After getting his Class, Quinn had insisted on the two of them returning to Lucas’s yard for a spar. The boy, now [Warrior], didn’t take no for an answer, and even though Lucas still had some things to do, he decided he could spare a bit more time to help his friend test out his new Skills.
Admittedly, he was a bit curious as to what the boy’s years of diligent training had rewarded him with, so Lucas didn’t require much convincing to make that decision. An hour later, he was glad he did.
Lucas saw the sweeping strike coming long before it got anywhere near him and calmly positioned his own training spear vertically to block it–but he didn’t yet relax. While Quinn’s own spear was still slicing through the air, Lucas kept a careful watch over his arms, legs, and posture, exercising perhaps an undue level of wariness for the fight. Still, he nearly missed the weapon’s sudden, incomprehensible repositioning just before it met his block that turned the strike into a sharp downward thrust. It was only thanks to his paranoid awareness that Lucas was able to step back in time to avoid the blow.
Quinn, seeing that his attack failed, did not overextend and pursue for another strike. He, too, stepped back and reset his posture while maintaining a careful watch over Lucas. Despite his great, persistent grin, the new [Warrior] was also taking this light spar seriously.
It’s not just a burst of speed, Lucas thought as he circled around with his weapon held in a defensive position. At least, not entirely. It’s more like his body immediately switches forms, as if it had always been in whatever position Quinn wants it to.
That speculation made a lot of sense, considering how the spar had gone so far, but it sounded almost too strong for a first-threshold Class. Just to be sure, Lucas decided to use [Identify] on Quinn one more time.
[Warrior - level 12]
Nope, he’s definitely in the first threshold still. Didn’t even have that large a jump in levels after his evolution, which just makes his Skills that much more astounding.
“Are you going to analyze me, or fight? Which is it?” Quinn taunted.
Lucas grinned, his step not faltering even slightly as he kept circling. The boy’s performance had definitely impressed him already, but Lucas hadn’t even used a single Skill so far, simply relying on his quick perception and relatively low physical stats to keep ahead of Quinn. He wasn’t taking it easy on him, exactly, but people talked about the tyranny of levels for a reason.
Though there might be a few exceptions to the rule, a level 12 generally couldn’t overcome a level 87, provided they were both aware of each other. If Lucas made use of his Skills, he wouldn’t simply test Quinn’s ability with his new class, he would overwhelm it entirely. So he kept circling, and picking apart his observations.
For some reason, throughout the entire spar, Lucas hadn’t been able to get a proper read on Quinn’s footwork, either. The air sort of shimmered around his feet, as if distorted through a heat haze alike to those common during the hottest months of the year. Whatever Skill that was responsible for this was obviously low level, as the haze didn’t even extend up to Quinn’s knees, but it made the spar just a little more complicated for Lucas.
Together with the new [Warrior]’s strange method of repositioning, Lucas could see this fight going a lot differently at higher levels. He could honestly say he was impressed.
Lucas sighed, and casually relaxed his stance. “I think that’s enough practice for now,” he told Quinn. “How do you feel about the Class?”
“Aww, man…Ok,” the boy nodded and relaxed as well. Quinn dropped his wooden spear to the ground and sat down right where he stood. “I like it,” he answered, “it feels like a reward for the last few years.”
“Now you just have to figure out how to explain it to your parents.”
His words seemed to impact Quinn physically, knocking him the rest of the way to the ground where he let out an extended, weary groan.
“Do I have to tell them?” Quinn asked.
“It won’t be so bad,” Lucas reassured him as he walked over and retrieved his spear. As he went and returned both weapons to their nook between the fence and the back of his house, he asked, “Really, what’s the worst that can happen? Penelope and Eliot both knew this is what you wanted, and it’s already done, anyway.”
“I could think of a few things,” Quinn mumbled under his breath. He stalled a moment longer before groaning once more and getting back to his feet. “Alright, I guess I can only get it over with. They’re probably wondering where I am right now, anyway.”
Lucas walked over to his side and clapped him on the shoulder. “Let me know if there’s anything else I can help with, I’ll try to check in on you after I get back from visiting my mom.”
Quinn hummed in reply and nodded his head as the two of them left the yard, shutting the fence gate behind them. “Yeah, tell her I said hi.”
With that, the young [Warrior] began his solemn march home as if the weight of the world rested on his shoulders. Lucas watched him go for a minute, but he couldn’t reasonably justify any more delays from his plans–the day was already slipping away from him. He’d originally thought to visit Mary at midday, and bring along a meal for her with him, but that time had now passed and she would’ve likely seen to her lunch herself already.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
I’ll have to take care of dinner to make up for it, he decided.
Lucas set out for the village center, and the council’s meeting hall–the trip turning out to be a quiet one. He saw a few people moving around outside along the way, but most of the villagers were seemingly hidden inside their homes. Those he did see all moved with purpose and spared him little more than a glance.
A few minutes later, his destination was within sight. The council’s hall was much like the majority of the buildings surrounding it, albeit on the relatively larger side. It only had a single story, and was made entirely out of wood. Where it stood out from the rest was in the presence of the pair of guards stationed on either side of its entrance.
