Chương 10: Sickle Drills

Among the seven, there's no god that can claim a closer relationship to everyone, from the most savage barbarian, to the most regal of kings, than Fanon, he who gives life. For each of us came to life, and in turn we shall die. Yet, Fanon doesn't wish for us to die, so he placed his Hands on Laika, and sent them on a mission to heal. Trained at the Mother-Well, the Hands of the Well are devout believers turned experts in the healing arts.

Sometimes itinerants, sometimes not, the Hands are welcomed wherever they go, even in the center of faiths of other gods. Excerpt from Broad Strokes On Laikan Theology, by Enderic Aramor, Keeper of the Iron Ink. The sun had yet to fall when Alexandra woke up from her nap. While she wouldn't call her condition optimal, she was rested enough. Concerned about her sleep in the coming night, she decided to wake up. Lara and Therion were out of the house. She helped herself to a cup of water, and sat at the table.

Her parched throat eased. She put down the cup, and with a thought, summoned her journal. In her skill quest list, one entry in particular called for her attention. Sickle Mastery: Hook and retrieve an object at full extension ten times in succession. (0/10) There was still light outside. The quest seemed doable today, which would be great in preparation for tomorrow.

There was always a next daily to think about, and if she received another quest that required combat, she'd be happy to have an extra skill in her arsenal. As for what object she would use… Well, the quest didn't specify, so she assumed anything would do. The most practical solution was probably to pick a few sticks outside. After all, she wasn't expecting to succeed right away. Whatever she chose, it needed to be disposable. She eyed her sickle. Lara had hung it on the wall after she'd gone to sleep. Too sharp.

She'd have to ask if they had a duller blade. But first… Alexandra stood up, grabbed the sickle, and removed her right shoe. Then, careful not to damage the leather, she hooked it with the tip of her sickle, and pulled it up to her other hand. She threw a glance at her journal still open on the table. It didn't count. As expected. Her arm was fully extended. Technically, this was her full extension. However, she supposed that the quest wanted to test her skills in a real situation.

She would need to try on the sticks, as it would ruin the shoe, but she believed that she wouldn't be allowed to proceed carefully. She'd have to put a bit more speed and energy into her hooks. Putting her shoe back on, she dispelled her journal with a flick of her fingers, and headed outside. She found her hosts in the same field she'd spotted Therion earlier. The couple was done harvesting and now were busy separating the different parts of the Aetherveils.

Alexandra didn't know anything about the process, but she could spot the stems and petals separated into two neat piles, with a few extra containers filled with powders and smaller elements of the flowers. Therion saw her first. He nodded his head upward, wordlessly asking her what she was up to.

"Hey guys," Alexandra said as she approached them.

"You wouldn't happen to own a dull sickle, would you?"

"Training?" Lara asked, not looking up from the flower she was dissecting.

"You feel better already?" She shrugged.

"Good enough not to waste time." Therion handed her his sickle. It was worn enough from a day of work. Not truly dull, but it should suffice. Finding sticks was easy. She grabbed a branch lying on the side of the field, and used her sharp sickle to split it in ten. Each piece was wide enough to stand upright. She placed them on the fence, which put them slightly above her waist. She summoned her journal again, put it down on the ground next to her, and gave it a try.

Extending her arm to its full reach, she swung her sickle sideway, trying to grab the first stick. She sent it flying. She grimaced. Yeah, it can't be that easy. Not bothering to pick up the stray stick, she tried again on the next. This time, she slowed her strike right when it got behind the target, and tried pulling. Changing direction mid air was awkward, and she missed the stick entirely. Stumbling backward, Alexandra got ready to try once more.

This time, she managed to control her arm, and touched the stick with her blade. But instead of being pulled toward her, the stick just tipped over and fell to the ground. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. She frowned. It was harder than it seemed. Watching the sun fall closer to the horizon, she got into a rhythm, trying different movements to see which would stick. Her thoughts drifted to Bamir.

When he told her they had one more thing to talk about, she honestly thought he was going to announce her as a summoned hero. Maybe the conversation about Hakim had gotten into her head. There was no way the healer knew. Instead, it was precisely that amnesia that the priest wanted to talk about. Alexandra had tried her hardest to control her facial expression, when he did. Her luck was that while her fake amnesia was a bit cliché, it was hard to disprove. She just didn't remember some stuff.

