We had two days before the mission and things still weren't completely secured. I managed to get Vye and Arga on board but Veldor was still a maybe…
It was safe to say that at that point, I was beyond nervous.
After giving everything in my inventory to Arga, she buried herself in the smithy and hadn't left. Now and then I checked on my map but she never budged, she must have been lasered in on working on all our gear.
Good, we'll need the best she's ever made if this is going to work!
"Don't get distracted unless you wanna eat dirt!"
A sudden kick to my face sent me flying off my feet uncontrollably. I tumbled across the ground and just as Vye stated, my face dragged through the rough ground.
My body ached from the few kicks beforehand but that one was a cut above the rest. I must have upset her by zoning out like I did. I learnt a new side of Vye I hadn't seen before.
"Sorry… it won't happen again." I stood up and took my fighting position.
Vye had offered to train me in our spare time before leaving. According to her, the odds weren't looking good with how weak I was. I thought I was much stronger than before but once we started sparring, the difference in our skill became quite clear.
How is she overpowering me like this, I levelled up like crazy since last we fought?!
I spun through the air and brought my leg overhead, it crashed down and Vye disappeared under my heel. She vanished into a blur and appeared at my side with a fist in my gut. Before I had the chance to react to the pain, she had already lined up another blow to my face.
It was an easy one-two combination but even though I could see it clearly, I was powerless to stop it. It was as if my body wouldn't get off its ass and move like how I wanted it to.
"Your movements are so sluggish. Are you sure you're an adventurer, with movements like that you're much more suited for life as a statue."
I balled my fist,
"Tch! Here I thought I got stronger… Was I just fooling myself?"
I buried my fist in the ground and a shocking pain rushed up my arm from the impact. It stung but I was too angry to care.
"It's the opposite, you got too strong in such a short amount of time."
My eyes widened, I looked at her with disbelief and Vye grinned.
"What, you didn't figure that much out? Haven't you been following my movements and felt something is off?"
She was right, I could barely see her attacks the last time we fought but since levelling up, I could see it much clearer. It was still by no means perfect but I wasn't blind to her movements anymore. My body felt like it wouldn't respond because it didn't know how to.
I clenched my fists and stared intently at them as if something were meant to jump out from my hands at any moment.
I need to learn to control this or I won't be able to do anything to stop Mister Eren… I need to get stronger!
I followed Vye's teachings and made sure to clear my mind before anything else. I took a deep breath and released it slowly. By the time I breathed in again, my head felt clearer.
"Vye, come at me again please," I said with my fists raised.
She grinned, "That's what I like to hear, kid."
***
"Huff…Puff…I can't…breathe…!"
I was laid out on the ground, completely winded. The evening breeze froze the air that raced in and out of my throat. Every breath stung with a sharp pain down my lungs.
We had trained on and off for two days straight and finally, the night before the mission had arrived.
No matter how much I improved in our fights, Vye only continued to attack with more and more ferocity. It was like an endless onslaught, I gravely feared I wasn't going to make it through her training. A boss-grade beast that never took damage, Vye was truly monstrous.
According to her, I had the ideal body for training, whatever she taught me seemed to stick pretty easily. So it was one thing after the other, she got more and more excited the longer she pounded on me.
Thanks to that I finally seemed to have some kind of sense with my new strengths but even so, my movements were still sluggish. I had a long way to go and with no time left to reach it.
I had one stop left before calling it a night, ASH. I pulled myself off the ground and limped towards the building with heavy steps.
Kana waited outside, the lights were still on even at such a late hour. I didn't want to believe the horror stories she had told me about their late hours at work but it looked like every bit of it was true.
She looked nervous, her eyes constantly darted back and forth between the different streets, probably looking for me. I didn't keep her waiting long so I didn't know why she looked that worried.
"Kana, are you alright? You look more worried than usual."
"Rei?! You're finally here, thank goodness!"
Her eyes lit up with a thrilled glimmer as she rushed to hold me. She grabbed hold of my arms and inspected me from head to two like I was some kind of rare specimen.
"I thought you might have run off on your own but you actually waited three days!"
"Of course I did… you told me to trust you after all." I answered.
The corners of her mouth curled upwards,
"Yes, I did. It took me a while but I managed to secure it, your ace in the hole!"
She looked overconfident with the bag she had wrapped tightly around her side. From it, she pulled out a thin parcel. It was in the shape of a tube, it must have been extremely delicate because of the double wrapping she had over it.
I undid it all and inspected the item gingerly. From the way Kana wrapped and cared for it, she made it seem like some kind of priceless artefact. My nerves returned to the surface the closer I got to revealing it.
"A scroll?"
I rolled it out and examined the aged paper and its contents. It was a single page with strange writing at random spots on the page, it was something I couldn't read at all. It had a familiar design that I recognised instantly.
"Is this Tower language?"
"Yes, that's where that item originally came from."
My eyes expanded and I nearly dropped it from surprise.
Tower language is just as it sounds, it was the runic texts that appeared naturally on Tower walls and in dungeons. Nobody quite knew where they came from but it usually always related to powerful abilities and magic.
"If this came from the Tower then… Kana, please tell me I'm not holding a priceless scroll?!!."
Kana rubbed the back of her head and avoided direct eye contact as she spoke,
"Sorry, but I'd be lying if I said that. That's not just any scroll, it's a Gold-ranked scroll."
{Gold-Ranked Scroll: ?????}
{Effects: ?????}
"…?!!"
My mind went numb, I couldn't believe my eyes. Not only were common scrolls rare but they were unfathomably pricy, especially the higher-grade ones.
Just touching it was enough to make my head dizzy, if I somehow managed to damage it, even slightly, I knew I would have had to pay it off until the day I died.
If I dared to use it, the effects of the scroll would vanish and crumble. In other words, they were one-use-only items marked as the rarest kind.
And for some reason, I ended up with one in my hands…