Battle Maiden

Book 2 : Two Paths

Chapter 1 : To Fix a Shield (plot chapter)

*****

“Alice came to a fork in the road.

'Which road do I take?' she asked.

'Where do you want to go?' responded the Cheshire Cat.

'I don't know,' Alice answered.

'Then,' said the Cat, 'it doesn't matter.”

- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland -

*****

“Gahhh!!!”

“It’s finally over!!”

“Royal Road, here I come!!”

Earlier that day, Steve had the complexion of a dying man, but now, one could almost see sparkles emanating from his face. The last of the examinations had been conquered, for now. He had regained his vigor, and looked forward to once more, fully immersing himself in Royal Road.

“It’s about time I show you the difference between a veteran like me and a newb like you,” Steve lightly jabbed the shoulder of the guy beside him.

Almost identical in terms of looks, besides sporting different hairstyles; the man Steve was talking to was his best friend and twin brother, Scott.

“Sure, brag to someone that’s of a lower level than you. My, how powerful. How strong,” Scott mocked his twin.

“Wait till my level catches up to yours, then we’ll talk,” He continued.

“Speaking of levels, what level are you now?” Steve asked his brother.

“Level 24. And I don’t even need to leave the city.”

“The rat dungeon? I thought you said there is were only low-leveled rats in there. 24 is a bit high.”

“Turns out, we only went through the first chamber. Things get harder the deeper I go.”

Scott returned to the underground caverns in his spare time, trying to train himself. He had received another quest from Mrs. Graham to fully clear the rat infestation. This time, all alone, he ventured deeper, as the normal rats no longer posed any threat to him. The further he went, the rats became bigger and stronger, some were even capable of using crude weaponry. Since he was also occupied with the examination, his progress was slow. The quest information window informed him that he was only 58% through the quest.

“I’m going to have an all-nighter tonight and finish the quest.”

“So you’re trying to drown your sorrows with endless grinding?”

“No.. It’s my best bet. Only she and I know of the place, so maybe we will meet again there..”

“I don’t think any lady would return to a stinking place like that.”

“Ugh..”

“So, you still don’t have a class?”

“No, not yet.”

“You should get one soon.”

“I guess I should.”

‘I wonder what class she’ll pick.’

*****

‘Haven’t been on in over a week.’

‘Would be nice if I can go visit the training hall..’

It was dawn in Royal Road when she logged in. The square she had connected to was less crowded compared to the previous time she was there. Last time, she had logged off due to feeling uncomfortable with the stares and whispers directed at her.

‘I should get this shield fixed.’

She continued her walk from a week ago, and headed to the local blacksmith. It took her a while, but she managed to find it, despite never having been there before. It was thanks to the current lord who come up with the town design, making it intuitive and easy to navigate through. All shops and production buildings were placed in one district, with clear signs and marking. Truly, only an idiot could get lost in this city.

The blacksmith doubled as a weapons and equipment store, as well as the blacksmith guild of Greyhold city, so it was usually crowded with people. Strangely, today it was quiet; devoid of the usual hustle and bustle of trades, not even the sound of clashing metal of a forge.

For Sera, the emptiness was a good thing. Instead of being wary of it, she took it as an opportunity to get her business done. She walked into the establishment and immediately looked for an employee. There was no one behind the counter. The only person there was an old woman sleeping in a rocking chair in the middle of the store.

When mentioning an old woman, most would immediately imagine a wrinkly, weak and fragile old lady of a small stature. Perhaps some will even throw in a knitting set in, or cookies, or other possible stereotypes concerning an old woman.

But this woman she saw, was not the usual old woman people were accustomed to. The only thing that made Sera deduce that the woman was old were the wrinkles lining her well-defined face, and her grey hair which was tied neatly, allowing no stray strand of hair loose.

The rest of her however, was not something you could relate to an old woman. Tall, and a strong muscular body, encased in metal armour. Sera estimated her height to be more than two meters. If she wore a full faced helm, none would even think of the possibility that she was an old lady.

‘There is no one else around. She might be the owner, or at least work in this place.’

Since she did not want to waste any time, she decided to wake the old lady. She had not known how to properly wake someone up, so she rang the bell at the counter.

*Ting!*

Since it was very quiet in the first place, the single chime of the bell sounded loud in comparison, breaking the placid atmosphere. Sure enough, the old lady woke up and looked at Sera, who was staring at her with a blank expression. They both exchanged a small bow, followed by simple greetings of good morning.

