Waking up in the morning was never my strong suit, but regardless of that, I woke up just as the sun began to rise. It always felt out of place to be awake so early, because why bother waking up in the morning if you can sleep as much as you need. Sadly, the world required me to wake up early to work, and this world will not be an exception, given that I now have much more to strive for, and everything to gain. Being an early bird in this scenario will, indeed, grant me the first worm.
My shikigami were still awake, guarding the door and the window to my room, and as soon as I woke up, they left their position, assimilating themselves back into my shadow. Walking around the tavern full of people with 2 big wolves is not as easy, and while I was fine with that, it may and will cause a commotion. Better summon them back when I'm on the streets.
With a quick breakfast that consisted of a portion of toad legs, some tea and a quick grab of a piece of a small cake to fulfill my need in sugar, I was out to the blacksmith to get myself my first actual weapon. Thankfully, I found the shop yesterday during my travels through the city, so I had no problems with navigating back to it, and as soon as I arrived, I could see that it was already open, with smoke going out of a chimney.
As soon as I entered, I saw the man himself inside, who's muscles were seen beneath his thin shirt. He has a short, brown beard and hair of the same length and color, and upon hearing as I entered, gave me a side glance, not turning away from the piece of metal he was hammering at, only to turn back to it, not bothering to look in my direction.
— G'day, boy. Ya need somethin' from me goods, or ya just lookin' around? — While he kept hammering the piece of metal, I took a look at the weaponry that was on display right now. While it did have a weapon that was good of a quality, as far as my unprofessional eye can tell, it was not something I was looking for. All the weapons there were either made to be sold for as high price as possible, or were just something to be shown and never sold. They were sharp, could cut most of the materials and won't break as easily, but their weight, balance or even design weren't to my liking.
— I'm looking for a sword or something similar, dagger will be fine too. Ideally, I would like a double edged sword, that's about this long. — Mimicking the lenght of a blade using my hands, seeing as he gave me a side glance to see what I was talking about, I let him know what I'm looking for exactly. — I can make a drawing if It's not enough of an explanation to picture it. I've got around 40 thousand eris on me. If you don't have anything of sorts, I would like to order a custom one.
— I see ya know what yer lookin' for. Them days, them younglings only want a sword for show, and don't get what it means to use one, so havin' people like you showin' up once in a while is refreshin'. I reckon I've got what ya want, but lemme take a look at it first. — With a sigh, he put an unfinished metal product in a forge, to keep the heat up, and wiping the sweat off of his forehead, went to the storage room. I could hear metal rustling sounds, as if he was digging through countless weapons he made in his life. It took him about 3 minutes to look through his goods, and when he came out, he was holding what I could describe as a masterpiece. It was not ideal, of course, since even I, although sharpening my sight with cursed energy, saw imperfections there and there, but for my current financial state, that was more than enough. — Made this one a few years before gettin' to Axel. Reminds me of good times, with so many memories to boot. It's not perfect, and it got a little dull over time, but if ya take it now for full price, I'll get it back in shape for free. How does it sound to ya, kid? 40 thousand eris is a good price for this good little sword.
— We have a deal. — Barter was successful. I was expecting it to cost higher, given the quality of his other goods, so I said that I have only 40 or so thousand eris to lower it to my current maximum. I will still have some eris to spare. — Mind if I sit there while you work?
— Ya can sit there till I finish it. If someone comes in, tell 'em to wait. I'll be in the storage room. — As soon as I handed him the money, he went back to the storage room, while I sat on the chair that was closest to the window. A fresh breeze of air was blowing into my face, and I was enjoying my time, waiting for the sword to be fully ready for battle test.
Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, a pair people, a boy with a girl, who's face I remember from yesterday, went inside of the store, only to be met with my gaze. While the boy shivered at my gaze, either because he's not used to communication, or because I was looking way too menacingly with my poker face.
— If you're looking for a blacksmith, he's a little busy, and will be back very soon. — I said, pointing in the direction of a storage room, then at the display stands. — If you're looking for something to buy, you can take a look at the stands there. Maybe you'll find something to your liking.
