Yumiko was slightly annoyed but smiling on the outside. She walked through the field to Laon.
"Your test is to fight me. If you can land a hit, you can join the guild, there are 3 rules," Laon said while holding up three figures, then looked at Xavier.
"Seal my enemies in a box of solitude, capsule!" Xavier said.
He and Sumay, with her sword over her shoulder, watched from outside of the fences, and then a light blue square barrier appeared around the field's fences.
"1 you can't leave until one of us loses, 2 no spells, you're not a mage so that shouldn't be a problem, 3 no holding back. I can take it and that goes for both of us, aim to kill," Laon said, putting down a figure after each rule.
He held up his longsword with his right hand with a smile.
Well, isn't he confident? Summon Scarlet twin blades, Yumiko thought then felt a sudden rush as she looked at Laon's smiling face, Huh-what is this…feeling? Am I…nervous? No. There's no way a bug could make me nervous, right..?
Laon and Yumiko were standing opposite, a little distance away from each other. Yumiko started to sweat, she went into a battle stance, with her left hand blocking her face as she clenched her blades. She rushed to Laon, and when she was close, she swung, trying to hit him. He stood still until the last second then dodged to the side and turned.
He used the dull side of his sword to hit her back, as she passed him. She was knocked to the ground, then he kicked her, with his hands behind his head. Yumiko flew to the other side of the field, she hit the barrier wall injuring her back a little and coughed up some blood as a result. She slowly got up, not standing straight.
"I know, I said no holding back but if I didn't use the dull side of my sword you'd probably be split in two. I'm so nice!" Laon said happily with a smile.
Ugh! This guy is so annoying but he's not wrong, he's obviously holding back. He's much more powerful than he looks and he's fast. I didn't know what was happening until it hit me, Yumiko thought. Activate ELA… Ha! My heart is racing, I love it! But how can I win this?
Laon put his hands down and swung his sword from the ground upwards, a wave of wind and a little dirt went crashing toward Yumiko. Holy shi-! She thought as the wind blade came to her, she jumped out of the way just in time and landed on the ground.
The wind blade hit the barrier, the ground shook and a lot of smoke appeared in the area it hit. Yumiko turned to look, then turned back and looked at Laon.
Yeah, real nice! Is this bug actually trying to kill me?!- Wait… I can use this. "Is that all you got? You talk a big game but that was pretty sad, you didn't even hit me!" Yumiko said, taunting him, after getting up.
"Huh, sad? Are you trying to get me upset? Alright, I'll bite" Laon said with a smile then swung his sword again.
The same thing happened again but this time was worse. Yumiko dodged, he did it again and again faster and stronger each time. She kept dodging over and over moving all around, slowly running out of stamina until the capsule was full of smoke and you couldn't see anything.
Laon was in the centre of the barrier, he hadn't moved from where he was, while Yumiko circled him.
"So, that's what she's playing at" Laon whispered to himself as he looked around in the smoke, "This won't work you know? I might not be able to see you but I can sense you and you can't see me either"
Yumiko attacked from the smoke, launching herself from an upper part of the barrier straight down to him like a bullet, Laon dodged.
"Or can you?"
No, I can barely see but you haven't moved from that spot, the entire time and after years of playing games in the dark at night this is nothing. You'd think I would have bad eyes but they just got better, Yumiko thought as she ran around the capsule and tried to land a hit on Laon.
Yumiko tried to hit him moving faster and faster but he was still much faster than her. She then felt her blade graze something in her attempt to hit Laon, did she land a hit on him? Still running around the barrier, Oh- did I hit him!? She thought.
"Ok, that's enough," Laon said.
He moved to Yumiko in a second, she stopped in her tracks. Laon swung the dull part of his sword and hit her down, cutting part of her clothes. The smoke cleared soon after.
When Xavier saw Laon's sword pointed at Yumiko's head as she was on her knees, looking down at the ground, he took the barrier down and Sumay rushed to her master while he went to Laon.
"You always go overboard and she was already injured too," he said, then turned to Yumiko.
Sumay kneeled to help her master, but Yumiko just looked up at Laon's face.
"I landed… a hit," she said.
Laon realised his cheek was bleeding. He used his thumb to wipe off some of the blood leaving a smudge then he looked at his finger.
"Hmm? Not bad, kid. You got a hit in!" Laon laughed and crossed his hands, "That plan of yours wasn't bad either! You're pretty decent for a rookie" he said as he looked down at her.
"Master, would you like me to dispose of him?" Sumay said with a blank look but an annoyed tone in her voice.
"Hey! Let me finish, you pass, you did land a hit. And I like your hair, it's a beautiful scarlet that reminds me of the core. Okay but all jokes aside, you're a quiet thinker and skilled, you have potential, kid"
"Thank you, sir, and sorry about what I said. I was just trying to make you angry" Yumiko said with that heart-warming smile.
Even while she was bleeding, her hair a mess and her clothes a little torn, that smile was that of an angel's.
Yeah, I said that to make you mad and it isn't correct but I'm not sorry, you disgusting bug, Yumiko thought, still annoyed at Laon, But as annoying as this bug was, this was still thrilling!
"Let's go back to the guild hall, there's a med bay, I'll heal you there," Xavier said.
"Okay," she said, then started to get up.
"Master, do you need help?"
"Yeah thanks, Suma-" Yumiko tried to say but was interrupted by Sumay picking her up, holding her in the princess style.
Ahhh… Yeah, okay this is fine.
Sometime later, in the guild hall on the second floor.
In the med bay, a small room with three beds on either side of the room and a big shelf at the back with light pink coloured poisons in glass bottles on the top few shelves, the middle shelves had all kinds of mads and the bottom was empty.
Yumiko was sitting on the edge of the middle bed on the right of the room, Sumay was beside her at the end of the bed with her sword by the bedside and Xavier was sitting on a chair in front of Yumiko.
"Gods above, let me be the reason my allies are whole once again, heal"
Gods Healing II:
This spell, at its current stage, allows its user to heal anyone's injury, as long as the injury isn't fatal, using the caster's mp
Gods healing? ELA must still be on, deactivate. I sure have activated it earlier so I could have learned that barrier spell. But I know a healing spell now, so that's good and I passed! Maybe not with flying colours, like always but a win is a win.
Xavier said with both his hands together and his eyes closed. Then Yumiko's injuries started to heal, the bleeding disappeared and the wounds closed, her clothes were fixed too in the process.
How are my clothes being stitched back together, that doesn't make sense, then again, this is a fantasy world.
"All done and congrats on passing the test," Xavier said with a smile as he opened his eyes, "You can come back tomorrow, for your ID and do your first guest"
"Does Sumay get an ID too?"
"Ah, if you want we can make one for her too but before that, I need you to know how the adventures guild works"
"In the guild, there are 8 ranks. A-G are the main, this is also how we rank monsters and monster areas, you need to be a rank above a monster for you to take a guest to fight it. That goes for monster areas too" Xavier said.
That would mean Sumay is a C or higher summon, the forest was a D-rank area but she was going through it like it was nothing… and I beat two of its more powerful monsters! Ahh! Aren't I just amazing!