Chapter 14

Élet

Everyone was now sitting at a large table in the living room.

"What she told you is true, Antoine and Dzīve are immortals."

Nadine and Milo were even more shocked than the first time, with the information coming directly from Greypa, the oldest and most respected person in the village.

"B-but how?"

"This is part of their contract. The divine shares his or her immortality with the summoner for the duration of the contract." He waited a little while for her to speak, but Antoine’s mother remained silent for a long time. She began to speak just as he was on the verge to starting again.

"But… but I still don’t want Antoine to fight…" she said in a timid and imploring tone.

“I can totally understand, Nadine, but that choice is no longer in your hands since Antoine became a summoner. Now, if you would like to go home, it would make me happy. We need to discuss something serious, and I can’t allow you to stay.”

“But… Okay.” She got up and, before leaving, turned to her son.

“Antoine, I would like you to come home, but if you still decide to continue this… this madness, be careful if you will. My little mother’s heart would not stand it if something happened to you.”

She then left, leaving behind a heavy silence. The young boy had his head down, ashamed to make his mother worry so much.

Still as stoic, Greypa spoke again. “Well, we’re finally going to get started.”

He displayed a map of the village and its surroundings on the table.

“I’m going to start with a brief overview for Kailun and then I’m going to tell you about the current situation and what we can do about the various problems. Is that okay?” They all nodded their heads in agreement.

“Good.” He then summarized the events of the previous day. When he had finished. “Now, the problem is that we still do not know why the dead rose. Besides, there’s still a lot of them left wandering in the woods. They are much less powerful, but until they are eliminated, no villagers can leave the rampart. No more game, no more mushrooms, that sort of thing.” He took a serious look. “It’s not a problem yet, but it could become one starting in the winter, so we need to deal with it as quickly as possible. Luckily, I know where they are coming from.”

On the map, he pointed to an area in the middle of the forest, not really that far from the village.

“In this place there is a death pit, a sort of corpse vein that periodically spits out undead, and it will continue until it has been purified. Worse, it will grow more and more. Think of it as a magical tumour that affects the earth... I can’t even imagine what would happen if that corpse pit were to reach the village.”

He looked up to his audience again. “There are two main ways to solve the problem. First, ask a priest to go to the centre of the well and purge the amassed resentment, grudges and malice. The second way is to burn everything.”

How does he know all this? Thought Élet.

“The first option has the advantage of being simple to execute and not requiring too much preparation, labour and resources. However, that would put the priest in danger, the problem being that the only priest available here is Nana and that she is not immortal like you. The second option requires a certain preparation from an alchemical and material point of view, and will surely take more time.”

“Which one do we choose?” asked Kailun, not even thinking that they shouldn’t get involved. After all, you’re in an rpg to complete quests, right?

“So far, neither. Even if this problem worsens the more it’s let alone, yeh’ll first have to take a few levels and acquire more powerful classes, or even a class at all for some of yeh, if yeh want this to be something else than just suicide.” He turned his gaze to Élet before adding: “Well, at least three of yeh.” He then smiled slightly.

“The first step is to introduce yourself and announce what yeh would like to have as a class and the role yeh would like to play in your group. Who starts?”

Kailun spoke, seeing that no one was taking the lead. “For me, it will be a magician.”

“Why?”

“I’m good enough to assess the flow of combat and do remote support where it’s needed.” Greypa nodded, convinced by these arguments.

“And for me, it will be battle on the front line.” Said Élet.

“I can imagine. Yeh already have a fighting class, right?”

“More or less, yes.”

“Now it’s just a matter of knowing what yeh want to do, both of you.” Said the old man to the two young. Antoine and Dzīve took a thoughtful look, before the boy spoke. “I confess I never really thought about it…” “…I didn’t either…” Added the young girl.

“It’s just as I imagined it… Do yeh remember how to acquire a class?”

“Of course!” “Yes!”

“Good. And yeh remember that you can change classes if you don’t like the one you have?”

Heads nodding.

“So it’s simple, think a little bit and talk to each other about how yeh want to fight, in broad strokes. Then I will tell yeh what choices we have that go with what yeh have asked for, we agree?”

“”Yes”” they said together.

***

The discussion took a long time and Greypa took advantage of it to rest.

At the end of the discussion, Antoine knocked at his door to warn him, and the old man went down to hear the fruits of their reflection.

