Reunion

Spriggan War Axe

A weapon wielded by an unorthodox Spriggan Warrior. It has been imbued with a Spriggan’s life force, imbuing the weapon with a mysterious power.

Damage: 200 - 250

+50 Strength

+50 Vitality

Weapon Skill: Shift

Durability: 200/200

Level Requirement: 45

While the giant war axe’s description was plain, and simple, the weapon itself couldn’t be underestimated. For one, the war axe had the highest damage count out of any of the weapons I’ve encountered up until this point. And if that wasn’t enough, it also had a weapon skill, an attribute which could drastically impact a weapon’s utility.

While the weapon itself made me drool in anticipation, there still existed one problem; its size. High damage or not, it was still too large for any ordinary person to swing around.

Too put it into perspective, it would be like a cat swinging around a minivan as its weapon. No matter how strong the cat was, or how much weight the minivan had, the difference in size would always prevent the cat from fully using the weapon to its maximum potential.

Maybe the weapon itself was intended for larger individuals? Something that might not be necessarily human? Maybe a giant or something similar? If that were the case, then did that mean that the weapon drops weren’t just things that had humans as its target audience?

While my brain squeezed out all the excuses, and consultations it could muster out, I lazily stared at the weapon in front of me with a look of vexation. It was such a good weapon, yet it was practically unusable. Without thinking, I placed a free hand onto the weapon’s handle, just as I sighed out in tired exasperation.

I briefly admired the craftsmanship of the leather grip, before I attempted to lift the weapon up with my right hand. I pushed out a muffled grunt, as I affixed my stance, and exerted my all into my attempt.

Although I was currently in a weakened state, I was still an individual who possessed superhuman strength. Even now, my current strength greatly surpassed that of a regular human’s.

To my surprise, even with my strength, the giant war axe refused to move. It was both incredibly heavy and incredibly dense. No amount of pulling, yanking, or lifting could even so much as budge the [Spriggan War Axe]. Although I might be a bit biased, If I were to estimate an approximate weight based solely on my attempt, then the war axe would probably be around 1-2 tons heavy, maybe more.

I continued my attempt for another minute or so, before I ultimately gave up. Let alone use it, I could not even properly lift it up. Just as I was on the verge of giving up all hope on the new weapon, I remembered its weapon skill, [Shift]. [Shift] was a very vague name, and without my [Identify] skill, I had absolutely no clue as to what it entailed.

I stared fixedly at the war axe in front of me, before I ultimately gave in to the curiosity. Even if I couldn’t use it, I would at the very least, see what its skill was about.

I placed a firm grip on the handle of the axe, before I breathed out a long winded puff of air. My fingers could not even reach all the way around the handle, but the intention was there. I did not activate the skill right away. At first, I simply stood there, my right hand gripped onto the handle, while my eyes remained closed. I collected my thoughts, before I recalled the familiar sensation of using a weapon skill.

My impression of using a weapon skill was a bit hard to describe. It was a lot like using a regular skill, but at the same time, it was vastly different. If I had to describe it, then it would be like moving an arm, an action so natural that you wouldn’t put a lot of thought into the process.

Either way, holding onto that familiar sensation, I used [Shift] for the first time.

Nothing happened at first, before I felt an immense jolt push out against my arm. I reflexively gritted my teeth, while my knuckles turned white as I held onto the handle with a vice-like grip. The impact was what I imagined the kickback from firing a shotgun felt like, except this one was several times stronger.

The force only lasted for a fraction of a second before it abruptly disappeared. The after effects still lingered, causing a numbing sensation to run up my right hand and travel all the way to my shoulders, but the force itself wasn’t there anymore.

After 5 seconds of nothing happening, I slowly unsquinted my eyes as I turned to stare down at the weapon in my hand.

Surprisingly, the giant war axe whose size was comparable to that of a King sized bed, was nowhere to be seen. Instead, what replaced it was an axe that was as large as a frying pan, and fit comfortably in my hand. The smaller axe had the same color scheme as the [Spriggan War Axe], so I was certain that it was the same one from before.

I stood there dumbfounded for a second or two, before I timidly swung the axe in front of me. I swung the weapon 10 to 20 times, taking my time to familiarize myself with both its weight and power. The blade sliced through the air as if it were butter, while the weight itself felt no heavier than a kitchen knife.

