Chương 72: [BL] 71 Spell Blade [4]

After deciding what she intended to use her [Guard] class for—a sacrificial class where she wouldn't hesitate to use all of her runes to unleash an overwhelming burst of power to bring down or weaken any opponent and her plan for her other two classes to pick up the mess--Derrick, to her surprise, gave Willow his approval.

"Yes, that is a wise choice," the First Sword said. He wiped his sweaty hair up, exposing his forehead to the chilly night wind.

"A single powerful Spell Blade that does not have to hold itself back because you still have other sources of power to tap into."

"That does sound terrifying," Leynah said, sitting on the grass. She peeked back at Willow, who knelt and braided her hair so the wind did not mess it around.

"Although it's not something she should practice now," Drey pointed out. Ah, spending runes before the Rift purge was unwise… It was so unwise that Willow remembered someone who had just done that. She ended up looping Leynah's braid three times without tying it properly, and it unravelled. She shot a judging stare at Derrick, who barked a laugh at her.

"Why did you spend all your runes?" Willow almost shouted the question.

"Surely showcasing me your power to me is not worth it."

"Do not worry, my lady. Now I have a convenient excuse to bathe and relax. Besides, I'd argue showing you what your next path should be is quite important. Now, when it's time for your Ascension, you shall know the exact class you will select." True that Willow had been wondering whether, if she thought deeply about her class ascension choice and reflected on each, she could've gone for the Long Archer rather than her [Auric Huntress].

As for the other choice, there was no way she would choose anything besides [Ravenous Anatomist].

"Well, then, if you excuse me. I had better not dally and get the bath tents ready. All of you need to take it too. Make sure you are awake tomorrow with full runes," the First Sword said. Drey and Leynah hastily stood to bow their heads, and Willow silently growled at the woman. Now she had to do the braiding all over again.

"I spent a lot of runes," Leynah mumbled, pulling her arms up, stretching them.

"I really need to take a bath. Drey, could you teach her dual-wielding?"

"You sure? Her switching teachers midway will be bad—we fight differently."

"I want to learn your swooshing sword style," Willow whined.

"And I told you, you don't have the leg for it. Besides, if your class can learn any kind of fighting style, then learn the dual-wielding style." Leynah turned to Drey.

"I just need you to show her the basics so she can emulate it in the rift tomorrow and level up to gain a proper enhancer for it."

"What kind of class is this?" Drey asked, raising his eyebrow at Willow. In response, Willow donned her Ivory Assassin's Cloak. She did a half-turn and sprouted her crimson six-fold wings, then summoned an Auric Bow and arrow, both becoming warm beacons of light in the night. Far from over yet, Willow showcased her Sun thread, looping around a broken branch courtesy of Derrick and pulling it.

"I have Mind Defense and a Swordsmanship Enhancer too," Willow said.

"Also…" She hopped up and down and gestured to her feet.

"You have some kind of step suppression too," Derrick said, nodding.

"So, a class of learning? Adaptability? Heck, you have a Spell Bow, why don't you aim for another Spell Blade—""Ooh."

"Drey." Leynah scowled.

"She already has one class as a sacrificial class. Are you recommending her to get another one? As if that Spell Bow and Spell Arrow were not draining enough." Willow refrained from mentioning that her arrow would be more draining if she used Sunpiercer.

"But—" Drey raised his hands in a genuine, desperate motion.

"This is the Bright Rune, one, right? Come on, Leynah! You always leaned in whenever a bard sang about a Bright Stars Spell blade user. I swear, when we're well drunk in a tavern, you looked like you always were about to invite those bards to your room just so-" Willow flashed a grin at Leynah, whose cheeks were red, only hidden by her windswept hair. Then she opened her hand, and a bright light gathered on her palm.

The energy rippled and formed into a sword, its blade streaked with white and a brown fuller running along one side. The sword curved into a crescent shape along its lower third, designed for looping motions and swift movement. From its handguard down, there was nothing. Willow frowned. Was that a blade? The handle somehow merged right into Leynah's hand. This was like those Treants' toxic blades. Wind spun around them. Willow's hair lifted, and a sudden circling gust gathered around Leynah's feet.

The small gust was so powerful that Willow could see the wind manifest as a small tornado around the tier-three. One moment Leynah was there; the next, she was gone and appeared right behind Willow and Drey. A sudden gust behind made Willow stumble forward; she almost tumbled. She turned to see Leynah standing with her left fist on her hip. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

"Might as well show you," she sighed. Then, in one motion, the billowing gust traveled through her body and gathered by Leynah's Spell Blade; she slashed to the left, and what followed was a disaster of wind that cleaved down in one downstroke that split through dozens of trees in one line and in one whipping sound like a humongous lasso being lashed down. A thin cut that went half a meter deep scourged the earth.

A group of trees was cut so precisely that they did not even fall—the cut simply bisected them—and the scary part was that the leaves did not even react, except for those that were cut as well. With her mouth hanging open yet again, she looked at Leynah, whose class exploded, leaving the [Rabbit Champion] with no runes.

"You also have a Spell Blade?" Willow asked the obvious.

"I do, but even in tier-three I don't have a good enhancer to support it. Hence…" She lifted her Rabbit Sword, showcasing it to Willow.