Having done the customary greeting, Sera retrieved the shield from her back,“I need to get this restored.”

The old lady smiled, and responded to Sera’s request,“I think we are skipping some steps here. I don’t even know your name.”

“Ah! I- I’m sorry. My name is Sera,” She was genuinely surprised, she thought NPSs did not care for such things when dealing in such transactions. Then again, she was not sure whether this woman was an NPC, or a human player. She bowed her head repeatedly, thinking of how rude she had been.

Looking at her startled reaction, the old woman let out a hearty laughter, unfeminine without a care. Instead of making her look unladylike, however, her smiling face convinced Sera that this woman had been a very beautiful girl when she was young. Even now, she was quite a looker for her age. Not that Sera knew her age, of course. She just assumed things, a bad habit of hers.

“Don’t make a big deal about it. My name is Vanessa. You can call me Van, I don’t really mind,” She wiped her tears that had come out when she was laughing.

Still smiling, she continued the conversation,“So, you need a shield to be repaired?”

“Yes please.” Simple manners could go a long way.

Sera handed over her shield to Vanessa for her to inspect. Vanessa took it with both hands, mirroring Sera. She studied the face of the round wooden buckler, showing interest in the decoration and the condition of the shield. She spun the shield around to get a closer look at its rim, and turned it upside down, checking the straps. During all this, the smithy was once more filled with silence.

“Interesting,” Vanessa said, as she put her left arm into the straps of the shield.

“Very interesting,” Vanessa began swinging her left arm around with the shield equipped.

“This shield is battered. But not by weapons, or the claws and fangs of wild beast. Yet blood is all over it. How did you manage to get this shield’s durability so low?”

Sera was a bit hesitant to answer. To tell her that she had swatted rats left and right using the shield due to feeling disgusted by those creatures. More rats had fallen victim to her shield, as compared to her sword. Using a sword would get rat body parts flying around, a blunt force trauma from her shield was much more preferable, she thought. She had even gained the shield mastery skill during the melee.

“I sort of hit the enemies with it,” Sera meekly answered.

“How many enemies did you whack?” Vanessa was truly amused that a small girl like Sera actually did so,and a shy one to boot.

“Most of them..?” Looking a bit distressed, Sera answered Vanessa. Not even the genius Sarah could keep count of such thing.

Vanessa broke into a fit of laughter again, chasing away the still atmosphere. She unequipped the shield and walked towards the counter. Still laughing, Vanessa set the shield down on top of the counter, and again wiped the tears that escaped from her eyes.

Sera was lost; not knowing what had warranted such a fit of laughter, or the humor behind it.

‘Maybe it’s because I used the shield wrongly.’

“May I ask what is so funny about this?” After witnessing Vanessa response, no one could blame Sera for being curious.

“Nothing. There is nothing wrong or funny about it.” Vanessa said with a smile. She had already stopped laughing, but talking while smiling still gave a tone of amusement to her words.

“It’s just that....” Vanessa continued, only to interrupt herself with a long pause. Her expression turned serious as she tried to finish her sentence.

“What do you know about ‘Shieldmaiden’?” Her statement turned into question.

“Shieldmaiden?”

Surely, Sera did know about the Shieldmaiden. Shieldmaidens, unlike what the name implied, were not necessarily maidens with shields. They were women who had taken up arms and fought alongside men. In an age where war was dominated by men, these women were able to gain the respect of their male counterparts. While historically accurate, what had made them famous were folklores and mythologies.

Royal Road had its lores, derived from a multitude of mythologies, including Norse mythology. Freya, the goddess with the largest number worshippers, were based of the Norse’s Freyja. There was also some Greek and Irish lore influence.

However, despite being heavily influenced by Nordic mythology, there was little information about the Shieldmaiden in the history books in the library that Sera worked at. They were only depicted as chosen women warriors, with no further details. Not even one had mentioned who chose these chosens, or what they fought for.

After careful thought, Sera decided to answer Vanessa, based only on the information provided in-game. There was no guarantee that Royal Road conformed to some Scandinavian folklore that depicted the Shieldmaiden in real life.

“I have read of them, but I do not know much, other than that they are a group of female warriors.”

“Do you think they are real?” Vanessa asked another question.

