Chapter 7 – Preparation

Loria Point of View

My father is leaving, and I cannot help him. I feel powerless. Weak. Helpless. I cannot defend him. I cannot protect him. My last and only vestige of family. Still, I will learn what I can and practice. I do not know my own limits yet nor do I know how having Ultima might empower me. I’ve been selfish so far, fighting against her, but perhaps she is the help I need to become the protector I wish to be?

The noise of the cheering crowds drag me back from being lost in thought. Beneath the balcony I stand on, father is parading out the castle gates with his personal army. Everyone relevant is present and cheering him on towards victory. I’m sure the sight before us is nightmarish to humans, elves, and their kin. Sure, there are some terrifying monsters here… but they are still people.

[https://i.imgur.com/LxpeIph.png]

It has been two weeks since Gel arrived here. He isn’t with me on the balcony, that would be improper, but I know he is out there somewhere. Gel must watching me from the crowd of nobility standing on the platforms below.

“Well, this is not in the least bit terrifying.” Ultima once again needing to commentate everything.

I take a deep breath as I reply to myself, “Ultima, I forget you were apparently once human. Believe me when I say they are just people.”

“Oh no, I get that. Doesn’t change the fact that a 5-meter-tall skeleton, breathing fire, is nightmare fuel. He literally has flaming eyes.”

“Yet if he was not civilized, then how would he be part of an organized army? How would this city about the castle still stand? I admit he could be scary if he charged at me in combat.”

“Says the daughter of papa-Satan.”

“Ultima…”

“I’m sorry. Your dad is nice, I’ve seen it myself. Just, he fits some stereotypes from back home, okay?”

Ignore her. I will just ignore her for now. “Let’s see, General Heth’s schedule for the past two weeks has been physical fitness. Today, apparently, I’m to finally start learning swordplay after this event.”

“Topic switch! Alright. Fine, I get it. So, sword play is the goal?”

“According to him, it is more important than magic craft. What do you do if you run out of mana in the midst combat? Apparently more than a few wizards die to that each battle he has been in.”

“That makes sense, but I was wondering. If we get duality high enough, will I be able to cast magic while you fight? A two-in-one thing?”

“… that’s actually a good idea, Ultima. For once you speak sense! Did you gain any expe for Intelligence?” I grin wickedly for a moment as I tease her at her expense.

“Oh, ha-ha.”

“Still, do you have an idea on how to train duality?”

“Not a clue. If I had to venture a guess, both of us try to do something at once? We’re talking to each other with one mouth, so that isn’t counting. We’re exchanging access. What if I tried to handle one arm and you the other?”

“I guess that might work,” I say as I will the relinquishment of my right arm, “Let’s try it out. Right arm.” Suddenly my right hand begins to quiver and then move about on its own. The sensation is queer. It looks, and feels, as if some ghost or magic is manipulating the arm. Its fingers grips and releases, then the whole arm moves.

The last vestiges of the army walk off as Ultima’s hand continues to explore freedom of movement. I step back away from the balcony with a gentle wave of my other hand to everyone still present. Now, the privacy of my own room!

“Alright, this is off-putting. Let’s right to grab something with both hands. The diary over there on my desk will do.” I walk us closer and then we both try to grab the diary – hand on each side. Hers is a second slower than mine and misses the grasp. “Noticeable difference. Not sure how this is useful or levelling up duality.”

“What about combat? What if you do the sword play and I do the leg movement?”

“That’d only work if we restored mental communication. So we need to figure that part out first, or else I would broadcast my every move when I asked you to move me somewhere. We need to be in synchronicity.”

“Well, only way to get near that is to practice. Let’s try meditating and not talking. Try to tear that wall back down we’ve somehow erected between us?”

“How about… a hole? I’m still slightly terrified that you might replace me.”

“That fear probably is the wall, doofus.”

“Doofus?! Human fool!”

“Not human anymore!”

“Human enough to me! Little wretch!” Our arguing goes back and forth until we inevitably settle and attempt the whole meditation thing. Control of my deepest fear – can’t be hard right?

That afternoon we stand in the courtyard. General Heth has had his men draw a few circles on the ground. A solid line divides the makeshift arena. “Princess, Prince, as I have mentioned and shall be performing today. Melee combat basics and dueling with swords and daggers,” he smiles widely.

“Do not make the mistake of assuming this training makes you combat capable. It will prepare you for one-on-one combat. In the battlefield, ideally, you would not get in range of the enemy. That is what me and my troops are for. Yet, unfortunately, skills and magics permit the enemy to bypass warfare and engage directly. Likewise, skills and magics permit you to avoid that enemy. At the end of the day, those abilities will determine the winner in an uneven combat.”

I stand here listening to him talk. Gel interrupts my train of thought as well as General Heth. “Does this mean learning melee skills is pointless?”

