John woke up from a long slumber, it felt like forever but he was finally back in the hotel room. He looks around and finds that the maid is sleeping at the end of the bed. he must have been gone for a while.
A sudden movement woke her up. She quickly straightens herself and goes back to being a serious maid.
"Hello, master how are you feeling?" Her voice rang as cold as ever. "Last time you screamed really loudly"
"Just a bad dream, how long has I been out?"
"This is day 2, you woke up yesterday but went to sleep right after."
"How's business?"
"Theia, Jenny, and Jeramy are currently running the stall" Hilda answered while setting up tea for her master. "Theia has been a bit reluctant to leave here though."
"Then I will have to help" John laughed slightly as he imagined how Theia would react. She is not adept at dealing with others. He couldn't help but worry about her. John adjusts his body and realizes his wounds aren't as serious as he thought. Looking at his body, he realized something had happened.
"Hilda, what did you do? Is this your mystic power?" John realizes something after "No, I don't mean to...."
"It's OK master, you deserve to know"
She places the teacup in John's hand and sits down. Talking about mystic power is extremely prohibited. And just now, John may be labeled a huge sinner for knowing so much about the mystic power of others. However, John was still unaware of Hilda's full power.
Hilda removes some of her garments and reaches into her own chest. There, she grabs a circle and brings it out. John's eyes are glued to the circle that emits red light. Three circles, to be exact. The circle also contains two additional circles that spin inside.
The way you arrange the circle also affects how effective you are at using mystic energy. And what HIlda is using right now is a basic way to arrange it. It doesn't give you any advantage and similarly no downside.
At the center of the 3 circles, John could see a clump of blood floating inside. This is the foundation of power that HIlda is built upon.
Blood
One doesn't come across this kind of mystic unless the mystic is evil. Oftentimes, the power and object will reflect the user's belief. Like, Theia was a book that had her favorite tales in it.
"I name my power blood bond" She holds the circle and it floats right above her hand "My power lets me use my blood to bind my enemy with me, making them feel ten times the pain I felt during that period. The price is that I have to use my own blood and feel the original pain."
"My second circle lets me use this effect from afar, with less blood needed but it is also less effective than touching the enemy, my third circle is to transfer injury from person to person via touch. But the person who got transferred to will have to bear twice the pain."
He realized that with her set of powers, his action was useless.
John could see immediately that there was also some injury that Hilda transferred onto her, mainly the cuts but it seemed like she was in much better condition than him.
"That's your third circle huh? Wait You could receive the arrow shot right??"
"That's not the case if got a fetal hit, I couldn't refer the injuries before I fell, moreover at that time, I'd also run low on Mytic power. Your action greatly helps me."
"I'm glad, but does it hurt?"
"I only use this for the first time, it is much more bearable than expected. But it's not much considering that you saved my life."
John couldn't help but smile, he never read about her in the novel. There is no character named Hilda in the novel. Only the maid that follows Duke Antores.
"Thanks"
"Anytime"
John looks out the window, seeing the night tar shining bright in the sky.
---------------
"I'm sorry for the incident"
"I..it's not your fault brother"
Theia looks genuine about her words. The brother act has been rolling off the tongue rather easily now. John shakes his head.
"I should have anticipated that at some point I would have to fight mystic. Keeping two mystics near me."
John told the truth, he always thought that they were hard to find, considering how secretive they were. But it seems like he was mistaken. He needs a way to defend himself.
"Maybe you should abandon Mrs.Theia, Master"
"I'm thinking about it"
"What!? Brother couldn't possibly...."
"Just joking, I still have a use for you"
John could also see that Theia had relaxed quite a bit after being with John for around 2 weeks. They were walking down the north side of Tumidus, John traveled here because he had to meet someone.
Where divine power was present, technology was lacking somewhere. John's aim is to speed that up at some point.
At the end of the war that made Eyre become the empire 40 years ago, some technology never developed after the war. In the end, many technologies ended up abandoned because of a higher-up who wanted to keep the mystic in power.
At the north of Tumidus lies an old man who could produce that technology. An old smith that lives on the edge of the northern road called White Road. In Act 2 of the novel, he plays an important role in dealing with a demon army that was summoned by a cult.
John pushes the door inside the shady old house. It's not a tall house like others, it only has one floor. The door slid open revealing a numeral piece of metal hung on the wall. Mostly of a sword and a household tool like a butcher of pitchfork.
The smell of iron hit John's nose, he couldn't help but smile. The sound of someone pondering iron echoes from the back of the shop.
"What are you folk looking for?"
The old man stopped his work and came to greet the customer. However, he would be disappointed after seeing how they look.
"If you're looking for a fancy sword decoration, I'm afraid I can't do that"
"I'm not here for that"
"Oh?" The old man then uses his towel to wipe a sweat off his head "Then what are you looking for? A sword/ maybe a bow for hunting? I also sell those, they're all top quality."
"No, I'm here for something called a gun"