“Hah! Hrruaa! Hyaa!”
Sounds of air slicing from her training spear echoed out in the yard. Mikella dashed forward and pierced the invisible enemy in front of her, her spear’s tip slashing through the chest.
But another one came, and Mikella forced herself to twist. Her legs nearly buckled, but she forced through as she turned to dodge an imaginary stab to her head, then made a horizontal spin to slice at the opponent’s torso.
She backed away, her Acrobatics flaring. Kinetic Perception took over, moving her body according to her wishes rather than trying to empower her strikes.
She imagined the wound covering her leg. For every time she made a mistake she believed a spear-user shouldn’t make, she ended up taking a blow, forcing her to work overtime to correct herself.
She knew that this type of training was rather… strange, at least to others. But to her, it’s to help garner a clear difference between her Sword Mastery and any other weapon. With this, she’ll open a new avenue for training her body, forcing her to explore a new part of training that would get her away from trying to level.
Normally one would raise their own General Skill levels rather than trying to gain a new one, but Val had taught her that it isn’t always a good idea to focus on just one single weapon in combat. Just like in life, sometimes change is necessary to move forward. That also included adding another weapon to keep your foes off your tracks, taking advantage of the pacing of the battle. While she may not have said to try and gain another General Skill, Mikella took it as a chance to improve her combat further.
That and she didn’t want to devolve back into her crazy Dragon Warrior self. It was a bit ridiculous, but she felt that she was approaching it in a more healthy manner than before.
Still, despite a week passing by since Zeke became the breadwinner of the family, she hadn’t gained a single notification regarding new skills. Turns out gaining a new General Skill normally outside the Class’ purview was a lot more difficult than she expected.
Cloud mentioned that while it was difficult, everyone would benefit from gaining a new General Skill to upgrade their kit. Outside of stat increases every level, gaining a new tool for fighting was never a bad idea. All it took was a lot of time and effort to accomplish that feat–something that Mikella fully planned on doing throughout her recovery.
Once she was finished with the spear, she moved on to the axe. She knew she might have earned a Spear Mastery if she kept going, but she didn’t want that. It would be too draining, and honestly, a little boring if she kept focusing on one single weapon after her sword.
As she swung her training axe, this time focusing more on her Strength stat than her Dexterity, her body ached and strained from the usage of new muscles she hadn’t gotten used to. Her Acrobatics, she realized, was more intent on speed than power.
Still, the kind of burning and aching of her body reminded her of her athlete days in the old world. In the end, reading books was never her thing. This was what she needed–a good sweat in a workout.
She let her mind flow, her body correlating with her thoughts. With each swing, she felt her mind clear as all the frustration, shame, and regret over the past week were swept away. As long as she keeps working hard, she will succeed no matter what the world throws at her.
And the notification being brought up to her proved that notion.
> General Skill learned: Axe Mastery.
>
> …..
>
> Axe Mastery (Common), Level 1
> You become a part of the axe. When wielding any type of axe, your damage increases and your movements faster. Each of these will increase according to the level of the skill and the current Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance stat.
Mikella shouted with glee, the system once again rewarding her in ways that the old world never had. With a feral grin, she swung her axe, fully powered by her new skill.
It was like witnessing a new world once again. Her body sang with glee as all the muscles that strained from earlier usage now flowed with greater fluidity than before. Her axe felt a part of her now, just like her sword had. It was obviously riddled with errors, of course–it was still low level.
But contrary to before, new knowledge pierced into her mind as she thought of new ways to use this mental state even during her sword practice. She had a feeling that it might open up some new horizons in how to accurately improve her swordsmanship further.
When she finished her bout with her imaginary foe, her body riddled with sweat and a calm breath exiting her mouth, she grinned as she noticed Clara clapping her hands to the side.
“Sissy!” Clara shouted. “That was so cool!”
Clara was staring at Mikella this whole time, surprisingly never getting bored despite Mikella doing nothing but swinging her weapons. It was embarrassing at first, but when she got into the swing of things, her watching only got her to work harder.
After all, all of this was for her sake, for her protection. Zeke is doing what he can to do that as well, so it felt like the two were working in unison, even from far apart.
She wondered what Zeke was doing at the moment as she walked over to Clara. She wouldn’t dare touch her, being so sweaty as she was.
“I’m going to go take a bath,” Mikella said, looking over at Clara. “Wanna come?”
“Yeah!”
Clara shouted with glee and Mikella smiled. She knew that someday, they wouldn't be bathing together when she gets older, so she wanted to enjoy these precious moments while they lasted. Perhaps in a year or two, she would want to bathe in private. That would be when she would enter middle school in their old world.