“I don’t want to fight on the front line.” Said the boy. “I would rather support Élet and Dzīve, protect them from a distance.”

“Am I to conclude that yeh would like to do close combat, young lady?' asked the old man.

“Yes, I want to fight alongside my Onee-chan.” She said with determination.

The old healer began to caress his beard, thoughtful.

“Then I could offer yeh a fighting class. Milo can better inform yeh about the particular style yeh would like to use.”

“That’s fine with me.” She said, nodding her head.

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“And yeh, young man, I think yeh could go and see Nana, she will surely offer yeh something in line with your request. Priests are hella strong to support people from a distance, and besides we’d have to ask Nana to put herself in danger no more, yeh could purify the pit yourself... But be warned, this is the kind of class that’s hard to get, okay?”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Well, now that yeh’ve chosen what yeh want to do, go ask the people concerned to become your instructor.”

And so they all stood up together and went out the front door, saying goodbye to the old man.

Greypa

I don’t seem to have lost my touch... well, time to fix the other problem.

“Get out of there, yeh two.” He said out loud, but nothing happened.

“Don’t think I haven’t discovered yeh, you little pests, show yourself or I’m really going to get mad!” He said in a louder voice.

Morgane and Liliana then came out of hiding quite sheepishly.

“What are yeh two doing here?”

“We just wanted to know what was going on, that’s all!” Said Morgane.

“Are you sure that’s all?”

“We had planned to retrieve information so that we could follow it…”

“... We just want to participate. At this pace Antoine and Dzīve are going to let us behind!”

Yeah, that’s what I thought.

“Yeh will die if yeh do this. Yeh’re not strong enough to accompany them, yeh would just be dead weights, only good enough at putting obstacles in their way.”

Taking the cold shower of reality, the two little ones seemed desperate.

But... they will not give up, it is not in their nature... And then... damn it! I wasn’t planning on doing this right now, but seeing the look on their face...

“I may have a solution, but it won’t necessarily work and it will be hard, but if yeh’re still up for it, I can offer it to yeh.”

“Yes!” “With pleasure.” Both responded affirmatively, each in their own way.

“Okay, but don’t blame me if it’s too difficult, huh? We’ll start with…”

Élet

The small group had gone separated way in the middle of the village, the first going to Milo’s and the second to Nana’s.

“Milady, do you still need something?” respectfully asked Catherine to Élet when she presented herself again before her.

“We need to see your father.” Replied Dzīve in place of her older sister, who felt embarrassed by the attitude of Milo’s daughter.

“If he’s not with you anymore and you haven’t seen him at the front door he must be at the barracks, training with the rest of the guards who are not on duty.”

“Thank you, take care.” Said the girl before guiding her Onee-chan to the barracks.

It was the first time the young woman had passed through this part of the village. They took a path along the lake, on which one could see boats of fishermen. After five or ten minutes, the two girls finally arrived at the ‘barracks’.

Well, he’s more of a fort than a barracks. She thought, doubtful. The building in question was perhaps twenty or twenty-five metres wide, with a stone wall six metres high and a moat three metres wide and nearly as deep. The gate was facing the river bordering the village, so they had to walk a little more to get there, following along the fort’s rampart. Rectangular towers were integrated into the rampart at regular intervals, overhanging them by a good ten meters, and circular towers could also be seen, of the same size but erected inside the perimeter wall.

“Did you build this fort?” asked her Onee-chan.

“Hahaha, no, not at all! From what Greypa told me, it dates from before the construction of the village. It was even one of the reasons why the first people moved in, if I understood correctly.” She paused before continuing. “I imagine they used it to protect themselves, but ever since we have the rampart around the village, it has become a storage place for our grain and smoked fish, among other things, and it is also used by the guards to store their equipment and train. They also keep the fort in good shape, in case we need it one day.”

Oh? Did I stumble upon the legendary Chekhov’s fortress? Thought the young woman with humour.

When they were speaking they had arrived at the entrance of the fort. A massive drawbridge was lowered, no guard visible.

“s there no one to guard the door?” Asked Élet.

“No, no need.” The girl shrugged her shoulders. “Anyway, to get to the reserves you have to go through places where the guards are usually, so they check as the people pass by.”

They passed through the first and second gate to be greeted by a second rampart and a third gate and then a fourth.