"I prefer to rely on this. This gives me an alternative source of Runes I can tap into." [Rabbit Sword (Tier Three)] [Slot (Moon Rune: 10/10)] -Spell- [Hare's Hop] [2] -Enchantment- [Prey's Instinct]—The Rabbit needs to always be wary of predators. Increase Rabbit Sword's Strength by 50% to deflect any kind of attack from anything the user deems a predator. Willow furrowed her brow.

"Is this Hare's Hop the reason you kept appearing in front of me suddenly?"

"It is." Leynah gave her a proud smile.

"Anyway, you get the point. Sure, you got three classes and have some leeway, but wouldn't it be better to keep one of your classes as a versatile class?" Willow nodded along.

"Still though, The Bright Rune Spell Blade must have been quite a story for you to take some of those lucky bastards to bed," Willow said, purposefully keeping her voice low.

"It only happened twice—" Leynah stopped, and her starlight pupil gleamed dangerously at her slip-up. As Willow was about to burst out laughing, Leynah dropped her sword and, with both hands, pinched Willow's left cheek and right elf ear. It bloody hurt. The pain almost made her cry, muffling her voice. Was the woman trying to tear her face apart? She sent a pleading look to Drey, who shrugged. And uselessly he added.

"Well, not to brag, but while she does that, I usually have a pleasant time with the dancer—" Willow collapsed to her knees, palming her cheeks and ears. She felt a literal bump, like a humongous bee had just stung her.

"Take a bath and go to sleep, Willow," Leynah said, throwing a hand wave as she and Drey made their way across the clearing into the tent area.

"Oh, try not to piss someone higher-tier than you next time." Willow glowered at their back. Never piss someone higher-tier than you; she needed to keep a mental note.

"Fucking hell," Willow grumbled. Her hair was damp around her neck, and the wind gust was cold, like it splashed into her body, chilling her bones. Being outside after a bath sure was unhealthy, but she did not care. She did not have a pleasant bath time because every time she tried to submerge, her cheek and ear hurt. At least now her runes were full. People began streaming out of the bath tents.

The mood was levitating as laughter came out from groups, damp towels tied around their hair as they sat around and enjoyed the night wind. Across the glade, the men's bath tents stood; both tents were well separated from each other and the main camp. Willow spotted Krywen being surrounded by women and girls. She appeared uncomfortable, but she still thanked everyone as they pampered her. Not just her, but those who had ascended were being treated like a queen.

[Standard Bearer—Level 20] Hm, that sounded like something Kroos would take in his earlier years. Maybe Krywen intends to be just like her grandfather? Willow decided not to bother her. It was good that she could get along with those who would fight under her. Willow, after all, knew the soldiers here were primarily assigned by Kroos and from his house as well. Kroos's territory used to have an Animated Warrior Rift farm that produced [Swordsman] Class Stones.

And sure enough, when Willow identified those around Krywen… [Swordsman—Level 15] [Swordsman—Level 18] [Swordsman—Level 11] [Swordsman—Level 10] [Swords Adept—Level 23] She truly hoped that they didn't celebrate her just because she was their lord's granddaughter. If they did, then Willow shall personally have a word with them. Deciding she'd better go get some sleep soon, Willow went back alone. She enjoyed the pleasant smell of grass and pine that was swept up by the night wind.

The short walk was lovely; she ended up taking her time, even closing her eyes and almost tripping over her feet.

"That was stupid," she mumbled, looking around just in case someone might see a Bright Star almost comically tripping herself. At a quick glance, Willow found Evan and Rudo walking together. They entered a camp situated at the camp corner, near the watch post. I'd better congratulate Evan first before going to bed, Willow thought. The boys went out twice and reentered carrying a heavy box. And they were both panting, clearly hadn't taken a bath.

When she entered the tent, a bright shine from someone donning their class momentarily blinded her. She blinked and found herself staring at a gothic-plated knight with steel that looked pure white. Just pure white. In a strange, sudden hunger—Willow had a weird desire to paint it—to write something on it.

"My lady?" She turned to Rudo, who held a gauntlet—a good steel gauntlet with dirty grease on it. She blinked, looking back at the knight, whose helmet was a sallet. The knight tipped his helmet up, and Evan fixed his monocle, blushing and glaring at Willow. [Script Smith—Level 20] Inside the tent were various armour pieces showcased on armour stands, weapon barrels filled with spears, and a collection of swords sheathed on numerous sword stands. She even saw her Fire Knight Plate there, right beside Evan.

"Why do you look so embarrassed? That sounds like a good class. At least your class is not Hag."

"Thanks Light, for that." Evan rolled his eyes.

"My lady! This is perfect. I'm about to find you to ask your permission to—""I told you we do not need her permission," Evan groaned.

"But—""Permission for what, Rudo?" Willow asked.

"Evan here wants to copy the Fire Runes embedded in your Fire Knight plate."

"Copy it?" Willow tilted her head.

"As in putting its runes in his armor?"

"Yes!" Rudo beamed with excitement, somehow more than Evan himself.

"His new class can copy a Runic aspect and transform it into a script that Rudo can plant into his own class armor!"

"That sounds powerful," Willow mumbled, as expected from an Ascendant Class.

"The bad side is I can't imbue ready-made equipment like yours, though. I need to script a new non-enchanted armour," Evan said.

"But in exchange, I got a powerful close-combat class." The prince cupped his hands, and a crackling force gathered, spreading through his armor and body. A blade of lightning surged forth, sending its purple spark through the tent, reflected by Willow's plate.

"That's awesome," Rudo gasped.

"Oh, so you also got one." Willow stared deadpan.