Let’s get to know each other, Valandra. In the few steps it took to cross the field and engage her, I formulated my plan of attack. I didn’t activate any of my combat enhancements, in an effort to get an accurate gauge of her skill level. She wore the shield on her right arm, so I angled towards her left side for my opening attack. In my past experiences, the most effective strategy against tower shields was to circle the exposed side and press the attack until the wielder tired out enough to make a mistake.
It soon became clear my strategy had failed. I slashed at her exposed side in a quick rising arc, with the expectation that she would pivot to catch the blow with the face of her shield. Instead, she hardly seemed to move at all aside from a brief flick of her arm. The shield rotated around its center and spun down to catch my sword, which sent a jarring shockwave up my arm.
The force of my swing spun the shield back in the opposite direction, and I heard a quiet clicking noise as she drew her arm back in response. The shield stopped spinning and instead slid back along her arm in a straight line, to the point where her grip seemed to be directly at the outside edge. I was still trying to recover from my deflected strike when she threw her shield arm forward in a devastating punch. The shield clacked loudly as it launched down its track, extending forward to crack against the leather armor above my sternum.
The blow knocked the wind from my lungs and sent me stumbling backwards to the ground. I rolled to my side and violently sucked in air as I went through a quick damage report. A shooting pain in my chest that intensified when I breathed confirmed that I had multiple dislocated ribs, and most likely a few fractures as well. Lia let out a small squeak of alarm and began to head towards me, but I waved her away as I slowly attempted to stand. When I finally regained my breath, I wordlessly channeled healing magic to the injuries via the rune in my ring.
“I apologize for the excessive force, Lux,” Val said as she crossed to where I had fallen. “To be honest, I expected that you would be able to evade the attack. I will gather the medical supplies from the wagon and tend to the injury. Please wait here until I return; any unnecessary movement will worsen your condition.”
“What condition?” I asked as I rolled onto my knees and sprang up to my feet. I thumped my fist against my chest a few times to illustrate my point. “That was certainly a good hit, but don’t think you can take me out that easily. We said best two out of three, right?” I couldn’t help but smile. Not only was it satisfying to see the look of confidence on Val’s face change to one of confusion, but I also felt a surge of excitement at being knocked into the dust; it had been over a lifetime since someone had bested me so thoroughly.
When I retook a fighting stance, Val grinned and gave me a nod before moving back to her side of the arena. “Whenever you are ready,” she called out when she had taken her position.
Time to even the score. I channeled mana through my sword, making a point to flash each rune brightly as I activated all of my combat enhancements in turn. My charge across the field was significantly faster the second time around, though I opened with the same rising slash. There was a confident smirk on Val’s face as she spun her shield down to parry my attack again.
The follow-through of my attack naturally twisted my body, and I drew my offhand back over my head as if to throw a javelin. In the moment before my sword connected with her shield, I released my grip on the weapon. It glanced harmlessly off the side of her shield and bounced away towards the ground. Without my arm driving the attack, her shield failed to rotate back into place and remained horizontal, leaving her head and upper chest vulnerable. I thrust my empty offhand forward and summoned my blade simultaneously, sliding it just over the top of her shield and into her armored collarbone.
Even though the edge of my sword was blunted, I knew the attack would be painful for her. She spun back a few feet and clutched her neck with her empty hand, taking a few hissing breaths as her brow furrowed and her eyes squinted shut. When her eyes opened again, she let out a bout of laughter. The sound of it caught me off guard; for how dour and serious Val was, her laugh was soft and warm, almost sprightly.
I waited for her to call out with some explanation of her outburst, but I was met instead with a head-on bull rush. My enhanced reflexes were the only thing that allowed me to dodge out of the way of her outstretched shield in time, and I hopped back to take a ready stance. “The score is even now!” I shouted to her with a wide grin. “It’s time for you to step up and defend your undefeated record!”
