Chương 61: Chapter 53. New Information and Tricks

We found Warrick pretty quickly. Warrick greeted us and began to tell us what we were going to do today." To start with, I know everyone is saddened by Crest leaving. Me included. However, let's not forget why we're here in the first place! To begin with, I think I should fill you all in on some information I've received this morning." Everyone perked an ear; I asked a question to Warrick before he continued on." Does this have anything to do with the kidnapping?""

Yes, and also we have new information about Promethia." Once Warrick was sure everyone was listening intently, he began to inform us of everything." First and foremost, the Hero Party has set out from Promethia and they are heading South towards us. From what we have gathered, the most dangerous member of the Hero Party is the Cleric called Laura. All reports indicate that she is a once in a lifetime prodigy. And the other members are not too far behind her either." Sick... Grip! Grip!

I felt sad at the mention of her name. All of the memories of her and her parents flood my mind. The emotions made me feel sick to my stomach for a moment. As I tried to calm myself, I felt both my hands being held. I opened my eyes to see Sarah and Anna staring at me with serious expressions. The warmth of their hands helped calm me down. Sarah began to speak to me in a soft voice." It's ok, you're not alone anymore, John, we won't allow them to hurt you ever again!"

After Sarah spoke, Anna began to speak with a warm voice and a determined look in her eyes." We will never let them near you again. It's all going to be ok, John." I was surprised by how serious Anna was about protecting me, all I could do was stare at her in wonder. Before long, everyone else agreed with Sarah and Anna and had gathered with worried eyes around me. After a few moments. I said that I was ok and asked Warrick to continue." With that out of the way, I have some good news.

From what we have gathered, the Hero Party is advancing alone. When asked if they should have some support and logistics follow them, the Hero accepted, but requested that no warriors would join in their journey. Apparently, he told Promethia's King it was because he wanted to do this with his own power."" Most likely he doesn't want to give anyone else any credit for helping. He always wanted to be the center of attention back in my world. Seems that aspect of him hasn't changed at all."

In response to Warrick's words everyone looked confused, so I filled in the blanks for them. Once I did, Asha was the first to speak." This Hero doesn't seem to use his brain as much as he should. He's a stranger in a strange land. Yet he's chosen to set off and fight a powerful enemy without even a guide to make sure he's heading in the right direction." All I could do was nod to her observation. Sharon started to speak in response to Asha." This is good news for us, Asha.

If they have no idea about Diablos besides its direction in relation to Promethia, we can use that to our advantage and lay a few traps. We can split them up and defeat them one by one." After hearing what Sharon had to say I had just one thing to add." You guys can do what you want with everyone else, but I want to fight the Hero alone. So, splitting them up may not be a bad choice." Sarah was the first to respond to me." It's ok, John. I won't let anyone stop you from having your payback.

Isn't that right everyone?" Everyone agreed with Sarah's statement, Warrick continued to speak." Now that we know about the Hero, time to talk about the other piece of information we have. We've been looking for this "Vendal" since the kidnapping incident. For the ones with that name, we've found that of all the active Soldiers in the Royal Army, 78 are currently enlisted and 464 have worked for the Army at some point. After looking into descriptions, we have been able to narrow the search down to 46 individuals.

Accounting for those that have passed and others not fitting the build of the Demon you described to us. Soon we will have the guy and then we can track who the people were that kidnapped Sarah."" That's great!" I was the first person to speak. Everyone was smiling at the information Warrick gave. Everyone was pumped up after that. The training session began with an extra umph from the good news. Warrick began to issue directions for the class. I was the first one to spar him.

I was quite happy at this, since I wanted to try something new against Warrick. Everyone else was paired up and the class was to begin shortly. Warrick walked up to me and began to speak." John, are you ready to begin?" This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source." Yup! Let's get started, Warrick!" Warrick got into position. I got into my stance as well. With both of our swords pointed towards each other, Warrick waited to see my next move.

I activated my Mana Blade and Warrick did as well. Since a few weeks back, Warrick started to use his own Mana Blade against me. He said that he wanted me to get used to clashing Mana Blades while using all my other abilities. I took a deep breath and kicked the ground to rush to Warrick and his glowing red and black sparring sword. We clash our blades, and you can hear a distinct sound as the mana from both blades crash into each other. Apparently, it's caused by my Control of my Mana Blade being sloppy...

It just means that I have more work to do before I fight Luke. SHRIEK! Once I saw that I couldn't win the clash we were having, I backed away quickly. / Thoop! / I fired a Holy Bolt to take Warrick's attention away and not chase me. He cuts through the Bolt and follows me regardless. Zig! Zag! I start to switch the direction I was retreating to. Warrick continues to draw closer. Before long, his blade was raised and ready to crash down onto me. Grip! I stop retreating and ready myself to meet him head on.

As his blade begins to come down onto me, I decide to try my idea at that moment instead of trying to out power him as I did before. / Woosh! Clang! / Raise! When Warrick's blade is about to crash into mine, I activate Holy Mana Body. I feel power pouring out of me as our blades make contact. I shift my sword to drive it closer to Warrick's hands, once Warrick notices what I'm doing he tries to adjust but it's too late. Flick! / Woosh! / Swing! / Shing!

