The Joys of Having New Weapons

Dawn arrived without any other major development in the North. Eisen and the others were able to get a good night's rest while the others are still snoring away. It was 4 AM, and the light was barely visible, but Eisen didn't mind. Actually, he would prefer the darkness more as he practiced his sword skills.

This was the routine that was engraved in his mind by his mentor. Every morning, he would take a thousand swings of his sword, using seven (7) different forms or paths, as he would call them. If he focuses, he can finish his routine in less than an hour. The sound of a sword slicing through the air can be heard across the pass.

Eisen especially likes training. During each of his swings, his mind clears up and he was able to focus more on his sword and his mastery of it. At the moment, only him and his sword matters.

"!"

Out of nowhere, Eisen suddenly jumped sideways. His concentration was so intense that he was able to feel the slightest bit of animosity from others. He looked at the area where he felt it, but nothing was there. Was it just his imagination? He wondered.

"You are still ... lacking," a voice can be heard behind him. He was barely able to block his sword in time as a large two-handed sword came crashing down on him, shattering the ground below.

Eisen rolled a few meters, before picking himself up. He was breathing heavily from his evasive maneuvers. A man can be seen amidst the dust, his tall physique and huge frame are unmistakable. His lumbering arms easily lifted the two-handed sword like it was nothing.

"-Kreig," Eisen said.

"Care for a morning spar?" he said. Eisen nodded, as he can never ask for a better sparring partner than him.

~~~

"Argh!" Eisen granted as he was propelled several meters just by blocking Kreig's sword.

"You don't have to use force against force! Think back, and reflect on your training!" he said.

The sparring of the two garnered unwanted attention from some of the assessors who are now watching them as they duke out their sword prowess to one another.

"Hey, how long have they been going at it?" asked one of them.

"Hmm? I don't know. More like an hour or two. They've been at it way before I woke up," was the reply he got.

Eisen and Kreig had been exchanging blows since early morning. Despite that, Eisen wasn't able to land a clean hit on him even once. On the contrary, each of Kreig's sword swings is like a tornado, uprooting the ground each and every time it passed through it.

'Is the difference in our abilities this vast?' Eisen thought to himself. No, it can't be. Eisen started to intensify his attacks, but it wasn't long before he finally ran out of steam, slumping into the ground. Kreig was looking at his sorry state, his eyes staring at his.

"You have improved, but still lacking. Focus more on using less strength, but exerting more power in your blows," he said. He then placed his giant sword on his back and went toward the camp. The onlookers parted as Kreig made his way between them, leaving Eisen on the ground.

~~~

"Attention, everyone! Now that we've had a good night's rest, we are now to set off to our individual assignments!" Lambard announced as he, together with the other leaders beside him, stood at the forefront.

"Our mission as dictated by the king was to investigate the places he pointed out to have the most potential as a base of operations by the Demons. Here are your individual assignments,"

"My group will be heading to the top of Mount Sundra, we're an old observatory once stood. Kreig and his team will be going into the abandoned mines northwest of here. Franz and his group would be checking the once-bountiful port city of Velum on the northeast. Marcus will head to the Wandering Forest off further north. Deirera will check one unusually large cave, the Ad'eir Cave, while Gladius will be leading a punitive force into the ruins of Thalmuth. Lastly, Cassandra will be heading to Twin Tower's peak. Is everything clear so far?" he asked after reciting their individual locations.

"Hearing none, I pray you good fortune in your journey. Let us meet here again tomorrow," he said as he and his team departed.

"Okay, you've heard the mage, move out!" Franz said as he led the march towards the coast.

