Joe batted away the weighted line looping towards his calf. Whenever Hah’roo managed to entangle one of his legs with her twenty-foot-long rope dart, Joe inevitably found himself yanked off his feet and dumped onto the ship’s deck a moment later. He had tried using his new claws to hook the rope but so far that had just led to broken fingers. The only way he had managed to keep up with the rope-dancer’s speedy chaotic attacks was by smacking the pointed weight away.
The terrain of the ship could not have suited Hah’roo better. The blue-haired ranger bound up onto a rope ladder on gusts of conjured winds only to kick off the mast and flip over Joe’s head. She landed on the boards of the main deck, spinning herself and snapping out another attack in one gliding motion. The woman moved like the wind, flowing from perch to perch, all the while manipulating the air around her to keep her weapon swirling and striking from unpredictable angles.
Joe had been sparring every day with either Hah’roo or the sailors on their two-week voyage from Peregrine Harbor across the Alia Sea. While Joe was still outmatched by the elusive galeling, he knew he was getting better. Over the last few days, he was starting to hold his own against most of the crew, with the exception of his companion and the deep-voiced first mate Kyllean.
He had all but abandoned his staff at this point. If Hah’roo was not just tearing it out of his grip, she would use her favorite trick of getting behind him and yanking the stave so he ended up smacking himself in the face with his own weapon.
Joe had switched to using either a pair of belaying pins or his own talons. The simple clubs were similar enough for him to utilize his [Staff Expertise] skill. Unfortunately, the sticks were different enough that they did not advance the skill further. The long claws he now bore were a little disconcerting to look at, but they were proving to be effective weapons. With his hands reinforced by the major physical damage resistance that came with the [Savage Claws], Joe could block sword strokes with his bare hands, granted it hurt like hell to do so.
Currently, he was wielding a belaying pin in each hand. He found with the shorter batons he could better utilize the Sparrowhawk Disciple he had acquired from Count Randeau against the huntress. Also, if she grabbed one of them, so be it. He could switch to claws on that hand and not be off-balance. Staying balanced against her was always the hardest part.
Thanks to [Steadfast] and [Hunter’s Pursuit] the rolling ship’s deck was no longer a problem for him. [Steadfast] kept his feet firmly planted to the boards when he wanted them to be, while the athletic enhancement of [Hunter’s Pursuit] allowed him to leap and climb. Hah’roo could no longer just pick a high perch and stay out of his reach. Joe could climb the ropes as quickly as she could. With his talons, he could even claw his way up the mast, until Kyllean hollered to stop gouging up the wood at least.
Besides a healthy respect for the mate’s fists, the Tide Dancer was too nice a ship for him to be abusing anyway.
When Hah’roo and Joe were considering places to travel to after their battle with the Night Skinner, they learned that the Tide Dancer had not yet left port. The ship was resupplying and picking up trade goods to be shipped south to the town of Fort Coral. The small coastal city was surrounded on three sides by a lush semi-tropical forest. It was known for its warm seas, stunning beaches, and solid hunting grounds. To Joe and Hah’roo, it sounded like both a fresh start and a vacation rolled into one.
On the trip there Joe was determined to learn how to defend himself. His new class Fell Bane Hunter was an elite class that focused on tracking and fighting monsters. While this was exactly the sort of class Joe would have picked for himself right off the bat, his version of Fell Bane Hunter had been radically altered due to the infectious bite of the Night Skinner werewolf. Joe had had to swap out the starting abilities of the elite class for the corrupted lycanthropic abilities Sougath had infected him with. Those swaps had bought him enough time to have the werewolf’s curse removed. It had been a close call but Joe managed to reach the temple of the benevolent deity Myrrhcee in time to get cured.
Thankfully, the lycanthropic skills he had ended up with complemented the ones in the Fell Bane Hunter class.
He had also leveled up enough during the fight and completion of the epic quest to have gained two more skills. These he took from the Fell Bane Hunter. The first was one he had been offered during that swapping session. He had to pass up on them but as soon as he had a chance afterwards he took it. It was called [Spot Weakness]. This was a core ability of the elite class and was a key ability needed for the Sparrowhawk fighting style.
The other was [Sundering Strike], which was useful for breaking through armor as well as monster hide, scales, or shells. It worked on objects too. Joe had not had a chance to play with it much yet since breaking things aboard the ship was a good way to get thrown overboard.
