“If you can use both of your arms like that, why don’t you try dual-wielding style?”
“I like to keep one hand free for surprises.”
Zelos stepped in again while changing the weapon from arm to arm and then swung down the wooden sword. She blocked the attack again and lowered her stance to counter until Zelos grabbed the sword with the other hand and forced her posture to break and then Heirina jumped down as she felt the weight of the attack.
At that moment, Heirina felt like it would be the right time for Zelos to use a follow-up attack, but he didn’t move at all. Things would have been better for him if he had used both hands. His strength could even surpass Heirina’s, but for some reason, he was too stubborn to try that.
“It looks like the more we keep going, the worse it will be for me… unlike your personality, you are quite methodical when it comes to fighting.”
“... How can you tell that… Do you already know the secret of my trait?”
“No, but it is just a feeling that I have.”
Zelos charged again, but then he planted his feet on the ground until he smashed the grass for a couple of centimeters, and then he jumped with all his might… After reaching a ten-meter height, he began to fall and then swung down his wooden sword with all his might. Unfortunately, that gave Heirina more than enough time to jump backward and avoid the hit.
Irlan and Kaitrine opened their eyes widely… since Heirina had never done that before. At the same time, she squinted her eyes… Zelos had good instincts if anything. He was on the right path to discovering the secret of her main trait.
“All right, I give up. Nothing good will come out of this.”
“Wait, what? This is sparring, you can’t just give up like that.”
“My best bet is to use that kind of attack, but you will have plenty of room to avoid them, so this isn’t much of a real sparring. I learned that I need to be a bit faster to hit you, and you learned that you need to use your trait faster as well. Let’s consider this a draw, then.”
If they keep going, then the secret of Heirina’s trait will be exposed… and Hei’s as well. While they were all allies there, such a thing was still better to be kept as a secret.
“Who is going to be the next then? I am going to sleep earlier today.”
“You gave up on this spar, and you want another?”
Kaitrine looked annoyed by Zelos’ actions, but at that point in time, it was a normal occurrence, so Zelos just shrugged and then went to bed earlier. He could tell that he would say something grumpy to get on her nerves due to his exhaustion, and that wasn’t worth the hassle. Kaitrine let out an exasperated sigh.
“... For someone of his age, he doesn’t know how to do things aside from doing at the beating of his own drum.”
“Don’t worry about it. He doesn’t do that out of bad feelings. He’s just too methodical and logical to a fault. Besides, he was right about me. The more I keep fighting and buying time, the more my trait becomes easier to understand. Anyway, I am going to hit the sack a bit earlier too.”
“I am going to be on the watch first. I will call some of you if I get too tired.”
Everyone nodded at Irlan’s statements, and then they went to bed. He needed some time to process what had happened… he tried to understand Heirina’s traits to a bunch of times, but he never felt that he was getting closer to it… he only felt that she was actually holding back against everyone… he believed that he had more knowledge and experience than a ten years old boy, but perhaps his mind was too set in his ways… he needed to open it to consider all possible solutions and explanations to a problem.
From that day onward, Irlan decided to use his head more and think more instead of talking all the time when he relaxed… he seemed deep in thought while considering several things, and that made the others realize that he was trying to learn from Zelos.
“That must be a guy thing… I can understand then, but this is kind of sad since I don’t have many chances to travel like this or interact with people of my age.”
“Aren’t you older than us by ten years?”
“How rude… I am just eighteen.”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Kaitrine’s words cut deep into Edea’s mind… she looked better now, and the others realized that now that she looked less exhausted, she also looked younger. The trait of her clan was useful, but it came with some serious costs. That was the kind of thing that Heirina had never imagined, so he decided to delve a bit more into the subject.
“All the cloaked people looked tall enough to be adults, but despite your age, you were the one who was sealing the traits of the most troublesome prisoner there. Isn’t that weird?”
“Even among my clan, some people develop the trait faster than others. Besides, my parents and grandparents already passed away, and I inherited their progress. So, that puts me ahead of those even twenty years older than me.”
That was something difficult to understand… but the reason behind their deaths was clear: the overuse of that trait. Her clan wasn’t a clan of fighters, after all. So, it made Heirina consider the dangers of using a trait like that… which also made her think about Zelos… wasn’t he following the same path despite his young age?
