The Pursuit of Power, page 7
It’s a shame.
“I’m sorry,” said Elisa, “but your levels are still not high enough. I know the trial is different, but I still set a minimum of ten. You may be strong but I have to make sure no one gets too badly hurt.”
Elisa let them down as easy as she could, but struck while the iron was hot.
“There is a guild exam in four months time. And lucky for you, I’m the scheduled proctor. I’ll cut you some slack and keep the level requirement low, how about that, maybe even get you a contract with the guild.”
Elisa looked down at them, expecting tears of joy for her generosity. But, all she was met with were two solemn faces, cold and almost dismissive.
Elisa went again. “Listen up, If you come back then it’ll give you just enough time to reach the right level. I know you two can do it.”
“Months?” Jax said, his excitement completely gone. “Sitting on our thumbs for that long?”
“Well, it may be too much for you,” Elisa said, “but you can go try and fight some wolves in the Forest of Warg. It’ll give you a bit of real fighting practice and ensure the test is passed.”
“We’ve already done that all week,” Vincent said quietly in a dejected tone.
“What?” Elisa’s brow fell, thinking she heard wrong.
Vincent turned to Jax. “In only two months we would just take the exam, right?”
Jax turned to Vincent and nodded.
“Maybe we’ll just go for that. Sorry for not getting us in.” he said.
“It's alright, Vin, I liked the move.”
Jax reached out his fist and Vincent knocked it against his.
“Wait, what are you talking about?” Elisa said hurriedly, their conversation processing in her head.
“What do you mean?” asked Vincent
“You’ve been in the forest already?”
“Yeah, we started going in about five days ago.
Elisa stared at them. “At what level?” she asked carefully.
“One.”
“Two.”
Elisa looked at the two boys sitting there calmly. Who had she stumbled upon, or who had come to her? Seven levels in five days and with stats that impressive. It was almost impossible.
Elisa looked back across the room at the group of participants. Their gleaming armor, incessant mock laughter, and those ignorant glares. Half of them wouldn’t make it their first day in the real world.
Elisa looked back at Vincent and Jax. “I’ll let you tag along.” she said.
“Really?” They both said in unison, their voices rising.
“Yes.” she nodded defeatedly.
Vincent and Jax looked at each other with wide smiles. Their joy was overflowing. They were just about to bump their arms together when Elisa cut them off.
“But like the rest of them, you do as I say.” She stared into their eyes with a piercing glare that they could feel in their spines. “Anything less and I’ll drag you out myself. Got it?”
“Yes, Ma’am” They said in unison, as they sat up straight in their seats, smiles beaming.
Elisa shook her head. “Okay, today was just the sign up. We meet in three days in front of Yazheim. Sunrise, so don’t be late. If you are, you miss out.”
“We understand, Ma’am. Thank you so much.” said Vincent.
“Um, yes, thank you, ma’am.” Jax stumbled out.
“None of this Ma’am stuff. My name is Elisa.”
“Will do,” said Jax, before he and Vincent knocked their arms together.
Elisa turned around and made her way back across the room, contemplating with a sigh if she had made a huge mistake or a discovery of a lifetime.
Chapter 7
Vincent and Jax chose to rest for two days, letting their cuts scab over, but on the night before their third day, Jax asked Vincent to come out with him. He didn’t say what it was for. He simply led Vincent down the main road as the sun was setting and the shadows from buildings yawned across the city.
Vincent followed Jax through the familiar territory, walking along strips of faint pink, yellow light and grey shadow. The shops selling fruits and trinkets were starting to close up, but night stalls with meat and piping hot drinks were just opening. Vincent thought of getting one with the spare coins he now had, but Jax kept him walking down the road.
They went past his favorite cafe, the restaurant where they served the best sandwich he had ever eaten, and Maria’s stall, which was owned by the nice older woman who lived down the street. Vincent even waved to an older man sitting in front of a large apartment building where he knew a dozen different families were staying.
But on they went, walking so far that Vincent began to not recognize any of the buildings. They were now made of wood instead of stone, and each one was scrunched up against another, with no alleyway for breathing room. Most of the windows of shops were gone and replaced by closed shutters. They looked like old homes about to fall down if they weren’t all holding each other up.
Vincent was a little surprised and embarrassed by the change in scenery. They had gone further than he had ever explored with his time in the city.
Then, halfway down the narrow road, Jax stopped. He turned to the right and faced a building covered in a deep purple coat of paint and a thick black trim. A board swung on a post up front, saying, The Hawk’s Peak.
“This is it.” Jax said, before quickly making his way up the steps.
Vincent followed and reached the door just as Jax helped himself inside. To Vincent’s surprise, the door was unlocked and chimed with a bell from above.
Upon stepping in, a welcoming orange light wrapped around them and a hard smell of metal and grease hit their senses. It was an odd combination, but made more so by the decor. All of the walls were made of a dark grained wood, neatly cut planks lined the floor, and deep rows of ornate wooden shelving cluttered the room. The place seemed to glow not only with light, but with a warmth held inside the chest.