— Uhm, thanks. By the way, have we met each other before? — While the girl was looking around, checking everything on display, the boy, who was still in the clothes he was a day prior, was looking at me, as if trying to remember who I was. Now that I have a better look at it, it's a tracksuit. Way too uncommon for this world.
— Sorry, but I don't recall meeting you before. You've probably mistook me with someone else. — Dismissingly waving my hand, I pointed it at his clothes. — Although your clothes look kind of familiar. It there a specific region, city or country perhaps, where it's from? I don't recall seeing anything close in Axel. — I decided to play it safe, because while it was, indeed, a tracksuit, jumping to a conclusion that this guy is also reincarnated is pretty dangerous. Maybe this world actually has them and I'm just overreacting?
— Uhm, well, it's a suit from my homeland. I don't think they do it in Axel. — He scratched the back of his head, trying to think of something, but sighed, giving up. — Actually, I remember where I saw you. You're the new summoner guy with two big wolves that registered yesterday. Did you arrive in the Axel recently?
— Yeah, I got to Axel just a little while ago. Name's Y/n L/n. Pleased to meet you. And you are?
— Kazuma Satou. The pleasure is mine.
— ...
— ...
— Let me guess, Japan. — After a short period of silence, I decided to finally ask the question that was on the tip of my tongue.
— I had to guess you're just the same as me. — He laughed a little, taking a seat a little bit away from me. — Came out of nowhere, unbothered by everything, accompanied by two giant wolves and got massive stats as soon as you joined the guild. People all around the guild were talking about how rare summoners actually are. — He laughed a little, remembering the past day. — So many clues around, and I hadn't bothered to pick up any of them. At least now I know I'm not alone here.
— What about the girl? Isn't she with you? — I wondered, seeing as he deflated at the question.
— She's a wish that I asked for. Her name's Aqua, and she's a goddess that was annoying me to no end in the afterlife, so I snapped and picked her as my blessing. Other than healing and fighting undead, she's absolutely useless. — I could see how much he regretted his decision, but I'm not the one to judge, really. If she was as annoying as he says she is, it might be deserved.
— I won't call it useless, really. That's just heavy case of overspecialization. Someone who is good at fighting undead and healing you? I'd call it a win, unless you have no one to do damage to other types of enemies. Having a healer in your party is essential to your survival, and unless she actually is sercretly bad at healing, I'd say you picked a decent wish. — As soon as I finished speaking, I saw a blacksmith walking out of the storage room, seeing 2 new customers and me, sitting in silence.
— Yer sword's now in the best possible shape as of now. Had to go a little rough on it, so take care of it after each battle, ya hear? 'Twould be a shame for such a good sword to break one day. — As I took a sword from his hands, and traced my palm on its flat side, pulsing cursed energy through the entire length of it, I smiled wider, feeling my energy tracing through it with no troubles, which means it won't be that hard to imbue it with cursed energy to improve its stats. — Ya need a scabbard?
— Nah, I got a better place for it. — With that said, I put my new sword in my shadow, which prompted everyone to look at me in confusion, before they shrugged, as if it's something normal. Maybe they just decided not to think much about it. — See you around, old man.
— Take care, boy.
***
Just as I was about to leave the city gate to finish my quest, I heard two people running in my general direction from behind, and turned my head around to see what's happening, until I saw Kazuma with his partner running to me. I decided to stop to see what it's all about, and as soon as Kazuma stopped, he took a moment to catch his breath.
— Thanks for waiting. How about we team up, at least for a bit? We took a quest to get some toads, just 5 of them, to be exact, and I'm not sure we will fare against them. — Kazuma admitted, placing a hand on his hip, where I noticed a short sword, which he most likely got from the same blacksmith.
— What are you talking about, Kazuma? We don't need anyone else. After all, I'm a goddess, no problem will be unsolved as long as I'm near. — The girl, Aqua, as I recall, bragged, only to be met with 2 sceptical gazes.
