Chapter Seven
“Before we start, I need to know what style you use in a battle,” Eve stated before starting to train Cyan.
“Style?” I replied with a question.
“Yes, are you the type to charge at everything like Gabe? Are you the type to wait and counter for the enemies like Anne was, or are you the type who likes to attack from the blindside as I do? Or any other style?” Eve continues explaining things.
“Ehh… umm… If I had to pick a position within a party I would love to be on the rear side, supporting them and sometimes attacking with magic? I guess… Haha…” I replied bashfully.
“…”
“…”
The both of us stare for quite a moment.
“Haaa????” Eve shouts after looking at my equipment up and down.
To be fair, I use a semi-full knight armor set from top to bottom. My head was protected by a worn iron helmet, my chest wore a breastplate, both my hands are inside a gauntlet and my legs are behind greaves. If I put on a little bit more armor I would look like a tiny knight in silver armor.
“You are a magic user with all these armors?????” Eve continues to shout in shock.
“Ahahaha…”
Eve starts to put her hand on her face.
“Fine.” Eve continues.
“Yes?”
“Show me how you attack enemies.”
“Eh?” My confused face shows up.
“No, try to attack me instead.”
“Ehhhhh???”
“What? You think I couldn’t handle some kid’s attack?” Eve frowns while raising one eyebrow.
“Ehhhhhhhhh no, of course not… Err… Don’t blame me if you got hurt alright?” I replied.
“COME!”
I drew my silver sword from its sheath and grip it with two hands.
“Haaa!!!” I tried to slash Eve only to be evaded easily.
“Ha!” I swing another attack at her right away.
“Slow.” She evaded again.
“Ha!” I swing and swing again but their rank difference really shows the gap between us.
“Haa… haa… haa…” My hands are starting to go numb while I took my breath heavily.
“Why not use magic to attack me?” Eve confronts Cyan to use her best abilities.
“But…” I doubt.
“No buts!”
“Fine! Here I go!!!”
I snatch a magic stone from my side pocket, point it to Eve and shout the spell.
“Firä!!!”
A blazing fire runs straight to its enemy. Afraid of hurting Eve, Cyan immediately stops her spell and makes it runs only for a few seconds.
“Huh?”
“Sigh, even your spell casting was slow,” Eve replied.
The fire only found nothing but the air in its destination while the target had already arrived at my blindside.
Bonk!
My helmet got a little punch from the left side
“And you’re dead.”
“Ahahaha…” I can only reply with a smile on my face.
This is how Cyan's first training goes with Eve. After she ask her to teach me how to silently walk through enemies yesterday, she agreed to train me to learn this skill.
“Now strip,” Eve said firmly.
“Eeeeehhhhhhhh????” I blushed while covering my chest.
“I mean remove your armor, duh!” Eve reinstated her words.
“Oooh! Okay.”
I then start to remove my helmet and all my armor only to leave rugged clothes and pants behind.
“…”
“…”
Another fleeting stare between the both of us happens again.
“Please remind me to take you to a clothes shop tomorrow,” Eve said.
“Eh? Why?” I confusedly asked.
“WHY???” Eve suddenly ran to my face so fast my mind can’t even comprehend.
“Cuz you’re a really pretty girlllll!!! And look at you know, look!”
Eve starts to pull my clothes to my face. The dirty and worn-out clothes show up on my face.
“Well… I never put a thought to these kinds of things soooo…”
“So we will put off training from tomorrow on until you put a thought to this.” Eve declares.
“EEEEHHHHH!!!??” I lost count of how much I ‘ehh’ just this morning.
“Now, hit me your best shot again.”
Eve started to put on her mask, her eyes became dark and her pupil glows yellow with a cat-eye-like pattern. It was one of her enhancement skills. She told me that when she does that her eyes could see better in the dark, see further and process information faster making it a must-have trick for an Assassin Class.
I grip my sword and charge for the second time.
“Haaaa!!”
I do feel a little bit faster after removing all my armor.
“Ha!” But not fast enough to hit Eve.
“Hea!” The sword hit nothing again and again.
