by J. J. Thorn
I quickly resumed my training and continued to make steady progress in both the amount of weight I could lift and how long I could go on my runs through Huag. My arms were looking more toned and my endurance had gone up a lot! If the month wasn't up, I would've needed to ask Dad for heavier weights. Just this morning, I felt myself taking it easy in this morning's training - the 5-pound weights did very little at this point, and the 25-pound weights were only useful for my arms now.
My weight had even decreased. I was now at 202 pounds. It wasn’t much, but I now started every single day by using my Skill on myself. Not out of vanity, but knowing about my own weight made me feel a lot more comfortable with my affinity. I hadn't realized it until that night, but I had been holding a lot of hostility in. It wasn't going to be resolved in one night, but learning to appreciate my own weight had been a true step forward.
I had even increased my Rank slightly, but after the huge jump to 50% my progress had stagnated. It still increased daily due to constant use, now 67%, but I wasn't seeing the same explosive growth I noticed early on.
This was to be expected based on what everyone told me, but it was still hard to see. Despite my percentage not going up as often, I continually used my Skill and was able to get the weight of some objects within 1 to 2 seconds.
In fact, the greatest gift I could have received from the rabbit was in relation to my Skill!
While using my Skill one day, I inadvertently tried to use some of my internal energy to augment my eyesight at the same time. Similar to what I had just tried to do, but this time I used it on the Skill directly. What happened was short of amazing! What would have usually taken me 5 seconds happened near instantaneously!
My headache afterward was debilitating, but since I hadn't passed out I was able to jump for joy - Metaphorically and physically!
I was able to use my internal energy to augment my skills! In this case, it meant I was able to augment how quickly I was able to trigger my 'View Weight' Skill, but who knows what this means as I continue to get more Skills later on.
It really went to show that I knew very little about my Skills and what I would be capable of in the future. The thought was exciting!
After figuring this out, I continued to augment the Skill as much as I could. The headaches hurt, but I found that using the Skill this way progressed my Rank as much as if I were to use it 5 times as often without excess internal energy.
As a result, I was able to focus on physical exercises for a little bit longer. And for this budding Dungeoneer, every little bit counted!
I had hoped this would help me control my internal energy a little bit better, but I still had no way of shutting it off early or using it on any other part of my body.
The augmented Skill would use up all of my internal energy. I knew because I wasn't able to use my Skill again afterwards and I could feel the headache that came when I went into energy Burnout. A setback, for sure, but a worthy sacrifice in the grand scheme of things.
The one place where I had made utterly no progress was in my Sword skills. I was utterly awful when I fought with the Armadon and today I was... just as awful. I was as much a menace to myself as I was to the things I was trying to hit. Even Elise was a better sword user than I was!
I hope that the School provides some weapons training. I'll either need to continue to practice or choose another weapon altogether. Maybe there would be no weapons training at all, but for a school of people aiming to be Dungeon divers, that seems unlikely. I still had basically no information on what to expect from the School, despite trying constantly with Dad. First off, he had apparently gone to another Prep School, and secondly, he said that he didn't want to ruin the surprise for me.
I didn't care about being surprised! I just wanted to have some information before I left. I tried asking Ms. Francis a couple of times as well, but Dad had already gotten to her. I'd considered going into the Bar or Guild myself, but they didn't take too kindly to non-Dungeon Divers and 16-year-olds, in that order. Lastly, I'd tried asking some of the kids I knew around my age, but since none of my friends had affinities they hadn't thought to even ask. Merchants were also unwilling to spread their secrets, so I was stuck, for now.
Ultimately, Huag's population was mostly normal, and as result, most people just didn't know!
There are towns that have a full population of affinity users, and in fact, they aren't too uncommon, but those towns are usually near Dungeons. The Dungeons tend to draw in more monsters to the area, which causes more Dungeoneers to come - it's a continual cycle.
"Terrence, time for dinner! Mom brought home some beef and was able to slow cook it in some cast iron Dad made - it looks really yummy" Elise had come outside to get me.
"Coming Elise, tell them I'll be in in a minute."
I set aside the weights and started to walk towards the house. This would be the last dinner I had with the family for a long time and they were making it a send-off dinner.
Walking into the house, I could smell the simmering beef cooking in the kitchen. Dad was setting the table while Elise was sitting patiently waiting for food to be served.
"Man, it smells delicious in here," I said while stepping inside.
"Go clean up quickly, dinner is already finished, we're just waiting on the bread to heat up." We still had a wood-burning oven, but ovens were available that used heat enchantments instead. They were obscenely expensive, so my parents were happy to keep their existing stove.
I rushed to the bathroom and cleaned myself up as quickly as I could, before putting on some clean clothes.
Upon returning to the table, everything was set up and all three of them were just waiting for me to begin eating.
"Sorry, sorry - please eat, I'm sorry to have made you all wait so long."
"Nonsense, this is your send-off! We couldn't start without you." I could hear the words Dad was saying, but the way he and Elise were eying the beef was a completely different story.
