.
Although the air was no denser than sea level air on Huade or Earth, the first of the two Spirit Beasts who had been on standby appeared out of the haze with her tail lazily waving back and forth, propelling her. She was a ravishingly beautiful mermaid-like creature, the potential result if the merrow had extravagantly decorated themselves for living among the coral. Her complicated fins and spines were a riot of colors and patterns. They looked like those of a lion fish or other spiny, finny reef denizens. Her skin also sported the bright camouflage colors of such creatures, with parts resembling clown fish and other parts resembling puffers. Although her breasts and nether parts were bare, it was like looking at a nude wearing body paint. She didn’t seem naked at all.
She didn’t have a distinct ‘human part’ and ‘fish part’. Her body blended imperceptibly from fish to human. One could only say with certainty that the head was more-or-less human and the tail, nearly three paces behind, was more-or-less fish. Without a doubt, her origin was a cloud coral colony like those found in the land of my birth… Senhion’s birth. This creature had begun life as a certain species of sky fish, before evolving eventually into a partially human form, although one with proportions appropriate for a human a pace and a half tall. If she were a human, she could look Graham eye-to-eye.
The second spirit beast came trotting out after the first finished emerging, and let out a few snorts after he appeared. He had a lethal stare, like a tiger advancing on prey, but his appearance was something midway between a horse and a deer. His antlers spread out fantastically, spanning two and a half paces tip to tip, and he stood more than a pace tall at the shoulder. Likely, he was some variant out of the Elk and Moose clade, but he was more massive than any I had ever seen, and he had fangs and front-facing eyes. This was an elk that had become carnivorous. And of course, as the Spirit Beast parallel to that creature, this hunter had become intelligent.
The near-elk stopped, stamped his feet, and let out another snort. He glared at Ryuu, but came no closer. Instead, the floating mermaid swam forward and slowly circled the hero, looking at him with a mirthless smile through onyx eyes. Her tail lightly brushed his shoulder on one side as she considered him from the other, gently stroking his cheek with her fingertips. Her lengthy body bent into a three hundred degree semicircle to accomplish this feat.
She asked in a languid spiritual voice as she continued caressing his cheek, This is the Hero, Commander? He seems terribly small and weak to me.
With her oversized features staring at him from that close up, she must have been very intimidating, but Ryuu just narrowed his eyes.
I settled down on the top of a floating cube, and answered, This is Ryuu Kowa. He came to us from a different world by way of the Hero Summoning spell.
To Ryuu, I said, This being’s name is Orho. She is one of the Spirit Beasts living in my small world.
Her shoulders heaved dramatically as she sighed. Straightening her body, she swam away from him with lazy strokes, the frills of her tail curling and rippling as they waved gently back and forth.
He has almost no potential at all, she concluded. We shouldn’t waste effort on him.
“If you just came here to insult me, you’re wasting time,” Ryuu stated with his chin raised. “Words from someone who has done nothing to prove her strength are empty wind.”
If he thought he was going to provoke her, his plan failed. She simply rolled her eyes and said, Ka, correct this fool.
The elk-like being lowered his head and charged.
Ryuu instantly bounded backward while grabbing the hilt of his massive sword. He swung it in an overhead arc to the front and got his hand on it as his feet landed, then he dive-rolled out of the beast’s path. But the Spirit Beast named Ka twisted his head to lower his antler to the ground, threatening to catch Ryuu before he was clear. Somehow, Ryuu parried the antler with his sword, which he had already coated with Earth.
It turned out, he was meeting Earth with Earth. Ka had filled his antler with the same element, using some technique similar to [Body Fortification]. The two weapons produced a thunderous boom as they met.
The impact threw his greatsword back, but Ryuu had successfully defended himself. Ka did a leap to the side, away from his opponent, then twisted his body and lowered his head facing the Hero in one step and launched himself again.
Ryuu took a different approach this time. He also launched himself, something that surprised both Ka and me, using [Strength Enhancement] to catapult himself forward and over Ka’s head between his antlers. Using one hand to vault off the elk-like animal’s back, he somehow also twisted himself in the process so that he rotated to land facing the creature, who was again wheeling to face him. This time, Ka did not charge.
As he caught his breath through grinning teeth, Ryuu said, “I can keep going as long as you want, beast.”
The spirit beast instead began circling him, eying him with a deadly glare. Ryuu turned to face him, keeping his greatsword held up in middle guard, each time Ka had gone forty five degrees around.
When the creature had circled halfway, he stopped, looked at Orho, and wondered, Shall I use magic attacks?
The corners of Orho’s mouth lifted slightly. I certainly would have, by now. I was beginning to wonder when you would finally start.
Ka suddenly sprang into a charge, with Wind now propelling him, roughly doubling his acceleration. As Ryuu parried another Earth-reinforced strike from his immense antlers, Ka’s tail flicked and an attack like [Wind Scythe] whipped out at him. Ryuu immediately demonstrated a skill I had never seen before, an Earth-based magic that formed a hard shell around his forearm, as he yelled, “[Armor!]”
It deflected the Wind magic, just barely in time. Ka spiraled out to exit Ryuu’s sword range, then arcs of electricity began passing back and forth between his antlers. I facepalmed, because Ka had just chosen the element Ryuu had developed his best defense for.