— Kazuma, did she hit her head, or is she just delusional?
— I think it's both. Don't mind her, she goes on this rant sometimes. — He picked up my teasing, and hiding our smiles, we looked back at Aqua.
— What is that look on your face?! You don't believe me? Just wait and you shall see me in full grace! — Clenching her fists, she ran ahead of us, eager to prove both of us wrong. I didn't care much, because as long as she's not useless in every aspect, it's up to Kazuma to deal with it.
— I don't mind tagging along with you. I got 5 toads to kill as well. Might cover your back and give you some tips while I'm at it. — Shrugging my shoulders, I started walking in the direction Aqua took, with Kazuma following me close behind. — Whats your class?
— Adventurer. The basic class anyone can get. Everyone I asked before told me it's a bad class, but I don't think so. I can learn any skill from any class if they teach me. The skill I learn from them will be weaker, but I can easily multiclass. — He was looking kind of sad upon mentioning his class, so I didn't push it, and decided to have a little chat.
— Seems kind of nice. Being able to use multiple skill trees without any other requirements other than having enough skill points to learn it is useful. You can literally be Jack-of-all-trades while being master of none. — We were getting closer to the place I last saw toads at, and upon noticing one, I saw Aqua running straight at it. — Let's watch the show in the meantime.
— God blow! — Her fist lit up with rainbow light, the one I saw back then when Eris cast her magic, and as she was about to hit the toad, I remembered that blunt attacks don't work on toads. Too late to warn her now, isn't it?
Just as predicted, the toad, who's belly received a punch that did nothing, lowered her head, opened her mouth and closed it on Aqua, who's body was now half inside the toad, with only the legs being outside, as it was slowly trying to swallow her whole.
— Hey, don't eat her! — Kazuma, upon seeing his teammate in such predicament, ran ahead first, taking his sword from his hip to fight it.
We both noticed one interesting thing about this whole process. If the food toad tries to swallow is too big, it stops moving to try and get it inside fully, which is a perfect time to strike. So, even though Kazuma doesn't know a thing about using a sword, he had no troubles getting behind the toad, and poking it with a sword in the legs, until it fell and he got a chance to stab it in the head. Even though with the help of such a bait as Aqua, he still killed a toad.
— Congrats on your first kill. I advice you take its eyes and legs, if you can carry them of course. They cost a pretty coin, if you know what I'm talking about. — Getting closer, and patting him on the back to reassure him after witnessing his face full of shock, I gave him a piece of my mind, before taking out my own sword from the shadow, and slashing it at one of the toads legs, covering it with a layer of cursed energy first, which made it sharp enough to slice the leg from the body instantly. Unfortunately, cursed energy cannot fully protect the sword from blood and mucus that toad has inside and outside, but fortunately, the same toad can be used to clean it, since the skin, while thin enough to be cut with a regular knife, was thick enough to use it as a cloth to wipe it from its insides.
This little demonstration was enough for Kazuma to understand what to do next, but it did not mean it did not disgust him, just as the fact that, when toad finally died, it opened its mount, revealing Aqua, fully covered in mucus, crying at her own misery.
— Thank you...thank you, Kazuma... — She kept crying, trying to get the mucus off of herself, without success, and leaving her to it, I noticed another toad in the distance, and this time, I decided to take it down myself, rather than being a bait for my shikigami.
— Divine Dogs. — Calling out their name, I let the shadows extend from my own shadow, materializing two wolves that, upon seeing the toad, already knew what to do. — Boys, distract it. I want to get it with a sword this time. — Noting the change in strategy with a woof, they ran as their full speed, closing the distance between them and the toad in no time, and when the toad noticed them, it, of course, tried to catch them with its tongue, unsuccessful, of course, which gave me the opportunity to run up and finish it.
