- Showed Up (unedited)
Class went by as usual. I was grateful for all the information but it always gets pretty boring after the first hour or so. 'I can't wait until our real training begins.' I thought as we waited for everyone else to leave the class.
"Do you two want to do another boar subjugation quest? Or maybe we can step up our game and fight some wolves!" Corey said while getting up and stretching his body.
"You two can do whatever you want, but I have something else to take care of this evening." I said before following suit.
"Oh, what do you have to do Sphar?" Lily asked with a curious expression. "I just need to make some serious renovation to my hole that I call home." I replied nonchalantly.
"Why's that?" She asked yet another question. "What's up with you interrogating me?" I said while looking at her with a suspicious face. "Oh. I just, uh-" She started stuttering before clearing her throat and gathering he thoughts. "I was just curious, that's all." She finally replied with a completely red face.
'Ah, I see. So it's like that.' I thought before grinning and turning away. "You two stay safe out there. I'll see you tomorrow." I called out behind me while walking out of the classroom.
I left the city without making any stops for once and went straight home. "Alright, let's do some serious work." I said aloud before coating my claws in mana. It was a new technique that Mr Brolin had taught us in class. It didn't cost much mana to keep up and it greatly increased ones strength and stamina capabilities.
People without magic could to the same thing, just with their "life force" which was basically stamina to my system. It didn't make much sense at first but then I came to the conclusion that the systems version of stamina could be considered more than just how long someone can exert themself without stopping.
I started slashing my claws at the dirt all around my hole, casting a couple dark slashes here and there to do much more damage. After around half an hour I had practically destroyed all the stable dirt that was once considered to be the ground. I started shoveling the huge pile of dirt and repeated this process for about two hours.
Finally, I had a huge square of a hole that was around twenty feet on every side and ten feet deep, with steps leading out of it of course. I had to compact it with brute force and infuse my mana into it to make it even stronger. It was another thing we had learned in class though I still didn't fully get the grasp of it even with my trait ability.
'At this pace the sun was going to set before I finish and my stamina isn't holding up too well either. This is taking longer than I thought it would.' I thought while taking a short break against a tree.
"I see you're working hard." A familiar voice came from behind me. I peeked open one eye and looked up to see Laori leaning over me. He sat beside me and also started relaxing, he was covered in small wounds and sweat.
"We're you training?" I asked, quite curious as to what he spends his free time doing. "Always. If I'm not doing quests for money I train my weapon mastery over the sword and all of my combat skills." He said while patting his huge sword.
"What made you wield such a big sword like that anyways? It must take an incredible amount of core and upper body strength just to be able to properly swing it." I asked.
"I just have a natural talent for it thanks to me being half Oren Owl. They are known for their incredible strength and vitality, mix that with a human and you get a total badass, or at least that's what my father always told me." He said with a huge smile on his face.
'He must really miss his family. I'll change the topic.' I thought before standing up. "Do you mind helping me finish up? we need a bunch of bamboo trees and leaves as well as thick vines, Do you know where to find those?" I asked while heading back down into the hole to finish reinforcing the the ground and walls.
"Sure thing. I'll have it all before night fall." He said before darting off into the woods.
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"Finally, we're done!" I said before falling on my butt and laying down in our home. "I was getting quite tired as well. I'm going to go wash off by the river and head to bed, what about you?" he asked while putting his sword in a compartment I made in the wall for our weapons and uncomfortable armor.
"I'll join you. The cold water at night is the best." I said while outting my cloak in my own compartment as well as my ear rings and scythes. "Wha- you can't!" he said with an extremely embarrassed expression. "Why not? we're both guys and we'll be living together, washing off in the river isn't that bad." I replied.
"Well...I just uh- want my privacy! Yeah, that's all." he said while turning away from me. 'He must be a bit on the small side.' I thought. "Fine, just hurry up and get back so I can go. You don't need to be that self conscious about your size though, I'm not one to judge." I said before laying on the bed of leaves and straw compacted together with mana.
Laori walked off without replying, leaving me to my own thoughts. 'That guy is just full of surprises. He must wield that big sword for a confidence boost.' Before I knew it Laori had returned and gave me the all clear to go wash off.
After returning I saw that Laori was already asleep, curled up into a ball on his side. I made sure the makeshift roof was in the right place and joined him. I layed down about a foot away on my back and closed my eyes.
'I won't be sleeping tonight, but I'd like to relax for a couple hours. I'll be sure to do some over night farming tomorrow night and handle some extra quests while I'm at it. I wonder how Lily and Corey did today.'
I let my thoughts flow wildly through my mind as my muscles relaxed. 'Wait, he said he was part owl of some sort, and owls typically are nocturnal and don't sleep long. Let's give this a shot.'
"You're not actually asleep, are you?" I said aloud while sitting up. "You can read me like the back of your hand." Laori chuckled while also sitting up. 'If only he knew' I thought.
"My species doesn't typically sleep much either. Do you want to go for some midnight training?" I asked while getting up and stretching my back.
"You know it." He quickly replied before grabbing his huge sword. We soon climbed out of our home and went to an open area to spar.
"Just so you know I'm a mage, so my weapon prowess is sloppy at best." I told him while unsheathing my scythes. "Yeah yeah, I figured out that your speed from the other day is actually a skill from your weapons, so please refrain from using it. I'll also stick with no skills to make it fair." He replied before making a serious face.
'Im actually quite curious on how this will turn out.' I thought before smiling to myself. I started tossing my scythe in the air while steadily walking towards my opponent. He only stood there in a strange stance. He was holding his sword with the sharp side facing up and pointed forward.
'Im no swordsman, I have absolutely no clue what that stance does.' I thought before throwing my scythe forward as fast as possible as a distraction. While Laori was focused on blocking it I threw my other one wide to the left aimed at his head.
"Won't work." He said before swinging his sword upward, knocking my first scythe up in the hair and jumping over the other. I quickly pulled them both back before charging at him.
I started with a flurry of fast arial swipes as I maneuvered around him. He blocked nearly all of them while dodging the rest. 'For such a huge sword he can move it so fast! How am I supposed to break his defense!' I thought before jumping back.
"If you're done now, it's my turn." He said before charging at me with his sword in a thrusting position. 'He has a fast first step!' I thought before attempting to parry his attack. my scythe was just too small and couldn't connect with the tip of his blade in time. He stopped right before his sword was going to pierce my throat.
"you're weaponship could definetely use some work, but I didn't expect much from a mage to begin with. You're not too bad." He said while stabbing his sword into the ground and leaning on the base connected to the handle. The blade was so wide that he could use it like a thin shelf to lean on.
'Damn.'