The arcs grew larger rapidly, but just as he began lowering his head to shoot them, Ryuu shouted, “[Lightning Rod!]”
Aether flared bright in his sword, and sucked the [Magic Lightning] into it. In less than a second, the skill had vacuumed up the entire shot. Ryuu then drew his sword back and swung while yelling, “[Aether Shot!]”
This was new to me. Obviously, it was an Aether version of his existing attack, but it is not a simple task to create a parallel to a spell or skill in a different element. The materialized Aether mana that he had just collected flew out at Ka like a whip made of lightning. Ka had to parry it while Ryuu again ran at him. They fell into trading blows, antlers vs. sword, Earth vs. Earth, creating a sound like artillery continuously firing. Then Ka suddenly breathed out a gout of Fire, forcing Ryuu into a dive roll to escape.
The hero was not entirely on the defensive, though. He came out of the roll with his arm outstretched and his open palm facing his opponent, while he yelled, “[Earth Bullet!]”
He had dumped a ton of mana into that spell. A stream of [Earth Bullet]s sprayed the pseudo-elk, hammering his hide and driving him back as if the salvo was a fire hose. With his four hooves splayed out, he slid sideways away from Ryuu until his legs collapsed. The last few shots battered Ka’s body as he laid there.
Ryuu came up into a middle guard stance with his sword in a two-handed grip. His eyes narrowed again as he stared at his opponent.
Ka did not move, but instead of relaxing, Ryuu declared, “You can give up the act. I’m not buying it. You’re faking.”
The Spirit Beast still did not move. Ryuu’s face grew stormy and Wind gathered on his blade in mass quantities.
Sharpening my spiritual voice, I snapped, Orho!
Hero, hold for a moment, the sky fish giantess commanded in a quiet, firm tone.
His eyes narrowed again as he nodded and kept the heavy charge of Wind mana at ready. A maximum quantity circulated in his body while the maximum he could hold remained gathered on his blade. Ryuu’s [Spirit Shot] involves perfect timing, dumping the circulating mana into his blade at the same moment he released the gathered mana from it. The double dose it created overlapped each other, and the interference between the two charges increased its destructive power. Ryuu’s stupid high pneuma was the sole reason he could pull it off.
Orho looked at Ka and stated, You are indeed faking. He has already called you out on it. Give it up.
The supposedly unconscious Spirit Beast raised his head and complained, He would have believed it eventually and dropped his guard. You two ruined my chance.
Take a look at the quantity of Wind he was about to hit you with, then re-evaluate this chance of yours, Orho answered with a trace of dimples forming.
The skill he was about to unleash lands both charges simultaneously, I added helpfully. It’s quite destructive
Ka rolled and got onto his feet, shaking his entire body for a moment like a dog drying his fur, then trotted away a few more paces before turning to face Ryuu.
During this time, the hero had not dropped his guard, and he had maintained the Wind charge.
Orho began swimming around him, except this time the radius of her circle was about five paces. She appeared to be evaluating him again. Her face was difficult to read, but she appeared deep in thought.
At last, she stated, Very well. You seem to have a flicker of potential, after all. I shall still test you before accepting a role assisting you. Give your best effort.
“So, you’re fighting me this time?” Ryuu asked.
Those faint dimples, not necessarily indicating humor, appeared again. There would be no purpose in my fighting you. You would have no chance. But I shall give you an exam.
Ryuu said nothing in response.
Orho’s tail suddenly flicked once, sharply, and an hourglass appeared in her hand. It was massive, perhaps half a pace tall, and at the moment, the sand within was fully run out. She swam in her stately manner over to an octahedron that was sitting nearby, inverted the glass and placed it on the top surface.
As the sand began falling, Orho stated, I shall observe how long you can hold that mana. This is a glass for measuring the Eighths of the Day.
I mentioned once before, how time on Huade is measured in time after or before the nearest ‘Quarter of the Day’, Morning, Noon, Evening or Midnight. Each of those three hour spans, either counting down to the next quarter or up from the last, is called an ‘Eighth of the Day’.
In other words, this was a three hour glass. I could indeed see the hours and the fifteen minute intervals marked on it. It makes for an imprecise way to keep time, but the one sure thing would be, it would run out in three hours.
Ryuu stared at her. “You expect me to hold this mana for three hours.”
He said it flat, as a statement.
I would be quite surprised, she admitted. Perhaps you shall surprise me.
I heard a mental sigh being heaved. It took me a moment to identify it as Ka’s spirit voice.
What a boring test, that voice grumbled. Orho gave no comment in return.
The pseudo-elk clip-clopped over to a spot near where I sat, and knelt down to watch. Then, Ka revealed a human form. Except the form that Ka took was that of one of Little Jia’s serving girls, sitting in seiza.
You’re a girl! I exclaimed before shutting myself up. I facepalmed over my goof, painfully embarrassed.
She looked up at me, mystified. Then she corrected herself and bowed her head. “That is correct, Commander.”
Sorry, I told her, although I didn’t explain that I was apologizing for mistaking her for a male. I took to the air and flew down to land on her shoulder. I had become comfortable with that spot while working with Chiara.
“How long do you think he will last, Commander?” Ka wondered as we both went back to watching the peculiar contest. As Ka had mentioned, it was going to be quite boring.
I won’t guarantee it, I answered, but I suspect he will last the full three hours.
