Steve said, “It’s something that runs in the family, and a skill that gave them their glory all those years ago. It was this skill that made them nobles.”
Sam continued, “The Titania family is in possession of various contracts of each class. Children born in the family are tested for their ki limit. Then their contracts are chosen for them. Depending on the contract, they are trained from a young age and are taught one specific skill called X vision.”
Kai said, “I’ve never faced it, but I’ve heard that it’s a skill that allows you to spot the openings in your opponent’s guard. My guess is that Zack used X vision and spotted the opening on Sora’s left side. He used that to his advantage.”
Jake shuddered and said, “That’s a frightening skill. That changes things dramatically.”
Zack shouted from below, “Could you guys please not reveal my secret technique to my opponent?”
Sora muttered, “X vision, is it? That truly is scary. Guess I should stay on my toes.” Sora relaxed his senses and closed his eyes. With a deep breath, he opened them revealing the eyes of a beast.
Zack smirked and said, “I was wondering when you would use your wild instincts.” Sora charged in with great speed and sent a crushing strike from the top with his right sword. But Zack skipped to the right and was about to strike. But this time, Sora spun and countered with his left sword. Zack ducked as the blade brushed past his head. But he was forced to jump back when the right sword came to slash his face.
Sara said, “If they aren’t careful, one of them might end up dead!” Kai said, “That’s what makes this fight interesting.” Sara turned and saw that the men were betting on who would win the fight. She was pretty sure that they had forgotten the reason behind the battle. She muttered, “Men will be men, I suppose.”
Sora and Zack were showing some superhuman movements now. Zack dodged Sora’s blows with almost unsightly flexibility. Sora also evaded the many counters of Zack with abnormal acrobatics. He did a back flip as Zack’s saber, aimed at the top of his head, came crashing down. Sora landed on his feet to start another assault.
The fight was soon reaching its conclusion. Sora jumped high and slashed with his right sword. Zack was using his X vision to find an opening, but instead of dodging, he blocked the attack with the sword and forced Sora away.
Jake enquired, “Why didn’t Zack dodge that? Using his X vision, he should be able to find openings in that move.”
Kai said, “Yes, but there has to be an opening in the first place for Zack to exploit them. Sora was guarding all open spots with his left sword. Even if there were openings, Zack can only capitalize on them if he is physically capable of doing so. At that position, it seemed that he couldn’t do anything except block the attack head on.”
Sora started rushing at his opponent again. Zack was about to move from the spot but the attack from earlier was a strong one and its impact had made his knees weak. Zack held his blade straight, showing the true length of his long sword. Sora seemed to have a different approach. Before he entered Zack’s range, he jumped and spun to the right, making his left sword strike first. Zack instinctively drew his blade up and blocked it. But through the sparks of the metal, Zack could clearly see Sora’s smirk. He was still spinning. Using Zack’s sword with his left saber as support, he spun again and brought his right blade in front to bring down the decisive strike. Sara shouted, “STOP!”
Sora suddenly froze. Literally froze in mid-air. The S ranks were staring at Jake, who was stretching out both his arms. He gave a sigh of relief and said, “Just in time. That was too close.”
Sora shouted, “Jake, why did you interfere? I almost had him!” Jake retorted, “I was saving your life, you dimwit!”
Zack said while panting, “So you noticed. You’re not bad.”
Sora looked down. He noticed that Zack was frozen as well. His own sword was also tilted in a way that both blocked Sora’s left blade and was also inches away from Sora’s heart.
Jake jumped into the arena and said, “If I was even a second late, both of you would’ve died. This was only supposed to be a spar, not a death match.”
Jake cancelled his psychic powers. Sora jumped away and Zack withdrew his sword. Both of them sat down on the floor, panting. Sora got up first, clutching his wound and walked up to Zack. He gave him a hand and pulled him up. “That was a good match, wasn’t it? I enjoyed it a lot, except the time I got cut in the gut.”
