If I have to be completely honest, the situation is not looking that great.
Orvick might have passed a Gold Skill Crystal to , which finally gave
an Offensive Skill, but I barely got any practice with it.
I breathe deeply and I see Clayton and the others being completely taken aback by the sword. However, their bravado returns as they realize it’s a five vs one situation.
“Look at him clutching that shiny trinket,” the tallest scoffs. “Bet it’s just a lantern disguised as a sword.”
“That glow’s nothing,” another chis in. “He’ll swing once, and the spark will fizzle.”
“Bluffing, all of it,” says the third, slapping his thigh. “Old Orvick probably pald him a dud Skill Crystal for laughs and scamd the boy.”
“You will all regret this,” I say, narrowing my eyes.
Clayton and his four friends close the distance in a loose semicircle.
Clayton grins at their chorus, lifts his sword, and the circle tightens.
I drive my foot into the cobblestone and swing upward, forcing the skill to ignite. A flash of golden light spills from the sword, and for an instant, the world brightens. Two of them recoil, their flesh scorched where the glow licked against it, and one staggers back, clutching his shoulder as he yells curses. Clay??ton’s eyes go wide, and he hesitates.
I don’t pause to savor it. I step through the opening Clayton forgot to close, and I angle the blade so that the residual energy slices the ground between his feet. The stone cracks in a thin line, and he stumbles over it as if he’s lost his footing entirely.
“Give up now and we’ll let you live!” Clayton barks.
I look at them and realize that even if I create more flas, there’s no way I’m going to win this. My mana is already at half tank.
But I have a little trick ready for you idiots.
Clayton’s friends rush . I yank the Mana Pool Skill Crystal from my pouch, absorb it, and feel my heart swell until every heartbeat thunders like a drum.
You guys thought this was all the sword could do? I snicker as I release the flaming sword.
Thanks to one of the diagnostic lines of The Grimoire Extraordinaire, I found out that there’s a hidden effect that the Skill Crystal itself hadn’t communicated .
Grimoire Extraordinaire – Flaws of the Hell’s Sword (Gold)
Mana draw while active: 23.2 MP per heartbeat.
Additional Mana draw while flying: 74.2 MP per heartbeat
I whisper a command, and Hell’s Sword tears free of my grip.
The mana drain digs deep in my gut. I feel the new Mana Pool stretch.
I flick two fingers, and the sword answers faster than thought. It darts across the room and pierces a guy through the chest, pulling him off the ground for a mont from the force of the impact.
This is a Gold Skill for you… they’re just fools without class levels.
I order the blade to circle back and on its way I have it cleave a guy in two, spilling his guts all over Orvick’s floor.
The next two go pretty much in the sa way until there’s only
and Clayton left.
“You spoke about Orvick like he was trash,” I say. My voice shakes, not from fear but from fury. “You thought a week’s quota and a Silver Skill Crystal toy mattered more than a man who spent fifty years breaking rock for his family.”
Clayton spits on th eground. “Kill , then. The Guild will never let you walk free after this.”
“The Guild can co,” I answer. “I am done crawling in shafts while you and Luthor gamble with our bones.”
I let the sword fly and I don’t even look back as it kills the man.
If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
* * *
We put Orvick in the ground at first light when the cold still keeps the dirt loose. I work the shovel until the pit reaches my chest, and Reese and Hayes brace two rough planks to cradle the body while Knox watches the lane. The soil sticks to our boots and stains the cuffs of our trousers, and the only sound is the hiss of each blade cutting earth because none of us wants the silence that follows.
When the hole stands ready, we lift Orvick on a canvas sheet. I set his favorite pick—Reese told
which one was it—across his chest, and I wedge an old lantern he liked to polish beside his knee. A few miners, the ones with enough backbone to show, form a ring and drop small chips of silver onto the shroud. The clatter is thin, yet it sounds like the rock itself agrees to rember him.
We don’t say much. We’re miners, not poets. A few, including , shed a few tears.
Then, we ease him down, and the first shovelful lands with a dull thud that rattles my arms. We keep shoveling until the mound rises, and I plant the pick’s worn haft at the head.
Sunlight bleeds over the ridge as we finish.