Letting the cursed energy run through my entire body, I ran full speed ahead, catching a glimpse of a surprised face Kazuma made upon seeing my abilities, and once I was close enough, I jumped as high as I physically could, which was still enough to get to the neck level of this toad. With a quick spin, I sliced it's neck with my sword, barely get out of the way, before all the insides got onto me. A bit of slime, unfortunately, still got onto my right arm, but it was so insignificantly low that I could just wipe it with a bit of cloth or grass. As soon as the toad was dead, I plucked it's eyes out, placing them in my shadow, and made the same with its legs. Normally, I would've only taken one, but given my need in more money, I decided to carry more than I could carry without much troubles. And boy is it heavy. It felt like a boulder was laying on both of my shoulders at a time, and my normal walking speed turned into a slow pace one would be using after a long marathon.
I could not run with such weight currently being carried in my shadow, so all the way back to Kazuma and Aqua, I was walking. My Divine Dogs kept me company while I did so, just in case any other toad shows up out of nowhere. Only then did I noticed that one toad, that was laying on the ground near Kazuma, had now turned in two, with even more slimy Aqua. It seems she tried to take down another one, but failed miserably, and they got 2 toads killed in one go. 10 thousand eris is 10 thousand eris.
— Seems like you got a gist of it. It seems we both start to get used to our new weapon. — Pointing at Kazuma slowly cutting the leg off of a dead toad's body, I gave him a little smile. — I will be going to the city. I need to dispose of those legs and eyes.
— Don't you have a storage in your shadow? Why bother going back if you can have in there? — He decided to ask, as if it wasn't obvious by how slowly I was walking.
— Everything I store into my shadow remain the same weight, and I feel each gramm of it. If I put too much inside, I can literally get crushed by the weight, and having two giant legs inside of it is more than enough, thank you. — Walking past him, I heard his steps approaching, but I didn't bother to look back, knowing he will most likely head back to the city to get his teammate back on track, as well as reconsider his tactics. He seems like a smart guy.
***
— 152 thousand eris for completing the quest, 25 thousand eris for 5 toads, and 50 thousand eris for 10 toad legs, as well as 25 thousand eris for 5 pairs of eyes. Your total is 252 thousand eris. Thank you for your hard work. — To be honest, I didn't expect it to be that much. When I killed the toads, I completely forgot that I not only get money for them and their parts, but the quest was already paid for and had it's own reward, which is 15,200 eris for a single toad. Either the one who commissioned the quest hates their guts, which increased the reward of the quest, or their overpopulation is such a huge problem that guild takes higher payment for a quest to pay adventurers who exterminate them. Either way, I'm happy with what I got. I got enough money to guarantee myself another weapon, or I can look into the magic shop I saw earlier. Maybe it has some magic weapons that will help me as well. I need to increase my arsenal just as much as I need to tame more shikigami.
Megumi, while relying on his shikigami to fight, didn't neglect the hand to hand combat and usage of weapons. He had jet black sword, playful cloud(which he didn't like, it was just for Maki to use) and a little handful of other weapons to use as well. It would be perfect if I find anything like the cursed tools shown in the show, but I really doubt anything as good as them will appear here. Instead, I can get more ranged weapons, or something to restrain the target to hit them while they can't resist. Spear, bow, dagger, three section staff, maybe something akin to a throwing daggers. I have so many options to pick from, and I hadn't even touched magic tools, because I don't know any from this world.
While thinking of this, and looking at my adventurer card, I couldn't concentrate on what was in front of me. Apparently, I leveled up three times after killing 10 toads in total, which made me from freshly made level 1 into a level 4 summoner. This, in turn, granted me 3 points, 1 for each level. I expected it to be around 3 or 5 points per level, but oh well.
Sadly, my cheapest skill right now, which is boost to my shikigami's abilities, is 5 points. I need to level up two more times to be able to boost them, other than supplying them with more cursed energy, which doesn't give much results, given that I have yet to understand how cursed energy works with my shikigami's.
— Now that I think about it, what is your ability? You have a shadow storage, and two wolves that you can cast from your shadow. That's more than 1 ability. Did you get two or what? — Kazuma looked offended for a second, but he was looking at Aqua in that moment, which I presumed was because he thought she scammed him. We were eating toad legs in the tavern after we completed our quests(he still needs to kill 3 toads, but still), and we're picking up some random themes while eating.