After I was satisfied, I turned the axe this way and that, while I closely scrutinized the weapon with squinted eyes. Its shape, color, and overall design was identical to the larger axe from before. Checking its window panel, I finally confirmed that the [Spriggan War Axe], and the axe currently in my hand were one and the same.

I thought for a while, before I decided to use [Shift] once more. This time around, instead of the general thought of using [Shift], I mentally commanded the weapon in my hand to [Shrink].

I felt a smaller jolt pass through my hand, before the weapon rapidly shrunk. In less than a second, the axe had shrunk down to the size of a pencil. I wanted to test the limits of [Shift], so I continually commanded the axe to [shrink]. After countless [shrinks] later, the axe finally stopped getting smaller after it reached a size no larger than a small marble.

Rather than a weapon, the object that rested in the middle of my open palm looked more like a toy. But despite its size, and feather like weight, I knew that the miniature axe possessed an incredible amount of power. Not only did its window panel confirm that the weapon’s damage count and benefits stayed the same, I myself could feel the destructive force hidden within its thin body.

After testing its [shrink] function, I now wanted to test whether the axe could grow back to its original size, or better yet, grow beyond it. I took some time to prepare myself, before I immediately commanded the weapon to [grow].

The resulting kickback was considerably larger than when the axe shrunk. My hand and arm were forcibly pushed backwards, while a force that felt like a meat grinder overwhelmed me. My grip was completely undone, while my arm was thrown backwards. I could not help but take a few steps back in order to affix my broken stance.

My arm was left feeling sore, while the war axe had grown back to its original size. Its blade was firmly embedded into the ground, where it left a foot long indention.

While I marveled at the weapon, I took some time to recover from the kickback. After close to ten minutes had passed, I once again placed my still tingling palm onto the surface of the giant axe’s handle. Like before, I commanded the weapon to [grow].

I went through the process several times. The resulting kickbacks, while still larger than when the axe was shrinking, was less powerful than the first time. After several iterations had passed, the war axe finally stopped growing when it reached a size comparable to a standard sized school bus. The handle was twice as thick as my body, while the bladed portion itself sunk firmly into the ground, leaving behind a small crater.

I looked at the weapon for a while, before I resolved myself to shrink it once more. This time around, I would force the object to shrink down to the size of a kitchen knife, all in one go. I could only imagine the resulting kickback from such an action, but it was something I had to do in order to confirm something that might prove beneficial in the future.

I gripped onto the handle as tightly as I could before I commanded the weapon to [shrink]. This time, instead of just aimlessly thinking, [shrink], I specified the size. In less than a second, the school bus size war axe that barely fit into the basement, immediately shrunk down to the size of a long sword. I had attempted to shrink it down to the size of a kitchen knife, but as expected, that was impossible. A sort of mental block subconsciously stopped me, as if my own body knew that it could not take the strain from such an action.

Needless to say, despite the mental block, my right hand and arm still suffered tremendously. While I did manage to maintain my grip on the handle, everything from my elbow down felt numb, while I half feared that my right shoulder had dislocated from the resulting kickback.

I slumped down onto the floor with a grunt, while I tried rehabilitating my arm by moving it around a few times. Luckily, despite the numbness, I could still bend and move my arm with considerable freedom. While I recovered, I could not hide the gleeful grin that had formed on my face.

Just from this trial alone, I had discovered the [Spriggan War Axe’s] greatest strength. Its utility did not lie in its high damage count, nor even in its weapon skill, but rather in the kickback. The axe’s greatest benefit was the underlying force and kickback that resulted from when it changed size.

While at first, such a kickback might be seen as detrimental, if such destructive force was channeled into an enemy, then its potential could readily be seen. Just imagining the force the War axe could generate if it shifted from the size of a marble into the size of a school bus all in one go left me shuddering both in fear and anticipation.

Of course, the kickback, while useful, was by nature, a detriment. It was a dual sided sword that could hurt its owner just as much as it could hurt its opponent. Because of this, the shift skill, in essence, was best used as a last resort type of attack.

While I pondered and thought of various ways to make use of the new weapon, I commanded the axe to shrink down to half the size of an ordinary dagger. If the weapon was too small, then it would be easy to lose, so I did not go too overboard.

