Prytaneum
Preparing
Ryuu's sword flashed towards me so fast that if I stopped concentrating for even a minute, I was certain I'd lose sight of it and be struck. She was timing her attacks carefully, I was sure, making sure I had only just enough time to react and keep me constantly on my toes. For my part, I alternated between blocking with my shield and parrying with my sword, giving the former the time it needed to charge in-between uses. When I raised it to protect myself, it flashed again—but instead of a blinding torrent of light, the shield itself merely flickered white. When it did, I brought Ryuu's strikes were brought to a complete halt with barely an effort, but I also felt strength flowing out of me.
It was like using my powers, I thought. Thetis drained my body and mind to power itself, pulling from my strength to fuel its defenses. I guess I couldn't really complain about that, given that it was protecting me, but it was something I had to remember, because I was feeling the drain. The one, two, or three layer versions weren't too bad on their own, enough so that I could chain them fairly easily, but using all nine left me feeling like I could topple over at any time, and it added up. Even though—or, perhaps, because—I was focused entirely on my defense, I was being driven constantly backwards by Ryuu's assault, barely able to mount even an ineffective counterattack or even talk.
Ryuu, apparently, had no such trouble.
"It seems that no matter what, if your shield is used defensively, your skill will also activate," She noted clinically, gathering information during the battle and telling me what she saw. "That is somewhat unfortunate, as it means that you cannot simply refrain from using it against minor attacks to keep from wasting it—and, potentially, that an opponent might counteract the skill by simply using minor attacks to disrupt it. Furthermore, it would seem that the protective and reflective power of the shield are somewhat independent of one another. By default, the shield's defensive power rises dramatically with each layer, giving you far greater protection against the next attack it is used to block. However, if an attack is strong enough to penetrate your shield's defenses despite that, the reflective aspect does not occur. While it is simply conjecture, I would assume that if the power gathered within the shield is exhausted and overwhelmed, it has nothing to reflect an attack with."
"Uhuh," I grunted, the best reply I could give under the circumstances. I lifted my sword to block an attack from the right and caught her blade on my own—back had to lift my shield a moment later to catch an attack from the other side. The two blows rang out so closely to one another that the impacts were almost a single noise, and my charge was expended.
"The protective power of the shield remains, however," Ryuu continued, apparently content just to know I was listening. "And thus the strength of the received attack will be reduced accordingly. Whether the power of your shield was enough to stop the attack completely or not, your shield then returns to its initial state. At the same time, the amount of force reflected is always dependent on the strength of the attack received, rather than the extent of the charge. Whether it's three layers or all nine, the reflected force of my attacks has remained the same."
"Mm," I grunted again, watching her closely. She was a constant blur, her voice changing oddly as each word came from a different place, and my eyes were constantly lagging behind her. If not for the storm of motion around her, I might have lost track of her completely. She struck from behind, from in front, attacked my stomach, tried to pull me off balance, and nearly tossed me aside, and it was an effort just to be sure that was what was happening. Whatever I could, I interrupted using Riptide, forcing her away, or at least around. Everything else, I took on my shield, letting particularly forceful attacks bounce off of it.
"Your skill's power is undeniable," Ryuu said. "But it is a difficult weapon to use. To master it, you must learn not only how to gauge the strength of your opponent's attacks quickly enough to charge your defenses, but when to activate it in the first place. In many ways, your power could be a staggering trump card, used to completely shattered an opponent's greatest attack and deter them from using their stronger attacks against you, potentially crippling them in battle. On the other hand, however, should they properly determine how to disrupt it, much of its strength could be lost. While it's an effective defense against any attack, one could say that its true power shines only before the opponent's true strength. You should also have noticed it—how off-balance the opponent can be, after having their power suddenly turned back upon them. Even aware of the effect, several times now it was only the difference in our Status that allowed me to recover fast enough too completely evade your counterattack."
"Yeah," I replied, exhaling through my teeth as she struck my shield once, withstood the counter with ease despite her words, and then struck it hard three more times, a fact I recognized mostly by the impact.
"However, using it against the opponent's trump card carries a great deal amount of risk," She said. "If the attack you attempt to defend against overcomes your defenses, your opponent will receive nothing and you will likely be the one hurt. This is particularly dangerous in the case of monsters, many of whom can often bring to bear powerful abilities with little warning. Should you succeed, however, victory might be within your grasp against even a more powerful opponent. Against other adventurers, the casting of spells would be both the greatest threat and the greatest opportunity. Do you know why?"
