"So, you weren't watching, right?" Sitting on the apartment building's fire escape, I decided to pry Roxas for details on why he'd decided to spend the night out here.
"No, of course not. I was just following you to make sure you didn't end up in any trouble. Can't have my friends getting killed on my watch, right?" I thank him for his concern. "So how was it?" He asks, a shit-eating grin on his face.
"...it went well, I think. Headache is a bitch, though."
"First time drinking real beer and you turn out to be a lightweight." We share a laugh before I return to hissing at the aching in my head. "So, I guess I'm ready for step two?" Roxas nods.
"Just not right now. At the moment, I'm still trying to figure out what you can do. I suggest you take this time to study. I've sent you some recommended material." I see something pop up in my messages.
"It's almost like you were waiting for someone to be in my situation." I joke.
"I'm prepared for everything, Martial. You could leave your whole life in my hands and you'd come out of the experience a god among men. Not magicians, of course, but men." His spiel continues on from there but I almost naturally drown it out.
Once Roxas is done talking (or preparing to launch into another collection of loosely tied together ideas) a call window appears in the middle of my display. "Crap," I answer, and I'm met with my grandpa's voice.
"Hey, Martial. I've got something I need you to try out for me. Are you available?"
"Yeah, I am." I'm pleasantly surprised by the calm voice on the other side of the call.
"Good. I also hope you'll tell me about where you were last night?"
"Yes, sir." He hangs up the call before I can finish.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
"You should probably get going before he actually kicks you out this time," Roxas warns before standing up.
I want to tell him the chances of that are unlikely, but I can only let out a sigh.
…
"Ah, welcome home." Matthew's voice has a venom laced with it that makes my stomach drop. A man in a dark cloak is bent over his wide-open desktop, eagerly inspecting the components. "Oh, yeah. I had to call the Cult of Muta again. These damn Vernie spawns keep fucking with my baby here whenever I'm distracted."
The man turns his attention to Matthew and shakes his head. "Apologies, sir, but your system is now comparable to a piss bucket. We'll be happy to walk you through the process of creating a new one, but nothing in here is salvageable. Which isn't surprising, since the kid actually pissed in it."...
It's not funny. It's not funny. Don't fucking laugh.
"Fuck it. How much is it gonna cost?"
"Well, most of the parts here aren't being made anymore, and they sell for a higher price than necessary. Would you prefer something different?"
"I guess. I'm gonna be busy for a little while though. Can we do this later, maybe?" The man and Matthew come to an agreement on their next appointment and the man leaves. "Alright, I need something to take my mind off this. Come here, Martial, let me show you my new toy." I follow him into his workshop and, sitting on the table, is a sword with a chainsaw's chain wrapped along the blade.
"Um, grandpa, I think this might be a little overkill." Grandpa shakes his head at my assessment. "How can you not see, Martial, that this here blade will be strong enough to defeat even the most powerful of magicians...in theory, of course." Grandpa rubs the back of his head.
"Relying on your ability to get close enough to rip someone in half is pretty useless when someone can rip you in half from fifty feet away. Still, it may be popular with monster hunters." I hold the blade up and feel it's weight. Despite doubling as a chainsaw, it's extremely light.
"Come on, let's test this baby out," Matthew says before leading me through the door to the shop's fenced-in backyard. Sitting right in the middle of the yard is a wooden test dummy. The dummy I presumably will soon be shredding to ribbons.
"Alright, how do I turn this sucker on?” I begin examining the sword for a power switch.
"You pull down on the end of the hilt," Matthew tells me after watching as I examine the blade's edge for an answer. I take hold of the knob at the end of the hilt and pull down. The sword starts up, and I'm knocked off balance. Falling onto my back, I just barely manage to save myself from splitting my head open. "Oh shit, you okay?!" Matthew pulls the knob again and the sword powers down.
"Alright, well, kickback is an issue," I mumble. After picking myself up, I try again, this time planting my feet firmly on the ground. After the initial jolt, I manage to keep my balance. The sword jiggles around in my hand, making it hard to control. I charge forward to try and attack the dummy and just manage to scrape off the top of its skull. Still, the cut was smooth and had little to no resistance, proving the sword's potential. I turn the sword off and walk back over to Matthew, who is rubbing his temples.
"It's cool, and I can see it being an effective weapon. Just maybe find a way to stabilize it and shave off the kickback." I finish my examination and hand the weapon over to him.
"Alright. Thanks, Martial." He doesn't look up at me when he starts talking again. "I'm gonna forget about last night, okay?" Surprised, I freeze in place.
"Thank you. It won't happen again." I give him a bow.
"Martial, you know I love you, right?" I nod. "Good. Don't take this badly, but I don't need to get another phone call. Understand?" I feel my fists clench up. I manage to breathe out a yeah before walking back inside.