Chapter 47 — Fiery Hellscapes of Doom

“Oh? Back for more training?” Aaron asked as they approached the counter.

Ria handed over the letter from Captain Bastach. “We completed the job. The missing pets and the reason for their disappearance have been found. You were right, Aaron. Necromancy and a shapeshifter were both involved.”

Aaron took her ridiculous revelation in stride, only raising an eyebrow slightly as he opened the letter.

A few moments later, he sighed. “So, you weren’t just trying to get a reaction out of me. All right, give me your report on what happened.”

As Leon and Ria spun their tale, Aaron wrote down the important details.

“That should be enough. Congratulations on completing your first mission and getting a good performance rating. Here’s your pay. Do me a favor, since both of you can write, prepare me a written report ahead of time whenever you encounter something of significance while on a job.”

“Sure,” Ria agreed. “Got any recommendations for our next job?”

“Culling the slimes in the forest is a good way to build your confidence, and the pay for slime materials isn’t bad. It’s not that dangerous unless the buggers get under your armor and try to force their way into your mouth. My advice is to keep your mouth shut when fighting them,” Aaron advised.

“Hmm, slime goo is used for enchanting ink and energy replenishment potions. That’s not a bad idea,” Ria considered.

“I thought we just agreed to do herb gathering?” Leon complained.

“Yep. We should definitely do that, but can’t hurt to collect slime materials while we’re at it,” Ria argued. “Don’t worry. It’s too late to head out today anyway. Want to do another training session so you’ll feel more ready?”

Leon shook his head. “Not yet. I still need to practice what I learned last time.”

Ria grinned. “Same here. How about we use the practice grounds?”

A grimace flickered across Leon’s face. “Okay…”

Another pair of adventurers were already on the practice grounds exchanging attacks with wooden blades when Leon followed Ria and her familiar out onto the grounds.

It had already been an exhausting day for Leon. He had started the morning before dawn to finish his bakery work early, and between all the walking around in armor and the stress of encountering an actual shapeshifter, he was ready to call the day done and get some sleep even though the sun was still fairly high in the sky.

But he couldn’t afford to waste time like that. Becoming a real magic knight would mean gaining the skills and money needed to attend the Magic Knight Academy in Erime. He was already fifteen and didn’t have much time to gain entry. The academy wasn’t restricted to nobles anymore, but it was still an elite school with limited capacity and even taking the entrance exam required money or a recommendation. His competition, particularly the kids from noble families, were probably already attending the Magic Knight Academy or a similar school from their twelfth or thirteenth birthdays.

He and Ria walked over to claim an unoccupied spot to use for practice, and a gleam shone in Ria's eyes as she glanced back and told him that she wanted to practice separately for about an hour then spar together afterward. He nodded and voiced his agreement, secretly hoping to put off the spar indefinitely. Where did the girl get so much stamina and drive?

Leon started working through his footwork practice while letting his mind wander. Glancing in Ria’s direction, he caught sight of her moving through a complicated series of poses… contortions really, and she wasn’t smooth enough at the movements to call it flowing or graceful. Oh, she fell over. Chuckling to himself, he redoubled his own effort.

He really was attracted to the girl. Leon could admit that much. Ria had something that the other girls didn’t, and from the moment she had blown into his life, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. He wasn’t an idiot though. He understood that she had offered up the challenge of becoming a magic knight as an impossible goal for him to overcome, but whenever she was involved, the impossible seemed to feel possible.

For Leon, accepting the ridiculous challenge wasn’t just to get Ria to look at him more seriously. Since learning about the situation with the Great Barrier Wall, and particularly after the fight with Gebs, he had felt frustrated with himself.

All his life, everyone just assumed that Leon would take over the bakery when he got older, and he had just been doing as told and playing things safe. Ria was right—he needed to set his sights higher. He needed this challenge for himself—to choose his own path.

Maybe even becoming a magic knight was setting his sights too low. If he was going to aim high, his goal should be to become a hero. And not just a village hero, but a hero known throughout all of Crysellia. 'Don't just be a warrior, be a legend' was what she had said. To do that, he would definitely have to join the military.

It was scary. The idea of being asked to die for his country wasn't something he was particularly eager to accept… but if that was necessary to protect his family and the people he cared about, Leon thought he might be able to do it.

His club whistled as he methodically whipped his arm through the practice moves. His shield slammed the air with a power that would stun his opponent. And his footwork kept his weight evenly centered at all times, making him an unshakeable rock.

Woosh, woosh, slam, woosh.

Steadily he repeated the moves again and again, increasing in focus as all thought was pushed aside by the determination to improve—to make his own path with his two hands.

As he finished the sequence again, he caught sight of Ria's piercing blue eyes watching him from where she sat with Ranger by her satchel. How long had he been practicing for?

Sudden fatigue washed over him, and he could barely stand. Ah, so embarrassing. She was definitely going to tease him.

Leon took a few deep breaths and made his jelly legs move. To his surprise, Ria pulled a towel and a waterskin out of her bag and jogged over, smiling.

"Here, Leon."

He gratefully received the items, toweling off his sweat and quenching his thirst, before stumbling over to flop down next to where she was watching him from.

Ranger greeted him with a friendly bark and tail wag.

"Haha, you overdid it, Leon. But, congratulations. You succeeded at using the active meditation technique. Whether you realized it or not, you were using your inner energy to strengthen your strikes," Ria explained cheerfully.

He did what…? Was she praising him or teasing him?

Ria handed over some cloth-wrapped dinner leftovers and gave some to Ranger as well. "Eat something Leon, and if you have any energy stored in your amulet, you can use that to replenish your reserves."

Ah! Was that why he felt so tired? He used up his inner energy?

