Chương 26: Chapter 25: Hard Limit

The next few hours were honestly a blur. I can barely remember anything about that time, and I got the impression that was the design. Your [LIFE, COMBAT, SYNERGY] Sohei skill has improved, and is eligible for rank up. Rank E is a free rank. The weapon, this... lucerne hammer, it became familiar to me. It played to my strengths - power was something I had in spades, and speed was second nature to me. At some point... I'm not sure when, I started sparring with Roxala with it in earnest.

Her defense was iron-clad, and I wore no armor - just called up my Bestial Vigor. I had to. She wasn't pulling punches now. Torch, Gelidia, and Fel were watching us go at it at combat speed now, and while I was holding my own... The shield wall, a combined wedge, came at me from an unexpected angle, and it was only a hasty guard with my shoulder that saved me from a very painful trip to sleepytown.

Fur sprouted down my arm, which distorted massively - became something monstrous and dense with fur and muscle that soaked the blow, but only enough to send me reeling back instead of going flying. Again. It hurt - it hurt a LOT, but it was a tolerable, honest kind of pain. I yelped, but mid-yelp, Roxala swept out my leg with the ease of long practice, and I went down. My eyes wide, I saw the sky spin past me, my expression one of abject shock until I hit the ground and all the wind knocked out of me at once.

[Health: 65/190] [Stamina: 0/215] [Mana: 32/120] Roxala sat down and panted desperately for breath as I lay breath-less for a moment before taking a sudden gasp for air. I let go of the wolf - completely, and became fully human once more, ears and tail folding back inside me, hair receding. I'd lost, and I felt like I could barely move as I just... breathed, the world spinning around me as I stared up at the morning sun.

Gelidia's concerned face eclipsed the sun, and her shadow actually passed between my eyes and the ball of hate burning them in the sky.

"You okay?" she asked, and I made a vaguely affirmative noise as Roxala recovered her breath and stood, wobbly kneed.

"You're... getting the hang of it." Roxala panted, and removed her helmet to mop her brow with a handkerchief she produced from a pouch at her hip. I'd learned that it didn't do to get stuff in your eyes, and you can't wipe your brow with spiked forearm plates. Thus, hankies! She pulled the one she kept in her helmet out, and tossed it in the fountain at the center of town, where we'd sparred. She produced a mug from her bag, and filled it from the spouting lamb's mouth.

She waited for me to sit up before offering it to me. I took it, and as I sipped between gasps, I thought about what I'd done. A notification was waiting for me, but I ignored it for now. [Health: 165/190] [Stamina: 100/215] [Mana: 52/120] I recovered... very very quickly. In... probably four minutes, I was almost healed again, and my stamina was almost half-back. It really was something else. As I finished my cup, my breathing wasn't even hard. I wiped blood from my nose and offered her a hand up.

She had seen me recovering quickly all morning, and it wasn't a shock anymore. I was getting mana back more quickly, too - it used to be about... one point a minute. Now, it was five. I figured it had something to do with Samu, but... I wasn't working? No, wait... yes I was. I was training. I supposed that counted? Would an actual fight? I had no idea, but something in me doubted it. Samu was peaceful.

"How fast do you gain stamina and health per minute?" Felorikaan asked, and I said"25, I think. I've got my Bestial Vigor skill up to rank B!" I said, and as Roxala chuckled, Torch whistled.

"My goodness. That's tenacious. My mana recovers about that quickly - a bit faster, but I have master rank meditation. Well worth the six total points it cost." he said, with a smile.

"I guess! I got Samu at rank F right now, but it's not growing quickly. It's helping with mana while I work, and I think while I'm resting? Does it help while I'm fighting?" Roxala and Gelidia shook their heads.

"I don't think so. This isnt' work. At best, it's play." Roxala chuckled, and bumped shoulders with me a bit in respect. I took a moment and another cupful of water, then checked my notifications. Your [LIFE, COMBAT, SYNERGY] Sohei skill has improved, and is eligible for rank up. Rank D is a free rank. That... did not take long at all. A morning of hardcore training, and it was at rank D already? Dang, son. Dang. Just... daaaaang.

I'd paid for it in pain and blood and sweat and one or two tears because Roxala didn't pull punches when she had shields up. I felt pretty punchy at this point. Why was I still tired? All my stats were full, but I felt... drunk. [LIFE, COMBAT, SYNERGY] Sohei, rank D: 0% - You are a woman of peace, trained for war. The Red Lotus is opening. I could not stress this thought enough. WHAT THE HECK DID THAT EVEN FREAKIN' MEAN? What the heck was with these weird synergy skills I was getting?

What does a red flower have to do with anything? Sure sure, a Lotus, real mystical and all that, but seriously - how extra could it possibly get? I sighed in muzzy exasperation and relented. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"Feeeeellll" I whined and stumbled over towards him to hit the wall with my shoulder and slump to the ground with a SIGH.

"The World keeps giving me weird skills and she won't tell meeeee whaaaaaaat theeeeeey dooohooohoooo" I whined tiredly, and Gelidia giggled as he pat me on the head, ruffling my hair.

"Did you get a new skill, Emily?" He asked as he did, and I shook my head.

"Noooo. When I got Conscript, it evolved right away into a weird skill called Sohei." I adopted a thoughtful but stupid sounding monk voice and said, exaggerated "You are a Womaaan of peaaaaace, trained for waaaar~" I said, wiggling my arms vaguely in the air.

"The Red Lotus is opeeeeniiiiing" and let my arms drop.

