Three weeks, it has been three weeks since I arrived at this world, and ever since the fortress I have participated in many more battle though none were as large. Most of the battles fought since were small skirmishes here and there with [Demons] attacking remote villages and towns. Fortunately for me, I have not yet encountered any Champions in such battles as of late.

In-between moving from one battle to another I've been taking notes on the notable skills and abilities I've brought over into this world from Elysium Online and how they behave in this new world. Additionally, I thought I should clarify it as much as possible what my classes do and what notable skills I have. Not that I need a reminder of it, but I might as well, as a refresher and in case someone picks it up in the future and requires the details.

***

Summoner: A class that summons various creatures to fight on his or her behalf. Comes with various support skill exclusive to the summoned creatures but is otherwise lacking in skills outside of those and mainly relies upon summoned creatures to fight. In Elysium Online, a Summoner can only have one creature summoned at a time, but here, in Elgardia, there is no such limit. And while previously a Summoner must use the resource that is Sp (Summoning Points) to summon creature, in Elgardia, Mp (Magic Points) are used instead.

Notable items...

[Grimoire]: The main weapon class of the Summoner. By placing [contracts] into it, the Summoner may summon the creature the [contract] corresponds to.

[Contracts]: Items with appearances of cards that can only be used by the Summoner. Through this, a Summoner may summon a creature the [contract] is obtained from. In Elysium Online, this item is obtainable through item drops from defeated opponents, but so far, the only things that have dropped from my enemies are their guts. It seems that [contracts], aside from the ones that came with me into this world, simply does not exist here.

Notable skills...

[Summoning]: This is the bread and butter of the Summoner for obvious reasons. This skill is used to summon creatures whose [contracts] have been obtained by the Summoner

[Soul Bond]: A passive skill that allows the summoned creature to gain a stats boost based on the Summoner's stats, allowing them to gain increased power as the Summoner Levels up.

[Shared Senses]: A passive skill that let the Summoner be able to detect objects detected by thecreatures. In Elysium Online, the effects of this skill manifests as information on the map. In Elgardia however, it gives a vague sensation that something is around when the summoned creature detects them.

[Blood Bond]: When a summoned creature's Hp is low, the Summoner may use this skill to transfer his or her own Hp to replenish the creature's.

[Sacrifice]: This Skill allows the Summoner to replenish his own Hp by sacrificing one of his or her creatures, the amount of Hp restored is based on the creature's own Hp.

***

Enchanter: A class that specializes in crowd control and support spells, and though initially it seems like this class can't output a whole lot of damage, with the right build, an Enchanter may be a devastating force all on its own.

Notable items...

Scepters: The main weapon class for Enchanters. It is supposedly for magical purposes, but a closer look reveals that it also has a fairly high physical attack stats. Looking at this makes me wonder if the developers secretly intended for the Enchanter to be an offensive class, especially since these "scepters" starts to look like maces once you start getting the higher Level ones.

Notable skills...

[Insight]: A passive skill that allows the Enchanter to see target stats, Levels, weaknesses, and resistances. In Elgardia, this skill behaves mostly the same, though sometimes it tends to bug out and screw up my vision. This apparently starts happening ever since I met that girl with horns. I intend to investigate this when I have some free time, if I even get free time that is.

[Bind Circle]: An area of effect version of [Bind]. This spell creates a circle on the ground that inflicts a [Bind] status to all those caught within it. In Elgardia, it also affects allies caught in it as well, so extra caution must be had went using this spell.

[Heat Ward]: A ward that creates a layer of heat around you and raises frost resistance. That's all it does in Elysium Online, but here in Elgardia, it also keeps you warm.

[Frost Ward]: A ward that creates and layer of frost around you and raises heat resistance. That's all it does in Elysium Online, but here in Elgardia, it also keeps you cool.

[Stone Ward]: A ward that creates a layer of stone around you and raises air resistance. That's all it does in Elysium Online, but here in Elgardia, it also makes you heavier and slows you down, what with the layer of stone you have on you and all that. The layer of stone also serves as impromptu armor as well.

[Air Ward]: A ward that creates a layer of whirling air around you raises earth resistance. That's all it does in Elysium Online, but here in Elgardia, the whirlwind is strong enough to protect you from most projectiles, though projectiles with high enough velocity or mass may pierce it.

[Intelligent Ward]: A passive skill that allows the [Ward] type skills to deal elemental damage in accordance with their own elements to enemies attacking in melee range. The effect will trigger when the enemy hits you, even if there is no damage. In Elgardia, the effect will trigger even if you block with a shield or a sword, those apparently still counts as being hit.

[Heat Weapon]: A spell that enchants a weapon with [Heat] attributes. In Elgardia, it essentially covers the weapon in flames that is hot enough to melt through steel.

[Frost Weapon]: A spell that enchants a weapon with [Frost] attributes. In Elgardia, it covers the weapon in a sheet of ice that freezes anything it comes into contact with.

[Stone Weapon]: A spell that enchants a weapon with [Earth] attributes. In Elgardia, it covers the weapon in sharp and spiky stones and increases the weapon's weight.

[Air Weapon]: A spell that enchants a weapon with [Air] attributes. In Elgardia, it covers the weapon in a whirlwind of air that can easily bypass the enemy's defense and slice into their flesh.