— It's all part of 1 ability. The name of it is Ten Shadows. I won't go much into details, but think of it as 10 different summons with some other parts booted into shadow manipulation. The wolves you saw before is the first summon, with the name "Divine Dogs". In order to get other ones, I have to summon them, and beat them in a battle, alone or with my current summons, before I can summon them as allies. That's the basics. — Munching on a toad leg, I was observing how his face changed.
— That's...actually balanced. You get a shadow inventory, but you feel all the weight, you get insanely powerful or useful summons, but you have to beat them first, and it's all a single ability? Man, why did I have to pick her over everything else! — While Aqua went to get more beer for herself, Kazuma went on a rant about his misery. — If not for her stupid remarks, impatience and an actual sympathy for the dead, I would've been basking into glory!
— If you want to, you can go with me to the church of Eris this evening and ask for advice or guidance. Eris was the one to reincarnate me, and she's the sweetest goddess I've ever met, and I've only seen 2 so far.
— You know what? I will take your offer. I need to rant to someone. — He lifted his mug, and took a big gulp of the liquid inside, while I finished what I was eating, and stood up from the table. — How about joining our party? You will be insanely helpful with your summons.
— Sorry, but I'll have to refuse. I'm not against hanging out with you and your party on occasions, maybe a few times a week, but I don't want to take all your fun in this adventure. Believe me, when I get more summons, there will be close to one, if ever one, to stand in my way, and it will be insanely boring if I do all the work. Have some fun, feel the thrill of battle and enjoy the sights the new world has to offer. If you need help, call out to me, and I'll come, but you have to find yourself a company you can rely on, even if I'm nowhere close to you. — I said, with a genuine smile, even as I saw that Kazuma was a little depressed over my words. — Sorry to ruin it that way, but as thrilling as it might be, traveling with another reincarnated will get boring if we see each other every day on quests. Let's take it easy and enjoy what we got, alright? — Giving him a fist to bump, I waited for him to react, and when he finally sorted his thoughts, and, with a weak smile, gave me a fistbump.
— Alright. I will take you on your word. Do come with us on some quests once in a while, alright? — As we both laughed, he raised his head to the ceiling, then looked at me. — In that case, I will be looking up for party members tomorrow. Can I ask you to be our backup this one time if the newbie is not able to help us much? I will probably put them to test on the toad quest.
— Sure, I will be there to help. See you in the evening, Kazuma.
— See you in the evening, Y/n.
***
Kazuma: Kono!
Y/n: Suba!
***
Outside of the city walls, when the sun was beginning to set, was very peaceful. Toads were going to sleep, so none were seen on the horizon, which made it perfect for the event I had planned to do today.
The magic shop was closed, since, apparently, owner of the shop went to complete the quest from the guild, and blacksmith was way too busy to deal with me this evening, so I had to forget about new weapons, at least for now. I still have to get used to the sword and how to properly use it. Just because I can swing it and hit my target does not mean I'm good at using it.
Back to the event at hand...
I was about to do a summoning ritual to subjugate a shikigami. It was stressful, because starting the ritual means I set myself to a death battle. Either I win and exorcise a shikigami, or I fail, and it kills me. There's no in between. If I already started the ritual, I cannot stop it until one of us dies, so I only have one chance at succeeding, unless someone else gets into the ritual and forcefully ends it by killing the shikigami, which will not grant it to me as a summon. Unfortunately, I'm alone, and I have no one but myself to rely on to subjugate this one.
— Divine Dogs. — Summoning both of my wolves before the rituals starts, I guarantee that I'm prepared to fight in the second I summon the shikigami, and the only thing left is handsighs, and incantation.
With a nervous sigh, I practice the motion of taking the sword out of my shadow to do it as fast as possible, while Wolves observe my actions. They already know what I'm preparing for, and they are as ready as I am. With the last sigh before the battle has started, I made the handsign.
