Chương 28: Chapter 27 – Arrogant Clown

The training longsword painfully impacted Kai's abdomen.

"You're dead again," Oliver chastised. Instead of a reply, Kai's own blunted sword sailed through the air and crashed into a stack of boxes in the corner.

"Fuck this." Sure, Oliver had four points in Sword instead of Kai's three, but surely that wouldn't win him nine out of nine matches, right? It wouldn't, Kai grudgingly admitted. He's just… better.

"If you do that again, you're out for good," Oliver stated matter-of-factly.

"... Got it." Kai retrieved the sword and stowed it in the holder, biting down on his anger.

"Why the fuck can't I hit you?"

"Too aggressive. You've been all day," the instructor sighed.

"Let's find something to drink. I bet there's still a few beers hiding here somewhere." And indeed, there was a forgotten crate half-buried underneath dusty training mats. Two failed experiments and three mana points later, both men were nursing chilled beers from the locals' favorite brewery. Technically, they were two years past their best-before date, but they tasted just fine.

"So, what's wrong?" Oliver asked, one eyebrow raised knowingly.

"Nothing," Kai grumbled, knowing full-well that he sounded like a petulant child.

"Bullshit." Kai took a deep breath and another sip from his beer.

"I hate this title."

"Why? It sounds cool."

"First, it doesn't. Second, why the fuck did the System give it to Tom of all people?"

"Because it makes sense," Oliver shrugged.

"He was part of the first team to defend Lindenfeld. Hence, Defender of Lindenfeld."

"A fucking liability is what he was," Kai seethed.

"Almost got himself killed. And don't get me started on Finn."

"Does that matter? He was there, he fought, he got hurt."

"He got hurt because he's an idiot."

"The title doesn't say 'Smartest Man in Lindenfeld' though." Kai smothered the sparks in his chest with cold beer.

"Did you see him strut up the stage like a protagonist from some stupid American musical?"

"He's an arrogant clown," Oliver simply said. But before Kai could jump on that, he continued.

"But so are you."

"Well, fuck you too."

"You're mad that you got the same title, aren't you? You think you deserve better. It's the regional championship all over again."

"You know I should have gotten that win!" Kai exploded.

"The referee is a blind assho–""See, that's why I called you a clown." While Kai still gasped like a stranded fish, Oliver pressed on.

"You won your bracket. Seven wins, three losses."

"Only two of these losses were fair."

"Who fucking cares. Get over it. It's been five years."" I fucking care," Kai hissed.

"Believe me, I noticed," Oliver groaned.

"You know what? I agree with you. The referee is a blind asshole."

"Then–""You still won. You took home that trophy. Your opponent did not."

"It's not about the trophy."

"What is your new title then, other than a participation trophy?"

"..."

"Thought so." Kai emptied his beer, then flopped face-first onto one of the old mats.

"You're an asshole."

"Takes one to know one."

"... Fair enough." Stolen story; please report.

"Let's do some light sparring. A few weeks ago I'd have cried tears of blood at the idea of fighting after drinking, but who knows, it might even be good training now."

"Sounds good. Some cardio, after. I want to figure out civilian proficiencies."

"Sure." = = = = = An hour and a half later, Kai stared at the notification that had popped up in his vision. ~ Athletics: 1 -> 2"Looks like it really doesn't take SP," he relayed, mildly satisfied.

"Just running around for a while did the trick."

"You call that 'just running around', dude?" Oliver wheezed.

"Way to make me feel old."

"You didn't get it?"

"Nope."

"Huh. One more lap, then."

"Oh fuck off– Alright. One more." It took three more laps, but Oliver, too, managed to raise the proficiency value.

"That's convenient. You sure it doesn't work for the others too?"

"Only for civilian stuff, according to my father."

"Shame."

"Yup."

"I heard Olga is already at four Administration," Oliver mused.

"Should we run some more? I kind of want to catch up."

"Nah, she's been doing nothing but that for weeks. I'd rather fight instead of run." So, they trundled back to the hall, set to finally accomplish what they had been trying to do all morning.