I stuffed the axe into my pants pocket, before I turned around and put away the rest of the drops. After I properly collected all of the drops, I searched for my old backpack, and the rest of the items I had left behind while I made my hasty escape. I dumped everything into my new backpack before I turned towards the Manticore’s corpse.

The dull grey sword in my hand almost shivered in anticipation but, I did not outright use [Devour] on the corpse. For one, I was currently in a weakened state. If I used [Devour] right now on such a high quality corpse, then I could only begin to imagine the resulting state of my body.

Another reason was because the Manticore corpse was simply too valuable to lose. Its hide was incredibly tough, and the scales on its body had potential for both offense and defense. Also, the heat and vitality that it was currently letting out, despite being a corpse… without a doubt, the meat from that thing would be deliciou- beneficial.

Unfortunately, I lacked the current strength and ability to get through the Manticore’s tough exterior. And if left alone, then there’s a possibility that the corpse will attract other monsters, thus invalidating its value. I was stuck in a dilemma. I could neither [Devour] it, nor dismantle it.

After some more thought, I ultimately decided to leave the matter for later. While leaving it alone was a risky prospect, it was still acceptable if it was only for a day or two. For now, I’ll meet back up with the others. Cielle, who possesses both [Gemini Blue], and [Nursing] might be able to do something about my body’s current condition. In addition, I can probably get the others to help me move and dismantle the Manticore corpse.

Having reached a decision, I finished up with everything else I had to do, before I left the basement, and moved west, towards Cielle’s house..

****

I had looked up Cielle’s address using a municipal map I found yesterday. Her place was a bit far, but it was still within the bounds of the residential area. Unfortunately, that did not make the nearly 1 mile walk any less tasking.

After trudging along the open and abandoned street, with the sun beating down on my back, and the backpack weighing me down, while more and more sparrow-like birds whistled listlessly in the air (even more of them had gathered since this morning), I finally arrived at my destination.

Squinting through the glaring sunlight, I glanced up at the building before me. Cielle’s home was an apartment in one of the newer buildings within the city. Well, that might be an understatement. The building before could not be described simply by the term “apartment complex”. It was more accurate to call it a mansion, or some other type of fancy, grandiose word.

The building itself towered over the other houses nearby, and boasted close to 25 floors. It was an amazing building, whose windows shined with an almost vibrant luster, which greatly contrasted its night black exterior. It was something I could not even begin to connect back to the messy haired girl I had grown close to.

I did not know what floor Cielle lived on, so I was at a loss as to what to do. As the thought of having to search through the whole place entered my mind, my footsteps trudged along, bringing me closer to the automatic glass doors at the front of the building. Of course, the door was broken, so after I forcibly wrenched the entrance open with brute strength, I finally entered the building.

Thanks to the shade, the inside was noticeably cooler, even without any proper air conditioning.

Even after reaching this far, I maintained my air of caution. I glanced around at my surroundings with a scrutinizing gaze. The room I was in could be best described as a lobby. There was a receptionist desk on the side, while three elevators adorned the back wall of the room. One of the elevator doors had been forced open, revealing a metallic shaft that led further up into the building.

The rest of the room was a mess. It was clear that something like rats or cockroaches had long infested the building. The tiled floors were chipped, while the expensive looking carpets had been thoroughly damaged and torn. Even the furniture lay scattered around the room, broken and misused.

As I walked further into the building, my footsteps came to an abrupt stop.

The sound of approaching footsteps came from above me. They sounded fast paced, and hurried, maybe even desperate. While a sort of happiness blossomed in my heart at the thought of Cielle, Hina and the others, I still maintained my cautious facade. The possibility that the others had left still existed, and it wasn’t guaranteed that the footsteps I heard were necessarily friendly.

I slowly circled around the room until my back rested against the wall. I positioned myself so that the only set of stairs was directly in front of me. With my sword gripped tightly, I waited patiently. The sound of trudging footsteps grew increasingly louder as the cold sweat on my back continually flowed, while the source of the footsteps rapidly grew closer.