“Yes,” Sera’s knowledge of the continent’s history affirmed her answer. They existed. That much she was sure of.

Vanessa watched as Sera gave her answer, firm and sure, a huge contrast compared to her trepid demeanor just moments before.

Vanessa, again, broke out into another fit of laughter,“You really never cease to amuse me.”

Vanessa was still laughing when she said that. It took quite a while for her to regain poise, after which she stood straight up facing Sera. She was truly a towering woman; around three heads taller than Sera.

“Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Vanessa En Visna, a knight of the Kingdom of Haven,” her mannerism turned formal, as if adapting to her claim as a Knight.

“Like my mother and her mother before her, I am a Shieldmaiden.”

“And as a Shieldmaiden blessed by the goddess, I have the authority to bestow the title to others I deem worthy.”

The air around Vanessa suddenly felt different. Sera couldn’t help but to stand in awe as Vanessa unveiled her real identity. A very faint, white light enveloped Vanessa’s body; hardly visible, but it did not escape Sera’s eye, making her at a loss for words.

“With the goddess Freya as witness, will you accept the weight of the title Shieldmaiden?”

*ttring*

A window appeared in front of Sera, showing a simple yes or no question.

You are given the opportunity to change your class

Will you change your class to Shieldmaiden?

Yes || No

‘Class change?’

‘A Shieldmaiden? Just like that? This is too easy.’

‘I heard that most have to do daunting tasks or huge labors to change class.. For me to be offered a class just by entertaining an NPC is almost like a blessing.’

‘It’s not like I’ve got anything to lose.’

“Yes.”

*Ttring*

Sera’s response immediately caused her to be enveloped in a soft white light, the same light that covered Vanessa. As if being absorbed into her body, the light dissipated as quickly as it appeared.

-Class Changed to Shieldmaiden-

Another window popped up in front of Sera. This time, it was the status window, showing the changes in her stats and the bonuses from the class change.

"Lets see.."

Status WindowCharacter NameSeraAlignmentNeutralLevel18ProfessionShieldmaidenTitleNoneAttack24Fame50Defense5Health780 + 250Mana315 + 125Strength74 + 25Agility73 + 15Vitality58 + 15-Wisdom44 + 15Intellect51 + 15Stamina30 + 15Fighting Spirit11 + 15Luck5 + 15Leadership12 + 15Magic ResistanceFire10%Water10%Earth10%Black Magic10%Unused point(s)5

All stats are increased by 15 points

10 % elemental resistance

250 health and 125 mana

Additional Skills based on growth

‘This looks average. Nothing Special.’

‘There is not even any skill or any new stat generated.’

‘I knew that this is too simple.’

“So, that’s it? I’m actually a Shieldmaiden now? One of the legendary warriors in the history books?”

“Yep,” Vanessa gave a very simple reply.

Sera was perplexed. There were many things she found weird in this situation. From the very beginning, the busy blacksmith was empty. After that, a lady knight suddenly offered a class change. And now, she had became a Shieldmaiden.

Even Sera, who had holed herself up in her starting city for almost five months, knew that

Shieldmaiden was not a normal profession. A unique class, or a secret class; something that was not easily accessible by anyone. However, the class bonus was just average at best. Spread out, and not specialized in anything.

‘There must be a catch somewhere..’

Watching Sera bemused; lost in her own thoughts, Vanessa snickered. Sera’s face was like an open book.

“I can guess what you’re thinking right now. ‘What is a Shieldmaiden?’ ”

“I don’t want to be rude, but usually class bonuses are geared towards the class’ specialisation.”

“Indeed they are.”

‘Why must all old people in games be so cryptic?’

“My point is, I can’t see what a Shieldmaiden’s role is in a battle.”

Royal Road, like most role-playing games, had a class system that specialized in different things. Upon obtaining a class, a class bonus that supplemented the class’ role was given. Warriors were given strength boosts, archers were given better sight, while the magic-based class may gain improved magical affinity. This particular class however, showed no clue as to its strengths and weaknesses.

“Your role is yours to decide,” Vanessa answered the question as if it was a simple, well-known fact.

‘I see, that make sense. Huh? What?’

“What does that mean?”

“What do you think made Shieldmaidens earn their place in history?”

‘It seems like we are going down the path of a cryptic old woman with her riddles..’

“They are among the first group of women, fighting and contributing greatly in wars with their bravery.”