"Let's get moving," Kreig said as he led the way to the mines in the northwest.

~~~~

"Hey, Brit! We're here!" Fei announced their arrival at her workshop.

"Fei! I told you that come back for it after a few days!" Brittany scolded her as she welcomed them inside her house.

"Sorry for the intrusion," Sofia said as she apologized for their surprise visit.

"Well, did you finish it?" asked Fei.

"What do you think of me? Some kind of instant-making machine that can easily churn out requests at a moment's notice?"

"So you didn't finish making them after all?" Fei repeated her question.

"What? Of course, I did! Just wait there," Brittany said as she hurriedly went to her workshop and took the requested items. The sound of clattering can be heard within her workshop.

"See? I told you she's already done with it," Fei said with a smug look on her face.

"Right." Sofia can only agree with her statement.

After a few moments, Brittany can be seen holding in her hand two boxes. She placed them on the table in front of them, one for Sofia and one for Fei.

"Okay, so these are the items you've requested. I've made some minor adjustments, but they are sure up to par with your requests," she said. "Especially yours, Fei, given that you've handed me a very, 'unusual', material for use in your gauntlet," Brittany said, proud of the results of her handiworks.

Sofia took out the staff from her box. It was more like pieces of stuff, as it was divided into three separate items.

"Uhmm, is this supposed to be a staff?" she asked Brittany. After hearing her, Brittany walked over to her and explained how the mechanism works.

"Yeah, you see, staffs usually take up a lot of space, right?"

"Yeah,"

"So I decided, why not make it you know, a little more, portable?"

"Okay,"

"If you align the ends of the pieces together, they will merge into a single staff," she said as she showed her the process. Sure enough, after placing them together, the pieces move on their own, forming a single staff. Sofia was surprised at the ingenuity of her work.

"Wow," she was mesmerized by the luster of her new staff, viewing it from different angles as she raised it high in the air.

"But wait, there's more," Brittany said. "If you re-arrange the order of the pieces, you can amplify certain magical attributes. You can test it yourself later in the field. I don't want my workshop to be destroyed," she added.

"Thank you, Ms. Brittany!" Sofia said as she bowed her head toward her, showing her sincerest gratitude.

"Don't sweat it! I enjoyed making it, so all is good," she brushed off her thanks, saying that what matters most is that it will be put to good use.

"Hey, hey! What about mine,"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. For you Fei, I made this!" Brittany took out a pair of gloves from within the container.

"I thought I asked for a gauntlet? Why are you showing me a pair of gloves?" she asked her.

"Just try it out first," Brittany said with a smile on her face. Seeing her friend's confident smile, Fei put on the gloves as instructed.

"What now?" she asked, opening and closing her hands as she feels the comfort of the gloves. The gloves' design was very simple, like any other glove on the market, so Fei can't help but wonder what makes it so special.

"Try imagining a gauntlet in your hand," Brittany said. Hearing this, Fei followed her words, and right after she thought of it, her gloves suddenly turned into a gauntlet. It did not stop there. The gauntlet extended to her shoulders, her entire torso, and to her legs, wrapping them in black, vine-like extensions.

"What the -," Fei was surprised at the sudden development. Looking at the mirror, she can now see herself clad in a black armor-like outfit. From her shoulders to her chest, abdomen, and even her hips were equipped with plate-like armor. But the surprising part was, it wasn't heavy or even unconformable to wear like it was made perfectly to her size.

"This is amazing!" Fei exclaimed.

"It has the self-repairing function that you've requested. We have a lot of spare materials, so I used the chimera's fur to make those plates. They are lighter but sturdier than most metals," Brittany explained. "I don't know what kind of material was the scepter made of, but thanks to that, it also gained the ability to freely consort to the user's will, as well as adapt itself to its environment. I doubt that any other item in the market has that same ability," she added.

"Oh! And to add, since the chimera used as the material was a tri-horned, it has this ability to intimidate monsters of lower ranking, so that sure will come in handy in the future,".

"This is beyond amazing! Thanks, Brit!"

"Don't thank me, my husband did all the work in analyzing the effects of each and every ability it has," she said. "He is still sleeping though," she said.

"Can you pass my thanks to him?"

"Sure, sure. No problem, enjoy using them. And don't forget to give me feedback, okay?"

"We will, thanks again!"

"Thank you, Ms. Brittany,"

The two headed off after receiving their requested items. From upstairs, Chris started making his way down when he saw Brittany at the front door waving goodbye to the two.

"Oh, was that Fei?"

"Yeah. They asked if their request is done, so I gave it to them,"

"Is that so? What a shame. I haven't finished figuring out the "Ruler" ability her gauntlets have," Chris said. "Well, I doubt that it is anything dangerous. Anyway, have you eaten yet?"

"Now that I think about it, not yet."

"Shall we eat then?"

"Yes please!"