Riang held a bread bun with beef as she walked towards her room. She bought it for 30 copper and was satisfied with it.
When the door opened, she saw Owen in an elbow plank position and confusion could be seen all over her face.
"What are you doing?" She went inside and closed the door with her foot.
Without reacting much, Owen replied, "I'm just pushing my body so that it doesn't turn rusty."
Riang took a bite off the bun of her sandwich. "That's a basic exercise… You can ask me for help if you want."
Owen looked at his progress.
==========
[Endurance Training Progress: 9/100]
[Strength Training Progress: 9/100]
==========
"Yeah, I think I might need that." He felt that looking like a stumpy legged pig isn't going to cut it.
Owen stood up properly which made the panel promptly disappear. The corresponding debuffs also faded away.
He then faced Riang and gestured, "We can start now."
"Wow, you're really eager." Riang's reply was minimal. Her attention wholefully poured on her food.
'It's free strength points, who would reject that?' Owen rolled his eyes inwardly.
Owen ignored her and said, "I'm really serious about this. Just help me in whatever way you can."
"Okay." Riang tossed the remains of the sandwich into her mouth and ate it.
Licking her fingers clean, she then said, "This training method is very basic and crude despite requiring soul energy. But trust me, it's quite a good method."
"What do I need to do?" Owen already planned to cooperate the moment he heard that soul energy was involved.
Even though he knew a lot about this world, the information was basically summarized. And that meant specific information like body training techniques would be impossible for Owen to replicate by himself.
"Take off the pauldrons, chainmail and your shirt." Riang said with slight aversion of her gaze as her eyes looked away from him.
"Alright." Owen took off the pauldrons and dropped them on the floor. His hauberk made a noise resembling that of small coins falling simultaneously, it made more ruckus than what he initially expected.
When Owen was about to take off his shirt, Riang quickly stopped him. She felt truly embarrassed while waving her hands around frantically before settling on her face, covering her eyesight.
"Hold on, hold on! What are you doing!?"
Owen stopped midway, clueless as to why Riang was acting that way. "What's wrong? You told me to take off my shirt."
"Yeah, but at least have some decency and turn around! Has anyone ever told you not to expose your bare chest?" Riang found it absurd that Owen was oblivious to common knowledge like that.
"But I'm a guy." Owen titled his head slightly.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Riang wasn't as flustered, but her face was still slightly red.
"Ah, right." Owen completely let one detail slip from his mind.
The roles of men and women are completely different from Earth. Here in Saeffaria, even men have to cover their chests up the same way women do.
'Hold on, why do I feel like I'm the woman in this scenario?' Owen coughed and turned around, only then did he take off his shirt.
He looked down and saw that there was a long scar line on the right side of his torso caused by his battle with Yuhmbir.
Thinking back now, he still hated that guy. And Ledasdore? Owen completely forgot about him.
The moment Riang saw Owen's body, she clicked her tongue in disapproval.
"I can tell from your back that you have a poor physique… Are you sure you do any physical training or exercise? Because even if you do, you must be doing terribly at it." As the daughter of a knight, Riang knew what a physically fit individual looked like.
Owen didn't respond. Since all he did was play games all day, it was natural that his physique wasn't the best.
Sure, he played basketball with Rocky and the gang sometimes, but that wasn't going to cut it.
"So, what do you have to do? I'm guessing that soul energy is going to play a huge part in this." Owen didn't find it too hard to guess. This was a feature in the game that one can get by paying a magical NPC to inscribe a rune on their characters for a buff.
It's just that he didn't know the specific details because it was impossible for the game to explain everything in such clear detail.
"Mhm, just stay put and let me do my thing. Go on, sit…. Oh, and make sure your back is facing me.. I don't want you to think that I'm taking advantage of you." Riang also sat down at the same time as Owen.
"Alright." Owen kept his back turned, finding her statement quite weird to listen to.
Seeing the scar on his back, Riang slowly touched it. "Wow, did a sword pierce your body?"
"Pretty much." Owen didn't deny it.
"Lucky you… Being stabbed in this area where a lot of organs are would've killed a person if they didn't receive medical attention or specialized healing." Riang could faintly see what the injury was like when it was still fresh. Just thinking about it makes her feel uncomfortable like there's an itch under her skin.