I’m sitting on a plank of wood close to Orvick’s grave when I see Reese co and sit next to .
“I was at Orvick’s place. He wanted
to divide the stuff between us old tirs.”
I look at Reese, imdiately understanding what’s happening.
Oh, he knows I killed the bastards.
“You should probably skip town. I got family in Clearbay,” he says, handing
a piece of parchnt. “My letters are not good, but they’ll know it’s . Stay with them for a while. You want to beco a Knight, right? There are a few Dungeons in Clearbay and you can take a boat to capital when you feel like taking the entrance exam. Also, you should probably take this too.”
Luthor takes a sack and pulls out a long red cloak from it.
“It was Orvick’s son. I don’t think any of the guys will want it. Orvick wanted his son to beco a Knight but the poor bastard had an accident in the tunnels right before the old man could buy him the right Skill Crystal—which I guess he gave to you. If my other guess is right, he would have wanted you to have this.”
I take the cloak—it feels soft and light, but also warm.
“I—I don’t know what to say,” I tell Reese, looking at the cloak and the piece of parchnt.
“Thank you’s enough, kid. You made us enough money we might retire now. We never expected even to get a few golds. You… we prepared so provisions—well, we’re preparing them as we speak. Hayes is taking care of it. You’ll want to avoid the road for a few weeks. The Guild will find out and Luthor will tell them it’s you. Do you know the surroundings? Have you got any family that can help?”
“Not that I speak to,” I smile bitterly. “But, don’t worry. I know the land. I’ll walk to Clearbay. It’ll take a while but I should be able to get there without too much trouble.”
“Good, good,” Reese says, looking at
and awkwardly patting my shoulder. “You’re a good guy, kid. Good luck with your Knight business.”
The awkwardness of the situation makes
erupt in laughter and Reese, too, smirks.
“Thanks, I’ll do my best.”
Six Weeks Later
“Milady, are you sure about this?” A bodyguard Knight asks after the umpteemth ‘shortcut’ their lady ordered them to take.
Around them, the lagoon stays silent except for the loud buzzing of insects and chirping of crickets.
“I said, that way!” Felisia Clearwater, daughter of Sigmund Clearwater, Lord of Clearbay, orders.
“Milady,” the driver of the carriage says, exasperated, “can’t we just take the road again? I’m not even sure where we are anymore. We’re probably days away, still!”
“I don’t like that tone, Richard!” Felisia stomps her boot on the mushy ground, the lagoon around Clearwater and narrows her eyes. “I said, that way!”
Before they can enter the carriage again, the butler, Greyson, unsheaths his longsword.
“Who goes there?! I can feel your presence!”
An haggard young man cos out of a few bushes and falls to their knees.
“Thank the Gods! I found soone!” He cries out. “My goodness, good sirs, have you got any idea how easy it is to get lost in this stupid lagoon?! I’ve been surviving on boiled water and fish for weeks!”
“Eew,” Felisia says, looking at the holess man. “Greyson, kill that thing. I don’t want monsters roaming the lagoon like this.”
“Milady,” Greyson clears his voice and sheaths his sword again, clearly feeling the guy’s not a threat. “I don’t think that’s a monster. I believe that to be a young man.”
“That? Eew. Can’t we kill him all the sa? I find his presence disgusting.”
The guard looks at the muddy cloak of the guy and raises an eyebrow.
“Milady, that’s illegal. We don’t have cause.”
“He bothers , that’s the cause.”
“Hey! I didn’t say anything! You can’t just kill !”
Felisia looks at Greyson with a ‘see, what did I tell you?’ expression and the Knight facepalms.
“Guy, you might want to go in that direction. That’s where the road should be. Then, go north. That’s where Clearbay is.”
“Greyson! Let’s go! I need to go ho to train or those stupid sisters of mine will win the trial!”
Greyson nods and gives a sympathetic smiles to the guy.
“Wait! Train?! I—I can help! In fact, I’m a Tutor! I can help you train whatever Skill you have! Errr—I want a ride in return!”
Felisia turns again to look at the guy and then at Greyson.
“Why haven’t you killed him yet?”
Reviews
All reviews (0)