I shook my head, kind of busy. I refrained from trying to recharge my shield until after her assault stopped and then turned into it, sword arcing to hit—predictably—nothing but air. Weaker and more fragile than me she might have been, but fighting opponents that have such a huge speed advantage was a pain in the ass.
"Because of the chant," She told me. "Generally, the stronger the spell, the longer the associated chant. Should you recognize that a spell is being cast, you should have a chance to bring up some kind of defense. If a chant takes sixteen seconds, you should be able to prepare five layers of protection—and if they use Long Chant or Super-Long Chant magic, than perhaps as many as six or seven. Hopefully enough to mute the damage significantly, even if you can't reflect the attack."
"Right," I said as she danced several steps away. I didn't follow, using the chance to take a long breath and prepare. "Good against mages. Got it."
"Yes," Ryuu said, calm as ever. "Or, at least, that's true if you fight a single opponent or one who can't fight while casting spells. Unfortunately, given the risks involved in being attacked while casting magic, such cases are likely to be few and far between. In the sky of a now distant forest, infinite stars scatter in the endless night sky."
"Huh?" I asked, and it took my brain a moment to catch up. I'd never heard the words before and hadn't expected such a thing, but…was this a spell? Or a trick to make me think it was? No, if it was Ryuu…but the fact remained, that with other people, I wouldn't know if a spell was truly being cast or not, until after I'd heard the incantation and seen the effect. Then—
Focus, I thought as I drew back at once, pulling away from her to charge my shield.
Ryuu followed me easily, which I probably should have expected, given the topic.
"Respond to my foolish voice and give me now the divine protection of starfire," She continued, sword sweeping out to hammer my shield absently, dispelling the effect in a flash. I tried to recover, attack back, drive her away, and fight her off, but she just evaded it and kept talking, never letting the shield get more than two layers. "Give the mercy of light onto the one that abandoned you. Come, wandering wind, wandering traveler. Cross the sky and run through the wilderness, faster than anything else. Imbue the light of stardust and destroy the enemy. Luminous Wind."
Just before she said the final words, Ryuu stepped back and extended her hand at me, and I lifted my shield quickly in a desperate defense—
And nothing happened.
When I looked up, Ryuu silently lowered her hand.
"If you don't gather a large enough charge by the time the spell is cast, you will be in great danger," She said to me, voice still steady. "And it would be logical to assume that any such opponent would endeavor to prevent you from preparing such a thing. Whether they rely on their allies or simply fight directly, keep in mind that you will need to find a way to endure despite that."
"Right," I said, sighing slowly again. "Man, this skill is kind of a pain in the ass. But…if it'll be enough to protect them, I guess I've got no choice."
Ryuu inclined her head in acknowledgement before taking a seat on the ground.
"You must be tired, Mr. Jackson," She said, patting the grass beside me. "You should rest."
I took that as permission to collapse and all but fell to the ground. I wasn't sure how long we'd been at it, but it was already approaching dawn and I was covered in sweat from the work out. Absently, I took a fistful of my shirt and used it to wipe my face, stopping only when I noticed that Ryuu was still looking at me. Sitting down beside her, I glanced her way before quickly averting my eyes. I was here to train and couldn't be distracted by stuff that shouldn't have mattered, but it was hard not to notice what Ryuu was wearing when she wasn't a storm of pain. For our training, she wore a green cloak that covered her almost entirely she closed, but when it wasn't, I could see what she wore beneath. A white, sleeveless shirt, gloves and boots, and…uh…well, some very short pants.
I didn't stare. My mom had taught me better than that. But it was a little distracting when I couldn't keep myself from noticing.
"So," I said, trying to shift my focus elsewhere as quickly as possible. "How do you think I'm doing?"
"Very well," Ryuu said evenly. "I would even go so far as to say surprisingly so. Would I be correct in assuming that you fought monsters even before becoming an adventurer?"
"Ah?" I wondered, blinking at the unexpected question before nodding. "Yeah, how'd you know?"
"The strength of the Status is something independent of the skill of the user," She replied. "It's clear to me that you've been trained extensively, despite being an adventurer for less than a month. I came from a somewhat similar background, so I suspected the possibility."
"You fought monsters?" I asked, interested. "When?"