Vanessa shook her head, indicating that Sera’s answer was wrong. She walked towards the rocking chair, sat down, and began to talk.

“Long, long ago..”

‘Oh no.. Please don’t be the long, boringstory type character..’

“In the time of unrest, nations waged war constantly against each other. Everyone was conscripted to war, even women and children.”

“You see, during this time, the term Shieldmaiden did not exist yet. Everyone who could hold a sword was sent to war, there was no distinction of gender. To say the Shieldmaidens were the first group of women to fight in wars is incorrect.”

The rocking chair, rocked back and forth rhythmically, as Vanessa told her story. Her eyes were shut, as if immersing herself in the tale.

“The title Shieldmaiden came much later, after a single particular woman. Among the greatest of the female warriors, she led armies countless of times towards victory. The soldiers of the time revered her, but the only sight of her that most saw was of her back. Always leading, unknowing retreat, a shield in one hand, a sword in the other.”

“However, she was a very mysterious person. No one knew her name, yet her presence always brought victory. They started to call her, simply by Shieldmaiden.”

“As the great war that shook the entire continent concluded, she suddenly disappeared without a trace. A time of peace came to Versailles, after hundreds years of constant strife.”

Sera listened attentively to Vanessa’s story. She preferred reading books, but once in a while, did enjoy listening to others’ tales. She was tempted to ask questions at times, but decided to let Vanessa finish first.

“The peace did not last long,though. Hundreds of years’ worth of grudges was not something that could be forgotten easily. It took only a small dispute to spark the flame of war. Wars broke out again, but she never did return.”

“In her place however, were a group of female warriors who were inspired by her. The ones that inherited her will, they fought hard and fierce. The people called them Shieldmaiden, after the legendary female warrior.”

“That group, is our predecessor. Shieldmaiden is but a title given to us. Many among our ranks did not use shields at all.”

After saying so, she clapped her hands once, opened her eyes and look towards Sera. Vanessa was fully expecting some questions from Sera. Noticing the cue, Sera had only one big question in her mind.

“So you’re saying, Shieldmaiden are just female warriors with a fancy title?”

“Some are mages or archers - others follow the life of the priest. Shieldmaidens forge their own path and destiny, all hoping to achieve the glory of the original Shieldmaiden.”

‘So the stat bonus is distributed equally, showing that Shieldmaiden is not necessarily a shield- user class. Makes sense in a way.. Not giving stats and skills immediately as it is a blank slate, shaped by the way I act or fight.’

Sera basically got the gist of it. She silently nodded slightly after reaching a conclusion in her mind. Vanessa too, nodded as if Sera was thinking out loud, showing that she was indeed correct.

“With that said and done, you are required to find out your purpose as a Shieldmaiden.”

“My purpose?”

“Yes, and also try to uncover the mystery and secrets of the original Shieldmaiden. It is our greatest goal, and I’m getting too old to do it myself. Hence, you, as my successor, will do so.”

*Ttring*

Another status window popped up. They kept on coming today.

You have received a quest!The Origin (Difficulty Level A)As a Shieldmaiden, one must embark on a journey to find their own purpose, hopefully getting closer to unfolding the mystery of the first Shieldmaiden.

Requirement:

Must be a Shieldmaiden.

Reward:

Unknown

Cannot be cancelled, cannot refuse.

You have accepted the quest.

‘I never did accept it, you forced it on me!’

“I.. Where do I start?” Things have been shoved to Sera one after the other.

“First, get stronger. Tomorrow at this time, come to the south gate. I won’t tell you which is the right path for you to take, but I can give you a little push. In a way, I am your mentor; as the one who made you a Shieldmaiden.”

“I won’t blame you if you do not show up tomorrow, that too is a choice.” She continued.

She got up from the chair, and walked out of the store. Laughing out loud again, she waved at Sera and took her leave. Sera could only stand still, confounded at the chain of events that had just happened. Vanessa just left, like it’s no one’s business.

‘What a strange old lady.’

“Wait, she took the shield with her!”

‘Given a choice? Bull!’

*****

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Chickenmancer Wrote: For some magical reason, there seems to be a void just above the stat table. Because I cannot find the reason, I shall blame this on aliens.

Credits to Hikarumichi, for the book title. Also to the PR like usual, the one who prefer anonymity and Hikaru.

Feedbacks, comments etc is highly appreciated.