Chapter 11- Weakness

There isn't much to say about this chapter. It did took me much longer to write this one, so I do hope you all like it. If you enjoyed the chapter then be sure to leave your opinions in the comment section below, I'll be sure to read and answer them whenever I can. With that all taken care of, please enjoy the chapter.

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“So far there seems to be no permanent damage. You simply used too much mana.” said Lily while inspecting Alviss who was lying down on a bed. After the patrol arrived they escorted Alviss and the rest back to the docks. Currently they were at the hospital, getting treatment for Ayus and Alviss. Lily was able to convince most of the workers to let her help Alviss as to not let his secret be known.

“I see, thanks again Lily.” Aviss slowly inspected his body before standing up and fashioned on a new leather armor that Lily managed to get for him. “How is Ayus?” asked Alviss who, Lily, in response let out a small annoyed sigh as Alviss was asking her that question every couple of minutes.

“We don’t know. They’re still working on her. But she should be fine.” Lily spoke with mild annoyance. Alviss let out a sigh of relief but the conversation wasn’t over. “Now that is out of the way, let’s get down to business.”

Lily’s tone got serious, Alviss started to straighten up before letting out a small sigh. “Where do I even begin?”

“You can begin from the beginning.” Lily crossed her legs and had a look of ‘I can sit here all day until you finally explain everything.’ Alviss spent the next thirty minutes recounting his entire story, detail by detail. His old life, meeting God, being reincarnated, his mission, everything. The more that Lily listened to the more outrageous it seemed. Eventually he finished up and the entire room was silent.

“I...don’t know what to say.” said Lily finally breaking the silence. “It’s...it’s way more than what I had imagine. I had my suspicion and when I learned that you were a male, I assumed you just didn’t want people to find out...but.”

“Crazy right? So do you believe me?” Lily stayed silent for a bit. “Well it certainly makes sense now that you explained it. I guess I believe you.” The tone that she spoke in still showed that she held some reluctance.

Alviss showed a weak smile before the room fell silent again. “Lily, I wan..”

“Want to keep your true identity a secret. I was planning on doing that in the first place.” Lily cut him off and surprised him. “Really, I mean males are extremely rare and..”

“I know that, however after what you told me, well it would exactly seem right. Besides, I would prefer meeting a male with a bit more class.” Lily spoke in a ‘manner of fact tone’ that managed to make Alviss chuckle.

“Since when did you get a sense of humor?” They both began to chuckle, lightening up the mood a bit. Soon the room fell silent again of which Alviss tried to start another conversation. “So...what now?”

Lily merely looked to her side before answering. “Well I don't know about you but I’ll be transported to another city through my personal escort. From there, who knows.”

“I see.” Alviss could only managed to say that as he didn’t really know how to act. “What about you? You said your goal was to reunite the different continents and such but...it seems too hard.”

Alviss let out an awkward chuckle. “You’re telling me. Well I don’t really know how I’m going to do it, but I’m sure I’ll find a way.”

Alviss was about to get up and leave but suddenly the door opened and in walked the maid. She informed them about Ayus condition as they ran over. Alviss was ahead, running through the hospital, pushing people out of the way. They came upon a small room with white drapes all around a bed in which Ayus lied.

Her eyes were still closed as she lied on the bed with a peaceful look. A doctor was examining her. “Is she going to be all right?” spoke Alviss who couldn't take his eyes off of her.

“There seems to be no permanent physical damage, most were bruises and cuts. It would seem that she is simply unconscious, as for how long. Only time will tell.” replied the doctor.

Part of him felt relieved but the other part of him was angry and sad that Ayus was in that state. As they couldn’t do anything any more, Alviss and the rest finally left the hospital. There several carriages awaited them. They all looked quite fancy with several maids around.

“It looks like my escort is here.” spoke Lily as what look like to be an attendant and other maids walked up and conversed with Lily. Alviss was about to leave but was pulled over by Lily. “Here’s your reward as promise.”

One of the maid handed him a medium sized bag with silver and copper coins in it. A gold coin could also be seen at the top of the pile. “This...this is way over what we agreed on.”