Finally, after my mental concentration was stretched to its very limits, from the top of the staircase, I could see a familiar head of hair running towards me. Seeing that messy mop of long hair bounce up and down as its owner bounded down the stairs three steps at a time, the taut tension I had been building up, instantly deflated.

I breathed out a sigh of relief, as I took a several steps forward.

Seeing my approach, with newfound energy, the familiar individual increased her own pace. Unfortunately, due to her haste, she tripped halfway down. Her legs tumbled, while her body practically flew towards the air. While in mid air, her tousled black hair floated away from her head, revealing the current expression that decorated her face.

Half-excitement, half-surprise, and half-anxiousness. It was one of those expressions that truly encapsulated the phrase, “A picture is worth a thousand words”. With tears collecting beneath her eyes, and with a slightly flushed expression, Cielle smiled a smile that could take one’s breath away.

Seeing that happy expression of hers, I could not hold back my own budding smile.

I instinctively wanted to say something cliche, or cheesy, like “I’m back”, or “Did you miss me?”, but before any words could leave my mouth, Cielle’s body rapidly plummeted downwards. She fell directly on top of me, and the resulting impact knocked me off my feet. We both tumbled to the floor with a resounding thud.

I reflexively coughed due to the unsettled dust that gathered around us, but the goofy smile on my expression persisted.

Before I could react, Cielle’s arms snaked around my body, as she tightly pressed herself ontop of me. Her grip was unusually firm, almost as if she were afraid I’d disappear the moment she let go. Her chest was firmly pushed up against my body, while her head was buried in the crook of my shoulder. I wanted to complain, since my right shoulder was still sore from experimenting with the Spriggan War axe, but feeling Cielle’s slight tremble, and seeing her shoulders shake, the words died down before they could even form.

For a while, I did not say anything. We simply laid there, the silence of the building encircling us. I don’t know since when, but my right hand was also firmly hugging onto Cielle’s narrow back. Seeing as how she didn’t protest, I had no intention of letting go.

We maintained our position. I wanted to maintain our position, but after what felt like an eternity passed, Cielle was the first to break.

Her grip slowly loosened, while she steadily pushed off against me. She did not completely separate from me, but rather, she sat back up in a way so that she was directly ontop of my abdomen. Since she wasn’t all that heavy, I had no intention of complaining.

She looked down towards me, her expression a bit blurry from the resulting tears in her eyes. She opened her mouth once, wanting to say something, but ultimately closed it. She repeated this process several times, before finally giving up. Her head slightly lowered as her face reddened. It was a bit out of place, but Cielle showed off a rare shy expression.

I could not hide the smile on my face from seeing her struggle with unusual clumsiness. I inwardly chuckled to myself, while I maintained my usual facade.

There were a lot of things I wanted to say. I wanted to ask about her, and everyone else. About what they did while I was gone. Whether anything happened or not. There were a lot of things I wanted to say, but ultimately, I chose two simple set of words to convey what I could not properly say.

“I’m back.” That cliche phrase that I had wanted to say a while ago finally left my cracked lips, as I stared straight at the girl in front of me. Cielle, who heard this, slightly widened her eyes. She did not say anything at first, but her lips lightly curled upwards into a genuine smile.

She paused for a second, before her small lips slightly parted. I could see a glint momentarily pass through her eyes.

With her lips slightly parted and with her gaze firmly fixed on me, I was at a loss. I expected her to respond to my earlier remark with a playful comeback, but before she could say anything, her body suddenly dipped downwards.

Before I could react, her face was already directly in front of mine. I was momentarily paralyzed by the firmness that reflected off of Cielle’s deep dark brown irises.

In the wake of my surprise, her pale white hands firmly pressed onto my face, as Cielle’s lips slowly drew closer. My breathing turned ragged, as Cielle’s shaky gasps drifted to my ears. Without fanfare nor resistance, her slightly pink, slightly wettened lips locked with my own. The words of my protest immediately died down, as I instinctively closed my eyes. A sort of burning feeling from deep within my chest suddenly rose up, threatening to take over and struggling to break free. Before I could act upon this new sensation, the kiss that had come so suddenly, had abruptly ended.

A thin trail of saliva extended out as Cielle separated her trembling lips from my own.

In the face of my wide eyed, and dumbfounded expression, the words that I had anticipated before, finally came out.

“Welcome back.”