Her response came in the form of a violent horizontal swing of her shield. I caught it on the flat of my sword and was surprised when the force of the blow shifted me a few inches across the grassy field. We locked eyes as I held her shield at bay; for the first time since I met her, I felt a real sense of camaraderie between us. Valandra shared my passion for combat, and it seemed I had finally found somebody capable of matching my prowess in battle.
Our match continued to increase in intensity, with each parried blow and dodged strike only fueling us to push each other harder. Her fighting style was truly unique; not only did I have to completely unlearn my strategies for fighting a target with a tower shield, but I also had to adapt on the fly to the various ways she used it as a weapon. Her offhand also posed an interesting threat in the form of a heavily armored gauntlet. She used it to deflect blows that her shield was out of position to catch, as well as throw devastating punches when I moved in too close.
As the fight dragged on my limbs began to ache from exertion, but Val showed no signs of slowing down. My previous desire to prove my superiority had long since faded and been replaced with respect, along with a surprisingly high level of introspection. I knew that by increasing the mana flow to my combat enhancements I could overtake her in time, but I wasn’t interested in victory. She’s fighting without enhancements, and she’s still keeping up with me. I’m not sure I really deserve a win at this point.
After my next parry I disengaged and dropped my enhancements. The fight ended soon after, further emphasizing to me the difference in our pure combat capabilities. Val caught my sword in her gauntlet, pulled me in close, and brought the flat of her shield around to connect with the side of my face. My vision immediately filled with stars as I fell backwards, and the sound of combat faded into an aggressive buzz in my ears. Too concussed to think clearly, I stared up into the late afternoon sky, blinking slowly as my head swam.
At some point, Lia appeared in my field of vision. She knelt down and cupped my face in her hand, turning my head slightly to inspect my wound. I regained enough sense to remember my abilities and channeled a healing spell to my wounds, as well as a moderate level of pain reduction. As my vision cleared, I realized that Lia looked much less concerned than I expected, and instead was giggling to herself quietly.
“Is something funny?” I asked with emphasized indignation as I sat up.
“Val beat you,” she replied with a mischievous grin.
“Yeah, well,” I started before catching myself. With a deep breath, I pushed away my wounded pride and gave her a nod. “Yeah, she did. She’s an amazing fighter. I think we’ll both learn a lot from her.” A warm smile spread across her face, and she leaned in to give me a quick hug.
“I see my worry was unwarranted once again,” Val said as she approached. “My last strike was far too aggressive for a sparring match. I would like to apologize.”
I waved away the thought. “That was the best fight I’ve had in at least a lifetime, maybe longer. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” With a loud sigh I flopped back into the grass. “Turns out, I might be a bit rusty.”
“Oh, thanks!” Lia yelled sarcastically, putting a boot lightly into my ribs. “Sorry I’m not exciting enough for you!”
“You know what I meant,” I groaned at her. “Why don’t you take a turn in the ring with her and see how it goes?”
Lia turned to her excitedly. “Could we? Would you mind?”
“It would be my pleasure,”
Val said with a small smile.
“While you do that, I think I’ll work on making us some dinner,” I said as I stood up. “I’m feeling something fresh after our fight. Maybe I’ll do a bit of hunting.” Val looked at me with a curious raise of her eyebrow, but nodded without inquiring further. “You be careful with Lia while I’m gone. None of that full force stuff,” I called out over my shoulder as I walked out of the arena.
“Of course,” Val responded. Lia gave a wordless whine of annoyance, and I left with a smile on my face. The spot we had chosen to park the wagon was only a brisk five-minute walk from a large thicket of trees that currently served as my destination. While it was true I craved fresh meat over the jerky packed in our wagon, I also wanted a moment alone with my thoughts.
There was a novel feeling of contentment in my mind as I trekked across the grassy field to the small forest. Somewhere in the back of my head I knew that I was inevitably heading towards the end of my time in this world, but the idea was held at bay with happier thoughts. I was finally getting along with Val, and her raw combat talent surpassed my own. Lia seemed happier than ever, and I was slowly coming to terms with the idea of putting away my protective cynicism and allowing myself to enjoy life.
