Magium - Project Zero (A What-If Story)

Chapter 3 - I Will Protect You

After a few hours of walking, the trio found themselves sitting in a circle in a small cave they had found near the northern mountains. They had gotten there rather easily, aside from the sight of dead bodies every once in a while. Without any rules, the participants had let their primal urges take over.

"So Barry," Daren says, polishing his armor. "You don't want to use your magical abilities because, even though you were born with them, you never properly practiced how to use them and are afraid of the damage they could cause?"

"Pretty much." Barry answers.

"And that little device of yours let's you hide your aura so you won't be driving too much attention to yourself?"

"Correct," Barry answers, taking a look at the device he carries. "But this one is still a prototype and it has a time limit. It will fail every once in a while and release my aura, just like you saw earlier with that Dave fellow. I have to reboot it to hide my aura again once that happens."

"Do you have any kind of advice for him, Kate?" Daren asks.

"No." Kate answers curtly.

"Because you don't care?"

"Because I can't help him. I'm an ice mage, and without any knowledge of what magical capabilities he has, I can't tell him what to do or how to do it."

"Fine, I understand." Says Daren. "Anyways, those were some amazing moves you did back there with your staff Barry. Who taught you those moves? They must have been quite an expert in martial arts."

"Not exactly..." answers Barry, taking out the staff from his pocket and extending it. "Master Galf was just adept at using the staff. He wasn't the best at wielding magic at close range, so he instead tried his best to find a weapon that would allow him to simultaneously use magic and have good mobility. After many tries he ended up with the staff. He then mastered the essence of it and incorporated it into his fighting style. I met him one day while... Well... That's a story for another time..."

"Well, how did he end up teaching you?" Daren says, prompting Barry to continue.

"Oh, right. As I was saying, After I met him, I ended up watching him for a while, and eventually, he invited me to try his combat style. It took a while, but I managed to get the essence of the staff. Now I can use it as if it was just another part of my body."

Barry then makes the staff spin and throws it in the air, he then closes his eyes and catches the staff.

"And I learned a few tricks on the way." Barry adds with a smile on his face.

"That's amazing Barry!" Daren says standing up and patting him on the back. "But I think we should talk about some strategies, now that we are a team."

"Right, we haven't been able to properly coordinate back there." answers Barry, putting his staff back in his pocket.

"Well, assuming that your abilities will be the most useful in the front line," says Daren looking at Barry. "That leaves me and Kate." He then turns towards Kate. "What you said earlier opened my eyes. I can't deal with weapon enchanters myself, so I want to ask you if you can deal with them when the time comes."

Kate nods at Daren, as he continues to talk.

"As for myself, I'm good against elementalists, summoners, and shapeshifters. So I'll focus on them if we meet any."

"Now Barry," says Daren, looking back at him. "I don't know what drives you, but not killing an enemy in a battle like this one could be a death sentence. If Kate hadn't been there, you would've lost your life."