“It must be tough… in times like this, your clan always has to stay active.”
“It is fine. Considering the stories that I heard in the past, this is probably for the best. Our clan was pretty hated thanks to our abilities… only when we were hired by the council of merchants was when that stopped since we began to work actively for the country.”
Things got awkward for a moment… talking about Edea’s clan was almost the same was walking through a minefield. The silence only ended when everyone suddenly heard a loud impact and then when they left the carriage, they saw Zelos jumping from it and walking toward a one meter long rock at the side of the road… a good part of it had been destroyed by something… amidst pieces of the rock, Zelos grabbed one of the iron balls that he brought.
“It slipped from my hands, sorry.”
“How did it slip from your hands and fall twenty meters away?”
“My hands are sweaty.”
Kaitrine wasn’t convinced of that, but she decided not to pursue the talk. In the end, it was better than the previous atmosphere of the conversation. Zelos returned to the roof of the carriage and did some math. Considering the damage that he had caused, his strength probably needed to be five times higher in order to destroy that kind of rock… With that much in an iron ball, he probably would be able to stop even a heavy cavalry unit.
Health: 610/610
Magic: 120/120
Stamina: 500/500
Strength: 33
Vigor: 28
Precision: 22
Wisdom: 10
Willpower: 12
Traits: Regeneration Lv 43
Zelos progressed more than a little during the trip… in the six weeks he had been free, he had made as much progress as he did last year. Still, it wasn’t enough; he needed more, and he needed more planning as well.
The next few days passed rather fast. Things had been pretty lively since everyone had gotten used to each other and because they didn’t have to worry about a prisoner with them who was also a very valuable war prisoner and dangerous as well. Irlan was still deep in thought, but he wasn't as quiet as before. As for Zelos, he remained the same way, focusing single-mindedly on his training, with the exception of a few rare moments like when he was cooking, eating, or hunting. Without Elmer around, he could hunt as many rabbits as he wanted… even though they had a decent stock of food… that meant that he could also for seconds again and again. Seeing that was enough to make Kaitrine feel full with only half a meal.
“How that boy eats so much, but he doesn’t get fat… he doesn’t exercise enough to justify so much food.”
“Boys need some extra calories thanks to their body constitution. He also gained muscle mass, so he would need more to sustain what he had and gain more. You are a bit too slim, and while that benefits your trait, it limits your stamina.”
“Irlan isn’t like that…”
“I prefer to eat just enough to grow without excess and without the risks of injuring myself in the process. My traits don’t need me to be massively big, it is more about experience than anything else.”
At times like this, Edea felt left out. When it came to warriors, most of their conversations ended up like that, and she couldn’t jump in without feeling like she was about to say something weird. That was a bit sad… even more so when they were about to enter the territory that her clan belonged to. She was usually mindful of her words, but she ended up saying something that she didn’t plan to.
“I am going to miss all this…”
“Are you going to miss even that?”
Kaitrine pointed at Zelos, who was rolling on the ground even though he had eaten enough for four people five minutes ago… after he rolled, he threw an iron ball at different marks on a nearby tree. The kid didn’t know the meaning of relaxing at all.
“Hahaha, even noise can sound lively. You can just hear the sound of someone trying to forge their own path in life.”
“You sure are lenient… or perhaps have too much patience for kids.”
After another peaceful night, the group resumed their journey and Heirina was checking her map and some landmarks to confirm their location. It looked like they were two days away from Edea’s hometown. With that in mind, it was safe to assume that the mission would end in five days. They would arrive just in time for the test of those who wanted to join the clan.
While thinking about that, Heirina looked at Zelos still juggling with the iron balls… now he had eight of them at the same time. He was skillful in some ways but pretty bland in others. He should have, in theory, the right requirements to join, but he was still a kid. Heirina thought that it would be nice to create her own unit on the clan using Kaitrine, Irlan, and Zelos as the base, but she would have to find an excuse for that.
In the end, the day came and ended without her finding a solution… and she went to sleep feeling like she never would find it. However, Zelos woke her up and the others in the middle of the night.
“We have company,”