“Absolutely not. What will you do when out of mana? What will you do if your skills are equal to theirs? So forth and such, you get my point Princes Gel.” His rotund frame moves towards one of his officers.

“That also means, you cannot make assumptions. I for one, am quite hefty. Vasynth here, is quite petite for a man. Enemies quite regularly make assumptions of our combat capabilities. Vasynth, defend.”

Heth’s bulky body moves faster than I expected he could. The big man practically dwarfs Vasynth as he tries to down him in a grapple. Yet, Vasynth’s legs dig in as he redirects the momentum. The Heth continues to move forward, now beside the weapon rack. He grabs a wooden pike from it and smoothly jabs the blunted end against Vasynth’s side. Vasynth had been mid turn to face Heth.

All of this played out in seconds. Gel and I stand with our jaw’s dropped. Ultima’s emotions of shock flood over my mental wall.

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“In short, do not underestimate your foe. Perhaps you thought I was slow due to my weight? That Vasynth was weak because he is petite? Or that if I grabbed a sword, he would have a chance to turn? Even if you did not think this, others might. Weaponize assumptions. Be aware of assumptions.”

We nod our heads rapidly as he continues to lecture. “You must learn to read your opponent’s assumptions. Understand how he is acting upon them. Then put yourself where he will be. Vasynth, what did you plan to do?”

“Sir, I expected you to roll to go for the sword, as we have thus far only talked of sword play. So, I decided to turn to face you rather than increase the distance. I assumed that my distance was sufficient to react to a sword, Sir.”

“Any veteran here can tell you,” Heth continues, “That this line of thinking translates to everything. Replace assumption with stance. Read your opponent’s stance. Understand how he applies them. Then adjust yourself accordingly.” He summons a flaming ball into his hand, “Or read your opponent’s magic, understand its possible effect, and prepare your counter. So on, and so forth. Not entirely perfect but if you start with learning this mindset based on assumptions, you can apply it anywhere.”

I raise my hand, “What if you throw the fireball at me right now? I have no water magic or wind magic. How would I adjust myself to the fact I have nothing to respond with?”

“There is never a situation where you will never have an option. You could simply run. Shield yourself behind objects. Call upon an ally who has counter items. Or plan ahead to cover your known weaknesses. Perhaps a counter magic item for situations where you are in over your head. Perhaps bracing yourself to get burned but use that opening to attack.”

“That makes sense, but that also means I need to accept the fact I’m going to get burned,” Ultima uses my mouth to speak. Thankfully, prior preaching has helped her understand how to not give us away.

“Yes. If you are in combat, you must understand and accept the fact that you will get hurt. Possibly killed. You manage this threat, but you will never completely remove it.”

A few more words of wisdom are given to us and within a very short time I find myself with a wooden arming sword. The weight is close to what a proper sword would feel like, I am told. Even though we are using fake swords, General Heth has fitted us with padded armor and helmets.

“Armor will not protect every point of your body. It isn’t meant to give you full protection. Learn your armor’s weakness and exploit its strengths.”

Soon I am in the sparring circle with Vasynth as my foe. We are going over appropriate stances and a general explanation of how not to get myself killed right away. His petiteness is probably why Heth pit him against me. “Just because I’m a woman, don’t underestimate me,” I grin at him.

“Never planned to,” he says with a wry smile before moving in to strike. I parry and turn, trying to slide my blade down his. He simply spins his sword down and jabs my gut with a little force. “Again,” he says before stepping back to start.

A few hours of this has me soaked in sweat, exhausted, and only somewhat more educated in the art of swords. Ultima speaks up with my voice, “That was quite educational, one more time? I just need better legwork I think?” Ah, that’s her plan, a quick test of duality.

“Alright, let’s go once more,” Vasynth replies. He steps up to the line, ready to fight. I however, let my arms go from my mind. It feels weird, tingly even, as Ultima grips the weapon and does some test swings to the side. I step up to the line and we begin.

Vasynth pushes forward immediately with a feint. Ultima doesn’t fall for it as I take a step back at the same time. I shift my position to the right, keeping my torso aimed at him while Ultima turns her sword slightly. Vasynth goes for a swing towards our legs, Ultima deflects the blade to the side and makes her own thrust for his chest. Yet, I feel a hit to my side. Vasynth had reversed his swing back into my torso, with Ultima thrusting forward we had been left defenseless from his free blade.

“Good attempt, Loria. Improvement upon earlier but you assumed you had an opening. Takes time to get used to this, don’t feel too bad,” he says with a smile. I simply nod as I take control back from Ultima.

“You got me good. Thank you for the lesson,” Ultima says, before I chime in, “I really appreciate your time.”

“No need to be so humble, Princess. It’s our duty to help,” he bows, horns poking out of his teal hair. “If you’ll excuse me, Princess, it is time to quit. I have a pub with my name on it.”