“Firä!”
I immediately fire my spell to my backside after I put an opening on purpose for Eve to get behind.
“Oho!” Eve was quite surprised when she tries to get to Cyan’s behind.
A blazing fire runs straight behind me. Only to find nothing but air again.
“That was close.” Eve shows up on the Inn’s roof.
We are training in a yard behind the Inn. This was supposed to be a garden to celebrate a party, a wedding, or any event that someone needs at the Inn. But now Eve used it as my training ground after not having any customers for a while.
“Good one! I probably gonna get some burn marks if I didn’t use my mask just now hahaha…” Eve laughs while jumping down from the roof like it was nothing.
“Not only your attack got faster but you also think quickly huh? How do you know where I’ll show up?”
I did predict where Eve will attacks and put my Firä on the spot beforehand, but I never thought that I couldn’t hit her even once after all that. She is a monster.
“I’ll hit you with my attacks one of these days Eve!”
“Hahaha, you definitely will.” Eve laugh heartily
After continuing the training for a little bit, Eve removes her mask and asks me to sit beside her while offering a glass of water. I put away my sword and gulp down all of it and feel refreshed immediately.
“You also need new gear tomorrow. Why are you using those heavy iron armor anyway?” Eve asked the most reasonable question.
“I don’t like to get hurt,” Cyan replied.
“Ahahahaha! Figures… Now hear me out. My first lesson to you is that sometimes leather armor got better defense than iron armor.” Eve starts to explain things.
“???” Cyan tilt her head to the side wondering what she meant.
“If you attack a fully armored knight with your Firä, what do you think would happen?” Eve asked.
“Err… I got arrested?” Cyan innocently replied.
“I mean on the battle duh, not afterward.” Eve counters.
“Hmm… the armor will start to get hot?”
“Yep, what would happen next?” Eve continues to dig into Cyan’s logic.
“The armor user would probably be unable to focus?” Cyan tried to reply.
“And his weakness will show up. He might even give you a big opening for you to finish it in one hit.” Eve said.
“I see…”
“What would think would happen if you did the same to someone with leather armor?”
“He would probably evade my Firä before it even hits because there is no way he won’t get burned using that,” Cyan replied while thinking of possibilities.
“Exactly. Most heavy armor users depend on their armor so great that if that armor fails there is no way for them to counter. That’s why a Mage is strong again Knights. On the other hand, Leather armor user knows it can’t stop a greatsword strike or a fireball, or even a smack from a hammer. The user always knew that they can’t bet their life on their armor and bet it on their skills instead.” Eve starts to explain her logic on armor.
“So they evade like you?” Cyan asked.
“Leather armor is not just lighter than iron armor you know, it also makes less sound. Archers and Snipers could use them to snipe their target silently, Assassin could use them to strike the enemy from behind and a beginner could even run faster to save their life if something goes wrong. It really depends on how you use it, and if somehow your skills fail, there is still a little bit of hope left from your armor. Your enemy attack needs to pierce two layers, your skills, and your armor.” Eve continues explaining her reasons.
“Oh wow, I always thought the heavy-lifting guys with armor have the best defense,” Cyan replied with her logic.
“I’m not saying you should pick a leather armor nor a heavy armor is bad, I’m saying you should learn what armor suits your style the best. If you like to go in front, wielding your sword while mindlessly killing your enemies, the heavy armor might be the best choice. If not, train your skills and pick a light armor.” Eve continues.
“Okay!” Cyan replied happily after having new tips from a veteran.
We both then train a little bit more and eat our lunch together. I was asking to learn more in the afternoon but Eve said ‘Why don’t you visit Gabe for the evening?‘ and so here I am in front of the guild base.
“Excuse meee~” I shout while opening the door, Anne the cat replies with her meow and starts running toward Gabe’s room. I was tasked to deliver her back this morning but I can’t find Anne anywhere in my room and it turns out that she got home by herself somehow. Anne’s black fur and green eyes remind me of what happened last night.