“True but we did went through a lot. Not to mention when we were on the ship, if it wasn’t for your duel with Captain Scarlett, then we would have been still trapped. In a way you helped us. Even if your plan was completely stupid and you being completely reckless.” Lily spoke in a genuine happy and playful tone.

Alviss was simply stunned at Lily’s kind gesture. “Thank you.” Before Lily finally left, she presented him with one last farewell gift. “This...This is your grimoire.” He couldn’t believed what he was holding, Alviss was about to hand it back but she stopped him.

“Truth be told I own plenty of them. Besides, you’ll probably need this more than I do.” A single tear dripped from her eyes as Alviss accepted the grimoire and embraced her with a hug. They hugged for a solid minute before they finally said goodbye. Alviss stayed there and waved goodbye as the carriage slowly got farther and farther away.

“...Well there’s no point in just standing here. Might as well use the money for something productive.” Alviss stored the grimoire and the bag of coins in the infinity bag and continued to the city docks.

Trasy Dock was also connected to a city of the same name. The docks held ships and connected to the ocean. While more inland was a flourishing city where different merchant would do trade with the town gowers. The city is a place of marine trade, different exotic items from all around could be seen. Alviss traversed the busy plaza, looking at goods all around.

They sold everything from simple items to jewelry and weapons. most of the merchants were standing about, trying to advertise their stalls.

Eventually he came to a small stall that was selling different potions. He inspected some of them as it was by far the most diverse. ‘These potions are quite expensive but…’ memories of the fight with the Kuplios flashed in his mind and how the potions were useless. “I would like to buy the best and cheapest potions you have.”

Alviss left with several health potions along with some potions that would help in a specific situation. He continued to traverse the market, looking at other things to buy. Eventually he came upon stalls that were selling jewelry and other fashionable items.

He eventually stopped at a stall that sold bracelets and necklaces. “Come and look at these exquisite magical items. You won’t be disappointed.” loudly spoke the merchant as Alviss decided to take a look.

‘Magical items, special items imbued with magical property. ‘Fashionable and functional’ thought Alviss as he browsed the goods. He picked up a sparkly light blue necklace that looked interesting, “Ahh, you have a good eye. That necklace is quite special, it’s imbued with a high level defensive spell. Should the user live be in danger, it will bring up a light protective shield to protect the user. However the shield can only sustain so much damage before breaking. But it is guaranteed to take most of the impact.”

Alviss eye widened when he heard about it. He was about to buy it on an impulse but he quickly looked at the pricing. ‘Of course it would have a high price tag...but.” After much pondering he finally decided to buy it for Ayus. For protecting her along as a gift when she finally wakes up.

He was able to make some money back through the goods in his bag during the trip to the docks. Namely the shell of the Kuplios which sold surprisingly well but it was unfortunate that he only got some many pieces as the patrol took them to the docks.

Soon he found himself in the food district. Food stalls littered the place while further in were stores that sold pastries and more exquisite food. It was around early evening time and Alviss was starting to get hungry.

After perusing the different store and foods Alviss finally decided to buy something to eat. He mostly bought fruits and small pocket of meat to eat on the go. Alviss also bought some extra food to give to Ayus when she finally wake up as well.

After buying the items and storing it in the bag he continued to explore. He explored more of the city, getting used to the layout. Eventually he reached the outskirts of the city that led to the countryside. Barns and live stocks were scattered about. While walking around Alviss noticed a group of what looks like guards walking towards the city.

They were sweating with light chainmail armor and tunic on. As Alviss got closer he could hear them chatting with one another. Alviss decided to walk up and ask one of them for direction. “Excuse me, do you know where we are?”

They stopped and were surprised to see Alviss. ”Well you’re near the outer barracks near the countryside?”

“Barracks? You mean you’re soldiers of the city?” The group of girls began chuckling at Alviss’s answer. “In a sense yes. We’re actually soldiers in training. We just came back from the training ground.” one of the girls pointed towards behind her to a wooden two story house with a large backyard filled with wooden practice dummy.