"Luck? I suppose you can say that." Owen's tone was listless.
He remembered that the reason why he had the [Debuff Knight] class was because of an impulse that only triggered because he happened to see a post about said class. Only then did he decide that it would be interesting to try out.
Putting it that way, luck definitely had a huge part to play.
"Mhm, I'll begin now." Riang pressed the tip of her thumb against her teeth.
She bit down hard and created a nasty wound, spilling blood out of it.
Using this blood, she began to draw on Owen's back. Owen felt a warm liquid sticking to his skin closely. It was just that, the liquid felt like there were very fine bits of sand in it.
Riang drew four crescent symbols in each corner of his back. Two on his shoulder blades, and two just above his pelvis. In the middle of them all, Riang's thumb slowly made abstract art of what seems to be an eagle with its wings spread wide open. Kind of like a tribal tattoo.
After that, she began to write small and intricate alternating symbols around the wings of the eagle.
*Vhoom…*
==========
[Riang Beisena (Level 7) - has inscribed the Level 2, 'Blood Furnace: Basic Training Rune' on your body]
[Effects: +1.2% Training Progress Speed, +0.2% Physique Training Improvement, +0.5% Strength Training Improvement]
Note: Because of your class ability, all rune effects will be inverted.
[Effects: -1.2% Training Progress Speed, -0.2% Physique Training Improvement, -0.5% Strength Training Improvement]
Duration: 2 Days, 23 Hours, 59 Minutes, 58 Seconds.
==========
'So it's all for nothing???' Owen cursed the inverted effects of the rune helplessly.
Seeing the [Physique Training Improvement] turn into negatives alongside the [Strength Training Improvement], Owen felt that it didn't make sense.
'So what? Is my physique going to be worse the more I train? That would be stupid if I got weaker the more weights I pump.' Owen jokingly thought to himself despite knowing that it wasn't true.
Of course, that is not going to happen. Instead, it will cause any kind of training progress that affects his strength and physique to be slowed down and reduced by the given percentages.
It wasn't as bad as what he told himself, but it's still bad nonetheless.
Riang pushed her thumb against her index finger to stop the bleeding. With her regeneration speed, a wound like this would be fully gone in half an hour or so. What she was doing right now is only to close the wound.
"So? How do you feel?" Riang felt her soul energy in the rune activating wildly. It meant that it was working just fine.
Clenching his fist before opening it once again, Owen replied, "Are you sure you drew the right rune? I feel weaker instead.."
"I'm sure I drew the basic training rune though… Did I remember it incorrectly?" Riang was a bit of a bookworm back in Silmoun. She loved to read basic soul energy theory and beginner rune inscription guides during her free time.
The 'Blood Furnace' series remained quite fresh in her mind, so she rejected any bubbling thoughts of drawing the wrong rune. She instead leaned on the more sensible reason that she may have made a mistake.
Riang inspected the rune that she drew and saw that she didn't make any mistakes.
"Are you sure you feel weaker? Or are you guessing wrongly?" Riang raised an eyebrow. She began to doubt Owen's judgement on this one.
"I can use soul energy too.. I wouldn't lie when it comes to something like this." Owen began to formulate excuses in his mind.
"Actually, I think I get why I feel weaker instead." He suddenly stopped and only turned his head around. It looked like he had a flash of insight, making it more believable to listen to.
Owen held his chin, snapped his fingers together and said, "Maybe because of the special parameters of this rune, it consumes some of my strength to remain on my body. Have you heard anything about rune parameters yet?"
He didn't bring this detail up for nothing. Rune parameters are indeed a thing. They serve as limitations for the rune in order to keep it working correctly.
Riang did try to read a high level rune inscription guide before and learned about parameters, so she didn't say no.
"Yes I have heard about parameters, but my knowledge about them is very insignificant.. I don't know anything about them at all except that they limit stuff."
Because she didn't know much, she was a bit more willing to believe Owen's hypothesis. Riang was also a beginner when it came to the principles behind soul energy and advanced rune theory, so when a more 'knowledgeable' person makes a statement, she couldn't refute it as long as it made sense.