Zack was about to stumble, but was caught by both Sora and Jake. He said, “Man, my arms and legs are sore after blocking all those strikes. You really are strong, for a commoner.”
Sora retaliated, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Jake thought to himself, “Guess they forgot all about why they started fighting in the first place.”
Sora suddenly said, “But wasn’t this a fight to find out which of us is stronger?”
Zack said, “Well, judging by your injuries, I won.”
Jake shook his head and thought, “Guess not.” He then shouted over their arguments, “Will you please cut it out! You almost killed each other.”
Sora said, “If you hadn’t intervened, we might’ve had a clear winner.”
Zack said, “Yeah. Maybe I might have stabbed his heart without killing him before he struck me.”
Jake shrugged and said, “Maybe? That’s reassuring.”
While the boys kept arguing, the S ranks were still staring at them. Sam said, “You know I said there will be two pillars supporting the guild in the future. I take that back. There are three pillars now.”
Steve said, “That runt, Jake, he’s got skill. He was able to paralyse two people almost fifty meters away in a blink of an eye.”
Sara said, “He seems quite smart as well. How come we never noticed him before?”
Someone from behind them said, “That’s because none of you were here when he took the guild entrance test four months ago.”
They whirled around to see Gary, the guild master eating some candy. Sara squealed, “Grandpa! How long have you been there?”
Kai said, “Hey, old man. Where did you go after we got here?”
Gary asked in a blank tone, “What are you guys talking about? I’ve been sitting right behind you ever since we came here.”
Steve said, “Well, tell us about Jake Tyler’s entrance test. How did it go?”
Gary said, “He was one of the only two to pass the test. In that test, the contestants were each separately tested on their skill to handle different situations. He was able to use the best possible method of handling each situation in the shortest time.”
There was a moment of silence. Then Kai asked what everyone was thinking, “What in the world is up with this generation?”
Sora called out, “Oi, we could do with some help here. I might die from excessive blood loss.”
Steve said, “Yeah. Jake, pass them up.” Jake levitated both of them to Steve, who threw both of them over his broad shoulders and said, “Dr. Reed is going to patch both of you up in a jiffy. Come along now.”
Zack shouted, “Ouch! Careful! This isn’t how you should handle an injured noble.”
Steve said, “Since you’re an injured noble, I’ll ask Dr. Reed to give you some special treatment.”
Zack piped down and said, “Never mind.”
Steve took both of them and left the arena. The others were about to follow when Gary said, “Oh, and one more thing. The other kid who passed the test along with Jake, he’s getting a promotion to B rank the day after tomorrow. He’s a year older than those kids, but he’s pretty skilled. He has a unique way of using his B grade contract. He got full marks in the test as well.”
Kai said with a grimace, “Things just keep getting better and better, don’t they.”
A day had passed since the spar between Sora and Zack. Jake sat in between their beds in the infirmary as the morning sunlight flooded the room. Zack’s right arm was in a sling and Sora had bandages wrapped around his hip.
Sora said to Jake, “You can go on your mission now. You don’t need to wait for us to be discharged.” Jake said, “I was asked to stay here so that I could stop both of you if a fight starts.” Sora grinned and said, “Come on. Zack and I get along just fine now. We haven’t argued at all the whole time we were here.”
Zack said, “True. And besides, I’m not stupid enough to start a fight under Dr. Reed’s nose.”
Sora looked at Jake, who shrugged and said, “Why is it that every veteran guild contractor I meet avoids Dr. Reed? I found him to be a kind and cool guy.”
Zack said in a quivering tone, “You don’t want to know. I wish I never knew either. And I was only ten years old when it happened too. I wasn’t a member then, but I caught word of it. Just thinking about it…” Zack shuddered at the thought of it.
Jake glanced at Sora, who shrugged. It seemed like neither of them was going to nose out the truth of Dr. Reed and what happened five years ago any time soon.
After a while, Dr. Reed walked into the room. Zack sat up at once and said, “Good morning, doctor. I hope you are well.”