— With this sacred treasure, I summon...
*Bleep*
*Take 2*
— Toad! — A mass of shadow rushed out from my own shadow, and in a distance, just a few leaps away, formed a shadow of a toad, which was more related to a common frog, with green skin and a symbol on its stomach, which was resembling Ten Sacred Treasures of Buddhism which Ten Shadows is based on.
It wasn't big, at least, not bigger than me, but it was bigger than Divine Dogs. First second after it was summoned, it leaps into the air, aiming straight at me, and while I grabbed my sword with a quick motion of my hand, Divine Dogs sprung into action. White wolf jumped in front of me, slashing at the tongue that was aimed at my head, while Black wolf started going on to the other side to catch it off guard.
After White wolf blocked the hit, damaging toad's tongue in the process, I ran in a curved line, which the White wolf mimicked, running just a bit away from me. As soon as toad hit the ground, we all ran at it, with White wolf keeping a bit of distance to change position if toad decides to run away. And, just as planned, the toad, seeing us surrounding it, leaps into the air to the side, exactly where we expected it to be, and White wolf instantly charged in that direction, leaping into the air and hit it with it's claws right into its leg, rendering it useless.
Toad croacked in pain, and after it landed, it lashed with it's tongue at the approaching Black wolf, and while it was distracted, I ran at it from behind, only to be met with resistance. It's tongue had retracted from Black wolf faster than I expected it to, which prompted me to miss the timing, and I got hit with it right in the face, while also having the tongue itself wrapped around my head, blocking my view. While it didn't hurt, at least not much, the force with which it started to pull me back was enough to break my neck if I didn't reinforce my body with cursed energy beforehand.
Swinging the sword right in front of me, I managed to cut right through it's tongue. As soon as my vision were clear, I could see both of my Shikigami biting into toad's neck, starting to rip it with furious motions of their heads. The toad resisted with all its might, but the force of two jaws full of fangs was not a trap it could escape.
It kept thrashing around, left and right, trying it's best to get them off, but resistance quickly shown itself as useless. Even the kicks with its strong leg didn't make Divine Dogs let go of its throat, and soon, with just a little push from a slight boost to their stats with cursed energy, the toad's throat was completely torn to shreds.
The toad, who's durability proved to be good enough to withstand some serious damage for a short while, was now subjugated. It turned into liquid shadow, moving right to me, and as soon as it connected, I could feel it. I have successfully tamed my first Shikigami. I can summon it at any given moment, and now, it will be fighting on my side.
— Good job, boys. We did it. — As soon as it was over, Divine Dogs came clother to me, and I gave them a bear hug to spoil them for doing a good job. Our first ritual went without much troubles, and it was all that mattered. — Now then. Toad. — Doing the handsigns, and summoning a toad from my shadow, I let it look around for a bit, before it jumped closer to me. — Hope we get along. — Toads have dry skin, but this one has it a bit slimy, which renders it more like a frog, and I found it out by giving it a headpat, which It seemed to like from a get go. — Maybe I should give all of you names... — Thinking about it, I always called Divine Dogs "wolves", "boys" etc. It's time to give them a name. — Alright then. You will be Dawn, — Pointing at the White wolf, I made it clear that it will be his name from now on. — And you will be Dusk. — Then I pointed at Black wolf, who was now happily wagging it's tail. — You will be Gamamaru. — The toad was also happy with its new name, given that it gave me something akin to a smile and closed it's eyes. — Alright, thank you all for being there. Time for you to get back. — As I said that, they assimilated back into my shadow, and I started going back to the city.
***
As I was walking through the streets of Axel, I decided to look through the alleyways to see if there's any more shops I could visit. Axel is a big town, and I wouldn't be surprised if there's some hidden places where you can access the goods other people won't even know about.
And oh boy, did I find something. "Dream House", which appears to be a café, given the sign at the entrance. I might visit it later, but for now, I'm not into the mood. Passing by it, and going deeper into the alleyways, I found nothing worth of attention.