"Since that's the case, do you know a rune that weakens someone instead?"
Riang became uncertain the moment she heard about Owen's new idea.
"Although I know about them, If you plan on using weakening runes on yourself to train your body, I don't think that's a good idea." Riang immediately warned Owen and decided against it.
Owen thought otherwise. "The training rune takes a toll on my body and not in a good way. You can treat the weakening rune as weights that you would use to train yourself. Plus, it's worth a shot."
Owen persisted in convincing her about it.
In the end, Riang gave in.
"Fine, but if something goes wrong, you shouldn't blame me for it." Riang began to 'erase' the eagle on Owen's back.
She placed her palm close enough for her to influence the rune. She was removing it by rapidly using the soul energy contained within the blood, causing it to evaporate with faint red smoke coming out of it.
From what Owen could see in his interface, the duration went from 2 days to one minute and thirty seconds.
The rune could be said to be entering a berserk state. Naturally, the effects also became stronger because of this. The duration will be expended faster, but the effects drastically improve.
Soon, when the last traces of blood faded, Riang began to draw a figure of a wailing man that looked like 'The Scream' painting. It was just that it was made up of long sharp shapes and lines. The fear in the man's open mouthed expression was very clear, unlike what the famous painting depicted.
Now that the parameters are drawn, she began to fill it in with small alternating symbols. It was a beginner's runesmithing technique.
==========
[Riang Beisena (Level 7) - has inscribed the Level 3, 'Torturous Incineration: Basic Weakening Rune' on your body]
[Effects: -1.7% Training Progress Speed, -1.3% Body Strength Exertion, +2% Stamina Depletion Speed, -1.1% Body Endurance]
Note: Because of your class ability, all rune effects will be inverted.
Effects: +1.7% Training Progress Speed, +1.3% Body Strength Exertion, -2% Stamina Depletion Speed, +1.1% Body Endurance]
Duration: 4 Days, 23 Hours, 59 Minutes, 58 Seconds.
==========
Riang put her hand away with uneasiness. "So uh… How do you feel this time?"
Owen suppressed his happiness and said, "Good, I feel a bit restrained, but it feels like I can give out more when I train."
"I really don't get how you think." Riang concentrated soul energy on her thumb, healing it in a short while.
"It's quite simple to understand that pressure squeezes out strength. That's what I'm doing." Owen turned around and faced her while sitting.
"By the way…. Regarding your offer, I'd appreciate someone helping me train." He added.
"Alright then, since you want real training, follow me." Riang stood up from her bed. "Also, get dressed before leaving.."
Owen began putting on his shirt and armor and covered his chest. Until now, he still felt strange about the whole thing.
After that, both of them left the room.
Riang locked the door behind them and walked down the stairs as Owen followed.
"Where are we going?" Owen rolled his shoulders around to feel the rune's effects better.
Riang covered her mouth as she yawned. "To sister Ezella.. I'm going to borrow some training swords."
"Ah, so we're going back to the training grounds?" Owen didn't have any problem with that.
"Nope, I have a better place in mind. It's where I train in my free time." Riang's tone went very easy as she spoke.
"Let me guess, it's in the forest?" Owen raised an eyebrow. He had an strong feeling that he was correct.
— Somewhere in the periphery of the Undbok Deep Forest.
"Here we are…" Riang placed one hand on her hip as she examined the surrounding trees.
Owen, while holding two wooden swords, began to speak in a sarcastic voice, "So here's where we'll train… How unexpected."
"Yep, Teacher Tiduer is busy, so I'll be the one guiding you this afternoon." Riang extended her hand towards Owen. "Toss me a sword…"
Owen clamped a wooden sword on his left armpit and threw the other one.
Riang caught it easily and raised it on her shoulder. "Right now, what are you trying to achieve? Do you want to learn some close combat? Looking at you, you must know something about swords… but with your current condition, I can teach you one handed sword combat if you aren't good in that aspect."
Before Owen could say anything, she extended her arm at him with her palm wide open as a 'stop' gesture.
"But don't expect anything too much. I'm not that good yet." Riang wanted to clear things up first.
She then fixed some stray hair strands on her face.