Three months passed since they got to this new world. She was getting older and older now. Her thoughts whirled on the idea that Clara won’t be going back to any normal childhood anymore while they bathe. After a half hour passed, the two came back out freshly bathed clothed, noticing Cloud walking over to them.
“Hey,” Cloud said, noticing the two. “Val’s coming over. The army is coming back.”
“What? Really?” Mikella tilted her head. “It’s super early, isn’t it?”
Mikella tilted her head as she noticed the window showing the day nearing sunset. She got so used to coming back at night that she can practically sense the timing of the day thanks to her newly improved senses.
“Val sent a message through the rune coin,” Cloud said, a frown showing up. Despite how expensive those coins were for runecraft, the Lords always have an emergency pile for moments like these. “Something happened. That’s why they’re coming back.”
Mikella’s eyes widened. “What happened? Did someone get hurt?”
“Yeah,” Cloud said. “And it doesn’t look good.”
Somehow, regretfully, Mikella could tell who got hurt. Clara clutched her hand tighter, realizing what was going on.
“Sissy, is Bobo…?” Clara asked, her voice worried.
Mikella couldn’t answer, following Cloud out the house with Clara in tow.
…..
She couldn’t believe what she saw. Her eyes were practically glued to Zeke’s unconscious form the moment the army stepped through the entrance. Val had a hard look on her face along with Myra carrying Zeke’s prone body.
He looked pale, riddled with blood. Looking back, she saw Cloud with the same hard expression, possibly understanding what was happening.
Mikella, however, wasn’t having it.
But she remained silent. Right now, nothing was better than to take Zeke home and to give him what he needed. Apparently the other soldiers agreed, as they returned home after wishing Zeke a good recovery. He did a good job as a mage at the expedition, but despite all these praises from the soldiers, Mikella just wasn’t happy.
How could she when at the end of the day, Zeke looked like he was ready to die?
When they returned home, Zeke was placed down on his bed in his room up in the small attic of the household, the entire place crowded by the others visiting him. Not just Mikella and the two girls Clara and Ana, but also Val, Cloud, and Myra, the only one visiting their home.
Apparently, the story was that Zeke helped Myra out of her troublesome milestone breaking. What happened however stumped even Cloud, unable to perceive what happened.
“The Fire Mana went… out of control?” Cloud asked, furrowing his brows at his wife. “That’s impossible. That potion–”
“--is a goddamn fluke,” Val said, heat in her voice. “I’m gonna find whoever made that junk and make that bastard pay. He almost cost us two young lives.”
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Her fingers balled tightly, her expression turning furious. Cloud had creased his brows before turning to Myra. In Mikella’s eyes, she flinched under his striking gaze.
“Myra…” Cloud asked. “Do you mind if I examine your channels? I need to see how Zeke handled the procedure.”
“O-Of course,” Myra immediately said before she almost got ready to take off her armor. But she quickly stopped herself, noticing the situation and the kids near her. “Umm… i-is there a place I can–?”
“Come,” Val understood immediately as she led her away from the room. “Mikella, can you watch Zeke? Make sure to keep him warm and keep drinking the potion beside him.”
Mikella nodded, still silent. The girls were also oddly silent, staring at the still sleeping Zeke on his bed. The way he looked like a corpse that had died resting peacefully was just too nauseating to see.
“Mikella…” Before leaving, Myra turned to her. “I’m sorry this happened… but I just want you to know that I owe Zeke my life. I’ll carry this debt to my grave.”
“...Zeke would probably forget about the debt anyways,” Mikella said, her spirit not really in her words. “He’s always the sort to just do what he can. Don’t worry about it.”
Myra looked like she had more to say, but seeing Mikella like this, she nodded in understanding and left the room. Now, it was just the three girls and Zeke on the bed.
Mikella felt guilty about a lot of things. About how she is handling the situation right now, how she responded to Myra, but more importantly, about her own weakness.
She felt shame for not helping Zeke and doing nothing more than being his caretaker. Even now, she was automatically helping him drink by pouring the Mana potion on his side desk, opening his mouth ajar and pouring droplets every now and then. He couldn’t drink it entirely, but this amount is perfect to let his body recover his mana.
Mana Deprivation. That’s what Val and Cloud said that was making Zeke suffer like this. The truth was, she saw the same thing happen after the dragon attack, but she didn’t say anything about it. It occurs when someone uses up all of their available mana, yet continues to pry further into their already empty resource. In the end, they end up spending most of their stamina and health along the way.
