Fire Dagger Tribe Fall (2)

A lot had happened in the past two months.

Despite being only 22, Orianna had dealt with many acolytes in the past. Being part of the Longlost Magus Household, she had the occasion to speak or even share friendly bouts with many acolytes. Some of them were part of her own family, others from rival hosueholds. They all shared one common trait: they were cunning.

Perhaps the greatest strength of acolytes was not their arcane powers, but the spirit that allowed them to use intellect and wisdom.

But Lewis was a different breed.

Orianna had chosen the Crimson Clan because Janna Heartsteel had saved her life. Joining her cause was a way to repay the debt. Otherwise, she could have easily joined the [Serpent Order], which was composed of bloodline acolytes and one of the seven major factions.

Orianna Longlost was famous in the Magical Court. However, the story she gave everyone was only partially true. She had not joined to revive the family's potential or anything like that. Her patriarch was dying, and along with it, their legacy. She was not from the main family branch, and unlike her brother, she lacked the talent to be nurtured by the family. Rather, the family could not afford to. This was how expensive nurturing a bloodline type acolyte was, and how low the family had fallen after they lost a territorial war with the Valor Clan.

The crimson clan was not bad, or she thought until being assigned to Jorg Bullwater's party.

She had been given a mute lizardman brute for a leader, and an apathetic teenager for a companion. Naturally, she felt disrespected at first. But in the span of two months, she had realized how weak and untalented she was.

The lizardman brute could easily obliterate a dozen barbarians in a fraction of a minute, and deal with knights with immense strength. The most incredible trait of his was the fact that he specialized in defense, hence his choice of equipment and the reason why he had bought an enchanted shield rather than an enchanted war hammer.

But she already knew Jorg Bullwater's strength from his fame. A lizardman returning alive from a 2-star-mission without a party had already proved his worth.

However, Lewis Steelguard was the real danger here.

At first, he was weak, or so she thought when he entered the Crimson Manor and challenged Jack Blast. There, she witnessed the impossible: a young kid beating an experienced imperial knight. Granted, Jack Blast lacked experience in magic and had yet to learn his first spell. Granted, Lewis came from a knight family while Jack Blast was a commoner who became a knight on the battlefield.

But at the end of the day, Lewis won.

They then waited for an entire month, Lewis training himself, and even beating her in a spar without spells. She was angry at the time, but after losing the bet, she accepted to wait. In the back of her mind, she was still full of herself and only realized later the gap between her and Lewis. She thought she would be able to win against Lewis, if she could use her [Acidic Breath] spell.

But the fire dagger tribe battlefield proved her otherwise. 

Lewis was a monster, growing every single day. Somehow, he managed to master a second spell on the trip, one called [Blood Arrow], which he once used to kill a druid from 50 meters away in an ambush. There was no warning, nothing. He cast his spell in silence and killed the druid in a flash, not letting any room for a mistake. At that moment, Orianna realized how strong he was.

But...

Lewis did not just stop here. 

He used his blood affinity to gather the blood essence of fallen warriors, both from barbarians and imperial soldiers alike. During the day, he would participate in the battles and influence the battlefield the way he envisionned it. During the night, he would make strange experiments with equipment she had never seen before. Coming from the Longlost Household, she had seen the laboratory of contracted alchemists and esteemed elders, her teacher having some insights in the field. Yet, she had never witnessed such tools, and more importantly, such dexterity and skills in brewing potions.

In a single month, prior to the mission, Lewis rose from a regular noble scion to a knight in terms of physical strength.

But what he achieved the next month was even more frightening. He never stopped growing. He never stopped learning. And only this unyielding spirit of conquest, this unsatiable greed for power could explain the sight she was witnessing.

Next to Lewis, there was dozens of corpses, warriors who were trying to escort the druids to safety, to another tribe most likely.

But none of them stood against him more than a fraction of a second.

The druid they tried to protect was in an even worse state, her eyes filled with tears and her body trembling in terror, as Lewis repeatedly cut the vines that protected her, in vain. She was nimble, however, and moved swiftly in the trees. Unfortunately, Lewis was faster, nimbler, stronger. His sword cut through her defenses and eventually pierced the druid's heart. No human would survive such a strike, druid or not.

Lewis had just killed an intermediate rank druid. Most elite acolytes from the magical court were able to achieve such a feat, but this was exactly why this feat was so impressive. Lewis had achieved something that only an elite acolyte could achieve. And he had done it without using trickery this time, or his blood arrow spell. He had done it using his physical strength and blood enchant in combination.

'I guess I have to hurry...', Orianna thought with apprehension.

Being part of Jorg and Lewis cohort was an incredible opportunity. She had seen many scions from a young age until now, but those who could contend with Jorg in terms of physical strength could be counted on one's hands. As for those who could contend with Lewis in terms of growth rate, she knew but one person who had managed to do this: the Scion of the Longlost Household, Maria Longlost, heir of the magus household and harbringer of death.