/ I flick my sword with all the strength I can muster, and I send Warrick's sword flying. I then send a sideways slash to his stomach! / Woosh! / Heat!

"!" As my sword is about to make contact with Warrick, he jumps back and fires a purple ball of magic at me, which I dodge. Warrick begins to speak to me after I land on the ground." Not bad, John! But you need to follow up quicker when you surprise your enemy!"" Alright, let's try that right now!" / Woosh! / Immediately after speaking to Warrick, I use my Summoning Magic to Summon Lily. I begin to speak when she fully forms." Lily, I need you to.."" Don't worry, John. I already know what you want.

Our Connection tells me your intent when you Summon me!" / Thoop! Woosh! Thoop! Woosh! Thoop! Boom! Boom! Boom! / Lily cuts into my speech and begins to launch stones from the ground and whirlwinds of roses against Warrick, Warrick seeing it all, fires 5 different blasts of purple balls of mana against the stones and roses. They crash into each other and create explosions all around. From the smoke of the explosions, a figure jumps out of the smoke, its Warrick of course.

He lands and grabs his previously separated sword where it had landed in the grass. He turns and speaks to me after reactivating his Mana Blade and taking his stance." Again, you're doing well, but you need to chase an enemy down when you have the advantage. Not just try to blast him from long range. That apprehension will allow them to survive and possibly find a chance to counter and gain the upper hand. You need to tap into that viscousness when you killed that Vendal person.

Treat every fight like your life is on the line, John! Because it will be."

"!" / Woosh! / Warrick gives me some advice before launching into an attack. I activate Holy Arrow this time. One Arrow forms, but I enlarge it by pouring mana into it. I launch it at the approaching Warrick. / Clang! / The arrow and Warrick's sword make contact. Warrick is having a hard time deflecting or dispersing the arrow. Seems Holy Mana Body boosts my Magic Power too! / Woosh! / Using this moment, I Summon Paula discreetly and use her Warp while Warrick is busy dealing with the arrow.

I emerge behind Warrick with Paula's Warp.

"!" Warrick notices my presence, but it's too late! I howl with pride now that I can finally win for once. Grip!" I've got you now, Warrick!" Dizzy! Fall! Pain! / Thud! /" Joh-"" Jo-" Tired... Just as I am about to land my first strike on him, everything goes hazy, and I collapse onto the grass. My arrow and Mana Blade fizzle out. Lily and Paula disperse and return to their homes while calling out to me. I feel so lethargic that picking my body up from the ground feels like the hardest task I've ever been handed.

I hear Warrick begin to laugh. No doubt it's at my sorry state. He begins to speak once he can muffle his giggling." Well, John. I'll be honest, that would've worked if you had lasted. But it seems you used up all of your mana. Let me guess, you forgot that you had your Buffing Spell equipped and forgot how much a drain on your mana Multi-Summoning is?" Roll! I finally flip myself over so I can look at Warrick before I respond to him." I'll be honest, I knew I was on a time limit.

I figured I'd go all out and see if I could beat you for once. I almost got you, but it seems my mana supply was a little... Off. Compared to what I thought it was at least."" More reason to remember to do all of your daily training from now on. Including Tempering Mana." Warrick offered me a hand to help me up. Grip! Pull! I happily accepted it. Warrick began to speak as I tried to get my bearings." Though to be completely honest, you should be proud of yourself, you know?

Not just anyone can nearly beat me at 40% of my Ability with just 3 months of training! I'm scared to think what you might become in a years' time. On the bright side, I think you should be able to handle that Hero without much trouble."" Thanks, Warrick. That gives me confidence! And rest assured, I plan on training until I can beat you without buffing. In fact, I don't think I should use Holy Mana Body as an all or nothing Skill in the first place. I think it might make more sense to use it in bursts.

It's not like it costs me mana to activate it, it simply drains what I have. Like taking water from a well."" Something to think about from now on! Well don't worry, we still have 3 days before we head to the Northern Border to deal with the Hero's Party." Warrick and I discuss what I could try differently next time, like we always do after I lose to him. But this time, a strange series of words came to my attention and I couldn't help but ask about it."

Hey Warrick, you said we are going to head to the Border, right? What do you mean by that?" Warrick looked at me like he just let a big secret slip. He started looking away from me. I tried to egg him on." Warrick, my good buddy. Come now, you can tell me what you're trying to hide! I think I can already guess it, if I'm being honest." Warrick started to panic at my words. Where did that Kingly figure from when I was Summoned go? While I lamented, Warrick began to speak to me." Well you see... We are go...""

Hang on, My Love, I'll explain! It's my idea after all!" When Warrick was about to speak, Aqua appeared out of nowhere with a smile on her face. Well, seems this will be interesting. I gave Aqua my full attention while waiting for her to explain what they plan to do coming with me to the Northern Border.