To say Zeke wasn’t worried would be a lie. When he saw Mikella fighting for a while, a lot longer than both she and he could handle against a beast or a ghost knight, he started to sweat a little.
These fighters don’t hold back even when sparring, as while using wooden weapons would help them warm up, using real weapons would help increase their skills further.
Something that Zeke can understand, but didn’t like. After all, this time he can’t even use his barriers to protect her, so he was forced to watch as each strike he could’ve blocked was taken, allowing her to get cut up in the process.
But as the fight went on, he honestly didn’t think about the danger. It was clear from the get-go that Myra had no intention of seriously harming Mikella, and Mikella the same. Even when the two looked ready to kill each other, it was clear that it was more of a competitive sense than actual hostility.
And before he realized it, he was cheering when the fighting was reaching the climax, and though Mikella lost, he didn’t feel bitter about it, and thankfully neither did Mikella.
It was obvious. Myra being level 23 wouldn’t lose so easily, at least when it comes to a war of attrition. Zeke wasn’t sure how strong Myra was, but in the end, the long fight took a toll on Mikella’s body.
So not only was he glad that the fight ended as soon as the two ran out of energy, proving Myra the victor, he was also surprised to find the two already talking to each other. Myra was giving some advice despite her using mainly spears instead of swords.
Mikella listened intently, nodding with a gleam in her eyes that Zeke often found her showing when she was fighting. She truly looked like she was in her element, way more than getting constantly worried about living or dying without even knowing why.
This time, she knew, and she had a weapon in hand to prove it twice over.
After the fight ended, he and Mikella talked to each other about what occurred–right after he healed her injuries. They weren’t severe, but he grew too nervous whenever he saw a cut he could heal. Of course, he offered to heal Myra as well, which apparently surprised her to find out that he had a healing skill.
Everyone was. They all thought that he was just a crafter, a Runist.
While he was glad for the chance to learn runes thanks to Cloud, he still wasn’t sure how it worked, exactly. He knew he needed materials, like an expensive pen and parchment or some type of metal to inscribe runes. Unfortunately, they were too poor to acquire such materials that can handle delicate mana within them.
The only reason why he chose the class was because Mikella can help them gain experience, thus allowing him to level up without the need for expensive materials to level. He felt a bit guilty, but he planned on being a good support anyways, and if the crafting class can help him make money later on, all the better.
As the day went on, the two found themselves just chilling on the top of the ramparts, their legs hanging over the edge of the top arch of the gates while gazing at the sunset–when the studded star started to dim and turned the sky from bright blue to a calming orange.
It was a beautiful sight. They’ve been living in the forest for a while now, so Zeke figured they would be sick of seeing it by now… but the way the sky shifted colors with the star still hanging right at the center was mesmerizing.
The horde didn’t come today either, but he was thankful since Mikella’s pools weren’t restored yet. Her use of the Heavenly Strike skill she gained from her class not only proved that they have cooldowns–at least the Class centered ones–but they also spend a lot of stamina and a bit of mana. It was a surreal experience for Mikella, and she still felt that chill Zeke talked about when he had it.
Since her Spirit was low, her mana pool was dangerously low compared to his own, so it was obvious that Heavenly Strike is a powerful, but expensive skill to use. He could also understand that if Mikella kept using the skill without the cooldown, she would’ve been vaporized of energy before she could even land a second strike.
Even with Meditation working overtime for her, her pools were still only halfway there.
Regeneration, while amazing on its own, can’t really be relied on when a fight is occuring. If one had a high enough Meditation skill, it was possible to regain energy while in combat, but it was drastically slower than recovering naturally while sitting down. That’s why there were often potions to recover along the way, but there was a problem with that.
Eve Glade had no alchemists to speak of, so the only times they can get a potion is through a merchant passing through. If they had an alchemist, this wouldn’t be such a major issue, especially with barely any healers around.
They only had four healers on hand before Zeke came in, and Cloud was one of them. Considering he was extremely powerful, they put him up as a ‘last resort’ in case the hordes get pretty bad. Understandable, considering their lack of potions.
“Kinda boring, huh?” Zeke said, filling the amicable silence between the two.
“Ugh, totally. I knew it’s a job, but I was kinda hoping for some stragglers or something,” Mikella muttered, twirling the strands of her brown hair with her fingertips.
It was obvious, but the two got closer as time passed, ever since the tower. Not only can they rely on each other when things get rough, they can talk to each other. Zeke did feel guilty that the only reason why they were this close was due to the circumstances, otherwise, he can’t imagine having a cute girl like Mikella talk to a guy like him.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
But he put those negative thoughts to the side. They were here now, so he needed to get over it.
“So you two are friends now?” Zeke asked, half joking and half curious. “I thought you were going to kill each other.”
“Surprised me too, actually,” Mikella agreed. “What about you? Made any mage friends?”
“Hah,” Zeke exhaled. “Not really. I mean, they got curious about my barrier and healing skills, but I’m not sure if they’re really ‘friends’.”
“Well, I’d like to think that once the battle starts, we’ll see who are our real friends or not.”
“Wait, so we’re deciding who’s our friends on the battlefield?” Zeke asked incredulously.
“Why not? Better than in the real world, right? What better way to trust someone than to see how they react in a life or death situation?”
