Shin carved through the greater rank goblins with ease. With each swing a green fiend fell, two axes gliding through the wave of monsters painting the forest red in broad strokes. A dingy blue robed goblin at the back shrieked and four armored goblins charged.
The forefront goblin warrior raised his sword above his head and an axe ate through his arms, another its neck cutting the scream short. Shin hooked his axe on the shield of the second and pulled it down, thrusting a sword through its exposed throat. He pivoted, swinging his sword in a full circle, swatting away the blade of the third and brought his axe through its neck in the same fluid motion. Shin caught the head on the flat of his axe and flung it at the last. The goblin warrior struck the head away and a sword snaked its way through its broken stance, piercing jaw to helm.
Shin pulled out his sword and faced the lone goblin mage that remained. The mage took a step back, trembling, before casting a dense ball of mana at the human calamity in desperation. Shin stored his weapons and guarded his body with his arms, a thin square of mana appearing in front. The mana ball shattered through the screen and slammed into Shin’s arms knocking him back, the invisible barrier around him gleaning as it shuddered.
The goblin mage paused then cast another with renewed confidence. Another screen appeared and shattered, this time along with the protection of cushion. A sheen coated Shin head to toe in a flash as he stepped forward again. A third mana ball met the same fate as the ones before.
The goblin mage snarled, fire swirling by its outstretched palm and shot forth. Shin dove to the side, avoiding the large fireball that incinerated a tree behind, and rolled again for a second. The goblin mage found its frustration again and cast another mana ball. Shin planted his feet and took it head on once more.
[Mana Screen has reached lvl. 10.]
[Cushion has reached lvl. 9.]
Fire swirled in the goblin’s palm again and sputtered out. A hatchet buried in its skull before panic could take place of confusion. If the mage was out of mana, Shin had no more use for it. He cast Stimulate on himself to heal his arms, bruised from the impact even through the bracers he donned.
He glanced around at his outmatched sparring partners. Shin had been trying to upgrade Martial Combat to Superior but it eluded him more than fusing Meditation or Inari. There was a sort of absence in his efforts, a missing spark that was present when he forced together the two warring energies or awoke from his mana rich trance. He was motivated, that much he was sure, but lacked a sort of urgency, a need. Shin thought back to fighting that first tree goblin chief, and his state of mind in the face of a stronger foe.
“I need something stronger…”
“Well met, Warrior!” Shin turned to the energetic knightly voice to his side. On a rock in the distance calmly sat an orange furred weasel with bold beady eyes and a tail that formed into the blade of scythe.
[Gallant Sickle Weasel (uncommon) - Greater Peasant rank]
“No cause for alarm. Heal yourself, my foe. I shall wait.”
Shin calmly continued to heal himself, watching the unusual creature unblinkingly, but true to his word he did not move an inch. Two swords appeared in Shin’s hands.
“Ready.”
“Well, then.” The sickle weasel’s body burst from the rock. Shin dove to the side on reflex as a whirling wheel sliced through the space he had just been. The wheel continued on, curving into open space and uncurling into the sickle weasel.
“En Garde!”
The sickle weasel kicked off a tree and spun into a wheel again. Shin sidestepped and thrust at the center with his sword, but the weasel uncurled in an instant, curving its long body around the blade. A twist with its body had Shin dip under the lash of the tail scythe and dart around, just barely dodging a succession of strikes. The sickle weasel was faster than him but he could read its movements to an extent. However he didn’t dare try to block the scythe, recognizing the magical sheen on its edge.
Good sense compelled him to summon Inari but Shin walked a different path, one that often required good sense to be cast aside. Shin sharpened his eyes, fixated on the way the weasel moved and the way its scythe followed. Three more strikes cut the air beside him and on the fourth he moved, meeting the downward scythe with a tap of his sword to its side, knocking it off course, and slashing with his other. The sword struck the neck of the weasel and was repelled, a strange force knocking the weapon back behind him, Shin nearly losing his grip on it.