Alviss thanked them and they continued on their way. Alviss eyed the training ground for a moment, planning on where to go next but eventually decided to head towards it.

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The house looked to be similar in design to one of a firefighter station back on earth. A large wooden panel with the name Barracks was attached to the main sides of the building. The backyard consisted of a large wooden fence surrounded the training area. He walked up the porch but saw a sign that said that it was closed.

A bit disheartened Alviss was about to walk away until he decided to go through with his plan anyway.

Alviss hopped over and headed towards one of the dummies as he unsheathes his sword. While he held it, Alviss noticed that he was shaking a bit when he holding his stance. The action made him angry, it just reminded him that he was weak.

“Ahhh!” Alviss charged in and started to swing at the dummies. Part of him wanted to him something to expel his anger while the other part wanted to get better and stronger. He hacked at the dummies all over building up some sweat in minutes.

“|Acceleration.| |Upward slash.|” finally Alviss used his skills destroying one of the dummies. Following the momentum he continued on. “|Piercing slash| |Helmsplitter| |Heavy blow|” using skills after skills he attack the dummies, destroying a couple already. “|Triple thrust|” Alviss was going for one final attack until.

“What the h*ll are you doing?!” a loud voice rang through backyard, catching him off. He stopped and turned around to see a woman emerging from the house.

She looked to be in her mid forties, standing a head shorter than Alviss. She had on the same outfit as the girls that passed Alviss. She had a butch look, a harden look that showed her experience. Her muscle was visible with small scars on her arms. Her hair was a brown almond color while her eyes were black. She slowly walked over with her arms crossed until they were a couple of centimeters from one another.

“Would you care to explain to me why you’re destroying my practice dummies?” she spoke in a angrily calm voice. Alviss tried to find a good explanation to give to her but he couldn’t stop shaking. “Umm...I...well you see. I just wanted to practice that’s all, I didn't know that I couldn’t use skills.”

She simply stared at Alviss who was trying his hardest to stand his ground. She took in a deep breath before letting out a huge sigh of air. “Well it doesn’t look like you’re lying. Follow me, I should at least here your reason before chewing you out.”

“Umm. thank you..”

“Juno, Juno Harper.” replied the woman as she walked back towards the door with Alviss behind her. They walked through the door and into a kitchen that connected to a living room. She indicated him towards a table. Alviss took a seat as she prepared some tea for both them and then sat down in across the table from him.

“So, do you have an explanation as to why you’re here? Or do you just enjoy destroying people's property?” Alviss tried to calm herself but she still keep the powerful aura even while talking. “Umm, I just wanted to let off some steam as well as train.” Juno simply listened and stared at her, telling him to continue on.

Alviss then told her about his adventure, the Kuplios, the pirates, Ayus getting hurt. Juno simply listened before making her conclusion. “I see, so you see yourself as weak.” Alviss hanged his head low in response. She finally finished her tea and stood up.

“Head back outside.”

“Huh?” replied Alviss who was confused at the sudden command. “You said that you’re strong but as the time, weak. We’ll just have see which one it is. We’ll be having a little sparring match to see just how strong you are.”

“But..” Juno held up her hand and continued on. “You destroyed my dummies remember? You owe me quite a bit of money. Unless you want to pay for all of it, I would suggest you listen to what I have to say.”

Alviss didn’t argue with Juno anymore and simply headed out while she head inside the house. Within a couple of minutes she stepped out of the house wearing a full set of armor. On her right hand was a long sword while her left hand held a small round shield. She walked up to Alviss and stopped at a distance.

“We’ll be having a match against one another. If you win, you won’t have to pay. If you lose, well, you already know. Feel free to fight with all you have.” she took a stance with her shield  held in front of her and her sword at the ready.

“But…” Juno held up her hand once more to stop him. “The other reason for this exercise is for me to see what kind of person you are. Now let’s begin.”

Alviss saw that Juno wouldn't listen to him so he readied himself. But the moment that he unsheathed his sword, Juno charged in. Alviss was caught off guard and barely blocked the attack.