Currently, there were only around two dozen of their number both trained and capable of protecting the village, and yet the council had ruled months ago in favor of this particular station to be manned at all times. It was an utter waste, and Lucas didn’t agree with it at all.
But then, many of the decisions passed by the council lately were not to his liking.
“Lyra, Jerry,” he called out to the two guards once he got comfortably close. Neither were there two years ago, but he’d gotten to know all of the remaining guards more or less since then. Jerry was actually a [Hunter], but most [Hunter]s got conscripted into guard duty from time to time these days. “Are they in session in there, or can I head in?”
The one on the left, Lyra, looked at him and solemnly shook her head. “Sorry, Lucas, they are in session. It’s been a while though, so I imagine the meeting will be breaking up soon.”
“We can only hope…” Jerry murmured under his breath.
Lucas nodded and relaxed his stance, prepared to wait however long it took.
“Do you know what they’re meeting for?” he asked, looking mostly to Lyra as Jerry didn’t seem to be in the best mood.
The woman opened her mouth to reply, only to be quickly interrupted by her partner.
“Any number of reasons,” Jerry said in clear annoyance, though it wasn’t directed at either of them. “Maybe Elder Runa thinks her carpentry works ought to be worth valued even more, or Marcel wants to switch up the meat rationing again. Most likely, fucking Falon has decided that everyone’s not following his orders well enough.”
Lucas stared at the man in the wake of his outburst, and he wasn’t alone in his shock.
“Shhh!” Lyra hushed him sharply. “They could be out any minute–I don’t need Elder Falon catching your words and taking issue with the both of us.”
“Don’t tell me you’re not thinking the very same thing,” Jerry shot back at her, but his previous heat had left him already.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said, “keep your damn head down.”
She looked back to Lucas then and nodded at him apologetically, before the three of them fell silent.
The next half-hour passed rather quickly as Lucas spent the time absently playing with [Lightning Construct]s while his mind lingered on Jerry’s words. The man’s frustration with the council resonated with him, as those three Elders were the main source of Lucas’s discontent with the village lately. His mother only joined the council in the first place to try to combat their influence, but together they had a majority vote, so her efforts were too often futile.
When Lucas’s wait ended, he only had a bare moment to process movement at the edge of his sphere of perception within the building before its door was suddenly opened all at once. He quickly dissipated the half-formed electric wolf between his palms and looked up to see the new arrival.
He froze.
[Mage - level 411]
“[Healer] Lucas,” Elder Falon greeted him stiffly. “Waiting for your mother, I take it? Shouldn’t you be at your clinic?”
Lucas stared at the [Mage] and did his best to choke down the instinctual barbed retort. He had no love lost for this man, but he likewise understood why Lyra had told Jerry to keep his head down earlier. His thoughts raced for a minute as he searched for a suitable reply, before he eventually just decided to stay silent.
Elder Falon eyed him for a minute longer in painful silence, his gaze focussed and calculating as both guards to his sides stood rigid, not willing to provoke the Elder’s attention. Finally, Falon let out a low hum and walked right past him.
“You may head inside now,” the [Mage] said before leaving them behind.
Once he was gone, the two guards slouched like a pair of bags that got the air pushed out of them, and Jerry audibly exhaled.
“He’s finally gone,” the [Hunter] voiced his relief, “that was tense.”
“Why don’t you head inside now, Lucas?” Lyra addressed him. “I’m sure you’ll cheer [Healer] Mary right up.”
Lucas turned away from the direction Falon had walked off in and looked at her. “Right,” he nodded. “I hope the rest of your shift isn’t too bad,” he told them before making his way into the building.
Inside, there was a medium-sized, mostly empty waiting room with another doorway on the far side left open. That was where he headed, soon entering the grand room in which the meetings actually took place, with enough space to fit a couple hundred villagers and chairs stacked one atop another along its left side. The centerpiece of the room, however, was a large U-shaped table resting atop a small raised platform.
On each arm of the table, there were two people gathered together in conversation. Lucas paid no mind to Elders Runa and Marcel on the left, instead heading straight toward his mother and the young Elder Fiora on the right.
The two pairs’ conversations trailed off when Lucas entered, and they all seemed to quickly finish up whatever they were discussing. Before he even arrived at the foot of the table, he noticed Marcel and Runa stand and depart from the room. Elder Fiora, too, was packing up her things by the time Lucas joined them.
Lucas’s mother rubbed at her eyes in an attempt at dispelling her clear exhaustion, and fixed her ashen hair a little before giving him a tired smile. “Hey, Lu. I was just about to head back home.”
Lucas nodded. “I was going to visit you for lunch, but I lost track of time. Want to walk back with me?”
His words seemed to cheer her up a little as her smile brightened. “Of course!” She stood and said, “Just give me a minute, and we can go.”
“No need to wait on me, Mary,” Elder Fiora excused her. “We need to talk, but it can fortunately wait till tomorrow morning. Go and get some rest.”
Mary considered the woman’s words for a moment, then sighed. “Alright, thank you, Fiora. You get some rest too, and I’ll meet you back here in the morning.”
She turned to Lucas and waved him forward, back the way he came. “Come on, Lu. Let’s head home, and you can tell me about your day.”