The weasel spun and Shin leant back as the scythe sailed over him, missing by a hair’s breadth. He threw himself to the side, hitting the ground in a roll as the scythe pierced the earth where he just stood. Blood drained his side from a cut visible through torn cloth. Shin kept his eyes on the weasel taking a stance before him. The magic that deflected his sword, he recognized. It was identical to the parry skill the radiant guardians had. But on top of that, Shin had not missed the sound and feeling of his sword striking the creature’s fur, as hard as steel.
“Splendid!” The sickle weasel praise. “A true warrior, you are. I shall sully your pride no longer.”
Shin’s leaned to the left as an orange blur passed through, blood splashing from a large gash on his shoulder. A powerful gust of wind slammed against him from the same direction, nearly taking his balance. Shin caught sight of the weasel land on a tree before turning into a blur again, slicing deep through his thigh, another surge of wind trailing the sickle weasel’s lunge.
The weasel darted from tree to tree around him, the surging wind blowing leaves and dust into a burgeoning whirlwind. Shin’s head and eyes darted with it, his focus intensifying. A wooden bo staff replaced the swords and Shin spun it vertical, his eyes racing to keep up with the orange blur.
Shin jolted the same time as the third lunge came, vaulting over the charge which sliced the staff in two. A shocked grunt from the weasel was cut short as the fire talisman stuck to his face set ablaze. Shin let the surge of wind knock him through the air at the same time, twisting and contorting his body to land next to the weasel clawed to the tree, reeling from a charred face.
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Shin slid across the earth exactly where he needed, already in stance. One hand outstretched, the other palming the end of the staff. Shin tensed every muscle in his body to move in unison, his technique more perfect than it had ever been before, and thrust the staff into the side of the weasel, the impact rippling through its body, sending it crashing into a tree in the distance. The sickle weasel struggled to rise on trembling feet but another cough of blood made it fall prone again.
[Advanced Martial Combat has become Superior Martial Combat lvl. 1]
Shin dismissed the notification as he walked towards the sickle weasel on its last legs. The weasel, blind from fire, heard him approach.
“You have bested me, Warrior…” A bloody cough interrupted him. “Now go! Onward with your quest. May our paths cross again if fate favors us.”
Shin stored an empty vial and drew another healing potion, pouring it out on the weasel’s face. He held out a hand and a warm glow enveloped the creature. Gradually, the charred fur and singed flesh healed and the weasel’s eyes turned to him. Shin turned the focus of his skill to its ruptured insides. At least initially, Cure Wounds would be more effective.
“We are foes… on the same path… I know the challenges… of an honorable duel… The burden of my recovery… is not yours…”
“Just feel like it.”
“Do you not fear… I will strike unjustly…?”
“No.”
“I see… Your heart is pure and true…”
Shin switched his skill to Stimulate. Monsters tend to have good Vitality, so it fared better with the worst of the injuries precariously patched up.
[Stimulate has reached lvl. 10. 10 attribute points rewarded.]
Shin put his balance of 20 points into Spirit. He had held onto the points gained from mana screen since the fight started in case he needed to rely on it, but he had managed as he was. He focused his desire on Stimulate to progress in the direction he designed.
[Stimulate has upgraded to uncommon tier Vitalize.]
Not only did it improve upon the effects of Stimulate, but now granted energy to the target, such that their stamina will be less burdened by the healing. It didn’t take long for the sickle weasel to rise to its feet, successfully this time, though its injuries were not yet fully healed, and Shin continued using his skill.
“Thank you, my foe. Nor is my name.”
“Shin.”
“Shin. To save one you have defeated in fair combat… You must be a knight!” Nor, the sickle weasel, declared with certainty.
“I’m a Spiritualist.”
“Oh! A knight of spirits! How marvelous!”
“Are sickle weasels spirits?”
“Indeed.” Nor confirmed.
Shin tilted his head slightly in thought. “Wanna follow me?”
“You wish for me to accompany you on your quest?”
“Yeah.” Shin cast Befriend Spirit for the first time. A gateway of souls formed between them, laying bare the true essence of one’s being. Shin felt a sense of acceptance and a strand of mana from the soul connected them.
“Ha ha!” Nor laughed boisterously. “Never did I think I would form a bond to another, but I have no complaints if it is one as worthy as you!”