In return, the body exhibits the level of cold never felt before. Mana carries their own significant heat in the body, not just the natural body heat. If the mana dwindles drastically, it causes the body to almost freeze up, just like when Zeke nearly shivered to death on the ground.
“Sissy…” Clara said, looking over to her with her eyes tearing up. “Is Bobo going to be okay?”
Ana, being the sweetheart that she was, stayed silent after seeing Zeke on the bed. Even though she loved to make trouble every so often, the moment someone gets hurt, Ana changes. She becomes sympathetic, and often helps out when she can. So when she turned to Mikella, her face was the same, if not more in pain, than Clara’s.
“Is he?” Ana asked. “Is Bobo gonna be okay?”
“Of course he will be,” Mikella spoke gently to both girls. She played with them half the time, sometimes Ana spending time with Cloud and Mikella playing with Clara, but sometimes she played with both. It was as though the two became true sisters, and that couldn’t make Mikella happier.
If Zeke was awake to see this, he’d be proud that Clara followed his words to heart. It made her own heart melt in gratitude. So she didn’t really hesitate when she came over near the bedside, and propped Zeke up.
“Come on, let’s give him lots of hugs,” Mikella said, getting Zeke comfortable enough to embrace him. “He’s really cold, so let’s give him all the warmth he needs.”
“Oh… okay!”
Ana immediately went for it, chugging along on top of the bed to embrace Zeke with all her might. Clara did the same, getting up with Ana’s help to hug Zeke.
The way the two hugged him like their lives depended on it made Mikella smile. She was certain that Zeke would have a big surprise waiting for him when he woke up.
…..
Myra has never in her life felt so much gratitude to someone. She regarded Captain Valorie as not just a Captain worthy of her respect, but also as a mentor and as a role model.
She also regarded Lord Cloud as a truly wise, if a little devilish, man who carries his word on his sleeve. If not for the two of them, she would’ve kept being in that damn city, unable to make a living for herself other than marrying some man she barely knew about and living a life of a housewife.
That wasn’t her. She will never be like that, even if her family wanted her to do that regardless of her feelings. So it was a shocker to find someone who was willing to go into Mana Deprivation for her, even if she was friends with his wife.
She didn’t have that much of a good impression on her at first. She honestly thought the two were just brats that were homeschooled, and somehow they got the captain and the lord to take care of them personally.
She would admit that she got a little bitter about it. What got her was that they were taught such amazing skills to ensure their safety. It wouldn’t be strange to say that anyone would be green with envy. What’s with Zeke having such powerful support skills and Mikella having the powerhouse kit to truly deal some devastating damage.
But she saw in Mikella’s eyes that she didn’t have an easy time doing so. The way she looked at Clara, her cute little sister, also made her feel like Mikella was a natural mother bear looking out for her cub. And she’ll easily rip someone’s throat if something happened to her. She can respect that.
As more time passed, the more she knew just how hardworking Mikella was. Sure, crap hit the fan when Mikella got taken by Class Madness, but once she realized that, Myra couldn’t really hold a grudge against her. It just felt petty.
And now, Zeke became another person that she can’t help but respect. It took him all he had to save her from something that she didn’t think would be so… painful. She shivered at the idea of what would happen if Zeke wasn’t there.
It was supposed to be a simple breakthrough, at least that’s what Val said. Normally, breaking into Expert is tamer compared to reaching level 60 and breaking into Journeyman, even if it was a bit painful. But that breakthrough…
Her body was on fire, all the pores emanating enough heat to melt iron. And as soon as she felt Zeke’s magic pierce her, it was worse.
But now, it felt like it was all just her imagination. She never felt better in all her life the moment the pain ceased. She still felt sore in some places, but that was negligible compared to the overall power she wielded now. She couldn't really explain it, so once she took her armor off again for the second time, she let Cloud study her channels.
Cloud stared intently, and she couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable. She was truly okay being naked in front of others. She had no shame and had nothing to hide. But he was peering deeper into her more than anybody else. Sure, Zeke did the same, but Myra couldn’t really pay attention due to all the pain going on.
But the way Cloud’s striking blue eyes kept staring at her…she felt more naked than she ever had. Even with all the armor in the world, she felt like she was bearing all she had and probably more to those eyes. She could tell that those eyes were inherent since he was born, not due to just reaching Journeyman.
Cloud stepped away, his eyes returning back to their natural dim hue. He smiled, nodding to Myra before turning his head. “I’m done. Sorry to make you go through that.”