[Greater Strength Boost]: The powered up version of [Strength Boost]. This spell increases the strength and attack power of all allies in range. In Elgardia, the spell literally increases the physical strength of the effected targets, which also increases their speed and allows them to leap great heights. Their bodies also become tougher, and increases resistance towards impact damage, but not so much piercing and cutting.

[Greater Protection Boost]: The powered up version of [Protection Boost]. This spell increases the defense values of all allies in range. In Elgardia, this spell creates a layer of protective barrier over the effected target, protecting them from a certain amount of damage. It's like a personal version of the [Mana Wall] spell.

[Greater Magic Boost]: The powered up version of [Magic Boost]. This spell increases the magic power of all allies in range. There's no observed difference between the spell seen in Elysium Online and its Elgardia counterpart.

[Mana Wall]: Creates a protective barrier that disappears after taking on a certain amount of damage. No difference has been observed in this spell either.

[Feather Weight]: Makes the target of the spell neigh weightless. In Elysium Online, it reduces the total weight of a character. In Elgardia, it behaves similarly, but due to the difference in how the concept of weight in treated here, the effects are far more practical, though in exchange, the cost to cast it is dramatically higher than its Elysium Online counterpart.

***

These are the notes I've made on the various things I've discovered thus far. There's still much to learn but the ongoing [Demon] invasion had kept me busy, both that and the training I've been getting from Merida that is.

"Sir Aurelius, if you're ready..."

"More or less, I suppose."

At the moment, I'm camped at the side of the road with the rest of the unit. We're returning from an extermination mission against [Demons] camped near the northern borders. With some time to spare before dinner, Merida came and called me out for a sparring session.

When we spar, Merida insists that we use real swords, said that it's better that I get used to both wielding one and having to face one. Admittedly, it's scary as hell, not just from knowing that you're against a real sword, but the clashing of steel, the sound it makes, the vibration sent into your hand, it all conveyed a sense of my life being at risk to me. Granted, once I gradually got used to it, things get easier, but getting over it was just the first step, half a step even. I still need to learn how to properly wield it.

"Come on! Your footwork is sloppy!"

*Clang*

"Your swing is too wide!"

*Clink*

"Put you back into it!"

*Clank*

"You're too careless!"

In a moment of carelessness, I let Merida slip through my guard, and by the end of it I could feel the steel against my neck, the cold contrasting against the burning sensation from the cuts all over my body. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't come close to defending myself against Merida, much less put up a good fight against her.

"Still too clumsy... You won't to be able to actually fight in battle and expect to survive at this rate. If you don't improve soon, that sword will only be wasted on you."

In my hand, I hold the black shortsword left behind by the [Demon] Champion from that battle atop the mountain. Since they were high quality pieces of equipments, we decided to bring it back with us, both the shortswords and the greatsword, which weren't too difficult to transport down the mountain as we had the princess cast [Feather Weight] on it.

As I have a hand in defeating the Champion, one of the shortswords were granted to me, while the other one was given to Merida by the princess. As for the greatsword, no one was able to properly wield it, and so it was given to the blacksmiths to reforge. I wonder how it'll turn out.

"I suppose that's enough for today. Come, Sir Aurelius, I'll heal you."

"Oh, you can use healing magic?"

"Only enough for first aid, all soldiers learn it. However, since we have your angel for support, we hadn't needed it much recently."

By "we", she meant this unit formed specially to fight alongside their Champion, which would be me at the moment. The guys from the mountain as well are here and I've took the opportunity to finally learn their names, which I neglected to ask last time. They are Arnaud, Cecil, and Titus. We hang out from time to time.

I sat down on some grass and let Merida begin her healing. She wasn't wrong about it being only enough for first aid, the healing process was slow and the itching from the slowly mending wounds was hardly bearable. Many times, I tried to scratch those wounds only to have by hand slapped away by Merida. "If you scratch, it'll only take longer," she said.

"There, I believe that's mostly done."

"Thanks."

"There's no problem, the princess have entrusted your care to me after all."

"I still can't believe she listed herself as a member when this unit was formed."

"We had to argue very hard to get her to rescind that didn't we?"

"Her bravery is admirable, but she needs to know that there's something she should leave to others."

"Perhaps she may not have been so concerned if a certain Champion of ours has proved more reliable, yes?"

"Ugh..."

Merida started laughing. When we first met, I thought Merida was someone that's serious and stoic all the time, but it turns out, she's someone who laughs just as often as anyone else. I suppose back then, she simply didn't know what to think about me, and was very concern about how careless the princess was when it came to approaching me. However, now that we've gotten to know each other, she had let her guard down considerably.

"No worries, Sir Aurelius, I was only jesting. You may take your time. There's nothing you can do to rush this after all. In fact, if you start to take shortcuts, you would only do yourself harm in the long run."

"I intend to do this properly. Taking shortcuts is the farthest thing on my mind."

The road ahead is going to be long after all. If all I can think about is trying to get there as soon as possible, I'll never make it. If I rush, I'll only make more mistakes and set myself back further and further. I can only go at this slowly and steadily, that's how you win the race.

***

End of Chapter 14