— Man, that little trip was boring. — With a sigh, I kept walking forward, before I felt my pouch with a single coin set for distraction disappear from my pocket. I normally carry all valuable items in my shadow, but having a distraction like that is helpful for catching thieves. — Toad. — Making a hansign, I summoned Gamamaru, who, upon seeing me gesturing him to catch the thief, instantly jumped high in the air, and shot his tongue out of its mouth.
— Eep! — The surprised sound of someone who was caught was the indicator that it was a success, and so, jumping on the roof, I saw the restrained girl, who was trying to escape from the grip.
— Good job, Gamamaru. — Giving it a headpat, I walked closer to the thief, who had a black mask on his face. From the stature, it appears to be a girl. She was wearing a hood, and as soon as I took it off, I could see short, light purple hair on her head, with her eyes being purple in color. Even with a face mask covering half of her face, I could see a scar on her right cheek. It was looking like she was injured by dagger or a short sword. — Now then, care explaining why did you took something that's mine?
— ...I just wanted to teach you something. — Was all she could say, which made me confused.
— That "something" being? I'm pretty sure I know how to not get robbed of all my stuff, as you can say by a single coin in the pouch. Be more specific, and I might let you off the hook.
— I saw you buying a sword earlier, and you looked so clueless when holding it that I wanted to at least give you some tips in using it. — She averted her gaze from me, as if trying to evade eye contact.
— Oh, really? Out of goodness of your heart, without knowing who I am, completely for free? I'm really doubting it, unless... — Now that she mentioned it, I did ask Eris to find me someone who can teach me at least the basics. Could she be the one sent by her? — Are you, perhaps, believer of the Eris church?
— I am. What's about it? — With the way she said it, it was hard to understand if she's lying or not, but I decided to believe her for this one.
— Forget about it. Gamamaru, let her go. — He retracted his tongue back, and then assimilated back into my shadow, which seemed to surprise the thief. — If you're able to teach me, I'll even pay you, no need to steal. Good lessons cost money, and I'm not about to waste your time for nothing. Any place you have in mind for that?
— Nah, the roof will suffice. You won't have flat surfaces everywhere. There's always a need to expect the unexpected, so let's start with that. Hold out your sword for me. — Just as she said, I took the sword out of the shadow, and held it as firmly as I could. — At least you know how to hold a sword properly. Although, your footing is awful. Spread your legs a bit, you need to have something to hold your balance when you swing. You don't want to fall to the ground once you swing, don't you?
With that said, she took out her own weapon, a dagger, and pointed at me. It was no wonder what she expected me to do, so I ran forward to attack her. She's not a toad that will stand still when I attack it, so, obviously, she evaded my attack, and hit my wrist with a base of her dagger, and I barely held my sword not to let it go from sudden attack. I turned around, about to attack again, and had to stop for a moment to get my footing right, since I was about to fall from the roof. Her giggling was a little annoying in that moment, but as soon as I charged at her, she became serious again.
Swing from the left to the right, attempt to land an overhead strike, even the upwards slash were not enough to get close to hitting her, since she was faster in evading than I was in attacking, but if the opponent was slower, I was sure I could hit them. After a little while, she started deflecting my attacks, hitting my arms each time I did some sort of mistake, and the next time I swung my sword, I was sure I changed the way I attack to have less openings to exploit. I couldn't see her mouth due to face mask, but I could swear she was smiling.
Attack after attack, I was getting closer to hitting her at least once, and, after several more minutes of trying, I caught the moment she was vulnerable after dodging, and swung my blade to her throat, stopping just before I hit the target. I was getting tired, since I was just freshly after my Toad subjugation ritual, but I still had a smile on my face. I did improve, and it was a noticeable change.
We lowered our weapons, and while she put her dagger on her belt, I put my sword in the shadow. Taking a moment to catch my breath, I put my hand in the shadow, and counted 10 gold coins to pay for this lesson. Tossing them to the thief, I put a hand on my hip, seeing how she easily caught them.