"Sohei? The Red Lotus? I mean... the Red Lotus symbolizes love, compassion, and the overcoming of adversity. It also has an aspect of feminine strength." he said.

"As for Sohei... I have no idea. That is pretty damn obscure, and that description... is especially vague. I suppose developing the skill further will reveal what it's doing. What does it tell you?" he asked, patient as a saint.

"Like... what the skill has me doing different?" I asked, and he nodded.

"It helped me shift my stance better, I think? Some of those moves..." I hesitated"The awesome ones?" Torch asked I could only grunt.

"... I think it gave me those." I said. My breath was back, but I was still absolutely bushed. I felt drunk I was so tired!

"No, it speaks to you... it is you who leans into its teachings. It is just a skill - as I said before, nothing comes for free. You must be the one who listens to what it says, and follow the teachings it provides you insights into."

"In other words, wolf, you need to TRAIN! Get up, it's time to continue!" and I grooooooaned. She moved towards me, holding some kind of... pole. It had to be the hammer again, she'd taken it from me.

"If you have the strength to WHINE LIKE A CHILD, you have the strength to TRAIN!" she snarled at me.

"But the floor and I are friends... we've bonded..." I mumbled, but Roxala pitilessly picked me up off the ground and set me on my feet and thrust a pole into my hands. A pole that felt a lot lighter than the pole-hammer she'd gifted me, which she was... unscrewing the head and staff apart and putting away in my backpack. I regarded the stick in my hands! It was...... my broom. Oh!

"Grind your stupid soft townie peasant work-meditation skill." she said like I hadn't just been giving her a run for her money for the last half hour. She'd beaten me handily, but I felt... pretty sure at least that I'd made her work for it. Almost mindlessly, I did as I was instructed, and began to sweep the street. In short order, I fell into the familiar-feeling rhythm of the work, and the peace of it washed into me again.

It hit the pains of my tired body, and washed them away a bit at a time like waves crashing on a beach, crushing a sand castle a bit at a time as the tide came in. While I worked I could dimly hear Gelidia speaking.

"... I think you might have pushed her too far." she said, sounding concerned. I didn't look up from my patient work. It felt... good, working like this. Right in a way the fighting just... didn't. Woman of peace, right?

"No, I had to see how far until she breaks. I had to know her limits." Roxala said firmly, arms crossed as she sipped the mug.

"Learned'um. That's what this looks like. It had to happen, so we know what that is like, and what it takes to get her there. We know, now she does too." she said, and Gelidia didn't seem to accept that.

"Look at her! She's like a zombie!" she said as I dreamily pushed along my broom, letting it do most of the work as I acted simply as a fulcrum and motor. The detritus of years didn't yield easily to the broom around the square, but yield it did. Leaves were ushered away, and dust made its departure. Off they went, into the tepid, stagnant 'water' of the moat, and then I went back for more sweeping. The group by the fountain, they were watching me - at the moment... I didn't really care.

All I could do was focus on one brush stroke at a time. One step at a time. One heartbeat, one breath, at a time.

"... She'll be alright. She's just tired. I know she's your Hound, but you must not coddle her. Either she's strong... or she dies." Roxala said. Did they think I couldn't hear them? Oh... right. I was like, over fifty feet away and they were talking quietly. I was a werewolf. At that point, my brain checked out entirely. Going... going... gone. Time passed. I couldn't say how much, but...

Before I knew what was what, when I could think a rational thought again, I was standing in the square, and it was clear, and I was looking over my work with satisfaction. The fountain, and the street towards the bridge of the keep, it was spotless, the round market nice and clean. Good Girl! You've served the family of Windbinder by cleaning the public square before market day! For cleaning a large space all by yourself, bonus XP is gained!

Your [LIFE, SYNERGY] Samu skill has improved, and is now eligible for rank up! Rank E is a free rank. Nice! No level up in peasant it seemed, but that was alright. I'd leveled it pretty quickly, it made sense I'd run into things that wouldn't level me so quick. I thought about the leveling, about the tangible rewards for doing things like this, and smiled a bit as I thought about some kid looking to get some levels quickly. Then something unexpected happened. Ding Ding Ding!

Your [MONSTER] Lycanthrope class has reached level 5! You have gained 1 class skill slot You have gained 1 Lycanthrope skill point +10 health, +10 Stamina, +5 mana Oh! It wasn't just peasant EXP I was getting, but general EXP! That was nice, I supposed! It'd been a little since I gained a level as a Lycanthrope, after all, at least compared to Peasant.

[LIFE, SYNERGY] Samu, Rank E: 0% - Your mind and body are aligned as you meditate, move and labor, increasing your mana recovery and reducing stamina loss as you work. Unchanged. I liked how using it felt though. I could help, both the world around me and myself, and I found that... good. My Wolf was quiescent in my breast, but a pang of hunger woke us both. Gelidia touched my arm. The others were gone, and we were alone now, face to face. As my eyes alighted on her, my heart raced, and her expression softened.

"There you are." she said softly, as if she'd tried to talk to me before.

"It was like you were in a waking dream, or like... like one of the shades - you were not responding to me at all." she said, and I bit my bottom lip. Wow... maybe Roxala really had worn me out too much?

"How long was I... out?" I asked softly, and she shook her head.

"Just two hours, according to the fountain." she said. She saw my expresion, and explained"It's a sundial." making me mouth a silent 'Ah'.

"You are well?" she asked, and I smiled at her, refreshed.

"Oh - yes! I'm okay. Let's... can we go to the inn, Gelidia? I am -so- hungry." I said, and she took my hand, tugging me towards the inn before I even finished the sentence.