Reborn 1-5

by D. W. Jackson

  Ash found it hard to walk as Yuki refused to let go of his side. The few days since he had seen her last, she must have been really worried. In truth, it had only been about a week since he had purchased her so he didn’t know why she had become attached so quickly. “Don’t slaves normally hate their masters?” Ash asked himself as he looked at the smiling fox girl that was clinging to him.

  “Master is something on Yuki’s face?” She asked looking up at him with her big eyes.

  “I was just thinking,” Ash replied patting Yuki on the head lightly.

  When they reached the doors to the study another maid was waiting outside. “Young sir the lady is awaiting you, but it might be better if the young miss were to wait outside,” the maid said while looking at Yuki.

  “No,” Yuki said, clinging tightly to Ash’s side. “I will stay with master.”

  Ash bent down and once again rubbed Yuki’s head. “Yuki I need to talk to Emelia. I will be back quickly.”

  “No,” Yuki said quickly hugging Ash.

  “Yuki,” Ash said softly.

  “No,” Yuki said shaking her head side to side.

  Ash was about to make a command, but then he felt a slight wetness touching his shoulder. Still kneeling down Ash patted Yuki’s head. “Ok then you can stay with me,” He said with a heavy sigh.

  Yuki didn’t say anything, but she pulled her head back and her red eyes showed her feelings. Moving back to let Ash stand she once again clung tightly to his side.

  “Young sir,” the maid said with a frown.

  “If Emelia wants her to leave, she will say so herself,” Ash said before opening the door.

  As soon as he stepped though he found Emelia standing up from where she had been sitting a moment before. “Ash,” She said excitedly then her eyes focused on the young fox girl that clung to ash’s side. “Mou…”

  “Emelia, you wanted to see me,” Ash said as he could sense something intangible hanging in the air making a nervous energy flow in the air.

  “Ah…Yes…I wanted to make sure that you are feeling better,” She said, slightly bowing her head shyly.

  “Much better, Ash said warmly. “Thank you for worrying.”

  “It should be me thanking you,” Emelia said looking up. “You had to risk your life because of me, and now you are going to remain in danger, though I can offer some sense of protection while you remain in the city.”

  “About that,” Ash said, and instantly Emelia looked at him with a worried look. “Won’t the earl just hire a better fighter and issue another challenge?”

  “That’s what you were going to say,” Emelia said slumping in her chair.

  “What did you think I was going to say,” Ash asked quizzically as Emelia’s face turned beat red.

  “I was thinking you might want to leave the city,” Emelia said in a near whisper.

  “Huh, why would I want to leave? The labyrinth here is still great for training?” Ash asked confused.

  “Mou…Never mind,” Emelia said, looking away for a moment. “You don’t have to worry about the Earl issuing a challenge. At least not for another year. A long time ago there were two large noble families that had a feud. They issued challenge after challenge and within three years both families were nearly destroyed. Not only were the families affected, but because they were so influential, it nearly brought the kingdom to ruin. Now there is a law that after challenged, a member of either family involved is not allowed to issue another challenge to a member of the same family for a year. Also, since you have been challenged to keep them from using another person, you cannot be challenged for half a year. Thanks to that, you have a little breathing room, but that won’t stop the Earl from using other means. You have not only hurt the Heart families pride, you have also killed his only son. My sources tell me right now the Earl is planning to leave the city early morning. He wouldn’t be so stupid to try to hire someone within the city to do anything, but once he is outside the borders of my land he will most likely hire a lot of people to cause you trouble.”

  “Will master be ok?” Yuki asked worriedly.

  “Do you think a few thugs will be able to hurt your master?” Ash asked as he puffed out his chest, though inside he was anything but calm.

  “Ash this isn’t so simple,” Emelia said, rubbing her forehead.

  “If anyone hurts mater I will bite them,” Yuki said with a determined look on her face.

  “Speaking of that,” Ash said patting Yuki on the head. “Yuki, I want you to join the adventures school. I would like Yuki to get strong so she can help me fight.”