Whoever built this place wasn’t kidding about security. A small keep stood in the centre of the fortress, surrounded by six circular towers. Arriving in the main courtyard, they noticed that a small crowd had gathered around an open space.

“What’s going on?” asked Élet.

“There’s going to be a show.” Said the girl, pulling her big sister’s arm. They had no trouble finding a good place to observe the fight, as the small crowd had left a lot of space for the two fighters. At the centre of the circle was Milo, a training lance in his hands. He was facing a man with brown hair, a few years his junior, equipped with a training sword and a shield.

“Who is the other?”

“This is Jack, the best fighter in the village. He is level twenty-nine with a master-level swordsman class.”

“What about Milo?”

“He is level thirty-six with an adept-level guard class and a novice-level captain class .”

“And Jack is still the best fighter, while Milo is higher level?”

“Yes, because swordsman is a much better fighting class than guard. In addition, Milo must also devote time to management, stewardship and military manoeuvres, since he is a captain, so he has less time to train.”

Ah, it seems that the classic ‘The Chief is the Most Powerful’ is not the standard in this game… which is quite logical since it wants to be at least somewhat realistic. After all, a good fighter does not necessarily make a good leader and vice versa.

“Well, he’s still the second-best fighter, eh.” Added the girl, seeming to read her sister’s thoughts. Milo and Jack had finished warming up and seemed ready to start the fight. The swordsman drew his weapon and the guard held his spear firmly, the two warriors face to face.

The crowd became silent, as if to let each of the opponents focus.

For a brief moment, everything seemed calm, without a sound. Jack suddenly rushed on Milo, shield forward. The captain made a leap, passing over the swordsman while giving a blow of his spear, his weapon shining with a green glow. Jack took the airstrike by turning around to face Milo with his shield while braking his momentum, his feet leaving two long tracks in the ground. The captain landed loosely and both returned to their original positions.

“Wow, it’s intense quite the intense fight.” Said Élet, Dzīve nodding back.

“Can you keep up with them?” One of the guards asked with surprise.

‘‘Yes.’’ They answered together. The guard stared at them for a second before shrugging and continuing to enjoy the show. Jack put Milo on the defensive, thanks to the energy blades he kept launching from his sword to the spearman, thus compensating his disadvantage of range against the captain’s weapon. The fight continued for an indefinite time, until Milo made a mistake due to fatigue. Taking advantage of the opening, Jack manages to place a direct blow to the left arm of his captain, forcing him to let go of his spear. In an instant, his blade was on his opponent’s neck. The crowd applauded the performance while Milo smiled at his opponent. They exchanged a few words, inaudible because of the ambient noise, before moving together towards the two girls.

“Aaah, welcome back to you two. So, that went well after all?”

“Well, Greypa was able to...reassure Nadine, if I may say so.”

“Great. She’s not mean, but she’s really overprotective of her family.”

“We’ve noticed, yes.” added Dzīve.

“Élet, this is Jack, he’s our best fighter.”

“Delighted.” He said, shaking her hand.

“So what brings you here?” Asked Milo.

“We’re here so the little one can acquire a class.” Answered the young woman.

“Ah? Already? We usually wait until they are fifteen before we start working with them on acquiring their first class.”

“I know, but I really need it, and Greypa agrees.” Dzīve said.

He raised his eyebrows while answering. “Well, if Greypa agrees, it should be good. What kind of class do you want?”

“Something that would allow me to fight in tandem with Élet.”

“And how does she fight?” he asked, turning to the woman concerned.

“Uh… You know, I only fought once and my memories of that moment are a bit confusing, so…”

“Yeah.” He replied, doubtful. “We should start by knowing how you fight and, believe my old experience, there are not thirty-six ways to do it. You’ll have to fight someone.” She was taken by surprise by Milo’s announcement.

“Now?”

“Yes, otherwise Dzive might choose something that doesn’t suit your style. So I know that you can always give up a class to take a new one, but it’s a waste of time, it’s way better to do the right thing as soon as possible.”

“Okay. Who am I fighting? You?”

“Why not me? I’d like to see what you’re capable of. The other guards don’t stop talking how imposing you were fighting the undead, I’m starting to become curious.” Jack suddenly said with a friendly smile.

Milo took a look at Élet. “Is that okay?”

“Of course.”