I was in a burning town. My mother or someone who I thought is my mother hugging me and saying some words that I can’t really figure out even after all these years of having the same dream over and over. Yes, I didn’t always have the same dream in all my sleep but this one nightmare would always freak me out. And last night was the first time something different happened. I am pretty sure that I have never seen a hooded figure with green eyes in that dream before, and yet she shows up twice already in the past two nights. Why did she appear now? Why did she look like an adventurer? Or a warrior? A hero? I’m not sure but one thing I know is that she said: “I’m sorry”.
“Oh! My lovely adventurer comes visiting me!!” Gabe shows up with a happy face.
“Ah! You should stay in bed!!!” My train of thought suddenly stops and changes its direction to Gabe’s condition.
The guild master is using a crutch to hold his body, his right leg was wrapped in a bandage and cast but his face is bright like it's always been.
“I brought you lunch, Eve makes it for you.”
“Wow, thanks again!” Gabe replied happily.
I also did bring him his breakfast which Eve also made me in the morning.
“You should thank Eve,” I replied.
“I will, I will. Mind if I start eating now? This looks delicious!” said Gabe while preparing the meal on the table alongside cat food for Anne.
“Sure, I ate mine with Eve just now.”
“Alright! Thank you O’Lord for this food in front of me.” Gabe then starts to eat.
“I think Eve really cares about you huh?” I asked.
“…”
“I knew a little about Anne so you don’t really need to stay quiet.”
“I see, I guess Eve told you then… Yes, Eve was Anne’s best friend even before I knew the both of them.” Gabe replied.
Pausing for a moment, Gabe stops eating and then starts gobbling them down again.
“Eve has every right to blame me for what happened to Anne.” Gabe continues to talk.
“…”
I can’t really reply to that statement.
“If I didn’t ask them to be an adventurer, if I didn’t share my dream with Anne, if I was not a son of a guild master, Anne might still live with us today.”
The mood is getting heavier and I am probably partly to blame.
“Nyaa…” Anne starts cuddling with Gabe’s left arm as if she tried to comfort her master.
“Eve never blames you in her story,” I said confidently.
“Yes, I know. She is too kind. I’m the one blaming myself.” Gabe replied.
After some awkward silence for a few minutes, Gabe finished his food and put on a smiling face again.
“So, what are your plans now? Taking another quest? Oh! I never did give you the quest award for finding Anne didn’t I?” said Gabe while I play around with Anne.
“Well, we both find her so I don’t think I should take it,” I replied.
“No no no! I tried to look for her and never find any clue and you found it on your first day. I need to settle this as a quest giver.”
Gabe then gets up and goes to his counter.
“Here is a reward of three gold pieces as stated from the quest and some extra for you.”
“Eh? That’s too much for a quick searching quest…”
“No, it’s not. Oh and we also need to update your levels. Encountering a D-class monster and still putting up a fight and even living to tell the tale should raise you a level or two.”
“But Eve was the one who killed it…” I recall what happened in the clearing.
“After you make it easier for her to kill. Hell, I could even say Eve steal your kill! Hahaha,” Gabe laughs.
I smiled knowing that somehow I could help in a battle.
“So, mind explaining those monster classes? and also adventurer ranks.” I asked regarding monster and adventurer ranks.
“Ah yes of course.” Gabe then starts rummaging through his counter and pulls one big roll of paper then spread it out on the table.
“As you can see here, the monster is classified by its size and its potential destruction,” Gabe replied after showing some papers.
The paper shows a list of Adventurer ranks and their monster counterpart with a detailed explanation and pictures.
“So Iron Rank could only take E-class monsters?” I asked.
“In a sense, yes. If for example, the guild posted a hunt for a goblin, an Iron Rank Adventurer should be able to do it easily. But inside a class, there is also a size difference. If you were tasked to kill 10 goblins in a goblin camp you would have a harder time right?”
“Yes, I would think so.”
“That's why if a quest like that exists it would be recommended for one Bronze Rank Adventurer or two Iron Ranked ones to tackle multiple E-class monsters.” Gabe continues to explain.