  Yuki looked at Ash for a few moments deep in thought. Seeing the young looking girl looking at him Ash felt terrible. “What kind of guy would ask a little girl to fight for him?”

  “I will get stronger so that no one can take master away,” Yuki said confidently though her eyes were focused on Emelia rather than Ash as she said the words.

  “Umm Emelia, I haven’t been able to gather the gold yet to pay for the school fees…I was wondering if you could loan me a little bit,” Ash said, forcing the words out.

  “I think it is still a little early for her, but it might be a good idea for her to start training given everything,” Emelia said, more talking to herself than Ash. “Ok, I will arrange for her to start attending a little early. The next class is still a few days off, but a little advance training can’t hurt.”

  “About the gold,” Ash said reminding Emelia.

  “No need to worry about that,” She said waving her hand. “It is the least I can do for my future husband,” She said, her eyes locked onto Yuki.

  “Husband?” Yuki said, her eyes glaring up at Ash.

  “Huh…I thought with what happened that…” Ash said in a panicked voice.

  “What, didn’t we get engaged just last night?” Emelia asked in a cute voice. “You even fought a duel because of it.”

  Hanging his head, Ash looked at Yuki whose eyes were sending sparks across the room. Ash started to explain the truth about the farce, but the look coming from Emelia silenced him as if she had clearly said, “No, she might let the truth slip.”

  “Mou…Yuki won’t lose,” the fox girl said, clinging tighter to Ash’s side.

  “Ash, tomorrow I will have one of the maids take Yuki down to the school so you don’t need to worry, but she will still need a few things. The first day will just be to get things started. Do you need any help getting her fitted?”

  “I should have more than enough coin for that,” Ash replied.

  “Still, I think it would be better if a woman went with you,” Emelia said with a wry smile. “After she returns tomorrow, call me and I will join you. It has been a long time since I went shopping within the city.”

  “Are you sure that’s ok?” Ash asked furrowing his brows. “Wouldn’t it be better if you sent a maid?”

  “What, you don’t want to spend time with me?” Emelia asked pouting her lips.

  “N-no it’s not that,” Ash replied frantically. “I just thought that it might cause trouble if the duchess appeared in the city.”

  “Don’t worry, my father often went into the city to visit the bars,” Emelia replied. “He said to know the people meant that you must spend time with them. I used to sit and listen to the minstrels playing while he drank.”

  “Then I will see you tomorrow,” ash said as his head started to thump.

  “What are you going to do?” Emelia asked pouting again.

  “I thought that I should head back to the labyrinth and fight a little longer since there are still a few hours of daylight left. For some reason I have the urge to hit a few monsters.”

  “I guess men really do like to swing their swords,” Emelia said with a slight laugh.

  Returning to the room, Ash quickly gathered up his equipment. “Should I get it repaired today or wait until tomorrow?” Ash asked himself as he picked up the sword. It still had a little durability left and fighting monsters didn’t seem to be as rough a
s fighting against another human. Then again, most monsters didn’t wear armor, especially not high grade armor like Leo had worn. Thinking about the fight again, Ash’s stomach started to churn. “It can wait, I don’t even know where to get it repaired at anyway,” Ash said to himself as he turned back toward the door to his room.

  “Emu…master is leaving again,” Yuki said as her ears started to droop slightly.

  As he patted the top of her head she let out a slight “Hehe,” as her tail started to wag. “I will be back.”

  Ash went straight back to the sixth floor. Just as before, Ash found it easy to fight against the spiders. Ever since the fight earlier Ash had felt somewhat sluggish, but now with an enemy to fight, Ash was back into perfect form and his anger slowly drifted away with each spider that fell to the ground. He didn’t know how much time passed but after killing thirty spiders, he had gained 900 of the 10,000 experience he needed to reach the next level, as well as the welcomed sound of absorbing enough to gain an ability.

  “Tring.”

  [Your absorption level of forest spider has reached 100%. Available abilities: Sticky thread (active), Poison (active), spider senses (passive).]

  “Tring.”