“I-It’s fine,” Myra blushed. She wasn’t embarrassed about being naked, but more about how a Journeyman mage is being so polite to her. Normally, those in higher stages acted more arrogant and dominant. “Am… Am I going to be fine?”
“Oh, you’re more than fine,” Cloud smiled. “Your channels were boosted by your attunement. It’s a lot more advanced than the usual Expert breakthrough.”
“Really?” Myra asked, excitement stemming from her voice. She did feel a little bad, but she couldn’t help herself. “I figured from how I feel, but how did that work?”
“Honestly, even I’m surprised, but Zeke managed to use your fire mana to bolster your channels. Normally, one needed to have more experience in dealing with their attunement, letting their mana get used to its sudden change. But Zeke managed to do that for you in one shot. I wouldn’t even be surprised if that ended up breaking your stat blockages either. That’s also another way to break through your stat blocks without attribute fruits–though it is considerably more painful and risky than just eating tasty fruits.”
“No way…”
Myra looked back at herself. She received a notification the moment her breakthrough was done. It was a rarer form of Fire attunement called Vengeful Fire, rather than just the normal fire. It gave her more stats than she ever expected, at least from what she studied about attunements. What Zeke did gave her a more powerful fire attunement. Not only that, but it also broke her stat blocks, allowing her to have further power.
It was painful as all hell, but now she can’t help but feel like she owes a bigger debt to Zeke. She didn’t care whether Mikella was right about him forgetting such a thing–Myra certainly wouldn’t.
“But that should be impossible, right?” Val asked, turning to her husband. “Even if Zeke managed to temper her channels in a way, the fire mana shouldn’t be strong enough to do so. And I’m certain Zeke wasn’t strong enough mana-wise to improve them himself. The alchemist that we bought the potion from said it should’ve been a normal quality Fire Essence potion.”
Cloud shook his head, surprising the two women. “The fire mana in her channels made it clear that it isn’t normal quality. It was stronger, way stronger than it should’ve been. I checked too–the potion was exactly what was promised, but somehow it was boosted when Myra used it.”
“What? But… how?” Val shook her head in disbelief. “I didn’t do anything to it. I had it in my pack this whole time. I would’ve known if something happened to it.
Myra agreed, as she made sure that the potion was also fine–after all, she earned it after her constant work and progress as a soldier under Val’s tutelage. It was an extremely valuable potion for attunements.
The Captain recognizes the soldier’s efforts, giving them the attunement potions when she felt that they were close to reaching level 30. It motivated the soldiers to work harder, not just to improve themselves, but to show gratitude to the captain for giving them such great opportunities.
“Yes, but out there, when you made your breakthrough, something outside caused it to grow stronger. A mana spike unlike anything I’ve seen before. It’s from a source that I, unfortunately, have started to realize in the past week.”
“Cloud…?”
Val asked, her tone turning serious. Myra could tell the atmosphere was turning tense as Cloud paused for a short moment.
“Studying your mana now, it’s clear something from the outside affected it during your attunement. That outside source is probably the reason why the horde turned crazy as well.”
The two women stayed silent. The captain was, as usual, calm about the situation. But Myra didn’t have that calmness.
“You’re kidding me?” Myra said, her tone almost shaking. “What’s the cause? Is something happening in the forest?”
“I think so,” Cloud finished, crossing his arms. “And I think it might be due to a dungeon nearby.”
“A dungeon?” Val exclaimed. Her calm attitude almost broke. “But how? It wouldn’t be possible for one to be here. We made sure to give a wide scope around Eve Glade before settling it into a town. There was no such dungeon around for miles!”
“Then it must have propped up recently,” Cloud stared intensely at the ground, deep in thought. “I didn’t want to admit it, but it has to be true. I will report this to the general to figure something out.”
Myra couldn’t help but stay quiet as the lords talked. She didn’t know why they were okay with talking about such important matters around her, but then again, this affected everyone in the town as a whole.
A dungeon. She heard stories about such places, but she never expected one could be so close, especially a recent one. A dungeon is a place in between dimensions, an unnatural crevice between the real and the ethereal. While they hold incredible dangers, creatures that shouldn’t exist due to the misplaced energies within the realms, there also exist great treasures–some of which included attribute fruits and rare acquired skill books.
Myra gulped. She knew that there was a tough battle ahead. More than likely she’ll have to join in the group to take down the dungeon, no matter how difficult it must be.
And she couldn’t help but relish in the anticipation of it all.