When I reached the tree line, I stopped and sent out a pulse of Detection magic. A starry sea of wriggling lights lined every surface before me as tiny insects crawled through the dirt and over the flora. As I pushed further outwards, larger creatures began to appear: a pair of squirrels rummaging through the underbrush, a songbird chirping happily high up on a tree branch, and a groundhog sleeping underground in its burrow.
About two hundred feet into the thicket my mana came across a plump looking rabbit. With perfect timing my stomach let out a loud gurgle, and I chuckled to myself as I decided on my prey. I placed my hand gently on the grip of my sword and took a slow, deliberate step into the underbrush, then paused in thought. I don’t need to sneak up on it if I kill it from here.
An electric tingle of excitement ran down my spine as I proposed myself the challenge. Even after multiple lifetimes of using magic in one form or another, purely offensive magic was entirely new to me. My comfort zone was firmly planted in the self-enhancement camp; unless I wanted to make the rabbit significantly harder to kill, that field would be useless in my current endeavor.
Standing isolated in a thicket of trees gave me the unique opportunity to test some of the potentially dangerous ideas I had been mulling over during my training with Lia, although I still had an obstacle to overcome before I could consider trying new spells. While the idea of channeling and casting magic through a distant object seemed airtight in theory, it was not something I had ever attempted before. Start simple, with an easy proof of concept. Something to put my mind at ease.
I steadied my breathing and focused hard on the small creature. The mana surrounding it slowly suffused down through its fur and into the skin, which brought the rabbit into a stunning level of focus in my mind. I could feel the rapid beat of its small heart, see the blood pump through its body, and hear the shallow inhale and exhale as it sat contented in the grass. For a brief moment, I relived a sensation I had experienced with Lia when we had shared our mana; it was as though I could sense what the rabbit experienced, though only through vague flashes and snippets.
“Pain Reduction,” I whispered under my breath. To my delight, I felt the telltale tug at the edge of my mana reserves that signaled the successful use of magic. The rabbit’s head popped up suddenly as it looked around in distress, and I felt the primal urge to run flash through my mind. After a moment to scan the surrounding area, it returned to nibbling on a patch of grass.
Well, THAT certainly warrants further investigation. My head was swimming with possible implications of what I had just experienced, but I clapped my cheeks lightly in my hands to regain focus. Later. The issue at hand still remained: How do you kill a rabbit with magic? I knew that a simple invocation of Fire would do the trick, but it wasn’t suited for the situation. Not only would it ruin the point of the excursion by soiling the meat, but I also knew that even through the Pain Reduction it would be an agonizing death, and animal experimentation didn’t sit well with me.
Start simple. With renewed focus, I reached out to the rabbit and pulled on my mana. “Kill,” I intoned solemnly. There was a subtle stirring of energy in my core, but the moment passed and the rabbit continued to chew on its greens. Not that I expected that to work, but it’s good to know. While magic was still a mostly unknown art to me, I had suspected that the imprecise and open-ended nature of the command would fail. In that regard, the next item to test on my list held much more promise.
I brought the image of the rabbit to full focus within my mind and studied its skeletal structure intently: the way the vertebrae of its back interlocked, how the muscles and tendons articulated, and the minute electrical impulses that controlled them. The lessons I had learned in school about anatomy were over a century old, and I had been a particularly unmotivated student, but any scientific knowledge from my first life was still an enormous boon. After another meditative breath, I spoke my next command. “Paralysis.”
There was a static rush down my leg as the energy raced out to where the rabbit rested. All at once, the muscles in its body contracted uncontrollably, as though it were being electrocuted. It bounced in place once, and then tipped over onto its side where it stayed motionless. I could feel the mana continue to drain as I channeled the spell, and noted that it drew considerably more energy than the Pain Reduction enhancement also in effect.
