Tales of the Pearly Kingdom (Pearly Tales Vol. 2)

83. Achilles' Order and Cal's Chaos

Every one of guild members looked like they had just been knocked off of any high they had ever had. At Cal's mocking laughter several of them began crying all except Ophelia who smiled proudly.

"Pull yourselves together, did I recruit any of you to be a part of an army? Gods no!" Cal's laughing subsided. "Armies are made up of numbers, faceless cavalry and expendable soldiers. No one here is faceless nor expendable and I am personally insulted you called them an army. These are Adventurers! Every one a character in their own right, each one chasing a dream, each one without the power to do so currently, but every one with potential to spare. One day everyone in the world will know the names of every person in this room. Armies simply fight wars, Adventurers ride on the breeze of change and live by dancing through the dreamscapes of infinite possibility. We cannot be bound by petty imagination! We do not conquer nations, we conquer ourselves to rise above what the world sees us as to become who and what we want to be. You lot are a piss poor army, but only because you all are better suited to be exceptional adventurers. You are all coal in my hands and when I am done beating and scraping away the weakness, you will be diamonds shaping your own destiny with every skill and tool at your fingertips. We sharpen our teeth on adversity! Our fangs shine brighter than any blade! Wipe away your tears Oathkeepers, and left me see you grit those teeth!"

Cal craned his head back and let out and exaggerated bellowing laugh. And this time no one looked at the ground. They each did the same and laughed with spiteful confidence in themselves and their leader.

Cal spun on the ball of his foot and placed a hand on Achilles' shoulder. "Achilles here is a prodigy! A bright star! An expert in her field! One without peer in the Dawn Way, or so I've been told! After fighting her myself, I can attest to her overwhelming prowess. None of us are like her, but we can all strive to be as bright as her. The fundamental teaching of the Dawn Way is to teach strength to the weak, and grow strong in turn, from the weak's strength they strive symbiotically. This I can appreciate. I look forward to seeing her future as a follower of the Dawn Way or..." Cal met her gaze again with that look that defied reason. It was like he knew everything and nothing about her all at the same time. She was naked before him, even her hate for him was laid bare at his feet and still he had that smug look that dared to see what she could not. "... or whatever path she chooses."

Achilles was partially mystified by him and... was Cal questioning her devotion to the Dawn Way?

"But we can all strive to be as bright as her. All right, Vanguard, Knights, and Fates. Time for some Hell Training! One hour, you all versus me." Cal punched his hand creating a shockwave. "The name of the game is Willpower, it is easy to live a life without failure. It is more impressive to pick yourself up after you fall. Now, come at with the intention to kill or I'll just hit you that much harder."

He took a battle stance. "Hifumi." Cal called to a micro griffon that perched on his shoulder. "Let's get started."

*

Achilles couldn't help but grumble to herself. Cal took to training in the Dawn Way unnaturally fast especially in one of the styles that he focused on. She didn't know why he had fixated on it until now. It was an open palm style focused on counterattacks that disabled or impaired opponents rather than delivering killing blows. He also infused his hands with healing and buffing magics, not for him, but for those he struck. An ineffective technique when trying to defeat an enemy.

Every time he struck someone they glowed with healing powers... before he sent them flying. He laughed and egged them on.

Cal fought in a peculiar way. He left behind after images with illusion magic. He then used flash step to zip between images. It was like he was everywhere and nowhere all at the same time. Achilles never would have imagined him using all those different magics and styles: Illusion, Druidic, Priest, and Rogue. Who could realistically employ that many contrasting magics. Cal was something else. The Dawn way did the same thing but with weapon training. Cal's original fighting style was one that she had specifically trained to counter. On top of that when she faced him the first time and she was able to use his clumsy hesitancy and surprise to her advantage.