“I see, so goblin shaman is at the top of D-class monster?” I pointed at the picture.
“Yep, because usually shamans are located in the center of a goblin cave or base, so it means that it probably has 30 or more goblins inside it. This should be easy for one Bronze Rank adventurer but would probably need a dozen of Iron Rank Adventurers. But if in some odd case, a shaman were alone by itself in the middle of nowhere, it probably only classified as an E-class monster.”
“Then why did the worm classify as D?”
“Because that worm could probably eat its way through a goblin nest with a shaman inside it easily,” Gabe replied.
“Make sense…”
“But again its attack is easy to evade and its body is weak to any attacks, so it definitely not a C-class monster.”
A — Platinum Rank
B — Gold Rank
C — Silver Rank
D — Bronze Rank
E — Iron Rank
I tried to remember the complicated text and pictures as simply as I could.
“I need to remind you that this is just the recommended chart. The world outside cannot be numbered. There are a lot of cases where higher rank adventurers were killed by a lower class monster.”
“Yes. I almost see it firsthand.” I narrowed my eyes and stares in Gabe’s direction.
“Ahahahahahaha…” Gabe laugh wryly.
The guy who said it will be fine laughed when he remembered he almost get killed by a worm because he dismissed my advice to prepare before going into the cave.
“So after you successfully hold the worm I think I can give you the recommendation for Bronze Rank tests. If you killed it yourself I could give the Bronze Rank immediately but Eve said you were not in a good position when she saved you so D-class monsters are probably a little bit further away.”
“Hmm…”
I start to look for a top Iron Rank monster recommendation on the paper.
“Is this guide doesn’t have anything besides goblins?”
“Hahaha, well their kind were the most annoying and their numbers were so great that the guild tried to put them as a priority for beginners to hunt.”
“So 20 goblins is easy for me now?” I asked Gabe.
“Don’t you think so?” Gabe replied with a question.
“Hmm…”
I do some image training in my mind to simulate a battle with 20 goblins in their camp.
“My Firä could probably take a lot of them out immediately and the rest of them with my sword…”
“Yep, should you find any camp you could try that right away but please do be careful.” Gabe replied.
“Were you guys easily climb rank like this?” I asked.
“You mean Anne, Eve, and I? Nah, not really. We only got our guts when we start our adventures. You were different. From the way you fight, I know you have some experience in you even while looking so young.”
I didn’t reply to the remark.
“But it is indeed not a rare case as well. There are quite a few people that start higher than Bronze Rank. But usually, adventurers start from Iron.” Gabe continues to explain.
“What about adventurer levels?”
“You really don’t know anything, did you?”
I answered with a smile.
“Each Adventurer Rank has three levels, making Level 15 the highest Gold Rank adventurer could have,” Gabe explains more about levels.
“I see. So do I get something for advancing my levels?” I asked.
“Yep.”
A local guild could advance people to Level 2. Gabe then told me that if I need to advance to Silver Rank or higher, I would need to do it in the capital. He then gave me a necklace with an iron pendant with three stars on it.
“You also need to pick one of these three.”
Gabe pulls out a silver dagger, a wooden bow, and a blank grimoire.
“There should be a sword and a shield as well for a representative for each popular class but you know the business around here ain’t really that good so… hahaha” Gabe smile wryly.
I took the blank grimoire as it would save me some magic stones if I register my spells there.
“Can I take Anne with me for tonight?” I asked after we finished all the guild procedures.
“Nyaa???” Anne the cat answers as if she knows what I meant.
“Sure! You are her life savior after all, but only if Anne wants to okay?”
I then pick up Anne and the lunch box and said goodbye to Gabe.
The sky is still bright but starts turning orange-ish, and the sun is starting to set, foreshadowing the darkness of the night that will come in a little bit. The lamps start to light and the already silent town is getting more silent after its people start going back to their homes. On my way back to the Inn I said what was on my mind to the cat on my right arm:
“You actually are Anne, Gabe’s late wife aren’t you?”
“Nyaa???”
The cat can only answer as it did before.
to be continued to Chapter Eight
~Terti
