Chapter 5: My Progress
"Squee," Pina called out to me as the carriage moved down the road.
I shook myself awake, "Sorry about that." It was just past midday and we had left Wester several hours ago. We couldn't stay to help with the bandits but Ardent had made sure that they wouldn't wake up for at least 32 hours. Magic sure was a scarily handy thing to have.
It was a nice day despite all that had happened this morning and like usual I found a nice place to stop for lunch. A few trees for shade and an expanding view of a meadow. In the distance wild animals could be seen grazing. They were big creatures called Borcs and a staple animal to breed for both their materials and milk. It was actually rare to see a wild herd so close to the road.
"Wow look at all them Borcs," Marley stared at them with wide eyes. Her mouth began to water, "If we hunted one we could get some fresh meat."
"Marley!" the Hero reprimanded her in shock.
"What? They taste good."
Overhearing them I smiled and approached, "No, you don't want to hunt wild Borcs. In the wild the food they eat is harder to digest, it makes their meat tougher. Their milk however can be incredibly rich due to their wide diet. Of course milking a wild Borc is something few would ever try."
"Hmm I see," Marley nodded as if having been told a serious truth. She looked at me expectantly, "Still I'm hungry for a good steak."
"I don't have anything prepared right now but maybe for dinner." Her enthusiasm caused me to give in.
"Yes!" she cheered and happily went off.
I watched the Hero chase after her. The two looked like a younger and older sister though their ages weren't that far apart for all the mischief Marley caused. Compared to the last time I made it this far the Hero was as dazzling as usual. Despite the risk I put myself in I felt it was worth it. When I took their equipment to maintain, her sword was pure with barely a scratch on the blade. Seeing it I had to smile.
As I was busy preparing I turned to suddenly see Ronalt's oppressively large body appear in front of me. For a moment my heart froze as the memory of him killing me shot into my mind. I forced it down before anyone could notice.
"D-did you need something?" I asked politely.
He thrust a long wooden case towards me, "This is for you from the guards of Wester. Apparently you saved some of their lives and they wanted to show their gratitude."
"Ah thanks?" I took the case and opened it. It was a long bow and a fine one at that. Just looking at it I could see the expert craftsmanship. It was much better than the ones I had used before but at the same time my heart lurched at the sight of it. It was clear that the bow wasn't made for hunting, or at least not for simple game. This was a bow for war. Had it been before I would have never fathomed owning such a thing, but now….
I bowed my head, "I gratefully accept it."
"Good," Ronalt nodded and turned away.
To be honest I didn't know what to feel. Yes I wanted a bow to be able to defend myself. It was the only weapon that I really knew how to use. The thing was, I never saw the bow as a weapon. It was a tool. In Axel it helped hunt for food, a way to relieve boredom, to entertain ourselves and sometimes to reach those high places we normally couldn't. The bow in my hands was made to kill. If it weren't for all the deaths I had faced before I would have shut it away. Now however, my grip tightened around the flexible wood, it was something I needed to live. It wouldn't just be the bow either, if I wanted to survive I needed to learn more.
My eyes fell to where Earnest stood alone. Despite his casual laziness he never forgot to swing his blade in practice. Such simple movements, up and down but each one held a tremendous weight I couldn't hope to match. Although he was mostly indifferent, he was the one who had killed me the most. Again and again, dying to his sword had ingrained just how terrifying of a man he could be. In other words, there could be no better teacher.
After lunch it was decided that we take a longer break to recover from this morning. I made my approach to Earnest. He and the Hero were talking and at the sight of me stopped.
"Sorry to disturb you," I bowed.
"No, it was nothing," the Hero quickly shook her head. "We were just talking about sword techniques. Did you need us?"
"Actually I wanted to ask about that, I mean what you were talking about." They both looked at me confused. "Excuse me," I cleared my throat. "After this morning I realised I lack many skills and one is swordsmanship. If possible I would like your guidance."
"Huh?" the Hero let out surprised as Earnest beside her flicked a smile onto his face. "Wait, you don't need to fight. That's our job."
Before I could reply Earnest spoke, "Lara you should not interfere with a man's choice to face the path."