A sense of urgency washed over me, a combination of sympathetic fight-or-flight responses from the rabbit pinging in the back of my brain and the sudden realization that my prey was now asphyxiating. How do you kill a rabbit? In my time hunting rabbits in Alderea, it had been a simple enough task: catch it in a snare, then break its neck with a swift strike from any blunt implement. I pulled my sword from my belt and pushed into the thicket towards the rabbit. This has already been a successful test. No need to push things more than—
An idea stopped me in my tracks. With a satisfied grin I sheathed my blade and closed my eyes, pulling the image of the rabbit back into view. I focused on the base of its neck with careful precision, suffusing the tiny vertebra with energy. “Shatter.” The bone cracked away to dust with surprisingly little resistance, and the rabbit’s aura immediately faded away to a dim white outline against the black backdrop of my mind.
The senses I shared with the rabbit vanished instantly as it died, and the void it left behind burned in my head. I felt a hollow sucking sensation in my chest, and I staggered back against a tree as I gasped for breath. There was something familiar about the feeling, and dread gripped my heart as I slid down to sit in the brush. I know that feeling. The void that brought me here...it’s the same feeling. Eternal, dark, isolating. Death. That void is death.
I felt my hands tremble as the memories filled me with despair. It can’t be. How...how can that be true? Is that what death is? Does that void happen to everybody when they die? That can’t be right. My breath came in shallow gulps as my heart pounded a staccato arhythmic beat against my ribs, and my vision narrowed to pinpricks. I could feel the panic coming in full force, and with whatever remained of my logical mind, I shut my eyes and tried to force myself into a meditative breathing pattern.
Time failed to track in my head as I fought to regain control of my body. When I was finally able to open my eyes again, I found that the sun had long since set, and the rolling field before me was dimly lit by only a crescent moon and stars. There was a tremble in my hands I couldn’t still as I climbed unsteadily to my feet. It’s okay. You’re okay. I repeated the mantra in my head as I picked my way through the trees to where my rabbit still laid. Its body was still warm in my hands, and I found comfort in the fact that I hadn’t been incapacitated for too long.
I gradually returned to a baseline state as I made my way across the field towards our camp. I tried t
o focus on the positive aspects of my outing while locking the unsettling discovery away for a later, hopefully more levelheaded analysis. Out in the distance I spotted the flicker of our campfire, and I let out a relieved sigh as my thoughts shifted to Lia. In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to lay my head down in her lap and hear the comforting sound of her voice.
I reached out with Detection to see what my companions were up to. As I suspected, their sparring session was long finished. Val tended to a small pot suspended over the fire, stirring the contents as she added a pinch of something from a small pouch. Lia sat on a log at the far side of the camp, writing in a small leather-bound book with a smile on her face. My brow furrowed as I puzzled over the book; I could vaguely remember her packing it when we left for our first trip to Lybesa, but I had never seen her actually use it.
As my mind wandered with playful curiosity, the wave of Detection magic continued to push out beyond the camp. A sudden glow at the far side of the road caught my attention, and my breath caught in my throat as the mana spread to reveal four men crouched in a tight circle just fifty feet from our camp. They were all dressed in armor, mismatched in both make and adornment, and each had a double-headed ax hanging from their belt. At a nod from one of the men they broke off from their circle and crept towards the fire, with two circling left, one to the right, and one directly towards Lia.
I burst into a full sprint as my combat enhancement suite flared to life. Each step sent me rocketing forward far faster than I had ever run before, but with the camp still a few miles away I knew I wouldn’t make it in time to intercept the men. My jaw clenched as I pushed myself harder and harder; the air whipped past me like a gale as clumps of dirt kicked up in the wake of my footfalls. A singular focus pervaded my mind: save Lia.
I could see her so clearly in my mind. Head slightly tilted to the side, she laughed as she spoke some unknown words to Val and scribbled something inside the small diary. The man behind her had moved past the road, dirk in hand as he snuck up behind her. In a desperate ploy to get her attention, I channeled a large rush of energy around her and pushed firmly against her unconscious mana barrier. She looked up from her journal with a sudden look of concern, and her head cocked to one side as she stared out into the darkness.
Restart Again: Volume 2 Page 14