Dr. Reed said with a laugh, “That isn’t something a patient should ask the doctor. I hope both of you have recovered fully.”
Sora replied cheekily out of habit, “That isn’t something a doctor should ask the patient. You should be the one to know that.”
Zack gestured Sora to shut up, but Dr. Reed laughed and said, “Alright. Let me examine your injuries.” He removed Zack’s sling first and examined the wound. He told Zack, “Move your arm a little and flex your fingers.”
Zack did so without any pain. Dr. Reed said, “Good, your arm is fixed completely. You can leave anytime.”
He then turned to Sora and removed the bandages. All that was left now were a few scars over his abs. The wound had completely closed and Sora seemed ready to be discharged as well. Dr. Reed asked, “Do you want me to remove the scars as well? I noticed that you’re covered with quite a few of them all over your body.” Sora shook his head and said, “I don’t mind scars. I keep them as a reminder of everything I’ve gone through. But you’ve removed the scars on my face at least.”
As Dr. Reed was about to leave, Jake said, “Doctor, how did their injuries heal so fast? Zack’s arm was fractured badly and Sora had a horrible gash on his abdomen. Even with the latest technology, they should need at least a week to recover.”
Dr. Reed said, “That’s simple. I used my contract.” Jake was taken aback. Sora said, “You weren’t here when he was treating us yesterday, were you. I was dumbstruck as well.”
Dr. Reed said, “Let me show you.” He took a small knife and made a small cut on his left arm. It started bleeding at once. Then he stuck out two fingers of his right hand just over the scratch. A green light appeared around it. He slowly touched the wound and removed his fingers. Jake’s jaw dropped.
The cut on the skin was slowly healing and closing up. It was slightly brown at first but it gradually turned back to normal. Dr. Reed smiled at Jake’s reaction and said, “That was the power of my stone class contract; the healer. I can heal almost any physical injury with this. Pretty cool, right?” He left the room and closed the door.
After changing into their weighed clothing, Jake enquired where they were going next. He was answered by Sora’s growling stomach. They headed to the dining hall, which was packed with other contractors eating before they start their day. The cafeteria almost always had a buffet spread out near the counter on the far end. They only served food when there were a small number of contractors.
The three of them served themselves food and searched for a table. Sora spotted an empty table with four chairs. As they walked over, Jake realized that there were many stares directed at them. They reached the table and took their seats.
Sora started wolfing down his breakfast at top speed. Zack said, “You should have some decency while eating food, especially with a noble in your presence.”
Sora said with a mouth filled with food, “I’m hungry. I can’t be too picky about eating habits. Besides, I’ve been eating with my bare hands for five years. So I haven’t been able to practice any etiquette.”
The two of them kept arguing and were oblivious to the fact that most of the people in the hall were staring at them. Jake felt uncomfortable sitting there. He didn’t like standing out at all.
Zack soon finished his breakfast and chose a job using his G watch. Soon after he left, a man from a nearby table approached Sora and Jake. He said, “Hey kids, how’re you doing?” Sora and Jake turned and said, “Morning, Kaine.”
Kaine Mart was a veteran B rank contractor. He was ever ready to help rookie contractors any time. Sora had met him already and was in good terms with him. He was well built and had a good-natured smile.
Kaine said, “I heard both of you got promoted yesterday. Good for you.”
Sora said, “It was no big deal. I’m still just a C rank.”
Jake also replied, “Getting a promotion was expected, seeing as neither of us has failed even a single mission yet. But we aren’t stopping here.”
Kaine said with a laugh, “It must be good to be young. You two might become like Zack Titania and become an A rank pretty soon. And both of you seemed to be in good terms with him as well.”
Jake said, “Strangely enough, he was pretty social with us when we got to know him. But he was a little hard to get along with mostly because of his pride. If he puts that aside, then it’s no problem.”
Kaine scratched his head and said, “I’ve tried getting along with him for a while now. He’s been coming to the guild headquarters before he became a contractor. But whenever I tried to have a conversation, he would give me a superior look and say that he shouldn’t talk to commoners.”