Owen didn't answer right away. He thought about a satisfactory answer that didn't seem too suspicious and made sure it fit the persona he was trying to make people believe.
"As long as you can teach me anything substantial, shoot your shot. I'm not a picky eater." Owen said with a shrug. "I haven't been able to do proper exercise in a while, so this should be quite helpful."
Caressing her chin, Riang acknowledged Owen's carefree attitude. "Hmm… Alright, but I do have some questions."
"I'm guessing this is important, so go ahead." Owen beckoned for her to keep talking.
"Very well then… For my first question, how long can you run for? And what's your limit when it comes to exercises that rely on your body weight, stretching exercises and finally, your skill level when it comes to a sword. Be honest though, I'm trying my best to guide you." Riang, like the systematic and organized girl that she was, wanted to do her best even when it comes to tasks that she took on.
Owen wanted to answer 'theoretically forever' and just be over it, but something told him that it wouldn't be a good idea.
Instead, he took it more seriously and answered, "Roughly an hour and sixty minutes, if you meant push-ups, squats or something similar, I'd say at least twenty each. I'm not that flexible, and my skills when it comes to swords are negligible."
Rianh frowned deeply. "You know, you need serious work."
"I'm still not done gauging your strength, so I'm going to have you block one punch from me. Put your hand out right now." Riang dropped her sword on the ground and clenched her fist.
Owen did as he was told and extended his right hand, ready to receive a firm hit.
Seeing that Owen was ready, Riang prepared her stance, fixed her feet's placement and punched with all her strength.
She twisted her hips, her shoulders moved in harmony like cogs in a machine, amplifying the momentum and force her body carried towards her arm and into her fist.
Her punch traveled through the air and struck Owen's fist. Immediately, his eyes contracted with a deep sense of danger. It felt like he was hit by a small cannonball hurled towards him.
*Bam!*
[-3 HP]
Owen fell over on his back. He was launched at least a few inches, the kinetic energy reverberating inside his body.
'What the f*ck was that punch??' Owen wasn't expecting the power behind her punch to be that high.
He knew to himself that if Yuhmbir and Riang were to fight with nothing but bare fists in ten rounds, Riang would win with a ratio of 10:0 given that they are both in their peak condition.
When he fought Yuhmbir, he was somewhat able to overcome him through debuffs carrying his back and he was still on the brink of losing despite that. The strength difference between them wasn't that easy to bridge.
Riang though? Owen had no confidence in defeating her. Probably if he had a weapon, he might, but his intuition told him that it wouldn't help as much as he was thinking.
Seeing Owen get knocked back by her punch, Riang was dumbstruck.
"What the- ? Even Oslan can block this just fine… If you want to become stronger, your training is going to be difficult." Riang regained her proper standing.
Even though intellectually, she accepted that Owen bested her when it came to information. But when it came to combat, she wasn't willing to be as subservient in a field that she's familiar with.
"Phew…" Owen exhaled softly. "Didn't I tell you that I am not in my strongest state?"
'At least I'm the one benefitting from this… And since it's free, I am not in the position to be complaining about it.' He consoled himself.
Riang helped him get up. "Whoever messed you up must have messed you up real good."
"Yeah, I'm sure that message has gotten through me before." Owen had never felt so much inclination to gain strength before.
"So, I guess we'll be here for a few hours. Are you sure you're up for this?" Riang asked, not sure if Owen's current state could last.
"Mhm." Owen hummed while dusting off his back.
"Store your sword first though." Riang pointed to the wooden sword on the ground.
Owen called out his inventory, stuffed the training sword inside and stood up properly. "Now what?"
Riang was still impressed with Owen's 'spatial magic' whenever she got a chance to see it.
"We run.. C'mon, don't fall behind too much." Riang held her sword, stretched her legs and took a moment to fix the placement of her feet.
After that, she began sprinting.
Owen didn't delay and ran alongside her.
The two of them ran for quite a while. Since they both have amazing stamina, they are not going to stop until one of them is tired.
"Phew, you're quite fast.." Riang looked back while speaking. "And you have good form too.. Do you run a lot?"
"As a kid, yeah.." Owen spoke out with short breaths in-between his words.