"Haha, ya, tell that to Elise's stomach" I sat down, and they started to eat. Mom and Dad must have been working most of the day because they seemed just as hungry as Elise and me. By the time we all finished half our plates, someone finally spoke.
"So, you're leaving tomorrow, how do you feel?" Dad said.
"I'm excited, really, to continue learning more about my affinity and what this world has to offer. I'm also nervous, I know next to nothing about what I'll be doing at the Prep School, and I've never really left Huag before."
"We tried our best to keep you safe, and Huag has always been a safe place for us." Mom replied. She was getting more comfortable with the thought of me leaving. We discussed it constantly, and I felt like she knew I would try to keep myself safe.
"And remember that you can always come back, if needed, we are always here for you."
"Is that even true though Dad, can I leave Prep School?"
"I guess I can tell you that much. You're asked to stay at the school for at least a year. Some stay for longer, but that's the minimum you are required to stay for. The long wagon trip, with guards and everything, only happens once or twice a year, so they try to limit the number of times students are allowed to leave. You are actually given a couple of breaks in the year, but without the wagon, the trip is usually too far for you to travel alone."
"So, I won't see you guys for at least a year?" I already knew this, but it was still hard to come to grips with.
"Yes, you won't see us for a long time. You can send us mail anytime though, which we'll be sending to you whenever we can as well. There are also people who have long-distance communication Skills but don't bother using those unless something urgent happens. It's not worth the money."
"Ok, I'll make sure to send you mail as much as I can."
"Well don't be worrying too much about us. If you're going to do this, we want you to take it seriously as well! Train, understand your abilities, and learn as much as you can. Your mother and I know how important this is to you, so just go o
ut there and try your best. And besides, there's always the end of year tournament. We all went to watch your cousin John this past year - if you make it far enough, maybe we'll get to come watch you as well."
Wow, the tournament. Could I make it to the finals? My sword skills are awful, but I wonder how I stack up to the other kids starting this year.
"No offense Terrence, but I could beat you in a sword fight, I don't think you'll be making it that far in the tournament." Elise had finally finished her meal.
"But that doesn't mean we can't try to help you out as much as we can! Your father and I have two presents for you before you go."
"Mom, you both have done so much for me, you don't have to do anything..."
"Nonsense, you're still my Son." As she spoke, she pulled out a small coin pouch and passed it across the table.
"We've put the equivalent of 2 gold in there for you." 2 gold, that's 200 silver and each silver is worth 100 copper coins.
"What, no, I can't accept so much! That has to be a big chunk of your savings!" I was flabbergasted at how much they'd just given me. I may have made 25 silver from the Arma-hunt, but that was only easy because of Uncle Tom. Usually, we would have needed a larger party, and we were lucky that the scales were so valuable.
"Did you forget your mother deals with money every single day? You worry about going to school and killing monsters. I'll worry about managing our finances. And besides, your father and I save this money for you and your sister. This is rightfully yours."
My parents are amazing. I can't believe I won't see them for up to a year. I took the coins and made my way around the table to give them each a hug.
"Don't think that's it, Terrence. We saw how ill-fitted you were going to hunt with your Uncle. I couldn’t make much, but I was able to make these using the scales you gave me from the Armadon. Try them on to make sure they fit." Dad came from around the corner holding a pair of gloves. No, they didn't have fingers, these were for my forearms - arm guards.
I slipped my hands through one of them and couldn't believe how light it was! It fit tight against my long sleeve shirt but gave some room for me to keep growing as well. It felt great! I flexed my wrist and realized that my movement wasn't hindered at all.
"These are amazing Dad! How are they so light?"
"That's one of my Skills - in fact, it's the one that I got at Rank 4. It allows me to reduce the weight of the metal I'm using to make my armor and weapons. After that, I was able to affix the scales to the outside for added durability. Because they became a part of the armor, I was able to reduce their weight a bit as well. Took some doing, and a lot of long nights to get right, but they're some of my best work." I started to cry.
"This is all too much; you both are so amazing!"
"Aww bunny-killer, don't cry!" Elise started to tease, which helped reign in my emotions a little bit.
"Haha, jerk! Seriously though, thank you both. I love you."
Mom was crying now too, and Dad had a few tears showing as well.
"We love you so much, Terrence."
"Your mother's right - just make sure to use those to block instead of your body next time!"
"I will - I'll make sure to keep them clean also until I see you next."
The rest of dinner flew by as we continued to chat and joke amongst ourselves. When I fell asleep, I dreamt of myself wearing a full suit of Armadon scales. I dreamt of slaying monsters and increasing my Rank. Most of all, I dreamt of returning home after a long-fought battle and seeing my family again. Tomorrow I left for the first real adventure in my life, but tonight I felt blessed.
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I woke up early and started to pack all of my belongings. 'View Weight'.
203 pounds!
"Yup, about right."
