Chapter 5

Piercing Gaze

Janus was not eager to spar with Devon. The tall redhead was watching him with that same piercing gaze from before. Janus met Devon’s eyes and identified him.

[Gallowglass - Level 24]

Janus had seen this class before. In fact, a famous member of the Bear Guard, Felton Bright, had the same class. It was rare, but not unheard of. Felton was regarded as a powerhouse up close, and Janus assumed it would be the same with Devon.

He’s about the same level as the gangster from the sub-train yesterday.

Unfortunately, Janus wasn’t much of a fighter. His earlier shot on Dario pretty much proved that. He knew that the System favored combat over anything else when it came to leveling up, but his father would have never let him get into any kind of trouble.

How am I supposed to do anything to him. I’ll have to get up close, but there’s no way I win like that.

Devon was still staring at him.

“Yeah I guess you two can tussle a bit. I was gonna have you guys brain each other by the end of the day anyway.” Dario stepped towards the two of them and motioned towards one of the sparring platforms, “Give it your best try, Janus. And, don’t strain the healers too much, Devon.”

Dario’s words shook Janus out of his thoughts and so he began approaching the nearest sparring platform.

Near each of the platforms was a small array of wooden weapons ranging from swords to quarterstaves. Janus grabbed one of the quarterstaves and stepped onto the platform.

This’ll give me some reach. I may be able to strengthen my blows by pushing mana into the quarterstaff.

Devon stood on the other side of the platform and slowly unsheathed the blade from his back. Dario was just making his way back with a healer and Devon turned towards them, presenting his blade. The healer moved their hands across the sword and a soft green glow began emitting from the weapon.

“That will blunt the blade. As long as nothing you do interferes with the spell, it should be safe to spar with.” The healer said.

Devon nodded and returned his attention to Janus.

“Alright, listen up.” Janus heard Dario speak from the side of the platform. “One of you will count from three to zero. On zero, your spar starts. Be sure to call for a healer if you get injured. I want a couple of rounds between you two. I’ll be working with Pella on another one of the sparring platforms if you need me.”

With that Dario turned towards Pella, the spoke softly for a moment and then made their way to a nearby platform.

“Three.” The words caught Janus by surprise. Devon had already started counting.

“Two.” Janus readies his quarterstaff. If was unwieldy and heavy.

“One.” With feet planted as squarely as he could, Janus held the quarterstaff out in front of him.

“Zero.” Devon immediately began moving as the last number left his lips. A red glow shone from his legs as he charged at Janus.

Janus was not prepared for Devon’s speed. Devon got within the range of his quarterstaff and simply knocked it away before delivering a solid thump to Janus’ head with his blade. Janus fell to the ground, the world swimming around him.

Round one had already been decided.

Slowly, the world came back into focus for Janus and he saw the same healer from earlier standing over him.

“Are you sure this is a fair match up? I didn’t even see the kid move before you gave him a concussion.” The healer turned to Devon and asked.

“It’s fair enough. I want to see just what he can do that’s got Dario so smitten with him.” Devon replied.

Janus took a few moments to get back on his feet and noticed that Devon was already on the other side of the sparring platform.

“Three.”

Oh stars, not again.

-

It had been nearly two straight hours of Janus getting mauled by Devon. Janus had never even scored a hit. The level difference was too significant and Janus simply couldn’t keep up.

He had gained a level in [Mana Manipulation] through his efforts to reinforce his quarterstaff, however.

Janus was noticing that the pain was sticking around even after he was healed. It was finally the healer from earlier that cut them off.

“I can’t keep healing him. There’s a limit. Injuries are going to start sticking unless you guys take a few days for him to recover.” The healer spoke and pointed at Janus.

Janus heard an approving whistle from behind him as Dario and Pella approached.

“Damn kid, you really just kept taking a beating. I was sure you’d give up after the first few rounds.” Dario said with a grin.

“He was stubborn, but I don’t see what your interest is with him.” Devon replied.

“This kid has a lot of potential. I’ve got a few tips for him.” Dario looked at Janus, the grin fading from his face, “Honestly, it might have been better if you didn’t take such a beating. We’re gonna have to hold off on your sparring sessions for a couple of days. I guess it’ll give you time to practice.”

“What should I do for the rest of today, then?” Janus asked.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get Devon and Pella set up in their own little spar and we’ll have a chat while they go at it” Dario looked towards the other two and motioned at one of the sparring platforms, “I think you’ll be surprised by the girl, Devon.”

Janus was curious about Pella’s supposedly unique class. He used identify on her.

[Phenom - Level 12]

Even she is a higher level than me.

“I saw her sparring with you. it looked like she’d never used a sword in her life.” Devon said.

“Yeah well, maybe at the start. I don’t think you saw her as we were finishing up, though.” Dario replied.

Pella had an indignant look on her face as she moved towards the sparring platform.

“I’ll show you ‘never held a sword in my life,’ Devon.” She said as she grabbed a wooden blade and stepped onto the platform.

Devon followed after Pella, and Dario turned back to Janus, “Let’s give their first round a watch shall we? I think Devon is about to be surprised.”

Janus wasn’t certain that Pella would do much better than he had against to redheaded swordsman, but he kept the thought to himself.

“Three.” Devon was already starting the countdown.

As he reached zero, Pella was already sidestepping so that Devon didn’t have a straight shot at her. It didn’t slow him down much. But it let her be a bit more proactive, and she was the first to strike, lunging at Devon’s midsection.

Devon appeared to be surprised by the attack, taking a step back and swatting away Pella’s blade with his own. He counter attacked with a swift cut at Pella’s shoulder, but was surprised once more to find her blade already in the way.

