could answer, “It is ok, they don’t need to know about us.” She added as she reached onto his tunic, pressing a bit with her hands, “I won’t tell them, and I know they will not find out.”

Blake raised his hands up and away from her, “Quni, I thought we agreed to wait for a while, why have you changed your tune?” he asked and had to look away from her as she pressed him to the wall while pushing her chest against him.

Quni leaned up and whispered into his ear, “Because you were a B-ranker less than a week ago, now you are an S-ranker, so I guess that by the time of your next return, you will be SC-rank, and I want you to be mine,” she pressed a kiss on his neck, “Besides, I like strong men that are caring, a bit cliche, I know, but you are that, I mean you sent half a reward to the chief or Yari’s Yard just cause, then you kicked Bualdran’s ass in the cage for Winry, and I know you have something to do with the Baron’s manor, I find you to be just my type.”

Blake inhaled deeply, and grabbed Quni’s hand, spinning her around and locking her arm behind her back, while hugging her tight with his other arm, “Sorry, Quni, I do find you attractive, but I do not plan to do wrong by my wives.” he started by stopped as she pushback, pressing her rear on him.

“Oh, come on Blake, I can tell you like this, I like it rough too.” She said as she started to intentionally push herself against him, her free hand pulling his arm down to press across her chest. “We don’t have to tell anyone, your squire, I can use my magic on him to make him forget, as for the girls in here, I have a feeling they would join in, just give in and…”

A sudden downpour of water on the both of them snapped the moment, getting the two to look at William who was holding a bucket, “Please stop this is not right, Quni you should just wait, I will be just as strong if not stronger.”

Blake took the chance and grabbed William and ran out and over to the table, scooping Jill up and running out the hall, hearing a slew of insults from the room but directed at William and not him.

“So, we are going home now?” Jill asked as Blake ran for a bit until he figured he was far enough for now.

“Yeah, also thanks William, but I think you are better off finding someone other than Quni, I am pretty sure she is pissed off at you right now." Blake said as he caught his breath then stood up straight and started to walk towards rowin’s.

“It’s okay, I will get strong, and she will want to wait for me like she did for you.” he said with some kind of twisted logic that made Blake feel a bit uncomfortable.

“Look bro, I know she is an elf but that doesn’t mean she has to be the only one you chase, just like don’t think about it for now and focus on getting stronger.” Blake said, then stranded his neck, he a felt a set of eyes on him, glancing about he found none even as they walked.