A Promise As Payment

"Wha... What do you mean by that?" asked Bryan, finally halting his complaining.

"Well, you have two Elemental Energy pools. One from your body and the other in your weapon that holds the excess Elemental Energy so that you won't explode," I asked as I placed a palm onto the flat side of the blade.

My palm started to glow white as my body's Elemental Energy pool was transferred to the blade. The sword shined brightly with white as the chips and damage got repaired. After a few moments, I held up the sword to the sunlight to show off the brand new blade.

"See? It's quite easy. Since your body is overloading with Elemental Energy, your blades should've been repaired by now," I finished, making the sword disappear.

Bryan blinked in confusion as he replicated what I'd told him to do. Hell, he copied my every move and didn't ask any questions before pulling the stunt off flawlessly. So he is a genius, or he knew about it beforehand and forgot that such skills exist.

"Did you forget that such a thing exists? Or you've got no clue until I did?" I asked.

"No, I only knew about it when you showed me. Normally, the Elemental Energy overflowing is just dormant in my weapons. So I only knew that it could deliver explosions or attacks using Magecraft. Not that it could repair itself or anything. And that means..."

I swear I could see a massive cloud of gloom hanging above the poor Slayer's head. His whole face looked so depressing, and I thought I was looking at my teenage years.

"I've been doing unnecessary work all this while..." finished Bryan, sounding exhausted.

"So, whenever your weapon gets damaged, you're telling me that you just repair the old-fashioned way?"

"What's the old-fashioned way?"

"You know, like getting more materials to melt into your blade and sharpening it... Somethin' along those lines?" I asked, shrugging my shoulders.

"Yea... All those hard work are all for naught..."

Poor guy. Bryan closed his eyes and tilted his head upwards. I kept quiet as I went through my skills list. I was excited for the next part of the match. Although, Bryan looked quite fatigued to continue.

"Are you alright to continue? Or shall I postpone it to some other time?" I asked, concerned about the Slayer.

"I'm good to go after an hour. There might not be some other time if I miss it today," said Bryan, without opening his eyes.

"Why not? I'm sure that there would be plenty of chances after today. No need to rush everything. Unless you are planning to leave?"

The Slayer opened his eyes before looking downwards and at his hands.

"Of course not. If I left, I would have no place to go. Lady Roydon won't be happy either. It's just that I have a slight feeling that I won't come home from the next Major mission. You can call it paranoia, but the feeling is strong with this next mission," said Bryan, with a serious tone.

His eyes looked fearful as his hands shivered. I was hopeful that Bryan would be surviving for the next few years, but the future can always take a turn for the worse. It was then that I made a promise to the Slayer. I jumped up from my position and walked in front of Bryan.

He was shocked at first but relaxed after the next second.

"Listen up. I couldn't have made it through the night if I hadn't bumped into you yesterday. Instead of attacking me, you listened to my reasoning and offered me a shelter for the night. You even gave me dinner and breakfast. I can't thank you enough."

"So, as a token of appreciation, I'm going to make a promise with you," I said, pointing at him.

"A promise? I hope it isn't too big of a promise since many others have broken their promises to me. So what is it?" asked Bryan, looking worried.

"Postpone your Major mission until I can team up with you. I will go for the challenge tomorrow and face Mavislin with everything I've got. However, if I do not win, I will request to be your underling. And if I do win, I will still request to work with you."

"Whatever the outcome, I promise I will be working with you during the next Major mission. You seem like you need the help you can get it, so I'm offering some to you," I proclaimed, with a big grin.

Bryan looked shocked and his face stayed that way for a good five tocks. The man's eyes were blinking so rapidly that it would put butterfly wing fluttering to shame. His mouth was opened but he could not muster up any words.