Jax turned to him. “If we’re going into the dungeon, then we’re going to need new gear.”
Vincent looked down at his armor. He had been wearing it everyday now, like a second set of clothing. It was plain, a little boring, and it had accumulated quite a bit of scratches and holes. If they really were going inside the dungeon then it was the right time for a change.
Vincent nodded in agreement. Jax tapped his shoulder with his fist, then turned and walked to the left side of the room where it opened up to a brightly lit wooden counter, carved and engraved with intricate lines and images, most of which Vincent couldn’t take the time to decipher.
“Are you glad to have me back!” Jax yelled with his arms up in the air.
There was a woman behind the counter, with a cloth and piece of metal in her hand. She was in her late twenties, with pure black hair pulled back and knotted into a bun.
Vincent followed Jax across the room and saw her more clearly up close. She was wearing a black tank top and leather apron tight against her shoulders and waist. Her left arm was coiled by a violet tattoo of something with horns. And along with four rings in each ear, there was a stud in her left brow.
“Oh, how great to see you.” The woman said in obvious, dreary sarcasm.
Vincent looked into her eyes, a vibrant purple hue that laid lazily behind sharp eyeliner.
“I knew you missed me, Jessica.” Jax said with a grin.
Jessica stopped what she was doing and put the cloth and metal away, out of view somewhere behind the counter.
“Yeah, yeah, what are you here for?” she said.
“What I’m always here for.” Jax said.
“I sold you that spare pouch and now you come back for more. I’m not a bank. If you want anymore debt you gotta go somewhere else.”
Jax held his snark but quieted down. “I’ve told you already, you’ll get it back in full. On my word.”
Jessica rolled her eyes.
“But me and my friend are here for something slightly different.” he said.
Jessica looked over at Vincent for the first time and met his eyes. She quickly looked him up and down.
Vincent didn’t want to admit it but he felt a little small under her gaze. He involuntarily gulped as she stared uncaringly at him. And he grew a little nervous that it showed on his face how beautiful he thought she was.
Jessica simply turned back to Jax. “What are you two gonna buy at my shop?”
“Weapons, armor, that sort of stuff,” Jax said nonchalantly, looking past her at the wall decorated in metal gear.
Jessica let out a confident laugh directed straight into Jax’s face.
“You want my swords. You couldn’t lift my hammer, let alone one of my swords.”
Jax puffed his chest and smiled wide, having the knowledge that soon he would be entering the dungeon, with a full chance at becoming a dungeoneer. “You don’t think I’ve been doing nothing, do you? I’ll let you know that my partner and I will be-”
Jessica turned behind her and grabbed one of the sheathed blades from the wall, then tossed it at Jax with one hand.
Jax threw up his arms and tried to catch the blade against his chest, but as soon as it landed, the wind was knocked out of him. Jax huffed deeply as he tried to wrap his arms around the leather sheath and lean the blade against his chest. Quickly his face went red, his knees bent and his back bent with the weight like he was about to snap in half. But, to Jessica’s visible surprise, he was still standing.
Jessica squinted her eyes at Jax as he huffed and puffed with the blade. He was still trying to keep still, but there was a tremor and shake in Jax’s legs. It became too much and Jax’s knees buckled and he fell forward with the sword, letting it drop and clatter against the ground.
Jessica’s surprise went away as she laughed and mocked Jax as he picked himself up off the floor.
“What did I tell you?” she said, looking down at him.
Jax stumbled to pick himself, but he quickly caught his breath again. “Yeah, yeah,” he said, brushing off his chest. “I’m not there yet, but I will be.”
“Why can’t he lift it?” Vincent interjected, looking at the scene in confusion.
“Huh?” Jessica heard Vincent’s remark and looked at him with eyes that made him want to hide. He didn’t need anything thrown at him either.
“Idiot one and now idiot two.” she said. Jessica turned back to the wall again and grabbed another sword.
Vincent flinched and thought about where he should run, but before he could Jessica turned around. Yet when she did, Jessica kept the blade held flat in both her hands.
Vincent let out a quiet sigh.
“Not anyone can wield any blade.” she said, looking down at the sword. “Jax may be a little stronger, but he is still not a high enough level to hold one of my swords.”
Wanting to know what level the sword was, Vincent quietly said, “[Inspect]”
Vincent looked at the small blue screen that popped up only in his vision. He tried to hide his reaction, but he couldn’t believe it. A level twenty!
Quickly Vincent came to understand the basic rules. He didn’t know the specifics, yet like everything else in this world, from herbs to wolves, levels mattered. Vincent hadn’t seen any levels on equipment before, so it was shocking to see one at such a high level right in font of him. But what was most shocking was that Jessica was holding the sword in her hands like it was a feather.
Jessica looked at Vincent’s confused expression and continued on.
“You have strength, right?” she asked in a simple manner.
Vincent felt a little talked down too, but he nodded.
“Well,” she said in skepticism. “if your weapon,” she gestured down to Vincent’s waist where his shortsword was strapped, “if it's like that, it's just metal. It has no enchantments or additional skills. What you get is what you get. Even just running it into a hard enough rock will shatter it.”
