With one more day of free rooms, though this time sharing with Lloyd, Marc was well rested. Fray’s party was all too eager to help Jacky tease Helen for telling them he was called Guy. Eventually, when she got back hours later, she countered by saying that she never said his name was Guy, only that he was called Guy, by her. Which, while technically true, Marc still thought was a bad excuse.
He didn’t voice it though, as in all honesty the four had been particularly nice to him over the last 2 days and it was so minor. He certainly wouldn’t have survived without Barry healing him, Helen’s connections to Jacky, and Nico’s numbing potion. And, to give some credit to Fray, she was the one who pulled them all together, out of their disparate places.
A little after explaining their plan to join an Open Hunt the next day, Fray pulled Marc to the side.
She looked somewhere between anxious and annoyed, saying “Look, I want to apologize for thinking you were a demon.”
Marc gave a short laugh, “Hey, I’m sure if i was in your spot i’d have done the same thing.”
She nodded, but then grabbed a small drawstring pouch hanging off her, setting it on a nearby surface. A Vracht Pack, Marc realized.
“I want to make it up to you, so here. Since your sword was destroyed.” She reached an arm’s length in, almost over the shoulder, until she found what she needed, pulling it out. It was an axe. A very, very pretty two-handed axe.
Marc knew what a 21st century axe generally looked like,. This one was a masterpiece compared to them. The haft of the axe was a smoothly curving piece of leather-wrapped metal. The metal had some finely carved letters that Marc’s translation power seemed unable or unwilling to translate for him. He was thankful for it though, as it made the image look better in his opinion. The Axe Head itself was a piece of art. The blade was thin, but robust enough to be used for chopping and hitting into things, but after that was a scene. A figure throwing a spear through a dragon’s eye. The dragon itself was more detailed than Marc could fully comprehend without studying it closely, while the figure was likely one he’d recognize if he knew more about where they were. On the back of the axe head was a sharp spike, about 3 inches long in all, sharpened to a razor point.
“Fray, there’s no way I can accept this?”
“There damn well is! I can summon an axe just as good as that one with a drop of blood. What good will it do collecting dust in my pack?”
He shook his head, “No, I mean that should be an art piece somewhere, not in the hands of a random nobody.”
She laughed a bit, “And let it rust on a wall? That axe wants nothing more than to be lodged in the skull of a monster somewhere.”
“But-”
“Besides,” She bowled over his objection, “If you think it deserves an important wielder, then just become important.” With that, she shoved the axe into his arms, and he reflexively caught it. She was already cinching up the pack as Marc’s mind focused enough to respond.
“Thanks, Fray.”
“Don’t mention it. Seriously, this is an apology to you. Just don’t die to a monster.”
The two returned to the table, and before long, they all went off to bed, though the non-Helen members went off to their own factions to sleep. Marc, despite being restless, was asleep very quickly.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
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Grant stood in Mystle Academy before sunrise, overlooking the hustle and bustle of students making their way to their first class. He’d long retired from adventure, around when he’d reached echelon 4, and had instead laid his focus on teaching the next generation. High level and echelon could do a lot to extend a lifespan, but human was human in the end. He’d have about one or two hundred years, maybe more, before old age took him.
From his office atop the primal tower, he could see the arcane and divine towers. One tower for each school of magic, each with one headmaster. The other two, Mira and Brenn, had been in their positions since before Grant used his first Historia, if not before he was born. They treated him like he was a student, rather than an accomplished practitioner in his own right. It didn’t help that he still looked very young.
As the Hierophant, he was more connected to the magic of Waold than anyone else, bar maybe the Queen of Grand Vale. Because of this, all the growth and primal energy of the mountain range extended his youth, though likely not his lifespan by much when compared to his echelon.
He was deep in musing on what to teach today, he felt the pulse. It was subtle, but it was pure. He doubted that anyone besides him and the queen could feel it, but whatever caused it was strong. Immediately, possibilities rushed to his mind. He knew of a number of monsters which could have caused it, legends and myths too dangerous to pass off as fairy tales. His mind swam with courses of actions, before his experience made itself known.
Of all the monsters that could create a wave of pure nature magic, none in the area were particularly stealthy. Even among monsters he knew about from across the world, the only two that fit the description were seabound or unique.
The morning bell rang. He had a class to teach. But he also had a mountain range to defend. Sometimes he hated being the Hierophant of the range. Too often his responsibilities conflicted with each other.
He put the pulse in the back of his mind. He thought about it for the rest of the day, but if it didn’t reappear, he would have to ignore it.
He walked into his first class, and the lecture began. But in the back of his mind, he knew to contact the only other person who could notice such a thing the moment he was able.
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In the morning, the three woke, ate breakfast, and started on their way out of the city. Jacky, being a from the city in the first place, had an actual house in one of the other wards, though did occasionally stay the night in the Society building.
Not last night though. Jacky had to get something from her home to allow her to travel outside the city more easily. When she appeared the next day, in what Marc could only describe as wizard robes made of vines, he understood what she meant. Marc and Lloyd didn’t have adventurer and normal clothing to choose between, which for Marc would probably be stinking to high heaven if not for a spell Jacky had to make him smell like dirt.
As they left the city gates, they all felt the tension rising around them. They weren’t in any danger just yet, but for two of them, this was their first real foray into the world of adventure. Even Jacky, as the highest leveled of the group (a solid 37), seemed to be feeling it.
There was some idle chatter, but Marc was firmly stuck in his own head for the time. Lloyd and Jacky were from this world, while he hadn’t been in a real life-or-death situation since. . . well, he’d been in one earlier that week, but didn’t count it. Other than the spider, the closest was an encounter with a bear that got spooked away.
Now, he was hunting a sort of manticore-deer, that very likely had some form of horror-inducing magical effect. As the Tank, and the one not chatting, he decided to instead be looking around and staying aware of their surroundings.
Sweeping from side to side, he was taking in the nature of the area as much as watching for enemies. It went on like this for a few hours, with a few moments of him getting pulled out of it by questions about his home. The trees reminded him of the forests near home, though somehow both more wild and less foreboding.
He didn’t see when the new tablet appeared, but when he saw it he grabbed it and read, eyes now firmly off the surroundings.
NEW OUTSIDER BOON!
SPECTATOR EFFECT
Provides additional information about [Common] items, people, and monsters when observed.
Provides additional information about System Functions.
Adds flavor text to System Functions.