Hearing Owen's breathing to be inconsistent, she gave him a reminder, "I'm sure you understand that stamina is just as important as speed.."
"Don't mock me, I can outlast you in terms of stamina." Owen sneered.
Riang raised an eyebrow out of amusement. "Oh? Is that a challenge?"
"What are you betting?" Owen didn't back down.
"Hmmm… what if I draw runes for you for free?" Riang offered.
Owen disagreed through his tone. "I'm wagering the iron sword that I showed you before. Shouldn't you have a better item or condition to wager?"
Riang was astonished that Owen would actually go that far. "Wow, that's high… I don't think I have anything that I can give you with an equal price then.."
"I have an idea for that. You'll follow whatever I say for three tasks as long as the tasks will not kill you or will get you in a dangerous situation.. However, if I ask you to fight something with me, you should follow that since I am at equal risk." Owen stated his conditions if he won. He felt that his offer was fair.
Riang thought about it as she ran. Her thoughts weren't lagging behind just like her legs.
"Seems reasonable enough.. If that's your terms, then I accept." Riang said after some consideration.
A confident glint flashed through Owen's eyes.
"Don't lose too badly then."
After that, the two of them went even faster. As of now, Riang held the lead for the meantime. But she didn't know what she was truly up against.
— Somewhere in the Ruins Of Tarmat.
A streak of bright light illuminated the darkness.
For a brief moment, there was the sound of nothingness until a booming explosion crashed.
Lightning tore through the skies, temporarily shedding its light on the lands below it.
A wasteland in essence…
As far as the eye can see, apart from the gray skies hovering above, the soil that spans miles ahead was filled with gigantic weathered down monoliths of worn down onyx.
In a somber funeral, the crumbled churches for devotion and worship that used to stand tall were now reduced to chunks and pillars of black stone.
Even in their fragmented state, the ruins of the churches, the monoliths, the statues carved out for worshipping heroes and Gods still dwarf humans. Crystal glass weighing tons that depicted these Gods were now towering shards that stabbed the barren earth of the kingdom's ruins.
Behind this depressing swathe of fallen glory were sharp black mountains that shimmered with blue gems akin to stars. The tips of each mountain were tall enough to pierce the gray clouds that blanketed the ruins, falling it under an eternal night.
The Masgracia Mountains, known for their insurmountable glory and uncaring ruthlessness to those that dare climb them. They were akin to a wall that divided a line between people of Eslahai and the lawless men dwelling in these ruins.
Despite said ruins being shrouded by eternal darkness due to the blanket of clouds, there were more than a million people who were willing to seek refuge and flourish under the watchful eyes of justice and order.
Giving it one skimming look from above, there were numerous orange lights coming from bonfires, oil lamps, and even the behemoths that are the sacred braziers served as the light sources for the people within these lands.
The statues, churches and monoliths were used by the lawless dwellers to create establishments, inns, hotels, restaurants, gambling dens, arenas, stores, shops, farms, and many, many more.
In the middle of this fallen kingdom, the statue of Queen Tarmat still withstood the elements of nature given by time.
At three hundred meters tall, the unfaltering, benevolent queen stands with her axe resting downwards on its head while her crown, chipped in some edges and asymmetrical due to damage, remains as sharp as ever.
Her royal armor with winged pauldrons, elegant and sleek armor, sturdy vambraces and greaves, a long cape draped over her shoulders never left despite all this.
The queen's face, as valiant as ever, looked ahead towards the mountains, almost as if she was watching out for the calls of danger.
This statue was the masterpiece of the kingdom. Now though, it was only a glorified lighthouse from the luminescent runes carved into it.
Down below the noisy dregs of the ruins, there walked a man.
He had disheveled long black hair, an uneven and unshaven beard, eyes as bleak as ink, and a body tested by violence. He had lean shoulders, he was tall, and he reeks of booze and cannabis.
If one were to look at him, it would be no wonder to know that he was homeless.
His name… is Kejlar Yehedt.
Kejlar, with a spear on his back and a small treasure chest on his left hand, walked in a bustling street, or as bustling it could possibly be.
Among these people, his attire consists of a torn and muddied black hood, a metal chestplate, vambraces, gauntlets, boots and leg greaves.