Janus could see a change in Devon’s body language as he disengages from Pella. The same red glow stated flowing from Devon’s legs and his next attack was nearly a blur. Pella was on the ground before Janus could even process what happened.

“He wasn’t lying you know.” Dario said.

“What do you mean?” Asked Janus.

“When I was sparring with Pella, it was the first time she had ever held a sword.” Dario said, taking a seat on the nearby bench and inviting Janus to do the same.

Janus sat on the bench and replied, “That can’t be true. I couldn’t do anything against Devon at all. It almost looked like Pella had the upper hand for a moment.”

“A big part of it is because of her class, but from what I’ve read, a lot of it is probably from her personality, too.” Dario said, “She collects skills and tries to perfect them. Her work ethic is a thing of beauty.”

“Is her class really that powerful? I’ve never seen [Phenom], before.” Janus asked.

“She hasn’t even given me all the details. But, from what I’ve been told, her class gives her an insane amount of versatility. I’d hate to face her in a hundred levels.” Dario replied as he stretched his arms out along the back of the bench.

“What level are you, anyway?” Janus asked.

“Nosy little sap, aren’t you Janus?” Dario said, “I’m probably one of the higher levels in the stations. Once you can get through my obscuring enchantment, you’ll deserve to know the exact level.”

“If Pella and I are supposed to be so special, what’s up with Devon?” Janus asked. His curiosity about Devon was only getting stronger after his earlier sparring session.

“Devon’s got a pretty rare class and a unique skill to boot. I’m not sure if his skill has the same potential as yours, but time will tell.” Dario responded.

Janus was still feeling pretty inadequate in the company of the other students. But, if what Dario had said earlier about [Mana Manipulation] was true, then Janus resolved to put in the work.

Dario turned towards Pella and Devon as they sparred before speaking, “Anyway, you need to practice controlling mana. Before I met with you, I spoke with a metamage about mana control.”

Janus had heard of metamages before. They were mages that had a greater insight into the System and could even control aspects of it.

“The metamage told me they had never heard of a skill that gave the user unrestricted control of mana before, but in theory, you should be able to replicate some simple spells.” Dario continued, “Spells that can create kinetic forces should be simple enough. They rely on concentrating mana to the point that it can physically push on something. Another effect to work on would be light and illusions. You should be able to create light by concentrating mana and then letting it explode outward all at once.”

Janus was familiar with the concept. It was exactly what he had been doing before Dario introduced him to the other students.

Dario still hadn’t finished speaking, however, “Illusions are a bit trickier. The rely on shaping mana into the image you want. Most illusion mages start out as artists, especially sculptors. You won’t have any of the built in advantages their skills give them. I want you to practice three things. The first is what you’ve already been doing” Dario held up a finger, “Enhancing attacks with mana,” he lifted a second finger, “the second is to physically push something with your mana,” another finger rose, “and the last is to create a bright flash of light.”

Janus knew he could keep enhancing attacks and he had already created a small flash of light. So, he knew two of those goals were achievable. He wasn’t as confident about using his mana to push something around, however.

“I’ll do my best s-“ Janus stumbled over his words, “Uh, Dario.”

Dario smiled, “That’s better! The hard part will be getting Devon to stop calling me sir. Anyway, if you want to stick around and watch those two spar, feel free. Class is effectively over, as far as I’m concerned.”

Janus thanked Dario for his instruction before Dario walked back into the Delver’s Guild. He continued watching Pella and Devon for a few hours before deciding it was time to head home.

-

Janus stepped through his front door and saw his dad sitting on the couch, fiddling with the Runescribe.

“Hey dad, did you end up calling a runemage to look at the scribe?” Janus asked.

Janus’ dad looked up, “Oh, you’re home. I thought you didn’t have classes today? The runescribe was working this morning so I never called the runemage.”

“That was because you hadn’t turned it on,” Janus said while grinning, “It would have been a short visit from the runemage. My classes have been moved to Crow Station for now.”

“Oh, that’s good to hear. I nabbed a chicken from Emily down the street, it’s roasting right now.” His father replied.

Janus’ stomach growled. He hadn’t eaten all day and Emily’s chickens were always delicious. He headed towards his room knowing his dad would tell him when the food was finished.

Within his room, Janus practiced his strengthening technique. He had a set of weights that he liked to exercise with in the morning. He held his arm out to one side with his heaviest weight and began counting.

-

After an hour of pushing mana into his arm and recording how long he could hold up the weight, Janus noted down the difference in a notebook. When his had been infused with mana, he could hold the weight out to the side for significantly longer.

The real goal now was to see just how much mana he could handle.

He heard his father call from down the stairs, “Janus! The chicken is ready!”

As he made his way down he willed for his stats to appear in his minds eye.

Status Name Janus Alamy Class None Level 7 Guild None Life 228 / 228 Mana 258 / 258 Stamina 216 / 216 Stat Total Base Class Skill Item Strength 10 7 0 3 0 Endurance 8 7 0 1 0 Dexterity 7 7 0 0 0 Intelligence 19 7 0 12 0 Wisdom 22 7 0 15 0 Skill Level Bonus Bravery 1 5 Wis / Lvl Writing 8 1 Wis / 5 Lvl Sprinting 7 1 End / 5 Lvl Mana Manipulation 9 1 Int, 1 Wis / Lvl Str. Enhancement

3 1 Int, 1 Str / Lvl Locked --- --- Locked --- --- Locked --- --- Locked --- --- Locked --- ---

Janus knew that skills often evolved when their levels reached a multiple of ten, but he wasn’t sure if he was a high enough level to evolve [Mana Manipulation].

Only time would tell.