“You own a pub?” I ask quizzically, confused. Ultima chimes in, “Just kidding. Enjoy your evening.” I scowl mentally but then all-to-late the realization of what he meant dawns on me. Ultima actually saved me from embarrassing myself.

Prince Gel walks off, speaking to me from a few paces away. “Tomorrow morning lets meet for breakfast. I’m a bit tired now, but I’d like to socialize a bit more before we kill ourselves training.” He smiles pleasantly before seeing himself off.

General Heth hums and then comments to me on my training. “Loria, you fight too brash. Fast and hard training will not see you in the field helping your father. You must earn that skill. Both the system’s skill and actual skill. Technique and understanding of technique can make or break a warrior. I do not want to see you killed because you rushed at someone to soon.”

“I understand, we will – I mean, I will try better. Thank you for your education and good night.” I make my way to my bedroom for the evening – kicking pebbles in the walkway.

“Geeze, don’t act like a sulking child,” Ultima chimes in as she takes my body briefly and begins going through the stones on the ground. Like a child.

“I am not sulking. I just thought I’d naturally be better at this because of my father… if anyone is being immature, it is you right now.”

Ultima picks up a green rock with some carvings on it. “Oh, pretty. Yeah well, I happen to like rocks. I could have been a geologist you know?” She pockets it in my outfit. MY outfit… but given earlier, I suppose I’ll permit her to keep it.

“You? A geologist? That’s rich.” My eyes wander up to the darkening sky as we head back inside.

///////////////////////////

Unknown point of view

A small imp scurries down from the populated markets and to our meeting point in a dark alleyway far from the castle. What a menace. Typical of a monster, especially a demon, it is unfaithful to even his own king. I melt out from the shadows and in behind the little troublemaker.

[https://i.imgur.com/AqUW4gU.png]

“Gah! Y-you! Do not surprising of me, e –”

I grab its throat and narrow my eyes. “Not another word on that. Tell me, did you do the task I asked?” I relax my grip only enough to let it speak.

“Yes! Yes. Skimska do as told. Put rocks there. Big pretty palace.”

“Great. Now, what is all this army stuff over? Why is your king leaving?”

“Guh, no know. Not knowing. Army go marching. Marchy march-march,” it sputters out while making a little walk gesture with its legs dangling in the air.

“You don’t know? Really? Are you sure you didn’t see anything?” I demand. I know the little shit probably knows something. “I know the demon king is marching out but to where?” It shivers in fear as it simply tries to resist my questioning. With a deep sigh, I state one last warning: “Your loyalty is about to get you killed.”

“Guh! You promise money! Safe-safe and money! Not safe, no more information!”

“Fine, I was going to kill you anyways, so let’s do it the hard way,” I sigh with frustration. Killing him outright is easier than this and an imp’s memories aren’t exactly the most pleasant things to sift through.

> Skill activated: Vielfraß, Level 76

My jawbones break apart in multiple places with a series of pops and crackles. Thanks to it being a result of the skill, it is mostly painless. The imp pleads to me for mercy, but I quickly silence those pitiful protests. Feh. It tastes like sulfur, dirt, and rotten fish! This is why I wanted him to just talk, gods damnit.

It briefly struggles in my mouth before I paralyze it with a swift crunch to the neck. The muffled screams go silent, and my tongue slides the body into my gut. Second it is done, I spit right onto the ground. “I hate that taste.”

> Skill activated: Inherited Memories, Level 39

My jaw fuse back into place. Within the memories I find what I seek. A teal haired officer shooing the imp away. Seems the imp has seen this officer there many times in his short life. Usually begging for coins, heh. I roll back through the memories even more, trying to find a path to that location.

> Skill activated: Shade, Level 89

I silently meld back into the shadows, vanishing from sight and normal reality. The world becomes a place of gray shadows, and I can only see a few meters ahead of me. Traveling the path while still processing the memories isn’t quite easy but I’m in no rush. I take my time.

The God of the Forest blesses me with the shade of his great tree. Ahead was a pub, near to the castle. They mimic normal people far too much for my liking. If you did not know what to look for you’d almost think they were civilized.

The sun is slowly setting from the sky above. Twilight approaches and my powers wax to their fullest now. Patience is key. Patience like a tree of the forest. Like a river steadily finding its way. Patience always pays off. Always. As long as you set things up right… and there he is.

Not an unsightly demon, if he were human I might even have a desire for him. He is quite slender and petite for a man, qualities one can only find in nobility who never perform hard labor. Yet enough muscle to indicate he does serve in combat for the demon military.

> Skill activated: Morph Form, Level 37

Form of a pleasant looking demon will work just fine. So, with a practiced ease, I slip into reality again. Calmly I join the groups making their way into the pub, following that teal hair to the bar.