"Back in the forest off my birth," She answered simply and I didn't press. "I was trained since the day I was born to be a guardian of that forest. While it was perhaps not as impressive as you are imagining, it was possible for me to drive off monsters with bows and swords, at least within that forest. Monsters on the surface are significantly weaker than those found in the Dungeon. And you?"
"I didn't really get trained until I was twelve," I said. "But I've been encountering monsters since before I knew what they were. I used to get in trouble a lot, because they'd be drawn to me, so I had problems at schools. Buildings would get burned down because of this, things would get blown up because of that, that kind of thing."
"Is that why you have trouble reading?" Ryuu asked me, surprising me. "Syr seemed to suspect as much, though she never said anything to me directly."
"Is that so?" I wondered before chuckling. "Is that why she orders so many different things every time I drop by? To try and help me figure things out?"
"…Certainly, it would be nice if that were the case," She said. "Most likely, she simply enjoys the food and time off. Regardless, Syr is not to type to judge others over such things. I should not have brought it up."
"It's fine," I said. "I actually can read…sort of. I'm dyslexic, so it's hard, but the real issue is that I'm not familiar with the language used here."
"Koine?" Ryuu asked. "I'm surprised. I'd have thought it was the most common language."
I shrugged again.
"I'm not from around here," I answered honestly. "Anyway, why'd you ask if I fought monsters?"
"Curiosity, primarily," She said. "Though also as a possible explanation. Though all adventurers begin from the same place, at Level 1 with Abilities at I, the Falna draws its power from the user's experiences—therefore, to an extent, it may logical that those who accumulate experience prior to becoming adventurers might develop in ways beyond the norm."
"Like my skills, you mean," I guessed.
"Yes," She said. "I myself developed several skills in my time as an adventurer. My goddess was somewhat surprised, at the time. As it's rare to meet those who come from similar backgrounds as me, I suppose I was simply curious."
"I don't mind telling you about them, if you want," I said. "It's not that big a deal, especially since you're seeing a lot of it in action anyway."
"I am honored by your trust," Ryuu said flatly. I wasn't sure if she was serious or not; it was really hard to tell with her. "However, I must decline yet again. I would rather not cause any trouble between you and your goddess—and, besides which, I think I have a certain understanding after having fought you. If I'm not mistaken, could it be that several of your skills improve your Status?"
"A few of them," I confirmed. "I was weird to begin with, though. I don't think any of them were active right now, anyway."
"Oh?" Ryuu asked, giving me another rare look of surprise. "It seems I was mistaken again, then. Even if you possessed a very high Status as a Level 1, you seemed remarkably sturdy when we thought and so I thought that you must have possessed a skill to enhance at least your Strength and Endurance."
"Well, like I said, I was weird to begin with," I said. "But most of the time, when I want to do something like that, I just use my magic. It's my highest stat, you know. Surprised?"
"Yes," She answered frankly, expression still unchanged. "Forgive me, but I wouldn't have expected that. It seems I've misjudged you yet again."
I chuckled and shrugged helplessly.
"Other than that, though, there are a few others, but they aren't always on," I said. "They'll activate if, say, I'm in danger or if I'm protecting someone. Stuff like that."
"A skill to protect others," Ryuu said, tilting her head. "As expected."
"Huh?" I asked, looking her way curiously. "What do you mean?"
"Skills are something special," She said after a moment. "They appear spontaneously in the Status, regardless of Leveling Up, and cause special changes in the owner. While there are many that are common, there are also Rare Skills that are very personal in nature. However, all skills are still based on the excilia within the user, born from their personal experiences, and therefore telling about them. Simply by knowing of your skills, it's easy to understand. You are kind, Mr. Jackson."
I ducked my head at that, feeling embarrassed and unsure of how to answer something like that. But—
"Hey, Ryuu," I began, murmuring the words softly before clearing my throat..
"We should return," She interrupted, looking at the sky. "Or else Mama Mia will be displeased. Shall we meet here again tomorrow?"
I closed my mouth at the abrupt end of the conversation, but nodded and rose.
"Sure," I said, filing my questions away for later. Thinking about it, maybe it was a good thing Ryuu had ended thing before I asked anything personal about her Familia or her past. There was always next time, anyway. "Thanks again, Ryuu."
"You are welcome, Mr. Jackson," She said before bowing her head, almost as if in apology. "Thank you for the company, as well."