— That concludes it, I guess. Thanks for the lesson. — Getting closer, I held out a hand for her to shake. — Name's Y/n L/n, summoner class. Pleased to meet you.
— Chris, thief class. The pleasure is mine. — She lowered her mask so I could see her face better, and for a moment, I was sure she reminded me of someone. For some reason, it was hard to think of any resemblance her face gives me, so I put it away. — If you need something, don't be afraid to ask for help. I spend time in the guild or on the quests, so you won't have much troubles in finding me. — Walking closer to the edge of the roof, she waved me goodbye. — See you around! — And jumped down, running away as fast as she could.
— You got her smell? — With a head of Dusk sticking through my shadow, I was making sure I can find her anywhere she is. With a confirmation from my shikigami, I let out a silent laugh, and jumped down from the roof, going to the Eris church to complete my daily routine.
***
Just as I was about to turn the corner and enter the church, I heard a commotion and two familiar voices. Getting closer, I saw Kazuma and Aqua bickering over something, with Aqua holding Kazuma by his clothes to stop him from moving forward.
— I won't allow you to pray to her! She's my junior, I'm her senior! If you want to pray, pray to me! — Hearing that, I understood the problem. Aqua found him walking to Eris church, like I suggested him to, and since she's a "self proclaimed goddess", she won't allow her "patron" to pray to other gods.
— Yo, Kazuma. Fancy meeting you here. — I decided to help out my newfound brother, and, as if Aqua didn't exist, freed him from her with a light shove to the side, putting my hand around his neck, speedwalking into the church, before Aqua understood what is happening. Priests won't let her in if she's going to act like she acts now, so we are save. — I see you've got a headache over there, so let's find a better place.
— Where do you think you're going?! — Aqua finally snapped out of her confusion, but it was too late, and after we went inside, a Priest that was near the entrance stopped her, and the only thing I could hear was her distant voice.
— Thanks for helping me out. She's been really annoying after the toads tried eating her. — He sighed in relief, and after I let him go, he looked around the church. — Never visited a church in my entire life. This, actually, looks amazing.
— I know, right? You don't need to pray if you don't want to. I'm sure Eris-sama appreciates you just being there. If you're up for it, though, you can join me. — Walking to the altar, and dropping a coin into the fountain, I stood on my knees, starting the daily prayer.
— "Thank you, Eris-sama, for finding me someone to learn from. I met Chris today, and I have to say, she's a nice girl, albeit a little clumsy with the way she tried to approach me. I started developing my ability more and more, and now I've completed my first ritual to get another summon. Thank you for your blessing, and I hope my words reach you once again. Many blessings upon your kind soul."
The coin in the fountain, just like the last time, winked at me, so I was sure she heard me. With a little smile, I stood up, seeing Kazuma silently appreciating the church's interior. When I finished, he looked at me, and nodded with the same smile.
— I would feel a little bad to pray to Eris after Aqua so desperately tried to stop me, but with the way I saw you pray, I'm now sure that Eris is just as nice as you describe her. — He rubbed the back of his head, unsure of what to say next, so I picked it up.
— Don't worry about it. Eris-sama heard my prayer, and I'm sure she saw you appreciating the place her followers built in her name. — Patting him on the back, I started walking to the exit. — Let's go, Kazuma. It's time to leave.
— Yeah, you're right. Let's go and eat something nice. — With a smile, he followed me to the exit, where we saw Aqua, sulking at the exit. It was, indeed, funny to see her like that, but deep inside, I did feel a little bad for the way she's trying to hold Kazuma from leaving her. She's desperate for attention, after all.
The end of the day was just me finishing the dinner, and going up to my room to sleep. Tomorrow will be the day Kazuma tries to get himself a party member, and I'm no exception, given that I will need a party for myself. Maybe I join someone else, maybe I find people willing to join me instead, and only time will tell what will turn out of it. I was looking forward to tomorrow, since I will be backing up Kazuma's party in case something goes wrong. Tomorrow will be busy, and I knew it. Bless this wonderful world and it's unexplored sights.