He jumped backward to gain some ground but she quickly got up to him. Juno held the advantage as she attacked without missing a beat. All he could do at first was block her attacks. “|Counter slash.|” Finally getting his head together, he finally retaliated.

Using his skills he repelled the incoming attacks while attacking afterwards. But Juno was able to counter his attack by using her shield. The two went at it but it was obvious who was winning. Juno was able to parry and or block most of Alviss’s basic attacks while Alviss couldn’t get past her defenses.

Even his skills couldn’t even reach her. Skill after skill, Juno was able to either block, evade, or defend against it. It was as if she was able to read his movement and act accordingly. Within minutes the fight became one sided as Juno beat him back.

Soon Alviss was on his knees, gasping for air. Sweat was running down his face and neck as to cool him off. Juno was also exhausted but to a lesser extent. While fighting her, he started to get frustrated with himself again. It was the same situation with Scarlett, no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t land a hit on her. ‘Damn it’ screamed Alviss in his mind.

He eventually regained some of his strength and finally stood back up. “There's no need to fight anymore.” Juno’s sudden statement puzzled Alviss. “What do you mean we’re done? I can still go on!”

Juno shook her head in disappointment. “That may be true but it doesn’t matter how long we fight, the result will be the same. You’re weak.” Juno’s words had more of an impact as Alviss thought. Her eyes showed confident that made Alviss took a step back in response.

Alviss couldn’t believe what she said or rather he refused to believe it. “I’m not weak...I’m not!” Alviss let out an outburst that resembled that of a child. “Yes you are.” replied Juno with the same confident.

The tone that she spoke only infuriated him even more. Just like Scarlett, she was looking down on him. “Ahhh!” Alviss charged in full force to prove her wrong. Juno easily anticipated it and they continued on.

“|Flash strike| |Piercing slash| |Heavy blow| |Cross slash|” Skill after skill, Alviss was relentless in the attacks. Juno had little opportunity to attack but his attack weren’t connecting much either. They continued on for several more minutes as Alviss was brought to his knees. He was on both of his knees with hands gripping the dirt and grass. He was letting out loud deep breath that it almost sound that he was choking on air.

Juno simply stood there and watched Alviss. “It seems that you finally calmed down, so will you finally hear me out?” The only response that she got back was him taking in more breaths.

“You’re weak. The sooner you get through your head the easier it will be.” The sounding of grinding teeth could be heard in response. “I’m...I’m not weak!” Alviss let out a weak response to which Juno rebuttaled.

“That’s where you’re wrong. You are weak and here’s why. Your entire fighting style, completely horrible. Even some of the recruits have better fighting style then you. You are heavily reliant on your skills for your attacks rather than using your body. And when you’re not using your skills, you just swing your sword around hoping for a hit.  Kids nowadays believe that they're strong just because they know how to use skills. Hogwash, I say, all you’re doing is following the motion of something. Even a child can do that. You can’t even implement basic sword maneuvers and such. Your strength and speed are impressive but that is all there is. You’re weak, that’s all there is to it.”

Juno spoke with resolute in her voice that caused Alviss to go quiet. Sensing that the fight was over, Juno started to head back into the house.

“I’m…I’m not weak!” Gathering all his remaining strength, Alviss charged in one for final attack. He had waited for a while to gather more strength and catch her unsurprised. “|Upward slash|” Juno barely made it time, having her shield knocked out of her hand. “Got you!” shouted Alviss with confidence but it wasn’t so easy.

Juno had expected the surprise attack and let the attack hit her as a feint. Easily regaining her footing, she performed a maneuver where she spun, blocking his attack and staggering him. She quickly went in for the attack as Alviss barely managed to bring up his sword to block the attack.

Alviss poured in his remaining strength to defend against the attack but it left him just like his sword. Like swatting a fly, his sword flew out of his hand as the swords clashed. It fell behind him and stabbed the ground. Alviss couldn’t believe his eyes and was utterly shocked. His eyes were brought back to reality when he saw a blur, Juno's sword flew by his face and stopped when she pointed it towards his neck.

“You are weak.”

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Congratulation you finished the chapter. Want a hug?

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