"One more sparring match, then I'll buy Opportunist," Oliver said. Apparently, that was the bread-and-butter perk for Fighters. Its description said something about situational awareness increasing, which sounded nice, but rather vague for a perk worth ten SP. At least it counts towards Swordfighter. The plan was to figure out Oliver's baseline, then compare it to his post-Opportunist performance.

A smart way to go about it – Kai had been close to simply buying it to find out, but thankfully, cooler heads prevailed. After using up some Energy to get back into fighting shape, they squared off again. Oliver won as usual, but Kai didn't lose quite as pathetically as before, which he counted as a win of a different kind. Then, Oliver finally bought the Perk. The next fight was a disturbing experience for both men.

Nothing changed while exchanging strikes and parries as usual, but the moment Kai tried to disengage and reposition himself, he suddenly saw a sword racing straight towards his face. He somehow managed to block it before it struck his fencing mask, but he had not expected the attack. From the look on Oliver's face, he hadn't either.

"That was freaky," the instructor said quietly.

"It's like… something told me 'hit him now'." ~ SP available: 15 Kai immediately spent ten of them. ~ Perk gained: Opportunist And just to be safe, he needed to check something. ~ Available Classes (Tier II): ~~ Swordfighter (20 SP) Nice, it did count.

"Rematch, please." He found Oliver's assessment to be fully accurate – the perk 'saw' opportunities, and whispered formless thoughts into his mind that were barely distinguishable from his own. He could only tell because he knew he wouldn't have seen the opportunity on his own.

"You're right, this is freaky," he confirmed.

"It's really powerful, though." = = = = ="Dad, how do I deal with Bards?" That particular issue had not left Lena's mind since yesterday evening. It persisted through the migraines and even through Brandt Box enchantment training. Spellcraft had increased from three to four though, which was nice. The Wizard in question hummed in thought.

"In battle or in general?"

"Both."

"In battle, Wizards usually outrange Bards, so stay far away. Ideally, you'll want a teammate with a cleansing spell to remove debuffs. Be aware that most of their spells are AoE, centered on themselves."

"Okay."

"Out of battle, it's tricky. Their freecasting is subtle and annoying, and they tend to amplify feelings instead of implanting them outright. That means you often simply don't notice them." That sounded like an utter nightmare.

"How do I get better at noticing?" Another hum.

"General caution once you know someone is a Bard. That's how I do it."

"Caution helps?"

"Very much so. They rely on you lowering your mental defenses." That left one important qualifier.

"How do I know that someone is a Bard if they choose another class to display?"

"Either you do a full analysis, which they might notice and consider rude, or you look for simple tells. Are they very good at whistling, dancing, rhythm-keeping? Probably a Bard. Do others display an unnatural amount of loyalty towards them? Probably a Bard."

"Probably?"

"You can't be sure from just that, but caution is cheaper than regret." = = = = ="I think your daughter hates me."

"Oh, really?" Laura replied, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"How could that have possibly happened, Andrea?"

"Don't be like that, you thought it was a good idea," the mayor accused.

"It can be both a good idea and a terrible impression to make."

"Ugh. She keeps glaring at me whenever she sees me."

"Well, you were the one messing with her mind. I'd have been surprised if she hadn't taken it badly."

"I'm not messing with anyone's mind!" Andrea half-insisted, half-complained.

"It's just… a small change in the vibe, you know?"

"Semantics," Laura waved her off.

"Call it what it is."

"That's rich, coming from you." Laura chuckled.

"Fair point. Still, what matters here is how Lena perceived it, not how you justify it."

"I hate that you're right."

"Pretty sure you just hate me in general."

"Now you're definitely right." They chuckled briefly, the conversation dying down as they turned their attention back towards the mountain of paperwork.

"Your son did something to my song," Andrea suddenly said. Laura just made a vague listening noise.

"It's like… he told me to 'get out'. And then he just…burnt a hole in the song."

"How do you burn a hole in a song?"

"I wish I knew, Laura." Definitely sorcery. But there is no way in hell I'm telling her that.

"Sometimes those Wizards just do stuff and I'm left wondering, 'what the heck is going on?'" she sighed instead.

"The first thing Kai did when he got his magic was set my rhododendron on fire."

"He what?"

"Ah, don't worry. I healed it."