Since FBH had been an elite class, Joe gained quite a few new attribute points as well. He was much stronger, tougher, and faster than he had been when he had faced Sougath. It now just came down to training.
He had hoped to get to the point where he could be able to start challenging Hah’roo. The two were matched in strength, Joe’s score was actually a bit higher thanks to one of his magic items. It was her agility that was the problem; her Dexterity score was almost three times what Joe had. She had also been training most of her life with her fighting style. Joe was less surprised that he still lost every battle against her and more amazed he was starting to make her work for her victories.
The galeling sent a focused gust of wind into Joe’s face causing his eyes to blink and water. He felt the rope catch his leg a second later. At that moment, before she flipped him off his feet, he felt an odd sensation again. The hairs on the nape of his neck rose, filling him with a feeling of anticipation. Joe had been feeling this sensation every time Hah’roo snagged his leg recently but he could not figure out what it meant. At first, he thought it was a danger-sense but he ruled that out. One, he didn’t have that ability and, two, it presented itself after he was entangled, not before.
‘What kind of lame Spidey-sense warns you after you have already been hit.’
The only thing that made sense was his new [Spot Weakness] since Joe had still not figured out how it worked. It seemed to have mixed in with his other hybrid skills, making it function slightly differently than Count Valoc had described it. The famous monster hunter has explained that when he used the skill, his eyes were drawn to vulnerable spots on his enemy.
This feeling was nothing like that. To Joe, it felt like he was a hunter waiting to pounce. His skin felt charged as he waited for his prey to expose its weakness to him. Joe focused on the feeling trying to get it to show him what he was missing.
Unfortunately, Hah’roo was faster than his ability to interpret this new sense. Her techniques were relentless. Joe could feel the deck become slick as updrafts of air slipped under the soles of his boots. Like a puck on an air-hockey table, Joe’s traction vanished. A sharp yank on the rope and he was pulled off his feet once again. This time Joe let it happen as he stayed focused on the sensation. It vanished the second his foot was jerked away by the rope.
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Joe smiled as he jumped back up onto his feet. He finally had an idea of what the skill was trying to tell him.
Charging, Joe used the belaying pin to bat away Hah'roo's first attack, which she had aimed at his head. The second one she sent for his right knee, which he slapped away with the back of his hand. The weight still stung but it was unable to pierce his skin. He had to take a shot to his shoulder that left his left arm a little numb, but he was now only a few feet away from her. This is as close as he could usually get to the wind-dancer. If he jumped at her to close the distance, Hah’roo would launch herself upward into the ship rigging. If he stayed on the deck, she would explode into a whirlwind of [Take Down] attacks until she tripped him.
Purposefully, this time, he didn't jump but kept dashing towards the pale, lithe acrobat to close the gap. When the inevitable coil entangled his ankle, Joe felt the hunt-like instinct of [Spot Weakness] go off again. He took all of his focus and pushed it against his [Steadfast] skill. It was possible to flare skills, but it required a focused effort and usually extra resources to do so. If this worked, it would be worth it.
Instead of his boot being lifted by slickening winds, Joe’s foot glued itself down onto the deck.
Your skill [Steadfast] has increased to rank 16.
Hah’roo jerked on her line but, instead of Joe flipping up off his feet, she was the one who was moved. The ranger tugged herself off the mainstay she was standing on and started to fall. Joe grabbed her weapon in both hands and pulled as hard as he could. He had seen his friend disengage from someone getting a hold of her rope-dart before. He was taking no chances. Switching from [Steadfast] to flaring [Hunter’s Pursuit], Joe jumped up and slugged her straight in the gut with the wooden club in his hand.
Even with the wind knocked out of her, Hahroo managed to land gracefully. She held up a hand for a pause. When she recovered her breath, she smiled at him.
“It is about time. I was beginning to despair that you would ever think to overpower my [Take Down] with your [Steadfast].”
Joe’s elation immediately turned to dismay. “You knew I could do that?” he panted.
“It made sense that your skill was designed to be a counter to skills like mine. You just had to get it high enough and then focus on it.”
“Why didn’t you mention it?”