"But-,"
This time I interrupted, "Sorry Hero, I'd like to learn."
She sighed and stepped back, "If you say so but please be careful. I know it's your job to care for us however that doesn't mean you need to die for us. I still think you shouldn't fight." Hearing her say that brought a melancholic smile to my face. It was too late to stop.
Earnest looked at me up and down, "You have a good physique and I can sense an interesting profoundness from you. Are you sure you haven't trained in the sword before?"
"Not that I can recall," I shook my head.
"Then fetch some practice swords, we'll see just where you stand."
I did as I was told and took a pair of wooden swords from the carriage. By now our actions had gathered the attention of the others. Ardent looked on with interest as did Taylor who smirked. Ronalt scowled but said nothing seeing the Hero had given her permission. Marley was on standby.
"Hold the sword," Earnest stood a few metres away from me.
I took up the piece of carved wood and raised it awkwardly. The only true weapons I had used before were the ones I had stolen form the guards when I had my little rampage. As much as I disliked the memories now, I focused on them and remembered how it felt.
"Let's see what you can do. Defend yourself," Earnest took a posture. As soon as he did my world flashed and my heart stopped. My instincts took over. I had seen that posture before too many times. The single slash that acted as three, just how many times had it killed me. My body moved before my mind could and I dashed forward as if to save my life.
Earnest swung in surprise. Just as he drew he blade our swords collided in an explosion of force. The wood shattered into splinters and I was thrown back. Pain wracked my body as I fell to the dirt. For a moment my eyes opened to see my arms twisted and mangled. Wooden splints stuck out of my body and dyed my clothes red. I died…, or at least I would have. A healing light surrounded me and suddenly the pain faded. Marley stood above me with a creepy smile.
"Are you crazy!?" I could hear the Hero screaming at Earnest who stared between her and I blankly. "You almost killed Rain. Why did you put in so much force?"
"I- well…. His approach surprised me," he frowned. "More so however…." He stepped past the Hero and stood over my body. "You blocked it."
"What?" it was the Hero's voice again.
"He blocked my strike," Earnest replied seriously. "You saw it yourself, did you not? Though my intention was never to hit him seriously, the fact remains."
"Well… I guess but," the Hero looked at me as I stared at them tiredly, "did he really?"
"Yes. If our swords had not been made of wood he would not be so injured."
"No, that's impossible. I can't even do that."
Earnest kept his attention to me, "How?"
My wounds had been healed despite their talking. I stood up clumsily and Marley backed away, though her eyes were plastered to my damaged clothing scarily.
"Umm what happened?" I asked while feigning ignorance. "I kind of panicked and swung. I'm just happy I'm not dead."
"You panicked and yet you were able to stop my technique?" Earnest's expression stiffened.
"You know what they say, with enough luck a novice can take down a Master," I laughed awkwardly. It wasn't like I could say how I learnt to block it. It wasn't something someone could stop unless they faced it numerous times and better yet I had died to it. Even I knew that technique defied logic and it wasn't like I could use it.
"So beginner's luck?" the Hero stepped between us.
"Interesting," Earnest seemed to accept my answer. "I'll continue to train you."
"Hold it!" I raised my hand. "The Hero was right, I'm not cut out for this. At least for now I think I'll stick to my own thing." After all my effort so far, dying here would break me. Thank the Goddess for Marley.
"If you say so. Tell me when you change your mind." He yawned, "I'm going to take a nap."
He walked off and entered the carriage. With him gone the Hero turned to me,
"So… really, how did you do it?" she looked at me with sincere curiosity. For a second I almost told the truth but my mouth quickly clamped shut.
"Sorry, I don't know," I shrugged. "I'm going to get changed."
As if she was just realising it now, her eyes stuck to my shown bare chest, my clothes having been torn apart. She backed away incredibly quickly. Well that hurt to see. I didn't think I was unattractive and I was pretty in shape.
I turned around, "Umm Marley…."
"Yes?"
"Just how long are you going to stare at me?"
"You have very nice blood," she smiled sweetly. I felt a chill down my spine.