Jessica took the sword in her hands and slapped it against her right palm. “But, this here. You can get back what you put into it. If you get strong enough, you eventually need something to properly express that strength.” Jessica looked over at Jax. “But if you don’t have the strength, then you can’t use it.”
Jessica delivered her words like a mean instructor hoping to fill in the inept gaps of a student’s understanding. It was delivered with a little bite, but the information did help Vincent. He was entering the dungeon tomorrow, but he probably couldn’t lift the sword either. It was best to know this now.
Jessica turned to Jax. He was holding onto his hips as he twisted his back. He let out a few cracks and a sigh of relief as his spine went back to feeling normal.
“That’s why both of you can’t handle what I make.”
“Buuut…” Jax said as he pushed his body against the counter trying to get a closer look at a giant black sword on display. His leather armor pressed against the carved wood.
With annoyance, Jessica put her blade in her left hand and then brought her right fist down on the top of Jax’s head.
“Ow!” Jax let out as he was bopped off the counter. His hands immediately went to where he was hit. “What was that for?”
Ignoring what Jax said, Jessica went back at him. “What do you think you’re doing? It’s called respect, you know that. You’ll get this whole place dirty, going around, bumping into everything.”
“But it’s dirty already,” Jax said in defense, rubbing the top of his head.
Vincent looked at the edge of the counter where Jax had leaned. There was a circle imprint made of surrounding dust. And even the blade on display was covered in specks of grey.
“Respect!” She snapped back, ignoring his comment. “My grandfather built this place with his bare hands. This was one of the best shops in the city.” Jessica waved her sword in the air, pointing it across the room.
Jax put his arms up in defense, hoping it wasn’t going to be pointed at him.
“This place had lines down the street, packed to the walls with customers and fans.” she said, looking past Vincent and Jax as if she could see the scene unfolding in front of her. But the sword in her hands slowed down. She brought it gently to the counter, then took a deep breath. “At least it used to be.”
Vincent and Jax could both see the pain in her eyes. Jax was about to speak up with good news, but he was cut off.
“Still,” Jessica said, her brushing them away demeanor already back, “you can’t just come in here and ask me to sell something to you when you can’t even handle it. And are you forgetting you already owe me coin? How would you even buy anything? You’re just standing around, wasting my time.”
Jax stood quiet for a moment, then slowly peered around the room, then craned his neck to the left and then the right, looking down the halls of the shop.
“There are no other customers.” he whispered slyly.
“Be quiet.” Her black circled eyes pierced him.
Jax’s grin widened, his golden teeth showing. “Am I? Am I keeping the place open?”
“No, you idiot.” she snapped back. “While I wanted to study under my grandfather, both of my parents wanted to be dungeoneers. They make a decent wage and support this place. Don’t think so highly of yourself in front of me.”
“What level are they?” Vincent asked quite suddenly.
This was the first time Vincent had heard of older dungeoneers. The system that ran this world gave people the ability to break the chains of human limitation, but what were the heights? He wanted to know what sort of place he could end up someday. Just how strong could he become?
Jessica eyed him oddly like he was some sort of creep. “Why are you asking?”
“Just curious,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.
Jessica paused for a moment to think.
“I don’t really know,” she said, “I knew they joined a party with some decent levels to earn enough money, but I don’t think either of them has leveled up in years.”
“Really?” Vincent said in surprise.
“I guess they’re getting older now. They can’t challenge themselves like they used to.” Jessica looked down at the sword laying on the counter. “If you keep doing the same thing, then it will take longer and longer each time, until you basically stop all together.”
Vincent felt a lurch in his chest. He knew everyone in this world could grow stronger, but he didn’t know why there were so many people still living relatively normal lives. Every morning he saw plenty of young and old people living on the same street he was.
Vincent could see content people picking herbs or cooking a similar meal as the one before, as long as it got them by and brought them enough happiness. But now it made sense why those people were not towering above him.
“It has gotten harder on them to fund my work as well.” Jessica said somberly as she ran her finger along the hilt of the blade. “Supplies aren’t cheap and I rely on other people to find them for me.”
Vincent looked around the room. The foundations were impressive, but the shelves were not filled with what one expected. There were no polished glass or shiny objects. The only usable weapons were the ones hung behind the counter. When Vincent looked closer, he could see all the shelves were stacked with old crates, rusting blades and cracked plates of metal spilling out.
Although it seemed as if a rain cloud had settled on the room, Jax grinned. “Good thing I have something that fixes all problems.”
Jax snatched the pouch from Vincent’s wasit, dug inside, and swiftly pulled out a large sack of coins. He dropped them onto the counter with a thud, the metal jangling inside
Jessica’s mood did not lift at the sight of coin or Jax beaming with enthusiasm. She looked uneasily at the bag and said, “It’s still not enough.”
Jax paused, looking at how big the bag was. But before saying anything, he let an air of calm take him over. “Without the right materials, no one can even shop here.” he said in his deep voice.
The cloud over Jessica seemed to darken a little. She looked past Jax to the row of useless shelves.