  [You have randomly received the ability spider senses.]

  “Looks like the spiders have some good abilities and they still give me 30 experience per fight,” Ash said as he looked at his stats.

  [Spider senses: able to detect prey that is up to three levels higher within a 100 foot radius. Able to sense hostile intent within a 50 foot radius. Level 1-0%.]

  Shortly after he received his new ability Ash felt a weird sensation and knew instantly that there were three other spiders around him. None of the abilities he had received were completely useless, but out of all of them this one seemed to carry the most advantage for him at the current time. Thinking of the other two abilities that the spider had, Ash decided that he would continue fighting the spiders until he had all three. He was in no rush to move onto the next floor and each ability gave him a little extra advantage.

  Figuring that night had already fallen, Ash made his way back to the previous floor and warped outside. Just as he expected, the sky was already dark with numerous stars sparkling in the sky. Compared to how he felt as he left the manor, his mood was much lighter on the return trip and even a light humming could be heard as he passed people on the streets.

  As soon as he returned Ash took a quick bath and returned to him room to find Yuki already curled up on the bed sleeping in the middle of the bed. Gently pushing her to the other side Ash crawled under the covers, snuffed the small candle and quickly fell asleep.

  2-7

  Upon waking the next morning Ash found that Yuki was once again clinging to him tightly with her clothes off. Groaning Ash knocked the top of the girls head with his knuckles.

  “Owwww,” Yuki said, rubbing the top of her head. “Why did master hit Yuki?”

  “Yuki, this is the last time I tell you. Either wear your clothes or you will have to sleep in the servant’s quarters again,” Ash said angrily.

  “Mou… Yes master,” Yuki said with her ears hanging.

  After getting dressed, Ash headed to the dining room for breakfast. The room was empty with the exception of a single maid. As soon as Ash entered, the maid opened the door and called to someone and whispered a few things. He didn’t know what it was about but Ash ignored them. Shortly after the maid had opened the door, Emelia arrived wearing a light green dress that hung tight to her body. “Morning Ash.”

  “Morning,” Ash replied, his eyes glued to her shapely figure.

  “I have already sent someone to collect Yuki,” Emelia said as she took a drink from her glass. “I figured that since we have to go shopping anyway, we could go with her to register at the adventure’s school.”

  “Sounds good to me. I need to find a place to repair my sword and armor anyway,” Ash responded as the maid placed a tray of food in front of him.

  As he ate, Ash noticed that the atmosphere in the dining room was different than before. Emelia also had her eyes focused on him. Suddenly he felt like prey that was being hunted by a mountain lion. The heavy pressure seemed to push down on him as Ash as he ate so he quickly cleaned his plate.

  “Yuki should be ready, why don’t we go meet her,” Emelia said as soon as Ash stood from his seat.

  Just as Emelia said, Yuki was waiting for them near the door. Most the time Yuki wore a cheap white dress or her maid clothes, but today she had on leather shorts and a red shirt that matched the color of her hair. As soon as she saw Ash Yuki’s tail began to swish back and forth at a blinding speed.

  “How do I look master?” Yuki asked as she spun around giggling like a small child.

  “You look cute Yuki,” Ash said patting her head softly.

  Yuki hung her head down, but since her tail was still moving at incredible speeds Ash was sure that she was ok. Ash started to go through the door that the maid was holding open, but his arm was suddenly grabbed and he was quickly turned around to look at Emelia. “It’s no fair if you don’t tell me how I look as well,” She said with slightly puffed cheeks.

  “Huh,” Ash asked not fully understanding the situation. “You look stunning as always.”

  A bright smile spread across Emelia’s face as she grabbed Ash’s left arm and pulled him along. “Yuki too,” Yuki said, grabbing his right arm.

  Walking with two young ladies might seem like a blessing, but in truth it made it very hard to walk. Not only did the two girls pull him from one side to the other making it hard to keep his balance, the eyes of the people they passed seemed to hone in on him. The men sent glairs of envy or jealousy, while the girls laughed and gave him warm smiles.