Leon drew out the energy he stored in the amulet this morning and immediately felt better. He would need to be more diligent about storing his excess energy so he would have it available when he needed it.

"We really need to find a place of power around here to use for training. Using potions is way too expensive. Rest up. I'm going to draw a stamina restoration barrier for our sparing match," Ria told him and got up with the phoenix quill flashing a vivid red in her hand.

He nodded, but… NO!!!! I'LL DIEEEEE!!! is what he wanted to say. After barely being able to see her move when she cut Daggen's neck bandage to intimidate those guys outside, he knew her speed wasn't something he could cope with. That had to be body-strengthening, right? If she could make people fly with wood daggers like Tina did… maybe getting hit by lightning would be better.

Leon glanced over at Ria happily humming as she drew flaming lines and curves in the dirt with her finger.

Facing certain death wasn't bravery—it was stupidity, right?

"Hey, kid. What's the new girl up to? That looks like ritual magic," came a gruff voice from behind.

Leon turned around to see the guys who were practicing with wooden blades. One of the guys had a close-trimmed beard and mustache that made him look like a villain and the other had a scar cutting across his face.

"Ria said it was a stamina restoration barrier," Leon answered then hastily added, "It is ritual magic, but it's okay since she has a license."

"Oh? A girl that young with a license for restricted magics? This might be fun to watch," the villain guy said and rubbed his chin. "You two going to spar?"

"…guess so," Leon hesitantly admitted.

"Hahaha, not feeling confident, eh?" scarface commented. "How about I spar with the winner then?"

"Uh, sure. I guess. She'll probably be happy about that," Leon readily agreed.

"Oh-hoh. I'll take the winner of that match then," the villain decided enthusiastically.

Leon wasn't sure how he felt about volunteering the girl he liked to be beaten up by some random adventurers… maybe they were nicer than they looked. Or maybe he just messed up.

"That looked like Burtan's style that you were practicing earlier. New trainees?" scarface asked.

"Yeah," Leon nodded. "Ria and I just joined up yesterday and wanted to practice what we learned. Ria had lessons with some craz- er, Tina."

"Hahahaha. You wouldn't be the first to call Tina crazy, especially when she gets over-enthusiastic about a trainee. Your friend couldn't ask for a better instructor though. Other than the guildmaster, she's the strongest adventurer here," the villain said then wistfully continued, "Back in the day, the only guy that used to even try to compete with her was a scout named Jarrel. Talented kid, but Tina was always just a bit better."

"Jarrel is the one who trained Ria," Leon spoke up.

"Oh-hoh-hoh! This, I've got to see then," the villain exclaimed excitedly. "Does that mean he's back in the village now?"

"I think so. Ria's staying with his parents." Leon wondered if this middle-aged villain guy was someone important.

"Oh, looks like she's done," scarface alerted them.

Leon looked up to see that Ria had finished inscribing her spell into the ground and was headed their way.

"Heya! Saw you practicing earlier. I'm Ria."

"Hello, young mage. I'm Stanik," the villain introduced himself with a flourish, and motioned with his arm. "My companion here is Forsin."

"Nice to meet you," Forsin greeted.

"Nice to meet you, Forsin, Stanik," Ria replied while returning her phoenix quill to a fancy case with her other fancy writing tools.

“Woof!”

“This is Ranger,” Ria followed up at Ranger’s insistence. “And seems you were already talking to Leon.”

"Forsin wants to fight the winner of our spar, is that okay?" Leon asked Ria, casually not mentioning that he already agreed.

"I'd like that very much. Both Leon and I could use the guidance of more experienced adventurers," Ria enthusiastically agreed. "Ready, Leon? The barrier will probably only last about an hour, so we should get started right away."

"Sure… but you don't have to take it too seriously, you know," Leon tried.

"No way! I need to practice my healing magic, and I brought healing potions, just in case. Don't you dare hold back!" Ria chastened him and punched his chest.

"Haha! The girl's got fire!" Stanik laughed heartily. "Go on, get out there boy and give her your best."

How does she really expect him to clobber the girl he likes with a club? Ah, the padding.

Leon pulled the padding for his club out of his belt pouch and slid it on, tightening the straps as he followed a skipping Ria onto the gently flaming symbols and patterns in the dirt.

The moment Leon stepped within the flames, he gasped as a fire ignited within him, stoking his vigor and easing his muscle fatigue. It really was an amazing feeling—like he could train forever and never tire.

"What do you think, Leon?" Ria asked, grinning and making a wide sweep with her arms to indicate the entirety of the barrier with her gesture. "It's a bit wasteful, but I came up with a way to make the inscription visible."

Ah, what to say to the grinning devil that is master over the hellscape about to provide the stage for his torment… something that wouldn't encourage her…

"Umm, well, it's a bit scary, to be honest. And are my boots going to be okay?" Leon asked and looked down at his boots worriedly.

"Booo! You have no sense of drama, Leon!" Ria jeered and stuck her tongue out. "Isn't it a grand stage that I set for our fated first duel?"

Gulp.

Why was he chasing after this girl? There was only one sensible answer. He was a moth. A moth drawn to the fire of his own doom.

"Well it is that… but don't you think attracting this much attention might be bad?" Leon tried one last time as he looked around and noticed onlookers had indeed been attracted by the flaming circle and clearly illegal magical inscription.

"A grand stage needs a grand performance," Ria proclaimed and cackled darkly as she pulled her creepy dark helmet on her head and fiery wings formed behind her. "Ready yourself, Leon. I intend to go all-out from the start."

Oh gods, that can't be good. Leon sighed and lowered the facemask on his helmet. Apparently, every true knight must face his dragon. His just came earlier than expected.