Drunkards on the side were laughing at each other, all armed with their weapons irresponsibly whipped out. The tavern seemed to be filled with laughter and a surprising scene of the lack of violence. For a lawless place, this was unusual.
A couple of women and men were kicking down a bloodied beggar without any intention to stop no matter how the beggar pleaded.
He looked to the left and saw a horse drawn carriage carrying cages filled with shackled humans being treated as cattle. Young children looked listless and withered, some clenched their fists, retaining a spirit of indignance and vengeance, while the majority lost hope and only prayed for the bleak future that awaited them.
He made eye contact with a young man in a black linen blanket with loose threads that wore it like a hood.
Kejlar didn't avert his gaze.
He felt neither pity or anger.
He knew that they were unfortunate, but he didn't have the tiniest desire to help at all.
He kept walking.
He even heard the piercing scream of a woman as a cry for help. Who knows what happened to her? Was she being tortured? Was she being taken advantage of?
Either way, Kejlar wasn't interested.
No one here was.
They all minded their business as if it was just the wind. Devilish laughter and pitiful screams were nothing new in such a place.
This was the life that chose to carry his footsteps.
He had zero ambition and desires at this point of his life.
And it wasn't like he could reform… After all, a painful past still haunts him to this day. He couldn't allow himself to escape from what he had done.
No, he decided to face it straight on and punish himself in a way that he saw fit.
He soon found a previously broken down piece of a church that was repurposed.
It was fitting to call it a piece, since churches of Tarmat were absurdly humongous. They treated faithfulness to the divine very seriously.
This fifty meter tall 'mansion' used to be a praying chamber. With how many rooms and chambers of similar size, a single church would take at least ten years to complete. And this repurposed chamber was only a small part compared to a complete church.
Outside the large doors of the mansion was an insignia of a sword with a face of an old decrepit man behind it.
Kejlar took out a rolled piece of paper made of dried plant fiber and unfurled it. The paper contained the same insignia as the mansion in front of him.
Once confirming that it was the right place, Kejlar walked towards the mansion doors.
At least thirty guards were stationed in front of the entrance. When they saw the messy long haired man with a long cloak trailing behind him, they immediately stopped him.
"Halt, who are you? What is your business with the Tantaroz?" A greasy haired guard wearing a mix of leather and iron held his hand out to stop Kejlar.
The name that the guard mentioned was the name of the organization who is represented by the insignia.
"I'm here to turn in the treasure they asked me to get." Kejlar said with a very uninterested tone.
The guard looked him up and down before saying, "Do you have a token we can verify?"
"Here." Kejlar took a gold coin from his cloak and flicked it towards the guard using his ring finger.
The gold coin itself wasn't special. In fact, it was only an ordinary coin. But the way Kejlar gave it to the guard was different. It was a password.
Seeing this, the guard caught it with one hand and inspected it clearly before nodding. "Alright, you can go inside."
"Mm." Kejlar couldn't be bothered responding to them.
The guard snorted with slight irritation. He didn't like Kejlar acting so dismissively towards him.
As Kejlar walked past him, the guard couldn't help but look at the sleek black body of the black spear with strange engraved symbols on Kejlar's back.
It had one spearhead and the spear's body had two strange slits on each side located below the spearhead by a few inches. The bottom end of the spear was special as well.
It looked like a reddish bronze hilt of a sword was connected to the body of the spear. Almost as if someone slotted it in perfectly.
Anyway, it looked out of place compared to the black and simplistic design of the spear's overall appearance.
It was a specially designed spear to say the least.
'What a weird looking weapon..' The guard couldn't understand the aesthetic meaning of it.
The moment Kejlar entered the mansion, several gazes turned to him that belonged to different people that were previously chatting with each other, or were with their own.
Seated on a black marble chair was a bearded man with black hair and silver sideburns. This man wore a dark indigo cape with white fur on his shoulders and a sophisticated coat of an aristocrat under it. His bulging muscles were tightly hugged by his coat, making his body appear larger.
He had the suave appearance of a distinguished man and the reigned aura of a tiger.
The man looked at Kejlar and asked in a domineering tone, "Do you have what I asked for?"