“Bond?”
“A connection between souls. Have you not done so before, Sir Shin?”
“No.”
“I see. I’m afraid I cannot enlighten you further, for I have no experience myself. But I feel another like myself.”
Shin closed his eyes and felt. As his mind delved deeper into his soul, he sensed two strands flowing from it. One being the newly formed bond made with Nor, and the other a far larger, stronger, and mystifying strand, distinct and familiar.
“That’s Inari.”
“Another warrior?”
“Yeah.” Shin supposed that was accurate enough.
“Then we are no duo, but a merry band!”
Shin inspected his new partner’s status while the increasingly healthy weasel laughed to no one in particular.
[Gallant Sickle Weasel (rare) - Greater Peasant rank]
Strength - 152
Agility - 239
Constitution - 126
Vitality - 184
Dexterity - 225
Perception - 201
Force - 146
Spirit - 189
Control - 160
Willpower - 253
Skills:
Tailwind lvl. 8, Keen Cut lvl. 9, Whirlwind lvl. 6, Greater Deflect lvl. 10,
Traits:
Ironfurred (epic), Lesser Fear Resistance (rare), Lesser Pain Resistance (rare), Minor Poison Resistance (uncommon), Minor Disease Resistance (uncommon), Minor Curse Resistance (uncommon),
“Your build is very knightly.”
“The status of a knight is not one so easily obtained. It is for this reason that I quest to earn that right! And to live up to my namesake.”
“Nor?”
“Escanor! King of the White Mountain!” Nor heralded with grandeur. “It is the duty of all aspiring knights to walk his righteous path.”
Shin vaguely recalled that name from Arthurian legend. “Half giant half witch?”
“The nature of one’s birth matters not! Only the path one chooses to walk.” Nor’s words held conviction and an air of inspiration. “Anyway! I have healed, Sir Shin. What be our next course?”
“Killing goblins.”
“Wretched things! Let us be off then!”
“Mm. I summon you later.”
Nor vanished and a light arose within Shin’s soul. He was quite expensive, about 10 mana a minute by Shin’s estimation. He would run dry in no time if he kept the knightly spirit out during the journey. Shin sprinted off, healing his own injuries on the go. He could stop the bleeding and force his body to move as normal but do little to solve the root of the problem in short time.
[Cure Wounds has reached lvl. 4]
And he had to train.
---
Giuseppe walked through the cave strewn with corpses, maimed and defiled. An excessively cruel endeavor but cruelty was the point. His patron desired tortured souls. Giuseppe wrinkled his nose, pushing up his fat cheeks making his eyes appear even thinner than usual. He had gotten used to the noise but not yet the foul stench.
Past the corrupted thralls doing their work and through the winding cave he walked, sweat dripping his bald head onto his white priest robes. His vitality was too low for this constant exercise but he had not the leisure to spare points on it, thus he bore with the inconvenience.
Finally he came to the end of a cave, a simple shrine erected at the end surrounding a bronze statue of a horned monstrosity, crouching on hooved legs, large muscular arms hanging low, grabbing the edge of its platform as if it would come to life and lunge at any moment. Giuseppe came to the center of the room and prostrated before the statue.
“My lord.”
“The offerings are unsatisfactory.”
“It has been difficult, my-”
“Why have you not taken the fortress?”
Giuseppe shuddered at the statue’s baleful displeasure. “Their numbers are great, my lord. We need to increase our own before we-”
“I will accept no excuse!” The statue roared. “See. It. Done.”
“At once, my lord.” Giuseppe hobbled to his feet and walked away, as briskly as could be taken without offense and brisker still once he rounded the tunnel. He needed a small army to level the walls of that fortress and scant time to raise one. He could have managed already had his patron not required so many souls to sustain his presence, but he could not change what could not be changed.
“Go! Bring me more humans! Alive!” The corrupted players with blackened eyes and blackened veins paused and ran off into the forest at the order of their master. Giuseppe grimaced as he contemplated a plan to achieve the mountainous task forced upon him. The demon had given him power, and he would hold onto it.