“I will point out flaws in your style and explain concepts you don’t know. In this case, you knew all those facts. You just had to put them together. You do not want me leading you through your training. That will only weaken you in the long run. You must get to truly know your traits, skills, and abilities on your own or they will evolve into what others think they should be and not become the best fit for you.”
“I guess that makes sense,” he agreed, still feeling a bit let down. He probably should have figured that out a while ago. Then a thought dawned on him. He looked up again and grinned broadly at his friend. “I finally got you!”
“You did. Now that you can counter my trip attacks we can move on to something more advanced.”
“Wow. You couldn’t give me just a minute, Roo.”
The galeling closed her eyes and sighed at the diminution of her name. Joe knew she was not sure she liked the nickname but she had not yet asked him to stop using it.
“My apologies. You’re correct. You worked hard for that and it was very well done.” Hah’roo coiled up her line and looked around at the audience of sailors waiting to pounce on Joe. “Why don’t we take a break for the day? We arrive in Fort Coral tomorrow. Let’s spend our last evening with our new friends.”
She gave him a congratulatory fist tap on the shoulder and headed to her small room under the port stern stairs. Joe had gotten his old spot back on the starboard side again for this trip. As soon as she stepped away, Wakely had his flask in Joe’s hand.
“Ya did it boyo. Wish ya did it yesterday. I woulda won the pool. But hey that was a thing o’ beauty to watch, it was.”
Ready for the gut punch that followed Wakely’s constant choice of abrasive booze, Joe took a controlled slug. Breathing out the fumes he asked, “Who won?”
“I did,” Elmar exclaimed. “That’s the second one I owe ya now, Joe.” Elmar Soly had been on the brink of dying during the troll attack the last time Joe had sailed with this crew. Joe managed to heal him just seconds before the sailor bled out.
“You could always split the winnings with me,” Joe joked.
“Well,” Elmar drawled impishly, “that could put us on a bad foot with the boyos here, ya know. They might take us for a pair o’ cheats. I’d just hate to spoil yer last day that way, Joe.”
“Thanks for looking out, buddy,” Joe replied dryly, pulling his sodden shirt away from his chest. “Ok. I’m a sweaty mess. Let me go dump a couple of buckets of water over my head and then you can tell me in detail how awesome I was.”
The sailors ribbed him as he broke away from the group. A few steps later, Joe took a deep breath when he was clear.
He truly liked most of the crew members of the Tide Dancer. There were a few creeps but what could you expect out of a group of thirty-plus men and women? On the other hand, two weeks of being cooped up on a ship with nowhere to go to get some privacy were starting to wear on him. Joe was fine with groups in small doses but his introverted nature meant he needed some solo time to recharge his social batteries. His tiny cabin was not really an option. As they sailed into the warmer climate where Forl Coral lay, his small closet of a room became a hot box during the day. Even Hah’roo, who could conjure cooling winds, spent only as much time as she needed to below deck.
Joe dropped the wash-bucket overboard and then pulled it back up on its rope. He waited for a few seconds for the minor enchantment in the pail to remove the salt from the water. When the glow on the runes faded, Joe poured about half of it over his head before he could lift the rest with his [Helpful Hand] skill. Using the magical telekinetic ability, he could pour and scrub with both of his real hands at the same time. After a second bucket, he no longer was dying for a shower.
Letting his clothes dry in the wind, Joe watched the edge of the ocean for signs of the coast ahead. They had been in open water for most of the voyage and he found the sight enthralling. The endless air and sea around him spoke of boundless possibilities. Watching the mainland disappear behind them at the beginning of the journey lifted a weight off of Joe. He felt like he was escaping all the animosity and tension of his conflict with the church of Phealti as the coastline vanished.
Now he was looking forward to the next steps of this journey. In Fort Coral he hoped to join the world of Illuminaria fully; choosing his path instead of having to react to the turmoil he had found himself embroiled in.
Leaning his elbows on the railing, Joe kept his eyes locked on the horizon. He let his mind wander through his thoughts on the days to come. He had a small list of things he needed to get done, joining the Adventurer’s Guild for instance, but after those, he would get to do whatever he wanted. He would be free to live this unbelievable second chance he had been given.
‘Thanks, Hawking,’ he thought to the spectral entity that had brought him to this new world. He had been sending this thought more and more lately. Joe was not expecting an answer. He just wanted the mystical overseer to know how grateful he was for each and every one of these new days.