Seeing how she barely knew anything in this world, it wasn't that hard to convince them. Unfortunately, and to her secret delight, Bamir was transparent about his complete inability to solve her "condition". A stick hit her chest. She'd been a tad too distracted to register it in time, and failed to catch it, but she'd hooked the target, and had managed to pull it back to her. She smiled. Alexandra took the time to rearrange her targets on the fence, and kept training.

After a few more tries, she finally managed to catch one.

"Yes!" She cheered, raising her stick-holding fist. Her eyes locked onto her open journal, the quest counter had gone up.

"Nine to go," she whispered. She stepped in front of the second target, took a deep breath, and swung her sickle. The belly of her blade reached behind the stick. She pulled. The stick bounced far to her right. The counter reset to zero. She was still far from 10 consecutive hooks. Back to training. The key, she figured out, was in the wrist. Not the arm. She'd been trying to muscle the hook with her whole arm, which was why her corrections were always too late and too large. The sickle needed to lead, not follow.

Let the blade do the work, redirect at the last moment. She tried it. The stick wobbled but stayed upright. Closer. She tried again. This time the blade caught cleanly, and she pulled — too hard, the stick spun out — but the geometry was right. She could feel the difference. It was just repetition from here. While she practiced, a thought kept surfacing in her mind. Saint Hakim. It had bothered her since she heard his name. Her old guildmate from Lone World Online was named Hakim, and he was a healer.

That was one coincidence too many for her to discard. It shouldn't have been possible, especially since Saint Hakim had arrived in Laika a century prior while she'd been playing with her Hakim just a few years ago. Then again, her summoning shouldn't have been possible. So who knew? Maybe she was latching on to any sense of familiarity in these foreign lands, but it was worth exploring some more.

In any case, the Saint had been summoned, they had enough in common for her to want to meet him, even if he wasn't her old friend. Another successful hook. Finally. Soon enough, she managed to get two in a row. Then three. She set her personal record at five in a row when Lara came to watch her.

"Your Sickle Mastery quest is a lot different from the one I had back then." Alexandra paused.

"You got the skill."

"Of course!" Lara gestured at the cleared out patch of Aetherveil.

"I use the sickle a lot." Literally her job, Alex. Think a little before you speak.

"May I ask what it was?" Lara shrugged.

"It will sound a lot less fun than what you're currently doing. I just had to cut a lot of weeds in a limited time frame." Alexandra rolled her eyes.

"I'm not having fun. This is tedious as hell."

"I'll get you to clear a field for me," Lara said, smiling.

"We'll see how it compares." Alexandra winced. I should probably help them. I live in their home, after all.

"We're heading home. Dinner will be ready in a bit," Lara said.

"I'll be there soon. Just need to get this quest done."

"You should. Anything to increase your chances at surviving." Alexandra chuckled.

"I'll be fine, don't worry." Lara sighed.

"I sincerely hope you will. Good luck." She turned around and went home. Alexandra kept training. It'd been hours by now, and she was pretty sure that she was late for dinner. The sun was setting over the horizon giving its last ray of light. She was at six in a row, her best yet. Seven. She dropped the stick at her feet, and moved to the next one. Eight. The light was almost gone. She could still see the outline of the sticks against the pale sky, but only just. She'd have to stop soon. Nine.

She exhaled slowly, stepping back in front of the next target. Her arm was tired. Her grip wasn't as clean as it had been an hour ago. She rolled her shoulder once, adjusted her footing. One more. She swung. The belly of the blade caught behind the stick. She pulled. Smooth, controlled, no overcorrection. The stick landed cleanly in her waiting hand. For a moment she just stood there. Did it work? Dropping the stick, she dispelled her journal that was still lying on the ground, and summoned it again in her hand.

She flipped it open. Sickle Mastery: Hook and retrieve an object at full extension ten times in succession. (10/10) She exhaled. All she felt was relief. She really didn't want to hook any more sticks. Her stomach grumbled. She hadn't eaten since morning. Well, there was a nice bowl of soup waiting for her inside. She should at least check out her new skill's grade. She'd read the description earlier, but unlocking the skill also revealed its rarity.

Sickle Mastery - Common - 1 Improve your ability to manipulate a sickle. Each level increases proficiency. She'd expected it to be common. Nothing groundbreaking here, but it didn't mean that the skill was useless. On the contrary, it was a nice, overall improvement to her fighting power. It might even work with regular sickle work, which was a nice bonus as she hoped to repay Lara and Therion by helping them in the fields. Alexandra sent her book back to wherever it went when she dispelled it, and walked home.

She had to wake early tomorrow. And everyday after that. Because daily grind never stopped.