Apparently, the guards only came to fetch the people who weren't at the wagons by a certain time - likely noon. I wanted to make sure I was there on time and earlier.
In my bag, I added my arm guards and some of the boots I had taken from Dad's equipment. Most of the equipment had been ill-fitting, so I took the chest-piece as well and left it at that. I would need to find new equipment after school was finished, or before the tournament. I likely wouldn't need it before then.
In addition to some clothes, small toiletries, and snacks, Mom had also given me a paper bag containing the rest of last night's beef for the trip. I wrapped it in a cloth and put it on top of everything else to avoid squishing.
I wrapped the sword in cloth and strapped it onto the back of the bag. I was ready to go.
At this point, Mom, Dad, and Elise had all left for work and school.
After leaving them a note on the counter, I took one look last look at the house I grew up in and left.
While walking up to the gates, I looked at the iron weights my father had made for me. I wouldn't be able to bring them along with me but knew they had been put to good use. I made sure they were placed in an out of the way place since no one would likely be using them for a long time.
I opened the gate but realized I wanted to try one thing before leaving. Looking at the house, I considered just checking the wall's weight but thought against it. My Rank had increased 50% since the last time I tried this, and I was way more comfortable with it all.
I started to concentrate on my family home.
I repeated my Skill name while augmenting the Skill through my eyes.
"View Weight"
It still took about 15 seconds, but eventually, the number appeared in my vision.
25,000 pounds!
The headache was there, but I had learned to get used to it after expending all of my internal energy. This had felt comfortable. This had felt like progress.
I walked out of the gate and started walking towards Huag. I was ready for Prep School.
Chapter 10
Meetings
Before leaving Huag, I had one last thing I needed to do. Walking up to the gates, I was happy to see that Franklin and Booth were both on guard duty today.
"Fat-Terr, aren't you a little late for your morning run? We thought we had missed you again!"
"Ya, Fat-Terr, are they finally shipping you off to that shitty school John went to? You and him are..." Booth looked at Franklin expectantly.
"like super different!" Franklin sneered.
"Ya, you're so different. He's like smart and fast and cool and you're just some fat kid who lost a bit of weight and thinks he's some big shot now because he got an affinity."
As they continued to talk, I kept walking right towards them.
"Haha, look, Booth, he won't even respond, what an idiot. I bet he gets there, and they send him back in a month!"
"Ya, we'll see you back here in a month! You won't be able to do anything! Your little jogs mean nothing to people like John! You're just some shitty hick from Huag, and you always will be!"
I gradually got closer to them. They stood beside the gates on the right side. Both had some metal plating on their torso, legs, and arms. Their heads were completely exposed, with their helmets placed behind them on the ground. Swords were strapped to each of their hips.
I took the chance to really look at each of them. Franklin had red hair and was at least 6 feet tall. He himself was fairly large and had been growing a bit of a belly since he started working as a guard. His hair was untidy, and he had a patchy beard on his face.
He had a crooked nose from having fought several kids growing up. He was always the one fighting John’s battles.
Booth had brown hair, also dirty, but he was much lankier. He looked like he barely fit into his armor, with the way it draped around his body.
At this point, I was a foot away from them.
"Why are you getting so close to us Fat-Terr! The gate is to your left, keep walking idiot." Booth said meekly. I'd never really gotten this close to them while running before.
"Ya, Booth, what's he think he's doing getting so close. Perso
nal distance Fat-Terr!"
I was leaving Huag for at least a year. When I came back, I would hopefully be stronger and would have advanced in my Rank.
As a higher Rank, any violence towards regular humans could be seen as bullying, as I would be both stronger and faster than them. So, really, I might never get another chance to do this.
I got within arms distance of Franklin, I wound up and punched him directly in the face.
I had been thinking about doing this for YEARS. Franklin flinched slightly, but luckily, I still got him in the nose, which caused him to bowl over.
I went for him first, because he was taller and bigger than me. Booth was a lightweight in comparison.
"What the fuck, Terrence! My goddamn nose!" Franklin squealed from the ground.
Booth looked down at his friend in shock, then back at me.
"Hold it Fa... I mean Terrence. Hold it, we were just kidding around." He started to stammer while he backed away.
Before he got too far, I also punched him across the side of the head as well. He had seen it coming, but the effect was the same. My greater strength and size caused him to also hit the ground.
"I will be back in a year. When I'm back, you will call me by my name." I had dealt with that stupid nickname for long enough.
I had expected some level of retaliation, but at that moment my tormentors looked scared. I thought I would be angrier at them, but I really just felt bad for them now.
Instead of saying any more, I walked through the gates. I could now leave Huag knowing I had at least stood up for myself.
And damn did that first punch feel amazing!
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I spent little time walking through the rest of the town on my way to the other western gates. The wagons would be waiting directly outside the city, and I had everything I needed to start the journey in my backpack already.
Everyone in the town square was gossiping as always, as newly appointed affinity users walked through the town towards the gate. They were easily spotted by the way of their large bags and nervous faces.