Chapter 28 : Camping With Bracha
Within two hours time the trio made their way to a clearing off the beaten path. They also set up a campsite, complete with a campfire, log seats and a tent– just in case they decided to stay the night.
“When spending time outside of the cities you must be very wary that you do not gain the ire of enemies. To this effect there is a simple ward you can use with Systema.” Bracha held her left hand up in the familiar pose to cast a Systema spell before reciting the words : “Systema : Level Ward.”
A beam of light shot upwards from her palm and began to diverge, creating a spherical barrier which covered the campsite within a radius of ten meters from Bracha’s position.
“This Systema spell allows you to cast a low cost carrier that will intimidate enemies based on the user’s strength — using level as a comparison. The enemies here will be shooed away easily, because I cast it. The effects might be different for you however. Which is why I want to give you these. Keep them and use them later on.” Bracha said as she bought out six miniature statues. Carved from hardwood, they resembled gnomes – -each with a different expression or character design.
“What are these? They are so cute!” Katrin said as she immediately snatched the items from Bracha’s open palm. Bracha chuckled to herself before responding.
“I’m glad you like it. One day you’ll be able to make something like this.” Bracha said as she began her explanation.
“This is the same enchantment I just used, only cast by a higher level adventurer. This wards away any Rank 2 or lower monsters, guaranteed. They are called Ward Charms, and as you can see the person who makes them favors cute designs like this.” Bracha said as she picked up one of the pieces meant for Agni and danced it through the air.
Half of Agni wanted to cringe at the levels of “cuteness” surrounding her, but a larger part wanted to coo over the items as well.
*Oh my god. It’s happening. I’m becoming a real woman.* Agni thought as she forced herself to calmly take the wooden miniatures. Bracha just smiled, as if she could somehow pick up on Agni’s inner turmoil.
It was still a few hours before dark, thus Bracha continued her pupil’s education. As a Trainer , Agni found Bracha to be awe inspiring. She had already taught them so much yet the information came off as natural and informative. She left them wanting to learn more with each word she spoke. Already Agni had learned quite a bit about the new world of Adventia, for example, killing ‘normals’ or adventurers within city limits would be met with a fierce punishment. Cities were generally run by councils of adventurers dedicated to making each city a safe space — a hub for the adventurers that resided there.
When asked why this particular law was so important, Bracha’s answer was :
“Because when adventurers die, several things happen. First it’s important to understand that, even though hundreds of adventurers arrive in Adventia each year, there are roughly only 20,000 or so active in this world. Why is that? There are several reasons, but the main one is the inherent danger involved with being an adventurer. You could be crushed in a rock slide, exploded by miscontrolled magic, or killed by Grimlock — truly the ways to die are near endless. What’s more, when an adventurer dies, and I mean truly dies due to ‘Second Death’, a normal will be randomly selected to take that adventurer’s place.
This is why normals are so precious. Should something happen to thousands of adventurers at once, normals will have a chance to take their place by ascending to become adventurers.”
Bracha also noted that while many areas around Tabernacles or near cities were generally safe, laws did not exist anywhere else in the world. Which meant that if adventurers truly wanted to kill each other it would be a simple matter of partying with the victim and ending their life outside of city gates.
This line of thought caused Agni to immediately think of Abeni. She wondered if Abeni would be the type to do something like that? After all she’d proven herself capable of betrayal once already…
“Which is why you must always remember this : as an adventurer it is your burden to always consider the dangers and protect yourself no matter the situation. True laws, the ideals of fairness or compromise–these only exist as far as your ability to enforce the things you believe in.” Bracha’s tone was firm as she spoke on this point, thus Agni realized the gravity of her words.
Agni also learned that although thousands of adventurers existed, not many worked constantly. Some would go months without leaving the safety of cities, opting to live their lives freely doing whatever they pleased. This wasn’t an option for all, but a great deal only accepted jobs when convenient for themselves or their motives.
At some point the conversation switched gears towards strength building, presumably because the sun was beginning to set.
“Before we get started, I’d like to explain to you something that you will come to understand given time and experience. The easiest way to grow is to incorporate your modifiers into every action you take. Combat is ideal for this because almost all classes, regardless of category allow the adventurer to use a skill during combat.
The sense of danger and tension from combat against a challenging foe never grows old. There is a misconception that only fighter types level the quickest in this world,but the reality is those who come to realize the value of placing themselves in constantly challenging battles will always grow more quickly. That is your goal starting tonight.” Bracha explained as she poked at the fire with a long stick.
“For a Scribe, you can potentially write hundreds of words in a minute– this includes your scribe symbols. You can learn to combine symbols to give compound effects to your parchments and a dazzling array of spells lay at your disposal once you analyze them. So for you, I want you to assume a support combat role where you attack from long range using either your crossbow or parchments.
As for Agni, I know very little about Succubus skills but I do know that the ability to compel your foes is very strong. Imagine what damage you could do if you were able to compel your foes to stand still while you strike them, or even command them to kill themselves. I don’t know the specifics or limitations of your ability, but that’s for you to find out. You have magic and your class skills, utilize them both to the best of your abilities as much as possible.”
“With that in mind, let’s spar for a bit.” Bracha said as she began to take off her clothing.
“Okay but..why are we getting naked?” Agni asked, a bit confused.
“Training of course. Agni, you leave yours on. Katrin, join me bare skinned.”
“O-Oh, okay..” Katrin said, a blush overcoming her as she began to take off her clothing as well. Agni watched as Katrin peeled the taut cotton shirt up over her shoulders, her round breasts bouncing heavily as her titties dropped.
“Yes. I learned a bit about the succubus class earlier while you were in the bath. It seems your true powers only awaken when you are excited sexually, yes? The two of us should be sufficient.”
Bracha’s figure was truly impressive to behold. Much like Wayla’s body her muscles were tone, though by contrast Wayla’s body gave off the impression of stone. Bracha’s body resembled a boxer in the sense that her core was well defined, as were her shoulders and calves.
Her breasts were ample c-cups, perky as the muscle density of her chest held them up well. Katrin’s body was as impressive as ever though her expression was that of someone who’d been roped into doing something outlandish.
“Get ready.” Bracha commanded as she rolled her shoulders and sank down into a fighter’s stance.