Sora swallowed the food in his mouth and said, “So he had an attitude even when he was a runt, huh.” Kaine smirked and said, “But he really does seem like he’s on a totally different level. I’ve been in the guild for fifteen years and made it till B rank. But Zack became an A rank just after two years. Even if we don’t like his attitude, we respect him as fellow contractors.”
Kaine said his goodbye and left. As Sora and Jake finished their breakfast, Sora said, “It’s strange, isn’t it? There are veterans like Kaine, who’ve been in the guild for years. And there are rookies like us, who’ve only been here for a few months. But why is it that they remain in one rank while we get promoted so soon?”
Jake said, “We aren’t promoted only based on our strength. We’ll face many more dangers and obstacles as our rank increase. Not everyone is ready to put his or her life at stake. They must be willing to put up with the dangers.”
Sora, who had just eaten his fill, got up and said, “Well, I’m ready for that. Guess I better start taking up my C rank jobs.” He looked into his G watch, which was showing the time. He touched the screen with his finger.
At once, the time vanished and many options were shown with the guild symbol as the background. At the top right corner, Sora’s name and rank were given. He looked at the options, which included missions, GPS, information database, communication, live television and more. He chose the jobs category and the screen displayed all the jobs available for him. The first job on the list was titled; ‘Stone Hedge Valley thieves.’ Below it, the price of the mission (eight thousand Zens) was given. He chose the job to see the detailed information about it.
Stone Hedge Valley was a rocky and mountainous terrain located at the outskirts of Gildartz city. According to the job description, many travellers in the valley were ambushed and beaten up from behind. When they gained consciousness, the found they had been robbed of everything valuable in their possession. The city police had gained information that a certain gang was responsible and requested the aid of the Lucifer’s Fall for locating and capturing them. Below the description, two options, ‘Accept’ and ‘Request assistance’ were given. He chose the ‘Accept’ option.
Instantly, the description faded and a map showing t
he directions to Stone Hedge Valley appeared. It also showed the various locations where the travellers were ambushed.
Jake said, “So how are you going to do it?”
Sora turned and frowned, “It’s rude to read other’s things. Anyway, I have a plan. It’s not going to be that big a problem.”
Jake said, “So, what are you going to do?”
Sora said, “Seeing as the places different people were ambushed in are quite far away from each other and almost in the same time intervals, the gang must’ve split into groups, monitoring different locations in the valley. I just have to use the fact that only a few will attack me to my advantage.”
Following the GPS, Sora left on foot and soon reached Stone Hedge Valley. He had a bag with him as well. He followed one of the routes taken by some of the victims.
The valley was bone dry with only a few bushes growing from various crevices. Sora spotted a few blade vulture nests on rocks, which jutted out from the side of the valley. He recalled blade vultures to be C rank beast class contracts, which got their name from their sharp feathers. Some of them sitting in their nests eyed Sora with bright yellow eyes.
Sora casually walked past them, as he knew that blade vultures only ambushed injured prey. They rarely attacked anyone or anything except when provoked. “I still remember the times Kai made me climb up a steep cliff to get the eggs from one of their nests,” Sora muttered. “He purposely gave me a few cuts every time he sent me so that my blood would attract them.”
The valley got a little narrower as Sora neared the location. The sunlight didn’t reach many of the places there and the dark figures of rocks and bushes resembled human figures. Sora could see the exit of the narrow valley when suddenly he felt the presence of a few humans. He could feel their eyes on him. But they were placed closer than their earlier ambush spots. Some of the figures he had thought were rocks were men, he realized. Sora pretended to not notice them and went along the path. Suddenly he sensed some movement. He forced himself not to react instinctively and felt himself being slammed to the floor. A sharp blow to his head followed. Sora pretended to lie unconscious as other figures approached him. One of them said, “We got another one, though he’s just a kid. Don’t know if he has anything valuable with him.”
Contractor: The Legendary Contract of Vento Page 9