That made Zeke pause, thinking back on their time together. Considering everything that happened, if Zeke found that Mikella was utterly incompetent and still acted this haughty–he wasn’t sure if he wanted to spend more time with her unless it was absolutely necessary.
That also helped explain why she would want to hang out with him. All of a sudden, those negative thoughts just felt so silly now.
That cheered him up a bit.
“Hey, what’s that smile?” Mikella noticed, her eyes squinting at him.
“It’s nothing,” Zeke chuckled. “Maybe you’re right.”
The two kept talking like this, enjoying the scenery and the peace as their shift finally ended, allowing them to return home to the Mystio house.
When they returned along with Val, Cloud greeted them along with the two little girls who were impatiently waiting for them to arrive, running towards them with fervor.
“Mama!”
“Sissy! Bobo!”
It was such a sight to see. Clara ran up to the smiling Mikella while the same was occuring for Val with Ana. All the while, he stood to the side, smiling.
Cloud and Val eagerly hugged and kissed, showing how even a day away proved too much for them. Ana wanted to play with the two of them as soon as possible. While his thoughts were away, thinking about how to progress his rune studies, he felt a little girl nearly tossling him as he looked down at her.
“Bobo! Let’s play!” Clara proclaimed, a silly smile plastered on her face. Zeke, or rather Bobo, smiled widely as he followed Clara along.
Apparently, Clara took his words to heart. He didn’t even think it possible since he didn’t really expect her to understand, but little by little, Clara did as Ana said and played with her.
Though, it was kinda clear what he expected as Cloud had to ultimately scold Ana for treating Clara roughly, such as throwing pillows at her and forcing her to race around the house.
Apparently Mikella was okay with that as Ana still apologized after realizing what she did. While Clara didn't like it, the fact that she still tried after hearing Zeke’s words was proof of just how mature Clara was for her age.
He didn’t know how to feel about that. He was happy Clara was taking him seriously, but also worried that what he said might be causing her to suffer. But after learning from both Val and even Mikella that this couldn’t be any better for the two, he decided to leave it be. After all, if Mikella, Clara’s only family, said it was okay, who was he to deny how good it was?
The night passed peacefully as Zeke played with Clara, telling her about the stuff he learned about magic in the most exciting way possible, even playing around with his Barrier skill in front of Clara to see if she could break it herself. It was somehow becoming a therapeutic case as not only Clara, but pretty much everyone in the household joined in.
Not only did Zeke have some practice figuring out how strong or weak he should make the barrier, but apparently everyone loved the sweet sound of the tiny weak barrier breaking, like the sound of breaking a glass without worrying how much it would cost or the mess it would create.
Apparently everyone loved to break his barriers apart. As the one making the barrier, however, he had mixed feelings.
…
Two weeks passed, and there was no sign of any monster horde.
Summer was still heavy in the air, the heat clinging to them like cowls that refused to leave their side.
The Studded Star continued to shine down upon them, and at some point became an interesting subject to learn about during the times they were at peace.
Clara, who listened in to Zeke’s studies on the subject, was excited to hear about it as she could stare up at it all day without her eyes getting hurt, but Zeke still said that she should be careful. Even if it was safe, he didn’t want Clara to have some side effect from staring at the star during the day time all the time.
It was still a strange phenomenon, but at the moment, the greatest phenomenon right now was more concerning. They kept hearing that constant monster hordes came after them, but after nearly a month and a half went by, no hordes came at all.
It was strange for everyone involved, especially to the soldiers who were used to such rampages by now. Val and Cloud carefully let their scouts study what was happening beyond the town.
Apparently, the monsters around them just… disappeared. They haven’t been checking up on the situation as they needed to keep their manpower up and running the defenses, which was pretty much the only reason why they haven’t had a single casualty so far.
But one thing was clear–they may have disappeared, but they weren’t gone forever. According to the scouts, they went somewhere far enough that it would be dangerous to keep going, so they returned to relay the news. Afterwards, the lords in conjunction with the council, members that both Val and Cloud trusted well along with the general of the military force named Zacharia, decided it was best to hole up and prepare for the worst.
While Zeke hasn’t actually met the general yet, according to Val, he was uptight, strict, and borderline frightening to talk to. So obviously, he didn’t dare to meet up with the general. Fortunately, the general will be placed at the opposite side of town, ensuring that they wouldn’t be attacked by the side. Val will stay along the western side with Zeke and Mikella, the general at the east. Cloud will remain at the center to make sure he could be at both sides depending on the circumstances.
It was too strange. Val kept saying she had a feeling that something was wrong, and Cloud was apparently fighting with the general to try and keep their manpower close together rather than making an elite force to investigate the scene. Zeke wasn’t against going for the investigation, but he also recognized that it was extremely dangerous.
No, he decided to keep training himself all the while, trying to find out just how much he could stretch his Barrier Craft after all this time.
Even now, he still can’t tell just how much it has grown. Through the two weeks, surprisingly, there was no progress. After spending so long away from combat, it felt like his own body refuses to grow without some form of conflict.
But soon, just as he feared, the day has come for his barriers to prove their worth. On a simple morning after getting into the rampart watch, one of the scouts shouted with clear panic in his voice.
“Incoming! Monster horde!”