  The first stop was the adventure’s school which was near the western edge of the city. As soon as Ash saw the school, he understood why it was located on the outskirts of the city. It was large and had open fields were even this early in the morning many students were already practicing with their weapons.

  As soon as they entered the building, a middle aged man approached them and bowed. “Ladyship, to what do we owe the honor of your visit?” the man asked, keeping his head lowered.

  “I have a young slave that I wish to be trained as an adventure,” Emelia said her voice light, but carrying the hint of authority that Ash had rarely heard her use.

  “It would be an honor to train the young miss your ladyship,” the man said, his head still lowered.

  “As nice as the back of your head is, could you please raise it,” Emelia said her voice laced with a hint of annoyance. “It tends to make a conversation difficult.

  The man raised his head and Ash could see large beads of sweat forming on his forehead. Rushing behind a counter he called three over and handed Emelia a quill and piece of parchment. Ash leaned over and read the form with his head nearly resting on Emelia’s shoulder.

  The paper looked like a normal form, only asking for the age, name, and the like of the new student.

  As Ash pulled his head back he noticed that Emelia’s cheeks had a slight pink tint to them. “She spends too much time inside, the heat must be getting to her,” Ash told himself.

  After Emelia handed the paper back to the man, he quickly read it then pulled out another piece of parchment and placed it on the counter. “Here are the required items for new students. We ask that you don’t by anything other than what is specifically asked, otherwise it could cause problems within the class itself. Though it is still three more days before the start of the next class, she can start coming in the morning and we will test her to see what she knows.”

  “Very good,” Emelia said before picking up the parchment and handing it to Ash. “Shall we go now dear,” she said with a slight quiver to her voice.

  Ash didn’t pay much attention to the look Emelia was giving him, instead he continued to read the parchment as he followed behind Emelia. “1 copper sword, 1 copper two-handed sword, 1 copper shield, 1 copper
long spear, 1 copper Axe, 2 copper daggers, 1 wooden staff, 1 set of light leather armor, 1 small yew bow, 1 leather quiver, 20 iron arrows, 10 quills, 2 bottles of black ink, 100 sheets of parchment, 1 adventure’s pack. Why do they want so many weapons?” Ash asked as he read the paper two more times.

  “They like to train the adventures on each type of weapon to find out which one suits them the best. Don’t worry though because after their second year, they pick a weapon to focus on so the stores in town often have cheap copper weapons for sale,” Emelia replied. “You need to get your gear repaired as well so we might as well. There is a large equipment store not far away and they do repairs as well so we might as well stop there first.”

  Just as Emelia said, there was a large equipment store. It was easily five times larger than the one he had visited in the village. Inside there was almost every kind of weapon and armor that one could imagine hanging on the walls and placed on display counters. The first thing Ash noticed was a large pile of copper swords as soon as he entered the shop. Picking one up Ash looked it over.

  [Copper sword: basic weapon for low level fighters. Durability 5/5, attack 1-2.]

  Ash picked up the other copper weapons on the list and found that all of them had the same basic stats. After placing the weapons on the counter Ash sent his own off to be repaired. He was informed that it would take seven hours for the work to be finished and that they would have it brought over to the manor once it was finished. The leather armor also had to be made to fit so they took Yuki to the back room for measurements and promised it would be ready by the end of the day and delivered. The weapons would be delivered to the school while they would take the pack, quill, ink and parchment with them.

  “The weapons are 10 copper a piece, five for the daggers, the arrows are 5 iron pennies, the pack is 25 coppers, the quiver is 15 coppers, the quills are 1 iron penny for 5, parchment is 1 iron penny per sheet, Ink is 1 copper a piece, armor is 30 coppers. The repair fee is 30 copper for the sword and 25 for the armor. That brings your total to 1 silver, 99 copper, and 2 iron pennies.”

  Ash placed his hand inside his pants pocket and pulled his last two silver coins from his inventory and handed them to the shopkeeper. “Not as expensive as I thought it would be,” Ash admitted.